Recent Events | אירועים שוטפים |
JCDS Graduates are Learners on a Journey: Hear from a Graduate and One of Her Teachers
A Community Self Portrait: An Audit of Pluralism at JCDS
Matters of Taste 2011 Raises $616,000 Toward the Flexible Tuition Fund: There is Still Time for You to Help Us Meet Our Goal!
JCDS Graduates are Learners on a Journey: Hear from a Graduate and One of Her Teachers
A teacher’s greatest gift is to have former students return to tell of their happiness and achievements in secondary schools and report that JCDS prepared them for successful high school careers. Recently, Talia Rubin, class of 2010, visited JCDS, enthusiastically sharing testimony of the great experiences she, and her JCDS classmates, are having in high school. As you will read below, her English teacher confirms Talia’s observations.
Talia begins her conversation with Joanne Baker, her JCDS 8th grade English teacher, emphasizing how comfortable she is in freshman English class as a result of her JCDS training – her solid knowledge of language and grammar, and that she is able to thoughtfully and clearly craft essays. This sense of assuredness runs deeply throughout her days at Gann Academy… although she didn’t necessarily know this would be the case upon leaving JCDS!
“I was initially worried about being at the same level as kids from other schools, knowing they would have been taught differently and that I could easily be behind them. Shortly after the year began, however, I quickly noticed JCDS kids were definitely taking more challenging and difficult academic classes and that in conversations we are really comfortable sharing our ideas.”
When prompted for examples, Talia explained…“The analytical skills I was taught at JCDS allowed me to look at Talmudic and Biblical texts in a deep, intellectual way. Although we didn’t do a lot of ‘drilling‘ at JCDS, we got so much more; the depth of our thinking takes us above and beyond the basic meaning of the texts. Also, because of my early Hebrew classes at JCDS, I am totally comfortable speaking the language at school — and my ability with it was proven by my experience in conversing so easily when I was in Israel.
At the close of Joanne and Talia’s conversation, Talia stated with confidence what JCDS strives to achieve with each student:“ JCDS prepared me for my future and I am truly grateful to have attended the school for nine years!”
Talia’s academic confidence and observation that JCDS provided her with critical skills for success in high school is not a singular one. Tim Andrews, Talia’s English teacher at Gann Academy shared how he sees JCDS graduates in his classroom: “Students display a high level of intellectual curiosity and a strong work ethic. They seem to have a real sense of how to express their thoughts in an articulate manner. Their writing is structurally sound, and they know how to construct paragraphs and essays.” He went on to say, “JCDS graduates have an appreciation of learning for learning’s sake.” Tim observed that when students come to see him after a test or paper is graded, he finds that the JCDS graduates don’t come to him about the grade, rather they come to have a conversation about how they can improve their work and their skills. As a teacher, Tim appreciates that JCDS graduates are learners on a journey who embrace the process of learning.
A Community Self Portrait: An Audit of Pluralism at JCDS
Intentional pluralism is a JCDS core value. We devote our energies to shaping experiences that will help us realize our pluralist goals: We continue to strive to be a community that embraces families from a range of Jewish expression, practice, and belief. We hope that our students will be open to the many ways to live as a Jew, and that they will learn the history and texts we share. We want them to understand complexity and not to expect uniformity, and we expect that they will respect the dignity of each individual, while respecting others’ practices and as well as their own.
We recently have undertaken a reflective project, a Pluralism Audit, to explore what pluralism looks like in practice at the school and to hear what our community thinks about intentional pluralism at JCDS. This Audit is in resp0nse to a mandate in our Board of Trustees Long Range Plan (2009) that JCDS undertake a self study on pluralism during the 2010-11 school year.
Ruth Gass, Head of School, tapped Rav Yoel, our school rabbi, to coordinate the Audit, and he convened a committee to clarify the Audit’s goals and the process needed to accomplish the Board’s mandate. That committee, which includes current and former JCDS parents, faculty, and friends of the school, includes people with substantial professional expertise in pluralism and in data gathering. A three-step process emerged from our planning.
