On Wednesday night, February 5th, my wife and I arrived in Israel and attended the Hanan Ben Ari concert at the Menora Arena in Tel Aviv. For most of the past 17 months, since October 7, the songs of Hanan Ben Ari have played in our school. 

Our students learned the words and performed his songs weekly.

The week before the concert, Hanan released a new song with words that I have found to be extremely powerful, which can be heard in the video above. The words, Hayom Kamti Sameach. Todah Elokim. “Today, I awoke happy. Thank you, God.”

These words, which I shared with staff at our school, were immediately recognized as a prayer rather than simply a song.

Hanan performed the song for the first time that night, sitting at a piano directly in front of me. I sang along to every word, praying along with thousands of others in the arena. It’s strange in my mind to watch someone else pray. But there is something powerful about being surrounded in prayer by so many. We were enveloped. Next to us was a young Russian Israeli couple. He was not wearing a Kippah and spoke with us prior to the concert about how inspirational Hanan’s music is. On the other side of us were three Chasidim with long payot. All were singing. All were praying together. We became a Kehilla Kedosha, a holy community.

Yesterday, I hoped I would wake up happy. I couldn’t. And yet, I still could utter the words Todah Elokim, but they felt heavier today than they have for much of the past 503 days.

For over 25 years, I have dedicated my life to children as a professional educator, a husband, and a father. I have worked in Jewish Day Schools, summer camps, and youth groups, and with my wife, I have helped raise my own three amazing sons. All of which hit me like a ton of bricks when I woke up this morning to look at the news on my phone. I knew something would be off, yet I held out hope.

It has been hard for me to look at images of the Bibas family over these last 503 days. I scrolled past them. And there are a lot of them. Friends, Jewish communal organizations, and leaders have been posting regularly so that the world will see their faces. I have struggled to look at their faces. Now, I cannot look away.

While the world waited for forensic evidence, we knew the truth about the Bibas kids but are now shocked by the news that Shiri was not actually returned to us. We have seen the videos, the still images, the personal accounts of the atrocities of the savages who stole this family from their home, who stole over 250 people into Gaza, who murdered over 300 people at a music festival, over 400 soldiers, and countless innocent Israeli citizens. We know what happened. And yet, we held out hope. We prayed. We still hope and we still pray. We thank God when our hostages have come home alive. And today, we still must say Todah Elokim.

I cannot fathom how this beautiful family could be stolen from their homes. I could not imagine that another human being would do such things to children. As much as I have not wanted to read, as much as I have tried to imagine a world filled with love, HaYom Kamti Atzuv v’Shavur, I woke up sad and broken.

We must all come together, no matter our differences, whether religious, political, or socio-economic. We are all broken. But things that are broken must be put back together. Even at this moment, Todah Elokim, Todah Elokim, Thank you, God.

This year at Bornblum, students are engaged with the study of civics more deeply than ever before.

According to Bornblum teacher, Cindy VanGunda, “Part of our school’s mission is to inspire students to become ‘socially responsible community leaders with a life-long connection to their Jewish identity.’ Deciding to infuse civics learning naturally into our current curricula across all grades and subjects has allowed our students to develop a better understanding of important people, places, and events that helped create our American history.”

Second Grader Nev decked out in American gear

The commitment to renewed civic education began at the 2023-2024 Civic Spirit conference in New York, where three teachers, including Mrs. VanGunda, Mrs. Stephanie Osher and Morah Michal Almalem, represented Bornblum in the teacher cohort.  These teachers became passionate about civics education and brought that civic spirit back to Memphis.

Throughout this school year, classes have studied American civics in ways that mesh with their curriculum. These learning opportunities were interactive and experiential, designed not just to teach civics, but to excite students about being citizens of America. Students benefitted from the extra layer of learning about what it means to be Jewish Americans and the unique engagement of the Jewish community with American democracy.

According to Almalem, “Infusing students with a sense of patriotism is a challenge in schools these days, and we wanted our civic spirit program not only to teach facts about America, but to challenge students and faculty to explore their patriotism.”

Fourth Graders waving American Flags during a Veterans’ Day program

All of the civics lessons and experiences throughout the year were done with the goal of curating a meaningful and interactive Civic Spirit Fair during the winter term. The students succeeded by creating incredible thoughtful exhibits for the Bornblum community to explore, centered around five themes.

