Blog

Tu B’Shevat is celebrated on the 15th day of the month of Shevat, this year coinciding with February 5th. It marks the beginning of the blooming season in Israel. Today, this holiday has become known as an ecological holiday that connects us to the land of Israel.

One of the wonderful aspects of our school is the emphasis on relationships. The teachers and students at PJA are teaching and learning at a unique time in history. Our focus remains on the wellness of our community, and sense of belonging in our halls.

Last week I sat with every seventh grader at PJA to assess their Hebrew abilities. Besides the fact that across the board our students have very strong Hebrew skills (thanks to our fabulous Hebrew teachers!) I was struck by one thing many of the students have in common.

Happy New Year to the entire PJA community! The holidays, especially Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur remind us to pause and reflect on the past year and to plan and look forward to the new one ahead. The past few years have presented great challenges that we have overcome, but there is much to be excited about in the next year.

The start of a new school year is always an exciting time, and, among other things, it allows for an opportunity to redirect focus and priorities. Beginning with our back-to-school in-service for faculty and staff, we are focusing this year upon the theme of “belonging.” 

Shehcheyanu, v’kiyemanu, v’higiyanu lazman hazeh. We are blessed to reach this sacred and important milestone.

Every year at about this time we reflect on time as we prepare to graduate a new class of PJA students.

Here is something that is difficult to believe - We are less than one month away from the end of the 2022-23 school year. Ten months ago seems like it was years ago - so much has already changed since then.

The Passover holiday will soon be upon us, and I find myself thinking, as I often do at this time, “How will this Passover holiday be different from all other Passover holidays?”

During the past couple of years, Passover has been dramatically different from the holiday of prior years.

1. As the director of Early Childhood education at Portland Jewish Academy, what are the biggest challenges you face in your job?  

On the human front: My biggest challenges are making critical decisions around the health, safety and well-being of people, particularly our unvaccinated children.