Our Stories

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 […]


Fourth Graders Raise Money to Help the Victims of the Nepal Earthquake

June 3, 2015 by Adina S (’17) (Students) Dora S (’17) (Students) Isaac T (’17) (Students) Leah Z (’17) (Students) Miriam Y (’17) (Students) Noah G (’17) (Students)

The fourth graders at JPDS-NC have been raising money for the people of Nepal because on April 25 there was a big earthquake there. More than 7,000 people were killed in the earthquake, and many more were injured. Countless people lost their homes, belongings, and family members. A guest speaker, Steve Himmelfarb, came in and […]


JPDS-NC Volunteers in the Community

May 28, 2015 by Hannah Seidel (Faculty and Staff) Ronit Greenstein (Faculty and Staff)

Part of our mission at JPDS-NC is to teach our students to become knowledgeable, responsible Jews and citizens. Through learning and action, we foster an environment that inspires and deepens our students’ commitment to Jewish living and values, to the community at large, and to the people and state of Israel. Through in-school programs such […]


Fifth Graders Explore Nature and Judaism at TEVA

May 27, 2015 by Lincoln A (’16) (Students)

The 5th graders at JPDS-NC went on a four-day field trip to TEVA at the Pearlstone Center in Reisterstown, MD for an educational outdoors adventure. (“TEVA” is Hebrew for “nature.”) We went on hikes where we learned about the local environment including “the F.B.I.” – fungi, bacteria, and invertebrates. The hikes were full of wildlife […]


Thinking Critically About American History

May 22, 2015 by Candace Manor (Faculty and Staff)

“History gives us ideas. Let’s say something good happened. We can use it in the future to help people.” “In American History, there’s been a lot of wars, like the War of 1812 and the American Revolution. We can learn about what happened and say, ‘This was wrong’ and ‘I’ll turn it all around and […]