By Shira Deener, Head of School. This the week, before our annual signature fundraising event, A Taste of What Really Matters, we wanted to give you a taste of what really matters here at JCDS, starting with the warmth of Aliza’s smile enveloping those who enter our school! On Wednesday, several Middle School students took … More School Sparks: Taste What Really Matters
By Shira Deener, Head of School. Kif Kef (Fun Fun) week was filled with joy and connection, from a lower school costume parade, to Megillah reading with JCDS parents, alumni, students, and staff, to a mixed-grade seudah (festive Purim meal), to an incredible middle school-led Purim carnival, and much, much more! In addition, this year’s … More School Sparks: Chagigat Purim Sameach!
By Shira Deener, Head of School. This week, we had the pleasure of presenting our strategic planning process for the next five to seven years with the faculty, staff, parents, and broader JCDS community. Members of four task forces shared some of the big questions currently under exploration which pertain to enrollment, the hiring and … More School Sparks: Strategic Joy
By Shira Deener, Head of School. The famous 19th century rabbi, Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch, said something profound. He stated that “bal taschit,” do not destroy, “is the most comprehensive warning to human beings not to misuse the position that God has given them as masters of the world and its matter through capricious, passionate, or merely … More School Sparks: “Bal Taschit בל תשחית,” Do Not Destroy
By Shira Deener, Head of School. כי האדם עץ השדה A Person is a Tree of a Field Deuteronomy: 20:19 This week, we celebrated Tu BiShvat, the 15th day of the month of Shvat. This is one of four birthdays we celebrate in Judaism, with this one being for the birth of the trees. If … More School Sparks: A Person is a Tree of a Field
By Shira Deener, Head of School. אָ֣ז יָשִֽׁיר־מֹשֶׁה֩ וּבְנֵ֨י יִשְׂרָאֵ֜ל אֶת־הַשִּׁירָ֤ה הַזֹּאת֙ לַֽיי וַיֹּאמְר֖וּ לֵאמֹ֑ר אָשִׁ֤ירָה לַֽיי כִּֽי־גָאֹ֣ה גָּאָ֔ה ס֥וּס וְרֹכְב֖וֹ רָמָ֥ה בַיָּֽם׃ Exodus 15:1 Then Moses and the Israelites sang this song to the LORD. They said: I will sing to the LORD, for He has triumphed gloriously. This week is Shabbat Shirah שבת שירה, … More School Sparks: Song of the Sea and More
By Shira Deener, Head of School. How can learning about percentages help our students make sense of the world around them? At JCDS, a 7th grade math unit in which students learn how to calculate how much a value has changed over time is also an opportunity to apply math learning to real-world scenarios and current events. … More School Sparks: 7th Grade Percent Change Project
By Shira Deener, Head of School. “To see the other side, to defend another people, not despite your tradition but because of it, is the heart of pluralism.” – Eboo Patel, founder Interfaith America Intentional pluralism, the core of a JCDS experience, underscores Patel’s belief that a commitment to one’s tradition can lead to seeing the … More School Sparks: Dare to Dream: MLK & Heschel
By Shira Deener, Head of School Last week, we began our School Sparks series to highlight how we put into practice what we claim in our JCDS mission statement. As we share HOW we achieve this goal and make our implicit beliefs more explicit, we hope you will enjoy this latest installment. We invite you … More School Sparks: “How Do You Want to Feel Today?”
By Shira Deener, Head of School. It is easy to write on our website that, “At JCDS, pluralism is more than the existence of diversity — it is an active posture, a point of view that shapes how we attempt to build and foster Jewish community, and how we understand and seek to engage with … More School Sparks: Starting the New Year by Making the Implicit Explicit
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