The girls of the inaugural class of Naaleh High School for girls had an extra burst of newness, as they experienced the first first day of Naaleh—ever. The energy and excitement was palpable, from teachers and students alike. With the first day of school, they started navigating through their core courses as well as some elective classes including STEM, studio art, tefillah insights, and crash course—a weekly discussion of fundamental Jewish topics. Additionally, each week, the girls have aerobics and a choice of clubs, as well as a monthly yoga program.
Naaleh strives to educate the whole student. With their strong commitment to excellence, the teachers each work to create a learning environment which encourages maximum engagement, constant curiosity and self-reflection. Beyond the academic curriculum, Naaleh aims to engender development and refinement in midot, personal growth and tefillah. To that end, each girl was delighted to see her welcome to school gift of a personalized siddur, which will be her constant companion throughout her four years at Naaleh and beyond.
To orient the girls to each other and Naaleh’s faculty during the first week of school, the girls were treated to an all day freshmen orientation adventure in New York City. The day consisted of team building activities, a thrilling boat ride, an interactive scavenger hunt around midtown Manhattan and a delicious dairy dinner. It was, overall, a friendship-forming, memorable day and a great way to head into a new school year.
Getting into the mindset of Rosh Hashana, the school took a short break from classes for everyone to set goals for the new school year together. After brainstorming and writing down their goals, the reflective activity culminated with a beautiful balloon launch. Everyone gathered outside and watched their thoughts and hopes for the new year soar upwards. When the balloons were finally out of sight, everyone returned to their classrooms to continue their day at Naaleh.
Post Rosh Hashana, the girls had the zchut to hear from Rav Kolodesky, on Tzom Gedaliah, bringing inspiration and focus to the Aseret Yemei Teshuva. They also had a lively and soulful tish for Tishrei, with singing, student divrei Torah and of course potato kugel and chulent!
Over two years in the making, Naaleh has finally come to fruition, and, thankfully, with a strong start. After all of the planning, it is so exciting to see the school take form. The girls are happy, the teachers are excited and there’s plenty of promise in the years ahead as Naaleh continues to develop and grow.
