KOL ECHAD | Weekly Newsletter 

January 18, 2024

2024-25 Tuition Announcement

By Dr. Steven Lorch, Head of School

Dear Kadima Families,

We thank you for choosing Kadima, and we hope you agree that it represents one of the best decisions you have made for your family. Here are just a few of the benefits you provide to your children by sending them to Kadima:

• Students receive individual attention with, on average, a 7:1 student-teacher ratio
• Students learn Jewish values that are not just taught, but permeate the school
• Families are welcomed into the community and made to feel valued
• Students learn to read with insight and write with clarity and voice
• Students learn to read, write, and speak Hebrew at a high level
• Students learn to reflect on their own work and each other’s, appreciate their progress, and set challenging learning targets

This year more than ever, you can feel, in your heart and in your kishkes, the return on investment of a Kadima education. In a world that has suddenly turned more dangerous for Jews, knowing that your children are safe and sheltered, and also strengthened and secure in their Jewish and Zionist identities, is a priceless source of relief, sustenance, and hope.

To provide such an invaluable resource to your family in inflationary times at an accessible price requires aמ annual increase in tuition and fees. Here are the tuition rates for next year:

ECEC (Ages 2-5): $14,400

Elementary School (Kindergarten-5th grade): $18,600

Middle School (6th-8th grade): $19,800

See this chart for a complete listing of tuition rates and fees.

Tuition Assistance

In addition to offering a tuition model that is unique in the Jewish day school world, Kadima also offers assistance to families who qualify. To apply, please click on the button below.

FAST Application

The priority deadline is January 31, and we strongly encourage you to apply on time in order to get the maximum award possible. If you have questions about tuition assistance, please contact Orly Levy: olevy@kadimadayschool.org or (818) 346-0849 ext 322.

Re-enrollment Contracts

Re-enrollment contracts will be emailed to each family in mid-February. All students have the opportunity to save the enrollment fee of $475 (ECEC) or $675 (ES/MS) if they enroll by March 1.

For questions about re-enrollment, please contact Alvira Chernichovski: achernichovski@kadimadayschool.org or (818) 346-0849 ext 115.

The faculty, staff, Board and I look forward to another outstanding year of educating and nurturing your children at Kadima, and doing so in a way that ensures a secure future for the school and its community. If you have any questions, please contact me at 818-346-0849 or slorch@kadimadayschool.org.

Shabbat shalom,

Dr. Steven Lorch

Head of School

Important Dates

Friday, January 19

• Yom HaSafah HaIvrit (Hebrew Language Day)

Sunday, January 21

• A Taste of Kindergarten - 10:00 am to 12:00 pm

Monday, January 22

• 8th grade field trip to the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library - Auschwitz exhibit

Tuesday, January 23

• 2nd grade field trip to TreePeople
• 3rd-5th grade visit to the Jewish Home for the Aging

Thursday, January 25

• Intergenerational Tu BiSh'vat celebration for Kinder through fifth grade - 8:15 to 11:35 am

Wednesday, January 31

• Tuition assistance application (FAST) priority deadline
• 2024-25 admission application priority deadline

Monday, February 5

• Concert by visiting musicians from the Kadima Conservatory of Music (ECEC/Elementary School)

Tuesday, February 6

• Rosh Chodesh staff luncheon

Thursday, February 8

• PTO Meeting - 8:15 am, in the library

Friday, February 9

• 1st grade Siyum HaAmidah and Shabbat program - 1:30 to 2:15 pm

Wednesday, February 14

• Snack Shack

Monday, February 19

• Presidents' Day - school closed

Tuesday, February 27

• Middle School science fair

Thursday, February 29

• Parent-teacher conferences - minimum day - 12:00 pm dismissal (ES/MS only)

March 1

• Parent-teacher conferences - school closed
• Re-enrollment contracts are due

*For the full school year calendar, please click HERE.

Kadima Board of Trustees Nominations

Kadima's Board of Trustees is actively looking for new members to serve for 2024-25. If you or someone you know wants to champion our school and have a larger impact on Kadima’s future, please contact boardsecretary@kadima.co.

For a more in-depth description of what is required of a board member, please click here.

A Warm Welcome to Our New Students!

Please join us in welcoming our new students. Please reach out to our new (and current) families and give them a warm and enthusiastic Kadima welcome!

Eitan Gold (6th Grade)

Jeremiah Papa (7th Grade)

Amit Pinchasian (Kindergarten)

Guy Pinchasian (6th Grade)

A Taste of Kindergarten

Sunday, January 21, 10:00 am -12:00 pm

Attention all Gesher parents! Please join us on Sunday, January 21, from 10:00 am to 12:00 noon for an engaging introduction to Kadima's kindergarten. Our morning will be filled with fun interactive activities, including mini-lessons led by our kindergarten teachers. Come and get a taste of what's ahead next year in kindergarten. Please RSVP to admissions@kadimadayschool.org.

