Teachers

Head Teacher:  Ariana Levi (Bachelor’s degree in Education with a concentration in Special Education)

Morning Assistant Teacher:  Naomi Lozano

A welcome letter from our teachers:

Welcome ברוכים הבאים
My name is Ariana Levi and I am the Head Teacher at the JCC Nursery School. This is going to be my third year working at the preschool. I'm very excited that a new year is about to start.
I arrived in State College in August 2005 together with my husband – Roni, who is doing his PhD at Penn State University. In June 2007 our daughter Noa was born here, in State College.
I was born in Montevideo, Uruguay, and lived in Israel for 9 years. There I went to college and got my B.Ed. in Special Education and Elementary Education. My major was in developmental disorders and my minor was in Math. I am certified to work with children of 3 through 21 years old. In the past I taught Hebrew and Spanish as a second language and I also worked 3 years with children with Autism and other disabilities. I started working with kids since I was very young; when I was about 15 years old I was a group leader at a youth movement 'Habonim Dror' in Uruguay. Then in Israel I used to work during summer breaks at preschools or summer camps. I really enjoy working with kids and especially helping those that need more care.
I'm a very enthusiastic person, who is eager to face new challenges, assuming them with honesty and responsibility. I like to think of new and innovative projects and work hard in order to fulfill them. I love to learn and I'm always looking for ways of growing, not only professionally but also personally.
I really like and enjoy working at the JCC Nursery School. I believe that our school gives the children (and the parents) a great opportunity to learn about Judaism as well as many other cultures. We are a play based school and this gives our kids the chance to choose their areas of interest as well as what to learn about. This year we have planned several subjects which we are going to talk about, some of these are friendship, space, animal, etc. We'll be working on them either bi-weekly or monthly. By having this suggested topics the kids will be able to know what to expect.
I'm very glad to let you know that this year we are welcoming two very important persons who will be joining the preschool staff. We'll be having a new assistant teacher, Naomi Lozano who comes form Chile. Naomi studied a BA in Psychology in Chile, and now is starting a MA in Counselor Education at Penn State. We'll be having an expressive art teacher, Anatt Friedman. Anatt comes from Israel and is a certified expressive art therapist. She'll be teaching an art & movement class once a week.
We are all very excited and looking forward to meeting all of you, and getting to know your chchildren and you this fall.
Ariana