Ma Koreh
/What’s Happening?
Weekly CJDS Newsletter
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D’var Kesher from the Head of School, Dr. Tali Zelkowicz, and the Principal, Ms. Rachel Arcus-Goldberg, MA, LCSW
August 31, 2018 / 20 Elul, 5778
Parashat Ki Tavo, Deuteronomy 26:1 - 29:8
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D'VAR KESHER: A WORD OF CONNECTION
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"Flipping" for Back to School Night
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Greetings!
Parents sat in their children’s seats last night. They got a first-hand experience of sample academic, related arts, and social emotional learning, as they rotated among classes on letter writing, tefilah, drum rhythms, cartography, PE, and more.
Back to School Night is about so much more than curriculum; it is synecdoche for
hevruta/close partnership. It is the part that represents the most important whole: the essential partnership between home and school, parents and teachers, without which our students suffer. With
hevruta, the students can soar beyond our wildest dreams.
Indeed, the whole theme for this academic year is
Hevruta. To maximize the very valuable two hours with parents on site, we “flip” the classroom for. That means anything that can be communicated by email or video is shared in advance, and makes the time and space for engaging in organic interactions among teachers and parents. We want to peel back that curtain and give parents a chance to experience the wonder, creativity, critical thinking and intellectual stimulation that their children participate in every day.
More Math, Done Better
Last night, Ms. A.G. also shared with all the parents why we added more math instructional minutes to every day and introduced a Math curriculum called: Eureka Math (some may know it as “Engage NY”). To nods around the room, she stated what everyone was feeling: "It’s not the way any of us learned math." We promise to hold everyone's hands through this shift to a new way of teaching and learning math. In short, Eureka Math teaches students to think mathematically, rather than focus on memorizing math facts.
We will similarly “flip” parent-teacher conferences this year, so that they are not “scripted” or routinized rehearsals of things that parents may already know, but rather consist of live interactions that generate new information and insights into each child. That is made possible with the introduction of educational portfolios, which allow parents and teachers to study actual artifacts of a child’s work together, and literally be on the same page. These work samples can include just about any aspect of learning, such as their writing, several drafts of a math problem, recordings of their reading, pictures of their artwork, examples of their leadership, and more.
Everything we say and do together at Back to School Night is the part that represents the whole year of building an ever stronger partnership - in
hevruta- between home and school, teacher and parent. That way, students can remain at the center of this whole endeavor.
Shabbat shalom from both of us,
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SEPTEMBER
Monday, September 3: Labor Day NO SCHOOL
Friday, September 7: Rosh Hashanah Kabbalat
Hag 1:40 p.m.-2:20 p.m.
Monday, September 10: Rosh Hashanah NO SCHOOL
Tuesday, September 11: Rosh Hashanah NO SCHOOL
Tuesday, September 18: Erev Yom Kippur Noon Dismissal
Wednesday, September 19: Yom Kippur NO SCHOOL
Friday, September 21: Sukkot Kabbalat
Hag 1:40 p.m.-2:20 p.m.
Monday, September 24: Sukkot NO SCHOOL
Tuesday, September 25: Sukkot NO SCHOOL
Wednesday, September 26: Sukkot Celebration and Kite Flying 1:00 p.m.-3:15 p.m.
Friday, September 28: Sim
hat Torah Kabbalat
Hag 1:40 p.m.-2:20 p.m.
OCTOBER
Monday, October 1: Shmini Atzeret NO SCHOOL
Tuesday, October 2: Simhat Torah NO SCHOOL
Friday, October 12: All School Kabbalat Shabbat 1:40 p.m.-2:20 p.m.
Wednesday, October 17: Picture Day Students Wear CJDS Polo
Friday, October 19: Professional Development Day NO STUDENTS
Friday, October 26: All School Kabbalat Shabbat 1:40 p.m.-2:20 p.m.
Sunday, October 28: CJDS OPEN HOUSE 10:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m.
Tuesday, October 30: Parent/Teacher Conferences 4:00 p.m.-7:00 p.m.
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- MONDAY: Dance Club with Ms. AG & Katie Feldstein (during recess) 23 students have signed up for Ketzev, the CJDS Dance Club!
- TUESDAY: Israel/Hebrew Club with Lin Raveh - Israeli Shlicha (during lunch)
- WEDNESDAY: Tzedakah Club with Susan Couden & Rabbi Sharon Barr Skolnik (during lunch) 25 students have signed up for Tzedakah Club!
