Nitzotzot Spring 2020

Nitzotzot ‫ ניצוצות‬ BOSTON’S JEWISH COMMUNITY DAY SCHOOL / SPARKS / Spring 2020

Saying L’hitraot and Todah to Dr. Susie Tanchel

C OVER IMAGE: Dr. Susie Tanchel attends a JCDS Blaze girls’ basketball game. Dr. Tanchel will conclude her nine-year tenure as Head of School this June RIGHT: 5th grader Isaac shows off his homemade degel (Israeli flag) for the virtual Yom Ha’atzmaut celebration B ELOW: 4th and 5th graders worked with Jewish Arts Collaborative’s commissioned artist, Tova Speter, on portions of Brighter Beyond, a collaborative, interactive blacklight experience that was installed at the 6th Annual JArts Hanukkah Celebration at the MFA, Boston

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CONTENTS

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From the Head of School

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Dr. Susie Tanchel: Teacher, Friend, Leader

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Class Notes

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Creating the Kehila Mekusheret

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Kehila Mekusheret Photo Gallery

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Staff Spotlight: Robert Neumann

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Announcing the New Head of School, Shira Deener

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@jcdsboston

F ROM THE HEA D OF SCHOOL

‫מ ראש בית ה ספ ר‬ B OA RD O F TRU S TE E S

Officers Elizabeth Waksman, President Fiona Epstein, Clerk Nathan Hayman, Treasurer Members Yaniv Bejerano Marci Borenstein Claudia Davidoff Galit Div Gary Elovitz Robert Fein Rachel Fish Joshua Gann Sophie Gildesgame Sari Korman Devra Lasden Sharon Levin Abe Menzin Howie Rodenstein Carey Schwartz Shiri Segev Adam Shyevitch Arnee R. Winshall, Founding Chair Head of School Dr. Susie Tanchel Founding Board Naomi Bar-Yam Yaneer Bar-Yam Rabbi Susan Harris Mark Kramer Vardit Ringvald Arnee R. Winshall Walter A. Winshall

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s I write this note, I am not sitting in my office in the JCDS building listening to the voices of the Nitzanim (Kindergarteners) through the wall and hearing the laughter of middle schoolers on the field outside my window. Instead, because of the COVID-19 pandemic, I sit in my home office, physically removed from the students, teachers, parents, and community members that have anchored, buoyed, challenged, and inspired me over the last nine years.

This is not the way I would have chosen to end my tenure as Head of School of JCDS. It is very challenging for our community not to be together in our building. I am devastated that I will not have the opportunity to spend another day at school in my current role.

And yet, even as I experience such deep sadness, I feel tremendous pride and gratitude for the outstanding work our faculty and staff have been doing for our Kehila Mekusheret (Connected Community), our school’s online learning program. Despite the challenging circumstances, our children continue to take learning risks and to laugh with their friends. They question, they learn, and they grow.

We are blessed with a devoted and talented staff who enact the mission of our school. It has been a profound honor to work alongside them, and to lead a school that provides the building blocks for our students to learn, fail, grow, change, and, ultimately, live lives of purpose and meaning.

During my tenure, JCDS has grown tremendously. We created the seven Habits of Mind and Heart that continue to animate and inspire the school’s pluralistic vision.

We solidified our Whole Child approach by strengthening the social emotional curriculum and developing a robust Support Services department. The STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics) program expanded to include interdisciplinary Learning Adventures and coding, and it has been a meaningful place for integration with Jewish

content. We brought mindfulness through a Jewish lens and growth mindset to many constituencies, ensuring that we truly are a learning community that approaches difficult conversations with resiliency and empathy.

Beyond the walls of our school, JCDS has emerged nationally as a premiere pluralistic Jewish day school. I have watched this incredible institution grow into a strategic, forwardthinking organization. I could not be prouder of the place we are in today as we prepare for our next Head of School, Shira Deener, to assume her leadership role.

