1/1/08 - 8/31/09 News

August, 2009
NEW:  Back to School Time! “The key to a smooth transition is involving your children.”  Karolyn White, JCDS Librarian Back to school time affects the whole family. Routines, schedules and activities will change for the adults as well as the children. The key to a smooth transition is involving your children. More | Blog article regarding back to school resources

June 26, 2009 - Jewish Voice & Herald
Head of School Bob Sarkisian reflects on his first year at JCDS ‘Past year hasn’t been easy,’ but optimism, enthusiasm prevail By Naomi Schorsch Stein Q: What appealed to you about the JCDS Head of School position here in Rhode Island? What has left an impression on you? Sarkisian: I came here because I believed that I could help the Jewish Community Day School remain an integral part of this community. In fact, I feel more deeply about this now than ever before. More

Sharon Sock and Nicole KatzmanReceive Charles Samdperil Award for Dedication to Jewish Education - Presentation Speech by Ruth Samdperil
Good Evening. It is our honor to be with you here tonight. My name is Ruth Samdperil and I am here tonight with my daughter, Karyn Samdperil Rosenfield. It is our pleasure to announce this year’s Charles Samdperil Award for Dedication to Jewish Education. More

May 1, 2009 - Inservice, The ASCD Community Blog,
Yes Parents, Summer Reading Does Help Improve Test Scores and Comprehension In a study done by James Kim and Thomas White of Harvard University conducted an experiment to see whether summer reading helps improve test scores. Students who received support from teachers and parents for summer reading of books assigned to match their reading level and interests improved their reading abilities. Scores also improved on the Iowa Test of Basic Skills. More

May 29, 2009 - Jewish Exponent - Philadelphia
Why our family values Jewish day school education
Our children have become confident and secure in their Jewish identities
By Debra and Jack Nassau
EDUCATION has always been valued by Jewish families. While our older daughter was attending the JCC preschool, we moved to Barrington fully expecting to send our children to the public schools. However, out of curiosity, we went to visit the Alperin Schechter Day School, which was opening a pre-kindergarten program that our older daughter could attend in the fall. We were immediately impressed and excited about the possibility of having our children attend a school which would nurture both their intellectual and spiritual growth. More

May 21, 2009 - Jewish Exponent - Philadelphia
Day Schools Provide Sound Investment for a Vibrant Future
Rabbi Joshua Elkin
Matthew Maryles, a veteran board leader of a prominent Jewish day school in the New York area, once said that such an education is so fundamentally important to the community's future that its funding must be seen as a multi-generational responsibility. Luckily, large-scale investment in Jewish day schools is not a new thing for Philadelphia. In addition to ongoing support from the Federation, these schools have benefited from the support of many individual families. Most recently, the Magerman family, through its Kohelet Foundation, has joined their ranks with generous grants to day schools throughout the area.  More

April 17, 2009 - Jewish Voice & Herald
Jewish day schools in Rhode Island: A vision for the future
Recommendations to strengthen day school education
Members of the Providence Hebrew Day School band play at the PJ Library celebration at Barnes & Noble in Warwick in December 2008. As reported in the Feb. 20 issue of The Voice & Herald, the board of trustees of the Jewish Community Day School (JCDS) voted to close the middle school at the end of the current school year due, in part, to the heavy financial burden the middle school was placing on JCDS. I am sure that the decision to close the middle school was “heart-wrenching and difficult.”  In this same article, Stephen Silberfarb, CEO and Executive Vice President of JFRI, said that Jewish education remains a top communal priority. “We need to get word out about the unique value of a Jewish day school education.” Silberfarb also said: “We who are pained with this decision have to turn our anguish into action by stepping up to make Jewish education in Rhode Island sustainable.” More

When questions abound in the classroom, everyone learns
Israeli student teacher from Pardes Educators Program comes to JCDS
“According to the Mishnah, how many cups of wine are we supposed to drink on Passover?” “What did the 12 spies see when they got to the land of Canaan?” “How do I pronounce your last name?” PROVIDENCE – These are just some of the questions that greeted David Riemenschneider when he arrived from Israel at the Jewish Community Day School on March 9. Riemenschneider, or “Mr. R.,” as the students fondly call him, is in his first year of the Pardes Educators Program, which is a program based out of Jerusalem. Students in the Educators Program split their time between taking virtual courses at Hebrew College and studying traditional Jewish texts in a Bet Midrash (a house of study). More