- THURSDAY: Journalism Club with Dr. Denae D'Arcy (during recess)
- FRIDAY: Choir with Angelo Dunlap (during recess)
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After School Clubs
(After-school clubs will not begin until after the High Holidays to allow for consistency. Associated fees apply.)
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- MONDAY: Chess & Board Game Club with Jeremy Arcus-Goldbnerg (after school club)
- TUESDAY: Tennis with Pam Lippy (after school club)
- WEDNESDAY: Giving Garden with Rabbi Iah Pillsbury (after school club)
- THURSDAY: Robotics with Mr. AG (after school club)
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Pictured below: (L-R) CJDS Principal - Rachel Arcus-Goldberg, with Dr. Miriam Raider-Roth
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We were so honored that to have a visit this week from University of Cincinnati Professor of Education and Director of the Mandel Teacher Educator Institute, or MTEI
http://www.mtei-learning.org , a program funded by the Jack, Joseph, and Morton Mandel Foundation. Dr. Miriam Raider-Roth. (https://cech.uc.edu/education/employees.html?eid=raidermm)
Dr. Raider-Roth said she has been intending to visit the school for several years, and as you can see from her reflections below, was very moved and impressed by the educational experience and learning community we have.
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“At Bank Street, [top college of progressive education in the country], we learned to look at the walls and the spaces of a school to look for evidence of student voice and the figurative handprints of the children in their work. That stood out to me right away at CJDS. The engagement of the children and the teachers was inspiring to see: nobody was in rows, they were all in groups, in conversation and in relationship. The way kids were talking to each other, the way teachers were talking to each other, and how the teachers respected the children was so clear in every space I visit.
And those little ambassadors! I was delighted by the ambassadors. You can really see the growth from Kindergarten and spiraling the skill up through the grades to see the growth of what it means to engage in the Jewish value of Hachnasat Orchim, that sense that we welcome people from the outside.
One of the things that is really standing out to me, and which I almost feel overwhelmed by, is that every corner of the school is thoughtful and intentional – the compost bin is written in Hebrew, the butterfly garden and release ceremony. It is amazing how you inquire into so many important educational dilemmas:
Inquiry into community’s role in protecting the earth/shmirat ha teva, the healthy relationship among all different members of the community, the centrality of integration and Jewish text; there’s so much going on at this intentional and rich community. I’m moved by all of it.
I felt joy in seeing this wonderful school, meeting the strong and connected teachers, and watching the students engage in such real and joyful ways. If I lived in your area, I would be standing at the doorway volunteering for any task you would assign me.”
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HAKARAT HATOV
The Hebrew term for gratitude is הַכָּרַת הַטוֹב (
Hakarat HaTov), which means "recognizing the good."
To
Monica Silverstein for providing a delicious dinner for the staff and faculty during Back to School Night.
To
Jenny Glick, for her consistent cheer in the face of the unexpected, and her never-flagging willingness to step to help another.
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LIFECYCLES
In our community, at every point, our families are perpetually entering new stages in their lives. In keeping with the tradition of living Jewishly, CJDS acknowledges, honors, and celebrates these moments: Births, B’nei Mitzvah, graduations, marriages, and in moments of illness, healing and loss.
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KESHER: CJDS Parent Organization
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As in the past, we are so grateful to all the help from the community members - grandparents, friends, parents, and others – on whom we rely to serve hot lunch to our students. Our volunteers bring such a warmth and love to our students and we love having all of you! In order to make this sign-up process even more smooth this year,
we would love each family (any family member or friend) to sign up for two dates during the whole year to serve lunch. It can be a parent, a grandparent, a special friend - anyone who is interested in spending time with our wonderful students and serving them food.
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CJDS is proud to have a Parent Organization called Kesher (Hebrew for "connection"). Kesher has a team of grade representatives led by a president.
Kesher is responsible for the CJDS Hot Lunch program, social gatherings outside of school, teacher appreciation, the CJDS Chesed committee and more! To get involved,
please be in touch HERE.
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Hot Lunch server responsibilities include:
- Volunteer to serve lunch HERE
- 11:25 a.m.: Arrive at CJDS
- 11:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.: Set out the plates and assemble lunches
- 12:00 p.m.-12:30 p.m.: Students arrive for lunch at 12:00 p.m. and we help serve the lunch to those who have ordered.
- Help with cleaning up and conclude by 1:00 p.m.
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Click
HERE
for a listing of community events.
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