It has been a great privilege to serve our children, families, and educators as Head of School. Thank you to this remarkable community for giving me the opportunity to translate and interpret the sacred vision upon which JCDS was founded 25 years ago. I am deeply grateful for the partnership, support, and dedication of all of the Trustees, and in particular the board chairs, with whom I have had the honor of working over the course of my tenure. Without their abiding support, JCDS would never have been able to reach the heights at which we find ourselves today. To every donor, supporter and volunteer, thank you for believing in the JCDS vision, for dreaming of a better world, and for seeing JCDS as a pathway to get there. Your generosity makes this work possible and successful. We dream and dare together with you.

I will watch with great pride and immense gratitude, as a proud parent, as our JCDS community continues to go from strength to strength in the years to come.

B’shalom,

Dr. Susie Tanchel Head of School

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DR. SUSI E TAN C H E L: T EAC H E R , F R IE N D, LE AD E R

‫ מנה יגה‬,‫ חברה‬, ‫ מו רה‬: ‫ד ״ ר סו זי ט נ ש ל‬

By Gavi Elkind, Emily Charton, Glenda Speyer, and Dorit Zmiri

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visitor to Dr. Susie Tanchel’s office notices one thing immediately upon entering her work space: it is filled with books. Her walls are lined with tall shelves nearly overflowing with volumes of all shapes and sizes. The titles are varied and seemingly endless, ranging from the works of John Dewey, Carol Dweck, and Deborah Meyer, to the writings of Parker Palmer and Susie’s spiritual soul-guide, Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel.

Susie’s physical spaces reveal an essential aspect of her character: she is a person of the book. As a Bible scholar and an educator, Susie frequently turns to text — both Jewish and secular — for wisdom, guidance, grounding, perspective, and understanding. Before delivering remarks at important meetings or speaking with parents, Susie carefully retrieves her Tanakh from the shelf and flips to the week’s parasha for inspiration. Inevitably, she makes a connection to the present moment and exclaims with wonder: “The parasha is always relevant!”

While no words can fully honor Susie’s outstanding nine-year tenure at JCDS, her dedication to the enduring meaning of text inspires us to turn to Jewish wisdom to help encapsulate her leadership. In Pirkei Avot (Ethics of the Fathers), it is written:

;‫״עשה לך רב; וקנה לך חבר‬

‫״‬.‫והוי דן את כל האדם לכף זכות‬

“Make for yourself a teacher; acquire for yourself a friend (for learning); and judge every person positively.” (1:6) Susie’s remarkable role as lifelong learner and teacher, thought partner and thought leader, and listener and friend, as well as her unwavering commitment to acting with integrity and compassion, will leave an indelible impact on JCDS, and on each of us.

ABOVE: Dr. Susie Tanchel greets a student on the first day of school

is thoughtful, patient, and probing, and she helps guide teachers and members of her teams to build the skills and knowledge needed to succeed. She leads with vision, she leads with trust, and she leads with the belief that all members of the JCDS community are working towards fulfilling our mission on a daily basis.”

During her tenure, Susie has adapted the timeless, sacred JCDS vision to enhance the educational program by focusing on its heart center: the teachers. She has remained steadfast in her commitment to recruiting, training, and retaining high-quality, progressive educators who are dedicated to the mission, values, and vision of JCDS. She created the Director of Learning and Teaching position in order to have one dedicated professional working exclusively on professional development of teachers, and curriculum development. Under Susie’s leadership, JCDS launched the professional coaching program, through which each faculty member receives direct, structured, and ongoing coaching from an educator at the school. She has helped to reenvision the supervision for growth approach to teacher development, and has overseen curricular improvements that have solidified JCDS’s commitment to academic excellence.

Glenda Speyer, Director of Learning and Teaching, reflects on Susie’s leadership, saying: “Every room she inhabits is filled with volumes and volumes of great thought leaders; she reads, examines and integrates their ideas and brings this knowledge to her faculty and to her daily work. Susie’s warm presence and unwavering commitment to mission, vision, and values inspire us all to express our best selves.

She sets the bar high, and encourages us to come on this journey with her.”

