Be the change you wish to see in the world
Everyone around me was as surprised by the power of her words as I was. Standing in our beautifully decorated and colorful school sukkah with community members, current families, and alumni parents, we were moved by the powerful call to action. Our speaker that...
Welcome back letter from Andrea
Dear Families, “Hiney ma tov umah na’im . . . . how good and delightful it is for people to dwell in unity.” These words, joyfully sung by your children while they swayed in unison during our first all-school assembly, marked the beginning of our...
Breakfast with our graduates
“At JCDSRI, I learned how to make friends,” one student says in-between sips of hot chocolate and bites of a donut (I notice my half-hearted entreaties to eat some fruit are subtly ignored by her and her friends.) “I now know what it means to be in a community.” Heads...
The stories that bind us together
After a delightful morning watching JCDSRI kindergarteners theatrically reinterpret the Passover story and observing third graders refer to ancient Jewish texts as they create original (and delicious!) recipes for charoset, I return to my office. In the quiet, I...
Creating a Welcoming Community
It’s cold. The sun struggles to make itself known, weakly shining through the gray clouds. It’s another early morning in February. On this particular morning, there is a tug on my coat. I turn and a student shyly reaches for my hand. Taking it in his, he...