The first two areas were We the People, which explored American foundations and From Many Places, One Nation which offered perspectives on immigration to America.  Following time exploring immigration stories, students explored Journeys and Identities: the American Jewish Experience that focused on the unique experience of American Jews.  Next, students turned to Citizenship and Civics: Conservation and Community, through which they explored their responsibility as stewards of America’s land and natural resources.  Finally, students explored material under the banner of “Standing for Freedom,” where exhibits challenged students to engage in the fight for freedom for all Americans.

A voting exhibit from the Civic Spirit Curriculum Fair

An Emma Lazarus display at the Civic Spirit Curriculum Fair

According to Jill Cross, Bornblum’s Director of Curriculum and Instruction, the school wanted to dive below the surface and explore people, places and events that are often overlooked in traditional curricula.

“We touched stories like that of Mordecai Sheftall, the highest-ranking Jewish Patriot in the American Revolution, and Medal of Honor recipient David Urbansky.  These lessons gave students a deeper understanding of how Jewish individuals have influenced and been shaped by America’s commitment to liberty, equality, and religious freedom.”

From VanGunda’s perspective, the goal of engaging with Civic Spirit at Bornblum was to help students understand that, “Whether they are exercising the right to vote, learning skills for civil discourse, or knowing how to protect our environment and help in conservation efforts, as Jewish Americans, our students are now empowered to create the future they want for tomorrow’s generation.”

Second Grader Amariyah says the Pledge of Allegiance

“I love working in a school where we are constantly looking at the intersections between being Jewish and the world around us,” said Cross. “These connections were so evident throughout the fair. For example, students explored George Washington’s letter to the Jews of Newport, allowing them to connect the nation’s early foundations of religious freedom with the contributions of Jewish Americans to its core values.”

If you don’t count the Shamash, the helper candle, we light 36 candles over 8 days of Chanukah.

This year, as Bornblum celebrates 36 years, I pause to reflect on each candle that we light, each spark of knowledge, each flame of inspiration. Light is part of who we are as Jews. We are called a “Light unto the Nations”. Our Hebrew words for Torah, parents, and teachers all come from the word or, light, because light is knowledge. When we teach our students, we are spreading light.

Sixth Grader Graham works on a painting of a Menorah where each light represents a Jewish value he finds important

It is one of the things that sets Bornblum apart. It is one of the things that makes a Jewish Day School education unique. Many of our local public and private schools have robust academics, as we do. They enrich and support their students through special services, as we do. They may have makers spaces or STEM labs, but don’t incorporate Design Thinking throughout their school like we do. It sets us apart. But what most sets us apart is that we incorporate our Judaism into everything that we do as a school. It is part of our curriculum, part of our programs, part of our Social Emotional Learning, part of our Design Thinking, part of our DNA. You won’t find that in other schools in Memphis.

Fourth Graders performing in the Grand Finale of their Illuminations Program

We live in dark times. Antisemitism is at an all-time high. Synagogues in Australia have been set ablaze. Soccer fans in Amsterdam attacked. And Jews in public and independent schools across the United States and the Mid-South, even here in Memphis and Germantown, have been subject to antisemitic instances, such as hurtful comments, graffiti, swastikas, and more.

Families made Chanukah Mobiles together after the Illuminations Program

Earlier this month, at the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS) People of Color Conference (POCC), keynote speakers shared divisive, hurtful rhetoric full of antisemitic tropes. At a National Conference. At a place where diversity should be lauded. And yet, Jewish attendees felt compelled to hide their Magen David necklaces as they walked out of the keynote address and throughout the remainder of the conference, afraid of how they may be attacked or verbally assaulted. While Debra Wilson, President of NAIS, has shared a strong rebuke of such statements in her response letter to Prizmah, AJC, ADL, and JFNA leaders, it is a stark reminder of the need to spread more light. It is why I have shared a letter, penned by staff at Prizmah, with my colleagues at Memphis Association of Independent Schools (MAIS), hoping they will add their signatures to show that we stand together to combat antisemitism and ensure that our schools are spaces of learning, empathy, and mutual respect; where we support student leaders to champion inclusivity and stand against hate. I hope that these heads take the letter to heart and realize that they have much work to do in their schools to keep us safe and wanted.

