Moriah School launches new athletic center

The Moriah School in Englewood is a smidge over 60 years old now, and it’s been growing and changing over all that time, responding to our increasing understanding of how children learn, to leaps in technology, and to upheavals in the world around us, among many other stimuli.

Last year, it opened a new early childhood center. This year, in the second phase of its ambitious expansion project, it built a new athletic center that opened last week, drawing not only students but their parents, school alumni, local rabbis, and other community leaders and members.

It was a massive celebration, Erica Tannenbaum, Moriah’s development director, said.

“Not only is it our athletic center and gym, it is also the largest community space in the school,” she continued. “This really was the first time that we were able to bring the whole community together. We had over 600 people. The stands were packed.

“It was a nice way to show off the building. And it was fun. It was a very sporty event, and it had the community feeling. It was so exciting to see everyone together.”

This gym will not replace the old one; instead, by providing a separate space for the middle school, it will make scheduling significantly easier. And since it’s Moriah’s largest space, it opens new possibilities for all-school programming.

The opening day was packed with activities. “We started with a pep rally,” Ms. Tannenbaum said. “And not only did we launch the space, but we also rebranded the athletics team. Last year, we had a contest to come up with our new name.”

The team had been the Mountaineers, but “we are now the Moriah Lions,” she said. There’s also a new mascot; logically, it is a lion.

“We used the pep rally as an opportunity to introduce our student players on the fall teams, and the choir sang.”

After the pep rally, the Harlem Wizards played against a team made up of fathers of Moriah students. “Our dads had so much fun!” Ms. Tannenbaum said; some of them play pickup games together, and they will use the new gym. “It was one of the highlights of the night, because it showed that it’s the place for the full community.”