In Prep for New Year Chabad Schools, Across the Country Sign onto Zoom Kinus

As schools gear up to open, each with its own variation of COVID precautions, their common denominator is the faculty professional development through the ZOOM Kinus sponsored by the Merkos Chinuch Office. The Kinus will be held next Monday and Tuesday, 4-5 Elul, August 24th and 25th. The Kinus will feature twelve major sessions featuring outstanding presenters.

The fact is that children have been out of school for six months and their education has suffered as a result. Some children are able to maintain their academic progress through some excellent media centered lessons, though they may have suffered socially. Most children have not been so fortunate; they need face to face teaching in order to be able to learn optimally, and they have regressed.

The overall objective of the Kinus is to help mechanchim (and mechanchos) facilitate their students’ return to school and its expectations.

Dr. David Pelcovitz, the famed psychologist will guide teachers in understanding the mindset of children at this stage and how to help them adjust to the new realities and expectations they face. Dr. Norman Blumenthal, the lead psychotherapist it OHEL will offer guidance on the educational side of the same coin. This is especially important for children who have any kind of learning issue.

It is universally understood that proper kriyah skills are an essential prerequisite to ant future learning. One doesn’t need much imagination to appreciate how much children in the primary grades, who need constant kriyah reinforcement, have regressed during this hiatus. The same is true with executive functioning and social skills of all children. Rabbis Moshe Schwartz and Zalman Raskin will present an approach on how to resolve this dilemma.

The kinus will feature session for principals, and for executive directors who must assure that schools will be able to function well in spite of the new limitations placed upon them. There is a special session to help schools and mechanchim understand how the new exposure to the internet has created a serious challenge to both parents and their children and how to mitigate its influence.

Rabbi Yehuda Leib Schapiro will offer chizuk to melamdim who reenter their classroom with much trepidation and have the zechus to get back to teaching Torah, but must be able to cope with new facts on the ground.

The Kinus program will help all mosdos and mechanchim (and mechanchos) get back into the their sacred work with confidence.