RSS Impact Report 2014-15 by Rodeph Sholom School

Friends of Rodeph Sholom School 2014 –2015 IMPACT REPORT

A Letter from the Head of School Dear Parents, Families and Friends of Rodeph Sholom School,

n December 2013, I wrote “Reﬂections On My First Five Months” pondering six (6) strategic areas that the Board of Trustees asked me to consider at the time. In the 20 months since, I’m pleased to note that we have made signiﬁcant progress in identifying priorities and beginning to implement new initiatives that impact students, faculty, and families.

Our (1) Facilities renovation project at 84th Street has been completed, and a board subcommittee is now tackling the issue of examining our facilities with energy and creativity to more fully meet our athletic and early childhood needs. With regard to faculty and staff (2) Compensation, I sought an “achievable aspiration...in terms of how we want our salaries and benefits to compare to those offered by peer New York City independent schools.” We have simplified our salary structure to bring our compensation packages more in line with the average among competitor schools. This not only makes RSS a more attractive employer, but also allows us to reward our teachers’ achievements, growth and dedication to our community. Through your generosity, we have also created a substantial and challenging faculty professional development program. As you’ll hear from the teachers themselves elsewhere in this report, they have access to a remarkable array of classes and workshops that enable them to sustain the academically rigorous standards of the School,

while keeping our curriculum in line with professional best practices. A side benefit is that teachers from different divisions often attend professional development classes together, building bonds across our campus that help foster our identity as “one school.” Another initiative that has benefited from your giving is the expansion of our available (3) Financial Aid. Our need-based awards have nearly doubled in the last two years, allowing RSS to be more accessible than ever before. This is a true expression of our values, when families who have more resources make it possible for others to be included, thereby enriching everyone’s experience. Progress like this helps us answer some of our (4) Enrollment Management questions. We have been examining our entry age, issues of attrition, and ways to attract more new applications to RSS after the early childhood grades. We have more work to do, given the economic and demographic pressures that are affecting all independent schools in New York City, but we are making steady progress.

In this report, you’ll see ample evidence of our embracing (5) Technology as a viable and valuable teaching and learning tool. We’ve recently launched the 1-to-1 iPad program in our Middle School, and we are taking advantage of many other opportunities to enhance the educational experience in N-8 classrooms through digital communications. Finally, in the (6) Development arena, we are experiencing signiﬁcant growth, a tribute to the dedication and commitment of this extraordinary community. We are gratiﬁed to outline the success of our formal fundraising program in this report, and I thank each and every one of you for your generosity. As I now prepare for my third school year here, I look forward to another exciting cycle of growth, change and challenges. It is a joy to face them in partnership with you. Sincerely,

Jerrold I. Katz, HeAD OF SCHOOl

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Rodeph Sholom School Budgeted Revenue and Expenses for the Year 2014-2015 The RSS Board of Trustees approves the upcoming school year’s budget each January, after significant planning and review. RSS revenue continues to rely heavily on tuition, making your philanthropic support very important. The more we can count on your generosity, the more we can alleviate the pressure to continually raise tuition. On the expense side, RSS devotes the majority of resources to personnel. Therefore, your donation makes the biggest impact on our ability to attract, retain and motivate an outstanding faculty.

EXPENSES FOR YEAR 2015-2016

REVENUE FOR YEAR 2015-2016

Total Expenses

Total Revenue

$26,124,352 (100%)

Salaries & Benefits $19,496,819 (74.6%)

Gross Tuition

Tuition Assistance

$23,822,110 (91.2%)

$2,082,396 (8.0%)

Program Expenses

Contributions/ Fundraising

$1,629,721 (6.2%)

$1,859,600 (7.1%)

Capital & Facilities $1,067,060 (4.1%)

Net Assets released from Restrictions

Insurance & Utilities $771,962 (3.0%)

$339,558 (1.3%)

Reserves & Contingencies

Other (including Investment Income)

$652,189 (2.5%)

$103,084 (0.4%)

Other $424,205 (1.6%)

Actual Fundraising Revenue for the Year 2014-2015** The following totals include donations and new pledges recorded to Friends of Rodeph Sholom School between July 1, 2014, and June 30, 2015. Friends of RSS grants these funds to the School to cover costs for the 2015-2016 school year. This allows the Board of Trustees to approve a conservative budget and make adjustments when enrollment and fundraising revenue are finalized. With your generosity, these favorable adjustments allow the School to plan for the future and flourish.

Gifts to Friends of Rodeph Sholom School

Gifts to Rodeph Sholom School

Annual Fund

$ 1,618,300

B’Nai Mitzvah Philanthropic Fund

Capital Fund

30,143

Net investment income from RSS specific

Pardes Legacy Heritage Challenge Fund

120,675

Paul Druzinsky Teacher Enrichment Fund $

50,247

Library Fund

Parent Association General Contributions including Staff Gift Fund $

64,777

Net Investment Income

17,270

purpose and Endowment Funds

$ 56,160 $ 31,662

Net investment income from RSS Board Designated Funds

$ 51,826

Scholarship Funds

550

———————————————————————————— $ 140,198

——————————————————————————— $ 1,901,462

** these numbers have not been audited and may not conform with gaap.

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A Message from Michael E. Silverman Chair of the Board of Trustees

he saying, “The whole is greater than the sum of its parts,” is often attributed to the Greek philosopher Aristotle. Referring to the emergent property that results from the synergy of individual elements working towards a single objective, it is an apothegm embodied by the RSS Board of Trustees. The Board is a collective of current and past parents, professionals, educators, real estate developers, consultants, investment bankers, and entrepreneurs, each with unique strengths, who come to the RSS Board room to act as a single body with four primary responsibilities: 1) hire, support, and, if necessary, fire the only employee of the Board—the Head of School; 2) ensure that School policies are consistent with the RSS mission; 3) fundraise and exercise final oversight of School finances and; 4) safeguard the School’s continued independence. I couldn’t be more grateful to be considered part of this team that has continued to steer RSS toward financial health, reached yet another year of achievement in fundraising, and is now focusing on strategic priorities for the future. Working with Dr. Jerry Katz over the past two years, my fellow Trustees and I have been witness

Rodeph Sholom School Board of Trustees 2014 - 2015 ExEcuTIvE coMMITTEE Michael E. Silverman Chair Erica Keswin Vice Chair Ron Bernstein Treasurer Amy Yenkin Secretary Andrea Kretchmer Paul Segal

Karen Berman Heidi Eskenazi David Fleischer Scott Gaynor Stacy Kanter Jo Kay Bonnie Klein David Kranich Marc Lavine Steve Lipman David Markus Rick Press Jeﬀ Ravetz Risa Schessel Natalie Silverstein Tammy Sloan Suzanne Waltman

to the tangible evidence of RSS growing in stature among the NYC independent school community, and we have observed a growth in spirit within the RSS academic community of greater integrity and purposefulness in all that it does. More than ever, RSS remains dedicated to the pursuit of uncompromising academic excellence while remaining true to the core values and teachings of Reform Judaism. As a RSS parent, I recognize the value of a school that pursues the highest educational standards in a supportive environment that promotes critical thinking along with social responsibility. I can attest to the beneﬁts of belonging to a school and a community with values consistent with those in our home. As Chair of the RSS Board of Trustees, I am proud of the growth RSS has experienced over the last few years while remaining true to those who led before us, and I am grateful to all of you who have continued to invest your time, energy and resources to help maintain this vision.

Michael E. Silverman, Ph.D. P’17,’20 CHAIR, BOARD OF TRuSTeeS

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The RSS Board of Trustees welcomes the following new members

LISA cARNoY

WILLIAM FRIEDLAND

ADAM RoSENTHAL

lisa Carnoy has been an RSS parent since 2006. She and her husband, David, have four children in the School, with a daughter in 6th Grade this fall, a son going into 4th Grade, and twins going into 1st Grade. Named one of “Wall Street’s highest ranking women” by Bloomberg and among the “25 Most Powerful Women in Finance” by American Banker, lisa is the New York City Market President for Bank of America and a member of the Global Wealth & Investment Management leadership team and Bank of America’s Operating Committee. lisa earned a BA cum laude in History and

American Studies from Columbia and an MBA from Harvard Business School. In 2010, lisa became a Trustee of Columbia university and now serves as the Board’s Vice-Chair. She chairs the Alumni Aﬀairs and Development Committee. lisa is a member of the Columbia Campaign for Athletics leadership Committee and the Dean’s Alumnae leadership Task Force. She is a co-founder of the Women’s leadership Council for Athletics. For several years, lisa participated as a board member for the Columbia College Alumni Association and Board of Visitors.

An RSS parent since 2013, William and his wife elyssa have a son who will be in the 2nd Grade this fall and a daughter entering Kindergarten. William has been actively involved in strategic facilities planning work for RSS. William is principal at Friedland Properties, a family owned real estate investment ﬁrm that has built up a portfolio of more than 100 retail and residential properties. A passionate philanthropist and member of the uJA Federation of New York’s Real estate

executives Division (ReX), William received the larry A. Silverstein ReX Award in 2015 in honor of his commitment to raising funds to help Jewish communities near and far, from New York City to Havana, Cuba. In the past, William has served as chairman of the landmarks committee of Community Board 8 in Manhattan and supported the American Israel Public Aﬀairs Committee, a lobbying organization. He graduated from Cornell university with a BA in History.

Adam Rosenthal and his wife Jennifer have been RSS parents since 2007. Their daughter is in 4th Grade this fall, and their son is starting 7th Grade. Adam is a long-standing member of the RSS Finance Committee and will be joining the Development Committee this year. Adam is a Managing Director, Private Wealth Advisor, and Senior Portfolio Manager in the Witover Wealth Management Group at uBS Financial Services. He was named to the Financial Times Top 400 Financial Advisers 2015 and was ranked among Barron’s Top 1,200 Financial Advisors for four consecutive years. After receiving his Bachelor of Business Administration degree from the university of Texas in 1990, Adam joined Kidder Peabody

& Co. as a ﬁnancial analyst, where he worked in debt, equity and mergers and acquisitions transactions in the energy industry. Adam completed an MBA at The Wharton School of the university of Pennsylvania and joined lehman Brothers in 1996. In 2000, he became a partner in the Witover Wealth Management Group. Adam is a member of the Board of Directors of Hands on Tzedakah, a public charity that primarily supports "safety-net" or essential, life-sustaining programs. Adam and Jennifer also support Charley’s Fund, an organization dedicated to accelerating the development of life-saving treatments for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy.

