By Robert Victor, 8th grade student at Hillel Day School I bet at one point you have been asked, “What are the necessities of life?” Your response most likely sounded like this: “Food, water, and shelter.” Yet you have never … Read More
The Courage to Live
Last week I had the good fortune to hear writer and speaker, Brené Brown, a professor at the University of Houston, and the bestselling author of Daring Greatly, speak at the NAIS (National Association of Independent Schools) Conference. Brené Brown … Read More
I Won’t Back Down – And Neither Should You
In the past month, two anti-Semitic incidents impacted me personally – two more than in my entire life, and I am 58. The first was the bomb threat at school, and this past week, the Jewish cemetery that was desecrated … Read More
What We Can Learn Today Having Been “Strangers” Ourselves
How do we help our older children, who may be aware of all that is unfolding in our country, make sense of the uncertainty and conflicts between large segments of our citizenry? Every family has a right to their own … Read More
Does a “Loyalty” Tuition Grant Program Work?
Jewish day schools across the country share a mission to educate as many Jewish children in their community as they can. They also share the challenge of finding creative ways to address affordability, reducing barriers to entry, while staying fiscally … Read More
Move Over PB&J, We’ve Got PBL!
People learn best by doing. Thus the quote, “I hear and I forget. I see and I remember. I do and I understand.” I am confident that most of us would agree that this is true in our own lives. … Read More
MLK Day – More Timely Than Ever!
While many students were at home on MLK Day, playing games, going to movies or hanging at malls, our children were immersed in learning about and understanding the significance of the life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Dr. King’s … Read More
A Way for Our Students to Remember: One Stone at a Time
Welcome to my first “vlog” – video blog, an interview with Mr. Alan Eidelman, Hillel’s 8th grade Holocaust Studies teacher. Watch and listen as he describes a powerful and personal project our eighth graders are creating that demonstrates their understanding … Read More
Our Commitment to Constancy – and Change
Over the past several years much has changed at Hillel. The most visible changes are, of course, our facilities. We have created a learning environment that is truly second to none. But just because Hillel does not look like the … Read More
Hillel, Fantasy, Superheroes and Beth!
At Shabbat services last week, Dr. Mitch Parker, B’nai Israel Synagogue’s spiritual leader, handed out a source sheet about God, with this on it: Recently, on Arrow, a highly-acclaimed, fantasy superhero television show, the following exchange took place: (Earth is … Read More
How We Know Students Are Learning
By Dr. Jennifer Friedman, Dean of Student Learning and Guest Blogger With all of the progress we are making toward creating the best educational environment for our students, one might wonder how we know our students are learning. At Hillel, … Read More