Our Stories

JPDS-NC Celebrates Purim with Joy, Creativity, Design Thinking, and Outreach to the Community

March 13, 2017 by Hannah Seidel (Faculty and Staff)

The entire school celebrated Purim on Friday with a day full of Megillah, Tikkun Olam, and Design Thinking – and of course a lot of fun! We saw Esthers and Hamans, pirates and baseball players, pandas, lions, and Hogwarts students. The children engaged each other in a Purim-themed Design Thinking challenge, made Mishloach Manot for the community, and […]


Celebrating Light and Learning

December 23, 2016 by Ronit Greenstein (Faculty and Staff) Sharon Freundel (Community)

This morning, we explored together the various meanings behind Chanukah and engaged in fun hands-on learning. Following a discussion of the nes nistar, the covert miracle of the Maccabean victory over the massive Greek forces and the nes nigleh, the overt miracle of the one day of oil burning for eight days, we lit the […]


South Campus Celebrates Chanukah!

December 22, 2016 by Gili Bitton (Faculty and Staff) Hannah Seidel (Faculty and Staff) Vered Goldstein (Faculty and Staff)

JPDS-NC is celebrating Chanukah! Watch our holiday video and see first graders discuss the story of Chanukah – all in Hebrew! – and hear Kindergartners and first graders sing Chanukah songs! We wish everyone a chag sameach (happy holiday)!


Introducing the New JPDS-NC Siddur: Siddur Am Echad

December 1, 2016 by Naomi Reem (Faculty and Staff) Sharon Freundel (Community)

We are delighted to introduce the fourth edition of the JPDS-NC siddur (prayerbook). Nine years ago, we embarked on our quest for a multi-denominational, kid-friendly siddur. Unable to find such a thing, we created our own and have been successfully using it for the past six years. With this newest edition, we have renamed it Siddur Am Echad, literally, […]


Happy Thanksgiving from JPDS-NC!

November 23, 2016 by Joshua Suchoff (Faculty and Staff) Noa Nir (Faculty and Staff)

We wish everyone a very happy Thanksgiving, and extend our thanks to the community for their involvement, commitment and support! Enjoy this Thanksgiving video from our students and staff!


Rosh HaShanah Video 5777

September 30, 2016 by Hannah Seidel (Faculty and Staff)

Enjoy the JPDS-NC Rosh HaShanah Video for 5777! Special thanks to the first grade students for lending their beautiful voices to the video. We wish you and your family a happy and sweet new year!


Rosh Hashanah STEM Story Hour

September 29, 2016 by Sindy Udell (Faculty and Staff)

What does Rosh Hashanah have to do with STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math)? Last Sunday, thirty children from the greater Washington, DC area came to JPDS-NC to find out. Kindergarten teacher Xani Pollakoff and Admission Associate Lindsey Marks led an innovative program that uniquely combined Rosh Hashanah teachings with STEM and design thinking. Children […]


Third Graders Visit the Shofar Factory

September 14, 2016 by Mindy Hirsch (Faculty and Staff)

Third Graders at JPDS-NC are getting ready for the high holidays. This week, they went to the Shofar Factory where they learned about the process of making a shofar and what makes it kosher – and then each student got to make one of their own! Check out their video below.


South Campus Celebrates Lag Ba’Omer

May 26, 2016 by Ronit Greenstein (Faculty and Staff)

Today, JPDS-NC students celebrated Lag Ba’Omer like they do in Israel – by lighting a bonfire, eating hot potatoes that are cooked in the bonfire, and with a lot of spirited singing. Enjoy the video below of our Pre-Kindergarten, Kindergarten and First Grade students at their joyful Lag Ba’Omer celebration! We also invite you to […]


JPDS-NC Celebrates Yom Ha’atzmaut

May 16, 2016 by Ronit Greenstein (Faculty and Staff) Sharon Freundel (Community)

JPDS-NC had a school-wide, all-day celebration for Yom Ha’atzmaut, Israel’s Independence Day! The students spent the day traveling to cities and special places in Israel. In Yerushalayim, younger students built the Kotel out of boxes and wrote notes for it, and older students made trifolds of the three major religions of the city. In Be’er […]