MS Student Handbook

Joseph Safra Yeshivah High School

2025-2026

Ohr HaTorah Middle School Handbook

5785
2300 Hollywood Blvd.
Hollywood, FL 33020
Phone: (954) 416-0791

Introduction

Welcome to the Brand new Ohr HaTorah Middle School. A new destination here in South Florida for quality education both in Jewish and General studies. We are proud to be a part of the Ohr HaTorah family, which focuses on building relationships, engaging classes, excitement to learn Torah and mitzvos, and connecting with Hashem and the Jewish people. We aim for our students to be healthy, happy and value the breadth of knowledge and growth that can be achieved. Besides the quality of our faculty and administration, we all share the goal which is to bring out the best in your child and help them reach their potential.

The goal of this handbook is to outline the framework, procedures, and norms of our school. We firmly believe that a clear understanding of the expectations and culture of our school will lead to a successful year. Creating a positive, strong, and structured environment for all of our students, leads to greater opportunities for success, happiness, and fulfillment for each individual student. Parents are asked to please review this handbook with their children to familiarize them with the tandards and expectations of Ohr HaTorah.

No handbook, however, can take the place of direct and personal contact among parents, faculty, and administration. We look forward to hearing from you and working closely with each and every parent to form a strong team to bring out the very best in your child. We look forward to a wonderful year of learning and growth together.

Rabbi Moshe Rudenstein
Menahel

School Mission Statement

Ohr HaTorah Yeshiva Middle School, located in Hollywood, Florida, is designed to meet the diverse demographic needs of 6th-8th grade boys in the local South Florida Ashkenazic and Sephardic communities.

Our mission is to develop young men who become true bnei Torah, passionate about their Judaism, with exemplary character, self-confidence, and the Torah skills to be life-long learners. Our goal is to foster an environment of personal responsibility and commitment to the Jewish people and Eretz Yisrael. Our school strives for academic excellence, both in Limudei Kodesh and General Studies, equipping each student with the educational building blocks, life-skills, and personal guidance to be able to pursue higher education and a meaningful career and life path in accordance with the Torah and their individual purpose and talents. We are invested in the personal growth of our students, developing each one, with his personal strengths, to become an ambassador of Torah and Judaism in the world.

Steps for Success

Amplify your Best self (AKA – AMP-B)
A – Attendance – start on the right foot, be on time so your not behind
M – Materials – Did I bring everything I need with me to be successful today
P – Participation – seek knowledge, ask questions, share your thoughts
B – Behavior – Be respectful to others, act with kindness, show care and concern for others

School Hours
Sunday 8:30am-11:30am
Monday-Thursday 8:00am – 4:25pm
Friday 8:00am-12:30pm
Mishmar: Thursday nights 4:30pm-5:45pm

Attendance Policy
It is important for a student to arrive on time to school each day, starting on the right foot and showing a clear commitment to making davening a priority. However, when a child displays symptoms of a communicable disease they should stay at home. A child who becomes ill during the day may be required to go home and a parent will need to pick them up as soon as possible. Please be considerate of others by keeping your child home if they are sick.


Absences

Absence from school creates a disruption in the learning process and inhibits the growth of a student. Personal business, appointments, and routine medical and dental visits should not be made during school hours.
Any student who is absent from class is responsible for any material covered during their absence, including homework and any work assigned during class.

Students are allowed to be absent for a total of 16 days throughout the school year, including all forms of absences such as family vacations, illness, semachot, personal days, etc. Exceptions will be made by the administration for extended illnesses or extenuating circumstances. Students who miss more than this may require a summer learning program or additional tutoring. In extreme cases where more than 20% of classes have been missed, students risk not moving onto the next grade.

Please be advised when planning family vacations that will cause students to miss classes and risk falling behind. It is not the teacher’s responsibility to prepare days or weeks of makeup work for vacationing students. Please be courteous and give two weeks’ notice for vacations outside of school breaks so teachers can provide some materials to help the student not fall behind. Family vacations should be planned around calendar school vacations.

Carpool

In the interests of carpool safety and efficiency, please follow the following guidelines.
● Register your carpool with the OHT office
● Any changes to the routine carpool, ex. student is going home with another student, a
parent must contact the school office prior to dismissal to make them aware of the
change.

Early Drop Off and Late Care

If your child plans on carpooling with high school students and needs to be dropped off before 8:20am, they must stay in the Middle school building during that time. For those staying past 4:25pm, they will need a supervised activity which the school will provide for a fee, depending on the activity and number of students attending. It is important that this is communicated with the office before the start of the school year so adequate supervision is available.

Late Arrivals/Early Pickup

A student who arrives 15 minutes after the start of school must proceed to the office before coming to davening or their classes to get checked in and receive a late note. For early pickup, the office must be informed ahead of time. When the parent arrives at school, they should proceed to the office, sign out their child, and wait for the child in the office.

School Transportation Conduct

Students are expected to maintain the same standards of behavior on school transportation as those expected in school itself. Frequent behavioral problems will result in the student either temporarily suspended from school transportation or be permanently removed.

Assessments

A test calendar for all subjects will be used in order that students are not overwhelmed by too many tests on any given day. Tests will be posted 1 week in advance and students will have no more than 2 tests a day. One in Judaics and the other general studies.

Map Testing

MAP Growth, part of the Growth Activation Solution from NWEA, is the most trusted and innovative assessment for measuring achievement and growth in math and reading. It also provides teachers with accurate evidence to help inform instructional strategies regardless of how far students are above or below grade level. Twice over the duration of the school year students will be required to do a MAP achievement test for Reading and Math.