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A Tribute to Bonnie Klein WRITTeN BY NATALIE SILvERSTEIN AND SHAReD ON THe COMPleTION OF BONNIe’S TeRM AT THe FINAl BOARD OF TRuSTeeS’ MeeTING, JuNe 2015

onnie Klein is a kind and generous person who has always believed in the mission of RSS. From the time she, her husband Ron and their daughter Sarah transplanted to New York City from Atlanta, Bonnie has been an asset and a supporter of this School. She never approached her time here with rose-colored glasses; she valued what makes the School special but was always willing to roll up her sleeves to help make it better. She has given incredibly generously of her time and her resources in every possible way–when RSS asks, Bonnie says yes. As a thoughtful member of the executive committee, Bonnie truly professionalized the Parents Association. She was a humble and hardworking PA president, and under her leadership, the PA hosted several successful spring beneﬁts–one during the start of a crippling recession– always with a fun theme and a focus on community building. It was my privilege to co-chair some of those events with her, and to serve as her successor in the role of PA president. She taught me how to balance being a parent and the head of the PA–how to take a 10,000-foot

view, how to take oﬀ my parent hat and how to do what was always in the best interest of both the School and the parent body. No small feat. She has provided wise counsel–to this Board, to the PA, and to me, personally, always with a positive and balanced attitude. She was a thoughtful presence in these meetings, one whose comments added value and whose goal was always to help RSS be the best it can be. She will be missed on this Board and we hope she remains the active alumni parent that she has been these last three years.

Faculty Professional Development: Progress by the Numbers

or the last two years, RSS dedicated your Annual Fund donations to professional development, an unprecedented investment in our faculty, their craft and their future. Our teachers value these opportunities your gifts have made possible, and the proof is in their participation.

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS BY TYPE

Since we enhanced the professional development benefit last summer, 88% of all RSS teachers have taken a total of 73 different workshops, classes and seminars in many specialized topics. Thirty-nine of these teachers took a class in the summer and enjoyed it so much that they also signed up to participate during the school year. In total, 106 teachers have participated so far. Teachers brushed up on their knowledge and skills through a wide range of programs, from “Child Development in the Context of Camp and After School,” to classes at the Teachers College Writer’s Institute, to a course in “Supporting language Development in the Classroom.” The most popular programs reflected our teachers’ interest in taking advantage of technology as a classroom tool and in tailoring their teaching to our students' individual learning styles.

Educa on

73 Total Programs (June 2014 through July 2015)

3 Academic

Leadership

4 History/

Other

2 Diﬀeren ated Instruc on

4 Jewish

Studies

13 Math, Sciencec

or Technology

5 Library

Science

6 Diversity

11 English &

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS BY TYPE

Language Arts

10 Social

Emo onal Learning

7 Physical

9 Cogni ve Science &

Child Development

NOTE: Some courses are counted in more than one category, i.e., Macabbi JCC Coaching was counted in both Physical Educa on and Jewish Studies.

TOP 3 PROGRAMS ATTENDED 69 Total A endees (June 2014 through July 2015)

Total Number of Attendees 69 a!endees

iCore and SummerCore Technology 37 a!endees

PARTICIPATION BY DIVISION 69 Total A endees (June 2014 through July 2015)

Differentiated Instruction 22 a!endees

19 teachers

20 teachers

Early Childhood Division

Middle School

(48% of the ECD faculty par cipated)

(57% of the MS faculty par cipated)

Logo Summer Institute on Teaching Technology 10 a!endees

PARTICIPATION BY DIVISION

30 teachers Elementary Disivion (65% of the ED faculty par cipated)

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All three divisions were well represented among the participants, with the largest number from the elementary Division. Continued generosity to the Annual Fund allows these programs and this focus on our faculty to become a standard that we continually strive to meet. In their own words, some of our faculty comment here on their 2014-2015 professional development experiences and how they have used their new knowledge and skills in the classroom.

MATH Summer Camp for Teachers By Laurie Rayman, leARNING SPeCIAlIST

ike many of my RSS students, I attended summer camp. Only instead of riding a zip line through the woods, I spent my days with pencil and paper in hand, excitedly solving math problems. I enrolled in Math Camp for Middle School educators at Columbia Teachers College to better understand how the math skills taught in elementary school build a foundation for the study of math in middle school, high school and beyond. I had the amazing opportunity to collaborate with educators from as far away as Brazil to explore new ways to extend our students’ algebraic thinking, numerical ﬂuency and understanding of functions and geometry. even though, as a 4th Grade teacher, I had not factored a trinomial in close to two decades, Math Camp was one of the most fulﬁlling and intellectually stimulating professional development opportunities of my career. Fortunately, factoring trinomials is like learning to ride a bike, and I enjoyed a rewarding week discovering how the work we do in the elementary grades sets our students up for future success. Now when I teach my 4th Graders about “function machines,” I consider the slope problems they will solve in a few years, and I will never teach prime numbers without considering their relationship to factoring again. I am very grateful for such an inspiring and exciting “camp” experience!

The National Council for Teachers of Mathmateics Conference By Michelle Alperin 2ND GRADe HeAD TeACHeR

ATH. This four-letter word can be polarizing. Some people love everything that math represents, while for others, just hearing the word brings shivers to the spine. I used to be a member of the latter group. As a child, I didn’t understand why I needed to learn math because I saw it as strict memorization of concepts that I would never find useful in my daily life. Also, I hated feeling like there was one right answer and an infinite number of wrong answers—the odds were against me! I carried some feelings like this about math all my life until I experienced an awakening last year. I attended the National Council for Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) conference in 2014 in New Orleans, louisiana. This was a four-day conference where math educators from all over the country, and even some international teachers, converged to share our many successful practices and learn about the newest mathematical principles, tools and innovations. At this conference, math was redefined

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for me. All the speakers were talking about math as a process and not as an activity that reaches a ﬁnal accurate product. All of the workshops I attended were about how various strategies can be used to solve one problem, proving that math is accessible to all types of learners and that everyone can be a successful mathematician if they ﬁgure out a process that works for them. This

conference made me rethink my philosophy of math and how I teach it. The idea of math being a process has informed all of my educational choices since returning from this conference. I try to empower all of my students to recognize that they each have the ability to be a fantastic mathematician if they focus on how they solve problems instead of focusing on getting to the right answer. At the NCTM conference, I learned about many activities that help to reinforce the idea that math is a process. One of my favorite games that accomplishes this goal is called Vo“back”ulary. each student gets a label placed on his/her back with some mathematical concept

written on it. By asking their classmates yes or no questions, each student has to guess what is on his/her back. In trying to determine what is written on the label, the students are forced to go through the long process of ﬁguring it out. Therefore, the main teaching point is that math is a process that takes a while, but if you know the right questions to ask and strategies to use, you can ﬁgure it out! I have been fortunate enough to attend the NCTM conference twice now, and I am so grateful for each opportunity I have to attend. each year, I learn new ways to engage and motivate each of my students in math. I learn about new strategies to approach

“ I was so excited to bring back some of

the tools and strategies I learned at NCTM to my classroom, such as using number boxes along with number lines, the four square method for problem solving, and different language to use to help kids take on challenges during math.” —Sara Yoskowitz, 1st Grade Head Teacher

problem solving, I hear about amazing activities and games that help bring math alive in a classroom, I experiment with new technology tools and apps that help make math more accessible, and I learn about diﬀerent ways to assess my students’ progress as math thinkers instead of math doers. I know that MATH, the four-letter word, will probably continue to be polarizing, and that not all of my students will love math the way I now do. However, my goal is for my students to know that they can always succeed in math if they focus on the process of getting to their answer. If they think about math in that way, every student will be a successful mathematician!

2015 NcTM coNFERENcE ATTENDEES: Michelle Alperin, 4th Grade Head Teacher Kim Buchbinder, MS Math Head Teacher Mackenzie Merkel, MS Science Teacher Ava Parnes, MS Science/Math Head Teacher John Parente, MS Science and Math Department Chair Amy Sulds, MS Learning Specialist Sara Yoskowitz, 1st Grade Head Teacher

TECHNOLOGY

1-to-1 iPad Program Earns Varied Reactions from Student Body, Faculty By Yulia Pleasant ‘15, SeNIOR STAFF WRITeR FOR THe Main evenT RepRinTeD wiTH peRMiSSion fRoM THe MiDDLe SCHooL STuDenT newSpapeR

n February of this year [2015], the 7th and 8th Grade students at the Rodeph Sholom School were introduced to the 1-to-1 iPad program, in which each student received their own iPad for use both in and out of class. The program was created with the hope of enhancing classes and developing students’ understanding of and ability to use technology for educational purposes. While iPads have been available to students at RSS for several years, they were only used for designated in-class projects, and were not accessible for individual use.

