Moving Forward: Kadima Day School Head of School Blog

Purim Day 2012

2012-03-09T13:27:00.000-08:00

Wow, what an incredible day it was at Kadima on Thursday. We had tons of Purim celebrations happening in all three of our divisions. This year, we held a wonderful Purim Carnival, had three separate Megillah readings and costume contents, and even a "Shushan Idol" talent show in the middle school. A great time was had by the entire community! I'd say that this year, more than 90% of our students of all ages showed their Purim spirit by "dressing in costume".

Here is a picture of many of our 6th graders and me "decked out" for Purim 2012. Following, some great pics from the Early Childhood Education Center.

First Grade Siddur Ceremony - Hagigat HaSiddur on Sunday, March 4, 2012

2012-03-06T22:38:00.001-08:00

It was a truly memorable and AMAZING morning as our Kitah Alef class first led us in a beautiful Shacharit service, and then performed wonderfully in their play. They sang and danced and spoke with excellent pronunciation and gusto. Following, each student received a beautiful, decorated siddur -- their very first!

Please see some pics below....

1000 Page views!

2012-03-06T22:35:00.003-08:00

I'm pleased to report that in only a few short weeks, over 1000 page views have been recorded on this blog! Thank you for "checking us out"!

Using IPADS for 21st Century Math Education

2012-02-28T16:10:00.006-08:00

After learning about quadrilaterals, polygons, circles and triangles, our Fourth Graders did a "scavenger hunt" around our school for geometric shapes using the school's IPADs. Students worked in cooperative learning groups using the application "PIC COLLAGE" to take pictures, sort, name etc. to create a collage. The students noted that "that the didn't realize how many different shapes are all around us! Check out these creations:

Modern LIving, Maintaining Balance: Discovering Ageless Answers in Timeless Jewish Texts

2012-02-13T11:52:00.000-08:00

At Kadima, we believe that EVERYONE should be given the opportunity to experience meaningful and tremendous learning opportunities. With this thought in mind, and in partnership with the Melton Adult Mini-School, we'll be offering four weeks of learning on the topic of "Modern Living, Maintaining Balance, Discovering Ageless Answer in Timeless Jewish Texts" on four consecutive Friday mornings in March from 8:15am - 9:15am. Check out the flyer below.

The Accreditation Report Arrives -- Highlights Strong Academic Program

2012-02-12T08:27:00.000-08:00

This year, and over the last 18 months, Kadima has undergone an accreditation self-study through the California Association of Independent Schools (CAIS), the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) and the Builders of Jewish Education (BJE).

It was an amazing process as our community took a deep look into each aspect of the Kadima program and experience.

In December, five members of the Accreditation Visitation Team spent four days on our campus, examining our school and developing a report and findings.

Here is what their final report had to say about our academic program:

The Visiting Committee Commends:

1. The Faculty, Staff and Administration for setting high academic standards.

2. The faculty, administration, and staff for theimplementation of benchmarks for student performance.

3. The faculty, administration and staff for creating theStudent Achievement Team structure and seeking outside consultancy in the areaof Learning Differences.

4. The administration, faculty, and Staff of the school foractive bulletin boards both in the class and in the hallways.

5. The faculty, staff and administration, and Student Bodyfor including Charity (tzedakkah) and Social Action (tikkun olam) as value lessons.

6. The School’s commitment to leveling instruction in math,language arts, history, and any subject areas where students are better servedby this practice.

7. The Physical Education, Music, Art, and enrichmentprograms that inspire students.

Commendations Specific to Hebrew and JudaicStudies

The Visiting Committee Commends:

8. The faculty and administration for its commitment toteach Judaic Studies and Hebrew with Hebrew as the primary language ofinstruction.

9. The faculty, administration and staff for creating levelsof Hebrew instruction based on student’s skills and through these achievingimpressive performance results on all levels in the areas of Hebrew reading,writing and oral fluency.

10. The Rabbinic leadership of the school for theircommitment to the development of critical thinking.

New Day Camp for 1st - 6th Graders this Summer at Kadima

2012-02-10T19:35:00.000-08:00

We are thrilled to partner with Camp JCA Shalom to host their summer camp at the Evenhaim Family Campus of Kadima Day School. For all the details, go to www.campjcashalom.com/daycamp

Kodiaks Varsity Bball PIcs.....

2012-02-10T14:50:00.000-08:00

Mazal tov to our Boys Varsity Basketball team on a wonderful effort, fabulous sportsmanship,

and home-court victory vs. AGBU yesterday!

Parent-Teacher Org Jump-a-thon 2012

2012-02-09T14:56:00.000-08:00

Amazing job by the Elementary School at this year's Kodiak Jump-a-thon....

