Physical Education

Coach T.

In Physical Education, students enjoyed a variety of healthy snacks and meals that they brought from home such as: hummus, guacamole, strawberry sorbet, cucumbers, carrots, sliced apples, freshly made salad, hummus chips, salsa, infused mint and lemon water, strawberry and banana smoothie, quinoa with vegetables & veggie chips just to name a few. We had a wonderful Healthy Luncheon in Physical Education and I'm proud of the girls for all of their efforts to make healthy choices and to continue to stay active during their summer.

7th grade Chumash

Mrs. Sprung

Our class was busy working at searching sources to create divrei Torah and comic strips celebrating our completion of Parshat Balak. The girls gave their Divrei Torah, baked cakes and celebrated their 3rd siyum. We look forward to learning Parshat Pinchas!!

7th Grade Math

Mrs. Englard

At the beginning of this school year, 7th grade students embarked on a mathematical journey with a problem-based curriculum that was new and strange to them. While they were used to finding one correct answer to a problem, they found that there might be many correct answers, that they sometimes were given answers and asked to justify the steps to get there, that they were not taught procedures but rather worked collaboratively to recall what they knew and extend that knowledge to new learning through thoughtfully sequenced activities. The change was not an easy one; when asked to "explain your reasoning", they asked "what does that even mean?", and then, once they understood, asked "why do we have to do this?", "why do we have to write in math class?", "but I got the right answer why do I have to do anything else?" As the year progressed they came to understand that productive struggle, while it could be frustrating, was often interesting and deepened their thinking, that their thinking was wanted and valued, and that the reward was infinitely more satisfying than being told what to do and just following. They learned to think beyond the single problem to notice structure and patterns across problems, and to re-examine what they understood about quantities and their relationships, about operations and their properties. By the last weeks, while sweating out combining like terms with lots of subtraction and negatives, they were begging "pleeeeease can I explain my reasoning?", proud of their thinking and able to justify their individual strategies and compare them to the methods of their peers. The girls should be proud of their hard work to develop as mathematically proficient students.

8th Grade History

Ms. Chapin

This year in 8th grade, we learned about United States history. For a final project, the girls split themselves into groups and picked a specific topic about the American Civil War to research and present. A talented group of three girls chose to write their own song about the three Confederate generals on Stone Mountain, their voices sent chills throughout the entire classroom. Two girls wrote a poem about drummer boys and presented a painting to go with it. Other talented groups created a musical, a puppet show, and a play. One girl read a Confederate newspaper and created a scrapbook while another girl created a scrapbook based on three different diaries from the Civil War. To top it all off, we enjoyed food that a typical soldier would eat or people living during that time. I was very impressed with the talent in this class and with the wide variety of projects they created on their own.  

Mazel Tov! On June 11th, twenty one eighth graders participated in the Promotional Ceremonies, indicating that they had completed the requisite course of studies in both Limudei Kodesh and Chol, for Middle School students and now they are prepared to take the next step into High School. The students performed an original cantata, composed by the class itself, portraying the important piece of the puzzle which each girl's talents and personalities complete. The girls even created a whimsical mosaic which they described as represeting each young woman. Students expressed their gratitude to the teachers, their parents, and to Hakadosh Baruch Hu, for helping them reach this milestone in their journey.

Nine beautiful young women graduated from Sha'arei Bina, on June 12th, at the Skylake Synagogue.  The proceedings were both dignified and warm. The theme of the evening was expressing Hakarat Hatov, gratitude, as this was our school's motto throughout the year. Rifkah Rothenstein opened the evening with the recitation of Perek Kuf (100) Mizmor L'Todah, Penina Rosenbaum and Ahuva Simpser followed with words of appreciation for their parents and for Hakadosh baruch Hu.  It was wonderful to see the video created by Leah Tempelberg capturing how the girls have grown over the years. Leah Tempelberg also spoke about her gratitude for all the guidance she received from the teachers. Rajel Lancry, who first joined the class this year, expressed her appreciation for her classmates in both Spanish and English. The class gift, a fully stocked First Aid Cabinet, was presented by Sarah Aaronson, Eliana Haimov and Simona Zwelling. The girls who participated in the Better Together Program received medallions and it was announced that Simona Zwelling was the first place winner in the essay contest, for which she will be receiving a generous scholarship to continue her studies in Israel. Hila Menachems original artwork, a meticulously painted portrait of the class, was presented by Eliana Haimov. Words of Bracha were extended by Dr. Brand, Head of School, Mrs. Tobi Wolf, Principal and by Dr. Gary Rosenbaum, President of the Board of Directors (and proud parent of graduate, Penina). It was an amazing evening and a wonderful time was had by all who attended.  

