Our Stories

Students Express, Experience, and Extend Hebrew Learning on Zoo Field Trip

October 27, 2016 by Gila Efrati (Faculty and Staff) Shoshana Sfarzada (Faculty and Staff)

“Hiney Chitah!” (Here is a Cheetah!) “Ani roeh Dov Panda betzeva shachor velavan.” (I see a Panda Bear whose colors are black and white.) “Hapanda ochelet alim.” (The panda is eating leaves.) “Hadov yoshev al sela.” (The bear is sitting on a rock.) These conversations in Hebrew and many more were heard not in the Biblical Zoo […]


Fourth Graders Adopt Chicks as Class Pets

June 15, 2016 by Gabri K (’20) (Students)

At the beginning of the semester, the fourth grade Explorers class raised the idea of getting a class pet. It was decided that students needed to earn it, so their teacher created a chart where they earned points for doing and acting in ways that showed responsibility. By the end of April, they had earned […]


Green Committee Students Organize Week of Environmental Learning and Action

June 5, 2016 by Audrey Y (’22) (Students) Eden S (’22) (Students) Elisheva A (’22) (Students) Maya G (’22) (Students) Michal N (’21) (Students) Miriam T (’22) (Students) Naomi S (’22) (Students) Noa H (’22) (Students) Rose S (’22) (Students) Serah J (’22) (Students) Yara V (’22) (Students)

The Green Committee at the Jewish Primary Day School of The Nation’s Capital is a group of kids who help the environment and tell people to stop littering. We recently had a Green Week for the whole school. During Green Week, we did different fun activities each day to get excited about helping the environment. […]


Comparing Communities: Kindergarteners Engage in In-Depth Study of Social Insects

May 24, 2016 by Lisa Davis (Faculty and Staff) Vas Pournaras (Faculty and Staff) Xani Pollakoff (Faculty and Staff)

This year in Kindergarten, our Project Work curriculum was intentionally designed to use the theme of Community. In the second semester, we focused on comparing our community to those of social insects including ants, bees, and wasps. We specifically chose social insects because they naturally connect to humans as they share common characteristics that include […]


Making Thinking Visible Through the Use of Materials

May 4, 2016 by Laura Cohen (Faculty and Staff)

If you walk in the front door of South Campus this week, you might see First Grade students and teachers digging through big boxes and recyclables to be used for prototypes of homes in a polar climate. You also might see Kindergarten students manipulating clay to create their final model of a queen bee. In the sadnah (studio), you might […]


Rock Creek Park Project Highlights Multi-Faceted Learning

January 28, 2016 by Candace Manor (Faculty and Staff)

Walking among towering trees, a fish-filled creek, and a brick-lined Peirce Mill, parents visiting JPDS-NC’s South Campus on January 21st could have thought they were taking a ramble through Rock Creek Park. Instead, they were appreciating first graders’ scaled model of the natural treasure that lies not a mile from our classroom doors, the culmination of […]


Kindergartners Explore Autumn at the Audubon Society

November 4, 2015 by Class of 2024 (Students)

We went on the field trip to Audubon Naturalist Society because we wanted to see nature. We’ve been learning about fall in science, and we wanted to look for fall things like seeds. Before we went, we learned about who John Audubon was. He was an important person because he was a bird expert. When […]


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 […]


Ecologist Dr. Reuven Walder Explains his Work with Birds in Alaska to Third Graders

February 18, 2015 by Ari P (’20) (Students) Avital P (’20) (Students) Benny H (’20) (Students)

In science, we studied ecology.  We were studying living and non-living things.  Our friend’s father, Dr. Reuven Walder, came to talk about birds to us.  He is an ecologist.  He spent time in the Aleutian Islands which are in Alaska.  He went to an island that had thousands of different species of birds, but the […]


Kindergarteners Learn about Seeds and Visit the Audubon Society

November 12, 2014 by Daniela M (’23) (Students) Elana E (’23) (Students) Emma L (’23) (Students) Liana L (’23) (Students) Ori K (’23) (Students) Yedidyah L (’23) (Students)

We learned about seeds in Kindergarten Science. At the end of our unit, we thought about everything we learned. Elana said, “Seeds make plants. They grow into big plants.” Daniela added, “seeds are like little babies because when they grow, it is like babies growing; and when they open, it is like babies talking.” We […]