(Courtesy of Manhattan Day School) It’s a new year and Manhattan Day School is excited about the new faces joining the MDS community!
MDS welcomes Morah Regina Katz and Morah Gili Rosenbloom to its early childhood team, co-teaching the nursery Alef class. Katz has joined MDS after many years of teaching early childhood in different settings, from Kyiv to Haifa, Chicago and New York City. Rosenbloom has taught Judaic studies, Hebrew language and has focused on working in the art therapy field. With their enthusiasm and vast educational experiences Katz and Rosenbloom will be great additions to the early childhood department!
Additionally, MDS is excited to welcome Dolly Masri to the MDS family as the lower school principal. Masri brings 12 years of lower school education experience, most recently as the director of teaching and learning at Barkai Yeshivah in Brooklyn. Masri has made an impact as both an educator and a teacher mentor and she has taught almost every grade in elementary school, giving her a deep appreciation for each stage of child development.
Mussy Giffin joins the middle school general studies team with six years of experience in teaching language arts and social studies. Morahs Sassi Katzenstein and Shoshana Raaps are joining the middle school Judaic studies team and are looking forward to spreading the light of Torah and inspiring MDS students.
Rabbi Jack Varon joins MDS with over 14 years of experience in Jewish education, most recently as tenured faculty member of Yeshiva of Flatbush where he implemented curricula to strengthen students’ reading and textual skills in Hebrew language. He will be coordinating the middle school Judaic curriculum and coaching teachers. Rabbi Varon currently serves as the assistant rabbi of Ohab Zedek on the Upper West Side.
Dassi Katzenstein joins MDS with over five years of experience in Judaic studies education, most recently as Netivot’s program director. In this role, she coordinated school-wide activities such as Midah of the Month, Adar festivities and Mishmar. She will be the mashgicha ruchanit for middle school girls.
Shoshana Raaps joins MDS with many years of teaching experience, most recently at Bruriah High School for Girls in Elizabeth, New Jersey. Morah Rapps is a current student at the Wurzweiler School of Social Work, where she hopes to learn more about the social-emotional components of what happens in the classroom and beyond for students. Morah Rapps is very excited for her new roles at MDS as a social work fieldwork intern in the lower school and a Judaic studies teacher in the middle school.
MDS is proud to welcome the new shlichim, Omree and Shira Chmilavski, and bnot sherut Aya Rachelson and Tehilla Salomon as they join the Manhattan Day School community. They are excited to educate MDS students about Medinat Yisrael as Hebrew language and will be an integral part in implementing the new Ivrit initiative at MDS.
The future is bright at MDS and the schools look forward to the partnership between its faculty and parent body in igniting the individual spark of every student.
