By Shira Deener, Head of School

At JCDS, we take Purim very seriously! Last Friday (pre-Purim), our 8th-graders led a Megillah highlights reading, paired with K-8-made visuals to demonstrate students’ understanding of the text, and had tremendous costume fanfare. This was just the beginning of the day’s festivities! The faculty serenaded the students to a Taylor Swift-themed parody about Purim, the 5th graders ran a Mishloach Manot store, and students in grades 6-8 organized and ran a fun-filled Purim Carnival for the school.

Thank you to photographer David Greenfield, JCDS grandparent, and father of teacher Naomi Greenfield (2nd Grade General Studies Teacher and photographed in ’80s gear!), for taking these beautiful photos and more during Friday’s Purim Carnival!

By Joanne Baker, 7th & 8th Grade English Teacher; Rosh 8th Grade

“Everyone has a story… or two, or five, or a dozen or more,” seventh graders will triumphantly tell you, having just completed their Tales of Childhood writing projects.

Using Roald Dahl’s, Boy, Tales of Childhood, as the book model for whimsical autobiographical writings, 7th-grade students reflected on their own childhoods, wrote their memories as short stories affectionately called sketches, and over time, read them aloud to classmates for constructive feedback. Once revisions were made and stories completed, each designed a creative means by which to showcase their collections of… as Dahl put it, “loosely connected childhood memories!”

On its surface, the Tales of Childhood project appears to be six class weeks of rigorous writing, thinking, drawing, sharing, peer editing, and continuous revising, but it is so much more. It is a beautifully focused deep dive into reflecting on one’s younger self. Stepping back, and coming to realize that experiences, lessons learned, and relationships forged from all of these moments of years past, reveal the person you are today. And how perfect a time for young adolescents who are no longer children, yet not quite adults, to take this personal narrative journey through time and seal it on paper.

As author Joan Didion said, “I write entirely to find out what I’m thinking, what I’m looking at, what I see, and what it means.” And the seventh graders did just that in English class!

These glorious projects are on display outside of the Beit Midrash for the school community to read and enjoy. Please come by and see them for yourself!

By Shira Deener, Head of School.

Last Saturday night, we had the joy of gathering in community for our annual fundraising and friend-raising gathering, A Taste of What Matters. This community celebration calls upon that which is central to JCDS – community, Ahavat Israel, joyful music, and connected relationships.

Jennifer Wallace, author of the book Never Enough, reminds us that amongst all the matterings that we worry about in school (and there are about a gazillion) is that we must always remember that our students are at the top of that very long list. When a child knows that they matter, they are secure in the knowledge that they have strong, meaningful connections within a loving family and a caring, connected community – that they are not alone. Mattering expresses the deep need we all have to feel seen, heard, cared for, and understood by those around us. It’s not a psychological term we are very familiar with, but it is perhaps one of the most significant contributing factors to a child’s sense of worth, self-esteem, belonging, and happiness – all conditions necessary for deep learning to take place.

JCDS is a shining light in the business of Mattering! You needn’t look too far and you’ll find evidence of this throughout the school all the time. It comes in the form of teachers noticing and celebrating the unique qualities of each of our students. Where else would an acceptable skit for our annual talent show include a second grader proudly showing off his skill of percolating a cup of coffee to a crowd of cheering onlookers? Or in what other gymnasium on planet Earth would you find a student Klezmer band proudly playing Am Yisrael Chai when a team member scores a basket? Have any of you witnessed our students, ages 5-14, standing in front of the entire school, announcing highlights from the week, debating elements of the weekly parsha, and performing solos? Where 4th graders proudly layn their newly learned trope at Kabbalat Shabbat in front of their schoolmates, teachers, and parents? And how totally JCDS it is, as it has been since the days we opened our doors, to see Nitzanim enwrapped in the arms of Middle Schoolers during all-school celebrations! Mathletes are celebrated equally as robustly as our athletes.

Children who grow up in this milieu know that they matter.

There is another example that I want to share with you – the words of a father of a post-October 7th displaced family after they returned to Israel from Boston and the JCDS community this past winter. He writes:

Then we got to JCDS.

