November 3, 2016 by
JPDS-NC students are in the news discussing our schoolwide election project, and sharing their learning on political campaigning, trade, public land use, D.C. statehood and more. Enjoy the Washington Jewish Week article about the JPDS-NC Election Project: Kid’s Voices Count.
November 2, 2016 by
When JPDS-NC began more than 25 years ago, there were only a handful of students. At that time, many things were handled by parent volunteers, including lunch. Parents ordered pizza for the students, and distributed it as needed. All of these years later, lunch is still organized by a dedicated group of parent volunteers. Now […]
November 1, 2016 by
In this parasha, we hear the story of Noach and the flood; about its aftermath when Noach plants a vineyard and gets inebriated, and his son “sees his nakedness”; and finally, about the story of the Tower of Babel and the birth of Avram. We all know the story of the flood. But why did […]
October 27, 2016 by
One of the highlights of Second Grade at JPDS-NC is their study of Washington, D.C., so the issue of D.C. statehood was chosen for the Second Graders to grapple with in our Election Project. The journey they took to arrive at a place where that question held relevance was impressive indeed. The Second Grade teachers […]
October 27, 2016 by
“Hiney Chitah!” (Here is a Cheetah!) “Ani roeh Dov Panda betzeva shachor velavan.” (I see a Panda Bear whose colors are black and white.) “Hapanda ochelet alim.” (The panda is eating leaves.) “Hadov yoshev al sela.” (The bear is sitting on a rock.) These conversations in Hebrew and many more were heard not in the Biblical Zoo […]
October 26, 2016 by
In this parasha, we read about ma’aseh bereshit (the Act of Creation); Adam and Chava’s sin of eating fruit from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Bad and their subsequent expulsion from Gan Eden (the Garden of Eden); Kayin’s murder of his brother, Hevel; and the genealogy of Adam and Chava’s descendants, culminating in […]
October 20, 2016 by
Sharon Freundel, JPDS-NC’s Director of Jewish Life, has been named one of only 10 Jewish educators in the world who will serve on HaKaveret, an innovation design team focused on improving Jewish education. The team of elite Jewish educators will spend the next year learning with and from each other as well as external experts, […]
October 20, 2016 by
As part of the school-wide Election Project, Fourth Graders are exploring one of the most challenging issues of our day, globalization. The topic was selected because it interconnects with the students’ year-long study of world geography and culture. Fourth Grade students have had the opportunity to engage with experts in the field who are highlighting […]
October 19, 2016 by
In this Torah portion, the final one in the Torah, which we will read on Simchat Torah, Moshe gives the tribes of Yisrael a final blessing and dies at the age of 120. The Bnei Yisrael mourn and begin to follow Yehoshua, their new leader. The last chapter of the Torah gives an account of […]
October 13, 2016 by
Third Graders are focusing on public lands as an important issue for the upcoming election. Their study includes defining what public lands are, exploring how they should be used, and determining whose role it is to take care of them. The topic of public land use dovetails with the Third Grade curriculum which includes learning […]