Make For Yourself a Teacher ‫עשה לך רב‬ At her core, Susie is a master teacher, and she has approached her work as Head of School with the heart, grace, humility, and curiosity that come with it. Faculty and staff experience her as a measured and thoughtful leader who, like all truly excellent teachers, meets each person precisely where they are and helps them to move forward. As JCDS Principal Emily Charton reflects: “She

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LEFT: Susie with Laura Ball, Director of Physical Education at a JCDS Blaze basketball game

Acquire for Yourself a Friend ‫וקנה לך חבר‬ Those who know Susie recognize, despite her profound humility, that she is a Renaissance woman with myriad talents, skills, and areas of expertise. She can quote Torah verses from memory and spout off Patriots statistics in the same breath. She loves being Jewish, and she believes that ongoing Jewish conversations encapsulate our collective hearts, spirits, and minds. She is a devoted parent and spouse, a novice runner, and a podcast listener.

Just as Susie is a multi-faceted person, her leadership is guided by the innate understanding that each person is complex and multidimensional, and that it is the sacred responsibility of a Jewish day school to hold, engage, challenge, and support children — and families — in their entirety. As Emily reflects, “I learned from Susie the phrase ‘academic excellence is necessary, but not sufficient.’ Susie lives and breathes for the ‘whole family’ and ‘whole child’ approach to education. She leads with the complete individual and family in mind at all times, approaching decisions with guiding questions that continually focus on the social emotional impact on our community members.”

In enacting the Habits of Mind and Heart, Susie provides a model of living for our community. As Dorit Zmiri, Director of Jewish Studies, says, “Susie is a charismatic leader who inspires others, and harnesses them to support her vision. She possesses integrity and fights tirelessly for social justice.”

We have all been blessed to learn from and with Dr. Susie Tanchel, our beloved teacher, friend, and leader, and we will strive to honor her enduring legacy in our work.

Our JCDS community has been forever changed by her leadership. On behalf of all who have been privileged to connect with Susie during her tenure at JCDS, we thank her for her nine years of tremendous service.

Judge Every Person Positively ‫דן את כל האדם לכף זכות‬ Susie has made profound and lasting impacts on the JCDS community — and perhaps her greatest contribution has been the Habits of Mind and Heart.

Susie’s work and life are driven by what she holds to be a sacred obligation to contribute to and improve the world. Animated by this belief, Susie collaborated with the Educational Leadership Team and JCDS faculty to develop the seven Habits of Mind and Heart (problem solving, reflection, multiple perspectives and empathy, curiosity and humility, integrity, evidence, and perseverance and resiliency) that, in Susie’s own words, “inspire our educational program, guide participation in our community, and prepare us to live lives with purpose and meaning.” Through her leadership, these Habits have become the underpinning of our JCDS community.

TOP: Susie with Gavi Elkind, Assistant Head of School, at this year’s Purim celebration MIDDLE: Susie at her in-school Bat Mitzvah celebration this year LEFT: Elizabeth Waksman, Board of Trustees President, with Susie at Matters of Taste 2019

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T RI B U T E S TO D R . SUSIE TAN C HEL

‫ד ברי ה ו קרה ל ד ״ ר סו ז י טנ של‬

Thank you for inspiring us in terms of pluralism, growth mindset and, community building!

Carey Schwartz and David Sharff

We are so proud of all you have accomplished and feel privileged to have known you through the years. You continue to inspire, from your days with George at the New Jewish High School until the present.

Lizbeth and George Krupp

‫המון תודה על עשר‬ ‫שנים נפלאות על ההשקעה‬ .JCDS‫העצומה ל‬ ‫על האהבה החוכמה והאנרגיה שאת‬ ‫הבאת איתך לבית ספר ולקהילה‬ ‫מערכים את כל‬ !‫ההשקעה ונתגעג אליך‬ Noni Erel Armony and Izhar Armony

One person’s candle is light for many. ~ Talmud, Shabbat Thank you, Susie, for lighting the way and kindling so many flames.

Betsy Hecker and John Barter

Thank you for 9 years of inspiring leadership at JCDS. You embody the values that you imbued in every aspect of school life.

Through your work and dedication, you strengthened our joyful community and brought us to new heights.

The Segev Family

Mazal Tov on this special occasion.

Thank you for your inspiration and leadership in shaping this wonderful school.