It’s hard to explain in words the feeling we had from the first moment we arrived, and actually even before that. The school staff did everything so Mika, Gili, and Liv would feel comfortable and like every other student. We received studying equipment, food and bottles. The kids participated in class activities and made some friends. It was almost three weeks of priceless normality.

Thanks to the volunteers who accompanied us and thanks to all the school’s professional staff who surrounded us, gave us a feeling of warmth and security, and even gave me an office to continue working on my own.

This is a wonderful school, there is a strong and warm Jewish community here. Keep praying for the State of Israel.

At JCDS, with open hearts and open minds, we open worlds.

We have an indelible and strong culture of mattering. It may sound simple, but it takes tremendous commitment, caring, and relationship-building to ensure that our students experience this essential element of school.

Our dedicated teaching, administrative, and learning support staff are essential to each family’s experience and so we work hard at providing high-quality professional development and a culture of caring and support.

I can’t think of a better way to celebrate the joy and neshama of our school than with the soulful, uplifting music of Jacob’s Ladder. This unique band plays Bluegrass – a musical genre made up of a variety of musical traditions such as country music, blues, and jazz, and combines it with Jewish niggunim and prayer from both Ashkenazi and Sephardi influences, to form what is now known as “Jewgrass.” Using a potpourri of instruments such as mandolin, fiddle, violin, guitar, and bass, all these distinct musical traditions blend together to make beautiful harmonies and uplifting music.

Jacob’s Ladder’s music is a perfect metaphor for the pluralistic community of JCDS, where all of our different notes and styles and beliefs merge into one challenging but beautiful tapestry of deep learning and community building – where together we are continuously creating new songs to add to our rich, vibrant, and resilient Jewish tradition.

If you weren’t able to join us last week, there are many more opportunities to experience JCDS. We hope that you will save the date for next year’s celebration on Saturday, March 8, 2025. We can’t wait to celebrate our special community with you in the year ahead!

טעימה ממה שחשוב באמת

A Taste of What Matters

Music | Food | Community

View a preview of the event photos by Allegro Photography

and check out the event website HERE.

By Naomi Greenfield, 2nd Grade General Studies Teacher; Social Justice Coordinator

Last week, 50 students, parents, and staff gathered at JCDS for the 3rd Annual Social Justice Community Book Read. This year’s theme of Disability Awareness and Inclusion was brought to life through three beautiful and thoughtful books reaching a wide range of readers and interest levels. The picture book Fighting for Yes: The Story of Disability Rights Activist Judy Heumann by Maryann Cocca-Leffler tells the story of Judy Heumann as a child in a wheelchair longing for an education like the other neighborhood kids to one of the most impactful activists in the history of the disability rights movement. The graphic novel El Deafo by Cece Bell, tells the coming-of-age story of Cece who became deaf at a young age, and how she navigated life, love, friendship, technology, and the challenges of living with a disability. And, finally, students who read Rolling Warrior by Judy Heumann got a chance to dive more deeply into Judy’s life and the impactful change she made in the world.

Students and their parents gathered for snacks and schmoozing and explored a wide range of books about disabilities in both Hebrew and English. They then broke out into discussion groups by book to share noticings and wonderings and engage in thoughtful discussions led by faculty and student facilitators Naomi Greenfield, Miriam Hodas, Carry Aluia, Debbie Kopel-Kintish, Josh Mocle, and Sylvia Bargar. Afterward, everyone came together for a “jigsaw” protocol, where groups were mixed up so students of different ages who read different books shared themes and commonalities across all the books. We are so grateful to two wonderful guests, former JCDS After School coordinator Gary Alpert and JCDS sibling Soren Parag, who shared objects and information about their experience with deafness and medical devices like braces, helmets, and wheelchairs. It was another wonderful evening of reflection, learning, and community.

By Shira Deener, Head of School.

We hope that you are feeling rejuvenated after February vacation! It is hard to believe that we just returned a few short days ago as our students and staff are right back in the swing of things! Take a peak inside all the incredible learning from this week.

Processing the Holocaust and Human Behavior Unit

At the conclusion of their Holocaust and Human Behavior unit, several 8th graders chose to collect and present their thoughts and learning through visual art. Using glass, pencils and brushes, creative writing, clay, and cardboard, students created beautiful memorials for victims and survivors of the Holocaust that will pass on their learning for years to come.

