Have you spotted a new storybook making its way around campus and the book fair?
My First Day Adventure at North Shore Hebrew Academy began with a question: What can we give young future students that helps them prepare to join us here at NSHA?
While much of our admissions work speaks to parents, we wanted to create something just for children — a keepsake grounded in our voice, values and mission that they could read, and see themselves inside. The result is a “social story,” a pedagogical tool that helps children prepare for new experiences by walking through them first on the page. In this case, the experience is the first day of school.
Told through the eyes of a new student guided by his older sibling, the story follows a full day at NSHA — from morning jitters and meeting his morot, to tefila, singing, planting in Gan Judy, spotting familiar faces from camp and shul, and ending the day feeling confident and eager to return.
Israeli branding and design agency Verticalloop teamed up with artist Idan Barzilay for the illustrations, which capture the warmth and energy of our lower school campuses. The story was written by Rachel Sales and Olivia Marcus of Enunciate, who have partnered with NSHA for years on communications and storytelling projects.
We’re thrilled to see this storybook being read and shared — and even more excited knowing it’s helping children imagine themselves at NSHA, already feeling like they belong.
To request a copy, please reach out to Mrs. Abigail Weiss ‘96 at aweiss@nsha.org.
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