Report cards/Progress Reports

OHT-MS grades student performance based on two semesters. Progress reports will be sent out during the middle of the semester for students averaging below a 75 in any of their classes. Students who have below a 65 are considered failing the class and may require tutoring to help them catch back up. Parent teacher conferences will meet twice in the year shortly after progress reports go out. These meetings may take place in person or over zoom for the designated period of time. If a parent would like a longer discussion, arrangements should be made with the teacher and a mutual date/time will be selected.

Academic Honesty

While honesty is a core foundation of our Torah values, students are always expected to be honest in their interactions with others both in and out of school. OHT-MS will take disciplinary action for any form of cheating or plagiarism. This includes but is not limited to copying another student’s work, quizzes and tests. Also, a student may never directly copy from printed material or the internet, including AI generated content, and submit it as their own. Depending on the situation, a student may be given a zero for that test or assignment or be required to redo it.

Behavior Policy

Students are expected to act and speak in a manner that is in line with Torah values. Behaviors such as outwardly being disrespectful to teachers or classmates, bullying, or other disruptions to class time or other school related activities may result in losing time from recess or sports and more serious infractions may even end up with a suspension.

Derech Eretz Proper Conduct

For students to succeed and grow it is essential to have a healthy environment of mutual respect for one’s peers and teachers. Our curriculum is infused with these core values to help students further develop in the area of middos tovos. As a team the school in partnership with the parents find the greatest success when these middos are encouraged at home.

Safety and Security

Students must be supervised at all times. A student is never allowed to leave campus on their own without a supervising adult. Students are also not allowed to cross the alley from the Middle School building to Highschool or vice versa on their own. Students may also not be in any restricted areas of the building. Violation of these rules may result in a suspension or even expulsion from school.

Care of School Property

Students are responsible for the care of school property. All school property including the grounds, building and furnishings, should be used appropriately. Any damage will be their parents’ financial responsibility, including lost or damaged textbooks, chromebooks, etc.

Kashrus

In order that parents and students feel comfortable we ask that families only send in food, for example snacks, breakfast, and lunch, that bear a kosher certification symbol which is found on the CRC website at the following link https://consumer.crckosher.org/acceptable-kashrus-agencies/. All food provided by the school will also be Pas Yisroel and Chalav Yisroel.

Breakfast & Lunch

Breakfast is immediately after Shacharis. Students will have ten minutes before class. Students are encouraged to bring in a proper breakfast if they have not already eaten something at home. A proper breakfast gives them the energy and focus they need to start their day off right. A lunch plan option will be available for students. Students not on the lunch plan should make sure a proper lunch is brought everyday. The school is not responsible for feeding students who don’t bring in lunch.

Allergies

Parents of children with allergies must provide the school with written documentation from their doctor that explains what they are allergic to, the extent of the allergy, if it’s airborne or just by consumption and how they are affected, e.g. life threatening or rash, etc.

Class Parties

Throughout the year there are often celebrations such as a siyum, hanachas tefillin, bar mitzvahs, and other simchas. If parents are sending food into school for class parties please make sure it has a proper certification and must be Pas Yisroel and/or Chalav Yisroel. Also, please do not allow your child to bring in gum or soda as treats.

Bar Mitzvah Dates

Please email the office the date of your child’s Bo Bayom and Bar Mitzvah parsha.

Technology

OHT-MS will provide each student with a chromebook that will be used in school and are not allowed to be brought home unless given specific permission from a faculty member. Students will be responsible for any damage to their assigned chromebook and it should not be lent to other students. Students must have a signed technology agreement before they are allowed to use their chromebook. All devices are monitored and strictly filtered.

Cellphones

Cell phones as well as other digital devices are a source of tremendous distraction for students and often lead to other discipline issues. In general we encourage that Middle School students should not have their own personal devices and should be limited to the amount of time they are allowed to spend using them. OHT-MS policy is that students will not be allowed to bring to school or on school transportation any technology devices, including but not limited to cell phones, tablets, laptops, gaming devices, and/or smart watches.

Dress Code

Dress codes have been known to be an important factor in helping keep the school environments focused on learning and less on social status and peer pressure. With that in mind we kindly ask parents to make sure students are dressed accordingly to maintain a healthy environment for our school.

Shirts must be a polo or button down with collar in either the colors of navy blue, light blue, or white. Pants can either be navy blue or black dress pants. Other styles of pants such as sweat pants, jeans, joggers, or any other variety of non-dress pants may not be worn. Sweatshirts can be a hoodie but must be navy blue without any logos on it. Shoes/sneakers must have a back and can not be Crocs or slippers. Students must make sure they are wearing tzitzis.

Haircuts

Students’ haircuts should be modest and appropriate for a yeshiva setting. The length should not be too long or too short nor should there be any degree of a fade. Artificial hair colors are also nor permitted.

*Students who arrive at school in violation of the dress code will not be allowed into class until they are compliant with the dress code. The time missed from class will be considered an unexcused absence.

Medical Conditions & Medicine

Chronic medical conditions such as asthma, diabetes, and behavioral disorders that require medication must be reported to the administration. Parents must make sure to have signed medical documentation from the child’s doctor. Medication must be kept in the original prescription container and is in safekeeping by the school and distributed to the student by a faculty member. A student may not carry around medicine with them lest it gets lost or stolen or misused by the student or peers.