SAR windows - SAR Academy

S AR ACA DE M Y & SA R HIGH S CHOOL
2009-2010 ANNUAL REPORT
SAR windows
S H A LO M S A R C O M M U N I T Y:
As we enter our 42nd year, SAR continues to innovate, introduce new programs,
and look for better ways to communicate with and serve our families. This firstever SAR Annual Report is a look back at the incredible 2009-2010 academic year.
The windows at SAR are important, both philosophically and experientially.
There is a powerful connection between learning and the outside world.
What is evident immediately is that secular and Judaic studies programs are
flourishing, and partnerships with our parent community are becoming even
stronger as we attract and retain the best and brightest students and faculty.
Our administrators – some of the Jewish community’s most talented educators—
provide us with the guidance required to prepare our graduates to engage the
world as concerned and committed Jews.
We are extremely grateful to the more than 900 donors who have given so
graciously to the school this year, and to the parents who have made the significant
commitment to send their children to our yeshiva. In 2009-2010, we raised
more than $3.4 million through our annual fundraising efforts, which support
scholarships and numerous school programs.
In November 2009, we shared the Operational and Financial Report with our
parent body for the first time in an effort to keep everyone informed. We believe
each and every one of our families shares responsibility for the overall welfare
of our school. This annual report offers further insight and information to our
community, and encourages you to support our annual and capital campaigns,
volunteer, stay informed, include us in your estate plans, and continue to support
the SAR vision.
At SAR, academic accomplishment, acts of chesed for the greater community in
our daily life, and family engagement are all interdependent. When we achieve
in all three areas, we provide the best results for our students.
Thanks to the generosity of our faculty, parents, alumni, grandparents, and donors,
we will continue to reach new heights of excellence that bring immeasurable
benefits to k’lal Yisrael.
To all of you, we offer a heartfelt todah rabbah.
Jack C. Bendheim
President
SAR Board of Trustees
“The windows at SAR are important, both philosophically
and experientially. There is a powerful connection between
learning and the outside world.”
DEAR FRIENDS:
NU MBERS :
887
ACADEMY
ENROLLMENT
411
HIGH SCHOOL
ENROLLMENT
211
ACADEMY
FACULTY
101
HIGH SCHOOL
FACULTY
We are pleased to present our first annual report. “Windows” represents a
reflection on the 2009-2010 school year, including highlights of milestones and
accomplishments, and transparency in our finances. Most importantly, it is a
token of our heartfelt thanks to you ― the community—for making SAR the
beacon of light that illuminates our students’ lives.
The Gemara, in Brachot, teaches us:
:‫ שנאמר בדניאל‬,‫ אלא בבית שיש חלונות‬,‫ אל יתפלל אדם‬:‫אמר רבי יוחנן‬
(‫ ב‬,‫"וכוין פתיחן לי בעליתה נגד ירושלם" )ברכות לד‬
A person is obligated to pray in a house that has windows, as it says in Daniel,
“. . . where there were open windows in his upper chamber facing Jerusalem . . .”
(Daniel 6:11).
Why is it that prayer, that experience of intense personal connection between
man and his Creator, needs to take place in a house with windows? It seems that
Rav Yochanan is teaching us an important lesson: the connection between man
and G-d must have certain characteristics—it must be reflective and inclusive
of others; and allow light to shine in. Windows symbolize our connection and
obligations to the outside world and inspire our actions.
What is true for each one of us personally is, of course, true communally as well.
An SAR education fosters and encourages reflection and inclusion, ultimately
bringing light to the world. We teach our students to engage deeply with G-d and
the Torah, while connecting to the world around them.
As we usher in 5771, a new school year, and renewed, intense engagement with
our new responsibilities, we look forward to strengthening the relationships with
our students, our dedicated faculty, and our parent body.
Hakarat hatov to everyone who has enabled this institution to bring so much light
and warmth to our students and our community.
Rabbi Binyamin Krauss (’84)
Rabbi Tully Harcsztark
Principal, SAR Academy
Principal, SAR High School
SAR ACADEMY & SAR HIGH SCHOOL
1
‫מחויבים‬
“ SAR’s teachers and administrators internalize SAR’s mission—
academic excellence and integrity—as their own. I have visited many
schools and I’m deeply impressed with the dedication SAR teachers
convey through words and deeds in the classroom, and in the way
they connect with students and parents outside the classroom.”
