WELCOME TO SINAI NURSERY SCHOOL!
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We offer a quality developmental program in a small, nurturing environment. In our school, our children are encouraged to explore, discover and create together.
Sinai Nursery School would not be possible without a dedicated professional staff. Our teachers are united by a genuine interest in children and an enthusiasm for learning. They are trained to provide a developmentally appropriate curriculum that challenges and enriches each child. Our programs are designed to help children grow toward increasing physical, social, and emotional competence so that they feel safe and confident in our school.
We model and teach Jewish values. The children prepare and observe all Jewish holidays and celebrate Shabbat each Friday with Rabbi Josh Berkenwald. While it is our goal to foster pride and love of being Jewish, children of all background are welcomed and differences are respected.
We are confident you will find Sinai Nursery School a wonderful learning environment for your preschool child.
Our Mission
Sinai Nursery School is a Jewish preschool that functions under the auspices of Congregation Sinai of San Jose. We offer a quality developmental preschool program in a small, nurturing environment. We encourage our children to explore, discover, and create. We model and teach Jewish values and practices. We foster Jewish identity in an environment of respect and acceptance for all, regardless of background or belief.
Our Philosophy
We believe learning is an active process. Children learn best by doing and experimenting, and it is the teacher's role to provide an environment that is exciting to explore. Our teachers guide children's development by providing hands-on activities that allow children to discover and make conclusions on their own.We believe a program for young children should respect the individuality of each child and recognize his/her unique needs. Our teachers strive to provide individual learning opportunities and choices to encourage independent thinking and foster self-esteem.
Contact director Ifat Kantorovich by email: SinaiNurserySchool@Sinai-SJ.org or phone: 408-264-8486
Our Curriculum
Our curriculum is based on the development of the whole child. Emotional, physical, social, and intellectual development are interrelated and all activities are designed to stimulate growth in more than one area. The classroom environment is organized into a variety of interest areas and broad themes are developed to stimulate learning in each area. Click here to see a sample daily schedule.
LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT
Storytelling, singing, and dramatic play are just some of the activities that encourage language development.
PROBLEM SOLVING
Intellectual growth is stimulated through the use of puzzles, matching games, and manipulative tasks that encourage problem solving skills.
CREATIVE DEVELOPMENT
Our program fosters the child's imagination through open-ended art activities, free play, music and dance.
PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT
Areas provided for running, jumping, and climbing contribute to the development of large motor skills. Small motor skills are developed through the use of manipulative and art activities.
SOCIALIZATION
Children learn to socialize by playing together, sharing, listening and resolving conflict.
JEWISH CULTURE
Our curriculum reflects the egalitarian and pluralistic approach adopted by Congregation Sinai. We celebrate the Jewish holidays, expose our children to Jewish history and modern-day practices, and thus create a strong appreciation of the Jewish culture.
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IFAT KANTOROVICH, DIRECTOR OF EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION
Ifat Kantorovich is the Director of Early Childhood Education at Sinai Nursery School. Ifat holds a Bachelor of Arts in Behavioral Science from Ben Gurion University and Child Development Program Director Permit. Ifat has many years of experience teaching both children and adults. She has been working at Sinai Nursery School since 2007. She is proud to be part of a quality team of professional teachers who recognize and values the importance of Jewish early childhood education.
Ifat is happily married with two daughters and two dogs. She enjoys spending time with her family, cooking, baking, reading, and watching movies.
MARIA GALEON, ASSISTANT DIRECTOR
Maria Galeon was born in South Wales in the UK, and moved to the US in 2001. She studied Early Childhood Development at De Anza College, and has over fourteen years of experience working with preschool children. She has worked at another Jewish day school, and speaks a little Hebrew, in addition to Italian. Maria and her husband have three children.
ANYA GARCIA, TEACHER
Anya Garcia earned a B.A. in Child Development from San Jose State University in 2002. She has over 12 years of experience working with preschool children. Anya has a wonderful family; she has a son and twin daughter. She also has a Goldendoodle dog named Milo. She loves spending time with her family. They like to travel, go bike riding, and baking.