Kindergartener Lavi draws a Menorah at the Kindergarten-Fifth Grade Buddy Chanukah Party

It is also a reminder of the special place Bornblum holds in the Memphis Jewish community. Our school is a beacon of light. Our school, where every Jew is welcomed and made to feel at home, brings light into the world. That is why our logo, an open book with more pages left to be written, contains a flame in the center. This is why this weekly message and the name of our podcast are called Spark. It is why we don’t just light 36 candles each Chanukah but also light an additional candle each night. We are the Shamash. We are the Helper Candle, whose job is to spread the spark to all the other candles.

Eighth Graders created Chanukah pottery for their family

Now more than ever, Jewish Day School education is essential for our children. We must teach our children to become a Shamash. To be a light and to spread light. To illuminate the world and bring us from a time of darkness to a time of light.

As we think to the next 36 years, see the light that Bornblum provides. Tell your friends, your children, and your grandchildren to become a part of our story and to enroll their children at Bornblum and keep them here for the entire nine-year journey. Our students leave our campus when they graduate with a glow, with the ability to bring added light into the world and with an ability to combat antisemitism and the darkness around them.

Generation Alpha (born between 2010 and 2024) are causing considerable shifts in the priorities of schools like ours. 

For one thing, Alphas are committed to sustainability. “A recent statistic I saw brought home how passionate Alphas feel about the environment and sustainability,” shared Mary Beth Beeber, Bornblum Middle’s science teacher and outdoor educator. “Recent research suggests that as many as 81 percent of parents of generation Alpha kids say that their children have influenced their actions or consumption decisions, making them more environmentally aware.”

Seventh Graders Eitan and Jacob collect flower seeds from one of our gardens

Bornblum’s leadership sees this influence at school as well.  Over the past several years, under the guidance of Mrs. Beeber, Bornblum has moved rapidly toward creating a more sustainable campus. These changes around campus are remarkable and are aligned with our students’ priorities and our school’s long term vision.

For example, several years ago, we created the Heather Samuels Butterfly Garden to create a beautiful and relaxing space on campus. Since then, working with students, Mrs. Beeber has transformed the garden into a living laboratory and a Monarch Butterfly Way Station.  Mrs. Beeber shared, “We have planted large amounts of swamp milkweed on campus where Monarchs lay their eggs and the caterpillars feed, as well as many native flowers that feed the adult butterflies and other pollinators.  We are helping to save an endangered species, and, at the same time, we are creating a living laboratory where students learn hands-on.” The school now uses its outdoor spaces to teach various subjects, such as life cycles, reproduction, growth, habitats, photosynthesis, cellular respiration, mineral and soil composition, and overall sustainability. The gardens also provide an opportunity for student leadership.  For example, this fall, seventh graders helped each K-5 class create a Monarch habitat in their classroom, and together, the we released hundreds of Monarch butterflies.

Monarch butterflies grown at Bornblum rest in the Heather Samuels Butterfly Garden

In another move toward sustainability, Bornblum has shifted from purchasing seedlings for its gardens to growing plants from seeds that are harvested on our campus each year. The new Bornblum Seed Bank houses heirloom (non GMO) seeds harvested by students from the plants on campus.  These seeds are stored inside over the winter and then planted in subsequent years. Our seed bank allows us to teach sustainable gardening practices to our students. They learn the life cycle of plants, the concept of seed storage, and how creating a seed bank helps to ensure future generations will have access to native plants. Mrs. Beeber pointed out, “We are so excited because the milkweed planted on campus this fall is the third generation of plants from the same progenitor seeds.”

Sustainability is also front and center with the new Go Green initiative in Bornblum Middle. During the first semester, middle school students have analyzed various areas of campus to discover opportunities to make the campus more sustainable.  Our students explored our campus practices critically in places like the lunch spaces and the front office to determine ways to reduce waste. Using the school’s design thinking methodology, students worked in teams to research and create solutions that they can implement throughout the school. The Go Green initiative, led by our Design Thinking teacher, Samantha Schmidt puts students in the driver’s seat.  Students are choosing the priorities and projects that they and their generation are passionate about. It is another way that Bornblum is a place of innovation that teaches students to how impact the world around them.

Sixth Graders Rosie and Lillian work with Mrs. Beeber to refine their ideas for the K-Cup Recycling System Project in Design Thinking

Sixth Grader Gabe works with Moreh Sharabi on the one of the planks for the Recycled Bench Project

Creating a sustainable campus is a long-term project.  There are so many opportunities, from sourcing green supplies to composting food waste, to planting native trees and plants that clean the air and help control flooding and soil erosion.  Most of all, it is an amazing way to educate and motivate students in ways that not only prepare them for their future, but allow them to make a difference in their world now.

