Solomon Schechter Academy

Solomon Schechter Academy is a dynamic Jewish Day School. We are one school with two streams, an English Section as well as a Section Française. We are one Jewish Family reflecting our unique Montreal mosaic. Solomon Schechter Academy’s focus is on the needs and growth of its students in order to foster lifelong learning, a passion for excellence and a strong connection to Jewish values. The goal of an education at Solomon Schechter is to develop students that are dynamic, critical thinkers who respect the Jewish traditions of the past. The Academy’s educational process is a vibrant partnership between students, parents and educators.

To be the leading elementary school in Montreal that develops students who are creative thinkers and future leaders with strong Jewish values. Solomon Schechter Academy lays the foundation for a lifetime of learning and instills a passion for excellence and Jewish traditions. An important part of our education program is to teach every child to be committed to their community and their people. We will therefore ask children to bring money for various charitable funds in order to develop their sensitivity to the needs of others.

We have incorporated teaching units in Jewish civics and good citizenship into our curriculum. In addition to Jewish National Fund and Federation CJA projects, each grade will do a Tikkun Olam project on the theme chosen by their teachers. The project will entail learning about a needy cause and performing good deeds.

From generation to generation, the Jewish people have taught their children to cherish the knowledge and faith of their unique heritage and to live in accordance with Jewish values based on Torah and Israel while taking their place within society. As a leader in the Jewish Day School movement, Solomon Schechter Academy proudly takes its place in this tradition. While respecting the past, we prepare our students for the opportunities and responsibilities of contemporary society. By embracing our unique Canadian, Quebec and Jewish traditions and culture, the school provides an environment that fosters respect for diversity and strengthens the fabric of our society. Through its innovative and dynamic approach to education, the school nurtures each child, inspiring a passion for learning and providing the necessary foundation for achievement and success. Our Academy, with our dedicated faculty, is committed to excellence in education and to a partnership with Montreal’s Jewish community.

Situated on Cote St. Luc Road since 1955, the Academy offers 28 spacious, bright, air-conditioned classrooms. Most rooms are 750 sq. ft. in area – allowing space for in-class libraries, audio-visual equipment as well as space for group work. In addition to the classrooms, students benefit from 6 tutorials rooms where remediation and enrichment instruction takes place. The Azrieli SMART Floor houses our Science, Instrumental, Music, Art and Computer Animation, and Robotics studios. We also have a modern Computer Lab, and a Library containing over 30,000 items. Our Physical Education and extra-curricular sports programs are provided in a 4000 sq. ft. well-equipped gym and satellite gyms in our Amiel Centre. Our bright, renovated lunch room allows our students with adequate space to socialize and interact.

The Academy benefits from its proximity to the Shaare Zion Synagogue. Its chapel and sanctuary are used for our religious services, and its social halls are used for our assemblies, exhibitions and special programs.

Our Preschool facility houses our Junior PreK, PreK and Kindergarten at our Amiel Early Childhood Center of our Dufferin Campus. It is fully air conditioned and newly renovated. The facility houses our Preschool library, gym, playground, the Mel Hoppenheim Family Foundation Theatre Centre and 140 of our youngest SSA family members. The early childhood center was created to meet the needs of our youngest SSA students.

Grades 1-6 have their theater performances and outdoor play in the new and spacious campus facilities. Our Amiel Early Childhood Centre contains a full commercial kitchen allowing us to offer an optional hot lunch program 5 days a week to all our students.
Two playgrounds allow for outdoor green space and ample physical activity, including basketball courts, outdoor amphitheater and shaded areas. Our indoor gyms allow us to offer three periods of physical activity every week to all our students.

Language Arts is taught in our English section for 3 hours and 25 minutes per week, with an additional optional hour of English Literature or French Oral Conversation in Grade 1. Students in the English section in grades 2-6 have English Language Arts for five hours per week. Our French section receives English instruction in Cycle One for 3:25 hours. In Cycle Two and Cycle Three, French section students receive 3 hours of English instruction weekly.

The English program integrates the major components of literacy: speaking, listening, reading, and writing. A love for literature is fostered in each cycle through a variety of texts. The main objective of our Language Arts Program is to motivate lifelong readers who can access texts for a variety of purposes. Literal and inferential comprehension skills are developed through independent and collaborative activities utilizing an array of strategies. The writing process evolves through exposure to different genres. Our students are encouraged to incorporate their own experiences and express their opinions as they produce various forms of self-expressive, narrative and information-based texts.

Mathematics is taught in our English section for 6 hours in grade 1 and 5:25 per week in grades 2-6. The Pearson Mathematics Program (Digit, Numbers & Decimal) provides the foundation of our mathematics curriculum and meets the requirements set by MELS. The children are introduced to a variety of application and situational problems.

Each year the parents of two grade levels are invited to attend either a Language Arts or Math Happening. These “Happenings” provide parents with an opportunity to participate in a hands-on learning experience affording them insight into their child’s daily learning.

The Horizons Art Program is offered to the English section students. The program provides the students with opportunities to define, recognize and use the elements of art. They develop an appreciation of the historical and cultural influences of a number of works of art. The program is designed to strengthen their perceptual awareness and cognitive skills through sensory experiences. The students analyze, compare, interpret and evaluate their own creations with other students’ work, and that of major artists. It culminates with the production of visual art in a wide variety of media and techniques with a strong emphasis on English writing.

We use the project approach to teach French at Solomon Schechter Academy. In the first levels, the teaching is theme-based and integrates all subjects from the French program. French is taught through research, projects, discoveries (2nd and 3rd grade), through theatrical performances, themed exhibitions, computer science, the physical education program, the science program and the social, ethical and religious cultural programs.

Unique to Solomon Schechter Academy, the students’ knowledge of French is used to read a variety of texts which is encouraged through our Livromagie program. The Livromagie program is strongly focused on inspiring students to read and to participate in French activities related to the program. Our written compositions are mainly related to the readings that they have completed. Written and oral projects are used to verify the students’ grammatical skills.

Reading, writing, communicating, and appreciating French literature are all aspects that help promote creative thinking, as well as the development of one’s critical mind. The above-mentioned French skills are taught and used on a daily basis in the classroom through dialogues and discussions with and amongst the students. The teacher’s goal is to help them reflect on these skills and the relation between these various disciplines.