5/28/2021 Head of School Message

Dear DKJA Community,

 

I am proud to announce that DKJA has been selected as one of 10 Jewish day schools to participate in the Legacy Heritage Institute for Day School Excellence and Sustainability Program(IDEAS). Legacy Heritage IDEAS is a 16-month program designed to address every aspect of school sustainability and help schools move towards long-term excellence and stability. This week, members of my leadership team and I participated in a three-day seminar where we received valuable training on leadership and school growth. I look forward to continuing this journey over the next year.

 

DKJA prides itself to be a leadership academy where we encourage our students to be leaders. Our students are known for coming up with wonderful initiatives, and I am consistently impressed by their ideas and dedication. I would like to highlight three excellent examples of leadership in all three divisions this week.

 

Eighth-grade students Phoebe Nissanoff and Rafaella Hoffmann Malek proposed a school Walk-A-Thon, taking place on June 1, showing support for Israel and taking a stand against antisemitism. All DKJA families are encouraged to donate, and proceeds will go to the Friends of the Israeli Defense Forces (FIDF) and the Anti-Defamation League (ADL). 

Our High School engineering students presented their end-of-year project in Dedication Plaza supported by their mentor and FAU professor Dr. Jason Hallstrom, who shared his pride to be part of our school. We celebrated our students and the extraordinary growth of this signature program. Their project this year was made possible through our wonderful partnership with Summer Faerman of B'nai Torah. A huge thank you and congratulations to Stephen Obaido for guiding the team, Noah Rubin for starting the team four years ago, and all of our engineering team members. 

 

And finally, we saw leadership in the lower school as our first graders received their first siddur with great kavanah. Mazel Tov to our students, their families, and their dedicated first-grade team. A huge thank you to Morah Maikhor, Morah Siegal, Morah Elkayam, Stephanie Englander, Lindsey Nesbihall, Gabrielle Stabler, Jill Shoshany, and the entire first-grade team.