The Charlotte Jewish News - April 2015 - Page 3
Schools
Hats Off to Miss Barbara and Miss Ellen
By Elka Bernstein, director,
Charlotte Jewish Preschool
Each day, Brooke Amo,
CJP Assistant Director, and
I give tours to perspective
parents. Parents are always
impressed with our beauti
ful classrooms, our expan
sive playgrounds, and the
art work on the walls. We at
CJP are lucky to have such
beautiful facilities, but it is
not the facilities that make
the Charlotte Jewish Pre
school so special. There is
only one true element in any
school that makes it special.
It is the teachers.
As we begin to move to
the end of our school year, I
would like to share news
about two of our special
teachers that have reached mile
stones at The Charlotte Jewish
Preschool. We are excited to
honor Miss Ellen Wysmuller and
Miss Barbara Osborn. Miss Ellen
is celebrating 25 years of teaching
at CJP. After eighteen years of
teaching our fours program. Miss
Barbara Osborn will retire from
CJP at the end of the school year.
With their almost 50 years of
combined preschool teaching ex
perience, Barbara and Ellen talked
briefly about their careers.
On a personal level, CJP of
fered both Barbara and Ellen, a
sense of community when arriv
ing in Charlotte. The teacher com
munity at CJP was supportive and
welcoming and over time, the
Barbara Osborn and Ellen Wysmuller.
teachers at CJP became not only
strong co-workers, but also close
friends. On a professional level.
Miss Ellen has enjoyed the differ
ent challenges and knows that her
work at CJP has kept her young.
Miss Barbara has enjoyed the sup
port of her parents over the years,
as well as, watching CJP families
build a community of friends in
the preschool years with ties that
last forever.
Miss Ellen and Miss Barbara
both believe that each child is spe
cial and it is a wonderful experi
ence to watch them grow. Over
the years, the children have taught
them all that is good in people.
The children have continued to
teach Miss Ellen and Miss Bar
bara compassion, honesty, vul
nerability, patience, and the
ability to love and accept indi
viduals based on their abilities.
When you are a teacher, you
become a teacher to your peers.
Over the last two decades.
Miss Ellen and Miss Barbara’s
fellow teachers applaud their
work. Each member of the
Four and PreK teachers spoke
about the specialness of each
one. Miss Nadine said it beau
tifully when she spoke of her
fellow team members. She
said, “Miss Ellen welcomed
me into the fours family as a
newbie nine years ago. She has
always shared and made me a
part of this wonderful fours
team. Barbara also welcomed
me with open arms when I first
started. Barbara and I have had a
positive and beautiful relationship
and I will miss her so badly. It is
as if a piece of the Fours Fairy
Tale Puzzle will be missing for
ever.
CJP’s former Executive Direc
tor and current Interim Director
for the Levine Sklut Judaic Li
brary, Debby Block reflected on
both of her former teachers.
“When I think of Miss Ellen, I
think of that wonderful smile. I
have watched Ellen Wysmuller
teach children of all ages over
more than two decades. No matter
what the challenge, she always
smiles and exudes elegance and
grace. After years of experience in
Florida, Barbara Osborn moved to
The Cost of Continuity
By Mariashi Groner, director,
Charlotte Jewish Day School
I just returned from the North
American Jewish Day School
Conference in Philadelphia and
heard a D’var Torah delivered by
a colleague of mine from the
Lemer Jewish Day School in
Durham. She touched a chord, be
cause the topic she addresses wor
ries and concerns me daily. We all
know that a Jewish day school ed
ucation is probably the most ef
fective tool to ensure Jewish
continuity and yet the cost is pro
hibitive for many families or is re
quiring a lifestyle change that
many do not want to make. I share
her D’var Torah with you to start
the conversation. Who knows
what we can accomplish or start?
Ki Tisa, Allison Oakes, Lemer
Jewish Day School, Durham
The cost of community. The
cost of participation. Flow much is
too much? Flow much is too little?
What if it is too expensive and the
decision to participate is turned
down? What then? Who have we
lost? I often ponder these ques
tions, not just as a Plead of School
dependent upon enrollment, but as
a Jewish woman in the diaspora
truly concerned that the disap
pearance of the Jewish people will
not be some sort of external force,
but an internal force of disengage
ment.
In this week’s parasha, Ki Tisa,
the portion opens with God telling
Moses to collect Vi a shekel from
each individual over 20 years old
for the Mishkan as they are being
counted for the census. The pay
ment of this money allows the in
dividual to participate, to be part
of the community. As I researched
this I found that some rabbis be
lieved this was an annual tax and
others thought it was a onetime
payment partly for reparation of
the golden calf I have questions
... what if someone could not af
ford the Vi shekel? Was there fi
nancial assistance? How about
people that were on the cusp
(likened to our middle class fami
lies in our schools), if stretched,
could afford it ... was there mar
keting in place to ensure that these
people saw the value of stretching
themselves in such a way?
Knowing that community is
greatly dependent upon money,
there has to be a method of col
lecting it, but I fear the total cost
of participation is just too high for
the society in which we live. My
husband and I forego a lot to make
financial membership commit
ments to synagogue, day school,
JCC, plus all of the costs associ
ated with the many programs they
all offer at additional costs. Most
in our Jewish communities, espe
cially my peers, just choose to not
engage ... what does that mean
for the continuity of the Jewish
people?
I often speak about my own
Jewish journey starting with my
parents’ choice of Jewish Day
School when I was four years old.
I truly believe that I am the Jewish
Charlotte Jewish
Preschool
Charlotte 18 years ago and we
were all anxious to make her part
of the CJP team. Even the Rabbi
came into the preschool’s office
and said we that we must hire
Miss Barbara. Barbara’s creativity
and enthusiasm for Early Child
hood Education has been a gift to
CJP ever since.”
As their director, I have worked
with them as a parent, a substitute
teacher, an assistant teacher, and
Judaica teacher. I am thankful and
fortunate to have learned from
their experience and talents. Miss
Ellen will continue her adventures
at CJP and Miss Barbara will pur
sue her passions of working with
horses and photography. Mean
while, their legacy of creativity,
laughter, partnership, and beauty
will continue at CJP. I hope the
community joins me in a heartfelt
thanks to the everlasting gifts they
have given to the children and
families of our Jewish community.
The Charlotte Jewish Preschool
is currently enrolling for the 2015-
2016 school year. Please contact
us at 704-944-6776 or ebern-
stein@shalomcharlotte.org for
more information or a tour of our
wonderful teachers and school.^
Luck doesn’t buy & sell homes...
Experience does!
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woman I am today, raising a Jew
ish family, with the intent that my
children have an even stronger
Jewish identity than I and are
more Jewishly literate than I so
that they continue the legacy of
the Jewish people ... all of this be
cause of Jewish Day School. In
1981, my parents could afford to
make that choice, they could af
ford to participate. Thanks to the
Internet, my parent’s successful
business experienced its downfall.
If I was bom ten years later, I
would not be standing here today.
Private school, Jewish Day
School, would have been off the
table and potentially the line of
strong Jewish identity through my
family’s line would have ended.
In our field of work, we spend
a lot of time discussing sustain
ability and the value of a Jewish
education and convincing donors
and prospective parents of these
ideas. I am curious what the Vi
shekel gave a member of B’nai
Yisrael ... probably access to
prayer, education, and commu
nity. What would have happened
to the Jewish people if our ances
tors had to pay a Vi shekel for
prayer; another for education; an
other for community? I don’t
think any of us would be here to
today and this is what I am fearful
of for my descendants.
I don’t believe I need to say
more. ^
i
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