Another Day Off? Whatever For?

Jewish holidays in October, parent-teacher conferences in November, and a professional learning day for teachers in December; what’s a parent to do with so many days off from school? Not only do we want our children in school and learning, but many of us also struggle with child care. It isn’t easy to juggle all these days off. We understand.

So, first answers to the question – why these days off from school? Second, some thoughts on what we can do as a kehilah (community) to craft the best school calendar we can, remembering that our calendar reflects our core values. We must observe the Jewish holidays. Parents and teachers must talk about our children’s learning as well as their social, emotional, and religious growth. Teachers must continue to learn so they are able to support our children.

Jewish Holidays
Yes, parents understand that as a Jewish school we will be closed on those Jewish holidays on which Jewish law prohibits work: Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, the first two days of Sukkot, Shemini Atzeret, and Simchat Torah (as well as Pesach and Shavuot later in the year). Some who do not observe the holidays (particularly a lesser known holiday like Shemini Atzeret) might wish there was school. Still, parents understand.

But Erev Chag (the day before the holiday)? Why must we be closed? Because holidays require preparation – sometimes cooking, sometimes building a sukkah, and other times traveling. We embrace the wide range of observance of our families and faculty and are committed to making it possible for those who need to prepare as a family to be able to do so. Parents should know that in past years we were also closed Hoshanah Rabah (the seventh day of Sukkot or Erev Shemini Atzeret) but now have a regular 2:00 p.m. Friday dismissal. We have celebrations in school for Hoshanah Rabah, an interesting day on which there are special customs. Yet, besides the customs connected to Hoshanah Rabah, there are not more preparations for Shemini Atzeret than for Shabbat. Consequently, we were able to fit in an extra day of school. We hope parents are pleased!

Parent-Teacher Conferences
Yes, parents understand and appreciate the opportunity to meet with our children’s teachers.  But, why are there two days of conferences instead of one? And, why aren’t there evening hours?  We must have parent-teacher conferences on two days so Judaic studies teachers can be at conferences for both of their classes. We know, in Kindergarten conferences could be on one day, but having a day of school only for Kindergarten and not the rest of the school raises numerous complications.

As for evening hours, we are working on it. We know that many parents are finding it ever more challenging to take time off from work. During the March conferences we have two half-days of school and then have conferences from 1:00 to 8:00 p.m.. We are considering a similar structure in the fall, with conferences from 1:00 to 8:00 p.m. on two consecutive Thursdays. Why Thursday? Teachers are exhausted from conferences and need the weekend to recoup. We would then have school on Veterans Day and hold Professional Learning Day on Election Day. We do not like having students in the building on Election Day as we are a polling place. Although the White Plains Police Department provides us with security, we still prefer not to have students in the building on a day when there are so many unfamiliar adults present. There are some other options being discussed for parent-teacher conferences and we will do our very best to accommodate parents’ needs.

What about technology? Can’t we Skype for conferences? Well, maybe. We don’t yet have webcams in most classrooms, however moving forward we would love to know parents’ thoughts on video conferencing.

Professional Learning Day
Quite simply, in order for students to learn, their teachers must continue to learn. On this upcoming professional learning day our general studies teachers will be learning about Singapore Math (coming soon to our school) and our Judaic studies teachers will be continuing training in our Hebrew literacy curriculum. There will be other vital activities such as exploring “learning walks” in which faculty will visit each other’s classrooms in order to improve their own skills. There will also be a range of faculty driven professional conversations on topics that directly impact student learning. The benefits of this time as an investment in the skills of our faculty are profound, enabling us to continue to improve the quality of our school. Not only schools, but successful organizations broadly, need to invest in professional learning in order to continually improve, maintain excellence in areas it exists, and address areas in which we must be doing better. To serve our students, we must address in serious, substantive ways, the learning of our faculty.

What About Those Snow Days?
If we face a difficult winter, there will likely be questions about the snow days. While officially it is Dr. Spiegel, with input from the school’s senior administration, who decides whether to call a snow day, in practicality, it is the bus companies who decide. If the bus companies believe it is not safe to drive, we really cannot run school. If we have more than five snow days, we will begin to add days on to the school year. Hopefully, we won’t face this challenge, but we want to be prepared.

Finally, we want to assure you that there is a rhythm to the year. We know what we must accomplish by the end and pace ourselves so that we get there.

Is October 31 Anything Other Than, Well, Monday?

In the past, we have not acknowledged Halloween at all in school, simply pretending that we had never heard of it. 

Yes, some of our teachers have some years given less homework on October 31 because students might be “busy.” And yes, some of our students have struggled with peers going trick-or-treating when they do not. 

Although at school we ignored the event, our silence did not change the fact that families have different perspectives concerning Halloween and students know it.   