The first step was an on-site observation with the goal of examining pluralism as it is actually lived. Two members of the committee (who are professional researchers) spent hours in the building observing classes, viewing artwork on the walls, joining T’fillot (prayer services), lunching with students, and chatting with teachers and parents. And they took copious notes. Later, a three-hour conversation was conducted with some parents and staff to further learn what pluralism looks like at JCDS. At the same time, a small group of volunteer readers reviewed curriculum, admissions, marketing and other school documents to see how and if intentional pluralism is reflected in these materials.
The second step in the Audit process is a series of surveys. JCDS parents were invited to submit answers to a professionally prepared survey on how they and their children experience pluralism at the school. The survey invited reflective observations about aspects of pluralism, including T’fillah, our teaching of Israel, and social interactions among students and families. Another major goal of the surveys was to learn how our families define pluralism. In addition to surveying parents, the Audit will gather data from alumni, current staff, and, of course, students. All of the surveys and information gathered during this Audit will help JCDS better understand intentional pluralism at JCDS, with the ultimate goal of helping the Board and staff decide what actions might or should be taken to strengthen this core value.
The results of the Audit will generate data about how pluralism is expressed and perceived at JCDS. In the final step of the process, our committee and professional staff, along with the Board of Trustees, will analyze the data to establish priorities for the years ahead. In the near-future, we will present a self-portrait that emerges from our Audit. We look forward to reporting to you our findings and, together with you, articulating our plans.
Matters of Taste 2011 Raises $616,000 Toward the Flexible Tuition Fund: There is Still Time for You to Help Us Meet Our Goal!
Every year, for the past 12 years, parents and friends of JCDS come together at Matters of Taste for one important purpose: to raise money for the Flexible Tuition Fund. This fund provides tuition assistance to many JCDS families and allows our school to make a Jewish day school education accessible to an economically diverse population. Parents, staff and friends plan for months to create this sparkling evening. The night begins with a festive reception held at JCDS and continues on to individual dinner parties hosted by parents and friends in and around the Greater Boston area and in Israel.
Student Klezmer music filled the rooms as guests arrived for the Matters of Taste 2011 reception. Noshing on delicacies and schmoozing with friends, guests experienced the diversity and commitment that makes JCDS a unique educational experience. Reflective of this diversity were hallways covered in art and common spaces transformed by student work. Guests moved through displays of science experiments, writing samples, and Judaic studies projects – each display surrounded by twinkling lights.
Over 200 guests filed into the gymnasium, transformed with student art, to hear from Matters of Taste Co-chairs, school leaders, student entertainers and Alumni. Co-chairs Sara and Stephen Brown graciously thanked the many talented and hard-working contributors responsible for planning and organizing this remarkable evening. Ruth Gass, Head of School, reflected on her time at JCDS and looked forward as Dr. Susan Tanchel prepares to transition as JCDS’ new Head of School in the fall. Ruth spoke of JCDS’ role as a model school and the impact that role has had nationally on Jewish education.
Following Ruth, JCDS eighth grader, Yoav Segev, shared his experiences as a JCDS student. Yoav recounted a story from his Toshba class (Oral Torah) during which his two best friends, one Orthodox and the other a Secular Jew, answered the question “what does it mean to be a good Jew.” Yoav described his friends’ answers as if “one was in Fenway Park and the other was in Yankee Stadium.” That is to say, answers in a pluralistic community may not be from the same ball parks! Yoav told disparate answers are both recognized and encouraged at JCDS.
JCDS 2009 alumni, Liat Deener-Chodirker also spoke of what the JCDS community means to her and how her experiences at JCDS have shaped who she is today. Liat shared her gratitude for her friends’ consideration of her family not driving on Shabbat and their kindness in finding them a place to stay on the Friday night before a Bar or Bat Mitzvah. She explained “that awareness, acceptance of difference, and desire to learn about other religious beliefs is at the core of what JCDS is, and because of that, it became intertwined with who I am as well.”
Integrating Technology into the JCDS Curriculum
In the summer of 2010, Ruth Gass, together with Marina Bers, a professor at Tufts and a JCDS parent, had a vision: computers would become an integral part of the learning that happens in the JCDS classroom. Teachers would use the computer as a tool to engage the students in the subject matter at hand, and students would learn to program computers and thus become technology-producers rather than technology-consumers.
Fortunately, several things fell into place to make this vision a reality: the tools, the funds, and the logistics.
