JCDS Spring 2013 Nitzotzot

JCDS

S PA R K S F R O M O U R S C H O O L C O M M U N I T Y

CELEBRATING 18 YEARS!

CHAI ANNIVERSARY YEAR!

VOLUME 17, NO. 2 SPRING 2013 • 5773 ‫אביב‬

In This Issue: 1 3

In Our Hands Celebrating our Chai Anniversary 4 Exploring the World, One Culture at a Time 5 Donor Profile: Joan and Peter Hoffman 6 Generations Boston 7 Sparks: News at JCDS 9 STEM Day 10 Boston-Haifa Connection

JCDS

CELEBRATING 18 YEARS!

SAVE THE DATES!

JCDS

End of Year Celebration June 11, 2013

CELEBRATING 18 8thYEARS! Grade Graduation June 18, 2013

In Our Hands

‫בידינו‬

Dear JCDS Community and Friends, Our JCDS classrooms are not silent. Walk into any class and you will hear the sounds of learning all around you: children asking one another questions or talking through a math problem. Perhaps you will hear a child reading her very first sentence or a familiar verse of Torah, or a group of kids singing a Hebrew song.

Walk into our faculty room and you likely will hear the sounds of learning there, too. Maybe a faculty member is expressing a dilemma in her teaching practice, recommending an article he recently read, or sharing an example of student work from her class. At JCDS, we believe that the most effective teachers are the ones who continue to be learners themselves.

Currently at JCDS, we are the fortunate beneficiaries of a multi-year grant from Combined Jewish Philanthropies (CJP), funded by the Jim Joseph Foundation with additional funds from the Ruderman Family Foundation. The grant, titled B’yadenu (In our hands), aims to improve the learning of our diverse students. To accomplish this, we are focusing our energy in three different areas. First, we are in the midst of assessing our literacy program in our Lower School (kindergarten through fourth grade). To ensure that we have a strong, balanced literacy program, we are observing teachers to identify particular areas in which each one needs targeted professional development to maximize the efficacy of what we are providing. Second, our teachers are working with a consultant to increase further their behavior management repertoire to ensure we are maximizing teaching and classroom time. Last, we have

introduced case conferences as part of our weekly Middle School faculty meetings. In this process, all the teachers of a particular student collaborate to think about ways to help that student improve his or her learning. Each meeting begins with a review of the efficacy of previously discussed and implemented strategies. In this way, we seek to meet our core values of academic excellence and addressing the whole child. We are excited about how this program has begun, and are looking forward to continuing and deepening this important work in the coming year.

This professional development opportunity is a powerful illustration of our belief that investing in our teachers’ growth is critical to improving our students’ experiences at JCDS. Strong teachers are the single most important factor in an outstanding educational program. We believe that teaching is complex and dynamic, and we are committed to providing our teachers with the support and opportunities they need to work on their practices. Learning and growing are integral parts of a JCDS experience whether you are a student or a teacher. We are deeply blessed that the diverse sounds of learning fill our school each day.

B’virkat shalom (With a blessing of peace),

Dr. Susie Tanchel Head of School

1

JCDS

BOSTON’S JEWISH COMMUNITY DAY SCHOOL

Lower School students smile as they take part in the school wide Yom Haatzmaut celebration.

Second grade teacher, Chavah Goldman, helps a student.

www.jcdsboston.org

A student is encouraged by Tanakh teacher, Tiferet Gordon.

2

Chai Anniversary Year!

18

“Our milestone this year felt extra festive because we honored the 18th year by making a special poster.” Evan T., sixth grade

Celebrating Our Chai Anniversary In September 1995, JCDS opened as the first intentionally pluralistic, Hebrew/English day school in Greater Boston.

With only eleven students, four teachers, and two administrators, it is unbelievable what it has grown into today. As we recognize and celebrate the Chai anniversary of JCDS, we honor our founders, remember our challenges, acknowledge the successes of our students, teachers, and alumni, and plan for the future.

