3/19/2021 Head of School Message

Dear DKJA Community,

 

Thank you to those who donated to our annual fund during our 48-hour match campaign this week. Together, we met our match and raised over $166,000, which will directly impact the DKJA community. These funds will provide additional financial support to families affected by the pandemic, as well as continue to provide the rigorous academic curriculum, sports and arts programs, and extracurricular activities that attract students from around the country.

 

The match campaign was made possible by the support of Mark Peikin, of the Nathaniel Jeremy Peikin Foundation, who donated a match of $50,000. Mark Peikin is a DKJA parent who was inspired to donate by the exceptional Jewish learning and experiences offered to our students. The donation from the Nathaniel Jeremy Peikin Foundation, coupled with the contributions from our community, will allow us to continue to provide an education of extraordinary power and purpose.

 

As a premier Jewish day school, we are committed to helping our students reach their full potential by nurturing their individual interests and talents. Our faculty and staff encourage our students to participate in classes and extracurricular activities that fuel their passions and foster leadership. I am continuously proud of all of our students and alumni who go out of their way to make a positive impact on the world.

 

A heartfelt congratulations to Claire and Emanuel G. Rosenblatt High School students Olivia Ball, Ayal Englander, Eden Richman, and Ben Reihanian for placing first in their division at the Moot Beit Din Competition last weekend. Our students competed against schools across the United States, Canada, and Israel for the top spot. The Moot Bein Din competition provides high school students with the opportunity to review rabbinic arguments within the Jewish legal system and apply critical thinking to determine their own stance, which they then present to a panel of judges. Our students utilized rabbinical sources to argue the stance that a university should not ask applicants about having a criminal record, utilizing sources highlighting the Jewish notion of repentance and teshuvah. Mazel Tov on a wonderful accomplishment!

Our Claire and Emanuel G. Rosenblatt High School’s journalism class originally began as a club and has since transitioned into a formal class in response to the enormous interest, passion, and talent displayed by our students. This journalism class has grown from publishing two newspapers a year to publishing one edition every month since the start of the school year. The newspaper also expanded to offer a voice from the middle school perspective, made possible by eighth-grader Phoebe Nissanoff, who took the initiative to get involved. Phoebe now serves as the Editor-in-Chief of the Blue and White section, which caters to our middle school students. Phoebe also has a goal to expand the Blue and White to include interesting topics that our lower school students will want to read about. Our entire faculty, staff, and administrators are so proud of all that our journalism students have accomplished. All 2020-2021 school year editions of our student newspaper, The Talon, are now available to read on our website. Please click here to access the current 2020-2021 Talon editions.