Special Lesson with JCDS Sofer STaM Marcia Kaunfer

Kitat Erez (3rd Grade) was treated to a special lesson about calligraphy and being a Sofer STaM (a scribe of Sifrei Torah, Tefillin, & Mezuzot) from educator and JCDS grandparent Marcia Kaunfer. Like her son, our very own Madrich Ruchani (Spiritual Educator) Oren Kaunfer, Marica was recognized by The Covenant Foundation for her impactful and innovative educational practices as a Jewish educator.

You can read about Marcia Kaunfer’s Covenant Award here and Oren Kaunfer’s Pomegranate Prize here.

Kitat Arava (2nd Grade) Sticker Station

Kitat Arava transformed their classroom into Sticker Station, the fictional store in their Investigations Math curriculum. Students worked jobs as Greeters (who also handed out money to all the customers to shop!) and Sellers. Everyone got a chance to shop as well. They had almost 90 shoppers! The students did a great job using their coin knowledge and addition and subtraction under 100 to make change with coins. They were also responsible for their shifts, for their store displays, and for being kind to their visitors. It was a great success!

By Shira Deener, Head of School

(with contributions from Marisa Miller, Gan Nitzan General Studies Team Teacher and Mikayla Fier, 1st Grade General Studies Team Teacher)

On Thursday, Gan Nitzan (Kindergarten) and Kitat Oren (1st grade) celebrated a significant milestone – the 100th day of school – where students reflected on how much learning they have done so far this year! Marisa, Gan Nitzan General Studies Teacher, shared that “celebrating the 100th day of school is important to us because it signifies how far we’ve come since the beginning of the year. Our students are now 100 days smarter and 100 days more grown-up, and it’s essential to take a moment to reflect on these achievements.”

In Gan Nitzan Chumash, students had meaningful discussions about respecting our elders and how to be a supportive presence in our community. These lessons reinforce the importance of empathy and kindness in our daily interactions.

In Kitat Oren, students reflected on what they could now do that they might not have been able to do at the beginning of the year. As part of a mobile art project, students completed “I can” sentences with statements including “I can read” or “I can count higher than I could at the start of the year.” Our students were incredibly proud of their growth and learning!

There were many other aspects to the day, including writing activities in Kitat Oren and dressing up as their 100-year-old selves in Gan Nitzan, some complete with wrinkled faces and walking canes!

As we continue our journey through the school year, we look forward to many more milestones and celebrations ahead!

By Oren Kaunfer, Madrich Ruchani

Each year, Alonim (JCDS 4th Graders) work on a unit with Oren Kaunfer, JCDS Madrich Ruchani (Spiritual Educator), where they learn all of the te’amim – the Torah trope cantillation symbols and how to sing them. Just as we arrived at the parasha (Torah portion) when B’nei Yisrael received the Torah, Alonim began their own moment at Sinai. After months of practice and hard work, groups of Alonim began the three successive weeks where each student gets a chance to read the parashat hashavua (weekly Torah portion) as part of the 4th and 5th Grade Thursday t’fillah (prayer). This is always a special moment to see all of their learning come together.

To reach this moment took many sessions breaking down lines of text by cantillation symbol, practicing what the symbols sound like, and even embodying them in physical movements! The authentic joy and energy that this class brings to their weekly trope lesson is uplifting. This year’s Alonim got so excited about creating movements that reflect each trope mark that one might think they have stepped into gym class! But using body movements, colors, and singing are all well-documented ways of making our learning stick.

When it came time for each student to read from the Torah, they came with confidence and expertise. Not everyone was thrilled with taking on the challenge at first, but the pride with which we witnessed one student who did not know Hebrew in September and now was reading out of the ancient scroll moved many to tears. Equally impressive was the student who threw up her hands in frustration weeks ago, only to be one of the first to master her section and begged to take on more. This class has been motivated to take on additional readings, to the point where Oren disappointedly had to say “I don’t have any more readings available!” to an audible “aw!”

These Torah readings exhibit so many of the Habits of Mind and Heart that we are trying to instill in our kids. A love and connection to text and ancient traditions, resiliency, finding the appropriate level of challenge for each learner, teaching confidence, and the ability to stand up in front of a kahal (community). Most of all, we create a brave space and a room full of empathetic participants, who have all struggled up the same mountain and can appreciate all of the hard work that got them there.