SCOTT SHAY — Father of Alison and Abigail
commitment
LOOKING IN . . .
From Judaic and Secular Studies to sports and the arts, the
2009-2010 school year was filled with magnificent achievements
and ever-expanding opportunities for enriched learning and
intellectual and creative growth and development.
SAR ACADEMY: HIGHLIGHTS & INNOVATIONS
SAR HIGH SCHOOL: ADDITIONS & ACCOMPLISHMENTS
The Academy’s teachers and curriculum provided students
with new and creative ways to master critical skills while
sustaining their enthusiasm for learning. The Early Learning
Center (ELC) introduced an expanded Ivrit curriculum,
which included a full-day Hebrew teacher in every kindergarten class to increase students’ exposure to the language.
Our newest offerings and accomplishments demonstrated
SAR’s commitment to excellence. The first school-wide
siyyum encompassed classes studying tractates of mishnayot
and the perakim of Tanach. Students dedicated their study
in honor or memory of a loved one. Four hundred students,
and 150 staff members and their families participated in the
annual “whole school” shabbaton, which focused on “the
modern orthodox high school.”
In Judaic Studies, third graders learned taamei hamikra
(reading cantillation notes) and first-grade parents participated in “Spiritual Sparks,” a workshop to prepare their
children for their first siddur. Fifth graders learned Hebrew
in a new way, with each class divided into small groups
to provide students with instruction best suited to their
development of Hebrew-language skills.
SAR recognized Shoshana Radinsky, Judaic Studies teacher,
who received the 2010 Grinspoon-Steinhardt Award for
Excellence in Jewish Education.
The middle school extended electives to sixth graders,
offering Debate Team, Robotics, World Percussion Ensemble,
Financial Markets, and Aviation. The seventh-grade Science
E2K class won first place in an international virtual science
competition moderated in Israel. Eight Israeli fellows served
to inspire Academy students as they taught Ivrit, Chumash,
Gemara, and Mishna.
Employing folk and classical music to teach music literacy,
the Academy followed the innovative Kodaly curriculum,
unique among day schools. The inclusion program entered
its fourth year, with 36 students in six grades.
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SAR ACADEMY & SAR HIGH SCHOOL
Eight students participated in the prestigious Tikvah
Scholars Program for future Jewish leaders. New foreign
language offerings included tenth-grade French, and
students practiced their Spanish-language skills on a trip
to Puerto Rico. Several students earned high honors on the
National Latin Exam. Tenth graders organized the Math
Probability Carnival, and the successful Math Magazine
inspired many submissions, including from freshman Leah
Slaten, who earned a Gold Medal at the Greater Metropolitan
New York Math Fair.
“Inside College Admissions” featured more than 25
college representatives, including from CUNY and SUNY
schools, Yeshiva University, Stern College, Columbia
University and Princeton University. Our college advisors
helped establish the national organization, Counselor
Advocacy for the Jewish University Experience
(CAJUE). Our 70 co-curriculars included such new offerings as Science Journal, Fellows Learning After School
Hours (FLASH),and Middle Eastern Dance.
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SAR ACADEMY & SAR HIGH SCHOOL
SAR ACADEMY & SAR HIGH SCHOOL
3
commitment: highlights and events
4
MASTERING HISTORY
& REGIONAL AWARDS
STATE-OF-THE-ART
TECHNOLOGY CAPABILITIES
Applying the lessons they had mastered, thirdgraders brought historic and literary figures
to life in the Wacky Wax Museum. Ten eighthgrade students competed for honors in the NY
Regional Competition for National History Day.
Guided by teacher Jen Pepper, Sofie Somoroff’s
documentary took first prize in its category and
advanced to the state competition.
SMARTboards are now fully integrated into
all classrooms and used daily for both
Judaic and General Studies curricula.
At the High School, the Hebrew Department
developed SMARTboard lessons that other
area Jewish day schools have adopted
as training materials.
