While the beginning of a school year always brings new excitement, for Yeshiva Har Torah – a Centrist Orthodox Jewish day school serving students from around Nassau County and Queens – this year’s first day of school also meant opening a new, state-of-the-art Early Learning Center.
The 42,000 square foot new facility, located on a two-acre campus in Little Neck, was custom built for students in Pre-K through second grade. A great deal of thought and sensitivity has gone into planning the building to ensure that it would be a place in which the youngest children can grow and flourish. With a designated hands-on educational kitchen, sensory gym, makerspace, and amazing indoor and outdoor play areas, this new edifice will be a special place where young learners will receive the foundation for their entire Yeshiva Har Torah experience.
According to Ms. Elisheva Langstein, Assistant Principal Grades 1 and 2, “We not only have beautiful new classrooms. We also have so many spaces in the building that serve as extensions of our classrooms and promote inquiry based and hands-on learning, exploration, and play.”
According to Morah Chaya Wernick, Yeshiva Har Torah’s new Director of Early Childhood, the new campus will enhance learning opportunities for the school’s youngest learners.
“After months of planning and working through all of the details, it is so exciting to walk through the halls and hear the sound of joyful children learning, playing, and utilizing the amazing amenities we built and planned for them.”
Rabbi Gary Menchel, Yeshiva Har Torah’s Rosh HaYeshiva/Head of School, said that older students at the existing campus will see immediate upgrades, as a result of the space freed up. “This is a dream come true. Not only will our young children enjoy a facility that inspires their growth, but our 3rd through 8th graders will now be able to take full advantage of their own beautiful building, with a number of enhancements already planned,” he said. The converted spaces will include a new student activities center, additional classrooms, a larger library, a beit midrash annex, and a unique Hebrew language learning space.
Yeshiva Har Torah was founded in 1989 with 19 students and has continued to grow throughout its history. It currently educates over 800 students, with far more applicants than available spots each year. The growing school is a testament to the quality of the students, educators and growing facilities that encourage a strong curriculum and positive environment in which students can flourish. Interim Associate Principal, Mrs. Sara Duani says, “beyond the walls of this beautiful new campus lie infinite opportunities for each and every one of our students to blossom.”
Mr. Ephi Strazynski, Executive Director, feels that the new campus also serves as a statement about the school’s investment in the local Jewish community. “Aside from the beauty and uniqueness of the building, which caters to grades Pre-K-2nd grade, we know that there are not enough spots in yeshiva day schools in our area. Our new Early Learning Center helps us offer and maintain our commitment to our current constituent communities, and hopefully serves as a reinvestment in the Little Neck Jewish community,” according to Strazynski.
To that end, the new campus will also enable Temple Torah, the distinguished congregation that sold the property to Yeshiva Har Torah, to continue to serve constituents for many years to come. The congregation will have use of a new sanctuary on Sabbaths and holidays, as well as room for programming and classes.
Yeshiva Har Torah’s new Early Learning Center represents a significant milestone, promising a bright future for both the school and the local Jewish community. With upgraded facilities, more opportunities, and a commitment to growth, the future looks bright for this Torah institution that has served its students and community for over three decades.
