FAQs
FAQ's Frequently Asked Questions about Magen Avot
BOYS' SCHOOL
What is the "shitas halimud" of your school?
Magen Avos is a Gemara based yeshiva which strives to give the boys good gemara skills in order to enable them to go into the yeshiva high schools of their choice. We begin teaching gemara in fifth grade and they learn approximately seven prakim of gemara b'Iyun and another fourteen prakim of Gemara Bekius. Chumash and Navi are learned with the Taamei hamikra (trupp) and mishnayos are learned by heart with song. The school is endorsed by Gedolim and local Rabbanim who visit the school and have contact with the children. Physical disciplinary methods are unacceptable in our school.
What is your daily schedule?
- 1st and 2nd grade learn from 8:00AM-1:30PM. There is an option for afternoon program until 3:30 PM from an additional cost.
- 3rd and 4th grades learn from 8:00-3:30 PM
- 5th and 6th grades learn from 8:00-4:30 PM
- 7th and 8th grades learn from 8:00-5:15 PM
What is your curriculum?
Generally five hours of limudei kosdesh in the morning including chumash, mishna, navi, halacha, gemara and three hours of limudei chol which includes math, Hebrew, English, science, history, geography and physical education. Our school is accredited and supervised by the Israeli Board of Education.
What are the services offered for a new Oleh?
Olim receive Ulpan five times a week during school hours. There are two ulpan teachers, one for the younger division and one for the older division and they are divided into groups of two to four students. Ulpan is required for all new oleh students and is considered an additional tuition cost. In moving to Eretz Yisrael parents must understand that investment in a support system for the child, in order to facilitate healthy adaptation to a new language and environment, is essential.
What is the physical environment like for my active son?
The school is built on a beautiful campus of ten dunams (approx. two acres) with several playgrounds, a basket ball court and soccer field. There is a Hebrew library opened nearly every day for the child with a more literary bent.
What is the yearly schedule?
The boys' school runs for eleven months from Rosh Chodesh Elul until Tisha B'Av with a summer break of three weeks during bein hazmanim. During the summer zman of July there is half day learning of limudei kodesh and half day optional swimming program.
Is there any accommodation for the child with learning issues?
There are several special education teachers on staff who take children out of classes and work with them. There is a subsidized fee for this service. In addition, there is a guidance counselor on staff and a psychologist from the municipality of Beit Shemesh who works with the school..
**School bus service has been available in the past years.
Parents who are interested in any or all of the additional services mentioned must register for them by June 1st.
PreSchool
How many preschool classes (gans) do you have and for what ages?
There are separate classes for three year olds, four year olds and five year olds (gan chovah) in both the boys' division and the girls' division respectively. As of now there is a total of B"H ten preschool classes.
Where are the gans located?
The three year olds gans are presently located in Ramat Beit Shemesh A, the four and five year old gans have parallel classes with half in Ramat Beit Shemesh A and half in the school building in Ramat Beir Shemesh B. This may be subject to change.
What is the daily schedule?
The gans run from 8:00 AM-1:30 PM Sunday through Thursday. 8:00-12:00 PM on Fridays. There is an option for Yom Limudim Aroch (YULA) afternoon program in the four and five year old gans that last until 3:10 PM for the girls' preschool and 3:30 PM for the boys' Sunday through Thursday, for an additional cost. An afternoon ganenet comes into the class and does crafts, music, drama etc. with them and they can return home with their older brothers or sisters who are on the longer day schedule.
What is the yearly schedule?
The boys' and girls' gans are on the same yearly schedule as the girls' school, including the regular two month summer vacation. School begins Sept 1st and ends June 30th. There is a day camp run by the preschool during the month of July for a minimal cost.
What is the curriculum?
In the boys' gans, reading is taught beginning with letter recognition in the three year old gan. By the time the boys go into first grade they are already reading. The girls' gans do not emphasize reading in the same way, rather they teach letter recognition in gan chovah and holistic word recognition. (Proper reading skills are taught in first grade.) Besides the reading, the children in the boys' and girls' gan learn about the chagim, the parsha of the week, the world around them, seasons, basic math etc. There is a music teacher who comes once a week.
Who are the teachers?
The boys' and girls' gans are taught by trained and experienced ganenets with Israeli Board of Education degrees, many of whom have been with us for quite a lot of successful years.