AWARD-WINNING SCIENCE PROGRAM
LEADING-EDGE MATH PROGRAMMING
SAR High School earned the Silver Award
at the BJE’s Science Olympiad, and senior
Debby Greenstein’s project won the NYC
Science and Engineering Fair. Since 2006,
SAR has placed first or second every year
at BJE’s Olympiad. Other students teleconferenced with physicians to view open heart surgery, and joined the Memorial Sloan-Kettering
High School Outreach Program.
The new first-grade Intergenerational Math
Fair exemplified our innovative inter-disciplinary approach, showcasing math in poetry,
sports and Torah. For the first time at SAR,
an eighth-grader, Ricki Heicklen, achieved
a perfect score in the annual New York
Mathematics League Contest. There were 21
top scorers in seventh grade and 19 in eighth.
SAR ACADEMY & SAR HIGH SCHOOL
ELC STUDENTS EXPERIENCE
TORAH AND ISRAEL
NATIONAL CHIDON TANACH
PARTICIPANTS
Students “sailed” on Noah’s Ark, and “traveled”
to Israel to “visit” a kibbutz, “fish” in Eilat,
and “place” notes in the Kotel. They practiced
the mitzvah of Haknasset Orchim by inviting
“Avraham and Sara” into their tents, created
family trees and learned from grandparents
at several classroom events.
Sharing a commitment to Torah study, 7 High
School and 8 Middle School students participated in the annual Bible Contest. Eliav
Grossman placed eighth in the country in the
high school division; Yishai Chamudot placed
first in the youth division and will represent
the USA at the nationally televised international contest next spring in Jerusalem.
CHOIRS, BANDS AND
PERFORMANCES
BEIT MIDRASH FELLOWS ENRICH
JUDAIC STUDIES
The Academy held its first Choir Exchange
Concert, and as Nashir Choir Festival founder,
the High School hosted 225 day schoolers.
Pirates of Penzance and Joseph & the
Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat were staged
in Hebrew, and Oliver and The Little Prince
were performed. The new Chagiga band
added energetic rikkudim.
This year’s fellows included four Israelis
from Yeshivat Har Etzion and five American
graduates of Yeshiva University, each inspiring
students with their knowledge of Judaism,
Israel, and the Hebrew language. Since the
High School’s inception seven years ago, more
than 60 fellows have come to SAR, with six
now members of our Judaic Studies faculty.
SAR ACADEMY & SAR HIGH SCHOOL
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‫מחוברים‬
“ The message is clear —SAR is committed to chesed,
to helping both Jews and non-Jews in the community and
beyond. The administration enthusiastically instills the value
of ‘kol Yisrael arevim zeh lazeh’ into the students.”
ADRIANNE GOLDBERG MELLER & SHAUN MELLER
Founder, SAR Annual Blood Drive, parents of Rebecca, Aliza, Zack z"l, & Zoe
connections
LOOKING OUT . . .
While demonstrating steadfast support for Medinat Yisrael,
students translated the value of chesed into action. At the same
time, through volunteer efforts and program participation,
families strengthened the bonds that connect them to SAR.
LOCAL AND GLOBAL ACTIVISM AND KINDNESS
ACTIVISM: Students in grades eight through twelve expressed
their commitment to ensuring Israel’s security at a rally
protesting Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s United Nations address.
And in their tributes to Gilad Shalit in their daily tefillot, the
Academy raised awareness about his captivity and the plight
of other Israeli prisoners-of-war.
LOVE FOR ISRAEL: SAR joined with Medinat Yisrael to ob-
serve Yom Hazikaron. Programs included music, film clips,
poetry, and personal experiences, as well as stories and songs
of men and women who lost relatives defending Israel. SAR
celebrated Yom Haatzmaut with a family barbecue on the
school’s field glistening with Israeli flags.
