Iris Cohen Dor is leaving the management of the school in Haifa • after 18 years

Iris Cohen Dor moves to a position at the headquarters of the Ministry of Education in Jerusalem and finishes managing the Ben Gurion School in the old Rome after 18 years in the position. The person who will replace her is the person who was her deputy until two years ago, Limor Goshen.

Cohen Dor is from Haifa and was born in Haifa, a graduate of Leo Buck School. She studied her first degree at Tel Aviv University and her second degree at Haifa University in management and development of educational systems.

The students cheer for Iris ► Watch

Cohen Dor tells how she came to run the Ben Gurion School:

I started as a substitute for the social worker in the institutions of the Youth Protection Authority, even though I was not a social worker. It is a position that gave me meaning in education and the understanding of how great the influence of the teacher/educator/social worker is in the lives of the children and boys. After that I was a teacher in studios and in the process I worked as a nanny Academics for teaching and teaching certificate. I worked in Haifa and Tivon. During these years I was an ICT instructor for teachers. In 2006 I started managing the Ben Gurion school, which had only 180 students.

"The management role is a significant one, I really enjoyed it," notes Cohen Dor, "We have led a variety of projects over the years. The school is surrounded by a grove, a green corner. Part of the school's vision is that nature is an important element in the lives of children and adults alike, and care must be taken that the children stay in the natural spaces in Haifa for a long time.

In Ben Gurion we were able to make this possible thanks to the fact that the school is surrounded by green. Nature is part of everyday learning. In one of the years we did a project together with Prof. Ofra Maizels from the University of Haifa. Prof. Maysels emphasizes the importance of nature in the lives of both children and adults. We took the children on many nature tours. We did it together with Audrey Langer, who is a mentor. Audrey has been coming to school on a fixed day a week for several years now and takes all the students out into nature with her."

Ben Gurion School as part of the community

"We believe in community cooperation. We have done many projects in which the community is integrated. So, for example, every year the school holds the Memorial Day ceremony in the Boys' Grove. The school is responsible for all the logistics in the ceremony - from chairs to a stage, generators, and more. Of course, a school also produces the The ceremony itself and brings the contents with the participation of the school community: a singing group that consists of parents, teachers, students, class instructors and the coordinator of the school's community system.

The old Romema neighborhood comes to a ceremony that unites us every year and especially in this complex year. In addition, almost every year we hold a community show for the school children with a creator such as Yossi Banai or Yehoram Teharlev. The teachers teach the children songs by the same creator in the classrooms and then present the show to the parents.

Over the years, we have also made many collaborations with institutions for special education (Gil School), with Arab schools (Ahmadiyah School and more) and religious schools (Nativ Carmel) for the purpose of getting to know each other and connecting to avoid unnecessary prejudices. During these activities The children learned about themselves qualities they didn't know existed and skills that developed in them as a result of the meeting."

"Over the years, the staff changed and grew. 4 special education classes were added to the school. The school currently has about 400 students. The school staff includes both teachers, integrators, and an extensive therapeutic team. Everyone is constantly paying, learning and developing, and I thank them very much That way, I know I'm leaving the school in good hands. Of course, it wouldn't be possible without the management team.

We are very busy with 21st century tools. We are learning about artificial intelligence for the second year. My deputy is Esti Barak and I want to say a special thank you to her. On May XNUMX, I will be replaced by Limor Goshen, who was my deputy until two years ago. I'm sure she will take the school to new places."

The welfare of the students requires the joint work of parents-teachers-students

"I would like to thank the chairman of the school and community parents' committee, Lior Goldberg, and all the parents' leadership for their frequent and orderly cooperation. The welfare of the students requires the joint work of parents-teachers-students. The connections we create and nurture, along with curiosity and interest, lead us to create a better society and educate children who are moral, Zionist, people-loving and connected to themselves and their goals.

I am grateful for the privilege given to me to run a school. This is an extremely fulfilling mission.
I am moving to a staff position at the Ministry of Education in Jerusalem regarding training in the national field in order to renew myself and challenge myself. I will continue to accompany Limor Goshen one day a week until the end of the year and I am available for anything needed.

I would like to thank the head of education in the Haifa Municipality, Ilana Truk, the Ministry of Education, the former district director in the Ministry of Education, Saar Harel, his successor, Sigal Cohen, and his entire team, and above all, send all my love to the lovely school students and wish them and the team great success!"