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General Studies  Upcoming Events

The Secular Department is off to an excellent start for this new school year.  This year is an accreditation year through WASC (Western Association of Schools & Colleges) with a planned visitation the beginning of April.  Yeshiva Gedolah has been accredited since 1984.  We look forward to this process as it allows us the opportunity to reflect over the last six years of growth and development.

Mr. Rick Hepworth
Mr. Rick Hepworth, who serves as Curriculum Coordinator for the Yeshiva, as well as teaching all of our math classes for over 30 years.  He also spearheads the WASC Accreditation.  Mr. Hepworth is very excited about this Business Math class this year, having a wealth of discussion material on today’s economy.  Mr. Hepworth would like to congratulate 6 students who are taking both Geometry and Algebra II this year, enabling them to take Calculus next year.  They are:  Menachem Betesh, Israel Levy, Reuven Mehdizadeh, Yonatan  Netkin, Yosef Rosansky, and Daniel Schlussel.  There will be a total of 11 students taking Calculus.  It must be noted that the Yeshiva has not offered Calculus in 20 years, and we are very pleased to have such capable students.  We congratulate Mr. George Mann, Principal at Yeshiva Rav Isaacsohn, for his efforts in preparing his students for advanced mathematics.

Dr. Robert Carskadon
Serves as an educational consultant to the Yeshiva for the secular curriciulum.

Dr. Jonathan Friedman
Teaching all of our science classes.

Mr. Mark Gallarza
Excellent teacher returning to Yeshiva Gedolah, teaching English and U.S. History.

Rabbi Shmuel Baruch Manne
This year, we have several curriculum and staffing changes.  Rabbi Shmuel Baruch Manne, who is in his second year of teaching at the Yeshiva, is teaching our recently formed class of Historical Literature.  This class covers Jewish Literature (Navi), and students write critical essays on the topics.  These essays are then graded by an outside consultant who corrects the papers for all the necessary English components.  In addition, Rabbi Manne is in his second year of teaching World History to the 9th and 10th graders.  This class was restructured three years ago, presenting world history as it relates to the Jewish populace.  Both of these classes are very popular with our students.

Our Physical Education instructor is Mr. Mason.  He is very pleased with the new gym facility which allows every student to participate in a physical activity during P.E. including basketbal & ping pong.
The Secular Program is divided into five 45-minute periods with a five minute break between classes.  The curriculum includes:
8 Semesters of English:
  • American & British Literature, Jewish Historical Literature, World Literature, & Poetry
  • Creative & Communicative Writing Skills
  • Grammar & Composition
  • Emphasis on Vocabulary for usage, SAT & other testing
  • Public Speaking
8 Semesters of Science:
  • General Science & Health
  • Biology with Lab
  • Chemistry with Lab
  • Physics with Lab
8 Semesters of Math:
  • Algebra Honors Program available with Intermediate Algebra
  • Geometry
  • Algebra II **
  • Honors Trig/Pre-Calculus   **
8 Semesters of Social Studies:
  • Ancient World History, World History–Classical & Medieval
  • Modern World History
  • Government & Economics
  • U.S. History   *
Other Courses & Electives:
  • 4 Semesters of Hebrew
  • 6 Semesters of Physical Education
  • 2 Semesters of Visual & Performing Arts  **
**Elective    *AP Course Available
This 2007 PSAT Results were the best the Yeshiva has had.  In the 11th grade, 85% of the students were above the national average, with 31% in the upper 80 and 90 percentile.  Two students are finalists for National Merit Scholarships.  For the 10th graders who took the test, 100% are above the national average, with 6 in the upper 80 and 90 percentile.