By Elliot Zenilman, Tara Kaminsky, Rhiannon Foster, Maren Nasar and Alex Kaminsky

This year at Hillel Academy, many things were business as usual, but behind the scenes, there was a completely new Board of Directors of mostly new parents, so in some ways we were “under new management.” We relished the opportunity to do things in a new way with fresh eyes as well as continuing with some long standing traditions and always striving for the best. We, the Board of Trustees of Hillel Academy of Broome County, would like to thank the entire community for their help and support in the 2023-24 school year. We are so thankful to have a community school where the theme is Judaism and children from a range of backgrounds are brought together by shared experiences.

We started the year with administrative changes: updating our decades old bylaws to reflect the current community size and ensure that we are in compliance with all New York state laws. Thank you to Dick Lewis for his support with this endeavor. We have also introduced some new fund-raising efforts, including a successful Giving Tuesday campaign and Hanukkah candle sale. We thank the community for their ongoing support. 

This year, our children took part in community events and had a chance to see our values in action. There were too many trips and events to mention them all, but some highlights included visiting the Syracuse Hebrew Day School to celebrate Hanukkah with the students and teachers of SHDS, the Binghamton Philharmonic visited and presented “Music as Play’’ to the Hillel Academy students, and second through fifth grades traveled to the Clemens Center in Elmira for the “Doctor Kaboom Science Show.” We went on a walking tour of Binghamton, visited the Phelps Mansion and saw many of the Kilmer buildings around town, exploring our roots here.

Led by Rabbi Moshe Shmaryahu, Hillel Academy students had many opportunities to share Jewish pride and school spirit with the greater Binghamton community. They sang at the Jewish Community Center Hanukkah party and hosted a booth at the JCC Purim carnival. The students held two performances of their “Purim Story Puppet Show” for the JCC Early Childhood Center. We had an opportunity to sing “The Star-Spangled Banner” at a Binghamton Black Bears hockey game at Visions Arena, teaching the kids pride in our school and that they can accomplish anything they set out to do.

Hillel Academy students held multiple CHOW food drives this year so they could give back to the community. Some of the students were able to take a field trip to CHOW to see how maakhal revi’im, feeding the hungry, and tzedakah work in practice. It was eye-opening for many of them to see the empty shelves and then realize, as they stocked them, how far their food donations will go. 

Hillel Academy hosted a variety of events to bring the community together, including a community challah bake and Kabbalat Shabbat; a family STEAM night full of science, math and engineering activities; and a ladies night out Pilates event, bringing women from various backgrounds together for an evening of mindfulness and schmoozing.
We are so thankful to our teachers for making all of these events and so many others possible. Our school would not be able to do what it does is without their dedication and love.

Our art teacher, Amy Derkowski, put on an end of the year art show where students showcased watercolors, weaving projects, paper mache and clay sculptures, and much more. The highlight was a neon jungle room, complete with black lights, where the children’s creations literally glowed. This installation will be up at our Journal event on September 12, so be sure to join us for the celebration and check out this impressive exhibit!
Sarah MacDougal, our head of secular studies and science teacher, organized a science fair complete with individual experiments, as well as class displays. There were the pre-k students’ exhibits on frog life cycles and pea plants, and the first grade animal biomes where they learned about features that help animals survive in their habitats. The older grades made egg cars and raced at different angles to test safety. Individual projects ranged from how to grow an avocado tree from a pit, the process of making maple syrup and exploring different species of birds nests. 

Shmaryahu, the head of Judaic studies, organized countless holiday celebrations for the school and our community with assistance from Morah Hadasa Slonim and Morah Ilana Segal. The children enjoyed sukkah hopping to many of the local sukkahs; a Tu B’Shevat celebration with a seder and tree plantings; a Purim party with hamantashen baking, a puppet show and carnival; a Passover seder; and a Yom Ha’atzmaut celebration complete with the children parading with Israeli flags and Shmaryahu’s falafel sandwiches. 

Our kindergarten and first grade teacher, Danielle Kane, introduced our school to Therapy Dogs 607. We welcomed the therapy dogs to our school many times throughout the year. The children were able to read to the dogs and cuddle with them, as well. This was an opportunity to help our students build confidence in their reading and social emotional skills. A visit from the therapy dogs was always a treat for the students and we can’t wait to welcome Therapy Dogs 607 back to Hillel Academy for more sessions next year.

We are excited for what is to come and know there is more work to do. Next year, we hope to have more community engagement events, like a Sunday morning “pancakes and play” event for young families, a Yom Ha’atzmaut carnival to celebrate Israel’s birthday and more. We anticipate our Journal event on Thursday, September 12, and hope the community will join us in honoring two couples who have given so much to our school and the whole region: Dan and Malvinia Sambursky, and Fred and Sandra Weitsman. Dan Sambursky is a fixture in the medical community, not only here, but across the state. The years of work Malvinia and Dan put into serving our school is commendable and invaluable to all of us. Fred and Sandra have beautified our community and school, from the gorgeous artwork at Temple Israel to the Rebecca Weitsman Memorial Dog Park in Owego. We hope you will join us in honoring them for all they continue to do.

We hope to see you at future school events and to celebrate many more holidays and simchot together.
Elliot Zenilman is the president of Hillel Academy, Tara Kaminsky is vice president, Rhiannon Foster is secretary, Maren Nasar is treasurer and Alex Kaminsky is the Board of Education chairwoman.