April 17, 2009 - Jewish Voice & Herald
New partnership promotes Jewish education
Editor’s Note: A new partnership promoting Jewish education has been formed by the Jewish Community Day School of Rhode Island, Providence Hebrew Day School, the Jewish Community Center’s Early Childhood Center, and PJ Library. The goal is to spread the word about Jewish educational programs, Jewish day schools, and Jewish supplementary schools in our community. The new partnership is actively engaging in outreach to share the results of a study conducted by the Cohen Center for Modern Jewish Studies at Brandeis University, which recently surveyed 3,312 current Jewish undergraduates of varying educational and denominational backgrounds to examine the effects a Jewish day school education has on the college years. More

April, 2009: Letter from Robert Sarkisian regarding the hiring of Mrs. Irene (Renee) Rudnick as Assistant Head of School 
I am very pleased to announce that we have hired Mrs. Irene (Renee) Rudnick to the newly-created position of Assistant Head of School, beginning in July. She will work closely with me in all areas of running the school and will particularly focus on the quality of our Judaic and Hebrew programs (along with Ruti Adler--Hebrew Coordinator), and their integration into the overall culture of the school as well as into the general studies curriculum in our newly-configured Pre-Kindergarten through Fifth Grade program.  More

March, 2009 - Jewish Voice & Herald
Our community is rich, vibrant
WHAT A GREAT WEEKEND my family had this past week! It started with the Jewish Community Day School’s (JCDS) Shabbat dinner March 6 at Temple Emanu-El, where more than 240 people celebrated a joyous Shabbat service and dinner together.  Although we are not yet parents at the school, the warm and welcoming atmosphere left us feeling so proud to be a part of this community. As we were watching the first- and second-grade children lead services, and the pre-K-students lead the hamotzi as their parents beamed with pride, we were reminded how rewarding it can be to be a part of a Jewish day school community. Not only are these students receiving a top-notch education but they are also being instilled with the values, rich history and traditions of the Jewish people. More

March, 2009
JCDS joined forces last week with Providence Hebrew Day School and the JCC Early Childhood Center for a joint Recruitment Phonathon to promote attendance in RI Jewish Day Schools. More

March, 2009
Kol Hakavod to Elana Riffle, our outstanding math and science teacher, who presenting at the National Science Teacher Conference in New Orleans, LA, on March 19. We invite you to read her reflections. More

February 13, 2009
Chairman Wolpert Letter Regarding Closing of the Middle School JCDSRI Parents and Friends: I would like to inform you of the discussions and decisions that were made during the meeting of the Board of Trustees of the school which took place today, February 13, 2009. The meeting focused primarily on the effect that the turbulence in the national and world economies is having on the school’s finances.  More | Stephen R. Silberfarb Letter (Executive Vice President/CEO of the Jewish Federation of RI)

February 20, 2009 
Jewish Voice & Herald JCDS plans to close middle school
Financial aid costs, small enrollment cited as factors
PROVIDENCE – The Jewish Community Day School board of trustees voted nearly unanimously, 17-1, to close the middle school at the end of the school year, in June 2009. The decision was announced in an e-mail to parents and staff on Friday, Feb. 13.  “We made this decision in the broadest economic context,” explained Bruce Wolpert, chair of the JCDS board of trustees, in an interview at The Voice & Herald offices. “All schools are encountering significant economic difficulties. We strongly believe that by taking this step, we are ultimately significantly strengthening the school.  More

CDS Implements New Social Curriculum!
One of the main principles within the JCDS mission is the nurturance of the “Neshama” – the soul, or the individual. In addition to the rigorous academic curriculum, JCDS encourages our students to be better human beings with a strong Jewish identity and broad knowledge of the world. To this end, with the assistance of a generous grant by the Jewish Federation of RI, JCDS is excited to announce the implementation of a nationally recognized, award winning social curriculum, The Social Decision Making/Problem Solving Program  More

