About the project
The Neve Ya’acov Elementary School Bet was built to serve approximately 1000 children in grades one-eight, including new immigrants and young Israeli families in Jerusalem’s northernmost suburb. The Jerusalem Foundation supported renovation of the school and rededicated it as the Horace & Grace Goldsmith Elementary School in 1984. It supported creation of a computer laboratory, innovative activities, including an independent study program, enrichment programs in music, art and dance, and neighborhood outreach programs, including a community clean-up day, and an adopt-a-grandparent program. The Foundation also supported construction of an environmental sculpture created by English sculptor Peter Fink behind the school in 1986. The sculpture is intended to frame the desert landscape and to provide shaded areas for outdoor classes. Fink conceived the piece during his earlier stay at Mishkenot Sha’ananim and worked with school students to bring it to fruition. Fink is know for work that combines art, architecture, urbanism and ecology. The school became an ultra-Orthodox Beit Ya’acov School for Girls in 1994.