In May, the families, alumni, staff, and board members who were involved in the first two years of JCDS gathered for a breakfast in our building, which in itself is a great achievement. From not having a front door to call our own, we now have draped a commemorative banner across our building to honor our 18 years.

This special year concluded with a large community event, where families and friends, new and old, came together to celebrate where we have been and what the future has to hold.

In January, families who were part of the community during the first ten years, 1995-2005, gathered to reconnect and reminisce about the early years. A fond memory for many in attendance was the “Hot Lunch Bunch,” a tradition in which several moms and bubbes came together to cook a hot meal for the students. In celebration of our Chai anniversary, while also remembering Ella Bloom (z”l), the beloved mother of JCDS Founder, Arnee Winshall, who herself was part of the hot lunch program, a new group of moms and bubbes came to the kosher kitchen of JCDS this April to prepare a hot lunch for the students.

To raise excitement each week, Oren Kaunfer, Madrich Ruchani, led the school in singing “JCDS Chai” ̶ a cheer developed by staff during a professional development meeting.

JCDS alumni reconnected with their teacher, Vered Singer, at the Early Years Reunion that was hosted by the Gildesgame family in January.

3

JCDS

BOSTON’S JEWISH COMMUNITY DAY SCHOOL

‫בית ספר יהודי קהילתי‬

Exploring The World, One Culture At a Time ‫כל תרבות ועולמה‬-‫מגלים את העולם‬

JCDS fosters curiosity and cherishes varied perspectives, and in the spirit of Intentional Pluralism, students broaden their horizons by learning about other cultures.

JAPAN ANCIENT EGYPT

WAMPANOAG

In third grade Social Science, the students studied the daily life of Ancient Egyptians and analyzed how the Nile River impacted their clothing, food, religion, and culture. The class explored and developed critical thinking skills while investigating artifacts as well as primary and secondary sources.

Students researched and wrote essays on the differences between the homes of the wealthy and poor Ancient Egyptians.

In first grade, students studied the lives and customs of children and their families in Japan. They compared and contrasted their living styles with those in Japan, read cultural folktales, and examined maps to get a better understanding of the geography of the land.

ANCIENT CHINA

AFGHANISTAN

JCDS second graders learned about the history and culture of the Wampanoag Native Americans through artwork, stories, games, language, and literature. In small groups, students created posters that they presented to their families at a classroom open house. Students also wrote their own Wampanoag Pourquoi Tales, stories that explain how something came to be.

In sixth grade, students read a book called Shooting Kabul by N.H. Senzai about a family who fled Afghanistan to escape the Taliban.

As part of this unit, students explored life in Afghanistan before and after the Taliban came into power, studied the geography of the region, and watched a documentary titled Beyond the Veil, which chronicles the dangerous, and often deadly, experiences of women and children in Afghanistan. Students also memorized one of the following: an Afghani poem, an Afghani recipe, an Afghani song (in Farsi), or the five countries and capitals surrounding Afghanistan.

While studying Ancient China, the fifth grade class was able to make connections between people of the past and their lives today. Students used artifacts and texts to ask questions and search for answers about the ancient civilization, and presented a visual representation of their findings in an interative museum that welcomed students, parents, and faculty.

“I liked learning about Buddhism and other Chinese belief systems.” Anna K., fifth grade

www.jcdsboston.org

4

Chai Anniversary Year!

Why We Support JCDS ‫אנו בין תומכי‬

A Donor Profile :Joan and Peter Hoffman Joan and Peter Hoffman grew up in Brookline and Newton, met and dated during high school, and married after college. They have two grown and married children. Peter had a long, successful career with Gillette, including a six-year period during the 1980s, when he and the family lived in England and Holland. Peter retired a few years ago but remains involved in consumer products as a member of the Board of Directors of Tempur-Pedic. Joan, who worked in many industries before having children, has devoted much of her subsequent efforts to Jewish studies and philanthropy. Joan and Peter are involved members and supporters of AIPAC, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, where Joan is on the National Council. The Hoffman family have lived in Weston for many years, but now spend most of the year in Southern Florida. They are avid golfers and enjoy traveling the world. They are members of Reform synagogues both in Florida and Massachusetts.

