Honorees
Honorees
We are extremely proud to recognize Dina and Aaron Saks as this year's Main Honorees of our Annual Event. An integral part of our SHAS family, we can't imagine the school without them. From driving carpools, to chaperoning school trips, to attending so many school events, Dina and Aaron are true SHAS champions.
This is Dinas 17th year working at SHAS! She is the school's institutional memory. As our Director of Teaching and Learning and world-class 1st grade classroom teacher, Dina has an unquenchable thirst to learn and keep up with best practices. She is also fantastically organized and on top of everything. Always living and breathing the mission of our school, Dina fosters an inclusive environment where every voice is valued, ensuring that all staff, students, and families feel heard and supported. Dina encourages collaboration and teamwork and is quick to consider the best way to set each individual up for success while still making sure that everyone is appropriately challenged.
Some of Dina's accomplishments include: teaching various chugim, such as knitting, drama and weaving; teaching students and teachers how to make delicious challah; ServSafe certification; furthering the professional development of our teachers; working on the AISNE certification; attending TEVA for many years; leading the graduating class on various trips; and working on expanding our community as part of the Young Israel membership committee.
Much like Dina, Aaron has been very involved with SHAS in many ways. Aaron is our do-everything tech guru. When we got a major tech upgrade, he was our boots on the ground. No job is too big or too small for Aaron - whether it's fixing a printer, or working with techs to redesign the WiFi. Over the summer, it sometimes feels as though SHAS is his full-time job, given how often he is around. If you have a computer problem, Aaron is the one to go to. He will diligently research everything about it and tell you everything you need to know about your technological situation. A lover of board games, he brings his skills of strategy and logic to everything he does. Aaron is happy to share his love of tech with others; he taught SHAS students about geocaching and the GPS system - after discussing how geocaching works and how to make a cache, they brainstormed together on a name and what objects to include inside it, and then went on a hike to find the perfect spot on the trails behind the Ames Street playground. When a class was learning about the eye, Aaron led a lesson on using your Iris for access control, with a live demo.
Some of Aaron's accomplishments include: installing video security to keep our facilities safe; installing, fixing and maintaining various tech items, including networking, laptops, Chromebooks, projectors, SMARTBoards, printers, and more; setting up and administering the school's email system, phone system and servers. Aaron's tech help goes all the way back to when SHAS was on Ashcroft.
Dina and Aaron are proud SHAS parents to Josh (SHAS '16), Ella (SHAS '17), Julia (SHAS '25) and Noah (SHAS '28).
We are lucky to have Dina and Aaron in our SHAS community!
We are thrilled to celebrate Ariella and Jeff Amshalem as this year’s R. William Striar Service Award recipients. A blessing at SHAS, Jeff and Ariella are a precious part of our SHAS family, always helping out in ways big and small, ready to lend their particular skill sets to the school whenever possible. Jeff and Ariella are both very intentional and spiritual, and they share that with the community through their teaching and by modeling it in their home and around their Shabbat table.
Proud SHAS parents to Auralee (former SHAS student in ‘16), Alma Sarah (SHAS ‘24), Levi (SHAS ‘28) and Odelia (SHAS ‘31), Ariella and Jeff have had the good fortune (their words, not ours!) of sending all four of their children to SHAS since their move to Sharon in 2015. They are extremely grateful for SHAS, and are especially appreciative of the warm, supportive learning environment the school provides. As Ariella put it, "we really feel that our children's teachers are our partners in helping them grow!"
Ariella has been at SHAS in several different capacities - a professional chef, Ariella teaches cooking chugim; she has taught a highly interesting class as part of our series on diverse Jewish practices; and she has even led dance and yoga in the past. Ariella recently started a new initiative, La Famiya Sefaradi, to teach about Sephardic culture and history through the lens of food and cooking. Ariella used to teach dance to a lot of the kids in our community, and she taught yoga to women in our community last summer.
Jeff formally has held the title of House Chair for two years, but has been our go-to person for all house projects for much longer, at pro bono and at cost. Jeff puts up and takes down the skhakh for the shared SHAS and Young Israel sukkah every year. Whether doing the construction himself or helping us find appropriate vendors, Jeff allows us to feel competent and safe in the process.
Jeff always tries to help out in any way he can - for example, he escorted the kids to and from their Israel bake sales last fall. Jeff is a rabbi and has a PhD in Jewish Thought from Ben Gurion University. He's an expert in Kabbalah and Hasidism and has taught students at all levels, most recently in the Religion Department at Tufts. In addition, he is a carpenter and part of the new shemira team at Young Israel.