Today I was lucky enough to be able to join Adon. Kaufman and the 6th grade class at The Gathering (where they serve meals to community members who are homeless) where I could see our students live our core values of, Empathy, Wonder, and Tikkun Olam.  It was an incredible experience. I saw our students show such maturity this morning, and it was moving for me to see how kind and empathetic they were to every person they interacted with. They were asked to do everything from bagging the bakery items, to serving the meal, to making individual toiletry bags, and mopping the floors.

We served breakfast to 201 people today which was the most guests The Gathering has had since summer, likely due to the cold weather.  In addition, we were able to hand out donated bags that included much needed items such as; socks, gloves, deodorant, and toothpaste/toothbrushes.  Several of the guests who came in this morning came up to me to share their gratitude for our students.

While I was watching our 6th graders working hard and making a difference, I reflected on how volunteer work like this builds character and it is such a vital part of what MJDS is all about.  

As a parent, I made the decision to move Julia (current 8th grader) to MJDS last year, and I truly wish I would have moved her here sooner.  It’s been the absolute best decision for many reasons, but in addition to the excellent academic education she is getting here, she also gets the “extra” that MJDS gives all students by focusing on learning and living our important core values.   

I highly recommend that you volunteer with your child’s class at The Gathering or call and set up a time to volunteer as a family.  It is an invaluable experience which exemplifies our MJDS rally cry, “Moving From Me to We”!