upon receiving their iPads, students were provided with vague guidelines regarding when the iPads should be used, but exactly how students used their new devices was left up to personal preference. With a change so abrupt, how seamless was the process of integrating the iPads into the daily routine of both students and teachers? How have they responded to this addition to the school? laurie Piette, director of studies and contributor to the iPad program, commented on the goal of the program and what the school hopes students will gain from it. “We added the iPads because we wanted to enrich the existing curriculum as well as open up new possibilities for learning,” Piette said. “The higher level thinking skills that come with using technology requires students to apply their knowledge and 10|FRIENDS OF RSS 2014-2015 IMPACT REPORT

create new ways of demonstrating that knowledge. The iPads also give you the ability to share work on Google drive and get comments from fellow students and teachers. All of that is very exciting and changes the playing ﬁeld for education.” Various students and teachers welcomed the addition to the school with open arms, excited to use their new iPads when given the opportunity. Among these eager students was eighth grader Sam Perman. “When I ﬁrst heard that we would be getting iPads, I wasn’t that excited,” Perman said. “But when I got mine and started using it, I realized that they are useful for most of my classes and a lot of activities. I now take any opportunity I can to use them.” These ideas were emphasized by teachers as well. Kimberly Buchbinder, 7th and 8th Grade math teacher,

shared her experience with the iPads. “In class the iPads have brought many positive changes,” Buchbinder said. “In general, it allows us to be more ﬂexible in where we take our notes, complete homework and share assignments. Students have more choice about where they are most comfortable. Also, it has sped up tasks and skills that are more time consuming and frees up more time for us to do interesting things in class.” While many share this opinion, others participating in the program highlighted the negative aspects of the iPads, commenting on the lack of necessity for them. Talia Roth, an eighth grader, was among the students who share this point of view. “If given the option to use either paper or the iPad, I always choose

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“About Me”: A 7th Grade Hebrew Project on the iPad By Miri Becher, HeBReW HeAD TeACHeR This year we did a brand new Hebrew project with my 7th Grade class. Students drafted page-long “About Me” essays in Hebrew, and then used the iPad application Pages to type their essays and add pictures and pizazz to them. This was one of their favorite projects and particularly exciting since it was the ﬁrst time the students got to type in Hebrew. They were eager to get to work each day and loved sharing their work with each other. It was fun and exciting for everyone! Technology is such a large part of modern life that it is especially valuable for the students to use it while learning Hebrew and to keep their pages as mementos of their studies. I appreciated participating in the SummerCore technology workshop last summer where I learned the skills I needed to develop this project. I am looking forward to doing the “About Me” pages with my students again next year when each of them will have their own iPad.

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paper,” Roth said. “Although it may seem fun to work on the iPad, it is easier for me to use paper because of the way I personally like to organize things. The setup is easier for me. For example, if I want to write a side note, I can quickly do that on paper, but it’s harder for me to do on the iPad.” Jewish studies teacher Zach Mann agreed with Roth’s opinion that while the iPads are useful, they are not a crucial part of the curriculum. “I don’t think there’s much that we do on the iPads that couldn’t be achieved with either laptops or paper,

pen and highlighters,” Mann said. “In truth, I ﬁnd them very distracting. Students are so eager to use their iPads that often the ﬁrst question I’m asked when I walk in the room is ‘Are we using our iPads today?”’ Piette also mentioned the school’s decision to only give iPads to the 7th and 8th Grade. “With any project like this, we want to start small, and given our experience with middle schoolers, seventh and eighth graders have the maturity level where they would be able to take the device to and from

school,” she said. “ultimately, long term, we'd like to get to a point where there would be enough iPads that ﬁfth and sixth graders would be able to have their own designated iPads in the carts within the school, however, we want to leave the responsibility of taking them to and from school to the older members of the school.” Piette also mentioned that the school will be continuing the program next year, and that they continue to discuss possible improvements and additions to the program for years to come.

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ENGLISH & LANGUAGE ARTS Students and Teachers Alike Benefit From Fundations: A New Phonics and Reading Program By Jessica Korenblatt, 1ST GRADe HeAD TeACHeR anD Stephanie Sokol, KINDeRGARTeN HeAD TeACHeR

fter a summer 2014 workshop, this year’s Kindergarten and 1st Grade classes were fortunate to implement a new reading and phonics program called Fundations. This program provides children of varying learning abilities with a foundation for reading and spelling. Through the Fundations professional development program, RSS faculty members learned the speciﬁc skills and tools needed to teach in a structured, sequential and cumulative way. The two of us volunteered for additional training and, by working with a coach throughout the year, became Fundations Facilitators to teach and coach other RSS teachers in using the program.

Fundations lessons for Kindergarten and 1st Grade focus on sequenced skills that include alphabet awareness, phonological awareness, phonemic awareness, print knowledge, decoding, vocabulary, ﬂuency, and spelling. Fundations employs several multisensory teaching techniques; for example, students use a board with magnetic letters and have opportunities to manipulate the letters to practice letter/sound relationships and to build words. each week’s lesson ends with story time activities, which practice critical thinking, speaking and listening skills. each classroom welcomed the Fundations story time owl puppets, echo and Baby echo, as integral members of their community this year. Fundations has been a huge success. Our students’ reading and spelling skills have improved tremendously. They have been engaged, enthusiastic and excited to learn. The program helped make learning to read fun, while paving the groundwork for life-long literacy learners. It was exciting to witness the children transferring these skills to other subjects as well. When we were reading a shared reading book one day, a student exclaimed, “The word ‘thump’ has a digraph and a blend in 12|FRIENDS OF RSS 2014-2015 IMPACT REPORT

it!” This kind of amazing moment happened often this year. At the end of the year, during the Fundations word play activity, our class had some great vocabulary discussions. For example, when they read, “…she had a sip of pop…” they laughed and said that the sentence made no sense! We asked the class what they thought was confusing, and we discussed the word “pop” and that it and many other words have multiple meanings. This happened again with the sentence “the fox was in the pen.” We talked about the importance of using dictionaries to learn deﬁnitions and pronunciation. It was really empowering to see how the children were examining and thinking critically about the makeup of words through out the day. Throughout the 2014-2015 school year, we received additional instruction from Dave Marsh, a Fundations literacy coach, who trained us to coach other RSS teachers. We modeled lessons and co-taught with him in front of our colleagues. As Fundations Facilitators, we also observed other teachers and students during Fundations lessons. We collaborated with our grade level teams to plan lessons and share best practices. We held weekly meetings with the Kindergarten and First Grade

teachers to discuss previously taught lessons, preview future lessons and skills, and discuss areas where the teachers needed more support. We shared our “three C's”—a self-evaluation and collaboration technique Coach Dave taught us to use—things we were Conﬁdent about, Concerned about, and Curious about. Dave would supervise us on how to organize and lead these team meetings, and during his visits, we would lead the meetings with him. The Fundations training and coaching support has been both professionally and personally rewarding, and essential to creating a successful program for our students. We are excited to continue to use this program next year and for 2nd Grade to implement it as well.

SOCIAL EMOTIONAL LEARNING RULER theory

s part of our Social and emotional learning Curriculum, several RSS faculty members have been learning how to teach RuLER, an important set of skills that supports students’ ability to “navigate the challenging, confusing, and often diﬃcult process of growing up.” ELIzA HERScHKoWITz,

KinDeRgaRTen HeaD TeaCHeR

I have had the privilege of training to use the RuleR program developed by the Yale Center for emotional Intelligence. Over the course of two school years, Marc Brackett, the director of the program and a senior researcher in psychology at Yale, has led RuLER workshops for RSS. My experience working with Marc and learning about the program has been invaluable, for both personal and professional reasons. I have become a stronger teacher and a more well-rounded person. I feel very lucky to have had both years of training. I have always felt that socialemotional education is an important element of any classroom, but before the training, I felt less equipped to impart that aspect of learning to my students. When I was growing up, school was focused strictly on academics: math, reading, writing, history. emotions–both the students’, and especially the teachers’–were not a formal part of any classroom experience. I knew that my emotions mattered because I was lucky enough to have a family that supported me in expressing and processing my feelings, but rarely were those feelings

addressed in the classroom. Through my work with Marc, I now know how vital it is to integrate social-emotional education directly into instruction. The RuLER method encourages us to “recognize,” “understand,” “label,” “express,” and “regulate” emotions. Through this process, children become more aware of their emotional states and more able to navigate the challenging, confusing and often diﬃcult process of growing up. education becomes dangerously imbalanced when it is singularly focused on academics. especially in the younger grades, it is critical to give students the space to develop emotional intelligence, too. This has been proven to not only create more engaged learners with higher academic performance, but also to foster students who enjoy higher quality relationships throughout their entire lives. It feels empowering and exciting to be able to help my students learn to do this themselves. My professional development experience with RuLER has given me concrete tools to use with my class, and – perhaps even more importantly – it has bolstered my conﬁdence. It has strengthened my own belief that this kind of education is fundamental

for our children. There are four RuLER tools, or “Anchors,” to emotional intelligence: Charter, Mood Meter, Meta-Moment, and Blueprint. The “Mood Meter” is accessible to children as young as three or four years of age. It helps us identify, describe and evaluate our emotions on a color-coded graph. For the past three years, I have used it in my classroom, encouraging students to “plot themselves” in one of the four zones and describe for their classmates their emotional states. It gives me a great sense of pride and accomplishment when my students begin to use the Mood Meter and RuLER vocabulary in everyday speech. Another RuLER Anchor I learned to use is called the “Charter.” The Charter functions as a type of contract, or promise, that the students and teachers make to one another as the year begins. Instead of a list of classroom rules handed down from the teacher to the students, the Charter is based on an understanding of our feelings. It asks us: “How do we want to feel in our classroom?” “What can we do to make sure we feel these ways?” and ﬁnally: “What can we do if someone’s feelings are hurt?” The children themselves, through dialogue ( Continued on next page)

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( Continued from previous page)

with one another and as a class, are the ones who develop the Charter. It has great meaning and importance for them because they are so actively involved in its creation. Together, teachers and students sign the charter and hang it in the classroom. It is a “living document” that we can take down to edit as we see ﬁt. The Charter reminds us to treat each other with respect and to value each other’s feelings. Creating a Charter is one of my favorite ways to open up each year with my new Kindergarteners. Working with Marc in the RuLER workshop pressed me to examine my own relationship with emotions, develop a stronger vocabulary for and awareness of them – and then utilize that awareness within the classroom and school setting. I am grateful for the opportunity to have learned the RuLER method and excited to continue using pieces of it in the years to come. ——————–––––——————————— RuTH WEISS, JewiSH STuDieS anD HebRew HeaD TeaCHeR

