|
 |
Consistent
with the spirit and practice of the Jewish tradition,
Temple Beth Am is dedicated to educating our youth in the principles
and practices of our heritage.
Here are the
members of our fine staff of Educators for 2007-2008.
|
| |
|
| |
Amy
Brickman
(Bachelor
of Jewish Education, Certificate in Early Childhood Jewish Education
from Hebrew College; Candidate for Master of Special Education at
Lesley University).
Amy has taught Religious/Hebrew School for Fifteen years, eight of
them at Temple Beth Am. Amy is the Student Support and Resource Teacher,
working with students who need extra help, and children who may have
learning disabilities or special needs. She is also an Assistant Teacher
at the MetroWest Jewish Day School in Framingham. Amy and her family,
Josh, Nate and Edie, are members of Temple Beth Am. |
| |
|
| |
Sandy
Cohen
has returned to Temple Beth Am to teach 6th grade making this
her 12th year as a Jewish Educator. With Mrs. Zide as her first teacher
and Phyllis Trincia as her confirmation teacher, her ties to Temple
Beth Am span well over 20 years. Because of her love for Israel and
the hebrew language, Rabbi Splansky suggested she travel to Israel,
live on a kibbutz, and complete an Ulpan. So, in 1995, that's exactly
what she did and the rest, as they say, is history. She taught 4th
and 6th grade at Temple Beth Torah in Holliston for 5 years before
returning to her beloved Temple Beth Am. Her enthusiastic love of
Torah, Israel, Hebrew, and teaching are sure to make the 6th grade
the best they can be. When she is not teaching, Sandy is night shift
labor and delivery nurse at The Brigham and Women's Hospital. |
| |
|
| |
Rhonda
Magier-Cohen
is starting her 14th year as a teacher in the Temple Beth Am
Religious School. Before teaching 3rd grade, Mrs. Magier-Cohen taught
grades 4, 5, and 7. Her strengths are in providing a warm and nurturing
environment while teaching children to decode the Hebrew consonants
and vowels. She uses games and incentives to motivate the children
and to make learning fun! A Framingham native, Mrs. Magier-Cohen graduated
from the University of Rochester with highest distinction. In addition
to teaching 3rd grade at Temple Beth Am, she tutors children in Bar/Bat
Mitzvah preparation and is an approved tutor for Temple Shir Tikva
in Wayland. This year, she is looking forward to working with Cantor
Schechtman on Thursday afternoons to help prepare our current B'nai
mitzvah candidates. Mrs. Magier-Cohen is married and her two children
have been enrolled in our program since pre-school. She volunteers
in the classrooms at Barbieri School, helps the Fuller School PTO
with fundraising efforts, and serves on Temple Beth Am's worship committee.
|
| |
|
| |
Faye
Concetti is delighted to be beginning her 6th year teaching at
Temple Beth Am Religious School! During the week, Faye teaches Kindergarten
at The Charlotte A. Dunning School in Framingham. Previously to this,
she taught Preschool at Temple Emeth in Chestnut Hill. Holding a degree
in Early Childhood Education from Wheelock College, and several years
experience of working with children and families, Faye has a solid
foundation of working in the classroom and helping each child to reach
his/her fullest potential! Jewish Education is very exciting to Faye
as she combines her knowledge of child development with her strong
backround in Jewish Education. Faye looks forward to a wonderful year
filled with fun, learning and growth! |
| |
|
| |
Liz
Hofstetter is delighted to be starting her 2nd year of teaching
in the Temple Beth Am Religious School this year. After being a member
of the Temple for the last eight years, participating in her daughter's
Jewish education, converting to Judaism shortly before her daughter's
Bat Mitzvah and taking several courses through the Temple, including
a year of Hebrew, she thought it was time to explore a new role. Having
taught Preschool for the last twenty-two years teaching is in her
blood. She looks forward to the challenge of combining her passion
for teaching with her interest in Judaism. |
| |
|
| |
Don
Levey is thrilled to be starting his 3rd to the Temple Beth Am
community, though his family has lived in Framingham for the past
10 1/2 years. His wife is Sandra, and they have two young boys: Philip,
7 1/2, and Malcolm, 5. Philip had completed the Temple Beth Am pre-K
preschool program in 2005, which is how they became more familiar
with Temple Beth Am. Don also taught 5th grade (weekdays) at Temple
Beth Am for the 2005-6 school year. Don grew up in the metropolitan
New York area, where he started as a religious school music teacher
and cantorial soloist approximately 27 years ago. He have taught in
a number of schools, and sung from a number of pulpits, since then;
last year he completed his 14th year of service a Cantorial Soloist
and Music Director at Temple Shalom Emeth in Burlington, MA. Don has
also been a youth group songleader and music consultant, and has spent
several summers teaching music at YMHA camps in New York. Don attended
a number of universities, graduating in 1994 with a BS in Psychology
from CSU Sacramento. |
| |
|
| |
Jason
Oppenheimer
has been involved with the Reform Jewish Youth movement for the
past 13 years as he has been involved with NFTY and Jewish Camping
(URJ Camp Coleman) throughout his middle school and high school years,
and beyond into the professional realm where he has worked the past
two years as an informal Jewish educator. He currently serves Temple
Beth Am as its youth educator, but also teaches 5th, 7th, and 9th
grade classes in the religious school. Jason studied film and philosophy
at Washington University in St. Louis and he brings that educational
background into the classroom, utilizing multi-media as a tool for
enhancing his students’ contemporary appreciation and knowledge of
Jewish History and Culture. He brings a passion to his teaching that
has been absorbed from years of programmatic work for NFTY and summer
camp, and his enthusiasm for experiential education is truly his greatest
asset. |
| |
|
| |
Nancy
Rotatori has a long history with Temple Beth Am. She attended
religious school, was consecrated, became a Bat Mitzvah and was confirmed
here. She received her Bachelor of Arts from the University of Massachusetts
in Amherst with a degree in elementary education and a minor in Sociology.
She returned to Temple Beth Am as a preschool and a kindergarten teacher
almost ten years ago. She also works at the Beginning Years Family
Network in Sutton, Ma. as a Program Facilitator. She is currently
working as a substitute teacher in Grafton where she lives with her
husband and three children. |
| |
|
| |
Jodi
Rubin is entering her second year as the fourth grade Hebrew school
teacher. Jodi holds a degree in Elementary Education from the University
of Vermont and a Master of Professional Studies from Manhattanville
College, where she specialized in Reading and Writing. Jodi previously
taught kindergarten for six years at Bi-Cultural Day school, a Jewish
Day School in Stamford, Connecticut. Jodi recently moved to Massachusetts
with her husband and daughter. She looks forward to getting to know
the community as well as becoming more involved with the temple. |
| |
|
| |
Phyllis
Trincia received her BA degree from Ohio University with a major
in speech/language therapy and minors in modern dance and psychology.
She went on to get her Masters Degree with a major in speech/language
therapy and minors in guidance and psychology. She has been teaching
at Temple Beth Am for over twenty years in many grades--currently
teaching Bible to K-3. She is also currently employed as a part-time
speech/language pathologist at Murdock Charter Middle School in Chelmsford,
MA. She has been employed by Astra Pharmaceutical doing voice-overs
for the company. She has also taught adult and children's education
classes in dance, exercise, public speaking and drama. Her philosophy
of teaching is to instill respect in her students and to make learning
an exciting experience. |
| |
|
|