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Yavneh Academy (New Jersey)

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Yavneh Academy
Location
Map
155 North Farview Avenue, Paramus, New Jersey 07652

United States
Information
Established1942
PrincipalRabbi Jonathan Knapp
GradesK – 8
Websitewww.yavnehacademy.org

The Yavneh Academy is a Modern Orthodox Jewish day school located in Paramus, New Jersey, United States. It educates over 800 students from pre-kindergarten through eighth grade. Yavneh's graduating class of 2016 consisted of approximately 90 children. The school's motto is "Stimulating the mind, Nourishing the soul." The school was originally established in Paterson, New Jersey.

Yavneh's current principal is Rabbi Jonathan Knapp.[1]

In 2006, the SINAI Special Needs Institute, an educational program for Jewish children and young adults with special needs, opened its first full-time Jewish elementary school program in Northern New Jersey at Yavneh Academy.[2]

History

Yavneh started in 1942 in Paterson, New Jersey, but has roots going back at least seventeen years earlier. Initially, it had a six-child kindergarten, with classes held in a local kosher delicatessen.[3] Two years later, it moved to 11th Avenue and 25th Street. It shared its space with the Paterson Talmud Torah, an older, part-time school, that had graduated its first confirmation class in 1925. The two merged in 1950. A few years later, the combined institution bought the Griggs estate and built a new campus, which it started using for the 1954-1955 school year.

Yavneh used that campus until 1981, when it took over a five acre school campus in Paramus.[3][4] In 1986, the Paterson Public Schools district opened the Rosa L. Parks School of Fine and Performing Arts, a high school, on the Griggs campus.

One piece of the old Yavneh remains in Paterson. In 1971, the Jewish Federation of Northern New Jersey, successor to Paterson's Jewish Community Council,[5] built low income housing for seniors across the street from the Yavneh Academy campus.[6] The Yavneh Men's Club, forerunner of the school's parents' association, donated two if its Torah scrolls to the Federation Apartments for use in an on-site synagogue. That synagogue continues to function, using the same two Torahs, which were refurbished in 2016.[7]

Awards and recognition

Yavneh Academy has received many awards including: winning the Stock Market Game in New Jersey for middle school students in 1995, 1996, 2001, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2012, and 2016 led by math teacher Howard Goldberg.[8] They have also won numerous awards for chess, basketball, hockey, law fair, and debate.

Athletics

Yavneh Academy has a basketball team, and a fairly new hockey team. The hockey team won the Yeshiva League 2006 floor hockey Championships beating SAR Academy, and were the runners-up in the 2007 league losing to SAR Academy, and making it to the championship game in 2008, against Moriah School of Englewood, which they eventually lost in a close match. The Girls' basketball team won the 2003 championship, going undefeated. Now, they also have a girls' hockey team.

Yavneh's boys' hockey team beat Ramaz in the championship in 2012 by the final of 7-3. Led by star players Daniel Levy, Ari Fuchs, Jordan Soclof, and Matty Reinhart, the team bulldozed through their opponents on the way to a banner season. They were defeated by Moriah in the semifinals in 2013 on a controversial call that ended the season. In 2014, the Yavneh team managed to go 5-5 led by captain Benjy Feintuch, after being predicted to go 0-10. An astonishing and record breaking 28 goals by Feintuch helped Yavneh make it to the playoffs only to be defeated by YNJ by a lopsided score of 12-3. Feintuch had all three goals in a heartbreaking loss for the captain who was the only sixth grader on the 2012 championship team and was first line as a 7th grader.

In 2013-14, Yavneh had a terrific basketball team led by star captain Noam Kuritzky. Recognized as a top player in his age group, Kuritzky, along with Avi Eisenstadter, lead the team all season with their stellar play and outstanding attitude toward the game and other players. Yavneh compiled a 9-1 record in the regular season, never winning a game by fewer than 17 points with their only loss coming in a close game at Moriah. Having secured home court advantage, Yavneh went on to beat Ramaz in the quarterfinals in a 58-44 victory and defeated Moriah 59-39 in the semifinals to make it to the championship game. They lost to the undefeated SAR Sting 48-36 in a hard fought championship game but nonetheless put together an outstanding season. The team was coached by longtime Yavneh gym teacher, William Calise whom the team thanked following the season for being their athletic director and coach for close to a decade.

In 2013-14, Eric Gulich led the soccer team to an undefeated championship season in the first year of the middle school yeshiva soccer league, setting records that have been deemed unbreakable, as he scored 42 goals in a mere 8 games.

Chesed

In addition to hosting Chesed Fairs for its students, Yavneh Academy arranges Chesed outings for its students. One such example is Yavneh's participation in the Hebrew Free Burial Association's Cemetery Clean-Up Project (Pictures of Yavneh Students cleaning Silver Lake Cemetery). Another example is the JCC Sukkot program. Yavneh also participates actively in the Salute to Israel Parade on Manhattan's Fifth Avenue. Two years ago the theme that Yavneh was given was "Holidays Enlighten Our Lives", and the theme for last year was "60 Years of Patriotic Pride".

Notable alumni

References

  1. ^ 5767 - Yavneh Academy Board of Education - 2007-2008, Yavneh Academy. Accessed April 3, 2008.
  2. ^ Goldrich, Lois. New resource for special needs youngsters, Jewish Standard, September 14, 2006.
  3. ^ a b Wilson, David (2012-01-01). Jews of Paterson. Charleston, South Carolina: Arcadia Publishing. p. 28. ISBN 9780738597508.
  4. ^ "Jewish Education". kehilalinks.jewishgen.org. Retrieved 2017-03-03.
  5. ^ "Jewish Federation". kehilalinks.jewishgen.org. Retrieved 2017-03-03.
  6. ^ GOLDRICH, LOIS (August 2, 2013). "Seniors find a haven in Paterson". Jewish Standard. Retrieved 2017-03-03. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)
  7. ^ Matkowsky, Lisa (May 7, 2015). "Fair Lawn Residents Salvage Torahs in Paterson". Jeiwsh Link of New Jersey. Retrieved 2017-03-03. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)
  8. ^ Legend Mikey Pollack in 2009 came second place in law fair Search on "Yavneh" "Stock Market Game", Google News Archive. Accessed August 28, 2007.
  9. ^ Palmer, Joanne. "Who was that with Cory Booker? Adam Szubin, Iran deal defender, on loving Israel and growing up in Teaneck", Jewish Standard, October 15, 2015. Accessed January 28, 2017. "Mr. Szubin (the initial S in his name is irrationally silent, so when it's said aloud it begins with the Z) is Teaneck born and bred; he went to Yavneh Academy until high school, when he commuted across the river to Ramaz, the modern Orthodox day school on Manhattan’s Upper East Side."

40°55′49″N 74°03′55″W / 40.930296°N 74.065143°W / 40.930296; -74.065143

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