A New Computer Lab!

Through the generosity of Arlette Snyder, the Benard L. Maas Foundation, Dorit Adler and the Ted Adler Memorial Fund, Maida Portnoy, the Leflein Family, and many HDS parents, and through the hard work of the 2004-2005 HDS Student Council, which raised $500 through a book sale and $11,000 through grantwriting, at the start of the 2005-2006 academic year HDS inaugurated a brand new, state-of-the-art computer lab. The lab contains 11 Apple iMac G5 computers with 17 inch monitors and brand-new software.

Every Hebrew Day School student comes to the computer lab once a week for instruction in internet research and “fun” language and math-oriented learning that supplements all areas of the curriculum with the integration of research skills and the use of the computer to access, retrieve, manage and interpret information. Computer class gives students the tools to use technology in their growth as self-directed, responsible and continuous learners. The work done in the computer lab is integrated with the regular classroom curriculum. For example, in the third grade students learn about the solar system, and in the computer lab they do a research project on the Hubble space telescope. Students who are learning about American states or American history may research federal parks and prepare a tourist brochure for the park they have selected. Fifth graders use the computer lab to create and edit their personal Family History videos (see sample clips here and here) as part of the fifth grade curriculum, work on individual research and writing projects, and prepare their yearbook pages. For a full description of the computer and technology curriculum, click here.

In addition to the computer lab, there are computers in all classrooms, including a Hebrew Language Learning Lab in the 3rd/4th grade Hebrew classroom, new in 2004, made possible by the Rita Poretsky Foundation. The school has available a digital projector for use in the classroom, as well as DVDs and VCRs capable of playing standard and Israeli PAL videos.