One day one of our liveliest students came to class in a terrible mood–silent, sullen, crying. We eventually learned that his parent had promised to take him to school that morning but had needed to back out at the last minute. I took the student out of class and asked him to write down what he was feeling in his Mood Meter journal. The simple act of identifying his negative feelings in writing–putting a label on his disappointment and being recognized and validated–enabled him to turn his attitude around for the rest of the day. He was able to move to an emotional place where he could learn in school again. During the second half of the year, we learned about the Meta-Moment, another RuLER “Anchor” that helps us take a step back from strong emotions and react in the best possible way. Students enjoyed discussions about “triggers” in their own lives that prompt strong, negative feelings. They worked to plot real-life situations onto the six steps of the Meta-Moment to help them envision how they could use the tool in their own lives. 14|FRIENDS OF RSS 2014-2015 IMPACT REPORT

——————–––––——————————— MELISSA RoSEN, THReeS HeaD TeaCHeR In Room 3 we would often ask ourselves, “How would my best self handle this situation?” We also conducted RuLER read-alouds and discussed specific “feeling words” used in the stories. The children shared how characters in stories related to the emotional vocabulary words that we presented to them. For example, one day we used the story My friend is Sad by Mo Willems to explore the emotion of sadness. We first discussed what the word “sad” means. The children said, “Sad is when I cry,” or “I am sad when my brother takes my toy from me,” or “I am sad when my friend does not want to play the same game as me.” With these definitions fresh in our minds, we then read the story aloud. Afterwards, we applied the RuLER method to our conversation: • “How can you tell that the main character was sad? What color would he be on the Mood Meter?” (Recognize feelings) • “What happened to make Piggy sad?”(Understand feelings) • “What other words do we use for sad? “(Label feelings) • “How did Gerald show he was not feeling sad anymore?” (Express feelings) • “If you were Gerald’s friend, what would you do to help him feel less sad?” (Regulate feelings)

Children were eager to answer, and we elaborated on their comments by asking what we could do to make our friends feel better. Children replied, “We can ask our friends to play with us,” and, “We can sing a song to our friends to cheer them up.” Our students have internalized lessons like this, becoming more able to determine what steps could be taken when they felt sad or when they saw a friend upset in class. Some mornings, children entered the classroom and plotted pictures of themselves on the Mood Meter as a means of checking in for the day. This was extremely beneﬁcial because it

revealed to us how each child felt entering the classroom and why they were experiencing such feelings. When asked to express why they plotted themselves where they did, the students’ explanations were surprisingly detailed. Some said they were tired because they went to bed late when their grandparents had been over the night before, others said they were sad because they were leaving their grown-ups. One told us that that a parent was away on a business trip and would not be back for a week. Many children also plotted themselves as enthusiastic and eager to see what the school day would hold for them. As an educator, this activity gave us a window into the children’s’ minds and lives outside of the classroom. It allowed us to assess the class’s mood on a given day, and it sparked conversations, not only about how our students felt at school, but what caused them to feel a certain way. These topics may not have come up otherwise. This task proved to be particularly beneﬁcial for shy children. During group meetings, it is common for shy children to withhold their ideas or to feel embarrassed about their feelings. Plotting their picture on the Mood Meter gave these students a chance to express themselves without having to say anything at all. emotions aﬀect behavior and academic performance. From this professional development program, I have been reminded that it is necessary to take into consideration what a child or family may be going through to have a better understanding of why the child may be performing in a certain way during the school day. ——————–––––——————————— LIANNE BASSIN, PRe-KinDeRgaRTen TeaCHeR

Thank you to the parents and other members of our community for giving me the opportunity to attend the RuLER workshops over the past two years. I am so glad to be able to give my students the gift of emotional intelligence at the young age of four. I am hopeful that the skills I am teaching them now will help to enrich their lives in and out of school.

DIFFERENTIATED INSTRUCTION By Jennifer Adler Laytin, JeWISH STuDIeS/HeBReW HeAD TeACHeR

ifferentiation is an educational buzzword that has been defined in many different ways. The truth is, there is not one way to define differentiated instruction; a teacher has to find what works in the classroom, and use it to help students identify what learning style works best for them. A teacher who uses differentiated instruction knows students well and can create a classroom where every student feels successful. last summer I was fortunate to take the differentiation workshop that was offered at RSS. I learned so much about myself as a learner, as well as how to best guide my students in the classroom.

One of the many ways that I used diﬀerentiation in Jewish Studies this year was by giving my students more choices. After we learned about Purim, the students were charged with retelling the story, along with sharing a lesson that we learned from the story. The students worked in groups and could choose how they wanted to present their information. Some groups chose to create a rap song; others, a newspaper article; some a comic strip; others, a skit. each group created something amazing and accurate and, most importantly, every student felt successful.

A second way that I have used diﬀerentiation in my classroom is by creating project-based learning units such as the Torah trials that are performed in my class. As a class we study a law from the Torah, we read it in Hebrew, translate it into english, and then discuss how this law applies to us today. Next, we study a scenario where it is ambiguous whether a person is or is not breaking that law. We study related Jewish texts from the Mishnah and Talmud, and then I divide the students into groups. using the laws that we have studied, each group must prove whether or not the

“ The course helped me to develop a better

sense of myself as a learner, and to notice the ways in which I may unintentionally favor my own learning style when planning instruction. Analyzing learning profiles and modalities, sampling a variety of differentiated lessons, and collaborating with colleagues who learn differently than I do prepared me to reach the variety of learners I will have in my classroom this year. As a result of this workshop, I feel empowered to more effectively understand my students and tailor instruction to meet their learning needs.” —Katie Bartley, Learning Specialist

law was broken. Through studying, discussing, debating, and processing the laws, the students are able to internalize them, and I can check for understanding every step of the way. At the end of the year, this process is always a highlight for my students because they feel extremely proud of the work they have done. Diﬀerentiating a lesson or a unit is not easy for the teacher. It takes a lot of preparation and you must know your students well. In the end, having your students feel successful makes all of the hard work worth it.

DIFFERENTIATIoN WoRKSHoP 2015 ATTENDEES in addition to returning faculty from all divisions, all of the new elementary Division teachers for the 2015-2016 year also enrolled in this on-campus workshop: Michelle Alperin Laurie Arriaga Katie Bartley Amanda Borenstein Daryl cantor Jaclyn cohen Faige Drapkin colleen Dundon cheryl Fricchione Jenny Gellert Mike Glick

Beth Green Evan Haine-Roberts Elise Horowitz Anita Keshavan Jordana Marshall Mackenzie Merkel Barbara Naughton Rebecca Shor Helen Singer Brittany Weller

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CELEBRATE RSS! last year we inaugurated a new welcome back to school tradition with a party for parents and faculty. we celebrated the faculty’s many accomplishments over the summer, and the generosity of our community that provided those amazing professional development opportunities.

16|FRIENDS OF RSS 2014-2015 IMPACT REPORT

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F 2014-2015 Annual Fund Chairs Karen Benett middle school

Justin Koplin elementary division

Jenifer and Adam Geller early childhood division

Natalie Silverstein 8th grade

VOLUNTEERS Kara Aborn Jennifer Abrams Karen Bank Candice Braun Talia Day Tina Deutsch Liz Fine Liora Fogelman Sandy Haas Lisa Kalish Jill Kasner Leslie Katz Bobbi Rebell Kaufman Erica Keswin Ghena Korn Marc Lavine Heidi Lurensky David Markus Marc Newman Heidi Packer Erin Peck Jerilyn Perman Rick Press Laurie and Jeff Ravetz Jenna Rosenbloom Risa Schessel Paul Segal Henry Siegel Michael Silverman Tammy Sloan Suzanne Waltman Debra Wasserman Lauren Wolfson Amy Yenkin

or the last few years, parent volunteers have worked tirelessly to improve the percentage of current family participation in the Annual Fund for two important reasons: (1) to raise more money in support of our faculty and program, providing relief from our reliance on tuition increases to balance the budget; and (2) to use a high participation rate to demonstrate the faith of our community in RSS as a worthwhile investment in Reform Jewish independent education. Their time and energy has paid off. RSS have one of the highest parent participation rates in the nation, and we’ve experienced exponential dollar growth, bringing the Annual Fund to almost 15% of annual expenses, a benchmark demonstrating our financial health and stability. RSS is incredibly proud of this high participation in the Annual Fund. So proud, in fact, that we’ve emphasized participation in our acknowledgments this year, listing Annual Fund donors alphabetically by affiliation rather than by amount. As with many nonprofits, the vast majority of our donors give less than $5000 each. Together, those donations, whether $5, $100, or more, are essential in helping us meet our goal and balance our budget. We are grateful for every single gift. A generous anonymous donor challenged our community to invest even more in Rodeph Sholom School through increased giving to the Annual Fund, offering a dollar-for-dollar match up to $280,000. every returning parent and grandparent qualified, and an overwhelming number of donors increased their gifts to make sure RSS received the full amount. In this year’s report we’ve starred (*) every parent and grandparent who made this possible with an increased donation as another way of showing our gratitude.

