The Charlotte Jewish News - January 2015 - Page 14
Keeping Warm this Winter
LJCC Cares (the Soeial Aetion
program at the Levine Jewish
Community Center) has begun to
forge a relationship with the Sal
vation Army. The intent is to pro
vide opportunities for members of
our eommunity to volunteer in a
variety of ways to help out the
Salvation Army’s Center of Hope
and Boys and Girls Club. The
Center of Hope is a homeless
shelter for women and ehildren.
The Boys and Girls Club is an
after-sehool program for ehildren,
the aim of whieh is to promote
and enhanee the development of
boys and girls by instilling a sense
of eompetenee, usefulness, be
longing, and influenee.
In September, a group of vol
unteers made peanut butter and
jelly sandwiehes for the Center of
Hope and eolleeted snaeks for the
Boys and Girls Club. In Deeem-
ber, a group of volunteers gath
ered at the Marsh Road Boys and
Girls Club to teaeh the ehildren
there about Hanukkah and to
Schools
enjoy a morning of stories, drei-
dels, and snaeks. Later that
month, LJCC Cares volunteers
prepared and served a Christmas
Eve dinner to 250 women and
ehildren at the Center of Hope.
Beginning in Deeember and
eontinuing through Mareh 1,
LJCC Cares is eolleeting new and
gently used blankets for the Cen
ter of Hope. Residents at the shel
ter are given blankets upon arrival
to use for sleeping. When they
leave the shelter to move into
other housing, they take the blan
kets with them. As sueh, there is
an ongoing need for blankets.
Please eonsider donating to keep
these people warm this winter.
Colleetion bins are loeated outside
of J Childeare.
For more information about
LJCC Cares and volunteer oppor
tunities, please eontaet Julie
Rizzo, Direetor of Develop
ment and Soeial Aetion,
julie.rizzo@eharlottejee.org or
704-944-6730.^
It’s a Girl!
Please Welcome Virginia Gentile to the JPS Team as Our First Infant Teacher
By Virginia Gentile
I am very exeited to join the
JPS Team as its very first infant
teaeher.
My eareer started after I gradu
ated from Appalaehian State Uni
versity in 1994 in Early Childhood
Development. Sinee then I have
been a teaeher in just about every
elassroom/age group, was a Pre-
sehool Direetor and an Assistant
Presehool Direetor for a eorporate
presehool. My favorite elassroom,
the one that truly touehes my soul,
is the infant room. They are devel
oping and ehanging eaeh and
every day. From trying to lift their
heads, to rolling over, sitting up by
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themselves, starting to erawl and
move around, pulling up and then
taking their first steps. It really is
remarkable what they aeeomplish
within their first year.
When I am not at work I enjoy
spending time with my beautiful
daughter, Ava, who is just turning
12 years old (Wow, when did that
happen?) as well as my wonderful
boyfriend, Brian and his son,
Nathan.
I ean’t forget Luey, my reseue
dog and love bug. I love going to
the beaeh ... as often as possible
and bike riding, reading, and
hanging out with long-time
friends.
Why did I ehoose this profes
sion? I want to make a differenee
in the life of a young ehild.
From our newest team member
to our most seasoned, the JPS cel
ebrations continue. Ms. Beverly
recently celebrated 25 years at the
Jewish Preschool on Sardis. We
are honored to have teachers who
are not only dedicated to our
school but also our families.
To learn more about our teach
ers, our programs or to have a
tour as we begin registration for
the 2015-2016 school year, please
call us at 704-364-8395.^
jps
The Jewish I
The Jewish PreschooJ on Sardis
★ 5-5tap Preschool
Early Childhood Development & Jewish Discovery
Infant Room
Open House
January 11, 2015
9:00-10:30AM
at JPS
6619 Sardis Rd.
Meet the teacher,
visit the ciassroom,
tour the schooi
Learning Through Faith at CJDS
You don’t learn by having faith.
You learn by questioning, by ehal-
lenging, by re-examining every
thing you’ve ever believed.
And yet, all this is a matter of
faith - the faith that there is a truth
to be found.
It is another paradox: To truly
question, you must truly have
faith.
IN THE CHILD’S HANDS
When your child knows
that he or she possess a great
and holy qnality
—a sonl that
is a part of God—
the child will realize
that he or she has the
potential to overcome
difficnlties and temptations.
Teach yonr child that all
it takes is a little effort
on her or his part,
and he or she will receive
considerable assistance
from on High.
— The Rebbe (Advice for Life:
Education)
At CJDS, God is not a subject,
nor a topic. Rather God just is.
God is when the students get up in
the morning. God is when the stu
dents go to sleep at night. And
God is when they say birkat
hamazon after luneh. When the
general studies teaeher pieks
stieks to deeide who is going to
partner with eaeh other, God is the
one who is making the deeision.
When it rains on a trip and
ehanges have to be made, it is part
of God’s greater plan. Our stu
dents will sometimes say it first,
before we even suggest that pos
sibility.
This email reeeived from a par
ent even shows how God is even
at earpool.
“As you know we live, and
eommute from ‘Guam.’ It is vital
that we leave home by 7:05 to en
sure the Providenee Road traffie
will not hinder our arrival. With
out traffie, the drive is 22 minutes
- but it takes us 35-40 minutes
every morning.
“Last Wednesday morning, at
6:59,1 heard my son’s panie as he
yelled ‘Get up, get up!’ We flew
out of bed, dressed, brushed teeth,
paeked snaeks, and even had
breakfast to go. We left at 7:20.
Knowing we would not arrive
until after 8 due to traffie, I apol
ogized to the ehildren that I had
turned off the alarm and gone
baek to sleep. My daughter was
looking forward to the grand en
hanee she eould make - first stop
ping to explain my inadequaeies
to Ms. Barbara, getting her lovely
pink slip, and then eontinuing her
tales of woe with Ms. Buekner.
“As we pulled into Shalom
Park at 7:45 (24 minutes after
leaving home), I said, “I ean’t be
lieve we made it here, God must
be on our side.” My son says with
full eonvietion, “Of eourse He is
Mommy, He knows we have to
get to sehool to study the Torah,
and that’s a mitzvah. And, you
should eall Him Hashem.”
“I just turned and smiled at
him, wondering what it must feel
like to believe at your very eore
that Hashem is on your side.
“Thank you for giving my ehild
this understanding. He eould learn
math and reading at any sehool in
town - but this belief he will earry
as he walks through life. And
you’re right - this should not be
denied to any ehild beeause they
ean’t make the tuition payment.
I’m blessed to pay full tuition -
and honored to donate toward oth
ers so their ehild will always
know in his/her heart that Hashem
is on his side.”
If there is anything our fifth
grade graduates take away from
their experienee at here after at
tending sehools away from mueh
Jewish influenee, it is the eore
eonneetion, understanding, and
awareness of God.
Our sueeess with this message
is first and foremost with our
teaehers. Eaeh and every one of
our Judaiea teaehers has an un
shakable and steadfast faith in
God. The ehildren ean smell inde-
eision a mile away, so it is impor
tant that when gifting this heasure
of faith that we offer them this
wondrous possibility. I believe it
gives them a sense of seeurity and
eonfidenee when exploring their
own beliefs. They don’t neeessar-
ily have to buy it, but if they
ehoose it, it is beeause we made it
available to them.
God is woven into our aetivi-
ties, our stories, our lessons, and
(Continued on page 30)