LIMOR MAZOR, TEACHER
Limor was born in Israel and moved to the US in 2002. She attended Tel Aviv University and earned a B.A in Social Sciences. Limor received her Early Childhood Education from West Valley College in Saratoga. Limor and her husband live in San Jose with three kids and their dog. They enjoy watching soccer, swimming, and cooking.
AMANDA POHLAND, TEACHER
Amanda is passionate about Jewish early childhood education. She grew up in the local Jewish community, having attended both Yavneh and Kehillah. She herself is a graduate of a local Jewish Preschool, which was clearly impactful enough for her to want to go back every day!
Amanda also teaches the Sinai Religious School kindergarten class, so she rarely misses any fun Jewish-inspired activities. Her favorites are those that involve crafting or artwork. She is particularly expert at Sukkot decorations!
Amanda feels passionately about importance of a positive school experience for neurodivergent children, which is why Sinai is a perfect fit. She is thinking of eventually getting credentials in Special-Ed. On that note, she is studying Child Development at San Jose City College. In her free time she loves going to Santa Cruz and spending time on the beach with her friends. When the weather is too bad for that, she can likely be found either making something or reading something.
HADAS SMULIAN, TEACHER
Hadas Smulian was born in Israel and attended the University of Haifa, earning a degree in Education and Counseling. She and her husband have three sons, Itamar, Yuval, and Raz. Itamar and Yuval are proud graduates of Sinai Nursery. Hadas is excited and looking forward to a year full of learning and growing with the children!
SHARON KONIGSTEIN, TEACHER
Sharon Konigstein earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Occupational Therapy in Israel. For twelve years, she worked as an Occupational Therapist with children on the autistic spectrum and other developmental delays. Sharon brings many skills to Sinai, creating wonderful projects for the kids. She enjoys going out to nature, reading books, and visiting Israel over the summer. Since moving to US seven years ago, she, her husband and their four children, ages 9 to 16, live happily in Willow Glen.
VEENA RAO, TEACHER
Veena Rao has been enjoying working with children since her daughter started preschool in 2005.
She was born and raised in Mumbai India and studied architecture. She got married and moved to US in 1997 and has one beautiful daughter. She studied Early Childhood Development at Mission college and West Valley College and has over six years of experience.
When working with children, she believes it really brings out the creative child in her, which allows for meaningful connections with them.
LYDIA ROBINSON, TEACHER
Lydia is originally from Mexico and immigrated with her parents to the United States when she was two years old. Lydia grew up in Soledad, CA and on weekends and school breaks she worked alongside her parents who were fieldworkers in the Salinas Valley. Her parents encouraged Lydia and her siblings to work hard and to do well in school because they believed that a solid education was the way out of the fields and would lead to a better life. Lydia earned a BA in Liberal Studies from San Jose State University and holds a California Child Development Site Supervisor permit issued by the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing. She is bilingual and biliterate in English and Spanish. Lydia has been in the field of early care and education for almost 40 years and finds working with children and their families rewarding and inspiring. She has worked in the classroom and in administrative roles for both non-profit and for-profit child development programs in Santa Clara County. Over the years, Lydia has seen that children learn best when they are encouraged and provided with the tools and opportunities to explore their environments using ALL of their senses. Learning can be and should be FUN!
Lydia is the proud mother of three young adults (Markus, Diego, & Matthew) and has been happily married for 36 years. In her spare time Lydia enjoys gardening, reading, listening to music, and spending time with family and friends.
SHUBHANGI DHODAPKAR, TEACHER
Shubhangi has been working as a Preschool Teacher since 2009. She started working as a Substitute teacher with infant/ toddlers to preschool age groups while continuing her Early Childhood Education from Ohlone College in Fremont. Since 2014 she has worked with Preschool/ Prek age groups and 6 of those years at Gan Sameach Nursery school in Fremont. She currently holds a Site Supervisor Permit issued by the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing and a Certificate of Achievement in Early Childhood Studies from Ohlone College. She is originally from India and has Master's degree in English Literature. She is passionate about teaching young children and believes learning happens through free play with open -ended materials and enjoys bringing in creative activities and materials to support children's holistic learning and development.