Fiona Epstein and John Pollack

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Over the course of my 17 years of involvement with JCDS, I have never wavered in my love for the education and the community. Thank you for all of your hard work in improving that which needed improvement, and keeping in place that which is sacred. I am grateful for your leadership and for your friendship.

Sari Korman

Thank you, Susie, for engaging the JCDS community in Habits of Mind and Heart, embodying them in your leadership over the past 9 years, and embedding them in JCDS for years to come.

The Winshall Family

Thank you for your inspiring, visionary, and joyous leadership of JCDS for the past nine years!

You helped instill in our children a love of learning and a commitment to pluralism of all kinds.

We will miss you as Head of School of JCDS! We wish you all the best in your new role — they are lucky to have you!

Nicole, Josh, Leah, Joe, and Micah Gann

Ima, you treat everyone with respect and you make their lives better, no matter who they are.

I am going to miss having you at school, but I’m looking forward to spending more time with you at home.

Jordana Kaplan-Tanchel

Thank you for 9 years of leading JCDS with vision, passion and dedication. You are truly an inspirational model for us all of habits of mind and heart and the growth mindset.

The Gildesgame Family

“If you knew Susie, like we know Susie Oh, oh, oh, what a gal!”

Mazal Tov to our Malka!

Devra and Don Lasden

Visit www.wizadjournal.com/ jcdsboston2020 to see all of the tributes to Susie.

As we hear the words of the song ‫ יחד‬- Together, we are thinking of you and the path you paved in our school for the staff, the parents and most importantly, the children.

You paved a way of ‫ יחד‬- Togetherness, ‫ קהילה‬- Community. You saw the light, you opened your heart and the rest is done with hope and love. We wish you ‫ דרך צלחה‬- a safe trip in your new journey.

Galit, Lior, Lia, and Guy Div

Great Person, Wonderful Friend, Fantastic Teacher, Extraordinary Head of School.

We will miss seeing you at JCDS! Rita and Herb Gann

Susie, you have been both a teacher and a friend to me. It has been a privilege to serve as board chair of JCDS, working and learning alongside you, these past three years. Darren and I congratulate you on leading JCDS into its 25th year of educating children and building community through intentional pluralism. May you go from strength to strength, ‫מחיל אל חיל‬.

Elizabeth Waksman and Darren Orbach

Susie’s warmth, sensitivity, and empathy are a gift to all who know her.

Together with fairness and generosity defined by Jewish texts and values, Susie inspires us to become our best. She will remain an unforgettable role model and mentor for all those who encountered her as head of school at JCDS. Claudia Davidoff and Joseph Kahan

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e are grateful to our community for celebrating Susie’s nine years as Head of School. Your gift to the Dr. Susie Tanchel Fund affirms the values of goodness, generosity, joy, and teaching — the values that have always guided Susie in teaching students, leading the school, and living her life.

Now in its 25th year, JCDS has reached new heights and solidified its place as a leader in the Jewish day school arena due, in great part, to Susie’s enthusiastic leadership. The work of the dedicated and talented faculty members and staff, the robust integrated curriculum, and the enactment of the JCDS vision for pluralistic education are all sacred to Susie.

A contribution to the Dr. Susie Tanchel Fund will help to support JCDS’s strong future, inspired

by Susie’s tremendous passion for education. A tribute message from you to Susie is welcomed and encouraged. Your donation, like Susie’s legacy, will positively impact JCDS students for years to come.

Make your gift and submit your tribute message to Susie at: www.jcdsboston.org/drtfund Thank you and be well!

!‫רב תודות‬

Our annual benefit, Matters of Taste, was postponed.

We will inform the community if and when we secure a future date.

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LEFT: JCDS alumni and current Gann students performed acapella music for the Middle School TOP ROW: (from left) Bex Steinberg ’16, Shai Mann Robison ’16, Ariel Krasner-Tipton ’16 BOTTOM ROW: (from left) Anna Kamens ’16, Nehara Biala-Mirsky, Joe Gann ’19, Josie Kamens ’19

CLA S S N OT E S

JC D S ‫בוג ר י‬

Studying?

Working?

Volunteering?

Traveling?

Involved in your community?

Getting married?

