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Getting Ready for a New School Year
While summer is a time for vacations and a well-earned break for many, teams of staff, volunteers and students at Hadassah’s two youth villages in Israel are busy preparing for the students’ return. Across Hadassah Neurim and Meir Shfeyah, they're revamping facilities and creating new spaces for learning, creativity and connection.
Hadassah Neurim
At Hadassah Neurim, several renovations are underway. The radio station and music room are being expanded and upgraded, with new soundproofing and a larger space for the radio team. The art therapy room is also being renovated, creating a more welcoming and functional space for students.
Outside, new outdoor classrooms are being built between the main classroom area and the technology center. Designed on two levels — with one tier for sitting and another for working — these spaces are much more than picnic tables. Staff and volunteers hope they’ll become versatile gathering places, used year-round for formal lessons, group projects, informal collaboration, relaxation and simply spending time together.
The outdoor classrooms are being built with the help of gap-year volunteers and students working summer jobs at the village. For the students, these jobs provide spending money while also giving them a meaningful way to spend the summer, learn new skills and contribute to their own community.
Meir Shfeyah
Work continues on Meir Shfeyah's new Art Center, located on the second floor of a 120-year-old building that once served as the residence of Baron Rothschild’s clerks. The Art Center will include studios for jewelry making, ceramics and other creative disciplines, as well as a gallery and creative studio in its largest room.
Meir Shfeyah will also soon open its first immersive classroom, where modern technology will bring lessons to life in a more interactive and engaging way.
A Warm Welcome Ahead
These projects are just a glimpse of the many ways Hadassah’s villages are upgrading this summer, so that when students return in September, they'll find their home away from home ready to welcome them back.
Since 1934, over 300,000 students from 80 lands have graduated from Hadassah-supported Youth Aliyah villages in Israel, which provide education, counseling and support while fostering independence, self-esteem and success.