Shubhangi enjoys traveling with family and loves nature in all its forms and photographing it. Her hobbies include oil painting, scrapbooking and mixed- media art.
MICHAL SAFRAI, TEACHER
Michal was born in Israel and moved to the US 10 years ago. Michal has a bachelor's degree in Education from Ben-Gurion university and is an MBA graduate. In Israel, she was teaching and fostered kids from low social-economic backgrounds, and closely accompanying them. She also assisted with kids’ social and educational difficulties during boarding school after-hours. She has been working at Sinai for the last nine years. She and her husband have 3 daughters, Ella, Tamar, and Rotem. In her spare time, she enjoys crocheting, baking, and traveling with her family.
JYOTI SHIMA, TEACHER
Jyoti enjoyed working with people from all walks of life but she was most inspired by children! Jyoti started her career in Early Childhood Education as a volunteer in her own child's preschool. She found that it was her passion and moved from being an Electronics and Communication Engineer to an ECE Teacher and met all the ECE requirements. Jyoti is with Sinai from 2021.
Aside from her teaching experience, she is married and has F 9 year-old son. She likes spending her time with her family going to beaches and cruises. She also likes listening to music, and cooking new recipes. She believes that with love, support, and open communication the children will have a wonderful learning experience.
Working with children is truly one of her passions and joys in life! To observe the tremendous amount of growth and development that takes place is truly magical. She enjoyed the opportunity to experience and celebrate these milestones achieved with children, it is an honor and a privilege. She enjoys being a student and a lifelong learner. She is always interested in deepening her understanding of child development to best encourage and support healthy development of young learners.
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Calendar for the 2024-2025 School Year
Click here for the 2024-2025 School Year Calendar
We are closed on major national and Jewish holidays (dates are shaded below), and may dismiss early the day before some Jewish holidays, as they start at sundown.
* = School Closed
2024
AUGUST
Friday, August 2 - Last day of Summer Camp
Friday, August 16 - Parent Orientation
Monday, August 19 - First Day of School
SEPTEMBER
Monday, September 2 - Labor Day*
Thursday, September 12 - Back to School Night (Parent’s only)
OCTOBER
Wednesday, October 2 to Friday, October 4 - Rosh Hashanah*
Friday, October 11 - Erev Yom Kippur*
Thursday, October 17 to Friday, October 18 - Sukkot*
Thursday, October 24 - Shemini Atzeret*
Friday, October 25 - Simchat Torah*
NOVEMBER
Monday, November 11 - Veterans Day*
Thursday, November 28 to Friday, November 29 - Thanksgiving Break*
DECEMBER
Wednesday, December 25 to Saturday, January 1 - Hanukkah*
Monday, December 23 to Friday, January 3 - Winter Break*
2025
JANUARY
Wednesday, January 1 to Friday, January 3 - Winter Break*
Monday, January 20 - Martin Luther King Jr Day*
FEBRUARY
Friday, February 7 - Parent Conferences*
Thursday, February 13- Tu B’Shevat
Monday, February 17 - President’s Day*
MARCH
Thursday, March 13 - Purim
APRIL
Friday, April 11 - Staff Development Day*
Monday, April 14 to Friday, April 18 - Passover Break*
MAY
Saturday, May 3 - Yom Ha’Atzmaut
Friday, May 16 - Lag B’Omer
Monday, May 26 - Memorial Day*
JUNE
Monday, June 2 to Tuesday, June 3 - Shavuot*
Thursday, June 5- Last Day of School (Noon dismissal)
Monday, June 9 - First day of Summer Camp*
Thursday, June 19 - Juneteenth*
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For inquires about Sinai Nursery School and enrollment, please contact the school director, Ifat Kantorovich, via email at sinainurseryschool@sinai-sj.org or via phone at 408-264-8486.
Registration Forms