Three very informative articles about the merits and efforts of Jewish Day schools:

November 12, 2008 New York Jewish Week by Carolyn Slutsky
Just Jewish’ Schools
Students at Boston’s Jewish Community Day School learn Jewish and secular subjects and play together in a pluralistic environment.
Down the street from the Brown University football stadium, the Jewish Community Day School of Rhode Island, in Providence, endeavors to teach its students how to be Jewish in an increasingly pluralistic world. At one time it was a Solomon Schechter school, affiliated with the Conservative movement. But several years ago, the community decided that a nondenominational, or community, day school would better serve the needs of Jewish families around Providence and also draw families from elsewhere.
“If you want to embrace all Jews in the area, it’s a shame to be limited to [one denomination],” said Robert Sarkisian, interim head of school there. “The goal was something that embraces all.”  More

November 14, 2008  Jewish Herald by Mary Korr
JCDS introduces social/problem-solving program - Teaching students how to be successful in the world PROVIDENCE – The Jewish Community Day School (JCDS) has introduced a new social curriculum at the school, and recently held an information session for parents. Its formal name is Social Decision-Making/Problem Solving Program (SDM/PS). “The overall goal of the program is to provide students in grades Pre-K through 8 with skills to make healthy and responsible choices in their lives,” said Betsy Singer Cable, director of student support services. The curriculum focuses on concepts such as self control, emotional intelligence, social awareness and effective communication. “It will be a process, like learning a new language, which we will incorporate into the fabric of the school,” Cable said. More

November 06, 2008  Jewish Exponent by Steven M. Brown
Resurgent Day-School Movement Dispels Host of Misconceptions

Jewish day schools have come of age in North America, and you may be surprised by who's attending these schools.

Jewish day-school enrollment in the United States has tripled over the course of the last 30 years, from about 70,000 to 200,000 students. Today, about 40 percent of all students who are receiving a Jewish education do so in day schools. These are no longer just the children of the most-observant families, but children from all movements -- Reform, Reconstructionist, Conservative and Orthodox -- whose parents want to provide their children with a stellar, values-based education. More

Jewish Federation of Rhode Island
It's in the air (about Bob Sarkisian, Head of JCDSRI)
This week, I had the opportunity to present JFRI's vision for the Greater Rhode Island
Jewish community to the Boards of JFRI and the Bureau of Jewish Education of RI. What I learned from these presentations, among other things, is that, like me, members of our community are feeling the palpable energy that's in the air about the changes and momentum that have begun in recent months. And one aspect of the community that is undergoing change is the Jewish Community Day School of Rhode Island (JCDS)..  More

07/15/2008
Judaic Studies appointments- Rabbi Kaunfer, Marcia Kaunfer and Ruti Adler More

June 27, 2008
New interim head of school named at JCDS
Headmaster of the Meadowbrook School named to one-year position

PROVIDENCE – The Jewish Community Day School (JCDS) has hired L. Robert Sarkisian, the headmaster of The Meadowbrook School outside Philadelphia, to a one-year interim position. Sarkisian served for 28 years at Meadowbrook, the longest tenure of any elementary school head in the country.  “I bring a lot of experience and success in running an excellent, private independent school,” Sarkisian said, sitting down with JCDS Board of Trustees President Bruce Wolpert at The Voice & Herald office to talk about his new job.  More

5/17/2008
Best Wishes to Rabbi Kaunfer, a founder of our school, who is assuming a new position. Rabbi Alvan Kaunfer steps down at Temple Emanu-El to teach next generation of rabbis PROVIDENCE Rabbi Alvan Kaunfer, a prominent leader in the move to expand and transform Jewish education in Rhode Island, is about to leave the pulpit at Temple Emanu-El to teach future rabbis and educators in Boston and New York. More

5/15/2008
Daniel Katz is going to the National Geographic Bee Finals in D.C. 5/20-21.
Mazel Tov to Daniel Katz, Seventh Grader, who placed first in the Rhode Island National Geographic Bee on April 4th at Rhode Island College. More

1/03/2008
Congratulations to the winners of the "8th Graders Write a Jewish Voice and Herald Hanukkah Story" contest. More

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