COMMUNITY: In keeping with an Academy tradition, fifth
graders visited the Hebrew Home for the Aged weekly, uplifting seniors with their company and conversations. Through
Project Cicero, High School students taught local Bronx elementary students about the value of books through book donations and mentoring. COMMITMENT TO THE WORLD: Students organized a bake
sale that raised $400 for earthquake relief efforts in Haiti
As part of a Veteran’s Day program, Academy
students paid tribute to family members who
served in the U.S. military with a newly created
Wall of Honor. The program, organized by parent
Beverly Wolfer-Nerenberg who lost her brother
Major Stuart Wolfer in the line of duty
in Iraq, featured speakers Michael
Cooperman, Josh Landes and Gene
Richter, and welcomed area vets.
while ninth-graders volunteered at the AFYA Foundation in
Yonkers, sorting and packing medical supplies. School-wide,
SAR collected $6,285 for the Joint Distribution Committee’s
humanitarian support in Haiti.
High School students and teachers participated in a mission
sponsored by Hillel of Argentina. Their activities included
painting and mixing concrete for a soup kitchen and rehab
center in an impoverished Buenos Aires neighborhood, and
they teamed with Argentinean Jewish teens to refurbish a
school that provides social services.
As part of B’nai B’rith’s Global Round Table, High School
students not only participated in the Model U.N. but engaged
in discussions with U.N. diplomats from Austria, Hungary,
and Sweden. On another occasion, our choir sang at the
French Consulate in New York.
FROM GENERATION TO GENERATION,
FAMILIES MAKING A DIFFERENCE
The athletics and academics that shaped Morris Sopher’s z"l
life inspired his wife, Marilyn, to dedicate the High School’s
track in his name. A student of Salanter Yeshiva in the 1930’s
and a pillar of the Riverdale Jewish community, Morris was
also a founder of the New York Marathon. Today, their children are active SAR alumni and their grandchildren are students at the school.
Parents and grandparents joined Academy students throughout the year to embrace the school-wide theme, Mi’Dor L’Dor,
from generation to generation. They studied and celebrated
the festivals of Chanukah and Purim, and shared the mitzvot
of tzitzit and hafrashat challah.
“ During these past four years, we have
forged life-changing relationships not
just with our classmates, but with our
teachers and the administration as
well. Members of the administration,
you are responsible for carrying SAR
along its course and making it the
wonderful place it is. To the faculty,
you work directly with the students,
providing us with an excellent education, giving us memories we will never
forget, teaching us lasting midot,
and crafting us into who we are.”
DAVID ARBIT
Class Representative, SAR High School Graduation 2010
85%
42.6%
Percentage of
graduates attending
Israeli yeshivot
or programs
Percentage of
graduates who will
attend Ivy League or
other Tier 1 schools
connections: highlights and events
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UK CHIEF RABBI PRAISES SAR AT
RJC YOM HAZIKARON PROGRAM
LEARN-A-THON COVERS 187
PERAKIM OF TORAH
“My wife and I are here because Hashem
wanted us to have the zchut of seeing and
listening to your beautiful, beautiful children
of SAR Academy. They are very special
children; this is quite clearly an extraordinary
school. May Hashem continue to bless it,
its teachers and all who are part of it…”
For Shavuot, our community of children,
parents, grandparents, great-grandparents,
learners, and teachers enjoyed intergenerational scholarship with a school-wide
learn-a-thon of Chamisha Chumshei Torah.
Participants signed up to learn all 187 perakim
of Torah which culminated in a Mi’Dor L’Dor
Siyum HaTorah in Seton Park.
GO STING! A PERFECT SEASON,
AND 8 NEW TEAMS
BUDDING FILMMAKERS
HONOR SURVIVORS
The High School Girls Varsity Basketball Team
celebrated the league’s championship with
an undefeated record of 25-0. Girls Softball,
Boys Varsity Soccer, Girls Junior Varsity
Soccer, Girls Hockey and Boys Volleyball were
all division champs. Sports expanded in the
last two years, attracting 72 boys and girls
to bowling, golf, track, fencing and swimming.
Stefa Hasson taught the elective Names
Not Numbers, in which eighth graders used
a multi-disciplinary approach to create an
oral film project on the Holocaust. Students
worked with a journalist, collaborated with
a filmmaker, and interviewed survivors and
liberators. More than 150 people attended
the film’s screening at the Academy.