18|FRIENDS OF RSS 2014-2015 IMPACT REPORT

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GIFTS TO THE 2014-2015 ANNUAL FUND KEY: * = Increase | FS = Faculty/Staff | N = First Gift as a Current Parent | T= Board of Trustees 8th Grade - Class of 2015 100% Participation For the third year in a row, 100% of parents of the graduating class participated in the 8th Grade Gift by increasing their donations and designating every dollar to Financial Aid. Pamela and Paul Arnsten Alexandra Shapiro and Jonathan Bach* Dina and evan Bakst* elli and David Basner* Sandra Moss Buzali and Jacobo Buzali* linda Kirschenbaum and Charles Carpati Joanne Zaiac and Robert Coven Dalia Darwish Sasson Darwish Suzanne and Matthew Dickman* Robyn and David epstein* liz Fine* Peter Fine Debra Glick Amy Tapper and Adam Israel* lisa and Neal Kalish* Janet Cohen and Daniel Kramarsky* Judy and Marc landis* Steffanie and Geoffrey levin* Robin landow levitin* Sol levitin* Amy and Steve lipin lisa Timmel and David Markus* Gail Zweig and John Mascialino Beth and Mark May* Sheryl Shade and Matthew Mazer Sandra Hauser and Jeffrey Parness* Jerilyn and Brian Perman Rosita Dolgicer and larry Pleasant* Carl Rosen and Judy Weinmann FS Jennifer and Jeffrey Rosenthal* lilli and Jonathan Roth emily Terry and Steven Sabella* Natalie and Jonathan Silverstein* Karina and Bernard Steinberg* Stephanie Rein and edward Stern elisa Mello-Tabibzadeh and Ramin Tabibzadeh Rachel Tigay Yossi Vebman and Marina lowy Wendy Feldman and Stanley Wainapel Deena and Marc Winters*

7th Grade - Class of 2016 100% Participation Karen and Jeﬀrey Bank* Sonia and Noam Baram* Karen and Michael Binday*

B’nai Mitzvah Philanthropy Program “Philanthropy” is not a word most 13 year-olds use frequently, unless they happen to be students at Rodeph Sholom School. Here, “philanthropy”—as a word, as a concept, and as a practice—plays a significant role in the lives of our 7th Graders, year after year. This has been true since 2002, when the parents of our first batch of 7th Graders got tired of buying gift cards every weekend for yet another student’s Bar or Bat Mitzvah. The students got too many gift cards to appreciate them, and giving them became rote rather than meaningful. Those parents decided to do something different: they stopped buying gift cards and instead put all the money they would have spent on gifts into a single fund, which was then distributed to nonprofit organizations chosen by students. Our b’nai Mitzvah Philanthropic Initiative was born. Since that first year of the program, RSS 7th Graders have given away more than $430,000 to more than 100 different nonprofit organizations with a presence in New York City. And the program itself has become a robust and vital part of the RSS experience. Throughout 7th Grade, students meet once a week to work on philanthropy. They spend the first few months examining philanthropy from several angles, considering numerous social problems to figure out which ones they care about most, and learning about our responsibility as Jews to help take care of others. eventually, students break into groups based on the causes they feel most passionate about and then work together to research nonprofits focused on their respective issues. They learn about mission statements, vision statements and fundraising, and how some organizations tackle root causes while others focus on immediate needs. each group narrows its list of organizations to a handful that they then visit in person in the spring. We are told again and again by nonprofit professionals that our 7th Graders are as prepared, curious, informed, and engaged as many major donors. At the end of the process, students work together to determine how much of their fund to distribute to each nonprofit. unlike similar programs that emphasize the amount of money given away– and inadvertently cause participants to feel entitled to have access to such significant sums as a result–our program places the nonprofit center stage: these organizations they do not exist to convince us how great they are; they are doing excellent and important work in the world, and we exist to help them fulfill their missions. This approach keeps our students humble even as they work together to distribute more than $50,000 each year. Our 7th Graders take this program seriously and end the year with a deeper understanding of the world around them and ways to help make it better. This aligns perfectly lines up so nicely with the RSS mission, and is yet another reason why our graduates are known throughout New York City, and increasingly beyond, as self-confident and socially responsible leaders. Nonprofit Organizations Supported by RSS Class of 2016 B’nai Mitzvah Program Association to Benefit Children Abraham Fund BeAT NYC Bottomless Closet Center for urban Community Services Free Arts for Abused Children Girls for Gender equity Harlem Children’s Zone HeAF I Have a Dream Foundation

International Rescue Committee JDRF Jordan River Village lower eastside Girls Club Musicians on Call New York Foundling Hospital Project Happy Sanctuary for Families Storefront Academy TeAK

(Gifts Continued on next page) —————–––––––—————––––––––––––———————————————————————————————————————————————————— FRIENDS OF RSS 2014-2015 IMPACT REPORT

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GIFTS TO THE 2014-2015 ANNUAL FUND KEY: * = Increase | FS = Faculty/Staff | N = First Gift as a Current Parent | T= Board of Trustees (Gifts Continued from previous page)

lori and David Bosses* Candice and Ben Braun* Carin and Persio Dangot Heidi and eyal eskenazi Roni Jacobson and David Feldman* Nadine Marder-Frieberg and David Frieberg* Jodi Schenck Gallagher and Richard Gallagher Debra Glick lilly and Alexander Golberg Sandy and David Haas* Karen Hera landau and Tsachy Hera* Adina and Doug Kagan Jamie and Robert Kaplan Sari Kessler and erika Karp Annabel Samimy and Jason Krantz* Kristen and David Krauss * Sharon and Bill levin Bonnie levy * Julie lichtstein Victoria and Steven Mendal* Felicia and Gary Nachman erela and eran Nornberg* Ita Parnass Irina Sheynfeld and Vlad Portnoy* laurie and Jeffrey Ravetz* Dana and Richard Robbins lori Cohen and Christopher Rothko Hope and David Rothschild* Abby Rothschild* elyse Kreitman and Roy Schoenberg* Fifi and Michael Simon Rosanne and Jeffrey Singer Faith Tomases Amy Yenkin and Robert usdan* Terry Danziger Vogel and Peter Vogel* Catherine and James Wallick

5th Grade - Class of 2018 92% Participation

6th Grade - Class of 2017 98% Participation Shira Nichaman and Arnie Angerman Pamela and Paul Arnsten Pernilla and David Avital* Dina and evan Bakst* Karen Berman* Keri and Ron Bernstein Miriam and Steven Bram Rachelle Goldwasser Brown and Derek Brown Sandra Moss Buzali and Jacobo Buzali* Adi and Yosi Cohen* Hilary and Richard Cooper laura and Howard Corb Andrew edelson* Helen and erwin eichmann Fiona eisenberg* Kai and Christopher Falkenberg Adriana and Jerry Fishman* 20|FRIENDS OF RSS 2014-2015 IMPACT REPORT

Claudia and Michael Freeman lauren Kwintner Garber and Robert Garber Wendy and James Gorman Abbe and Andrew Haber* Frances and David Halberg * Karen and Michael Hersch* erica and Jeff Keswin* liz and Ken Kopelman Jill and Darren Kronenberg* Yael Alkalay and Scott Kruger* Greer and Jeremy Kudon* lori and Marc lavine* Susy Sarfaty and Jonathan levin* Felicia Grumet and Mitchell levine* Andrea Dresner lewis and Roy lewis Bonnie and larry lowen Mindy and Peter Markowitz* Susan levitt and Diego Orlanski lisa and Daniel Perlman Rhonda and eric Press Alison and David Proshan lauri and Michael Rasnick Jennifer and Adam Rosenthalv elizabeth and Scott Schefrin Tracy and Jeffrey Schwartz* Tal Cohen Shore and Marc Shore Jenifer and Michael Silverman* Natalie and Jonathan Silverstein* Rachel and Jay Skaistis Yossi Vebman and Marina lowy Gretha Honsvald and Peter Weiss Beth and Don Winter Deena and Marc Winters* Susan Hitzig and Kenneth Yaffe Jonathan Yellen* Anonymous

Tamar and Amit Avnet Marcy and Andrew Barkan* Debra and Ken Bass Karen and Halle Benett * Debra Cherney and Hartley Bernstein Karen and Michael Binday* Heidi Blaivas Orit and Ronen Bojmel lisa and Michael Borodkin lori and David Bosses* Candice and Ben Braun* Kerith and Joshua Braunfeld lisa and David Carnoy* Mariana Kopelowicz and Paul De Antoni ellen and Neil eisenstadt* Roni Jacobson and David Feldman* Marci and Paul Finger * Jodi Schenck Gallagher and Richard Gallagher

Christina and Michael Gantcher* Nancy and Stephen Gates Johanna and eric Goldstein* Jane and James Greenberg '79* Jacqueline and Herman Hirsch lisa and Neal Kalish* Allyson Hentel-Koplin and Justin Koplin* Kristen and David Krauss* Mitchie Topper and Glenn Kroog* Tal and Scott lerman* Steffanie and Geoffrey levin* Gail Zweig and John Mascialino Beth and Mark May* Cheryl Mercuris Felicia and Gary Nachman Jocelyn Nager erela and eran Nornberg* Bert Orlov and Adrienne Opalka* erin Peck and Josh Penner Deborah and Jonathan Richter* Jennifer and Jeffrey Rosenthal* Jennifer and Chris Russell* lorna and Mitchell Schamroth* Risa and Harry Schessel* Juju Chang and Neal Shapiro Bradley Shaw Talia and Henry Siegel* lynn Chwatsky and Joram Siegel Carol and Jeffrey Sussman* Rachel Tigay

4th Grade - Class of 2019 100% Participation Pamela and Paul Arnsten Aileen Atkins and Avery Ryan Pernilla and David Avital* Alexandra Shapiro and Jonathan Bach* Marlene Delon Baron and Matthew Baron* Randi and Paul Barrett* Marina and Roy Bejarano erin and Brian Berger* Karen Berman* Robin Biderman Miriam and Steven Bram Marcey Becker and Robert Brody Michelle Simmons and Noah Carlson FS Carin and Persio Dangot Heidi and eyal eskenazi Amy and Russell Fridman Natalie and Nathaniel Ginor* Gili Vaturi-Glatter and Charles Glatter* Carrie and Nick Goldin Suzanne and Alex Golten* Sandy and David Haas* erica Olan and Darpan Kapadia Jamie and Robert Kaplan Sari Kessler and erika Karp

GIFTS TO THE 2014-2015 ANNUAL FUND KEY: * = Increase | FS = Faculty/Staff | N = First Gift as a Current Parent | T= Board of Trustees

