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Friday, March 28, 2014

Dayeinu

Earlier this week, I heard a joke that went something like this:

“There are four seasons in Cleveland - almost winter, winter, still winter, and construction.”

The joke is funny because given the weather of the last few weeks, even though spring has started according to the calendar, it just rings so true. Our bodies are yearning for the warm air and sunny days that are heralded by spring and instead we woke up Wednesday morning to a few inches of snow on the ground. Even those of us who have never formally been diagnosed with seasonal affect disorder may be starting to show symptoms.

With us searching and hoping for signs of a true spring, I am grateful that Rosh Chodesh Nisan is just around the corner. The start of this month marks the beginning of the transition out of winter and into spring. But it is more than that. It is the transition from the feeling of being enslaved by the winter into the freedom of spring.

Rosh Chodesh Nisan heralds the arrival of Pesach (Passover) just two weeks later. Too often, we focus only on the physical preparation for Pesach - kashering our kitchens, bringing up the Pesach dishes from the basement, running to the market for kosher for Pesach food. These preparations are important, but the holiday is so much more.

Despite the weather outside (and a history of snow during the seders), two of the other names for Pesach are here to help lift us out of our winter doldrums. The first, Chag HaAviv (the holiday of spring), connects Pesach to its place in the calendar year. It may not be spring outside in Cleveland, but in Israel, the rainy season is ending and spring planting has begun. The second name, Chag Z’man Matan Cheruteinu (the holiday of the time of our freedom), connects Pesach to the Biblical story of the Exodus from Egypt that we tell at our Seder tables.

The juxtaposition of these two themes and the arrival of the holiday Pesach on what is (hopefully) the heels of one of the worst winters in years is incredibly powerful. For the last several months, and certainly during the last few weeks, we have felt enslaved by the bitter cold and the snow. We yearn, like slaves in Egypt, for freedom from the oppression of winter as if it was one of Pharaoh's taskmasters. We are acutely feeling the need for liberation and perhaps this will make the telling of the story of the Exodus even more personal for us this and allow us to experience it like we were present.

Throughout the school, over the next two weeks, you will see signs of both Pesach and spring. I can’t predict the weather, but our students will be exploring the themes of Pesach and the signs of spring. Already, projects are going up on our walls about the metamorphosis of caterpillars to butterflies and the Ten Plagues.

In the meantime, let us say together, dayeinu with the snow already.

Shabbat Shalom,

Dr. Ari Yares
Head of School

Friday, March 21, 2014

How Will We Know?

I was at Target the other night and I noticed that at the bottom of my receipt there was a link to an online survey. Now, this particular visit to Target was not memorable in any way. There was not an exceptionally positive experience or a retail horror story to recount, but for some reason Target was interested in my opinion.

The likelihood of me completing this particular survey is pretty low and, to be completely honest, I’m not even sure where I put the receipt. I do, however, understand why Target was interested in my opinion. For each piece of data that they gather about a particular store, they can start to shape an understanding of what might be working and what might not.

By now, our parents should have received a link to our own survey. As I noted in my letter earlier this week, we are participating in a survey that is conducted by Measuring Success to help us take stock of how we are doing as a school. This is an incredibly important opportunity for us to learn more about what our parents think about school - good, bad, and ugly.

As a school, we are committed to a path of continuous improvement and getting parent feedback is an incredibly important part of that process. All of your responses are confidential and Measuring success will only provide us with aggregate data. This survey will provide us with vital data and allow us to compare how we are doing to other day schools and to how we were doing the last time Schechter participated in this survey in 2009.

This is, of course, not the only opportunity to have a voice in our school, but it is a crucial one. We are striving for 100% participation because we want to hear from each and every family in our school. Please help us create an even better school for your children.

Shabbat Shalom,

Dr. Ari Yares

Thursday, March 13, 2014

Be Happy! It's Purim!


I saw this image on Facebook earlier this week and it got me thinking about happiness. Since the beginning of the month of Adar (ok technically since the beginning of the first month of Adar - see my earlier post about the complexities of the Jewish leap year), we have been talking about and trying to increase our happiness. And, it’s not as easy as the chart indicates.

In recent years, an entire school of psychology has arisen that is dedicated to happiness. Positive psychology looks at human functioning, not from a deficit model that we use to describe mental illness, but rather trying to figure out how do we live more fulfilling and meaningful lives. It’s a long way from Dr. Freud blaming your mother for all of your woes.

While the month of Adar focuses on happiness, it is the holiday of Purim that brings this into focus. Costumes and candy aside, Purim is not the Jewish version of Halloween. And it is more than just the stereotypical Jewish holiday (we were in trouble, we were saved, let’s eat as the Bible Players adroitly summarized this past weekend). Purim is the Jewish version of positive psychology.

Each of the mitzvot that we engage in over Purim are designed to increase our happiness. Mishloach manot, giving gifts of food to friends, and matanot l’evyonim, giving gifts to the poor, reflect that when we do things for others we feel better about ourselves. Listening to the megillah? Who doesn’t feel better after hearing a dramatic story with a positive ending?

And, of course, the often quoted requirement to become so drunk that you cannot distinguish between Mordechai and Haman falls into this as well. While we can debate to what level one should actually partake, we connect alcohol to celebrations and connecting with friends, and these help promote happiness.

So this weekend, take time to invest in your happiness and celebrate Purim! Enjoy the fun-filled Mishloach Manot bags that will come home today too!

Shabbat Shalom and Chag Purim Sameach,

Dr. Ari Yares
Head of School

Friday, March 7, 2014

You Are Not Alone

I have to admit. I am pretty excited about the start of the “new” Cosmos TV series hosted by Neil Degrasse Tyson. I really don’t remember the original series hosted by Carl Sagan all that well (although I’m sure that plenty of episodes were played by substitute teachers in my science classes growing up). I am intrigued by the questions asked in the series - How did life evolve? How did the universe begin? Are we alone?

It is that last question that I have been ruminating on over the last several days. As a self confessed science geek, it is one that sets my imagination afire and has probably spurred my heavy viewing diet of Star Trek, Star Wars, and Dr. Who while growing up. Right now, though, I am less concerned with the question of are we alone on a universal scale and instead have been thinking about are we alone as educators?

Coming back on Tuesday from the first ever iJed conference, I can answer you with a resounding no.

There is something refreshing and renewing about attending a national conference. iJed gathered together schools that work with both the Schechter Day School Network and Yeshiva University’s Office of School Partnerships (Gross Schechter works with both) for three days of learning, collaborating and exploring all aspects of Jewish day school education.

A major portion of the conference was focused on three learning labs: 21st Century Learning, Financial Sustainability, and Supporting Diverse Learners. Joining me at the conference were Laurie Gross-Kammer and Lisa Loeb. Each of us attended a different set of lab sessions in order to maximize the learning that we could bring back to Cleveland.

This conference was more than just sitting and listening. It was doing.

Lisa explored and tried a variety of new classroom learning tools to support 21st century learning, building bridges between Jewish studies and General studies. Laurie gathered together a group of student services staff representing schools from all of over the country to share strategies on how best to support students in a dual language environment.

Like many heads of school, I spent time learning more about financial sustainability, having conversations around building word of mouth marketing strategies (are you talking about Schechter) and strengthening our board of trustees. I met with coaches to talk about the big picture here in Cleveland, getting advice about the direction of the school.

It was great to get away and collect some new ideas and feel a bit refreshed. It’s wonderful to come home to find ways to start implementing those ideas. And it sure does feel great to know that we’re part of a much larger community.

Shabbat Shalom,

Dr. Ari Yares