Welcoming a baby?

Let us know what’s happening in your life by emailing your updates to news@jcdsboston.org.

Award-Winning Alumni Eliezer Pearl ’14

Elazar Cramer ’15

Eliezer was awarded the University of Texas at Austin’s President’s Award for Global Learning in the East Asia Region. Eliezer and his team’s research project, “How Autonomous Vehicles Might Aid Vulnerable Populations: A Case Study in Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games” was one of five winning projects.

The project focused on how the elderly and disabled react to autonomous vehicles. The research was going to be conducted during the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

Elazar’s essay “Representative Edith Nourse Rogers: A Beacon of Light in America’s Darkest Moral Hour” was the 2019 first-place winner of the Profile in Courage Essay Contest. Every year, the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation’s essay contest for high school students recieves over 2,500 submissions from all over the country. The first-place award includes a $10,000 scholarship.

If you previously attended JCDS for any length of time, you are part of the JCDS alumni family.

To learn more about the annual Alumni Reunion Brunch, or to help plan other activities, contact Sophie Gildesgame, ’06, Alumni Liason and member of the Board of Trustees at sophie.gildesgame@ gmail.com.

Elazar’s winning essay focuses on the political courage of Edith Nourse Rogers, a Republican U.S. Representative from Massachusetts who pushed for an active United States response to the humanitarian crisis in Nazi Germany.

ABOVE: Eliezer (far left) and his teammates

Since the Olympics in Tokyo have been postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the team’s trip has been rescheduled to December.

Their new topic will still focus on transportation for elderly and disabled individuals, but will likely relate to the pandemic and its aftereffects.

After graduating from JCDS, Elazar attended the Maimonides School in Brookline, followed by a year of study at Yeshivat Har Etzion in Israel. Since he had to return early due to the COVID-19 pandemic, he will be returning to Israel in the fall for another year before starting college at Princeton University in 2021.

After graduating from JCDS, Eliezer attended Gann Academy in Waltham. Presently, Eliezer is a Turing Scholars honors student in the Class of 2022 at UT Austin. He is double-majoring in Computer Science and Sustainability Studies.

ABOVE: Elazar (right) and his brother Yochanan, who is currently in 6th grade at JCDS

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JCDS Weddings Mazal tov! !‫מזל טוב‬

JCDS alumni celebrating the wedding of Yael Rhodes ’06 (3rd from right) to Anna McKown

JCDS alumni brought their swag to Talia Rubin ’10 and Ezra Wyschogrod’s wedding

FROM LEFT: Ariela Knite ’04, Shifra Sered ’05, Mira Smith ’06, Yael Rhodes ’06, Martha Schwarz ’05, and Sarah Smith ’04

TOP ROW: (from left) Noah Bernays ’10, Rebecca Jackson ’09, Ariella Beck-Levisohn ’11, Jack Sivan ’10 BOTTOM ROW: (from left) Margalit Glasgow ’10, Shira Lehman ’10

JCDS alumni on the Gann Basketball Team TOP ROW: (from left) Coach Luis Ramirez, Coach Rudie Lion P’12 and ’16, Jesse Levisohn ’16, Ari Whittum ’17, Noah Lion ’16, AZ Krebs ’18, Lev Kotler Berkowitz ’19 BOTTOM ROW: (from left) Asaf Dvir ‘18, Itai Dvir ’18, Joe Hirsh ’18, Nathan Starhill ’19, Sam Hirsh ’18

Members of the Class of 2014 reuniting over Zoom TOP ROW: (from left) Chava Whittum, Ronit Kempler, Benji Sokol, Ilai Gavish 2ND ROW: (from left) Zach Drapkin, Tali Bers, Shira Small, Maya Levisohn 3RD ROW: (from left) Maya Rubin, Eliana Bazer, Aliya Bloom, Norman Tall BOTTOM ROW: Eliezer Pearl

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CR E AT I NG T H E KE HIL A ME KU S HERET: CO N N EC T E D CO MMUN IT Y IN THE FACE OF COVID-19, JCDS QUICKLY PIVOTS TO ONLINE LEARNING

‫יצי רת ה קהילה מ ק ושר ת‬

By Ilana Coolidge, Communications Manager

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his past March, the world changed overnight.

