Facilities

 

Our clean, modern, recently upgraded facilities are among the best in the area. Due to COVID-19 we recently upgraded our HVAC system to provide greater movement of fresh air throughout the building. Our building is air conditioned and cleaned and sanitized daily by a full time janitorial staff.
 

For a tour (virtual or in-person) contact:
Heather Brown, Director
hbrown@shomrei.org
(973) 746-5031 

Click the album to see recent photos of how we use our wonderful building! (some photos were before COVID)

Features of Our School*

*Some activities described below are currently not offered due to State mandated COVID-19 restrictions.

We're a great preschool because of our dedicated staff and our whole-child approach. Here are some of the special features of our program.

  • Low student-teacher ratio
  • Play-based curriculum builds upon the natural interests of our students.  Our teachers observe what excites their students and listen to their questions.  From here, a curriculum emerges, which addresses age-appropriate curricular goals while honoring the curiosity of a particular group of students.  We weave Jewish traditions, Hebrew language and song, and authentic and joyful Jewish moments throughout the year.
  • Weekly music specialist exposes children to fundamentals of rhythm, musicality, and self-expression
  • Gross motor play in the gym or outside on our new, state of the art playground
  • Loose Parts Curriculum embraces recycled and open-ended materials, which are used for creation, problem-solving, and creativity!  Open-ended play encourages language development, as students endeavor to use old and familiar materials in new ways.  Bottle corks become stand-ins for people in a town of cardboard boxes.  Buttons can be arranged by size, shape, and color, to create a beautiful nature scene.  Engineering skills come into play when children build with loose parts, deciding how to best keep their tower from toppling over.  Friends brainstorm together to come up with the best solutions.  The sky's the limit when working with loose parts!
  • Cooking and baking activities encourage early science and math skills: pouring, measuring, sequencing, counting ingredients, and studying the effects of mixing together different recipe elements
  • Interaction with the Rabbi in our weekly all-school Shabbat celebration or in storytime with the Rabbi
  • Environmental awareness: We model and teach recycling, care for our possessions, and how to repair a broken object, so that it can be reused.  Children plant seeds and observe the growth process of a plant.  They care for flowers in the spring and help to clean up when they see a mess on the playground.
  • Jewish traditions and holidays create a rhythm for our year, and we look forward to celebrating together as a school community.
  • An active PTA (Parent/Teacher Association) allows parents to volunteer, create programs, and engage more deeply with their peers in the preschool community.