Letter From Division Head
Welcome to the Schechter Manhattan Middle School. I am proud to be the Head of such an engaging and vibrant community.
My years of teaching and studying with Middle School students have given me a deep appreciation of the wonderful growth that is the hallmark of this important developmental stage. The Middle School years are a time of active transition from childhood to adolescence; a period filled with both the excitement and frustration of intellectual, physical, social and emotional change and growth. The Schechter Manhattan Middle School is structured to reflect these realities. As students move from dependence to independence, they are asked to take on greater levels of responsibility and leadership, while still receiving the appropriate supports that will allow them to reach their goals.
Our Middle School is filled with caring teachers and inquisitive students. Each year, at the student exhibitions, in which a student presents his or her mastery of an in-depth project of study, I am most impressed by the thoughtful, probing questions that students ask of each other. At the same time, I am proud of the tone of respect, support, and kindness - the menschlichkeit - that the students maintain, even as they push each other to think deeply.
Our Middle School is also filled with rich and powerful Jewish experiences. We celebrate Sukkot at the yearly Middle School Simchat Beit Hasho'eivah, mark b'nei mitzvah as a community, and enhance our spiritual lives through special student-run t'filah activities. I feel fortunate to be able to walk the halls and hear the hum of students studying Jewish text in chevruta or the voices of students singing Hebrew songs.
I hope the information here on the website gives you a small taste of our Middle School community. It is a community filled with limud (study of) Torah, exciting student-centered programs, and ruach, school spirit.
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me.
Benjamin Mann
Head, Middle School
benjaminmann@sssm.org |212-427-9500 x217