In the face of COVID-19, JCDS was called upon to quickly assess what the closure of the building would mean for the school. When it became clear that, due to the pandemic, learning would need to occur in a virtual platform, keeping our sense of community remained a priority. This is why the new virtual version of JCDS is called the Kehila Mekusheret, which translates to “Connected Community.”

As Head of School Dr. Susie Tanchel explained, “I didn’t want to choose a name for our online learning program that emphasized the Cloud.

That was too far away. I sought a name that, while acknowledging the online nature of the program, would emphasize the truth of our community: JCDS continues unabated in our hearts no matter where and how we meet and learn with one another.”

Thanks to the tireless efforts of Jared Matas, Director of STEAM Innovation, Robert Neumann, Director of Operations, and the entire Educational Leadership Team, the school day was quickly adapted for an entirely online format.

While the school building remains empty, JCDS has been able to maintain the sense of warmth and togetherness that permeates its halls.

Although classes now take place using platforms such as Zoom, SeeSaw, and Google Classroom, Jared is hesitant to use the term “virtual.” “This isn’t virtual school. It’s real. We’re not in the same place, but the teachers are creating this very real experience for the students,” Jared explained.

Once everyone realized that school would move online, there was an immediate “all hands on deck” response. To implement this new way of learning, the team determined what was possible for teachers, students, and families given the varying constraints of people’s home lives. There was a learning curve for all parties.

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The goal was to build upon existing tools that were already being utilized before the pandemic.

Using familiar platforms allowed the teachers to keep doing what they do best: • building connections with the students, • engaging students in meaningful learning, • accounting for the different academic, social, and emotional needs of each student.

“From the beginning, it was apparent that we needed to adjust expectations around content,” Jared said. “We were not going to be able to cover the same number of concepts that we would have in-person, but we were still going to be able to engage the students in meaningful learning.”

The first few days were a lesson in patience and resilliency as everyone adjusted to this new way of learning and teaching. Teachers tried new ideas and made adjustments according to parent and student feedback in order to effectively engage their students in learning.

The Kehila Mekusheret schedule still allows time for Lower School morning meetings and Middle School advisory, as well as physical education, music, and other special activities. The specialists have reimagined what they’re doing in innovative ways. For example, art teacher Vered Singer had students create portraits using recycled objects found around their homes.

As each student learns differently, some benefit from more structured online class time (synchronous learning) while others benefit from off-screen opportunities to expand upon their learning (asynchronous learning). To accommodate all students’ learning styles, there is a balance between synchronous and asynchronous learning, and teachers shift between the two as needed.

ABOVE: 4th grader Micah with his recycled face project for virtual art with Vered Singer

“Deep learning is happening, as is deep connecting” — Dr. Susie Tanchel

Catherine Ross, who teaches Engineering for Gan Nitzan (Kindergarten) through 2nd grade, exemplifies this balance well. She makes a video of the assignment, posts it on SeeSaw, and students can check-in during the designated Engineering time via Zoom. Some students prefer being on Zoom throughout the duration of Engineering to complete the assignment, while others hop on and off Zoom with questions and then continue working independently at home offline.

The JCDS Habits of Mind and Heart, which animate and inform everyday life at the school, are even more relevant now in the Kehila Mekusheret. In particular, our entire community is being called to put into practice the Habits of perseverance, resiliency, and curiosity as we embark on this new system of learning. We look forward to hopefully being back together in our building come September!

Susie continues to be impressed by the ways in which the students and teachers are utilizing these platforms.

“Our kids are enjoying birthday parties, playdates, t’fillah, advisory, morning meeting, in-class presentations, and Open Circle lessons, all through the use of technology.

Deep learning is happening, as is deep connecting,” she explained. “Our children continue to learn and to laugh together. I’m so proud of them for continuing to take learning risks, to question, and to grow.”

During this unique moment in time, JCDS’s core strengths have proven to be even more valuable. The relationships among students, teachers and families have made this new endeavor successful. With the creation of Kehila Mekusheret, JCDS continues to innovate and to keep its community close.

