Mazal Tov to Our Honorees
Malka & Steven HElft
Ayala & David LAllouz
JOrdana & Rabbi JOnathan Morgenstern
Barbara Seader
educator award
Malka & Steven HElft
Malka and Steven Helft are the proud parents of Sophie ('24), Liah ('26), and Gabriel (’28). They have been enthusiastic members of the Westchester Day School community since 2013. Malka is the founder of Think Chic Interiors, an interior design firm serving Westchester County and Connecticut. She is a passionate advocate of the Day School and serves on the Executive Committee of the Board of Trustees as the Chair of the Recruitment Committee. Over the years, she has been an active member of the PTA, working with the Back to School Carnival & Book Fair committees, among others. She has volunteered to teach the “Learning to Look” program for the past six years during which she has had the privilege of watching her kids and their peers thrive in the classroom. Steven is a gastroenterologist at Optum Tri-State Medical Group. He has never missed a school play and is very involved in his children's educational and extra-curricular activities ranging from weekend science projects to softball games. You will never catch him at a board meeting of any kind. Steven and Malka established the Dr. Arthur Helft (Z”L) Israel Fund in 2021 to help deepen the connection of WDS students with Israel. Steven and Malka are active members of the Hebrew Institute of White Plains. Malka serves on the Interiors Committee and has spearheaded many community initiatives. They are inspired by the devotion of the WDS faculty and administration to the success and happiness of their children.
Ayala & David Lallouz
Ayala and David Lallouz are the proud parents of Aaron ('27) and Flora ('29) and have been a part of the WDS family since 2017. Since their first visit to WDS, Ayala and David felt confident that it was the right place for their children. Ayala began volunteering with the PTA during Aaron’s first year at WDS, beginning with co-chairing the Spring Boutique in 2018. Ayala then took on the role of PTA co-president from 2018-2020. In this role she co-chaired many events, including Chopped with Naomi Nachman, Meet the Author with David Adler, and a school-wide family Challah bake. Ayala has also been involved in the Teacher Appreciation committee which selects and distributes teachers’ gifts throughout the year. Ayala began volunteering with the Learning to Look art appreciation program in 2018, and currently chairs the program. Ayala and David are active members of the Young Israel of New Rochelle, where David is a leader of the Sephardic Minyan. Together with the WDS leadership, David is looking to spearhead efforts to incorporate Sephardic traditions into the academic and religious life at WDS. Ayala is an attorney by training, and is currently a stay at home mom. David is an attorney and is currently Head of Mergers and Acquisitions and Chief Legal Officer at the Bruderman Family of Companies. He is also Chair of the Mergers and Acquisitions Committee of the New York State Bar Association since 2021.
Jordana & Rabbi Jonathan Morgenstern
Jordana and Rabbi Jonathan Morgenstern are the proud parents of (soon to be) four Westchester Day School graduates- Simon ('14) along with his wife Lauren, Ayden ('17), Ella ('19), and Jacob ('23) and even prouder grandparents of baby Aryeh. God willing, with Jacob’s “mezinka” graduation, the Morgensterns will have been actively involved with WDS through their children for almost 20 years. In addition to Rabbi Morgenstern being a WDS parent, he has also served two stints on the educational team at WDS, having served as the Dean of Students and Judaic Studies faculty member from 2006-2008, and then again, as the 7th grade Chumash teacher in 2018-2019. As the Rabbi of Young Israel of Scarsdale, Rabbi Morgenstern has also led and supported many joint initiatives between the school and the shul. Jordana has been an active member of the WDS parent body throughout the years as well, having participated on many PTA committees, chairing multiple 8th grade and dinner video committees, and as co-chair of numerous WDS Dinners. Jordana and the Rabbi have been true ambassadors of our beloved school and have been stalwart supporters of WDS - its warmth, its mission, values, and Hashkafa - for close to two decades and they look forward to their continued involvement in the school well into the future.
Barbara Seader,
educator award
Known to her WDS students as Mrs. Seader, Barbara grew up in Scarsdale, one of four children, and attended the public schools there. She graduated from Brandeis University and earned a Masters Degree in Healthcare Administration from Baruch College. She then met Bruce, her husband of now 44 years. Following her Masters, she worked for several years at Maimonides Hospital in Brooklyn as a hospital administrator. Barbara opted out of the workforce to raise her daughters, Jennifer and Erica. When Jen was in the 6th grade, Barbara fell in love with the math curriculum Jen was learning, which sparked a new career path for her! Barbara began taking advanced math classes at local colleges to be able to enroll in Manhattanville College for her (2nd) graduate degree in math education for grades 5 through 12. She worked at Scarsdale Middle School as a teacher’s aide in math and then student-taught there. At a Teacher’s Job Fair at Manhattanville, in the spring of 2007, she met Rabbi Einzig (former WDS Head of School) … and the rest is history. The 75th Anniversary of WDS marks Barbara’s 16th year teaching at Westchester Day School. In her 5th and 6th grade classrooms, she tries to instill in her students the same passion and love of math that she has. Teaching Math brings Barbara so much joy. The warmth and collaboration of WDS colleagues makes the school feel like home for her. Perhaps the only thing that brings Barbara more passion and joy than teaching, is her family. Barbara has 4 grandchildren: Jonah (10), Drew (7), Ella (5), and Ethan (2). Barbara feels very blessed that her family lives closeby, and she can spend time with them often.