In celebration of the Chai Anniversary, Yeshivat Noam will host its annual dinner on Wednesday night, March 6, at Congregation Keter Torah in Teaneck. The theme of the celebration is “L’Chaim,” the celebration of 18 years of growth and success into a premier Jewish day school with over 830 students and 695 alumni.
According to Dr. Doron Katz, one of the co-chairs of the fundraising committee, “We rely on this campaign to raise the necessary scholarship dollars for families struggling financially in our own backyard. It is our communal responsibility to ensure that all Jewish children have the opportunity to thrive academically.” Together with Dr. Katz, Josh Chaitovsky and Batsheva Glick are the campaign co-chairs. Leora Cohen, Yael Herman, Shanna Lehmann-Wolf and Sharona Schulder, the dinner co-chairs, are coordinating the logistics and details of the dinner to create a spectacular evening.
One of the goals of the evening is to pay tribute to amazing honorees who give of themselves to ensure the future of Yeshivat Noam and the success of each student. The Guests of Honor are Tamar and Ross Rothenberg; a Community Service Award will be given to Ariela and Ruby Herman; and the Faculty Recognition Awardees are Deena Lewin and Becky Weisberg.
Tamar and Ross Rothenberg are most worthy of being the Guests of Honor at the Chai Anniversary Dinner. Their selfless commitment and unwavering support to the school for the past 10 years has enabled Yeshivat Noam to reach this great milestone.
Since their oldest child, Eli, began attending Yeshivat Noam in kindergarten, Tamar and Ross have jumped right in as active and involved parents. No job too big or too small. Tamar has sat on the board of directors for eight years, three of which were on the executive board. She has chaired the communications committee as well as spearheaded multiple effective marketing and PR campaigns for the school. She has co-led the Celebrate Israel Parade committee for four years, using her creativity and talent to make sure Yeshivat Noam looks phenomenal year after year. Additionally, Tamar was one of the driving forces behind the Bidding for Good online auction and its success in raising significant funds for the yeshiva. All this in her spare time from her position of over 13 years as senior vice president of marketing at Extell Development Company.
Ross has volunteered on the annual summer golf and tennis outing committee for many years. This past year he co-chaired the event and, using his strong leadership skills, saw to it that it was a success. He is always available to pitch in whenever needed with advice and counsel. Tamar and Ross are active members at Congregation Bnai Yeshurun in Teaneck, where Ross was a former board member. Ross is a coach and board member of the Teaneck Baseball Organization, working to ensure a fun and educational experience for all the children involved. He is a partner at the Rothenberg Law Firm LLP. The firm and the entire Rothenberg family have been generous supporters of Yeshivat Noam since its inception. In addition to their dedication to Yeshivat Noam, Tamar and Ross are involved in several organizations in Bergen County, the greater New York area, as well as in Israel.
Together, Tamar and Ross exemplify to their three children, Eli (Class of 2018), Josh (sixth grade) and Nili (second grade), family and friends how one should dedicate their time, talent and resources as active contributors to schools, shuls and the community at large.
Ariela and Ruby Herman are receiving the Community Service Award in recognition of their volunteerism, role modeling, dedication and commitment to Yeshivat Noam. In the early years, Ariela, who is an associate professor at Queens College, who has a doctorate in physical education and is a coordinator of the teacher education program in physical education, worked with the elementary school to develop a physical education curriculum and mentored the physical education staff. Additionally, Ariela served on the Parent School Partnership as the chair of the health committee and coordinated school trips and school supplies as a Yeshivat Noam Parents Association board member.
Over the past six years Ariela has been coaching girls JV and varsity basketball teams with great success. With five consecutive championship seasons and six overall, Ariela has proven time and again that she is an elite-level coach. Winning basketball games tells only a small part of the story. What distinguishes Ariela as a phenomenal coach is her ability to lead by example, teaching her players that good middot is where their success starts both on the court as well as beyond the sidelines. It is in this area that Ariela masterfully motivates, and therefore her players excel.
Ruby has been an active volunteer for years, in a quiet and humble way, assisting with the health and safety of our students. Ruby is personally responsible for certifying most of the Yeshivat Noam administrators and staff members in CPR and teaching techniques around health administration. Ruby has also taught babysitting classes to our middle school students for the past 10 years. Additionally, Ruby checks and monitors the defibrillators at Yeshivat Noam and in schools throughout Bergen County regularly.
Ariela and Ruby attend Congregation Rinat Yisrael and are the proud parents of Tobi (‘18), Ikey (eighth grade), and Tali (sixth grade). We wish them a tzetchem l’shalom as they embark to live in Israel next year.
Mrs. Deena Lewin is known as an all-star teacher at Yeshivat Noam. Her loyalty and dedication to her job is evident as she completes her 13th year, having taught third grade, and now fourth grade. Throughout the school she is loved and admired by current students, former students and colleagues alike.
Mrs. Lewin puts her heart and soul into her work. She goes above and beyond to connect with each of her students to learn their strengths and interests. She works tirelessly to differentiate instruction for her students and is proactive in finding ways to best personalize individual student instruction. She infuses the state fair with her own personal flair and the excitement spills over onto the students, who participate and create with fervor. Mrs. Lewin hosts and attends student events outside the school day including Shavuot learning and an end-of-year party. She attends professional development regularly and builds new ideas into her lessons, such as a recent Yom Hashoah program for the fourth grade. Deena is a team player both as an integral part of the fourth grade team as well as the general studies team as a whole. She is never satisfied with the status quo and continues to work to enhance curriculum, ensuring that no two years ever look the same in her classroom.
Deena was the first recipient of the Marcia Hirt Teacher Initiative award. She has served on the TAP council (Teacher-Administration Partnership) and PSP (Parent-School Partnership) each for numerous years. She continues to seek out ways to make an impact on the school beyond the doors of her classroom, including being part of the curriculum review and anecdotal review committees, as well as making spectacular video montages for school-wide events.
Yeshivat Noam is truly honored to be highlighting the many outstanding contributions of Mrs. Deena Lewin. She currently resides in Teaneck with her husband Jake and their children, Sammy and Annie, future Yeshivat Noam students.
It’s no surprise that Mrs. Becky Weisberg was chosen as this year’s Faculty Recognition Awardee. Any child who has had the gift of being in her class in Yeshivat Noam since she began back in 2004 has been privileged to be showered by the love and warmth that are hallmarks of “Morah Becky.”
Becky truly shines in the classroom environment; she has endless patience and always understands how to connect well with each of her students. She infuses her classroom with energy and strives for each of her students to feel confident and proud of their accomplishments. Her mission in being an early childhood instructor is that she hopes to instill a feeling of belonging and excitement in the formative years of schooling. With a strong educational foundation in place, Becky realizes that the future of learning for these children can be limitless.
Morah Becky also dedicates her time to serve as the teacher liaison to the Parent School Partnership, bridging the gap between the parent body and the staff. In the summer she continues on with her passion of bringing light into the lives of young children, and can be found running the gan at Camp Moshava IO. Morah Becky resides in Teaneck with her husband Josh and her three beautiful daughters, Ellie (eighth grade), Sophie (fourth grade) and Gabby (first grade), who all attend Yeshivat Noam.
To make a donation to support Jewish education and provide scholarship funds, please call Amy Vogel, director of development and communications at 201-261-1919 x126 or go to www.yeshivatnoam.org. Every dollar makes an impact on the yeshiva’s ability to deliver academic excellence and financial scholarships.�
