The Gwendolyn and Joseph Straus Lower School

 

The Gwendolyn and Joseph Straus Lower School at Moriah services children in grades 1 through 5. Under the leadership of Morah Odelia Danishefsky, as well as her team of experienced teachers, students are educated in a program that meets the highest levels of academic excellence.

The school day is divided equally between General and Jewish Studies and students have scheduled time each week for art, music, gym, computers & Hebrew Immersion. Our after school club and choir programs offer valuable extracurricular learning and recreational activities.

 

Our Lower School philosophy aims to instill a passion for Torah, Judaism, Eretz Yisrael, and an appreciation of chessed as an integral part of our lives, while equally providing a General Studies education of the highest caliber. We look at each child individually and map out a course of instruction and services that will best allow him/her to reach the greatest level of independence and achievement. We recognize that each child has special talents, and it is our responsibility to cultivate these talents and offer opportunities for every child to shine and succeed.

 

Through our Support Services Department, skillfully led by Mrs. Alana Green, special educators, speech language therapists, psychologists, outside learning consultants and Bergen County Special Services personnel work in partnership utilizing research-based, cutting edge methodology to create an individual plan that diversifies instruction and targets the needs of each child. Please click here to learn more about the robust support services department in our Lower School which highlight our Gesher Yehuda program and our resource support program.

 

Technology is a prominent tool utilized in our Lower School to enhance the learning process, effectively prepare our students to be 21st century thinkers, and provide assistance and additional opportunities for mastery to students receiving support. These tools, together with our experienced and gifted faculty enable us to differentiate instruction, conduct ongoing assessments of our students, and tailor our curriculum for every child.

 

Communication is a key component of our Lower School and we value our partnership with parents to set our students on a developmental path that will yield academic and social achievement. As a team, we work together to enable our students to flourish and excel. Trips and annual science fairs reinforce classroom learning, sharpen social and collaborative skills, and instill in our students added excitement and pride in their many and varied academic accomplishments.