As Joanne Baker, Middle School English Teacher, eloquently explained, “Although everything is kind of topsy turvy these days, one of the remaining constants for JCDS kids is a sense of belonging; of support, of love and of community they are feeling in classes everyday.”

ABOVE: Students and staff gather virtually for the kickoff assembly of the Kehila Mekusheret MIDDLE: 1st grader Daniel joins the virtual Yom Ha’atzmaut celebration BELOW: A middle schooler’s art supplies ready for virtual art with Vered Singer

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JCDS KEHILA MEKUSHERET ‫קהילה מקושרת‬ 1

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With the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, JCDS transitioned in March to an all-online format. This new Kehila Mekusheret shares the same vibrance, warmth, and sense of connection with brick-and-morter JCDS.

(Captions from left to right) 1 Gabe Krause-Grosman ’19 and 6th grader Rachel play Hatikvah during the Yom HaZikaron tekes (ceremony) 2 Yoel Sykses, of the Jerusalem-based ensemble Nava Tehila, joined Middle School T’fillah as a surprise 3 Kitat Oren (1st grade) celebrates Guy’s virtual in-school birthday 4 Alla Shimron, Dance Teacher, leads an Israeli cooking demonstration for Yom Ha’atzmaut

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5 Artwork representing the Kehila Mekusheret,

by Andrea Silton, Middle School Teacher and Advisor 6 Joanne Baker, Middle School English Teacher, holds up a sign as her students begin their Boy Project virtual presentations 7 Laura Ball, Director of Physical Education, with a chalk message encouraging students to stay active

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8 Oren Kaunfer, Madrich Ruchani (Spiritual Advisor) leads virtual Kabbalat Shabbat, with help from his daughter, Layla ’21

10 Tamar (5th grade) student Jordana’s at-home setup 11 School nurse and Toshba teacher Jonah PeretzLange works virtually with his furry assistant, Hickory 12 Kitat Alon (4th grade) shows off their favorite stuffed animals during “Bring Your Stuffy to Class” 13 2nd grader Isaac joins his class for Morning Meeting 14 6th grader Ruti’s contribution to the Middle School tree art project 15 Students share what they are grateful for during an all-school virtual assembly 16 Arnee R. Winshall, JCDS Founding Chair and alumni parent, joins virtual Kabbalat Shabbat with the Habits of Mind and Heart as her background 17 Eliora in Kitat Alon (4th grade) shows off her portrait made with recycled materials for virtual art with Vered Singer

9 Arava (2nd grade) student Victoria says the Shema during T’fillah with her class

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M EET ROB E RT N E UM AN N , DI R EC TO R O F O PE R AT IO N S

‫ה כי רו א ת ר ו בר ט‬

By Ilana Coolidge, Communications Manager

Can you tell us about your time in South Africa?

I was born in Cape Town, attended the South African College Schools and the University of Cape Town, where I graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Electrical Engineering. I did two years of mandatory national service in the South African Navy and was promoted to Officer in Charge of Submarine Simulators. After completing my national service, I emigrated to the United States.

What did you do professionally before coming to JCDS? My first job in the U.S. was with SIEMENS in Boca Raton where I worked as a Software Engineer designing software for large telephone systems. After my wife, Lisa, and I moved to Brookline, I worked for Stone & Webster Engineering Corporation as a Supervisor of Database Administrators and Systems Analysts, designing software systems to run and manage nuclear power plants. My next job was Director of IT for the Parsons Corporation, which is an engineering company involved in power plant design, nuclear facility decommissioning, and environmental consulting services. While I was at Parsons, I earned my MBA from Boston University.

I then joined Intertek, a British company headquartered in London as the Chief Information Officer. Intertek tested and certified products for safety, conformity to standards, and quality. From there, I went to Bureau Veritas, a French company headquartered in Paris, as the Vice President of IT Solutions.

The products tested by both companies included electronic and medical devices, apparel, and toys for large companies like Macy’s, Target, Home Depot, and Disney. I then joined DreamingCode in Boston as Vice President of Mobile App Design and then served as the Chief Information Officer of Suffolk Construction, one of the largest privately owned construction companies in the country.