First, the tools became available. Mitchel Resnick, director of MIT’s Lifelong Kindergarten Research Group, developed Scratch, a computer programming language with an easy-to-use visual interface. With Scratch, if you can drag a mouse across the screen, you can program a computer! Also, the DevTech Research Group at Tufts, headed by Marina, developed CHERP, a simple interface to the Lego Mindstorms kit. With CHERP, you can program a Lego robot without even knowing how to read or type!
Secondly, a donor stepped forward to fund Ruth and Marina’s grant proposal. The previous year, Marina had received an NSF grant to build and program robots with the JCDS kindergarteners. The donor was impressed with the results and excited about the prospect of extending this kind of work to the other Lower School classrooms at JCDS. Thanks to the generosity of the donor, JCDS was able to purchase the equipment and human resources needed to carry out the plan.
And lastly, we were able to work out the logistics of integrating the technology into each class’ curriculum. Marina worked with Claire Caine, parent and JCDS’ IT Director, to devise a series of 3 intensive workshops to familiarize the Lower School teachers with the technology. The goal was for the teachers to use the tools themselves and imagine an application for the tools in their own curricula. The teachers were instructed to think of a small, 4-hour project for the fall term, and a larger, 20-hour project for the spring.
The teachers followed-up with Marina and Claire to develop a detailed plan for the fall project. The first graders were studying the Hebrew names for clothing and colors, so their project involved creating a virtual person who could name in Hebrew the articles of clothing and the colors he/she was wearing. The second graders did a similar project with a more extensive Hebrew vocabulary. The third graders were studying the discussion between Hillel and Shammai on how to light the Hanukkah candles. They built Hanukkiyot out of clay and foil and other materials, and connected them to the Scratch program via a sensor board. The sensor board can detect a closed circuit on the Hanukkiya and cause something to happen on the computer screen. The fourth graders made a virtual tour of JCDS using photos of the school and their newly-acquired Hebrew words for places in the school. And the fifth graders made interactive maps for their fall mapping unit. They learned about map keys, the compass rose, and scale while making their digital maps.
For the spring, the fourth-graders in the Alon class have already begun their projects –they are creating typing programs. When they are finished, they will try out each other’s programs and learn to type in the process. We hope that they will arrive in 5th grade as expert touch typers!
The other classes are very excited to begin their spring projects. The first graders in Oren will start building their Iditarod sleds soon, the second graders are going to be creating fraction games, and the third graders are going to make an electronic collage of everything you’ve always wanted to know about Ancient Egypt. Watch for these projects later in the year!
Through these and similar activities, our students gain skills in designing projects using computers and robotics. They learn that they can create computer programs and not just passively use programs designed by others. These lessons provide not just an approach to an interdisciplinary curriculum, but they also remind students that they can fashion computers to meet their own goals, and, thereby, learn important lessons about the world of computers.
Sh’mot & Shylock
The gift of a JCDS education is that teachers and students alike understand that our learning is about life. It’s no surprise that we expect to find meaningful connections between disciplines, one class enhancing another. No surprise, but it’s a delight when it happens.
It’s Friday morning and the JCDS 8th graders are just one act shy of finishing the study of Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice. They wrestle with the ethical question of the financial bond between Shylock, the Jewish moneylender, and Antonio, the merchant of Venice. How possibly could Shylock demand a pound of Antonio’s flesh in lieu of monetary interest, and how possibly could Antonio sign such a barbaric agreement?
Shabbat morning and 8th grade English teacher, Joanne Baker’s ears perk up as the rabbi begins teaching Sh’mot – the Book of Exodus – and the Biblical laws governing a Jew’s obligation when lending money.
Saturday night after Shabbat and Joanne calls Dorit Zmiri, her colleague and 8th grade Tanakh (Bible) teacher, and together they share the excitement of how they would offer a limud (study) in which students would integrate the themes of Shakespeare with both Torah and Rabbinic commentators’ keen insights.
By Monday, the class was divided into three groups, each grappling with how the teachings of one of three Biblical and Rabbinic sources regarding money lending might apply to Shylock’s financial and moral dealings.* Following the individual groups discussion, the class came together as a whole to collectively share their findings and voice their opinions on what the sources revealed. The students were curious to discover that the laws were ambiguous, thus no absolute determination could be made!