As each senior walked up to receive her diploma, a brief sentiment of love, appreciation, and encouragement was read to honor her time in our school, by Ms. Monica Vera. Find each student's personalized message below:

SARAH AARONSON

Your originality, dedication to your school, and your ability to capture life through a unique, thoughtful lens, makes you truly special; we wish you much success as you continue growing and learning.

ELIANA HAIMOV

Thank you for your consistently bright smile, open heart, sense of humor, and sincerity; these are truly special qualities that will help you thrive as you embark on the next part of your spiritual and intellectual journey; congratulations.

RAJEL LANCRY

You are polite, ambitious, hardworking, and gracious - thank you for choosing Sha'arei Bina for your last year of high school; we wish you joy and success moving forward.

HILA MENACHEM

Hila, your friendship, good humor, and helpful personality make you well-liked by peers and staff alike; your artistic talents reflect your keen eye and ability to self-reflect; we wish you all the best as you begin the next part of your journey.

PENINA ROSENBAUM

The poise, dignity, and respect with which you represent our school is admirable; you keep us on our toes with your diligence, and we're on point when around you; we're proud to share this milestone with you and know that your future is as bright as your smile.

RIVKA ROTHENSTEIN

You truly pushed yourself to do the best possible work and we are all grateful for the opportunity to see you grow into an outgoing, intelligent individual. We wish you much happiness and success.

AHUVA SIMPSER

Your intellect, ambition, and humor are sincerely admirable qualities. You exude a special kind of thoughtfulness that benefits your classmates and teachers, and we hope your beautiful voice continues to resonate; congratulations.

LEAH TEMPELBERG

What will we do without you? We are so thankful for the incredible effort you put into helping everyone around you; your determination, compassion, and hard work impress all who know you; we wish you endless happiness and success.

SIMONA ZWELLING

Your infectious laughter, hard work, and quiet yet steadfast leadership skills have bolstered the academic and spiritual growth of your graduating class. We hope your successes are bountiful; congratulations.

Last Shabbos, the 7th graders had an enjoyable shabbaton that was filled with camaraderie and achdus. Our Shabbaton took place on the Shabbos of Parshat Shlach; therefore  theme was "Looking and finding the good in others". We enjoyed hearing Divrei Torah from Nechama Dina Eliyahu, Orly Adar, Abby Heller, Elisheva Roth, and Mrs. Tobi Wolf.

We would like thank the Roth, Heller, Friedman, Bokor, and Goldenberg families for hosting all the girls. In addition, we really appreciate the delicious meals hosted by the Goldenberg and Roth families.

It was beautiful that everyone in the class was able to participate, and we all had a great time.

The last day of school was filled with laughter, tears, learning, and music.  The last day of school always brings with it many mixed emotions. It is a time to reflect on all that was learned this past year.

We began the morning with a beautiful Rosh Chodesh davening. Afterwards, the girls were split into groups and learned Beit Medrash style. Each group was given questions for all the summer Parshiot. The girls had to find the answers independently using Chumash and Rashi as their main source.

Afterward, we listened to very clever riddles about each teacher. It was a unique way of showing Hakarat Hatov to all the hard work from the faculty and staff of SBTAG as each one was presented with a beautiful rose.

Then we watched three videos. The first was of the 11th Grade Mission to Israel. The video was produced by Bella Friedman and really captured all the special sites and experiences the 11th grade shared on their trip. The remaining underclassmen cannot wait for their turn to travel to Israel to experience all their learning and History come alive.

The next two videos were produced by Leah Tempelberg. Her first was a recap of all the special events of this past school year. It was amazing to see how many speakers, activities, and trips we had in just one year. The second video was shpiel style highlighting the uniqueness of each grade as well as the faculty.

At the end of the day, all the girls parted ways with hugs and tears. We look forward to seeing everyone return at the start of the next school year!