SAR ACADEMY & SAR HIGH SCHOOL
BLOOD DRIVE ONE OF 17
CHESED PROJECTS
At the New York Blood Center Recognition
Breakfast, SAR received the Gold Award
for its 2009 collection drives. The Center also
recognized our volunteers on June 1st at
Yankee Stadium. The Academy’s annual
blood drive taught students about responsibility, and was incorporated into the curriculum
to teach hematology.
PARENTS AND GRANDPARENTS
TEACH CULTURAL ARTS
The Learning to Look cultural arts program,
now in its seventh year, is made possible by
parent and grandparent volunteers who teach
the curriculum. K-5 students focused on 18th
and 19th-century painting and portraiture,
studied sculpture through Rodin’s Adam and
Degas’ The 14-Year-Old Dancer, and toured
the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
MI’DOR L’DOR EVENTS
As in years past, grandparents and special
friends were welcomed to the First-Grade
Siddur Play, Second-Grade Chumash Play,
Third-Grade Rashi Breakfast, Fourth-Grade
Navi Play, and Fifth-Grade Intergenerational
Day. New this year, guests attended the SixthGrade program, “Grandparents: Tying the
Generations,” and Seventh-Grade pre-Purim
and Eighth-Grade co-learning programs.
ISRAEL FRONT AND CENTER
Following a school-wide Shacharit service and
Hallel on Yom Yerushalayim, grandparents and
community leaders Mrs. Blu Greenberg, Rabbi
Benjamin Blech, and Rabbi Rafael Grossman
delivered stirring perspectives on the Six Day
War and the importance of Yerushalayim to
the religious experience. Eretz Yisrael was
further celebrated on Yom Haazmaut and at
the Israel Day Parade.
SAR ACADEMY & SAR HIGH SCHOOL
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DE A R PA R E N TS, G R A N D PA R E N TS, A LUMN I A N D SUP P O RT E R S :
Thank you for supporting SAR and entrusting our school with your
children’s education.
SAR’s founders would be proud of our community today, as we ensure that
every family in need is extended tuition assistance. This past year, with so many
families facing job losses and financial downturns, we awarded $4.6 million in
tuition assistance, which represents a 32% increase over the prior year. With this
in mind, I urge you to view SAR as a top priority in your tzedakah commitments.
TODAH RABBAH
To this year’s phenomenal
fundraising campaign and
program chairs:
SAR 41ST ANNIVERSARY DINNER
$1.1 MILLION
Chairs: Hudi Bellin Askowitz (’87),
Tani Benovitz (’82)
SAR SHAVUOT APPEAL 5770
$200,000
Chair: Louis Benjamin
SAR ONLINE AUCTION
$70,000
Chairs: Deena Berger (’89),
Dana Teplitsky (’90)
2010 SAR BUSINESS DIRECTORY
$30,000
Chairs: Sarah Blechner,
Dana Jason (’90)
Maintaining SAR’s high-caliber curriculum, programs, and facilities requires
huge financial outlays. We are a major educational institution, with 1,300
students. Our annual expenses amount to $25 million, not including construction
and related costs. Tuition payments, annual fund contributions, fees, and all other
revenues cover only 86% of SAR’s operating expenses.
But thanks to contributions to our annual campaigns, sponsorships, and individual
donations, we are able to cover the remaining portion ―13.6%, or $3.4 million. We
are profoundly grateful to all those who participated so generously in our fundraisers and greatly appreciate SAR’s Development Office team, our event chairs and
numerous parent volunteers for their dedicated efforts.
We are also tremendously thankful to donors who made capital gifts to support
our building and construction needs. Over the last ten years, these gifts have
totaled $30 million, enabling SAR to continue to distinguish itself as a leading
academic institution. Because of these donors’ vision, leadership, and magnificent
philanthropy, our children learn and play in the finest state-of-the-art facilities.
But a school is a work-in-progress, constantly growing and developing. Looking
ahead, we are now turning to you to raise an additional $25 million over the
next five years. Your one-time or multi-year capital gift can significantly and
positively impact our school. With your help, SAR can successfully sustain its
solid financial footing.
Supporting SAR is everyone’s obligation. Please give generously—commit to an
annual contribution, consider a capital gift, and think about including SAR in your
estate planning.
