September 24, 2004/Tishri 9 5765, Vol. 57, No. 4
Day schools begin school yearDay School Roundup
Pardes Jewish Day School The King David School The King David School began with a bonanza opening for the first day of school on Aug. 23. Families arrived amid balloon decorations and the sound of Jewish music played by Limelight's Marty Tams and Van Katz. It was history in the making as KDS parents, children and staff realized a long awaited dream: the first day of The King David School on their very own campus. Students were escorted into the multipurpose room where they attended an opening assembly. Esther Feuerberg, head of the school, led the students in the Shecheyanu, prayer of thanks, to express the gratitude felt now that the school has a home of its own. Prior to the school opening, the KDS Parent-Teacher Organization provided teachers with a welcome lunch on Aug. 20 after an orientation session and staff meeting. During the first day, mini mezuzah-hanging ceremonies were held at the entrance of each classroom and other appropriate locations. KDS teachers are becoming accustomed to their new surroundings, which includes a teacher's lounge and offices provided between every two classrooms. The seventh and eighth grades are studying Spanish this year with Principal Mitch Flatow. The eighth-graders will be prepared to "test out of" Spanish I next year when they enter high school. Reading, spelling and math groups have been established and the classes are settling into their new routine and campus. The PTO Giftwrap fund-raiser is underway and the student council is raising funds for the victims of the Florida hurricanes. East Valley JCC Day School The East Valley Jewish Community Center Day School classes started off with a bang this year. Each individual class has already begun to work on a variety of research projects. The fifth- and sixth-grade class projects on foreign countries are being displayed in the JCC front lobby. The third- and fourth-grade classes are working on research papers, as well as visual aides for their Arizona Native American projects. The first- and second- grades created some fantastic timelines of their lives. The student council has begun its first fund-raiser this year, selling ice cream sandwiches for 75 cents every Tuesday and Thursday in September. A costume day is also planned for Friday, Sept. 24. Check out their monthly newsletter, the J-BAM. Grades third-sixth will attend a discussion with Rabbi Bonnie Koppell at Temple Beth Sholom for an extension of their Hebrew lessons. Jess Schwartz Jewish Community High School Jess Schwartz Jewish Community High School started the school year off with a student/faculty retreat held Aug. 24-25 at Camp Charles Pearlstein in Prescott. The Teva Institute, a group that integrates Jewish values and experiential educational work into outdoor/outward bound activities, facilitated the retreat. The goals for the retreat included building community, engaging in schoolwide reflection, chesbon nefesh and experiencing the outdoors through a Jewish lens. A new educational program this year is the NETA Hebrew language program. NETA is a high standard, top-of-the-line Hebrew program specifically constructed for high school students in North America. It is currently being offered at only the most prestigious Jewish high schools in the country. The program will allow students to learn Hebrew while learning about Israeli culture and society. The new Jess Schwartz Tikkun Olam program includes five full school days throughout the year in which students and faculty complete community work. At the beginning of the school year, students were introduced to a variety of community workplace options and each will select a venue. The first of the five "Tik Days" is scheduled for October. Tikkun Olam goals include emphasizing the role of giving back to the community as part of being Jewish adults; bearing responsibility for "repairing the world;" and exposure to some of the sites and people where serious community work is conducted. |