“JCDS is that special place: students who are nurtured and joyous become capable graduates, imbued with Jewish values.”

We heard about JCDS through a friend and neighbor who was a JCDS board member and parent. One day in 2006, she suggested we visit the school. “Why would we be interested in a Jewish day school?” we asked. “Our kids are grown. They didn’t get a Jewish day school education. We don’t have any grandchilden. And we haven’t made major gifts to Jewish day schools.” But our friend insisted, arguing that JCDS is a “special place.” So we made that visit and found that special school.

To us, JCDS is a pioneer in pluralism, academic innovation, and excellence. It focuses simultaneously on each individual and on the community as a whole. It is led by a talented, creative, and caring staff. But, most strikingly, as we saw in that first visit, and ever since, is the excitement and joy that JCDS students exude. So, we became more involved. Joan joined the JCDS Flexible Tuition Committee, helping to allocate and administer tuition assistance funds. We both became supporters of Matters of Taste ̶ first as guests, then hosts, and then co-chairs in 2009. We supported the school’s purchase of land to create an on-going campus, and we have supported the school with annual financial donations ever since. JCDS is that special place: students who are nurtured and joyous become capable graduates, imbued with Jewish values. In turn, they go on to make a difference in their families, their communities, and in the wider world. This virtuous cycle of Jewish continuity and achievement is a measure of the return on our investment in the school.

Our legacy gift to JCDS is a no-brainer. If we make it a priority to support the school today, while we are here... then why wouldn’t we want that support to continue when we are no longer here? Why wouldn’t we designate a portion of our residual estate to continue to provide funds necessary for JCDS to pursue its mission, to do its work, and hopefully to thrive well into the future? For us, putting this legacy gift in place feels good and right.

Finally, our legacy gift to JCDS is a message to our own children both for today and for tomorrow: a validation of what matters to us and of our ongoing commitment to this institution and what it represents.

5

JCDS

BOSTON’S JEWISH COMMUNITY DAY SCHOOL

‫דורי בוסטון‬

GENERATIONS BOSTON

JCDS is pleased to be participating, as one of six schools, in Generations Boston, a Jewish day school endowment building initiative supported by Combined Jewish Philanthropies (CJP), Partnership for Excellence in Jewish Education (PEJE), and the AVI CHAI Foundation, designed to assist Jewish day schools in transforming the way we fund our budgets by soliciting endowment and legacy gifts.

The goal of Generations is for each school to include endowment in its strategic development plans and raise endowment funds of at least $4,000 per enrolled student within the three-year program. The program includes coaching, incentive grants, and training for both lay and professional leadership. After 10 years, each school is expected to have grown its endowment funds to approximately $25,000 per student, placing us in the top 25 percent of all independent schools.

SUSTAINING DAY SCHOOLS THROUGH THE GENERATIONS Day school education is one of the best ways to strengthen Jewish identity, sustain our heritage and traditions, and shape the Jewish leaders of the future.

Endowments ensure that JCDS will continue to provide high quality and affordable education to interested Jewish youngsters.

Few other investments will produce returns as certain, as meaningful, and as far-reaching as a gift to the JCDS Generations Endowment Campaign.

There are a number of ways, each with its own tax and philanthropic benefits, in which you can plan your legacy and make an enduring endowment gift to benefit JCDS.

WHAT WILL YOUR LEGACY BE? Contact us today to discuss how you can sustain and strengthen JCDS for generations to come. Thank you for considering JCDS in your charitable giving plans.

FOR MORE INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT: Terri Grogan, Director of Development & Communications Phone: 617-972-1733 Email: terrig@jcdsboston.org

www.jcdsboston.org

6

Chai Anniversary Year!

SCHEDULE A TOUR! Come and visit our school; there is no better way to appreciate what an incredible place it is!

Call 617-972-1733 or email OrnaS@jcdsboston.org

Reena Zuckerman in 2008 & 2013!

