This week I had the opportunity to take a nature walk with the Kindergarten class. I felt such joy walking with these children, seeing the patches of grass and trees all around our school and discovering and collecting sticks and pine cones. The children were so excited to share what they found with a friend or eager to point out the ladybug they had spotted on a plant. We followed the children's leads and extended our walk because they were so engaged with what they were seeing. We discovered a vegetable garden in front of a high rise building, and the cultivator of this garden came out and shared what he was growing. We are planning to return weekly and watch the progress of the fruits and vegetables growing on the vines. We slowed down and enjoyed being together, making learning work in a time of uncertainty, and celebrating childhood together at Akiba-Schechter.  

I am so proud and grateful to all of my teachers, who are making this magic happen every day, both inside the classroom and for those children learning virtually. Thank you for coming together as a community and following our social covenant so that our children can remain in school as much as possible this year. It will definitely be a different year, but I am hopeful that it will be a year of recognizing those special moments. I wish you all a Shana Tova (a happy and healthy New Year)!