Students made a similar cross-disciplinary connection earlier in the year when they saw parallels between Tom Robinson, an innocent man accused of a false rape charge in Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, and the story of Joseph and Potiphar’s wife. Students noted that Tom Robinson and Joseph were accused of wrongdoing because they were perceived as outsiders. Joseph is described in the text as someone from afar, and Tom Robinson is someone who is not an accepted member of the community that is accusing him.
These and other moments of integration and interconnectedness between subjects, those planned and unplanned, are central to teaching at JCDS.
*The Jewish sources used were the “Mekhilta” – a text from early Midrashic literature, and Rashi and Rambam, two central medieval Rabbinic voices.
12th Annual Matters of Taste, Sunday March 27th
JCDS is proud to present Matters of Taste, our annual signature fundraising event. This spectacular evening is organized and hosted by dedicated and tireless parents, volunteers and staff to benefit the JCDS Flexible Tuition Fund. The proceeds from the dinners and reception make an outstanding Jewish day school education more accessible and affordable while investing in the future of the Jewish community. JCDS is committed to growing the Flexible Tuition Fund for the many members of our community who depend on that support. Your participation will help fill a seat in the classroom!
Join us for the pre-dinner reception hosted at JCDS and continue on to one of twenty dinner parties taking place around Greater Boston. The guests are fascinating, the conversation scintillating and the food scrumptious!
Visit mattersoftaste.org to see who’s coming to dinner and to purchase your tickets today. (This event sells out quickly, and there are just a few tickets left!)
Contemporary and Ancient Laws: Students Learn What They Have in Common
Though the world of the Torah can seem far removed, the sixth grade at JCDS has been intrigued by how close its laws can be to our own. The bridge from the Torah to today is Toshba, the chain of interpretation and application that defines the Torah’s meaning anew for each generation. Middle School at JCDS includes Toshba study and in 5th and 6th grade our students gain a solid grounding in Mishna, Toshba’s core legal text.
One extended unit is on labor law: What can employers reasonably demand from their workers? Conversely, what are the employees’ responsibilities? As American law regulates relations between labor and management, Jewish law, too is intensely concerned with the proper balance between justice and responsibility, profit and protections in the workplace.
First, our students undertook serious study of relevant chapters of Mishna, and then leapt 1,000 years ahead to learn Maimonides’ rulings on protections required for all workers, especially the poor and vulnerable. Then, our sixth graders scanned the newspapers for contemporary issues in labor law and relations and the terms of contracts. They took a “field trip” to the JCDS staff room where, by law, the OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) notices are posted. Correspondences abound between the laws proclaimed first in the Torah and those promulgated in Washington, D.C. and Beacon Hill. The Torah is not, in fact, removed, but joined to us via the Toshba bridge.
Mere relevance, though, is not reason enough to study a subject. By studying how Judaism reads employment matters through the lens of ethical law and sacred value, we help our young adolescents prepare for adult responsibility, when they will be employees and employers, tasked with assuring fairness in the world.
Bubbe Ella’s and Jerry’s Kitchen
Recently, the JCDS kitchen was dedicated in honor of Ella and Jerry Bloom (mother and step-father of JCDS founder, Arnee Winshall). Ella and Jerry, affectionately known as JCDS’s Bubbe and Zayde, helped to create the warm and welcoming culture of our school, and they set the gold standard for volunteerism at JCDS.
In the early years of the school, when JCDS was housed in a series of temporary locations, Jerry was JCDS’ Mr. Fix-It. With his knowledge of how many things work, he would repair and build almost anything, and he used those moments as teaching opportunities for staff and students. Ella, armed with hot-plates and love, was the Chef-in-Chief, feeding bodies and spirits. Regularly gathering teams of parents and grandparents to cook and bake for celebrations and all of the hagim (holidays), Ella’s renowned Bubbe and the Hot-Lunch -Bunch also created Rosh-Hodesh dishes for students and staff. The scents of their cooking wafted through the halls, greeting all with a sense of home.
Volunteer activity like theirs continues to sustain JCDS; volunteers play a vital role in who we are, and how we operate as a joyful Jewish community school. Today, our school continues to grow, nurture and support one another in much the same way Bubbe Ella and Jerry did so many years ago, and the JCDS kitchen now boasts the fitting title, “Bubbe Ella’s and Jerry’s Kitchen”. The Kitchen continues as a central part of life at JCDS. We all smile as we pass Bubbe Ella’s and Jerry’s chosen quote for the kitchen: “We’re all made from the same dough but we’re baked in different ovens” – a fitting quote for our pluralist JCDS community.