“ This 4th Grade year has been

above and beyond anything I could have imagined. Each year pulls me in further & further. RSS fosters self development in the most profound ways all while building, harnessing and nurturing these kids to feel part of such a robust and tight community. I feel so lucky. Tfu tfu tfu. — Natalie Ginor P’19, ‘22, ‘24

erica and Jeff Keswin* Florina Klingbaum Kori Darling and Adam Klotz* Annabel Samimy and Jason Krantz* Karen Krop and Stefanie Siegmund lori and Marc lavine* Navit and Dotan leshem* Michele licht lisa and Steven lidsky* Jennifer and Mark lotke* Heidi and Steven lurensky* Amy Gittelman and Ken Miller lisa and Daniel Perlman Todd Peskin* Andrea levinger and Peter Phelan* Dana and Neal Roodin* Michele and Jeff Rosenberg* lorna and Mitchell Schamroth* Monica Kaiser and Steven Schuster* Nari and Ivry Semel* Debbie and ethan Semmel FS Tal Cohen Shore and Marc Shore Fifi and Michael Simon Rosanne and Jeffrey Singer Jill (Z”l) and Marc Smilow* laura Dubin-Wander and David Wander Sekka Scher and Steven Williams* Jonathan Yellen * Susan and Bradley Zizmor Anonymous

3rd Grade - Class of 2020 98% Participation Kara and Jon Aborn Dina and evan Bakst* elli and David Basner* elizabeth and Jonathan Bayer Keri and Ron Bernstein Rachelle Goldwasser Brown and Derek Brown lisa and David Carnoy* Sara and Todd Dashefsky Sarah Weinstein Dennison and Timothy Dennison laura Miller and Steven Donziger Barbara A. Fox* lauren Kwintner Garber and Robert Garber Nadia Gold and Igor Gonta* Abbe and Andrew Haber FS* Karen Hera landau and Tsachy Hera* Nancy Rose and John Kimelman* Allyson Hentel-Koplin and Justin Koplin* Robin and David Kranich* Greer and Jeremy Kudon* Judy and Marc landis* Hadas Weisman and Gil Maor Betty Fuchs and Andrew Margolin Jill Kasner and Jonathan Mogil Svetlana and Sergei Nodelman* Sarah and Seth Ostrie* Nancy and Stanley Perelman* Irina Sheynfeld and Vlad Portnoy* Alison and David Proshan lauri and Michael Rasnick Shani and David Rich Jennifer and Adam Rosenthal* Jennifer and Chris Russell* Jennifer Fleischner and Alex Schwartz* Jenna and Paul Segal Adam Sheer Jenifer and Michael Silverman* Rachel and Jay Skaistis Michal and Marc Sperling* laurie Izes and Stephen Switzky* Terry Danziger Vogel and Peter Vogel* Gretha Honsvald and Peter Weiss Rona and Michael Yaeger* Susan Hitzig and Kenneth Yaﬀe Sandra Zelouf Anonymous

2nd Grade - Class of 2021 98% Participation Kara and Jon Aborn Rachel Zweighaft and Gerald Adamski Pernilla and David Avital* Randi and Paul Barrett* Nicole Geula and Damon Basch Marina and Roy Bejarano erin and Brian Berger *

Kerith and Joshua Braunfeld Adi and Yosi Cohen* Mariana Kopelowicz and Paul De Antoni Cindy and Brian Gavin* Jenifer and Adam Geller* Melissa and Thomas Gellert* Meredith Kotler and Daniel Gitner Debra Wasserman and Jason Glasser* Suzanne and Alex Golten* Kathleen Bostjancic and Jeﬀrey Haber Kori Darling and Adam Klotz* Donna and elliot Matlin* Caroline and Marcelo Messer* Jocelyn Nager Viviane Silvera-Newman and Marc Newman* elizabeth and Murray Orbuch* Andrea levinger and Peter Phelan* laurie and Joseph Rayman FS Deborah and Jonathan Richter* Stefanie and Darryl Romanoﬀ * Heidi lefer and Adam Rosner* Tara and Michael Rothenberg* elizabeth and Scott Schefrin Risa and Harry Schessel* Sara and Samuel Schwerin Orit Saigh and Shai Shaham Bradley Shaw Talia and Henry Siegel* lynn Chwatsky and Joram Siegel Tamara and Adam Sloan Michele Taub* Yossi Vebman and Marina lowy Stephanie Nallet and Roger Von Spiegel Catherine and James Wallick Alina and Scott Wickham* Sandra Zelouf

1st Grade - Class of 2022 97% Participation Nora and Alex Abularach* Sandra and eduardo Abush* Alison and Joseph Ambeault Haim AttiasFS Tamar and Amit Avnet Marcy and Andrew Barkan* Marlene Delon Baron and Matthew Baron* Amanda and Jeﬀery Blitstein* Orit and Ronen Bojmel Michelle Simmons and Noah Carlson FS Sara and Todd Dashefsky Talia and Andrew Day* Amity and Alan Dayan Dara and Adam Freed* Amy and Russell Fridman elyssa and William Friedland* Suzanne Waltman and Martin Friedman* (Gifts Continued on next page)

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GIFTS TO THE 2014-2015 ANNUAL FUND KEY: * = Increase | FS = Faculty/Staff | N = First Gift as a Current Parent | T= Board of Trustees (Gifts Continued from previous page)

Michelle and Jon Canarick N lisa and David Carnoy* Amity and Alan Dayan Tina and James Deutsch* Jamie and Jesse eisen N Roni Jacobson and David Feldman* Regina and Brian Feuer N liora and larry Fogelman N elisabeth and Dan Friedman* Cantor Rebecca Garfein and Mike Gellman FS* Samara Minkin and Thomas Gegax Debra Wasserman and Jason Glasser* Karen Hera landau and Tsachy Hera* Jaime and eliot Horowitz Rennie and James Howard Karen and Robert Kennedy Alexia Brue and ethan Klemperer N Jamie Kohen and Jason Koenig* Fabiola and Ronen Korin* Rona Shalev and David Kraut Sari Mayer lapin and Jeffrey lapin* Yanina Feldman and Robert levitan Michele licht Sheryl and Kevin lupowitz* Kate and Steven Mankoff* elisa and Joshua Miller Jill Kasner and Jonathan Mogil Viviane Silvera-Newman and Marc Newman* Rachel and Gregory Obenshain N erin Peck and Josh Penner Shani and David Rich Hilary and Matthew Robbins* Tara and Michael Rothenberg* Su and lawrence Sage erica and Brian Schierman* Tracy and Jeffrey Schwartz* lisa and Joshua Siegel Talia and Henry Siegel* Stephanie and Andrew Slesinger N Michal and Marc Sperling* Kerith and Jeffrey Stewart laurie Izes and Stephen Switzky* Stephanie Nallet and Roger Von Spiegel Margarita Camacho-Winter and lee Winter Rona and Michael Yaeger

David Gallen erica and Mark Gerson* Mary esses and Fabio Gheilerman* Natalie and Nathaniel Ginor* Allyson and James Goldstein Nadia Gold and Igor Gonta* lisa and Neal Kalish* erica Olan and Darpan Kapadia Barbara and Neil Kaufman* Sari Kessler and erika Karp Jamie Kohen and Jason Koenig* Ghena and Jeffrey Korn* Robin and David Kranich* Mitchie Topper and Glenn Kroog* lori and Marc lavine* Jennifer and Mark lotke* Debra Kroll-Mandel and Alex Mandel N Jordana Sandler Manzano and Allen David Manzano Hadas Weisman and Gil Maor Betty Fuchs and Andrew Margolin Felicia and Gary Nachman Karen and Daren Orzechowski lisa and Daniel Perlman Jennifer Wolff and Steve Perrine* Judith Rimerman* Shira and Michael Ronen* Dana and Neal Roodin* Michele and Jeff Rosenberg* Jenna and Micah Rosenbloom* Jasmine and Michael Rothbard* lisa Baumgarten and William Rubenstein Julie and Andrew Rubinstein Sara and Samuel Schwerin Jenna and Paul Segal Nari and Ivry Semel* Juju Chang and Neal Shapiro Sandy Yoraschek and Brett Sibley Natalie and Jonathan Silverstein* Rachel and Jay Skaistis Deborah and Gadi Slade N Micah Morgovsky and Rabbi Benjamin Spratt FS laura Stuken Nathalie Tauchner Tenenbaum and Jerald Tenenbaum Jessica and David Weiser Dara and Steven Weiss Jan and Glenn Wiener lauren and Alexander Wolfson* lori and Michael York *

Pre-Kindergarten Class of 2024 92% Participation

Kindergarten - Class of 2023 96% Participation Yael Kaplan Attia and Rony Attia * Candice and Ben Braun * Britta Faust-Burak and Asi Burak N 22|FRIENDS OF RSS 2014-2015 IMPACT REPORT

Nicole Geula and Damon Basch Marina and Roy Bejarano linda Kirschenbaum and Charles Carpati Amanda Toronto and Jonathan Cristol N Sara and Todd Dashefsky Keren and George Davis Talia and Andrew Day*

Dara and Adam Freed* lisa and eric Friedman* Cantor Rebecca Garfein and Mike Gellman FS* Jenifer and Adam Geller * Melissa and Thomas Gellert* Natalie and Nathaniel Ginor* Meredith Kotler and Daniel Gitner Rebecca Goodkin* Joanna erber and Adam Gross FS* Michal and etie Hertz* Rennie and James Howard Alyse and Seth Kadushin* Karen and Robert Kennedy Kirsten Brodsky-Kimmel and Ziv Kimmel Allyson Hentel-Koplin and Justin Koplin* Ghena and Jeﬀrey Korn* Katrina Wyman and Jonathan landsman Sherri and Jonathan lender* Jennifer and Mark lotke* Michelle and Jonathon luft Caroline and Marcelo Messer* Gayle and Andrew Meyer Michal and Jason Oberlander Sarah and Seth Ostrie* Michele and Jeﬀ Rosenberg* Sarah and Matthew Rothman* Stacey and Robert Seltzer* lisa and Joshua Siegel Deborah and Gadi Slade N Johanna and Brian Snyder* Beth and Zachary Solomon Maryana Kodner and Aaron Taylor* Jacqueline and Andre Veissid* Aimee and Bram Weber FS Nicole Fisher and Adam Wiesen Beth and Don Winter lauren and Alexander Wolfson*

