The JCC’s Bulletin dates back to the 1930s, when it was a premier source of news for the local Jewish community. We are proud to continue this tradition of keeping our JCC community informed via our virtual Bulletin.
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November 2019
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 This year, we’re celebrating the JCC of Staten Island’s 90th birthday. As the JCC turns 90, we reflect back on the milestones the organization has achieved over the years. The ways we communicate have changed drastically since the JCC opened its doors 90 years ago. Beginning in the 1930s, direct mail was the main form of communication for the JCC. To help keep members informed, the Bulletin was started as a newspaper serving the Jewish community. It was an important source of information, including news stories, upcoming events, and birth and marriage announcements. It also contained some more gossipy items and ads for local businesses.  One of the oldest copies of The Bulletin in our archives—from 1939! The Bulletin has taken on various looks and forms throughout the years. At times, it was printed on glossy paper and bound as a magazine. As times changed, the Bulletin went from being weekly to monthly, then eventually bi-monthly. Another communication method the JCC undertook was Gabby, a phone book put together by Women’s Division. Gabby was so popular that local businesses took ads out in it! While the idea of a phone book may seem outdated in the age of the internet, in the ‘80s and ‘90s, it was all the rage.  Do you still have your old Gabby books? We want to see them! Take a picture and email it to us or post it on our social media accounts. This fall, we’ve made a major effort to move into the future with regards to communication. We’ve embraced the role mobile devices play in our daily lives and have made updates to the way we do things to accommodate this. We’ve updated the look of our email blast, beefed up our social media presence, included more photos and videos in all our communications, and—most importantly—redesigned our website to be mobile-friendly and easy to use. You can check it out here! While we want to move forward technologically, we also want to preserve pieces of our past history. We’ve moved the Bulletin online to make it easier to access and simpler to update more frequently, but we’ve also kept the newspaper’s past in mind. We’ve designed our new Bulletin logo in a similar style as the Bulletin had in the late 1960s and early 1970s.  We hope you enjoy all our new communication tools, and that you’ll use these new methods to not only access information, but get in touch with us to let us know what you love about the JCC and what we can do better. We always want to hear from you, and now there are more ways to get in touch with us than ever before.
While we don’t know what the future will hold technology-wise, we do know that we’ll have to keep adapting to keep up with our members’ and participants’ wants and needs. In the near future, stay tuned for our new fitness app, launching early next year. We can’t wait for you to try it out!  This year, we’re celebrating the JCC of Staten Island’s 90th birthday. As the JCC turns 90, we reflect back on the milestones the organization has achieved over the years. September signals one thing—back to school time. Many of you have little ones that started school this week, some of whom are attending daycare or preschool at one of our locations. Our Early Childhood Education programs have a long history, dating back nearly 60 years. In the late 1950’s, JCC leadership saw a need for early childhood services. They decided to start a nursery school, under the leadership of Alma Harter, in 1960. The first application for nursery school only asked a few basic questions. We’ve come quite a long way with the application process, which is now done through the Department of Education’s website!  The first class only had seven students and ran from 9am-12pm. Early childhood education was such a hit that by the late ‘60s, the program grew to accommodate over 70 students, and there were waiting lists!
The program was so popular that the JCC had to expand to accommodate the nursery school. The original building at 475 Victory Boulevard was renovated in the early 1960’s to add more classrooms. Times began to change, and more women were working, which created an even bigger need for early childhood education. The JCC then purchased 485 Victory Boulevard, now known as the Isador Aberlin/North Shore JCC, to house the expanding preschool, which continues to be one of our current locations. In the 80’s, we expanded even further. The opening of the South Shore/Nancy & Ron Avis Building created more classroom space, allowing our ECE programs to grow. In 1989, the JCC decided to serve a new population: young children with developmental issues. We created the First Foot Forward program to help children with speech delays, sensory needs, and motor issues. The current program, which remains incredibly popular, includes individualized instruction with different types of therapy for children’s various needs. In the past 12 years, we’ve seen an even bigger expansion. The opening of the Joan & Alan Bernikow Building included an entire wing devoted to daycare and preschool. Last fall, we opened the Berman Early Childhood Center on Richmond Avenue—an entire building devoted to Early Childhood Education! Recently, New York City has recognized the importance of providing free preschool programs for families, creating Pre-K for All and 3-K for All. The JCC is a proud provider of these programs at all four of our sites and serves over 275 children per year. Over the past 59 years, thousands of children have walked through our doors and begun their educations with us. As we look to the future, one thing is certain; our ECE programs will continue to help mold our students into caring, empathetic young people with the goal of creating thoughtful and intelligent future leaders. |
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November 2019
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LocationSBERNIKOW/MID-ISLAND
1466 Manor Road 718.475.5200 ABERLIN/NORTH SHORE
485 Victory Blvd 718.475.5290 |
AVIS/SOUTH SHORE
1297 Arthur Kill Road 718.475.5270 BERMAN EARLY CHILDHOOD CENTER
2221 Richmond Ave. 718.475.5100 |
Follow UsFor Membership Inquiries Please Contact: Membership Services 718.475.5223 |
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