Always Something Cookin’ at JCDS
The days of using hotplates may be over, but there is always something cookin’ at JCDS where our school kitchen simmers with activity! From early autumn when its counters are full of fresh apples soon to become Rosh Hashanah desserts, and on to Graduation Day, when crudités are prepared and cakes baked, Bubbe Ella’s and Jerry’s Kitchen is a “hot- spot,” of creativity and nourishment. And between those times
the kitchen is filled with activity: at Chanukkah when different styles of latkes and sufganiot (doughnuts) are created, to Purim when students make Hamantasen with varied fillings, to Shavuot with blintzes and kugels, and so much more!
Claire Caine, (JCDS technology expert and mom of past and present JCDS students) keeps Ella’s traditions aflame through the ever-popular Middle School Cooking Elective and the Lower School Cooking Club where delectable dishes are regularly prepared. One of Claire’s recipes for success is teaching children the art of cooking from scratch. Students experience first hand that one need not use exotic ingredients or complex equipment to make delicious dishes and baked goods. All of the food they prepare is made to enjoy and share, and when a holiday is approaching, the repast is centered around that particular festival
Students are taught the skills of properly handling kitchen utensils, measuring accurately, and the specific details of preparing varied foods. Participants become wonderful cooks who are confident and comfortable in the kitchen, and as a bonus, they come to recognize that cooking is a fantastic way to learn that large things can be accomplished in small steps. But if you ask them, they will tell you that the piece de resistance is sharing their culinary creations with the adults at JCDS. These young cooks become giddy over the feedback – the ooh’s and ahh’s and words of praise of how absolutely delicious everything tastes.
In addition to Claire’s cooking classes, cooking, and measuring and seeing how foods change when heated and combined are frequent classroom activities. This year the fourth grade prepared a Native American feast in honor of Thanksgiving; sudents helped make food for an evening Sukkot party; students made matzah last year; and the cooking and the learning and the delight from these activities, and so many other kitchen adventures, would make Bubba Ella and Jerry delighted about the kitchen named in their honor.
“Ella gave her love by cooking for others. The children continue this tradition when, with serving trays in hand, they excitedly offer their own creations to the faculty and staff. They feel first hand the satisfaction that comes from cooking for others.” Claire Caine
Join Us for Our 12th Annual Matters of Taste!
Matters of Taste is an annual, sparkling evening as intimate and individualized as our school. Savor your choice of 19 simultaneous dinner parties, each hosted in private homes around the Boston area and in Israel. At each dinner, you’ll meet a special guest – perhaps a noted author, musician, chef, physician, scientist, politician, professor, entrepreneur, economist or entertainer. Kick off the event with a pre-dinner reception at JCDS, where you can discover the breadth and energy of this joyful, pluralist institution. All are welcome: please invite friends and family!
To reserve your tickets to Matters of Taste click here.
First Grade Proficiency in Hebrew begins with Authentic Conversations
JCDS students converse, read, and write in Hebrew remarkably well. Here, an interview with Yaffah Korinow, the Hebrew speaking teacher in first grade at JCDS.
You’ve been teaching Hebrew for more than 20 years. How does the Proficiency Approach differ?
YK: : This year is only my second teaching according to this approach, but even after this short time I feel that my entire method has been transformed. To give you an idea: I came to JCDS with decades worth of Hebrew worksheets. If I’ve used 5 of them in my 2 years at JCDS, that’s a lot. My work begins with students speaking to one another.
How can first graders talk in Hebrew if they don’t know Hebrew?
YK: I design authentic conversations about things students are excited to discuss. It’s Hanukkah. Conversation turns to songs we sing after lighting candles. [In Hebrew] “Yoni, at your house, who sings Ma’oz Tzur?” After answering, Yoni turns to a classmate. A controversy breaks out because at her house they love Haneirot haLalu; a very big deal in first grade. Students buzz about the best Hanukkah song – all in Hebrew.
And reading?
YK: It’s amazing! Books read used to be limited by vocabulary I’d already taught. Now I read Israeli children’s literature to my students. The students, hearing Hebrew at JCDS, know its rhythm and want to hear the stories. They puzzle words out when I read. I know they’re getting it because they laugh at all the right parts.