Thank you in advance for your support, which makes a world of difference in the
lives of our students.
Teena L. Lerner, PhD
Chair, SAR Development Committee
SAR Parent, 1984-2010
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SAR ACADEMY & SAR HIGH SCHOOL
2009-2010 financials
2009-2010 REVENUE
SAR CAPITAL CAMPAIGN
SAR ACADEMY AND HIGH SCHOOL
Tuition and grants cover 86.4% of our needs.
Remaining 13.6% is $3.4 million, which must be
secured through fundraising campaigns.
THE PAST YEAR
SEPT 2009-AUG 2010
CAPITAL SPENDING (in millions)
EDUCATIONAL
Loan Repayments
Interest Expense
Construction/Building Improvements
GRANTS AND OTHER
TOTAL
2.9%
$1.36
0.55
0.57
$2.48
THE PAST TEN YEARS
13.6%
SEPT 2000-AUG 2010
FUNDRAISING
TOTAL CAPITAL SPENDING (in millions)
0.5%
Construction/Building Improvements**
Interest Expense
ENDOWMENT
TOTAL
WITHDRAWAL
$38.47
5.96
$44.43
SOURCE OF FUNDS
83.0%
Capital Funds Raised
Funds Borrowed, Net of Repayment
TUITION, ANNUAL
FUND, AND FEES
TOTAL
$30.44
13.99
$44.43
(NET OF SCHOLARSHIP
**CONSTRUCTION/BUILDING
IMPROVEMENTS OVER PAST 10 YEARS
AWARDS OF $4.6
MILLION)
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
2009-2010 EXPENSES
SAR ACADEMY AND HIGH SCHOOL
Total Expenses $24.8 Million*
Salaries and Benefits are 85.1% of total.
Construction of High School
New Junior High School area
Renovations to 7th and 8th grade area
New all-weather ball field
Renovations to 1st-3rd grade areas
New playgrounds in ELC and Academy
Renovations to the ELC
SMARTboards
Rewiring for Internet and Wi-Fi
9.5%
THE NEXT FIVE YEARS
FACULTY BENEFITS
SEPT 2010-AUG 2015
9.9%
BUSINESS OFFICE,
TECHNOLOGY AND FACILITIES:
SALARIES AND BENEFITS
$25 MILLION, FIVE-YEAR GOAL
0.3%
Loan Retirement Plus Interest
Construction Projects (Academy + HS)
Building Improvement Fund
CAPITAL SPENDING NEEDS (in millions)
OTHER EXPENSES
1.8%
TOTAL
LEGAL, ACCOUNTING AND
OTHER SERVICES
$15.00
6.00
4.00
$25.00
0.9%
TECHNOLOGY
1.4%
STUDENT ACTIVITIES,
TRIPS AND TEAMS
2.3%
SUPPLIES AND EQUIPMENT
5.8%
FACILITY EXPENSES
2.4%
65.7%
FOOD PROGRAM
FACULTY SALARIES
*Not including construction, improvements, interest expense and loan repayments.