Here are a few examples of the projects created by our Bornblum Middle Students:

Sixth Grade:

• Designed and crafted a bench made from recycled cans to be used in the boys’ locker room
• Created a bin cart for compost, recycling, and trash bins
• Developed a puppet show about recycling for Kindergarten through Second Graders
• Developed a K-Cup recycling system for staff and faculty to use

Seventh Grade:

• Designed and crafted a movable cart from recycling, trash, and compost bins

 Eighth Grade:

• Designed a research study to investigate the efficacy of paper towels used in bathrooms
• Designed instructional graphics and photos for bathrooms to inform Kindergarten through Second Graders how to wash their hands and recycle paper towels

As we continue to grow our Design Thinking curriculum in the coming year and grow our sustainability initiatives, we hope you will consider joining us in our Giving Tuesday Campaign, which will aide in the further advancement of the Bornblum Seed Bank.

Each morning for the past month, during the Hebrew month Elul, we have sounded the Shofar in anticipation of Rosh Hashanah, which begins this evening.

The sound of the Shofar serves as an alarm clock, a reminder that we need to wake up, make the most of our day, and make plans for our coming year. The root of the Hebrew word Shofar (Shin, Pey, Resh) means to improve. The month of Elul is our opportunity to improve ourselves and to help those around us as they strive to make their improvements.

We must realize that something needs improvement before we take the necessary steps. Knowing where we fall short and how to improve is difficult for many.

Rosh Hashanah Cards designed by students

As human beings, we must continually strive to better ourselves. This is achievable only when we dig deep to uncover the areas in which we fall short and need improvement. The sound of the Shofar reminds us how we have been fractured and that breaks may be present. Our responsibility is to put the pieces back together—to seal those fractured pieces. Throughout the year, we fall apart. We become broken, like the Shevarim (a word that literally means broken). As the year progresses, we may become even more fractured, like the sound of the Teruah. Somehow, we must prepare ourselves before Rosh Hashanah to get back to the Tekiah, back to the straight path, and put ourselves back together. That is why we have the month of Elul.

The sound of the Shofar is also the sound of crying. It was not lost on me that when we began blowing the shofar this Elul, its cry that first morning was the first cry we had heard since October 7th—though it wasn’t. We have been crying every day since October 7th, almost exactly a year this week of crying.

Rosh Hashanah Cards designed by students

On the first of Elul, it was almost 11 months to the day from October 7th. And it was the week that six precious souls were lost and were found by the IDF in the tunnels beneath Rafah, murdered by Hamas. Our cries have never been more robust than they were that week, with the Shofar amplifying our collective sobbing. And now, Rosh Hashanah, tonight is just days shy of one full year on the English calendar.

Each sound of the Shofar is a cry. It’s not lost on me how this cry connects to the pasuk, the verse we read immediately before blowing the Shofar on Rosh Hashanah. מִֽן־הַ֭מֵּצַ֥ר קָרָ֣אתִי יָּ֑הּ עָנָ֖נִי בַמֶּרְחָ֣ב יָֽהּ׃

From the narrow depths I called on the LORD;
the Lord answered me and brought me relief from the wide open.

Rosh Hashanah Cards designed by students

It’s one of my favorite verses. We become tense, closed off, finding ourselves in a narrow place. Yet when we call out, the answer comes from the wide open. It’s a beautiful concept. We have been calling out all year from the narrow opening of our Shofar into the vast openness from which the sound emanates, hoping and praying for relief.

Our cry is for our prayer to be answered. We, too, must do our part. We must call out. We must make a sound. We must help to improve the world around us.

Each week, we get the same question from our children: “Who is coming for Shabbat this week?”

Our children have learned the value of Hachnasat Orchim, inviting guests into our home. And they know that Thursday night is for cooking.

We haven’t quite mastered the idea of portion control and cooking for the number of people we are having and, instead, usually cook enough for multiple meals. We might be having 10 guests for Shabbat, but we are cooking for 30.

There is something special about sitting together with guests over a Shabbat meal. Food has a power. While our kitchen bookshelf is filled with cookbooks, our standard recipes are put together through trial and error. How much garlic powder is in the recipe? Five shakes. How much oil do you use? Three seconds worth of pouring. What kind of chicken are we making? The one with the orange Israeli spice (don’t ask me what it is, just trust me). Repeat that recipe next week? Good luck.

