TEAM Transforms Winnipeg School

By COLlive reporter

Project TEAM, the Torah Approach to Emotional Awareness and Middos, is making waves internationally as children enrolled in 25 TEAM schools, from Virginia to Beijing, are growing spiritually, emotionally, and developmentally by leaps and bounds.

The innovative 30-theme curriculum is a project of Tzivos Hashem and offers an interactive middos and social-skills training program to educate young children, empowering them to meet their daily interactions with strength of character, all masterfully woven through entertaining, spell-binding, and insightful puppet shows.

The program has made such an impact on its participants that one director credits TEAM with transforming her entire preschool.

Mrs. Adina Altein, director of Chabad Torah Tots of Winnipeg, Manitoba, has used Project TEAM in her school for four years. “Project TEAM has impacted my preschool in an incredible way,” she says. “It provides the framework to really encourage the children in a fun, meaningful way to use the talents and faculties Hashem has given them, to appreciate who they are as Jewish children, and to self-regulate.”

The highly customizable curriculum provides teachers with social-skills training and social-emotional vocabularies to guide children to understand their emotional reactions and brainstorm solutions.

“My teachers come from very diverse backgrounds,” Mrs. Altein says, “but Project TEAM has given us the tools to all be on the same page. We’re using the same lingo and reinforcing the same positive thoughts and actions, and this has incredibly enhanced our impact in the classroom.”

Ms. Gabi Kneller, a teacher at Chabad Torah Tots, describes the impact TEAM has had on her young students. “TEAM has given my students the comfort level necessary to explore their feelings and express their thoughts. I often find them referring back to the vocabulary and lessons taught during TEAM puppet shows.”

Project TEAM is transforming children’s lives outside the classroom as well. “I am so impressed with Project TEAM,” says Mr. Roni Estein, father of three TEAM students ages 2, 4, and 7. “We love celebrating victories together, and rejoice when someone in our family does the right thing, even when it’s hard for them. I look forward to incorporating more TEAM lessons in my parenting.”

For its exemplary implementation of Project TEAM, Chabad Torah Tots has been awarded the TEAM School of the Year Certificate, and will receive free lifetime staff training.

Following numerous inquiries, Project TEAM, which has been available only to schools in the past, is now open to individuals and trained professionals wishing to use the program for their families, practices, or to create a TEAM group in their community.

Mrs. Susan Goutkovitch, social worker with the Jewish Family Services in Oak Park, MI, expressed enthusiasm at the new option: “TEAM’s invaluable tools are something every child deserves! I am excited about adding TEAM to my repertoire of tools to empower the children I work with.”

In honor of this new feature, the program will be holding a bonus raffle to win The Fundamentals: Part One of the program, for any school or individual interested in the program. Drawing will be held on Rosh Chodesh Adar Beis, March 11th.

The program is divided into three segments which can be purchased individually or as a whole. TEAM will be accepting 10 new schools for the coming school year on a first-come, first-served basis. Individuals can register for Project TEAM at any time.

To learn more about Project TEAM, visit TorahTeam.com