Winter Pep Rally: Kodiaks Show Great Energy, Spirit and Pride

2012-02-01T07:23:00.000-08:00

With more than 50 students participating in our Winter sports teams, our K-8 go together and supported our teams at the Winter Pep Rally.......it was an amazing show of school spirit!

Engage the World: Kadima's New View book Comes to Life

2012-01-08T19:44:00.000-08:00

After months of creative work, our new view book is complete! It is entitled "Engage the World" and it does a very nice job in communicating Kadima's core values. Check out some of the pages here....

Kadima and Tikkun Olam: Making a Difference as a School Community

2012-01-08T10:12:00.000-08:00

Kadima ended the 2011 year with a flurry of community service projects.....

There was the Toy Drive in honor and memory of Daniella Gannot z"l

and, we raised more for a family that we adopted through Jewish Family Service. In addition, we collected more than 150 pairs of shoes as our 5th grade class spearheaded the "Shoes that Fit" Campaign, and our entire middle school visited a assisted living facility and brought real Chanukkah Cheer tot the community.

It is awesome that Kadima students and families work so hard to make a difference.....

Kadima Festival of Lights -- Great way to end the year

2012-01-08T08:39:00.000-08:00

Our Elementary School and ECEC enjoyed spectacular student performances, and fun and vibrant activities at our Chanukkah Festival of Lights this year....

Three and a Half More Years!

2012-01-06T12:18:00.000-08:00

What an awesome time to be leading the Kadima community! The following was published in this week's Kol Echad eNewsletter. And, my family and I are thrilled! Our school is really heading in a great direction, and our growth and success is happening at a rapid pace....

NEWS FROM THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES PRESIDENT, SUZY BOOKBINDER

Dear Kadima Community,

This is a very special time in the 41 year history of Kadima Day School. All three of our divisions are improving and innovating with a keen sense of purpose. The learning which occurs on a daily basis focuses on critical thinking, and active student engagement, and a shift is underway as our curriculum focuses on the needs of the 21st century learner. Kodiak spirit is at an all time high, as is parent and community participation at our first-class events and programs.

Three years ago, we selected our Head of School, Bill Cohen, to lead us on a path of excellence and innovation. As a Board of Trustees, we believed that there was some amazing things happening at Kadima, but we also believed that the school needed a fresh energy, a renewed sense of purpose, increased accountability and annual fundraising, and better marketing to the Jewish community of the West Valley. During his tenure, thus far, Bill has worked tirelessly to lead Kadima through a challenging economic landscape and through a process of improvement which has not been easy.

I am, therefore, thrilled to inform you that the Board of Trustees and Bill have recently reached and signed an agreement for a three-year contract extension for Bill as Kadima's Head of School, through June of 2015. We believe that in this second phase of Bill's Head of School tenure, that Kadima will flourish and grow in tremendous ways. Mazal tov to Bill, and his family, on reaching this agreement, and for ensuring that Kadima maintains the stability that is required for a school to grow in terms of student population, annual fundraising, and community support.

This is a wonderful way for our school and community to enter the new year of 2012!

Sincerely,

Suzy Bookbinder

President, Board of Trustees

Kodiaks on Ice Event: I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes!

2011-12-09T18:17:00.000-08:00

The Kadima Parent-Teacher Organizaiton created a new and unbelievably awesome community event called "Kodiaks on Ice" last night. More than 300 people turned out for an evening of skating, bonding, eating, shmoozing and EVEN the Kodiak Bear skated to everyone's delight. The ruach and feeling at the event were awesome! Fabulous job by the PTO....

Intergenerational Day 2011

2011-11-30T16:27:00.000-08:00

More than 300 guests enjoyed an amazing experience at Kadima's Intergenerational Day 2011. Students performed admirably and guests joined students in class for projects and Intergenerational learning and experiences.

An awesome day at Kadima!

First Grade/Kitah Alef 50s Day 2011

2011-11-21T16:24:00.000-08:00

Each year, our first grade class celebrates the 50th day of the school year with a big "50s Day" event in class. All of the students wear 50s attire, and the day is filled with fun and 50s activities including a sock hop, hula-hooping, and yummy 50s treats.
This year, our Kitah alef 50s day was held this past Thursday, November 17. Check out the pics below.

The Summer of a Lifetime Awaits: Camp Ramah Visits Kadima today...

2011-11-17T15:11:00.000-08:00

One of the great things about our school is that we create connections for our students to so many incredible opportunities. Today, we were visited by Rabbi Joe Menashe, the Executive Director of Camp Ramah in California. Click Here To Go To Camp Ramah's Website. Rabbi Joe made two presentations to our students about the importance and meaning of Jewish camping, one for our 3-5 graders and one for the middle school (Grades 6-8). There was a sensational video, and the students asked some thoughtful quetions and expresses their feelings about overnight camp. We hope that many of our students will choose to go to Jewish overnight camp this summer, with Camp Ramah being one of the best options for Kadima students.