And cooking is a family event. Some in the family are the taste testers, but others are in charge of specific dishes (and the taste tester is in charge of setting the table).

As we think about our Jewish holidays and rituals, they are intertwined with the food(s) that we eat, and who we eat it with.

I hope you’ll join us in celebrating the role that food plays in our life and history at our Kosher Food Hall at 36FEST this Sunday, September 22, starting at 4:00 PM on Bornblum’s campus. We had the opportunity to showcase two of the dishes featured at the Kosher Food Hall in two news segments on Bluff City Life and Live at 9, which you can watch below.

The Italian Sausage Sandwich Cooking Demonstration with Bornblum Parents Rob Kabel and Jaclyn Marshall on Bluff City Life

The Chicken Pita Wrap Cooking Demonstration with Bornblum Parent Abby Felsenthal and Bornblum Alum Parent Shelly Ostrow on WREG’s Live at 9

 After spending more than a year taking a deep dive into best practices for middle schools, we have implemented a number of new programs and structures for the 2024-2025 school year.

Bornblum’s middle school program has always prepared our students well for the high school years. But over the last year, we took on the challenge of how to make Bornblum Middle even better. Many of the changes implemented this year are the result of this work.

Perhaps the biggest change implemented for this school year relates to class schedules. Bornblum Middle now operates on a six-day rotation of classes rather than a traditional model where students have the same classes each day. Jill Cross, our Director of Curriculum and Instruction, explains it best. She shared, “The rotating schedule with longer class periods, allows students focused learning time in the core general and Jewish studies classes over the course of the year. Plus, with the rotating schedule, students are not always missing the same classes when the school has days off for holidays and half days.”

Eighth Grader Orli films b-roll in the Heather Samuels Butterfly Garden.

In addition to increasing focused learning time, Bornblum Middle has increased experiential learning, whether in core general studies subjects like science, or in other areas of the curriculum.

It is widely believed in education today that we are preparing students for jobs that have not yet been invented. This requires not only knowledge in traditional subjects, but a new emphasis on soft skills like collaboration, communication, adaptability and conflict resolution. Having this toolbox will help our students to succeed in any situation, including in those jobs not yet invented. Who would have imagined 15 years ago that the job of social media influencer would be a real thing.

Sixth Graders Lillian, Bennett, and Rosie sing a song at Kabbalat Shabbat.

To build these soft skills, Thursdays are outside the schedule rotation at Bornblum Middle and are dedicated to experiential, hands-on learning. Students have advisory and Social Emotional Learning (SEL) classes that focus on student development. In middle school, SEL centers around a curriculum called #winatsocial, which helps parents and students navigate social media safely.

Additionally, every Thursday, students have LOFT (Launching Our Future Thinking) which offers a new focus each quarter, with students engaging with Facing History and Ourselves, Digital Citizenship, Echoes, which is a study of Jewish leadership, and work with artist-in-residence, Ephraim Urebvu, on Jewish contributions to the Civil Rights Movement through an art-based project called, “Tiles of Unity: Shared Stories of Solidarity.” Thursdays are also dedicated to Design Thinking, where students develop empathy by examining challenges that others face and designing solutions to those problems.

Sally Baer, our Director of Students Services and Assistant Head of School, often points out that there is an empathy crisis in our country. She explained, “statistics show a more than forty percent drop in empathy among our youth. Design Thinking teaches students to solve problems, but more importantly, it teaches students to approach the world with empathy and to experience life’s challenges from the perspective of others. It teaches dedication to helping others and to being a force for good in the world.”

Seventh Graders Jacob, Harrison, Eitan, and Eliya capture footage of Fifth Graders.

Design Thinking at Bornblum Middle is more than just another class. Students in middle school create an individual Capstone project using the Design Thinking model.  Now in its second year, the Capstone program gives students the opportunity to explore their individual passions.

Samantha Schmidt, our lead Design Thinking teacher, remarked, “Our Bornblum Middle School students will dedicate this entire year as a force of good for others, using their individual passions to spark innovation. Our Design Thinking faculty, school leadership team, and community volunteers will support students as they research and identify needs within their field of interest and as they develop viable solutions to help others.”

