Marking a new phase in its 25-year history, the South Peninsula Hebrew Day School received unanimous approval from the Sunnyvale City Council for the construction of a chapel-library building.
Noting that the school added a computer center a year ago, Yoran Rubin, board of directors president, said the new library represents another step in the school’s evolution “to meet the ever-changing developments in education and technology.”
Designed by architect Stan Field of Palo Alto, formerly of Jerusalem, the two-story building will house the library on the lower floor. The chapel above will have “one big dome and four small corners, Mideastern-style,” said school board member Fred Zaghi, who has served as a liaison with the architect.
Added Rubin: “Everyone is very excited and pleased that we received the go-ahead with this project…We look forward to our students having separate facilities for services and expanded space for their library studies.”
The 374-student Sunnyvale day school, which spans preschool to eighth grade, has been experiencing an upsurge in enrollment. Currently, all group activities are conducted in the single multipurpose room. The new building provides needed additional space — not only for books but for daily chapel use.
“Most important is the fact that the library will be three libraries in one,” said Rubin. In addition to a collection for general study, there will be a Judaica area housing great Jewish books in English, and an area featuring books in Hebrew.
Getting city approval was a yearlong process involving meetings with neighbors as well as the city council, according to Zaghi.
“We wanted to have enough setback and landscaping to create privacy of properties adjacent,” he said.
With preliminary construction cost estimates of between $600,000 and $900,000, funds are needed. Morey Schapira, past president of the school, and his wife, Barbara, will co-chair the capital campaign.
Drawings are now being sent out for bid to general contractors. Schapira said a series of capital campaign activities will soon begin, including parlor meetings and mailings to parents of current and past students as well as to alumni. “The board is very optimistic based on preliminary discussions that there is a great deal of support for the project.”
Schapira is pleased that the school has selected Field, who has worked on synagogues in Jerusalem. He said the new building is greatly needed to bolster the school’s educational program.
“Being a day school in Silicon Valley, we need to be on the leading edge. This chapel-library will greatly enhance the quality of life at the school.”
Members of the general community are being asked to donate books to the school. “Children will get the advantage of using these books, and the donor will know they are being used for study as well as getting a tax write-off,” Schapira said.
The Schapiras, who have been involved with South Peninsula Hebrew Day School for more than 15 years, will be the honorees at the school’s anniversary dinner in March. “It has been a positive and rewarding experience for us,” Schapira said.