By Marshall Weiss, The Dayton Jewish Observer Montgomery County’s increased Covid-19 cases have impacted three local Jewish community organizations: Chabad, Hillel Academy, and the Jewish Federation. At the end of November, three rabbis with Chabad and two of their wives began testing positive for Covid-19: Chabad Directors Rabbi Nochum and

By Martha Moody Jacobs, Special To The Dayton Jewish Observer Anyone who’s seen a child learn something new knows the thrill of an “aha” moment. And such moments need not take place in a classroom. Since taking over as co-administrators of Hillel Academy Jewish day school in summer 2011, longtime

By Marshall Weiss, The Observer “Hashem makes everything we see and so we pray to Him, Hashem makes our hearts sing, And so we’ll dance and sing for Him.” Hillel Academy Jewish day school’s six kindergartners sang out these words, part of a song they wrote called Caterpillars, Birds &

By Marshall Weiss, The Dayton Jewish Observer In mid June, the board of Hillel Academy announced it had hired Kathy and Dan Mecoli to share the Jewish day school’s full-time administrative position. Dan has been named principal and Kathy the instructional leader of Hillel, which enters this school year using

Muse Machine at Hillel By Marshall Weiss The Dayton Jewish Observer   In March, the arts came alive at Hillel Academy with the help of the Muse Machine Adventure Program and artist-in-residence Michael Lippert. Lippert, a founding member and resident artist with The Human Race Theatre Company, has created workshops

Hillel prepares for expanded preschool Marshall Weiss The Dayton Jewish Observer   On July 12, Hillel Academy learned that it had received its certificate of occupancy from Montgomery County to operate a preschool for children ages 30 months and over, clearing a major hurdle as it prepares to expand to

Hillel class Martha Moody Jacobs Special To The Dayton Jewish Observer At Hillel Academy, it’s 3:30 p.m. on a Thursday. In a classroom, empty desks are arranged in a semicircle. Black judges’ robes are wadded up in a chair. Students, laughing and talking, trample stalks of wheat into the carpet

Kosher meals at DJCC camp Marshall Weiss The Dayton Jewish Observer   Funding is result of McDonald’s lawsuit In April, the national JCC Association notified the Dayton Jewish Community Center that its summer camp was awarded a $5,000 grant to provide campers with hot, kosher meals. The lunches will be

Hillel Academy dismissal time As of the 2007-08 school year, Hillel Academy, the Miami Valley’s Jewish day school, will change student dismissal time from 3:40 p.m. to 3 p.m. “We are pleased to offer this change as well as continue our on-site after-school care,” Tom Tudor, headmaster of the school,

Marshall Weiss The Dayton Jewish Observer At their board meetings in March, Hillel Academy, the Miami Valley’s Jewish day school, and the Jewish Federation of Greater Dayton agreed to explore the possibility of Hillel moving to the campus of the Federation’s Boonshoft Center for Jewish Culture and Education in Centerville.