Mrs. Cross went on to describe, “our focus is helping our students take their Capstone projects closer to producing prototypes and even final products that solve problems for others. We have a really impressive bank of tools for our students to use, whether it is our giant Thunder Laser cutter, our new resin 3D printer, or the many other design tools like Cricut cutters, a sound studio, a sewing and fabric arts center, or our green screen video production area. Student will each get hands-on experience using these tools to design and produce their solutions. And each student will graduate Bornblum with a portfolio of three Capstone projects that will be impressive to the many selective high schools where our students seek admission.”

Eighth Graders Avi, Max, Jacob, and Dov set the scene to film Bornblum’s two guinea pigs, Mac and Bruce.

We know our innovative scheduling and refined programs will be a transition for our middle school students. Still, our incredible faculty and administration are committed to supporting our students and their families as they adapt to these changes. We believe deeply in the changes we have made because they are based on a deep examination of student needs in the middle school years. We are confident that Bornblum Middle will produce more well-rounded, adaptive and resilient students who will be prepared for the unknown world in which they will live. Our students will be prepared to succeed wherever they end up. If we can create a generation of students who look critically at the world around them, and use their talents to figure out how they can make their world a better place for everyone to live, then we will have created something unique and lasting at Bornblum Middle.

Over the summer, a parent came up to me with a great story about their son.

The gist of the story is the student told their mother that, of course, they showed courage; they are in Mishpachat Ometz (Courage). But the highlight of the story was what the student shared next. He said, “The reason Dr. Weiss (and Babka) don’t decide what Mishpacha we are in before the year starts, or even during the first week, is because he needs to get to know us a little better to figure out what traits we have and what Mishpacha we belong in.”

This story makes me smile each time I recount it. While for years we have worked to ensure that each student would be placed into the right Bornblum Mishpacha, we should have considered the power of each Mishpacha’s name and how it plays into the character of our students.

The eight Mishpachot crests

I heard a similar story this past weekend from a parent of a new Kindergarten student. Last Friday, we had our first community Kabbalat Shabbat of the year. At this Kabbalat Shabbat, we share with our new students and staff which Mishpacha they are now a part of. When I called this student up to Babka the Bear (our mascot) to introduce himself, I told him he would be put into a new Mishpacha, his Bornblum Mishpacha. He was excited as we announced his Mishpacha and heard his new school family members cheering. When he went home, however, he was confused about why his parents didn’t want him as part of their mishpacha and why he was put into a new one.

This story highlights the connection between our Mishpachot program and our partnership with our parents. We want to become a part of your family just as strongly as we want you to be a part of ours. We aren’t replacing your Mishpacha; we are an extension of it.

Students are placed into their Mishpachot—which they will remain in for their entire Bornblum journey—at the Mishpachot Sorting Ceremony at the first Community Kabbalat Shabbat of the year.

This partnership has increased focus on our Mishpachot program, sponsored by Hal Neuburger. Each year, we have found a way to expand the program with new opportunities for our students and families to come together.

Here are a few ways we have expanded the program in this fifth year.

New Tzedakah boxes have been installed on our Mishpachot Tzedakah wall. Each Mishpacha will meet quarterly to decide where to donate their Tzedakah. Our Bornblum Middle students will present three choices to their Mishpacha, and each Mishpacha will vote on the recipient.

Kindergarteners place tzedakah in their respective Mishpachot Tzedakah boxes.

With the success of our Mishpachot Challah bake last year, we are having a Babka Bake this year. Parents of students in each Mishpacha will have a designated Friday to come in and learn the art of Babka baking before joining their children in leading Kabbalat Shabbat.

Mishpachot core value development work will have each Mishpacha develop three to five points that support their Mishpacha’s name and value. For example, what does it mean to display leadership? Or be curious? Once these values have been determined, students will educate the rest of the school on the value of their Mishpacha’s name.

The crowd cheered when students are placed into their Mishpachot at the first Community Kabbalat Shabbat of the year.

Each Mishpacha will lead Kabbalat Shabbat over the year. The month that they lead will be dedicated to the Mishpacha’s value. The Mishpacha will be able to teach about their name at Kabbalat Shabbat, and social media posts over the month will focus on that value.

Service-learning opportunities will happen during the year as two Mishpachot are brought together for a service project.

As our two opening stories illustrate, our students take on the values of their Mishpacha’s name, and their school family becomes an extension (not a replacement) of their actual family.

As I reflect on this school year, I am struck by how many of the enhancements our school made that were a result of early planning that began nearly six years ago.