One year, our fifth grade teachers mentioned that it is possible families might have some extra candy lying around and asked students to bring it in to donate to a local soup kitchen for goody bags to give out to children at the soup kitchen’s annual Thanksgiving feast. We donated our candy, without indicating that we had any clue why families just might have more sweets at home than usual.

Not to worry – there will be no costumes, candy or celebratory parades. We respect enormously those families who do not participate in Halloween celebrations because they are troubled by the pagan origins of a night on which the boundaries between living and dead were believed to have overlapped. We similarly respect those families concerned about the connection to the Christian holy days of All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day. And, we respect those families disturbed by the reference in the phrase “trick or treat” to malicious “tricks” played on homeowners if treats are not distributed.

At the same time, we understand the neighborly community-building feel other families enjoy on Halloween. And we embrace the spirit of sharing our blessings with others, not only giving food to those who are hungry - a major focus for our student government this year, but also sharing our extra indulgences (i.e., candy) widely. Halloween’s roots are at least partly a harvest festival, with some similarities in spirit to Sukkot and Thanksgiving.

This year, without celebrating or even discussing Halloween at school, we openly admit that we are not sequestered. We know that October 31 is Halloween. We know that conversations have taken place between parents and children about whether and how each family will react to this day: allowing trick or treating, giving out candy to neighborhood children, both, or neither. Regardless of our differing perspectives on Halloween, many of us will have extra candy at home. And, as a school, we are committed to the core value of gemilut chasidim (social action).

Got Candy?
Let’s transform the day into an opportunity to do Hadavar Hanachon – The Right Thing! We will encourage our students to donate at least a portion of those excess treats to people who are very deserving: our troops in Afganistan. If you are among those families who either go out for the evening or simply close the shades and dim the lights on Halloween eve, you can still encourage your child to share tasty snacks you may have at home with our troops. 

So, bring in your candy and snacks. Leave them in the bins at the front doors of the main building. We will send them to our troops with notes thanking them for their service to our country.

It’s a small gemilut chesed project, demonstrating gratitude for the blessings we enjoy and recognizing our responsibility to give to others. While modest in scope, it is a project that empowers us to begin to take focus off whether or not we trick or treat to how we together help others. There will be larger gemilut chasidim projects to come as our student leadership focuses our attention on the dramatic problem of hunger locally, nationally, and globally. In the coming weeks, you’ll hear much more.

Meanwhile think not of what candy you will get or not get: think instead of what you can share.

The Power of “We”

Community! Collaboration! Connection! Energy! Ideas! Action!

The school year begins with the power of “we” – our community working together to enrich the intellectual and spiritual lives of our children.

What’s in store for our school this year?  A dynamic PTO with new and returning leadership to strengthen the bond between our families and school.  New community action groups with parents and teachers dedicated to enhancing Jewish life, gemilut chesed (social action), Israeli culture and health & wellness.  Family curriculum nights where students and parents playfully learn together.  Refined and strengthened Student Services to better meet the needs of all learners, whether in enrichment or support.  Expanded science program with more fully integrated classroom and lab studies, using our indoor and outdoor labs, trails, and gardens.  An exciting balanced literacy program to enhance reading and writing skills in English and Hebrew.  Technology plan to build skills and encourage creativity, while teaching our students to become responsible, safe digital citizens.  A facelift for our walls with bright banners and colorful pictures expressing our mission and core values to reinforce who we are as a school and community.

And looking ahead to 2012-2013, we are designing our new library-media center and planning and training for the introduction of Singapore Math.

Join us! Become more engaged with our Schechter Westchester community.  By bringing together our ideas, talents, passion and time, the power of “We” will make a wonderful difference in the lives of our children and our families!

Literacy Pronoun Watch: The only pronoun used in the writing of this blog entry is “we”; there is no “I,” “you,” “he,” “she,” or “them.” With tremendous room for the individual, together we are greater than alone; united we will offer so much to our children and our community. That is the power of “we.”

“How was your day?”

“How was your day?”

“Good”

“What did you do?”

“Nothing”

A routine conversation in many homes, I can confide that it is also an ongoing joke in my family.  Nope, it’s not my children who report that they had a good day and did nothing; it’s me.  In truth, my days – like those of our children – are so full and engaging that by the time I arrive home it’s difficult even to begin to sort through all that has happened.   And yet, I’ve long wondered how to facilitate a dialogue within the community about educational meaning and depth transmitted through daily interactions, conversations, and activities that occur at school.  This blog will provide a format for that dialogue.  Through anecdote and reflection, I will share with you insight into ongoing efforts at ensuring educational excellence, instilling Jewish values, and building community occurring daily at our school; inviting you into substantive, meaningful dialogue about ideas that matter.