But that’s listening.
YK: I made a corner with Hebrew books on hooks. I didn’t tell them to read, I didn’t tell them not to read, but they will grab a book off a hook. Because it’s on their own initiative, they think they’re being sneaky! They behave as if Hebrew books are the Forbidden Fruit! That’s my Gan Eden.
And writing?
YK: The students’ experience with speaking gives them everything they need for written expression. They’re thrilled to put their ideas on paper in Hebrew. They even bring Hebrew poems and sentences they’ve written at home on their own initiative.
Why are they so into it?
YK: The Proficiency Approach emphasizes that language is a tool for communication. What means more to kids – to anyone – than the ability to express oneself!?
JCDS Partnership with Facing History and Ourselves (FHAO): Fostering Thematic Integration of Jewish and General Studies
In a moment of intriguing integration of Jewish and General Studies, our Grade 8 middle school students noted similarities between the Joseph story they were reading in their Humash (Torah) class and Harper Lee’s classic, To Kill a Mockingbird, they were reading in English class. In both stories an “outsider” is falsely accused of a crime: Joseph by Potiphar and Tom Robinson by Mayella Ewell. In both stories there are “upstanders” who do their best to protect others, even when there is possible danger to themselves. Theterminology the students used, “upstanders” and “outsiders”, are representative of the themes they are learning in a joint curriculum project between JCDS and Facing History and Ourselves (FHAO).
Facing History and Ourselves is an international educational and professional development organization (started in Brookline, MA, but that is another story!). FHAO started as a small organization with the goal of designing educational materials to teach middle and high school students about the Holocaust, with the goal of creating an active, informed citizenry. FHAO is now an international organization that creates and supports the development of curriculum about other examples of genocide and racism.
Last year, with funding from the Jim Joseph Foundation, FHAO selected, in a competitive process, a few Jewish day schools from Los Angles, CA and from the Boston Area to participate in a program that would link the concepts developed in FHAO to integrating Jewish and General Studies. JCDS was chosen to participate in this grant. Our middle school
teachers work with FHAO staff as they develop curriculum, and FHAO provides our students with materials, including books, movies, and speakers, that support the important connections between Jewish Studies and General Studies, as inspired by the work of FHAO.
Currently, our middle school students in grades 6-8 are reading Stories of Identity – Religion, Migration, and Belonging in a Changing World. Our students are encouraged to apply their observations gained from these stories to their own lives, to Jewish texts, and to the larger world, as they learn to become “upstanders” and not bystanders and to welcome and protect those perceived as “outsiders”.
An Interview with JCDS Alum and Award Winning Essay Writer, Nomi Small
Nomi Small, former co-captain of the JCDS Speech Team, class of 2010, won an essay writing contest about her experience last summer at Ramah Outdoor Adventure in Colorado. As one of two winning recipients, Nomi was recently flown to Denver to read her story at a Ramah fundraising event.
Joanne Baker, Nomi’s 7th and 8th grade English teacher and JCDS Staff Writer, interviewed her, wanting to know what made her summer so special, and how she applied skills learned at JCDS to her Ramah experience.
* * *
Joanne: Nomi, Mazal Tov! Tell me how you came to write this prize-winning essay.
Nomi: It started as an assignment in my Gann freshman English class – to write about a moment of realization. I wrote about a powerful experience when I realized that I didn’t want to leave camp for I had found a new home. I forwarded the essay to one of my counselors who sent it to the director of camp. Shortly thereafter, they created this contest, I entered, and won.
Joanne: What made it “the best summer ever,” as you put it?
Nomi: Just like JCDS, camp has a special atmosphere that encourages you to do your best while experiencing life through a Jewish lens. I went to camp knowing only a small handful of people, but returned home with many friends from all over the country.
Joanne: Lovely! Now tell me about your recent trip to Colorado to share your essay.
Nomi: I was extremely excited when I found out that I had won. Once I stopped crying tears of joy, I went and found my JCDS Speech binder. Practicing in that binder allowed me to present confidently, as if I were at a Speech contest.
Joanne: Seems that JCDS remains a big part of you.
Nomi: Yes, always! JCDS, Ramah Outdoor Adventure, and now Gann are all incredible communities and I am so glad to be part of them.
