Our Stories

JPDS-NC Announces Founding Middle School Director

February 23, 2016 by Naomi Reem (Faculty and Staff)

I am pleased to announce the appointment of our founding Middle School Director. After a national search, we chose an internal candidate, Ms. Lisa Schopf, for the position. Lisa has been a standout educator at JPDS-NC since 2006, first as a General Studies teacher for 5th Grade, and most recently as the Math and Social […]

  • #DCJewishMiddleSchool

Student Stories: Sixth Grade Teamwork Leads to Trivia Night Success

February 23, 2016 by Noah K (’16) (Students) Sammy R (’16) (Students)

Trivia Night is a fundraiser organized by the Sixth Grade students and teachers each year in order to pay for their trip to New York in the spring. On this trip, the students (with teacher chaperones) go to a Broadway play, a baseball game, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and other places in the city. […]

  • Student Stories

Torah Talk for Parashat Ki Tisa

February 22, 2016 by Sharon Freundel (Community)

In this parasha, Hashem continues describing the Mishkan (Tabernacle) to Moshe; the people worship the Aygel Hazahav (Golden Calf), Moshe pleads on their behalf, and Hashem forgives them. After the sin of the Aygel Hazahav, Moshe ascends the mountain again to commune with Hashem, and an interesting exchange takes place [30:17-23]. During this conversation, Moshe asks […]

  • Parent-Child Learning

Meet the Swing Space Committee: Co-Chair Evan Goldman

February 18, 2016

JPDS-NC turns kids into mensches. We chose JPDS-NC because we saw the same warmth and sense of community that we experienced in the Gan at Adas Israel. It has been six years since we first joined the community, and we love having our three children at the school. I was excited that there was an […]

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  • #ThisIsWhy

Meet the Swing Space Committee: Co-Chair Ben Becker

February 18, 2016

When I saw kindergartners speaking Hebrew during our initial school visit, my heart skipped a beat. I knew that JPDS-NC was the place for our family. We are grateful for the quality education and strong community that JPDS-NC provides and we are planning for our youngest to start next year. I am volunteering on the […]

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  • #ThisIsWhy

Interdisciplinary Learning on Display at the Art and Science Expo

February 17, 2016 by Elana Cohen (Faculty and Staff)

With our North Campus Design Lab up and running, teams of students had opportunities to practice Design Thinking and to make their learning visible with access to a variety of materials and tools for this year’s Expo projects. Calling it an “Art and Science” Expo is somewhat limiting, as much of the work was truly […]

  • Design Thinking
  • Project Based Learning
  • STEAM
  • STEM
  • Visual Arts

Torah Talk for Parashat Tetzaveh

February 16, 2016 by Sharon Freundel (Community)

In this parasha, God describes to Moshe the mizbe’ach haketoret (incense altar) and the clothing and anointing process of the cohanim (priests). The ketoret (incense offering) was a blend of aromatic spices and other ingredients that, when burned, gave off a wonderful smell. Some suggest that the command to offer incense was to purify the air and to perfume […]

  • Parent-Child Learning

Changemakers: Kindergarten Students Redesign South Campus Library

February 10, 2016 by Lisa Davis (Faculty and Staff)

The grand re-opening of the South Campus Community Library occurred last week during the Kindergarten Bayit Patuach (Open House). With a flourish and a “one, two, three, cut!” every Kindergarten child used scissors to snip a long ribbon stretched across the library. The ceremony culminated months of hard work by the three Kindergarten classes as […]

  • Design Thinking
  • Project Based Learning
  • STEAM

Meet the Middle School Facilities Committee: Co-Chair Kimby Berger

February 10, 2016

My husband, Lawrence, and I have been a part of the JPDS-NC community since 2006. Our oldest son, Aden, graduated two years ago, our middle son, Micah, will graduate this year, and our youngest son, Ollie, is in 2nd grade. JPDS-NC has played an incredibly important role in our family and I am always eager to […]

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  • #ThisIsWhy
  • Board of Trustees

Meet the Middle School Facilities Committee: Co-Chair Emily Appelbaum

February 10, 2016

My family joined JPDS-NC a year ago, in early 2015, after moving to DC from Cambridge, MA. My husband Yoni, daughter Elisheva (2nd grade), son Joshua (Kindergarten), and I are so grateful for the way that JPDS-NC has welcomed our family into its community from day one. When I learned about the opportunity to contribute to the […]

  • #DCJewishMiddleSchool
  • #ThisIsWhy