All figures unaudited, as of 8.31.10
SAR ACADEMY & SAR HIGH SCHOOL
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ADMINISTRATION & PROGRAMMING
2010-2011
SAR ACADEMY
Rabbi Binyamin Krauss (’84)
Principal
Marcia Jacobowitz
Associate Principal
Sharon Richter
Associate Principal
Milly Rosner
Associate Principal
BUSINESS OFFICE
Debra May (’85)
Executive Director
Heidi Greenbaum
EDITOR
Heidi Greenbaum
Director of Development
HIGH SCHOOL LIAISON:
DESIGN & LAYOUT
Daphne Eidman
Ahlgrim Design Group
Marc Spivak
Director of Technology
ACADEMY HIGHLIGHTS
Becky Hirschfield
Associate Principal
NEW PARENT BREAKFAST
Dr. Jane Davidson
School Psychologist
2010-2011
SAR HIGH SCHOOL
Rabbi Tully Harcsztark
Principal
Dr. Mark Shinar
Director of General Studies
Nancy Lerea
Associate Principal
Rabbi Jonathan Kroll
Associate Principal
Dr. Rivka Schwartz
Assistant Principal
Lisa Schlaff
Assistant Principal and
Israel Guidance
Dr. Russell Hoffman
School Psychologist
Dr. Michelle Humi
School Psychologist
Marjorie Jacobs
Director of College Counseling
Michael Courtney
Associate Director of College
Counseling
DIRECTOR OF DEVELOPMENT
Tami Bezborodko (’83),
Barbara Sopher (’80)
Geet Engel
Director of Finance
2009-2010
SAR COMMUNITY EVENTS
Dr. Barbara Gochberg
Interim Director, Inclusion Program
2010
ANNUAL REPORT
PTC CO-CHAIRS:
Rabbi Moshe Drelich
Associate Principal
Deganit Ronen
Associate Principal
2009-2010
PARENT TEACHER COUNCIL
(PTC) PROGRAMS & CHAIRS
Stephanie Minkove (’91),
Jennifer Fenster, Academy Chairs
PARENT VOLUNTEERS
Alyssa Herman Kronisch,
Judy Friedman
ELC NIGHT
Liz Spevack, Erica Edelman, Nava
Cohen
ELC OUTDOOR CONCERT
Nava Cohen, Stephanie Minkove (’91),
Liz Spevack, ELC Chairs
PARENTING SYMPOSIUM
ACADEMY SPRING PARENT FORUMS
Elissa Shay Ordan, Jessica Rezak
Schwab
Rosesara Greenspun (’86),
Stephanie Minkove (’91), Chairs
SAR COOKBOOK
Blimi & Benjy Berger, Bina & Steve
Dabbah, Gail & Avi Friedman, Abbie &
Moshe Greenberg, Bryna & Joshua
Landes, Audrey & Scott Weisz, Hosts
SAR SPIRITWEAR
PHOTOGRAPHY
Gilad Mor, as well as staff,
students, parents and alumni
who submitted photos.
Thank you!
Shoshana Winter, Beth Schwartz,
Edina Sultanik Silver
Susie Loberfeld
YOM HAATZMAUT CELEBRATION
Marcella Marcus, Susie Loberfeld
LEARNING TO LOOK
HIGH SCHOOL HIGHLIGHTS
Amy Michelman, Tami Weitzman,
Chairs
LIAISON COMMITTEE
Stephanie Minkove (’91),
Fagie Wachsman, Chairs
Mona Freidin Abrams, Darona Bernstein, Shoshi Katz, Shari Lindenbaum,
Daphne Rawson, Neal Smolar,
Karen Sperling
Dahlia Kalter & Mark Nordlicht, Hosts
NYSAIS ACCREDITATION PROCESS
SIDDUR SPARKS
Cara S. Trager
Adina Garbuz, Rachel Berger
Stephanie Minkove (’91),
Jennifer Fenster
Marcella Marcus, Gail Schorr, Susan
Tessel, Lauren Weiser, Chairs
CONTRIBUTING WRITER
BOOK FAIR
Debra David (’78), High School Chair
ACADEMY GRADUATION
Heidi Kane
Adrienne Alexander, Ana Lilienfeld,
Cindy Safdeye, Liz Samuels
JUNIORS’ COLLEGE NIGHT
Ana Lilienfeld, Daniela Reik,
Jennifer Saal
PARENT SUPPORT COMMITTEE
Andrea Harris, Dina Sterman, Chairs
Lisa Grundman
Assistant Director of College
Counseling
Karen Goldscheider
Israel Guidance
Lisa Schlaff
Israel Guidance
Rabbi Jeremy Spierer
Israel Guidance
If you’d like to discuss making a gift, or leaving a bequest to SAR, please contact Heidi Greenbaum,
Director of Development, greenh@saracademy.org or 718.548.1717 ext. 1256.
“ SAR is known not only for its unique architecture, but for its openness and academic excellence,
for its warm environment and its endeavor to instill and inculcate in each of its students a love
for Medinat Yisrael and the Jewish people, and virtues and values we will live with for the rest of
our lives. It is our responsibility, as the graduating Class of 2010, to continue this tradition and
become leaders of the next generation of Jewish men and women.”
