Letter from Shira Deener, Head of School

רפסה תיב שארמ

In this spring’s Nitzotzot edition, you will get an insider’s view of the teaching moments that JCDS intentionally creates to best prepare our graduates. Each article provides you with texture and voice so that when we use terms such as “Backward Design” or “Differentiated Instruction,” the words come alive through colorful descriptions and examples of some of the core elements of our program. In this edition, we aim to do more “showing” and less “telling” of what makes JCDS so unique and special. It is easy to take for granted the infinite number of intentional moments in the life of a JCDS student that seem to just happen, and I hope that, by reading through these articles, you will come away with a deeper understanding of how we do things at JCDS.

Below is my letter to this year’s graduating class that will appear in their Yearbook. I am sharing it with you as a tribute to these outstanding students who have already made a lasting impact on our school.

DEAR CLASS OF 2023,

What an amazing class you have been throughout the years!

It is no secret that you have grown up during a period of explosive change, one we all feel acutely is the technological revolution surrounding us. Unlike me, a digital immigrant, who continuously needs to re-learn how to navigate digital frontiers such as the internet, cellphones, and social media, you were born directly into this revolution. You incorporate the sweeping arc of today’s technologies, with all of its brilliance and challenges into your everyday lives.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) can now assist you by giving you a framework to write your essays and Divrei Torahs, and even to help you drive your car. You are graduating from JCDS at such an exciting time. All you need to do is imagine something innovative, and the information and tools are available to you to sharpen your thoughts and develop a plan.

Our new Makerspace, HaSadna, has become a local, thriving JCDS community hub in which problem solving, design thinking, and project development are introducing all of our students to what is possible. You are the first graduating class to have had this experience for integrated, creative thinking, but it is only a taste of what is to come within a makerspace environment.

But above all else, this is what I truly hope you remember –that all human endeavor depends upon human connection; that happiness and purpose rely heavily on relationships and community, and that no technological advancement can ever take their place. It is the relationship among people that provides the foundation from which great advance- ments evolve. There are no shortcuts. Active, thoughtful engagement, as you have learned at JCDS throughout your years, relies on open-mindedness, curiosity, empathy, and integrity. In high school and beyond, you will undoubtedly lean on new educational platforms, but remember that it is your unique perspective and how you interact with others that will ultimately shape your future. Trust that unique voice, listen to your heart, and be open to those with whom you agree and with whom you may disagree.

Mazal tov, Class of 2023! We are truly going to miss you. Your individual personalities – all 27 of them – have contributed powerfully to our warm, joyful, and inclusive JCDS culture. Your deep questions, creative insights, enthusiastic volunteerism, and reliable leadership have shaped the most up-to-date contours of JCDS today. Our youngest students have looked up to you, our most seasoned teachers have grown because of you, and I have no doubt that we will be very hard pressed to replace the human spirit you have breathed into our school.

Letter from Rachel Fish, Board President

םינמאנה רבח תאישנמ

Over the past several weeks, the word tikvah (hope) has often been on my mind. Tikvah feels right for this season of spring as tree and flower buds gently nudge their way out of hibernation and into plain sight. It is also the season of hope on our liturgical calendar, as during the weekly reading of the parsha, we see the emergence of a new nation, a people grappling with what it means to be a community that is united but not uniform – a community that is evolving from having been in positions of slavery and marginalization, to one holding agency and recognizing its capacity for creating change.

Throughout these several parashot, the thread of tikvah weaves together the journey of the Israelites’ exodus from Egypt, to their wanderings in the desert, to the eventual revelations they will experience at Mount Sinai.

Tikvah, too, extends to the inspiration I feel around the ongoing JCDS strategic planning process that we are embarking upon this spring. Each task force is working tirelessly to consider how best to position our school, ensuring that our long-term objectives are strengthened, while our core tenets remain integrated and ever-foundational to our community. It is precisely this healthy combination of identifying who we are, and where we want to be in the next decade of our school’s life, that propels this process. As our school year is nearing completion, may we feel rejuvenated by that sense of tikvah for what has been, and what is yet to come.