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levittown closes out 2022
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Vol. 71 No. 2
JANUARY 5 - 11, 2023
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New year, same strong goals for library By MiChAel MAlASZCZYK mmalaszczyk@liherald.com
Michael Malaszczyk/Herald
The highlighT of the year for Jillian Pelliccia, the library’s teen services director, was getting a desk in the basement for teen programs. Pelliccia hopes to make the space more inviting for teenagers.
With 2022 in the rear-view mirror, the Seaford Public Library is both celebrating a successful year gone by and looking forward to a new year ahead. The library, at 2234 Jackson Ave., has been serving Seaford and the surrounding communities since 1955, with essential services such as academic enrichment, summer activities and reading groups. The library had been forced to make many of its programs remote due to Covid-19, and spent much of 2022 getting back on its feet. When the omicron surge simmered down early last year and Gov. Kathy Hochul lifted mask mandates, the library didn’t have to spend too much time playing catch-up, thanks to a dedicated community. “I think the public was waiting for us to come Continued on page 2
Chabad Center raises funds for preschool expansion By JoRDAN VAlloNe jvallone@liherald.com
The Chabad of Merrick-Bellmore-Wantagh ended 2022 with a bang, raising more than $450,000 in just two days in an online campaign to benefit many of the programs it operates. The Chabad runs a highly regarded preschool, a Hebrew school, and a summer camp out of its Hewlett Avenue location in Merrick. The Chabad, through the Cindy Knoll Circle of Hope, also assists individuals and families impacted by breast cancer and other illnesses, provides food to those in need, and offers several other programs.
It is a nonprofit that is solely responsible for its own budget, Chabad officials said. Rabbi Shimon Kramer, who oversees the Chabad with his wife, Chanie, said typically, they end the year with a large fundraiser that generally benefits their three educational programs, its kosher food bank and Circle of Hope. During the past two years, the Chabad added an extra component to the campaign — to raise money for the expansion of its preschool. The first fundraiser last January drew in more than $500,000 to help jumpstart their visions for the space. The preschool’s administra-
tors want to adopt the Reggio Emilia approach, an Italian philosophy that encourages learning in a non-traditional environment. “We want it to look beautiful — we want it to be outstanding in every way,” Chanie Kramer said. “We want to make it a special place for kids to be able to learn in an optimal environment.” Rabbi Kramer said Chabad’s current classrooms were built with a traditional concept in mind and that the newer rooms will have added touches. The expansion would be internal and not require the actual building on Hewlett Avenue to be made
larger, with some offices to be converted into new classrooms. Chanie Kramer said the classrooms would encourage students to utilize their learning space almost like an additional instructor. “We don’t focus so much on bright, splashy carpets and colorful walls, and things like that,” she said. “The work of the chil-
dren is more of what’s displayed. We set up provocations for the children to get their minds curious, to be engaged, and to want to learn. “We of course have a curriculum,” she added. “But it’s childcentered rather than teachercentered. If the children are interested in exploring a certain Continued on page 4