Co-curricular and Extra-curricular Activities
Profile of the JCDS Graduate
As our students journey throughout their years at JCDS, in a community dedicated to Jewish pluralism and bilingual education, they will develop in many ways: academically, emotionally, socially, physically and religiously. They will explore and discover much about the world and themselves as they grow from kindergarten students to eighth graders. We design our school with the hope that our graduates will recognize that learning is a life-long process requiring discipline, and offering delight, challenge and understanding. We hope that our graduating eighth graders have insight and self-knowledge, decision-making skills, personal relationships, study skills and a Jewish identity which will enhance their ability to be both joyful and productive members of many communities.
We want our graduates to possess the insight and self-knowledge to
· be self-reflective and evaluate their strengths and weaknesses
· use their personal strengths and learning strategies to reach and assess goals
· have an awareness of their personal spiritual development
We also expect them to have strong personal qualities which allow them to
· behave in ways informed by the values of the Torah
· be self-directed, independent, diligent and disciplined in reaching their goals
· be motivated to achieve, assume responsibility, and take initiative
· experience a passion for learning and take an open-minded approach to life
· be self-confident and proud of who they are
· handle frustration, be flexible and adjust to change
We want our graduates to have strong Jewish identities which allow them to
· understand and respect the richness and diversity of Jewish practices and observances
· stand in relationship to God and have a sense of yirat ha'shamayim
· make conscious, informed personal choices in relation to Jewish observance, ritual and practice
· develop a meaningful connection to Israel - its people, land, history and future
We expect our graduates' relationships to others to include
· an understanding and respect for the diverse Jewish practices/observances of members of the JCDS community
· open communication, with those both within and outside of the JCDS community, about common grounds and differences
· bonding with classmates, having positive relationships with schoolmates of all ages
· participating effectively in groups and teams - exhibiting support for others and contributing to group achievement
· giving and taking feedback constructively, avoiding blaming, shaming, offensiveness or defensiveness
· participating effectively as a member of various civic and religious communities (Jewish, American, Israeli, neighborhood, etc.)
Our graduates will have strong study skills so that they can
· organize and structure time, environment, and tasks for learning within assigned time frames
· integrate and apply knowledge within and among disciplines, to both predictable and unpredictable real-world situations
· communicate accurately and effectively with oral and written skills
· access technological resources for information and knowledge
· independently choose a topic, do research on it, analyze data, report findings/conclusions, and evaluate the process
We hold these bold and powerful ambitions for our graduates. We know that these goals for our graduates are really hopes and prayers for qualities which will grow with our students throughout their lives, and that we will provide an exciting and rigorous beginning for these life-long pursuits, as our students travel along their unique and shared paths.