Threes - Class of 2025 100% Participation Jennifer and Alex Abrams* Daniel Berner and Robin Krugman Ruth and Adam BernsteinFS* Julia Sivitz and Matthew Bieber N Beth and Zachary Bornstein Margaret and Philip Brohn Sigal Mandelker and Steven Capozzola N Jessica and Seth Cohen N Charlotte Rashti and Rick Cooper N Jodi and Jake Dell'Aquila* Kimberly and Kevin eilian Amanda Tarter and Joshua Flaherty* erica and Mark Gerson* Jennifer and Dov Goldstein* Stephanie Phillips and Brad Gross* Alexia Brue and ethan Klemperer N Hila Kollnesher Rev*

GIFTS TO THE 2014-2015 ANNUAL FUND KEY: * = Increase | FS = Faculty/Staff | N = First Gift as a Current Parent | T= Board of Trustees Marsha and Todd Koppel* Fabiola and Ronen Korin* Hannah lavan and erez Schori FS, N Yanina Feldman and Robert levitan limor and Jordan Mann N elizabeth Osur-Marcal and Pedro Marcal* Ann and Daniel Melinger Rachel and Gregory Obenshain N Shoshana and Gregory Parets lauren and Adam Rasken* leslie and Marc Regenbaum Revital and Ben Reitzes* Jenna and Micah Rosenbloom* Marci and S. Jeﬀrey Rothenberg Samantha Chinn and Gabin Rubin '80 Ilana Katz Sand and Michael Sand* elyse Fox and Joe Saporito Sarah and David Schimmel FS* Jenna and Paul Segal Marni and Jeﬀrey Serbin Keren Perry-Shamir and Shai Shamir*

Caroline Moon and Andrew Silbiger N Beth and Zachary Solomon Noah Waxman and Theodore Sperling N Ilene and Jeﬀrey Weiss* Dara and Steven Weiss laura Gordon and Berkley Wilson N Cynthia and David Wolf lori and Michael York* Jessica linden and Michael Zawadzki* Kara Rubin and Michael Zigman N Suzanne and Adam Zimbler N

Twos - Class of 2026 97% Participation Kara and Jon Aborn Randi and Paul Barrett* erin and Brian Berger* Stephanie Bloom N Sara and Todd Dashefsky Tina and James Deutsch* Michele and Andrew Finkelstein N

Annual Fund Gifts from Friends Francine Alfandary Meredith Oppenheim and Mauro Bonugli Cristal enterprises, lCC Ivy and Justin Dash Janice and Howard Fineman Ruth Hochberger and Martin Flumenbaum, Congregation Rodeph Sholom , Board Chair Scott Gaynor T Harry & Sons Contracting Con, Inc. Joseph Hollander lisa and Spencer Jesner Jo Kay T Sasha Krawitz Kolb electric, Inc. laurie Siegel and Joseph lando Andrea Kretchmer and Paul lutvak T Jessica Melendez Josephine and eric Mogelof North Shore Cosmetic & Implant Dentistry, PC Noah and Ashley Pettit elaine Pollack Robin Porter leslie Kanter and Roland Riopelle Rothschild Art Foundation, Inc. Beverly and Jackson Salasky Terry Hurst-Sanders and William Sanders

Maya and eric Fishman Jenifer and Adam Geller* Cory and Jason Haber N Jaime and eliot Horowitz erica and Brian Jacoby N Kirsten Brodsky-Kimmel and Ziv Kimmel Ariela Nathusius and Andrew Kleiman N Katrina Wyman and Jonathan landsman Sherri and Jonathan lender* Caroline and Marcelo Messer* elisa and Joshua Miller Irina Sheynfeld and Vlad Portnoy* Alessia and Gabriel Roitman lauren and Russell Sachs* Su and lawrence Sage Johanna and Brian Snyder* elyse Buxbaum and Scott Stringer N Jacqueline and Andre Veissid* Stephanie Nallet and Roger Von Spiegel Wendy and Matthew Waxman N Jessica and David Weiser

Sannargot, llC Silver & Brown Nancy and David Solomon Sheila and Ygal Sonenshine Hilary and Robert Steinman union of Reform Judaism

Matching Gifts American Securities Foundation Ameriprise Financial, Inc. Bank of America Barclays Capital Capital Group Companies Deutsche Bank Fitch Ratings Fortress Investment Group Gartner, Inc. Goldman Sachs Group Google Hearst Macy’s Foundation Morgan Stanley & Company, Inc. Open Society Institute Rockefeller Foundation Thomson Reuters uBS Warburg Walt Disney Company

KEY: T= Board of Trustees

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GIFTS TO THE 2014-2015 ANNUAL FUND

Annual Fund Gifts from Current and Former Faculty and Staff Members More faculty and staff members chose to support the RSS Annual Fund this year than ever before, including our clergy and some of our colleagues at Congregation Rodeph Sholom. Their generosity and participation show their belief in our community and everything our school stands for. Many thanks to the following faculty and staff members who contributed this year: Michelle Alperin Jessica Alyesh Katie Bartley lianne Bassin Miri Becher Marsha Berkowitz P'99 Ruth Bernstein P'25 Jennifer Blaikie P'04, '06 Maxine Borenstein Kerith Braunfeld P'18, '21 Daryl Cantor Noah Carlson P'19, '22 emma and eric Castro Jaclyn Cohen Christopher Copeland Hattie Danziger Patricia Dennison Vivien Drabkin Julia Duﬀy Colleen Dundon Paul Druzinsky Joanna erber Gross P'24 lea epstein Allison Fass Karen Fecher Meri Fine Cantor Rebecca Garfein P'23, '24 Jennifer Gellert louis Glaser Mike Glick Sarah Goldstein Felicia Gordon elisheva Gould 24|FRIENDS OF RSS 2014-2015 IMPACT REPORT

Kate Greenfield Jaclyn Greenstein Michael Gruber Abbe Haber P’20, ‘27 Hagit Halperin Sarah Haun Anna Hoffman P'94 Caitlin Hopkins Jerrold Katz elizabeth Koncz Jessica Korenblatt Susan Kurschner P'82 Hanna larish Hannah lavan P'25 Donielle lavintman Jennifer laytin Nina levi Rabbi Robert levine P'98, '00, '08 Jonathan levine Todd loyd Zach Mann Jordana Marshall Jackie Mattel erin McGuff Nadine Melniker Mackenzie Merkel Megan Metrikin Rabbi Rachel Grant Meyer Sophie Mortner '06 Cindy Nagel Susan Newman Marge Olsen Brendan Oswald Bryant Palmer

John Parente Ava Parnes Amanda Perlmutter laurie Piette Molly Raik laurie Rayman P'21, '21 lisa Rockman Naomi Saposh Sarah Schimmel, P'25 Keren Schuller lindsey Schwimmer Deborah Semmel P'19 Jessica Shaviv elizabeth Shaw Barbara Siegal Adrienne Silberman leslie Silverstein Helen Singer Johanna Snyder P’24, ‘26 Stephanie Sokol Rabbi Benjamin Spratt P'22 laura Stuken P'22 Gabrielle Sussman Ana Turkienicz Aimee Weber P'24 Melissa Weinkle Judy Weinmann P'11,'15 Hava Weiss Ruth Weiss Han Wu Mandy Wynn Sara Yoskowitz Hannah Zweig Anonymous

Alumni Program

few years ago, eight members of the RSS Class of 2001 gathered in the new elementary Division library to see one another and some of their teachers and reminisce about their years at RSS. The common themes of that night went something like this: “I can’t believe how long it’s been since we’ve been here!” and “Wow, this is so surreal!” Now those same alumni, and many more like them, get together a few times each year. The themes are no longer about surprise because it’s no longer so unusual for RSS alums to see each other regularly: that’s one of the great results of our quickly growing alumni program.

Two years ago, we hired a full-time Alumni Director and expanded oﬀerings and outreach both online and in person. This June, more than 25 21-and-over alumni gathered at a rooftop bar downtown for our latest event. They’ll get together again this fall, and again a few months after that. What we’re doing is strengthening an already powerful community, giving all of our graduates—every alum is invited to at least one in-person event each year—opportunities to stay connected with one another and with our School. This programming is possible, in part, because of alumni giving, which has quadrupled in just two years. We are determined to be the kind of program that inspires alumni of all ages to make a contribution, of any amount, to RSS. Our alumni know better than anyone the value of an RSS education. Their growing commitment inspires us to keep developing one of the best alumni programs in New York City.

Class of 1979 Jane and James Greenberg P'18 Class of 1980 Samantha Chinn and Gabin Rubin P'25 Class of 1982 Jennifer Cuoco and Ben Silverman Class of 1992 Andrew Janko Class of 1998 Judah levine Class of 2000 ezra levine Class of 2001 Rebecca Rogers-Hawson Class of 2004 Jessica Bendit Arielle Darr Jonathan Kornblau Tess leibowitz Katie levy evan Miller

Class of 2005 Beth Braiterman Class of 2006 Ben Darr Sophie Mortner FS Class of 2007 Nick levy Class of 2008 Stefan Krawitz Maya levine Class of 2010 Sarah Fine Jay Fleischer Gabriel Frieberg Max Friedman lydia Goldberg Joshua Hoﬁng Zachary landow Jamie lichtenstein Maya linden Anna lipin Allison Mansbach Nathan Press Jay Rappaport Mischa Rothko Brady Schneider Nick Shaerf Samuel Shapiro

Class of 2011 Jonathan Bleiberg Ian lipman Jacob Marcus Daniel Martin Jeremy Robbins Class of 2012 Megan Arden Jacob Perman David Rothblatt Class of 2013 Benji Hoﬁng Bailey landow Hailey lipman ellie Marcus Jacob Rose Matt Zlotnick Class of 2014 Sarah Bank emily Bleiberg Jacob Scherr Noa Simon

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An RSS Education Lasts a Lifetime By Bryant Palmer, DIReCTOR OF AluMNI RelATIONS

annah zachary ’04 fell in love with the American South as an 8th Grader, when she traveled to Mississippi and louisiana with her RSS classmates and learned about the history and inﬂuence of Judaism in so many small Delta towns. She vowed to come back one day, and did she ever: Hannah now lives in Memphis and works in charitable giving. She says both her home and her career were inspired by her experiences at Rodeph Sholom.