YISHAI CHAMUDOT — Class Representative, SAR Academy Graduation 2010
2009-2010 OFFICERS, BOARD OF TRUSTEES, AND BOARD COMMITTEES
Ludwig Jesselson z"l
Founding Chairman,
Board of Trustees
Ludwig Bravmann
Vice Chairman Jack C. Bendheim
President
Harvey Beker Chairman
Executive Committee
Michael Jesselson
Sidney Newman
David M. Sable
Dr. Bernard M. Weiner Vice Presidents
Dr. Harvey Bennett
Treasurer
Nachman Mazurek
Secretary
BOARD OF TRUSTEES
Hudi Bellin Askowitz (’87)
Dr. Tzvi Bar-David
Benjy Belfer
Louis Benjamin
Ethan (Tani) Benovitz (’82)
Jeff Bogursky
Saul E. Burian
Ilana Chill
Shelley Cohen
Adrienne Cooper (’78)
Deborah E. David (’78)
Abe Eisenstat
Avi Friedman
Robert M. Friedman
Stanley Fortgang
Alan E. Goldberg
Marvin Goldstein
Dr. Steven I. Goldstein
Alan M. Greenberg
Rabbi Irving Greenberg
Moshe Greenberg (’76)
Ira A. Greenstein
Ari Hait
Adam Ingber
Benson Jerusalmi
Esther Joel
Howard Jonas
Dr. Dov Kahane (’72)
Nathan Kahn
Meyer Koplow
Dr. Michael Kramer
Faye Landes
Josh Landes
Dr. Larry Lerner
Polina Liberman
Nathan Lindenbaum
Dr. Donald Liss
Steven Major
Daniel Perla
Steven S. Pretsfelder
David Quint
Michael Raskas
Tobias B. Schapiro
Samuel Shapiro
Gail Schorr
Mark Semer
Elissa Shay Ordan
Susan Shay Zev Skolnick
Marilyn Sopher
Jonathan Tropper (’83)
Alan Wasserman (’75)
Spencer M. Waxman
Jonathan N. Wiener
HONORARY TRUSTEES
AUDIT COMMITTEE
Eva Lefkowitz
Louise Lipman Esther Rothstein Rabbi Charles Sheer
Barry Aranoff
Chairperson
Ira A. Greenstein
Adam Ingber
COMMUNITY TRUSTEES
Dr. Norman Kahan
Dr. Sheldon Kupferman
Dr. Martin L. Leib
Michael M. Marton
Dr. Stanley F. Schoenbach
Ziggy Spindler Milton Steinberg
Abraham Zion
Mark S. Zion
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
Jayne & Harvey Beker
Giti & Jack Bendheim
Ludwig Bravmann
Tamar & Abe Eisenstat
Linda & Michael Jesselson
Sandy & Nathan Kahn
Teena & Larry Lerner
David Sable
Bettina & Spencer Waxman
FINANCE COMMITTEE
Sandy Kahn
Acting Chairperson
Teena Lerner
Vice Chairperson
Harvey Beker
Jack C. Bendheim
Tani Benovitz (’82)
Michael Jesselson
Nachman Mazurek
SAR ACADEMY
SAR HIGH SCHOOL
Jesselson Campus
655 West 254th Street
Riverdale, NY 10471
718.548.1717
www.saracademy.org
Dedicated to the Memory of JJ Greenberg
503 West 259th Street
Riverdale, NY 10471
718.548.2727
www.sarhighschool.org
DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE
Teena Lerner
Chairperson
Hudi Bellin Askowitz (’87)
Louis Benjamin
Tani Benovitz (’82)
Lawrence Burian
Shelley Cohen
Tamar Eisenstat
Alyssa Herman Kronisch
Dan Perla
SAR ACADEMY BOARD
OF EDUCATION
Dr. David Noble
Chairperson
Judith Ballan
Dr. Jayne Beker
Dr. Giti Bendheim
Dr. Hal Blumenfeld
Dr. Barbara Gochberg
Dr. Idana Goldberg
Tobi Haims
Dr. Laurel Hecht
Rachel Jacoby Rosenfield
Gail Schorr
Monica Shapiro
Susan Tessel
Noah Weisberger