Starting them early sets our students up for success as they continue on their journey to Jewish adulthood.

By Joanne Baker, 7th & 8th Grade English Teacher, Rosh 8th Grade

In commemoration of International Holocaust Remembrance Day, the following words were quietly spoken by the Head of the German International School of Boston to our 7th and 8th graders sitting side by side with their German peers.

“Eighty years ago, it would have been impossible that students from a German school and a Jewish school could work together. Now, eighty years after the Holocaust, we want to be grateful that we can be together and we want to focus on a peaceful future for the Jewish and German communities…”

JCDS has had a powerful relationship with the German International School of Boston for eight years, thanks to 5th-6th Grade Tanakh Teacher and Tzufit Advisor, Andrea Silton, who recognized a moral imperative – that our students should interact with peers who share opposite sides of a painful history – and with whom they share, and bear, the responsibility of remembering. To this day, their work continues.

At our recent visit to the German International School, small groups of mixed middle school students were given a large blank puzzle piece on which they were to both draw and write a verse in English, German, and Hebrew in response to three connected prompts:

• What brings us together today?
• What is our responsibility to the history that we share?
• What do we learn from our shared history that we can take into a peaceful future?

The JCDS and GIS students worked seamlessly together, and upon completion of this giant jigsaw, gathered in a large circle, where in the middle each group explained their particular piece, and the puzzle was put together. We then sang Eli Eli, a hauntingly beautiful Holocaust remembrance song which the German middle schoolers learned to sing in unison with us, their Jewish friends, and our beautiful visit came to an end.

Within this effort to build bonds and bring our children together in collective understanding, equally powerful was the laughter and joy among these peers who, even in the shadow of our horrific history, are still kids and fully enjoy one another simply for being who they are.

By Joanne Baker, 7th and 8th Grade English Teacher; Rosh 8th Grade

Tu BiShvat celebrates the birthday of the trees, and at JCDS, we had a wonderful time celebrating the holiday in many different and creative ways.

Gan Nitzan (Kindergarten) and Kitat Oren (First Grade) classrooms together made a beautiful, life-sized tree entirely from dried branches and recycled materials (including homemade glue!) to adorn our Mercaz and our upcoming Kabbalat Shabbat gathering.

Our newly married resident gardener and 5th grade Toshba teacher, Ari Ebstein, saved and dried multiple heads of lettuce from his home garden last summer and brought them into school where Kitat Arava (2nd Grade) and Kitat Erez (3rd Grade) classrooms extracted the seeds and planted them in cups to have and to watch grow! Later in the day, Middle School students also extracted seeds from the dried lettuce heads, but those seeds will be saved to plant in a student-led garden come spring.

Our Kitat Alon (4th grade) and Kitat Tamar (5th grade) classrooms participated in a kabbalistically themed seder at which they discussed, and experienced, the idea of getting closer to G’d using the metaphor of fruit. The most difficult ones being fruits donning hard shells whose middles are sweet yet hard to reach. And then there are those fruits whose outsides are soft, but once inside is found the hardness of the pit. The most symbolic, though, are sweet scents – like those of clove or cinnamon – which are fragrant and ever-present, but like G’d, cannot be seen.

Our Middle School students had the pleasure of hearing guest speaker Itamar Haviv from the Arava region of Israel who discussed agricultural innovation and the vision of Ben Gurion to make the desert bloom. He described the inherent difficulty of planting in a desert and the brilliant ways in which the Israelis have overcome the challenges of aridity, lack of water, poor soil, and inadequate growing conditions, to make the desert thrive and richly come to life with flowers, fruits, and vegetables.

This morning, we will come together, as we do each week at Kabbalat Shabbat, but today will be different. Today, we will also celebrate Tu BiShvat as a community, singing songs, being joyfully together, and appreciating the sweetness and fruits of JCDS.

Chag Tu BiShvat Sameach!