You may read Nomi’s award winning essay here.
The Joy of Klezmer at JCDS
The word klezmer is the collocation of two Hebrew words, klei and zemer, which blended together mean the instruments of song. Indeed Elvis Klezley, our JCDS klezmer band , is an instrument of song in our school!
Elvis Klezley members play an unusually broad array of instruments for a young student band, including: piano, keyboard, violin, French horn, oboe, clarinet, trumpet, saxophone, flute, and doumbek drum. These 5th through 8th graders of varying levels of musical experience practice weekly in ensemble to make heartfelt Jewish music for their school community, but our klezkids go far beyond music making; they represents, in a most profound and beautiful way, the mission of our school.
At JCDS, we structure student art offerings to create opportunities for full participation regardless of prior experience. We have chosen a Jewish genre of music for our students to play, because we wish them to experience Judaism through every one of their senses. Klezmer music is unique in its flavor and spirit and does not have to be perfect, nor specifically notated, to sound joyful. The JCDS klezmorim play at gatherings of happiness, such as hagim celebrations, kabbalat Shabbat, Grandparents’ Day, our signature fund raising event, Matters of Taste, and even at Jewish events outside our school.
The presence of our klezmer band is one of many instances that at JCDS, Torah and Jewish tradition are things of beauty that merit artful celebration. The pluralism upon which JCDS is founded is ultimately a vision of disparate Jewish voices coming together to form a harmonious community – or in other words, to make beautiful music together, as does Elvis Klezley!
Our Students Increasing Understanding of Rosh Hashanah and Sukkot
The bracing sound of the Shofar reverberates on the first day of school each year at JCDS, announcing the new school year and Rosh Hashanah’s approach. While the sound of the Shofar seems eternal, what about its message? How does a young child’s understanding of Tishrei, as a month of thinking about apples and honey, along with a broad idea of forgiveness and self improvement, evolve into an eighth grader’s more mature understanding? Our eighth graders understand Rosh Hashanah is a time that calls on us to assess ourselves rigorously and to do better, while inspired by careful text study. How does a 4th grade class cooking for a festive late night in the JCDS Sukkah become a 7th grade class discovering meaning and questions about Sukkot expressed in classical texts on Sukkot from Tanakh and Midrash?
To help chart our students evolving appreciation of Haggim (holiday) and T’fillah (prayer), Rav Yoel Alter, our School Rabbi and Assistant Head of School, together with the faculty, completed a comprehensive plan for T’fillah and Haggim. Holiday symbols, songs and rituals, like prayer, are complex and sophisticated content for study. At the same time, they are among the practices around which the diverse Jewish people cohere. They are the lifeblood of a joyful Jewish community like JCDS. Our new Scope and Sequence weaves together study and practice both in and outside the classroom.
A culture of celebration and commitment to text study are hallmarks of the JCDS educational experience. With Tishrei far behind us, the faculty is now preparing for Hanukkah: rehearsing classic and new songs for in-school and community concerts; highlighting themes of light, rededication, religious freedom, and Jerusalem; studying texts from story books to comparative histories to Talmud and Jewish law codes to delve into the meaning of the Festival of Lights. With our new Scope and Sequence, JCDS has a deliberate nine-year course of study in T’fillah and Haggim. It explores Jewish tradition and invites all our students to find their voice in it as part of our Pluralist learning community.
Record Numbers Come to October Open Houses
The enthusiastic words of parents, grandparents, alumni, and extended members of our community brought record numbers of visitors to our October Open Houses. Each of the 45 prospective parents who came to experience JCDS magic were recommended by a friend of the school; it seems that word of mouth really does have a tremendous impact!
Exploring whether JCDS might be the right school for their children, visitors participated in three abbreviated lessons while learning first hand about our engaging academic programs and joyful Jewish Community.
JCDS teachers taught science, writing and reading, and Humash (Torah) lessons to prospective parents. In the mini-science class, parents were given a battery, a bulb and one wire. They were asked to find several ways to make the bulb light. After some initial protestations that they needed two wires, the parents solved the problem while participating in “hands on” science, a JCDS hallmark. In the reading and writing class, teachers modeled how students learn to write by analyzing literature, whether in grade one or in grade five. In the Humash class, a first grade and an eighth grade teacher demonstrated how the Joseph story is taught, with increased intellectual depth across the grades.
