First Week Success!

It has been an exciting first week of school! Students are settling into routines, classes, and friendships. Staff are connecting with their new classes and reconnecting with former students. The lunchroom is lively! The library is open! Energy in school is bright and positive, and we ready for a great year ahead.  

I have personally enjoyed student drop-off and dismissal each day: connecting with families, enjoying the conversations, and practicing the routines to start and end the day. It has been great to wander the halls and listen to students and staff connect, talk, laugh, and learn.

After a few long years, our Heilicher community celebrated the start of a new school year together with our Opening Ceremonies on Wednesday. New students and staff were warmly welcomed, blessings were given for the students, and we heard the shofar sound to count down the days to the New Year. The students, along with staff, alumni, and parents, sang a rousing version of Hear that Lion Roar, Heilicher's school song. Heilicher is officially off to a great start!

Please do not hesitate to reach out to your child's teachers or me with questions about school. We are all better off together!

In collaboration,

Jackie Smith

Director of General Studies

If you would like a recording of the Opening Ceremonies, please contact Wendy Goldberg.

Torah Thoughts from Doc

Read a brief message about this week's Torah portion, Parashat Shoftim. Interpretation of the Torah changes with us and the times.

Mark Your Calendars!

• Monday, September 5 - NO SCHOOL: Labor Day
• Tuesday, September 13 - Back-to-School Night:

K-4 6:30-7:15 pm | All School 7:15-7:45 pm | 5-8 7:45-8:30 pm

• Monday, September 26 - NO SCHOOL: Rosh Hashana
• Tuesday, September 27 - NO SCHOOL: Rosh Hashana

View the full Heilicher calendar online

Key Dates for 2022-2023

Building Access ID Cards for Parents

Now that the building is back open for parent visitors, all Heilicher parents will be issued an access card to enter. Each parent will receive their own access card, which will be activated for the 2022-23 school year. Please use your access card to enter through the main (south) doors of the JCC for visits to Heilicher anytime from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.

If you already have an access card (if you were at Heilicher prior to COVID), we ask that you try to locate it and fill out the ID card form with your name and card number. We will then reactivate your card, which was deactivated when the building shut down 2.5 years ago. 

All parents who do NOT have access cards will receive them at Back-to-School Night on Tuesday, September 13. If you are not able to attend Back-to-School Night, please contact Mike Madigan, and he will arrange to have a card issued to you.

Back-to-School Night

All Heilicher parents are invited to our Back-to-School Night on Tuesday, September 13, at Heilicher. This is a parent-only program. The schedule is as follows:

6:30-7:15 p.m. → Grades K-4

7:15-7:45 p.m. → All School 

7:45-8:30 p.m. → Grades 5-8

Back-to-School Night is an opportunity for you to hear from your child's teachers about the grade-level curricula and educational goals and to build relationships with faculty members and fellow parents. Grades K-5 should meet in your child(ren)'s classroom at the assigned time. Grades 6-8 will be together in the Fiterman Beit Knesset. If you have questions about how to best split your time with multiple children, please reach out directly to their homeroom teachers.  

During the all-school portion, you'll have a chance to speak with our specialists, meet senior administrators, and learn about ways to get involved at Heilicher, including through the Parent Teacher Organization. Specialists will be available in the auditorium beginning at 7 p.m. for any grades 5-8 parents that want to stop in before the all-school portion. They will remain in the auditorium until 8 p.m. for any K-4 parents that want to connect more following the all-school portion.

FREE Fall Soccer Clinic

Heilicher will offer a FREE soccer skills academy on Tuesdays this fall. This will take place at South Tyrol Park, which is located next to our campus. Registration is open to students in grades 5-8. Students will work on a variety of skills over five sessions.

The academy will run 3:50-4:50 p.m. on September 6, 13, and 20, October 25, and November 1. Sign up today on Jumbula under "Fall 2022."

Before Care Interest Survey

Bonus Question:

If you attended Opening Ceremonies, please share your feedback.

Kitchen Reminders

• If your student brings a lunch from home, please pack silverware with their lunch. The kitchen's silverware cannot be used with outside food as part of Heilicher's kashrut policy.
• Any food brought from home for snack or lunch must be either dairy or parve (neither milk nor meat). Meat (including poultry) and any kind of shellfish are not permitted. 
• Milk is available for ALL students, whether they bring lunch from home or get lunch from school.

Introducing Dr. Beverly Thorne, Middle School Science Teacher

We would like to welcome Dr. Beverly Thorne, our new eighth-grade science teacher. Dr. Thorne is a retired pharmacist, researcher, and teacher with a deep love for inquiry, scientific learning, and student engagement with science. She has many years of teaching and tutoring in all areas of science and math. She looks forward to engaging our eighth graders in physics and chemistry and competing in a state Rube Goldberg competition.

Dr. Thorne and Mx. Slobodien are both excited to teach middle school science this year. Mx. Slobodien is teaching the Earth Science portion of the two-year Earth/Life Science rotation in both sixth and seventh grades.

We look forward to providing more information to middle school parents about our exciting science program at Back-to-School Night on September 13.

Heilicher Sweatshirt Sale

Order a Heilicher sweatshirt! Orders are due by Monday, September 19. Sweatshirts are expected to arrive to the school in mid-November and will be distributed at that time.

As the school year gets going, we will open a spirit shop with water bottles, hats, shirts, and more.