“The students were as colorful as the keshet (rainbow), refreshing as tip-tipot (raindrops), and radiant as the shemesh (sun)... Kol-hakavod!” Dorit Zmiri, Director of the Middle School

MIT DANCE FESTIVAL

Then & Now

Alumni News JESSE GARLICK (JCDS Class of 2006) Jesse Garlick is now a junior in the School of Theater at Boston University’s College of Fine Arts. As an acting major, Jesse has appeared in productions of Assassins at the Huntington Theater, Camille at the Huntington Theater’s Lane-Comley Theater, and Execution of Justice at the Calderwood Theater. Jesse was featured in a video story in BU Today that described his performing Frank Sinatra songs in senior homes around the Boston area. Jesse is currently spending a semester abroad at the Academia del’Arte in Arezzo, Italy, where he is studying Physical Theater and Commedia del’Arte.

GILAD COHEN (JCDS Class of 2008) Gilad Cohen is currently on the Young Judea year course in Israel. For six months he lived in Bat Yam, and now he is living in Jerusalem. He is studying the history of Zionism, spirituality, Israeli history and culture, and also is in an Ulpan. In addition to his studies, he has been volunteering with Magen David Adom (Israeli Red Cross) and a local soup kitchen. He will be attending Vanderbilt University in Tennessee next year.

IF YOU HAVE NEWS ABOUT JCDS ALUMNI, PLEASE EMAIL US AT NEWS@JCDSBOSTON.ORG. WE’D LOVE TO HEAR FROM YOU!

7

JCDS

BOSTON’S JEWISH COMMUNITY DAY SCHOOL

Come Experience JCDS! Add your voice to one of our Torah study groups! Call 617-972-1733 for details.

Math Day

At the end of February, JCDS Middle School students spent a morning participating in math workshops led by family and friends from the community. Each student was able to attend two workshops, with topics varying from how the World Wide Web works, to how to count to 31 on one hand. The second activity of the morning was a competitive “Math Adventure,” in which students were divided into teams in a race to solve spatial and logical math problems. JCDS parent, Mira Bernstein, director of Canada/USA Mathcamp for over ten years, spearheaded the great event. Thank you to all our volunteers for facilitating a fun and educational Math Day!

AT NIGHTTHE MUSEUM

For the third year, JCDS fourth and fifth grade students participated in an overnight program in April at the Museum of Science.

The program allowed students to discover science in an entertaining, educational, and interactive way through hands-on activities led by museum staff, a theater production, science demonstrations, a visit to the Planetarium, and an Omni film ̶ all before lights-out!

JCDS SPORTS Part of this semester, the Physical Education curriculum was focused on floor hockey. Students developed floor hockey skills one at a time through various drills, and then had the opportunity to apply what they learned to practice game scenarios. The unit culminated in the annual “Stanley Cup” series.

www.jcdsboston.org

8

A-HA Moment!

The moment that I knew JCDS was the place for us was when I was standing in the back of the fourth grade room watching a grammar lesson. I don’t remember the details of what was being taught, but what I do remember is seeing the teacher and students sitting on the rug, all of them leaning in towards one another. It wasn’t the content of the lesson that struck me, it was the way the teacher and her students were interacting that made such an impression. The students were all engaged. After one of the students posed a challenging question, the teacher tilted her head sideways, thought for a moment and then responded to the question in a thoughtful, respectful way.

At that moment, I realized this was a school where my kids would not simply learn, this was a school where my children would thrive, be comfortable, be respected, and learn to respect. JCDS has not disappointed me.

Marci Borenstein, Parent of JCDS first and third graders

FIND US ONLINE!

During the next 10 years, the U.S. demand for scientists and engineers is expected to increase at four times the rate of all other occupations.

JCDS STEM DAY Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics

“My favorite thing was the presentation about the human brain. It’s so cool that our subconscious does so much for us.”

Anna C., sixth grade Now, more than ever, schools across the country are recognizing the importance of integrating a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) curriculum into the classroom. At the end of April, JCDS held a school-wide STEM day as a part of the greater four-year plan to develop a STEM culture in the school community.