**School bus service has been offered in the past years.
Parents who are interested in any or all of the additional services mentioned must register for them by June 1st.
GIRLS' SCHOOL
What is your daily schedule?
- 1st-4th grades 8:30-1:30 PM Sunday-Thursday
- 5th-8th grades 8:30-3:10 PM. Sunday-Thursday
In the 1st-4th grades there is an option for an afternoon enrichment program called the Yom Linudim Aroch (YULA) program which is detailed further down on the FAQs list. This program is from 1:30-3:10 PM daily.
All grades 8:30-12:05 on Fridays.
What is your curriculum?
Our curriculum is very similar to the Bais Yaakovs in the U.S.with a balanced Limudei Kodesh and Limudei Chol program. The girls learn Chumash, Navi, Yahadus, Dinim, Pirkei Avos, Jewish history, Hebrew language, grammar, writing, math, science, geography, social studies and English language. In addition there are many and varied extracurricular events going on throughout the school year which offer the students opportunities to utilize their talents for positive, healthy learning and growth. Our school is accredited by the Israeli Board of Education and under its constant supervision. The teachers are Bais Yaakov graduates and the hashakafa they teach and represent is of the Chareidi world.
What is your yearly schedule?
School commences on Sept. 1st and concludes on June 30th. Winter vacation is during the week of Chanuka. There is an exciting, fun filled day camp in the month of July for a minimal cost.
Are there accommodations made for the child with special learning needs?
There are several special education teachers on staff who work under the guidance of a supervisor to address the needs of the child who is challenged. An individualized program is designed for each student and a schedule is tailor made to insure that she is only pulled out of classes that she will not be held responsible for. The main teachers and the special ed. teachers are constantly in touch with each other in order to obtain maximum benefit from the program. In many cases, the fee for this service is partially subsidized.
***A message from the heart. If you are considering making Aliyah and your child is especially challenged and having a very difficult time coping in her learning environment where ever you currently live, it has been our experience that aliyah can be very traumatic for such a child. The change of language and expectations can be too much for her to handle. We strongly recommend asking a detailed shaila to a Rav who knows you when considering plans for Aliyah.
What services are offered for the new olim?
For the first year of Aliyah there are additional costs that will be added to the tuition for Ulpan and Tutoring. These costs are not optional for the first year oleh as they are critical for the student's successful adaptation to the new country and its standards.
*Ulpan- The student is taken out of several times a week by the ulpan teacher during subjects that he/she will not be held responsible for in the first year such as geography ,
science, history etc. The teacher works with the student in a small group setting on Hebrew language skills (vocabulary, expression, composition and reading comprehension) according to grade level. In addition, the ulpan teacher puts much effort into the student‘s emotional well being and adjustment and serves as a liason for the new Olim parents with respect to school concerns..
*Tutoring-
While the Ulpan program works on Hebrew skills, the student still needs to keep up with the class work, homework assignments, reports and tests in her required classes. It is for this reason that we began our in house tutoring program which is coordinated by the Ulpan teacher. The tutors work with the students on the subject material that is being taught in school. They and the coordinator are in constant touch with the teachers to see where the class is holding and understand the needs of the child in order to help them succeed in the classroom setting. The minimum commitment that the school requires for the new Oleh from 3rd grade and up is two hours of tutoring per week. The cost is approximately half of what private tutors take and the tutoring is done during school hours. After the chagim, the coordinator or the parents may discuss adding hours based on individual need
What is the afternoon program that you offer?
The 1st - 4th grades finish their school day officially at 1:30 PM, while the 5th -8th grades finish at 3:10 PM. The school offers a chugim/enrichment program called Yom Limudim Aroch (YULA) with crafts, drama, dance, music, computers, baking, scrap booking, jewelry making, puppet theater creating and more. The hours are 1:30-3:10, Sunday through Thursday, with two classes per day. The cost is for the whole package, there is no option to pick particular days. The 4th and 5th grades have some days that they learn longer hours in the regular curriculum so they only have two and three days of YULA a week rather than the five days in the younger grades and the cost is adjusted accordingly.
School bus service has been available in the past years
Parents who are interested in any or all of the additional services mentioned must register for them by June 1st.