Our Stories

Torah Talk for Parashat V’zot Habracha

October 1, 2015 by Sharon Freundel (Community)

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 […]


Sukkah Design Challenge 2015 Video

September 24, 2015 by Alexandra Taylor (Faculty and Staff)

JPDS-NC students are engaging in Design Thinking! Since the start of the school year, students in grades 2-6 have researched problems, generated questions, collaborated with one another, brainstormed solutions, solved challenges and overcome setbacks as they sought innovative and practical solutions to real-world problems associated with building a sukkah. This iterative learning process invites students […]


News from the Design Lab: Our Sukkah Design Challenge

September 24, 2015 by Elana Cohen (Faculty and Staff)

At the heart of our Design Lab is the strategy of Design Thinking. Design Thinking is an approach to learning that includes contemplating real-world problems, conducting research, participating in reflective thinking and analysis, conceiving original ideas, conducting experiments, and sometimes building things! To introduce the North Campus students to the newly designated Design Lab and […]


Torah Talk for Parashat Haazinu

September 24, 2015 by Sharon Freundel (Community)

At the end of Moshe’s last speech to Bnei Yisrael, Hashem tells Moshe to write down a song to teach to the Israelites. “Put this song in their mouths,” Hashem says, “so that the words may become a witness for Me against them. After I bring them to the land that flows with milk and […]


Torah Talk for Parashat Vayelech

September 17, 2015 by Sharon Freundel (Community)

In this week’s parasha, Moshe concludes his speech to Bnei Yisrael, blesses Yehoshua, and instructs the community to gather every seven years to read publicly from the Torah; Hashem predicts the eventual straying of Bnei Yisrael. This parasha contains the last two of the 613 mitzvot in the Torah. The first is Hakhel (Assembly) in […]


Torah Talk for Parashat Nitzavim

September 10, 2015 by Sharon Freundel (Community)

In this week’s parasha, Moshe describes the brit (Covenant) between Hashem and Bnei Yisrael, urging Bnei Yisrael to uphold the brit and honor the Torah so that they may be rewarded with life in the land of Israel. The text makes clear that the relationship between Hashem and Bnei Yisrael is bi-directional, a concept both […]


Driving More Student Engagement, Agency, Collaboration, and Creativity

September 3, 2015 by Naomi Reem (Faculty and Staff)

Utilizing Research-based 21st Century Approaches to Education at JPDS-NC The beginning of a new school year is always an exciting time… but this year, we are more energized by our future than ever. We welcomed 334 students through our doors a few days ago; at the North Campus, we warmly welcomed our first cohort of […]


Torah Talk for Parashat Ki Tavo

September 3, 2015 by Sharon Freundel (Community)

In this week’s parasha, Moshe instructs Bnei Yisrael on the first fruit offering and elaborates on the terms of the covenant by listing the blessings for keeping the commandments and the punishments for disobeying them. Many people may recognize the first part of the statement about the first fruit offering, as it serves as the […]


First Graders Celebrate Chagigat HaSiddur

June 17, 2015 by Carmel P (’22) (Students) Hannah G (’22) (Students) Tal P (’22) (Students)

Chagigat HaSiddur is a celebration where the first graders at JPDS-NC get new siddurim (prayerbooks) to show what we learned in Hebrew and Judaic Studies this year. To prepare, we did Tefillah (prayer) every day and learned more over time. We prepared a story about the Ten Commandments. We also practiced singing and praying together […]


JPDS-NC Sixth Graders Take Manhattan!

June 4, 2015 by Fani Bettmann (Faculty and Staff)

Early on the morning of May 26, the sixth graders boarded the bus and embarked on our capstone trip to New York City. Our first stop was the Tenement Museum, where Judaic Studies class discussions of the Jewish immigrant experience came to life as we toured a tenement apartment that a host of immigrant families […]