By Shira Deener, Head of School

We know stories make us human. The act of sharing and receiving the stories of individuals is probably the most impactful pedagogical tool for connection between people. When JCDS invites guests to share their lived experiences, one can almost feel the molecules in the air shift and sparkle when witnessing the impact of this exchange. Our students sit upright, lean forward with curiosity, and they are right there in the palm of the hands of the speakers who choose to share their stories. That is how we make use of MLK Jr. Day when we are in person for our biennial MLK Day of Learning and Service. This year was no different and I am grateful to our Social Justice Coordinator, Naomi Greenfield, for helping to lead the vision and execution of such an impactful day.

MLK Day of Learning and Service

by Naomi Greenfield

2nd Grade General Studies Teacher, Va’ad Social Justice Chair

Every year on Martin Luther King Jr Day, we are charged with trying to capture the messages and wisdom of this once-in-a-lifetime changemaker into action. Though for many, MLK Day is a “day off,” at JCDS, we have embraced the idea of a “day on,” a day filled with learning and action, inspired by King’s message that “everybody can be great because everybody can serve.”

For the past several years that we have been embracing the idea of a social justice “theme” in our programming at school, we spent the day doing a deep dive into this year’s theme of Disability Awareness and Inclusion. This theme is very much inspired by King’s messages of inclusion and fairness for all, especially those not often seen and recognized in society.

People fail to get along because they fear each other; they fear each other because they don’t know each other; they don’t know each other because they have not communicated with each other.

-MLK

We kicked off our learning and action with our Erev MLK programming by learning about an incredible hands-on immersive project from Gann Academy History teacher Yoni Kadden. Intrigued by some mysterious stone markings in a field near Gann Academy, Kadden and his students embarked on a several-year project that ultimately led to the uncovering of a relatively unmarked cemetery of residents from the Fernald School in Waltham, an institution for adults with disabilities. The project exemplified how we can take action to give voice to the voiceless. Gann students and those who learned from their articles, interviews, and museum exhibits learned about how people with disabilities were treated right in their own backyard.

The next day at JCDS, we had the pleasure of welcoming Dana, Jovan, and Nico from the Bionic Project. This organization offers school programs and events with the mission to “dismantle disability bias, build empathy, and foster connection through education, story, and sport.” The Bionic Project team led separate assemblies for both the Lower School and the Middle School in which they skillfully engaged with students on the topics of disability, inclusion, allyship, media literacy, and assistive technology. In the Lower School, students learned about the importance of getting to know kids who may have a limb difference before asking them how they got their disability. In the Middle School, the highlight was Nico sharing a Powerade commercial that claimed to tell his life story. He then described how the messaging of the ad was one meant to both instill pity or inspire, as opposed to truthfully telling a broader and more accurate story of his successful and positive life.

Students (and faculty!) then got the chance to experience adaptive soccer by being fitted for crutches and playing a real game in the gym with Nico and Jovan, who are both members of the U.S. Adaptive Soccer Team. We couldn’t have imagined a more experiential way of learning about disabilities than to actually play with these incredible athletes and educators.

We also spent a good portion of the day taking action through service, both in making toiletry kits for the Somerville Homeless Coalition and doing our part of Hiddur Mitzvah, the mitzvah of beautifying ritual objects. Collectively from Gan Nitzan (Kindergarten) through 8th grade, we made Shabbat baskets filled with placemats, challot, challah covers, candles, candlesticks, flower vases, and paper flowers that were delivered to residents of JFCS’ CHAI house, supportive housing for adults living with disabilities. Students got a glimpse into the life of living with invisible disabilities in this short video. Big thanks to JCDS parent Asaf Gaon, Kitat Arava (2nd grade) student Nadav, and JCDS grandparent Carol Greenfield (GP ’24 & ’27) for also delivering the baskets this week!

To round out an already full day, Middle School students watched the documentary Crip Camp, which explores the fascinating and often untold history of the disability rights movement that was, in many ways, inspired by the Civil Rights Movement that came before it. Nico from the Bionic Project described Judy Heumann, one of the main subjects of Crip Camp (and the subject of two of our Community Book Read books this year!) as the “Martin Luther King of the Disability Rights Movement.”

The learning and action from Erev MLK on Sunday night through the delivery of Shabbat baskets on Wednesday made for an incredibly full “day on.” We hope these experiences will stay with students for a long time beyond these days.