Charlotte Jewish Day School Celebrates Student-Athletes

Charlotte Jewish News, May 2025

By Monica Ribreau

Charlotte (CJDS) held its first-ever Sports Banquet to celebrate the success of our student-athletes.

The 2024-25 school year has been a landmark year, as it is our first year with a complete middle school and marks the expansion of the sports program. At CJDS, we believe in the power of a well-rounded education that includes not only academic excellence but also physical, social, and emotional growth. A strong sports program is one of the best ways to achieve that balance.

Sports instill essential values such as teamwork, discipline, perseverance, and responsibility. Whether our students are on the Levine JCC basketball court, running the trails of Boyce Park, or doing drills on the field, they learn how to work together toward a common goal, how to handle both victory and defeat with grace, and how to push themselves to improve every day. These skills will serve them not just in athletics but in academics, careers, and personal relationships.

Our young sports teams were paired against larger schools with more established programs. Like our school community, our athletes represented various kinds of Jewish practice; students proudly wore a kippah or modified uniforms to remain true to their religious practice while participating on the field or court. Jewish pride was evident. As a young basketball team, the students often found themselves as underdogs. However, they knew they played their hardest and worked together as a team. The desire to belong to a team, to be part of something greater than oneself, was clear. After each game, they held their heads high and recognized their accomplishments.

The CJDS Cross Country team competed against many other middle schools across the county, running a two-mile course. All our runners improved their race time between the first and last meets by 5 % to 14 percent. Some of our top runners were consistently in the top 25 percent of all race finishers.

While our basketball team scored only one win for the season, they played well together and worked as a team, moving the ball well and encouraging each other throughout.

All student-athletes received a certificate of achievement for their sport in addition to a pin specific to their sport. Additionally, the middle school athletes were given a blue and white letter jacket with the CJDS logo and Rams mascot embroidered on it. CJDS looks forward to growing the athletic program as the school continues to grow.