Yom HaSafah HaIvrit (Hebrew Language Day)

Friday, January 19

Kadima elementary school students will be celebrating Hebrew day on Friday, January 19. Please send your child to school in a shirt with Hebrew wording or a white Kadima shirt.

Intergenerational Tu BiSh'vat Celebration

Thursday, January 25, 8:15-11:35 am

Kadima elementary schools will be hosting an intergenerational Tu BiSh'vat celebration on Thursday, January 25. Tu BiSh'vat is a wonderful opportunity to remind ourselves of the importance of planting trees and taking care of nature. Our celebration will have two different events - one for family members living outside of California and the other for family members living close by. We would like each student to have a guest at both events and would appreciate your help inviting family members:

Online Zoom Attendance:

The earlier event in the day is a Zoom meeting with grandparents and other family members and friends who do not live in California. It will take place at 8:15 am on Zoom. We invite grandparents to join their grandchildren's classroom virtually to see what they are learning. Here is the link to send to grandparents/family members:

Zoom registration form: https://form.jotform.com/240077271068152

An event Zoom link will be sent to registered participants of each class by the general studies teacher.

In Person Attendance:

The later event is for grandparents and family members who live in California and would like to come celebrate Tu BiSh'vat with us. They are invited to come to school from 9:45-11:35 am for a performance and activity in the classrooms. Here is the registration link for grandparents/family members who are coming in to celebrate with us at school.

In-person registration form: https://form.jotform.com/233457179928067

It is important that all guests participating via Zoom or in person fill out the registration forms for security purposes.

Mazal Tov!

Please join us in congratulating Ella Simantov, and her family, on the occasion of her Bat Mitzvah. Mazal tov!

2024-25 Admission and Tuition Assistance Priority Deadlines

The 2024-25 admission application priority deadline is fast approaching. To apply for admission to Kadima Day School for a younger sibling, please click here. The admission priority deadline is January 31.

Returning Kadima families will be receiving their re-enrollment contracts starting February 15. You will have two weeks to submit your signed re-enrollment contract to waive the enrollment fee.

The tuition assistance application priority deadline is January 31. All returning families who would like to be considered for tuition assistance, including those who have applied previously, must submit a 2024-25 FAST application. To access the tuition assistance FAST application, please click here.

Top 10 Conversation Starters: Parashat Bo

By Dr. Steven Lorch

#10 -  After Moshe tells Pharaoh that the eighth plague, locusts, is coming, Pharaoh's servants tell him to grant Moshe his wish. They add, "Don't you know yet that Egypt is being destroyed?" (Sh'mot 10, 7) How do they know this, and why doesn't Pharaoh also know it?

#9 -  Darkness (the ninth plague) was "thick enough to be touched" (10, 21). Does the Torah mean this literally? If so, what was in the air that caused the darkness and could be touched? Why didn't the Egyptians simply light candles or make fires?

#8 - The Torah refers to the month in which the exodus will take place as "החודש הזה (this month)" (12, 2). Why isn't the name of the month mentioned?

#7 - Thus far in the Torah, the Jewish people are always called בני ישראל (the children of Israel). At the beginning of the tenth plague (12, 3), they are called עדת ישראל (the community of Israel). Why this new name? Why now?

#6 - The Jews mark their homes by putting blood on the doorposts (12, 22). Do they put the blood on the outside of the doorposts, or on the inside? Explain.

#5 - The Pesach lamb is to be eaten quickly - with their shoes on their feet, their walking sticks in their hands, and their belts fastened (12, 11). But then, if there are any leftovers, they have to burn them (12, 10). Why are the leftovers important enough to delay their departure?

#4 - The Torah says that God will pass through Egypt and strike their firstborn with the plague, but won't permit the Angel of Destruction to enter the Jewish houses and strike them (12, 23). Who actually kills the Egyptian firstborn - God, or the Angel of Destruction?

#3 - Pharaoh and his servants and all of Egypt wake up at night and find that the firstborn have died (12, 30). How do they know to wake up? What awakens them?

#2 - The Torah says that, on the day of the exodus, 600,000 Jewish men left Egypt. In addition, there were women, children, and ערב רב (others who apparently weren't Jewish) (12, 37-38). What was the total number of people who left Egypt? How did you calculate the number?

#1 - Many small children, babies, and animals are killed in the tenth plague (12, 29). Does God do the right thing to kill them all? Explain.