Six years ago, our school began a new program called Mishpachot. This initiative, funded by Hal Neuberger has expanded each year. This year, we added board members to our mishpachot and started a monthly challah bake, where the parents of students in each mishpacha come to school before Kabbalat Shabbat to learn the art of baking challah. This new piece, the brain-child of Danielle Blake and carried forward by Julie Goldstein, is also thanks to the hard work of Morah Michal Almalem who prepares the dough, teaches the parents and in her beautiful way, and inspires our families. Next year, our program will expand again as we learn the art of Babka baking, as well as several other Mishpachot related programs.

A scene from a Parent Challah Bake, a student getting sorted into a Mishpacha, and members of a Mishpacha working together during Kabbalat Shabbat

During the 2020-21 school year, we opened the year during the Covid pandemic. We moved forward with our new strategic plan and expanded our outdoor education with outdoor classrooms (which this past summer became beautiful pavilions), the Heather Samuel’s Butterfly Garden (which this year became a monarch way station), a chicken coop (which our Bornblum Middle took on this year as a Design Thinking project) and the hiring of Director of Marketing and Communications (a position that Zack Orsborn has masterfully filled these past two years).

During the 2021-22 school year, we put together a Design Thinking team and built a Design Lab thanks to the Shainberg Foundation. Our Design Thinking Lab has expanded out of one room and into the Library, with Laser cutters that we use to create projects and promotional items, 3D printers, a sound recording studio, green screens, Cricut machines, and an endless amount of materials. Design Thinking this year allowed us to create a Middle School capstone project. These projects allowed our students to learn more about our local community, the Jewish community and community needs in Israel. We will continue to expand our use of Design Thinking in the coming year through our Middle School DT time and our further integration of Design Thinking as the language of our school.

Students releasing butterflies in the Heather Samuels Butterfly Garden, Middle Schoolers cleaning out the Bornblum Chicken Coop, and Middle Schoolers working on a Design Thinking project

This year, in many ways, has also felt like a pandemic as we shifted our attention to the situation in Israel since October 7th. It has made for a difficult year and yet, like our strategic plan during Covid, we pushed through on our accreditation from SAIS.

Our SAIS Self-Study and accreditation process this year had our faculty, staff, and board explore how we can continue to grow and expand as a school. Through our new Cups of Connection and Link newsletter, we are finding new ways to engage in conversation with our parents. These initiatives will allow us to be more transparent as a leadership team and allow our parents to have a fuller picture of what our school has to offer.

We have also spent time focusing on how to continue to promote and build an even stronger middle school. This effort will allow our students in the Middle School to have a program that not only meets their needs but enriches their full school experience. We have some exciting changes in store for our Middle School next year to allow us to capitalize on several signature programs.

A scene from a Cups of Connection event, the Eighth Grade graduates, and Middle Schoolers posing with artist Ephraim Urevbu

We recognize that this year has been a year like no other. Our school and community have come together in a way that should make us all proud. We could not have imagined the events of October 7th and what it would mean for our teachers, staff, students, and parents. As our school became the soundtrack for Israel, we saw the unwavering Zionist spirit that is a part of our school and community. We have been lucky to have the support of many of our independent school friends who have stood with us this year, against antisemitism.

Our school is a safe place for Jewish students and families, and I encourage each of us to share that publicly. As much as we want our other private and public schools to be safe places, what we have built here should not be ignored. What we teach in our Middle School specifically is advocacy for the State of Israel and how to amplify our voices against antisemitism. Make sure your children and your friends’ children are here to learn that, specifically in those grades.

A scene from Yom Ha’atzmaut, Middle Schoolers during a mock Passover seder, and students singing an Israeli song during Kabbalat Shabbat

Finally, as we close out this incredible year, I am drawn to the words of several of the songs our students have been singing this year:

I will lift up my eyes to the mountains.
From where does my help come?
My help comes from the Lord,
who made heaven and earth.
(Psalm 121, sung by Yosef Karduner)

I hope that you are still keeping track of
Good moments to remember
Once upon a time, people wrote songs to you
In notebooks.
Do you remember?
(Moledet by Chanan ben Ari)

We are brothers,​ the whole house of Israel, who are given over to trouble or captivity​, whether they abide on the sea or on the dry land:

May the All-prese​nt have mercy upon them, and bring them forth from trouble to freedom​, from darkness to light, and from subjection to redemption, now speedily and at a near time.
(Morning prayers)

Wishing everyone a summer of Shalom, a summer where our hostages are returned, and a summer of peace for the Jewish people, here in the US, in Israel, and around the world.