Academic excellence in a warm, chassidic environment
Beit Chaya Mushka is a homey and warm school located in Kiryat Shmuel, Haifa. Naale students comprise around 20% of the 250 students at the high school. Local Israeli Chabad girls attend the school from area communities like Hadera and Caesaria up through Ma’alot in the north of Israel.
Students at Naale’s Beit Chaya Mushka program are children of Chabad shluchim from around the world who want to receive a high-quality education at an established Chabad high school for girls.
Beit Chaya Mushka is in its 30th year. The school has had a dormitory option for 10 years, and has worked with the Naale program for 4 years. Daughters of Chabad shluchim from around the world who wished to attend the renowned school had previously boarded with neighborhood families. It soon became clear that the time was right to open a dormitory to house these overseas students, allowing them to join the school and benefit from all it has to offer.
Students who wish to attend Naale at Beit Chaya Mushka apply directly to the school and fill out initial screening paperwork. The school speaks with references such as teachers and family friends to ensure that it is the right match for each student. Afterward, the regular Naale enrollment process can be carried out.
At Beit Chaya Mushka, individual classes are not separate entities. Rather, the school functions like a large family in which everyone interacts with one another in a natural and friendly way. Classes intermingle and the atmosphere is one of bonding and friendship. Every student at Beit Chaya Mushka feels beloved and welcome.
The school features modern classrooms, a computer room, a library, a science room, and recreation areas where students can participate in sports and social activities.
What type of student typically attends Beit Chaya Mushka?
Beit Chaya Mushka serves Chabad students, and girls at the Naale program grew up on shlichut all over the world. An atmosphere of dedication and chassidut of the Rebbe is felt strongly throughout the school. Ruchniyut, or vibrant spirituality, is what truly drives the school’s values.
Beit Chaya Mushka students have the values of Chabad strongly inculcated within them. They come from different places, but they are united by their desire for a comprehensive education according to the principles of Chabad chassidut.
Beit Chaya Mushka’s students are typically the daughters of a Chabad Rabbi and Rebbetzin who are stationed at one of many outposts around the world. They hail from places like Thailand, Australia, China, various locations in Europe, and many more. Often, students come to Beit Chaya Mushka because they heard about its wonderful reputation as a result of siblings or friends who learned at the school.
The students at the school truly understand one another. It can be challenging to grow up as role models to the larger community, often living by a different set of values from the other kids in their city or neighborhood. They are raised with a commitment to serve and assist their home communities. It is wonderful to watch students at Beit Chaya Mushka connect, recharge, and refocus at the school. The school atmosphere evokes the positive energy of a kinus shluchot for teenage girls..
Academic subjects learned by Beit Chaya Mushka students include Torah, Chassidut, math, English, Hebrew grammar, literature, history, and science. Additional limudei kodesh classes include Sefer Hamitzvot, Torah She Be’al Pe, and Parshat Hashavua.
Megamot, or electives, include graphic arts, specializing in graphic design, and business management with specialties in accounting and human resources.
School studies at Beit Chaya Mushka are accented with fun events and workshops. Shiurim, exciting school trips, and activities also round out the schedule. While there aren’t formal chugim at the school, the girls are very busy and enjoy their time at school immensely.
The girls come to the school knowing Hebrew, making it easier for them to adapt to life in Israel. There is, however, an element of cultural adjustment that is still necessary. Many of the overseas students learned in the online school for children of shluchim before their arrival at Beit Chaya Mushka, or in the local Jewish school of their home community. They are well prepared and acclimate quickly because they share a common background and values with the other students at the school.
Beit Chaya Mushka is geared towards daughters of Israeli and Hebrew speaking shluchim. The staff and students are Hebrew speakers, making the school suitable for Chabad students who already possess a strong Hebrew background. Academic help is provided as needed.
Dormitories
The school dorms are located in nearby Kiryat Yam and consist of several private homes that house several girls in each. In the dorms, the girls continue building lifelong relationships outside the classroom with their classmates as well as with girls of different ages from other classes.
Each home has a madricha (counselor) and an em bayit (dorm mother) to whom students or parents can turn for guidance or help at any time.
Each home also has an equipped kitchen, a common area for eating and recreation, a piano, and laundry machines for students to use.
Staff
Beit Chaya Mushka’s Hebrew-speaking staff is dedicated to helping students academically and emotionally. The school’s teachers and counselors are readily available to the girls, allowing them to flourish academically, emotionally, and spiritually.
School achievements
Beit Chaya Mushka has earned several prizes for excellence in education.
The Naale Elite Academy program is jointly funded by the Israeli Ministry of Education and the Jewish Agency.
