FROM THE NEST: THE ECC HILLEL HAWKS

September 2018

From the Nest:

The ECC Hillel Hawks

September 2018
AT HILLEL, WE INSPIRE A PASSION FOR LEARNING, RESPONSIBILITY TO SELF AND
COMMUNITY, AND DEVOTION TO JEWISH LIVING IN A WARM, INNOVATIVE, AND
ENGAGING ENVIRONMENT.

IN THIS ISSUE

Meet Your Director

Ashley Weisberg

The Vision

I want to take a moment in this first

issue of From the Nest for the 20182019 school year to introduce
myself. My name is Ashley
Weisberg, and I am from all around
the Metropolitan Detroit Area. I
received my Masters in Educational
Leadership (from Oakland
University) and my Bachelors of
Science in Elementary Education
with a ZA endorsement for Early
Childhood and specialties in
Mathematics and Reading (from
Central Michigan University). I have
been married for two years now, and
together we have a 16 month old
child. I knew I wanted to become a
teacher and make a difference in the
lives of children since I was in first
grade. I have had the privilege of
teaching in the Hillel Early Childhood
Center for six years, and now I am
honored to be the director of an
amazing school.

For the past six years, I have

been fortunate enough to learn
from a phenomenal director,
Robin Pappas. I believe her and I
share similar beliefs when it
comes to being a leader. I am a
servant leader, and I want to serve
the greater good of the Early
Childhood Center here at Hillel. In
order to do this, I will continue to
create a culture of caring, serve the
teachers, students, and parents of
our community, and protect and
sustain the vision already
established here at our school. I
am going to empower both our
students and teachers to be critical
thinkers, be creative, be
collaborative, welcome everyone
into our community, communicate
with all of the stakeholders
(students, teachers, and parents
alike), help students and other
teachers to develop their own
character, and to teach others about
our core Jewish values.

Teachers (and Directors alike) will be

actively participating with their students
in the classroom even in specialty classes.
Teachers will be setting an example for
their students.

Teachers will have the opportunity to

collaborate with other teachers in order to
develop their lesson plans. This will allow
the students to learn cross-curricular
material and make connections between
different topics taught.

FROM THE NEST: THE ECC HILLEL HAWKS | SEPTEMBER 2018

As a leader, I keep the vision and

mission of the school in mind when
making decisions. Part of the vision
is making sure the teachers and
parents are empowered. I like to
look at the bigger picture and be a
systems thinker. I think that by
doing this, we can be visionary,
futuristic, and create both shortterm and long-term goals together.
In doing so, we also need to
remember to keep the children in
mind when we are setting these
goals.

Building Relationships
I consider myself to be a transparent
leader. I have an open door policy.
This means students, teachers, and
parents are always welcome to share
their compliments and concerns with
me. I am a good listener and value
your opinion. In the Early Childhood
Center we want to create a warm
and welcoming community where
everyone feels safe. I am visible all
around the school. I know what is
happening in all of the classrooms. I
constantly hear teachers discussing
with their students the importance
of being a good friend. I see our
teachers encouraging students to
build relationships. All of the
relationships we create are
important, and if we work together,
only then will we be able to create a
positive experience for all.

Here for the Children

In the Early Childhood Center we
have high expectations for our
students, teachers, and parents. We
are sensitive to different cultural
learning styles and want

everyone to feel welcome and

included. The activities and lessons
our teachers introduce to the
students are relevant to their lives
and teach to the whole child. Our
school has developed a play-based
philosophy and the learning
environment is hands-on. The
teachers are always introduced to
the current and best practices of
teaching. The students will learn
through play, art, sensory, and
doing.

Parents and other guests

are always welcome into
our classrooms. We want
the community to be
involved in our students
learning.
Hillel Day School Day School of Metropolitan Detroit

32200 Middlebelt Rd

Farmington Hills, MI 48334

(248) 851-3200