WHAT YEAR DID YOU GRADUATE HAFTR?
I graduated HAFTR Middle School in 2002.
WHAT WAS YOUR FAVORITE SUBJECT WHILE ATTENDING SCHOOL?
My favorite subject was Math, but I also really enjoyed Navi with Ms. Nissan and Torah Shebeal Pe with Ms. Greer from the Middle School.
WHAT ACTIVITIES WERE YOU INVOLVED IN?
I participated in Friday After School activities. I was a part of piano, baking, and the home economics clubs.
WHAT SCHOOL(S) DID YOU ATTEND AFTER GRADUATING FROM HAFTR?
I attended SKA for High School, Darchei Binah for one year of seminary, and Queens College for both of my Undergraduate and Graduate degrees.
WHAT IS YOUR CURRENT POSITION AT HAFTR?
I am currently teaching Mathematics in HAFTR High School to the 9th, 11th and 12th grade students.
WHERE DID YOU TEACH PRIOR TO HAFTR?
Prior to HAFTR I taught in Queensborough Community College.
WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE THING ABOUT BEING A TEACHER AT HAFTR?
My favorite thing about being a teacher at HAFTR is knowing that I am a part of this warm family that cares about each student and faculty. I know that being a teacher can have a big impact on each student's life and I hope that I can be a positive role model, not only academically, but personally too.
WHAT DO YOU LIKE TO DO FOR FUN OUTSIDE OF SCHOOL?
For fun I like to kayak, play tennis, and bake, but most of all spend time with my family and friends.
TELL US ABOUT YOUR FAMILY.
I married my husband Simcha almost four years ago and we have been blessed with our two daughters. Devorah is two and half years old and in the HAFTR Toddler program. Kayla is almost 5 months old and in the HAFTR Daycare. We currently live in Kew Gardens Hills.
NOW THAT YOU ARE WORKING AT HAFTR, CAN YOU TELL US HOW THE SCHOOL HAS CHANGED SINCE YOU WERE A STUDENT HERE?
Besides the aesthetic changes of the HAFTR buildings, the principals have changed since I was a student in HAFTR. Ms. Lippman who is now the Principal at HAFTR High School was my former administrator in the Middle School.
DO YOU KEEP IN TOUCH WITH THE CHILDHOOD FRIENDS THAT YOU MADE WHILE YOU WERE A STUDENT AT HAFTR?
One of my best friends is a former classmate of mine from HAFTR Elementary school.
YOU HAVE ALSO JOINED THE HAFTR FAMILY AS A PARENT, AS WELL AS A FACULTY MEMBER. WHAT ARE YOU MOST EXCITED TO SEE?
I am most excited to see my daughters gain a great education as well as hopefully have some of my former teachers that I loved so much.
I live in Israel in Beit Shemesh. The week before the ceremony was to take place, I happened to read a portion of the Jerusalem Post with blurbs of things happening around the country. There was a notice of a ceremony scheduled the following week in Zichron Yaacov where someone named Barbara Pfeffer Billauer-Bailey was going to dedicate a bench and plaque at the Beit Aharonson museum on the occasion of her mother's 1st yahrzeit. Well her mother was my science teacher in junior high school and I had loved and respected her and I decided to make every effort to attend. I did attend and I was so glad that I made the effort. Rabbi Meir Fendel (pictured), who was the principal of HANC, where Mrs. Pfeffer taught before she taught at Hillel, came from Yerushalayim and gave a wonderful hesped.
It was so appropriate to associate Mrs. Pfeffer's memory with this museum: the Aaronsohn family, one of the founding families of Zichron Ya'akov (1882) (where Mrs. Pfeffer's daughter, Barbara, and her husband now live),helped established the 'N.I.L.I. ' (Netzach Yisrael Lo Yishaker) spy ring against the Turkish Army. One of the brothers, Aaron Aaronsohn, was a scientist who discovered the original prototype of wheat for which he received international acclaim. Mrs. Pfeffer would have been thrilled!