Under the direction of the STEM day organizers Colette Bentley and Sue Stibel, countless JCDS parents and community members who have careers in a STEM industry volunteered to lead student workshops with the mission to excite and inspire students with hands-on experiential learning, and encourage them to explore their own hypotheses.

The entire Middle School came together for a special session with Emile Bruneau to learn about the brain research he has done at MIT, and specifically his project on the effects on the brain of subconscious stereotypes between Palestinian and Israeli students.

Students in the Lower School had classroom guests who taught lessons on understanding the body and meditation, how to make a hot air balloon out of tissue paper, and the importance of environment sustainability practices.

Presenters, teachers, and students had a STEMtastic day!

Middle School students had the opportunity to sign up for two sessions of workshops, with a wide variety of topics including: A hands-on simulation of the 1940 collapse of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge An inside look of our how lungs work and how the oxygen in the air converts to carbon dioxide A tour under the hood of a car Action/reaction exploration with bottle rockets

9

JCDS

CELEBRATING 18 YEARS!

This project is supported by the Boston-Haifa Connection, a program of Combined Jewish Philanthropies.

As part of the cutting-edge Hebrew instruction program at JCDS, where students experience and learn in both Hebrew and English throughout the day, fourth grade teacher Ayelet Lipton led her class in an all-Hebrew unit about traveling to cities. The class was divided into small groups, each responsible for researching and planning one component of a fictional trip to Israel. “The goal of Hebrew proficiency is to have the students function in an authentic setting,” explains Lipton. To achieve this, each group acquired the Hebrew vocabulary needed to book tickets, find hotel accommodations, make restaurant reservations, and identify vacation activities. After doing the research, the students made mock phone calls to Israel to finalize their vacation arrangements and to practice their verbal communication.

Students in Lipton’s class learned that Boston has a lot in common with its sister city, Haifa, which is Israel’s thirdlargest city and a center for cultural pluralism. Since being declared sister cities in 1989, the connection between Boston and Haifa has been strengthened through programs and partnerships, which have made bonds

www.jcdsboston.org

between people who have much in common but might not otherwise have met.

Through Combined Jewish Philanthropies (CJP), JCDS fourth graders were matched with fifth grade students at the HaBonim School in Haifa. With the dual purpose of language proficiency and making connections, the two student communities sent each other cards introducing themselves and their hometowns in their non-native language.

To facilitate further authentic communication between JCDS and the HaBonim School, students sent each other emails and were also able to video conference together.

Additionally, both classes joined a social media website that was created in Israel solely for the purpose of connecting elementary school students with one another.

The social media website, Nipagesh ‫נפגש‬, literally means “let’s meet.” With the help of the Internet and a strong Hebrew foundation, geographic distance melted away.

Thus, students at JCDS find meaningful connections daily with their peers in Israel.

10

Chai Anniversary Year!

NONPROFIT ORG U.S. POSTAGE

JCDS

PAID BOSTON MA

CELEBRATING 18 YEARS!

PERMIT NO 55058 SPARKS FROM OUR SCHOOL COMMUNITY

57 Stanley Avenue, Watertown, MA 02472 617-972-1733 • www.jcdsboston.org Dr. Susie Tanchel, Head of School Sara Riedner Brown, President Arnee Winshall, Founding Chair Terri Grogan Director of Development and Communications TerriG@jcdsboston.org 617-972-1733 x215 Emma Sandler Associate Director of Communications EmmaS@jcdsboston.org 617-972-1733 x207

IN THIS ISSUE...

In Our Hands

2

Celebrating our Chai Anniversary

7-8

Generations Boston

6

3

Exploring the World, One Culture at a Time

4

Donor Profile: Joan and Peter Hoffman

5

Boston-Haifa Connection

10

• Then & Now • JCDS A-Ha! Moment • MIT Dance Festival • Night at the Museum • JCDS Sports • Alumni News • Math Day

www.jcdsboston.org

STEM Day

9