Teacher Bios

Mispallelim's kindergarten teacher, Bonnie Kaplan, has a Bachelor's degree from Franklin and Marshall College and a Master's degree in elementary education from Millersville University. Having left her job as an elementary school teacher in the Lower Merion School District to raise a family, Bonnie is thrilled to return to teaching at Ohev Shalom. When not at the synagogue, Bonnie enjoys spending time with her husband Rich and children , Talia, Daniel, and Jordyn. Her hobbies include reading, scrapbooking, and cooking. Bonnie considers herself fortunate to be part of both the Ohev Shalom family and Mispallelim's faculty.

My name is Daniella Cellucci. I am Graduate student at Gratz College in the Masters of Jewish Studies with a concentration in Jewish Early Childhood Education. I hold a B.A. in Psychology with a minor in Women and Gender Studies from Rutgers University. I love my Judaism! I have a passion for Kashrut, Jewish History, Biblical Horticulture and Foods and creative Jewish learning! Todah!

She comes to us as a member of the Ohev family. Her parents and grandparents are active in the synagogue. Jill has done Rosh Hashana Holiday services for Ohev. She is also an aerobics instructor. We are very lucky to have Jill as one of our excellent teachers.

I have been in Jewish education for 25 years. The last 12 years I have been both a member and teacher at Ohev Shalom. I also teach Israel Education at TBI in Blue Bell. I have been privileged to be part of Philadelphia Israel Education Program through the Auerbach Central Agency for Jewish Education for the last two years. I also teach Spanish at Garnet Valley Elementary School and run a program that provides French and Spanish language instruction in the three Garnet Valley Elementary Schools. In my free time I love read, walk and to travel. I spend as much time as possible in New York city. I am a huge Broadway musical fan. I have two beautiful grown daughters, Hannah and Alanna and two cats Phinneas and Emma.

Karen and her family have been members of Ohev Shalom for 11 years and is excited to be teaching on Sunday to many of the children she met when they were just babies. She is a Sisterhood past president and the current sisterhood vice-president, as well as the synagogue membership co-chair. Karen and her husband, Brad, are the proud parents of Hana and Rachel, one of our students who will be becoming a Bat Mitzvah this spring. She thanks you for entrusting your children with her and welcomes any feedback that you might want to give to her.

Pauline Rosenberg has 20 years experience teaching in Jewish schools. A former resident of Jerusalem, she speaks Hebrew fluently. In addition, she tutors b’nei mitzvah students and has arranged bar mitzvahs at the kotel. She is also on staff of Beth Am Israel and Temple Sinai.

I am currently pursuing a degree in Business Marketing and Management at Touro College in Manhattan. I have always attended Jewish day schools and I have also spent a year studying Judaics in Beit Shemesh, Israel. I hope that Ii can relay my love of Judaism and the Hebrew language to my student, here at Ohev Shalom.

Mark is a teaching not only at Ohev but also at Glenwood Elementary in Media. He has taught Hebrew school on and off for the past 15 years at Ohev, and Beth Tikvah B'Nai Jeshurun in Erdenheim. Mark and his wife Miriam have two children who attend Mispallelim, Lily and Zach, and one future Mispallelim student Ava. They live in Media, Pa.

Rick has been teaching at Ohev for many years. He and his family are lifetime members of Ohev Shalom. Rick has a degree in Judaism, Religion and History. He encourages the students to think independently and wrestle with their feelings. He wants the students to learn to question and find the correct answers.

Shalom! My name is Matt Rosenbaum. This is my first year here at Ohev Shalom and I am very excited about teaching the 7th grade. You see, this is my specialty since, along with teaching all grades, this is my 12th straight year working with b'nei mitzvah classes at various religious schools. Already I have developed a nice rapport with this wonderful and mature group. I am a native Philadelphian and most recently enjoyed working in the Education Department at the Anti-Defamation League. I worked on programs dealing with anti-bias and diversity training (ADL is known for its No Place for Hate® at our local middle and high schools). I studied Psychology at Temple University but have gravitated toward Jewish Communal Service having served as the Assistant Director of American Jewish Congress and Regional Teen Coordinator for the JCCs in the early part of this new millennium. One interesting fact about me: I used to own a comedy club and rock club on the University of Penn campus!

I am married to Beth Kohler. We have been married for thirty years. We have two children. Seth is twenty three years old. He is a sports management major at Delaware Valley College. Rachel is twenty years old she is a public relations major at Hofstra University.

I am a graduate of Villanova University, Antioch College and State College of New Jersey. As of November, I have been a teacher of special education for the Philadelphia Public Schools for thirty years. Currently, I am a high school teacher at the Philadelphia Military Academy. At the Academy I teach special education and co- teach western civilizations and earth and space science.

I have taught religious school for the past fifteen years. During this time I have enjoyed teaching: history of Israel, values and Holocaust studies.

When not teaching I enjoy coaching swimming for the Philadelphia Maccabi Swim Team.

My name is Elana DiCristo and I am currently a fourth year student at Drexel University. I am studying accounting and am currently working at PricewaterhouseCoopers for my six month co-op. My minor at Drexel University is Judaic Studies. I served as the Treasurer last year for Drexel University's Hillel organization. I graduated from Haverford High School and Gratz Hebrew High School. I teach Gan and Mechinah at Or Shalom Hebrew School on Sunday mornings. I have spent the past 6 summers tutoring children in both reading Hebrew and helping with Bar/Bat Mitzvah preparation.

In my spare time, I am involved with Hillel at Drexel University and attend Israeli Folk Dancing weekly.

Teacher Biographies