The Charlotte Jewish News -October 2007 - Page 14
Charlotte Jewish Day School Welcomes Our New Families
Remember the anxiety of start
ing your first real job — the antic
ipation of being on your own; the
unease of not knowing where or
with whom you would eat lunch;
the worry over making a mistake;
the idea that you might not get
along with all of your colleagues?
That’s often how students feel
when starting in a new school - a
stew of apprehension and expecta
tion.
Despite being a month into the
school year, we are still welcom
ing students, their families, and
teachers who are new to CJDS.
The start of school sets the tone
for the entire year, so we dedicate
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LEADING THE WAY TO YOUR SUCCESS
the first six weeks to making
everyone feel welcomed, to mak
ing each class gel and work as a
village within our larger school
community.
Just like team-building exercis
es at work, icebreakers at school
have helped ease the tension,
especially for new kids. Those
activities have helped the students
get to know each other, according
to Robin Zimmerman, a teacher
who is new to the school herself
She is teaching fourth-grade stu
dents. “I introduced myself as
being new also,” she said when
asked about the exercises. “We
talk about building new friend
ships and we talk about how to get
along.”
Ethan Jackowitz is one of three
new students in the fourth grade.
Book Fair at
CJDS
Shop early for holiday
gifts, buy books to donate
to a child’s classroom or
look for yourself at
Charlotte Jewish Day
School’s annual book fair,
October 22-25. All
proceeds will benefit the
school. Picture books,
chapter books, novels,
cookbooks, parenting
books and more will be
available for purchase
daily from 8 AM until noon
and from 2-4 PM. For
more information, call the
school at 704-366-4558
His mother Lori said that he was
anxious about the first day of
school in late August. “He was
very nervous,” she said. “But on
the first day, when he walked in,
there were boys there who greeted
him and that really helped. So
from the very start he has felt like
a part of this school.”
Lori echoed the sentiments of
his teacher, Robin Zimmerman,
regarding the icebreakers.
“They’ve been doing a lot of ice
breakers for the whole class to get
to know each other. I think the fact
that the class is so small has made
it a great transition for him.”
Linda Stewart, CJDS Social
Worker, offers the following sug
gestions for welcoming new stu
dents: Returning students can
include them by asking the new
child to play with them on the
playground or to sit with them at
lunch. During this time, children
can be encouraged to ask the new
child about where he/she comes
from, his/her interests, how many
pets the family has, etc. Parents
can also model welcoming behav
ior by inviting a new parent and
child over for a play date and adult
get-together.
Mariashi Groner, CJDS
Director, adds “We have been told
by many newcomers—students,
parents, and teachers alike—that
as soon as they walked into our
school, they could actually touch
the warm, welcoming feeling. One
of our major goals is to serve as
models and to teach our students
how important it is to reach out to
those who might not yet feel as
comfortable in their new sur
roundings as we do and to wel
come them as honored members
of the CJDS family.”
Writer Maya Angelou once said
“I’ve learned that people will for
get what you said, people will for
get what you did, but people will
never forget how you made them
feel.”
At CJDS, we always strive to
make people feel welcome.
CJDS Receives PEJE
Grant
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704- 364 - 6 543 wwwicla vldsltd .-c om
Boston — The Partnership for
Excellence in Jewish Education
(PEJE) www.peje.org, a national
collaboration of philanthropic
partners committed to strengthen
ing Jewish day school education
in North America, has announced
the recipients of its 2007-2008
Challenge Grant program.
The 2007-2008 PEJE grants,
totaling $1 million, were recently
distributed to 33 schools, includ
ing 17 new recipients and 16
schools that received grants last
year. The schools represent 23
communities throughout North
America, including the Charlotte
Jewish Day School in Charlotte.
Individual awards ranged in
value from $16,000 to $95,000.
Recipient schools include elemen
tary, middle and high schools.
“The Challenge Grant program
is a major PEJE initiative to help
Jewish day schools increase
enrollment through vital assess
ment and coaching to attain the
highest standards of academic
excellence for Jewish and general
studies,” said Rabbi Josh Elkin,
executive director of PEJE. “Since
the grants program began ten
years ago, we have seen signifi
cant growth in enrollment which is
a tremendous accomplishment for
the day school movement and the
families it serves.”
When PEJE was founded in
1997, the Challenge Grant pro
gram was designed to help estab
lish new Jewish day schools.
Today the program helps Jewish
day schools across North America
to increase enrollment and build
their capacity. The expanded pro
gram includes three types of
grants that accommodate schools
at various stages of development:
• School Improvement Journey
Grant: The two-to three-year grant
includes support for a “whole
school” assessment and coaching
in the first year, with the opportu
nity for further support in the sec
ond and third years.
• Pipeline Grant: The grant
ppromotes relationship-building
between the day school and early
childhood education programs in
order to increase recruitment and
enrollment of students.
• New School Grant: This grant
is for groups planning to establish
new Jewish day schools and to
existing schools that are ready to
add a new division or branch (e.g.
a middle school or a high school).
A key component to each PEJE
grant is the opportunity for recipi
ents to work with a coach, a con
sultant with expertise that matches
a school’s needs. These profes
sionals assist school leaders in
developing plans for sustainable
growth.
“As a new head of school, I
look forward to the opportunity
this New School grant provides to
review Ramaz’s mission and to
develop a strategic plan that builds
on our strengths to enhance key
areas,” noted Judith Fagin, dean of
the Ramaz School in Manhattan.
“More families in the Tri-State
region are expressing an interest in
a day school education for their
children, and we’re embarking on
a major construction project to
provide an upgraded and expand
ed Early Childhood Center and
Lower School for a growing stu
dent body.”
About PEJE
The Partnership for Excellence
in Jewish Education (PEJE),
founded in 1997 by Michael
Steinhardt and Rabbi Yitz
Greenberg,- is a national organiza
tion of visionary Jewish philan
thropists seeking to establish a
vibrant and sustainable Jewish
future through strengthening the
Jewish day school movement in
North America. In its first ten
years, PEJE’s model of making
grants, providing expertise, and
advocating for the day school
movement reached over 150 ele
mentary, middle, and high schools
and invested a total of over $20
million in the field. PEJE has con
tributed to the opening of over 60
new Jewish day schools.