Letter from Shira Deener, Head of School

Our society can feel frenetic. New technologies, ideas, and platforms are created and tested at an exponential pace, and it is sometimes difficult to come up for air; to find the time to pause and reflect. At JCDS, the faculty and staff work deliberately to counter this. Our school is a place where we intentionally apply the brakes and slow things down – take time to think more deeply – reflect more broadly about what qualities of mind and virtues of heart we wish to develop in our students. We want them to graduate with the disposition and skills vital to achieve success and navigate in today’s complex and complicated world. By carefully developing curricula and choosing precise educational opportunities, we help shape JCDS graduates ready to meet the challenges and opportunities ahead.

The leaders of tomorrow are the JCDS students of today. While it is imperative that they acquire facility and understanding of engineering, science, math, and humanities, today that knowledge and those skills are neither sufficient nor enough. In a world of social media echo chambers, where we are encouraged to act on our impulses and expected to respond to everything immediately, our kids must learn to pause – to breathe deeply – and to take the time necessary to think ideas through. It is vital to us that our JCDS graduates understand the importance of practicing reflection, honoring the perspective of others, and feeling the pride and confidence of knowing exactly who they are as members of this pluralistic Jewish community. In this issue of Nitzotzot, you will: see evidence of a school that makes intentional decisions about our educational programming; read examples of how perspective taking, humility and integrity take place in subjects such as Tanakh and Israel history; and see how Pedagogy of Partnership, affectionately known as “PoP”, inculcates a stance of curiosity and wonder in our Lower School’s youngest learners that continues through their JCDS education. You will get a taste of the ways in which our sparkling new state-of-theart makerspace, HaSadna, along with our approach to the “Yoms” are examples of innovation and meaningful connections. And as well, you will read about our graduates, and how our many new transfer students quickly embody so much of what we treasure at JCDS.

Thank you for taking the time to journey through these pages to learn more about our beloved school. It is my hope that when you’re done reading, you’ll soon come for a visit and see us in action!