What is your typical role at JCDS? I joined JCDS in 2014 as Director of Information Technology.

Since July 2019, I have served as Director of Operations. My day involves multidisciplinary multi-tasking. Within a span of about ten minutes, it often happens that I switch from dealing with an IT issue to a facilities issue to a security issue so there’s no time to feel bored!

How has your role changed since March now that school has moved online?

There’s definitely less walking involved. I don’t get my exercise walking an average of five miles a day, going backwards and

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forwards from one end of the school to the other. Now I have to do push-ups and sit-ups at home!

It’s more difficult to solve IT problems remotely. Now, I sit in my home office, working with three computers, an iPad, and four screens. Ensuring that each day goes better than the day before translates into much longer working hours and working on the weekends as well. Even so, I’m very grateful and appreciative that I have a job that I love and really enjoy doing. I now also have a greater appreciation for people who work on IT Help Desks!

How did you, Jared Matas, and the team get online learning up and running so quickly?

We were able to put a great technology solution in place on time because we were paying attention to what schools in other countries were doing for distance learning as the virus spread from China across Europe. Jared and I belong to an international listserv for IT in education, and we monitored what worked and what didn’t. We knew it was just a matter of time before the virus reached Boston and that we would need to pivot to online learning.

We have an amazing faculty, who adopted a new technology rapidly. They switched their teaching techniques on a dime! They worked really hard as a team to create teaching material that was conducive to distance learning and they delivered the material flawlessly. Our students have demonstrated tremendous growth mindset and flexibility as they adapted to the new learning environment quite quickly. Our parents, many of whom are still working and taking care of multiple children simultaneously, have been tremendously supportive and helpful in making sure that their children are geared up and ready to start their distance learning classes every morning. Our staff, who do all their work under the radar, did an incredible job to transition our school from a brick and mortar environment to a digital environment without missing a beat.

What is something your students might not know about you?

There are two things: First, my daughter and son-in-law are expecting a baby in late August. Second, when I was the Officer in Charge of Submarine Simulators in the South African Navy, I trained Israeli Submarine Officers.

AN NO U NC I N G SH IR A D E E N E R A S I NCOM I N G H E AD O F SC H O O L ‫הודעה על מינויה שירה די נר‬ ‫כראש בית הספ ר לש נת הלימ ו ד י ם הב א ה‬

JCDS is delighted to welcome Shira Deener as its next Head of School. The Board’s unanimous decision to appoint Shira was based upon the enthusiastic recommendation of the Head of School Search Committee following a nationwide search process. The Search Committee sought an experienced educational leader deeply aligned with JCDS’s values and mission.

In Shira they found a strong relational leader and community builder, devoted to our intentional pluralism, with a disposition marked by positivity, flexibility, and a deep commitment to Jewish Day School education.

According to Shira, schools should be a place filled with an intense sense of belonging.

Shira is thrilled to begin her new role in a community she knows so well. As she eloquently stated in a recent conversation, “I have the vantage point of experiencing JCDS as a parent, a former faculty member, and in my current role with Facing History and Ourselves. I am in awe of just how quickly and successfully the teachers, families and students have pivoted to the online virtual learning space. This has certainly been a challenging time for all of us, and I so appreciate the stamina required from both the faculty and the families to keep this unusual learning going.”

She continued, “I feel reassured that the quality of education transcends any circumstances of the moment in which we find ourselves. Though our present reality poses many challenges, the JCDS community continues to thrive. I very much look forward to greeting you all in the fall when I take on the role of Head of School. In the meantime, stay strong and healthy! Gam zeh yaavor... this too shall pass!”

Shira begins her new role in July of 2020. You can learn more about her at www.jcdsboston/hos-search

“I very much look forward to greeting you all in the fall when I take on the role of Head of School.”

RIGHT: The Deener-Chodirker family.

(From left to right) Eli, David, Maayan ’21, Shira, Liat ’09, and Ziv

NI T ZOT ZOT / S PRIN G 2020

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N I T ZOT ZOT M AG A Z I NE C R E D ITS

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SPA R KS MAG A Z IN E / FA L L

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