When you, members of our greater JCDS community, speak about our thoughtful curriculum and unique and vibrant approach to learning, your words positively impact admissions, benefiting our entire school.
Yours is a critically important voice and brings many prospective parents to the school. Please continue to help us spread the word! For more information on admissions, please contact Orna Siegel, Director of Admissions, at ornas@jcdsboston.org.
The Krupp Challenge: An Amazing Opportunity for JCDS
Ardent supporter of Jewish education and renowned philanthropist, George Krupp, wants exactly what we want for JCDS; a secure and prosperous future in our Stanley Avenue makom (place), thus he issued The Krupp Challenge.
Mr. Krupp will award JCDS $1 million dollars if we are able to raise an additional $2 million dollars in pledges by June 30, 2011. A wide spectrum of individuals, from grandparents to community donors, parents to staff members, has given; we have raised to date $1,250,000, but there is now an even greater sense of urgency. We have seven months to raise the remaining money.
Our enrollment is up 10%. We have great vision, community and institutional resources, a committed, knowledgeable staff, superb track record, a solid and rigorous academic program and the most wonderful student population – but we are on a short tether. Financial sustainability is critical to our future. Meeting this challenge would mean paying down our debt and freeing up funds to enable JCDS to continue to thrive as a unique Jewish day school in Greater Boston.
This is a call to action! We encourage you to help us seize this amazing opportunity. Please contribute what you can. To make a donation contact the Office of Development and Communications at (617) 972-1733.
At JCDS, We Walk the Walk
The students and staff of JCDS, Boston’s Jewish Community Day School, laughed and sang their way to the Blue Heron Bridge, suspended over the Charles River, whose swiftly flowing water greeted them for Tashlich, the symbolic throwing away of last year’s sins.
Traditionally held on the first day of Rosh HaShanah, Tashlich was repeated, as a school gathering on September 17, a spectacular autumn day, when we were thankful for this season of renewal between the Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur.
Everyone took a few moments of silence to listen to the sounds of the wind and water, and to appreciate the gift of our beautiful surroundings along with the gift of new beginnings that is the essence of the season. Following a bit more song and prayer, the children, with a slightly solemn air, threw cracker bits into the rushing river and watched their symbolic sins and misdeeds of the past year carried briskly downstream.
What’s Up at JCDS? Enrollment!
Enrollment is up at JCDS at a time when the economy is down. For the first time in our fifteen year history, JCDS has two-hundred students, a ten percent increase in enrollment from last year, and we deeply thank you for entrusting us with your children and for recognizing that we are leaders in the world of Jewish education.
Parents are buzzing! Parents are talking to other parents – sharing their enthusiasm about JCDS – and the results speak for themselves: twenty-six additional families in our community! Our Gan Nitzan (Kindergarten) is full, with a wait list, and we have 18 additional new students in our school; each class has at least one new face!
But why is JCDS becoming the Jewish day school of choice for so many parents? Foremost, we work tirelessly to educate and nurture the whole child, but reasons are as varied as the families who come. Some desire the strong Israeli culture, where Hebrew and English are spoken throughout the day. Others appreciate the cutting edge science and math curriculum taught and the extraordinary writing programs we offer. And of course, families become part of the vibrant and loving community of Jews from a wide spectrum of Jewish expression, practice, and beliefs, where everyone has a place at JCDS.
Parents are buzzing! Walk through our doors, and you will be, too!
Designing Students: View Our Inspiring Video
Our current Kindergarten students will retire in about 2070! That year is as far into the future as 1940 is in the past, and, oh, how the world has changed since 1940! What kind of world will our K and other students inhabit in the years ahead? We know that they will need strong reading, writing, and math skills, and that they will need to know how to continually learn new things. In an effort to prepare our students for the future, and to delight them in the present, we are dramatically extending our technology curriculum, including expanding our robotics and programming initiatives this year. Through a most generous grant, we are able to buy more computers and to have each student in grades K-5 design robots and work with programming that involves extending their Judaic Studies. We look forward to your following this student work. For now, we invite you to view an extraordinary link that shows how years’ Kindergarten students programmed and designed their own robots. Give yourself a delightful seven minutes and click on this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9O4Mz1iLDWw.
