Written by Rabbi Gidon Goldberg
Dear Parents,
Welcome back! It was wonderful to see the smiling faces of our students returning to school.
The amount of work required over the summer to prepare and create a safe and healthy environment for our students was immense. I would like to thank my administrative colleagues, Mrs. Miriam Esther Weiner and Rabbi Aaron Lapin, for all their efforts to ensure a flawless start to school.
We also thank the office staff and the school reopening committee under the direction of Mrs. Miriam Peromsik. We decided from the onset to follow the guidelines set forth by RIDE and the Governor’s office as a template for our reopening plan. This commitment required joining many conference calls and constant adjustments, based on the updated governor guidelines. We are confident that our plan is a safe one, but at the same time are constantly looking at ways to enhance safety measures. I can reassure you that the building is being sanitized both during the day at school and then more thoroughly in the evening in all classrooms and bathrooms. I have also dedicated a special section in the newsletter to discuss the school mask policy.
NEAT opened their year this past Monday and Tuesday with their annual Retreat. Six madrichos drove up from New York and guided the many fun-filled activities that revolved around the theme of “challenges.” The girls enjoyed workshops, games, sports, projects, songs, barbecue contest, campfire, kumzitz, and a grand breakfast with waffles, pancakes, smoothies, and other delicious food. The madrichos even recorded a song especially for our girls, which they shared at an entertaining indoor night activity. When Mrs. Scheinerman realized that Retreat could not be an overnight retreat in a camp, she prepared our local edition Retreat. We thank her for her creativity and for preparing each detail of the program. The positive feedback from the students was overwhelming. Special thanks to Ronni Guttin, who volunteered to do an enjoyable art activity.
This coming Sunday, we will be holding our virtual Dinner, which will feature an exclusive community video, honoree videos, a star appearance by Baruch Levine, a special interview chat, and much more. Be sure to tune in.
Our honoree videos will pay tribute to Mr. Dovid Winter and Mr. Reuven Yavner. We thank Mr. Winter for all his efforts last year and this year in preparing for the unique technology needs of both our students and teachers. Every student has a Chromebook assigned to their name, which will be used both in class and whenever a teacher or a child is forced to attend school by Zoom. Mr.Winter’s hours of hard work make him most worthy of receiving our Volunteer of the Year award.
Mr. Reuven Yavner is a caring and giving alumnus, who credits his success as a sports lawyer to the education he received at PHDS. “Community” is a word that best describes the Yavner family and the upbringing that Reuven received. As Alumnus of the Year, he worked tirelessly to encourage others to help the school. We wish our award recipients much brochoh and hatzlochoh in all that they do.
Thanks to the generosity of our donors, we will be sending out a link to all families so that you can enjoy and watch the event.
Reminder: dinner pickup is from 4:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. Special thanks to Jeff Ingber and Marc Adler for cooking and to Rhode Island Kosher for their certification of the event.
In closing, I wish to thank our administration, teachers, parents, and students for creating a partnership that is sure to enhance learning for the rest of the year. Thank you so much for making this first week of school most successful.
Good Shabbos,
Rabbi Peretz Scheinerman
Dean