Remembering Veteran's Day in the Elementary School

2011-11-10T16:27:00.000-08:00

Our 1st - 5th grade students had a very special tefillah (prayer) session today, including a learning session and ceremony about the importance of Veteran's Day led by our principal, Kristi Combs, and music specialist, Noa Tucker.

There was an engaging discussion about the meaning of Veterans Day, we discussed what it means to be a veteran...that you served in a branch of the miltary. We discussed what the branches of the US miltary are. This was all the warm up for the question of... Why would someone, leave their family, sleep in a tent or barracks, risk their life...to protect our coutnry? To protect us? The students had some very thoughtful answers:

To protect and serve
Because they love their country
Because they want to keep us free
Because they are brave
Because they put others first
To protect us

We then sang the Star Spangled Banner.

Here are some photos of the special assembly:

Remembering Rabin: A Song of Peace

2011-11-06T09:13:00.001-08:00

Friday, November 4 was the 16th anniversary of the passing of Isareli Prime Minister, Yitzchak Rabin z'l'. As we do each year, we mark this anniversary with a special middle school assembly, created and run by our 8th grade class. The focus of the assembly is the the value of "peace", what it means, why it is important, and why Yitzchak Rabin had a very special role in Israel's history. It is not a political debate, we save those for the classroom. Our 8th graders read original poetry, quoted Rabin in meaningful ways, sang the song "Shir L'shalom -- A song of Peace", with Rabbi Bluman, lead the community in "Eil Maleh Rachamim" and together, we concluded with a beautiful "HaTikvah". Please find some nice pictures below:

We've Got Spirit, Yes We Do....

2011-11-03T11:53:00.000-07:00

On Tuesday, November 1, we held our first SPIRIT DAY of the year at Kadima. It was an incredible experience as NINETY percent of our elementary school wore spirit wear for the day. At 3:00pm, we held a school-wide (K-8) Pep rally. At the pep rally, our students were introduced to our new Middle School student council, cheered wildly for our Kadima Kodiak mascot, watched new cheers from our 2nd-5th grade classes, and met our three Fall Basketball and Football teams. At the end of the pep rally, our 6th grade and 5th grade received the inaugural "Spirit Ball Award" for the day. Here are some great pics from the pep rally! Go Kodiaks!

Emotional Morning Today: Partnership Students and Faculty Depart for Israel

2011-10-27T17:35:00.000-07:00

It was a remarkably emotional morning for our 8th grade, as our partners fro ORT Yad Singlovsky departed for LAX. I went onto the bus to say a final goodbye to students and teachers, and every single student was crying.....every one. Each having shared an incredible week of connection with our students. Six of the nine NEVER having left Israel before. And now, their lives and relationships have been impacted forever by this experience.

Here are some photos of the delegation:

The School Twinning program, sponsored by the Jewish Federation of Greater LA, is an AMAZING opportunity for our students, and those of our partner school, ORT Yad Singlovsky in Tel Aviv.

This year marks the third year that we have partnered with ORT Yad Singlovsky. Ten days ago, nine students arrived for the delegation here in Los Angeles. It is hard to believe how quickly the time has flown by!

Elementary School Open House: Wednesday, November 9 @ 9:30am

2011-10-27T17:22:00.000-07:00

Are you ready to experience Kadima Day School? There are many ways to visit our school, and see why we grew by 13% this year.....

One of the most popular ways to visit Kadima is at one of our Open Houses. Unlike other schools, we do not put on a "show" for Open House. We introduce you to our administrative leadership, Principal Kristi Combs, Hebrew and Judaic Studies Principal, Michal Yalovsky, Assistant Principal Jennifer Rutzen, myself, and then spend the morning touring the school, watching classes, asking and answering questions, and meeting parents and students at Kadima.

The program runs from 9:30am-11:30am. Please join us!

And, for security purposed, please email to Michelle Starkman, our Director of Admissions at mstarkman@kadimadayschool.org or call (818)346-0849 x125. You'll be happy that you did!

Sukkot Byachad & Vered Court Dedication Ceremony

2011-10-25T12:25:00.000-07:00

It was an amazing evening on October 18, 2011 as more than 450 people attended "Sukkot Byachad" at Kadima. A sumptuous dinner, followed by an inspiring ceremony, followed by Sukkot activities, projects and games. See photos below.

Head of School Blog is Born!

2011-10-25T11:20:00.000-07:00

At today's Administrative team meeting, we noted that we have SO MANY things happening within the world of Kadima Day School, and, we need to do an even better job of getting the word out about Kadima. And so, this new "Head of School" blog is born. Please tune in to hear/see/experience the many varied events, programs, activities, challenges, and energy that is Kadima Day School. I look forward to sharing Kadima Day School with you!