October 6, 2016 by Janet Collier (Faculty and Staff)

As the JPDS-NC Election Project 2016 continues, students in all grades have been conducting research on their grade’s assigned topic and engaging in deep conversations with guest speakers, with students in other grades and at other schools, and with each other. Sixth Grade – Political Messaging: Sixth Grade students produced videos summarizing the positions of the major […]

• #JPDSNCElectionProject
• #KidsVoicesCount
• #ThisIsWhy
• Project Based Learning

October 5, 2016 by Arielle Derby (Faculty and Staff)

I have been spending time visiting classrooms, getting to know the students, and telling them a story about why Aleph is the first letter of the aleph-bet: the print Aleph (א) is the only letter that is “open” on all sides, with many access points. After the story, we talk about being open to new […]

• Adult Learning
• Thinking Routines

September 29, 2016 by Janet Collier (Faculty and Staff)

As students delve into their grade-specific issues for our Election Project, they’ve also been exploring the question of whether adults should listen to the opinions of children when it comes to these important issues and the election in general. We asked the children: “You can’t vote, but should you have a voice in this process?” […]

• #JPDSNCElectionProject
• #KidsVoicesCount
• #ThisIsWhy
• Project Based Learning

September 22, 2016 by Janet Collier (Faculty and Staff) Naomi Reem (Faculty and Staff)

We are excited to launch Kids’ Voices Count: JPDS-NC Election Project 2016. This schoolwide election project will focus on giving life to the rights and responsibilities of children as social and political actors in the public sphere. Students will be creating a voting guide for adults in our community in which they will give voice to their […]

• #JPDSNCElectionProject
• #KidsVoicesCount
• Parent-Child Learning

September 15, 2016 by Alexis Herschthal (Faculty and Staff)

This school year, JPDS-NC is implementing a school-wide Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) curriculum, Second Step. In the past, JPDS-NC incorporated character education and SEL content into classrooms through former programs like Middah of the Month and continuing programs like, B’Sod Siach, as well as friendship groups, classroom meetings, and other guidance lessons. We are […]

• #MiltonAdvantage

September 1, 2016 by Arielle Derby (Faculty and Staff)

Every August, I find myself counting the days until the start of the academic year when the building fills with the sound of children’s greetings, laughter, and excitement, and the school begins to hum with the energy and whirring minds of the teachers. As in years past, we began preparing for your children not by […]

• Adult Learning
• Design Thinking
• Thinking Routines

August 25, 2016 by Lisa Schopf (Faculty and Staff)

Experience and research show that engaging students to follow their curiosity, to experience the joy in learning, and to enjoy the satisfaction of mastery ignites innate motivation and drives intellectual growth. Across the educational spectrum, this observation is often presented as a dichotomy: educators who emphasize joy and curiosity as the vehicles for driving enduring […]

• #DCJewishMiddleSchool
• #ThisIsWhy
• Exploratory
• Project Based Learning

August 4, 2016 by Yonah Singer (Faculty and Staff)

I am thrilled and excited to join the staff of a place as amazing as JPDS-NC. Athletics is a true passion of mine and I look forward to continuing and growing the athletics program at JPDS. I grew up in Silver Spring and graduated from the Berman Hebrew Academy. After graduation and a year of study in […]

• Athletics

July 28, 2016 by Lisa Schopf (Faculty and Staff)

Earlier this month, NPR highlighted a segment about a new book about cultivating a growth mindset in children, Becoming Brilliant: What Science Tells Us About Raising Successful Children. On this same theme, last year Sixth Grade teacher Lisa Schopf invited her students to think about the habits of mind they have gained at JPDS-NC, and challenged them to write self-reflective […]

• Thinking Routines

June 2, 2016 by Alexis Herschthal (Faculty and Staff)

As I embark on my sixth year at JPDS-NC, I am honored and excited to assume the position of Director of Student Support Services and to work with my colleagues on streamlining and strengthening our school’s learning support and guidance programs. Our consolidated and growing department will include established, returning, and new colleagues. We will […]

• #ThisIsWhy