Shabbat Shalom

Friday, August 31, 2018

Dear IRDS Community,

Shabbat Shalom,

As we prepare to celebrate our first Shabbat being back in school and gather together tonight for Shabbat Under The Stars, I am reminded of the privilege and responsibility that we hold sacred by having your children and your family as part of our Ilan Ramon Day School Family.

Our School’s goal is to create mensches who are academically strong, who grow to be good people, knowledgeable Jews, supporters of Israel, and contributing citizens of the United States and our world.

Families often wonder if by belonging to a synagogue, observing Shabbat and the Jewish Holidays, and making challah is a replacement for Jewish Day School. While nobody is arguing the importance of these practices and traditions, there is no replacement for the gift of Jewish Day School.

The true gift of Jewish Day School is hard to measure or describe. It is in the air at Ilan Ramon Day School. It is the energy, the families, our community, the teachers, and the events. It is watching the 1st graders naturally play with the 5th graders, or having students of all ages blow the shofar. It is, most of all, the feeling that we all have when we gather together for Shabbat as a community, watching our children lead shabbat services as the Hazzan, or run around campus with their friends not wanting to go home at the end of the day.

You have given your child this gift and we are so appreciative. Thank you for being an important part of out Ilan Ramon Day School community.

We look forward to seeing you tonight at Shabbat Under the Stars at 5:30pm. We are expecting a large crowd, so please carpool if possible.

Warmly,
Kim Freund
Director of Outreach and Institutional Advancement