Dean's Letter Vayakhei-Pekudei

Dear Parents,

Governor Raimondo announced Wednesday that all schools must remain closed for the next two weeks from March 22–April 5, at which point they will evaluate the reopening of schools. The school will notify you next week on how to access school materials for your children, and our daily distance learning will continue to focus on Pesach. A letter will go out this week letting you know how and when to pick up more materials for your children.

I would like to express my hakoras hatov to Mrs. Weiner for coordinating the elementary school distance learning program, and to Mrs. Brown for creating a list of amazing resources for us all to use. As Rabbi Lapin was out sick, I had the opportunity to organize the high school distance learning program. A special thanks to all the teachers of PHDS/NEAT for their outstanding efforts on our behalf.

We arrived at school Wednesday and rapidly realized that the Free Conference Call program had crashed due to overload from the volume of calls nationwide. We immediately procured a new company for our conference call needs and our calls took place with our new company.

We realize that as parents you are all facing the major challenge of having your children at home, practicing social distancing, and avoiding play dates, while at the same time trying to manage distance learning in your home. I can only imagine how stressful this is and remain ready and willing to support you in any way that I can. As you are aware, this distance learning plan is in place of school and counts toward our required days of school. One of the lecturers last night stressed that this is a most important opportunity for parents to spend more quality time with their families and children. All our classes are being recorded and a link can be sent to you if for some reason your child missed a lecture or needs extra review. However, there is no playback number available, as a number of teachers are sharing each user.

I have had the opportunity to hear from many Rabbonim and Roshei Yeshiva nationwide who have all shared the importance of three things:

• The learning of tinokos shel bais rabbon, our children, is crucial and is a special merit to remove the virus, especially at a time when yeshivos and schools are shut nationwide.
• We should all be mischazek in the area of tefillah even when we are davening biyechidus, as private individuals at home, without a minyan.
• We need to be extremely careful and realize that loshon horo spreads quickly – just like the coronavirus – and it is a special merit to be very careful to avoid loshon horo and to study shmiras haloshon daily, making every effort to enhance our interpersonal relationships and help those in need.

Wishing our community and our brethren nationwide continued good health, and for those who are ill a speedy recovery. Please feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns that you may have.

Sincerely,
Rabbi Peretz Scheinerman
Dean