There is No Place Like Home

Friday, February 1, 2019

We are so happy to be going back to our campus on Monday and are excited about what we were able to accomplish in just under three months. We are grateful that the damage to our campus was not more substantial, but as we worked through the process of remediation and repair, we quickly realized that there were many unexpected challenges that we had to deal with, and we appreciated your understanding when our return to campus was delayed.

While we are excited by our progress and accomplishments, there is still work that needs to be done that will be completed over the next several months.

Our entire campus has been professionally remediated, the contents cleaned, and all buildings have passed multiple environmental inspections. Items that could not be properly cleaned were removed to ensure the safety of our school community.

As for the inside of the classrooms, the teachers have worked very hard over a very short period of time to restore their classrooms, but as with any move this will take time. We have begun to replace contents that were removed, and additional items will be purchased over the coming weeks and months ahead.

There are many stages to rebuilding the damaged parts of campus including new permits, building design, and insurance settlements. What you will also see when we return on Monday is temporary fencing around the areas where the buildings that burned once stood, two sets of temporary bathrooms, and a temporary administration building. We will continue to move forward on replacing the destroyed buildings, securing permanent power, rebuilding our gaga court, and replanting trees and bushes. There is a lot more work to be done, but the community and vibrancy of Ilan Ramon Day School will continue to thrive.

We are looking forward to celebrating our return home with a welcome back breakfast. Since Monday and Tuesday call for rain, on Wednesday morning in the elementary school we invite you to join us for an assembly at 8:05 and we invite all parents to join us for a parent breakfast from 8:15 to 9:30 am. Please note that on Monday we will resume our normal operational hours.

We are so appreciative to all of you for your support, patience and commitment to Ilan Ramon Day School. If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to a member of the Administration Team.

We with you all a peaceful Shabbat,

Warmly,
Yuri, Bat hen, Kim, Valerie and Sherrell

Please note on your behalf the following note was sent to the entire Etz Chaim community today

It is hard to believe that the Woolsey fires took place almost three months ago. At that time, I communicated with the Ilan Ramon Day School community that our school, at its core, was never about the physical space, but rather the sacred community that believes Jewish children should be given every opportunity to learn and grow in a nurturing and loving Jewish environment. As we return to our home next week, I truly believe that these words have even deeper meaning than they did three months ago.

There are no words to express to all of you, the community of Temple Etz Chaim what your generosity, kindness and your selfless act of opening your home and your hearts means to us. Our school will forever be grateful for selfless act which ensured our students continued to learn and our community remained intact. Deeper, this experience was a remarkable life lesson for our students. They got to learn firsthand the value of how the Jewish community cares for others in need. They got to experience the value of Arevut, our sacred obligations to care for one another. They got to witness firsthand what it means to be embraced and loved by others. The kindness and friendship shown by the professional staff of Temple Etz Chaim is something we will cherish forever, and the gift of a home during our time of need is one that is priceless!

On behalf of the students, faculty, staff, parents and alumni of Ilan Ramon Day School – we thank you. We are honored by your friendship and humbled by your generosity.

Shabbat Shalom,

Yuri Hronsky
Head of School