We hear these kinds of stories all the time. So many of Hannah’s classmates, our ﬁrst students to graduate from 8th Grade, and the students who came before and after them, are living the RSS mission. Michael Wilner ’01 puts his foundation of Jewish knowledge to good use every single day as the Washington Bureau Chief for The Jerusalem post. High schooler Talia Eskenazi ’13 co-founded a nonproﬁt organization called Celebrate u, which provides free birthday parties for children living in New York City shelters. Ezra Levine ’00 and zev Lebowitz ’00 are among the RSS graduates who serve on the board of Tribe, an innovative Jewish organization that promotes spiritual practice and social engagement

among young professional Jews in New York City. We could go on and on. Another way an RSS education endures is through the connections our students make while in school here. earlier this year, Etai Avital ’07 spent his short leave from serving in the Israeli army visiting New York City and hanging out with his classmates from Middle School. Tess Leibowitz ’04 and Emily Seigel ’04 ﬂew from their respective homes in los Angeles and Denver across the globe to New Zealand to visit fellow graduate Arielle Darr ’04. Jesse Hutcher ’01, Alex Katz ’01, and corey Moser ’01 met up downtown at the engagement party of their classmate Ruby Goldsand ’01. We could share a dozen more

examples of RSS alumni continuing the friendships they began here well into high school and college and beyond. This is all to say that the work we do here isn’t just about a strong academic foundation and preparing students for the rigors of high school, and it isn’t just about helping young people ﬁgure out who they are and how to appreciate their Judaism. It’s those things, for sure, but also so much more. The phrase “warm, vibrant community” is a key part of the RSS mission. What that phrase doesn’t say is understood by all of us: that the RSS community doesn’t begin in the Twos and end at graduation. It lasts a lifetime.

Class of 2015 High School Placement Abraham Joshua Heschel School Berkeley Carroll School The Brearley School Bronx High School of Science The Chapin School Choate Rosemary Hall

Columbia Grammar and Preparatory School The Dalton School Dwight-englewood School elisabeth Irwin High School (lReI) ethical Culture Fieldston School Friends Seminary

Grace Church School Horace Mann School laGuardia High School of Music & Art Riverdale Country School The Spence School Trevor Day School Trinity School

Class of 2011 College Choices Daniel Bendelac zachary Benedek Julian Bernstein Jonathan Bleiberg Michael David Teddy Dubno Isabel Eide Sam Gertler Andrew Glasser zoe Hirsch Jack Javer

Haverford College Brandeis university emerson College Yale university university of Wisconsin university of Southern California university of Miami Tufts university university of Michigan university of Michigan Barrett, the Honors College at Arizona State university

Gabriella Kahan Ian Lipman Jacob Marcus Daniel Martin Matthew oshrin Jeremy Robbins Gabriel Rosen Elyse Shulman Jacob Snyder Sabrina Weintrob Dalia Wrocherinsky Danielle zuckerman

Tulane university Vanderbilt university Cornell university Ithaca College Cornell university Washington university Stanford university university of Delaware Wesleyan College Cornell university Vanderbilt university university of Michigan

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RSS Parents of Alumni By Bryant Palmer, DIReCTOR OF AluMNI RelATIONS

here’s something strange about those ﬁrst few months after your youngest child graduates from Rodeph Sholom School. Suddenly this place that’s been so central to your family’s life, often for more than a decade, is less so. Your kids attend diﬀerent schools, the names of teachers you talk about at dinner are less familiar, there is no Israel trip or STeM expo or basketball game in the RSS gym. And the people you see at school events are not the people you’re used to seeing, the best friends you’ve known for so long.

This is one of the reasons we throw a party for parents of alumni near the end of each winter. This new tradition gives parents of alumni—from the 1990s all the way to this very last year—a chance to reconnect with one another and with school leaders and 28|FRIENDS OF RSS 2013-2014 IMPACT REPORT

teachers, to nosh on snacks in the Schaﬂer, and to reminisce. It’s a fun party, and each year the mood is jubilant and light, a wonderful reminder of how special our School is, and how the connections made here are not lost after graduation day.

We are so grateful for the ﬁnancial support of so many of our parents of alumni; they help guarantee that more and more students and families will beneﬁt from the RSS experience long after they have.

PARENTS OF ALUMNI GIFTS TO THE ANNUAL FUND It’s astounding how many parents of alumni continue to support Rodeph Sholom School. As this list grows longer each year, we are grateful to know that so many continue to see RSS as an important organization and part of their lives. Marissa Allen P'10 Shira Nichaman and Arnie Angerman P'13, '17 Karen and Jeffrey Bank P'14, '16 Ingrid and Bob Barnett P'14 Karyn and Charles Bendit P'04, '07 Amy and Jonathan Bergner P'13 Marsha Berkowitz and Wayne Kabak P'99, FS Joan and Frederick Berman P'95, '01 Jennifer Blaikie and lawrence Robbins P'04, '06, FS Ronne Mandelker and Andrew Braiterman P'05 Monica Jacobson and Arnold Bressler P'94, '98 Marcey Becker and Robert Brody P'14, '19 Joanne Zaiac and Robert Coven P'07, '10, '15 Judy and Joel Darr P'04, '06 Dalia Darwish P'13, '15 Sasson Darwish P'13, '15 Diane Drey P'95, '97, '99 Helen and erwin eichmann P'14, '17 Susan erlich P'08 Heidi and eyal eskenazi P'13, '16, '19 liz Fine P’10, '13, '15 Peter Fine P'10, '13, '15 Judy Messina and David Fleischer P ’10, ‘13 Nadine Marder-Frieberg and David Frieberg P'10, '16 Suzanne Waltman and Martin Friedman P'10, '12, '13, '22 Cindy and Brian Gavin P'12, '21 Cara S. lown P'08, '11 lilly and Alexander Golberg P'12, '16 Pinelopi and Aaron Goldberg P'10, '10 Karen and Michael Hersch P'09, '17 Anna and Michael Hoffman P'94, FS Beth Rubin and Mitchell Hofing P'10,'13 Amy Tapper and Adam Israel P'12, '15 Adina and Doug Kagan P'14, '16 Stacy Kanter and eric Kornblau P'04 Jamie and Robert Kaplan P'13, '16, '19 Rose Marie and Morty Katz P'01 Randall Kau P‘89, ‘93 Bonnie and Ron Klein P'12 Annabel Samimy and Jason Krantz P'14, '16, '19 Simona and Scott Krawitz P''13 Sue and Robert Kurschner P'82, FS Robin landow levitin P'13, '15 Tal and Scott lerman P'14, '18 Sharon and William levin P'07, '09, '12, '16 Susy Sarfaty and Jonathan levin P'13, '17 Felicia Grumet and Mitchell levine P'14, '17 Gina and Rabbi Robert levine P'98, '00, '08, FS Sol levitin P'13, '15

Gayle levy P'07, '12, '15 Janet and Gary levy P'04, '07 Amy and Steven lipin P'10, '15 Jaynee and Steve lipman P'11, '13 Heidi and Steven lurensky P'13,'19 eileen Kleiman and Peter lurye P'10, '12 Betty and Michael Marcus P'11, '13 Arlene Markowitz P'10 lisa Timmel and David Markus P'12, '15 Carolyn and Jeffrey Meckler P'14 Victoria and Steven Mendal P'12, '16 Beverly Miller and Carl Palash P'95, '98 Susan levitt and Diego Orlanski P'13, '17 Sandra Hauser and Jeffrey Parness P'13, '15 Stephen Pearlman and Nansi Friedman P'97, '99, '99 Jerilyn and Brian Perman P'12, '15 elizabeth london and David Piaker P'10 Rosita Dolgicer and larry Pleasant P'00, '15 Rhonda and eric Press P’10, ’12, ‘17 Alison and David Proshan P'14, '17, '20 laurie and Jeffrey Ravetz P'13, '16 Cathy Klema and David Resnick P'05, '07 Dana and Richard Robbins P'11, '16, '16 Carl Rosen and Judy Weinmann P'11,'15, FS lilli and Jonathan Roth P’10, ‘15 Rachel Simon and Ronald Rothblatt P'12 lori Cohen and Christopher Rothko P’ 10, ‘12, ‘16 lisa Rudolph P'07, '09 emily Terry and Steven Sabella P'10, '12, '15 Janice Gelfand and Paul Scherr P'14 Tami Schneider P'10, '13 Fifi and Michael Simon P'14, '16, '19 Melanie Srour P'08, '14 Robin and larry Statsky P'06,'06 Stephanie Rein and edward Stern P'14, '15 Amy Yenkin and Robert usdan P’13, ‘16 Heidi and Gary Wachtel P'10, '14 Nancy Crown and Samuel Weisman P'12 Anonymous With thanks to these Parents of Alumni who make RSS a philanthropic priority with continued gifts of $5,000 or more after graduation Judy Messina and David Fleischer Gina and Rabbi Robert Levine Jaynee and Steve Lipman Tami Schneider Nancy crown and Samuel Weisman

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2015 marked the end of Bryant Palmer’s 16-year career at Rodeph Sholom School. As a member of the founding faculty when the Middle School was established in 2001, he has taught all of our 8th Grade graduates, and some of our 6th! His final role at RSS as our Alumni Relations Director tightened his bonds with our community. Some of his former students and a fellow colleague share their thoughts on his departure below.

Goodbye to Mr. Palmer: A Middle School Farewell

By vivian Drabkin, eNGlISH HeAD TeACHeR

a many of you know, Bryant is a voracious consumer of music and an avid concertgoer. He likes being with the crowd at a concert, experiencing that closeness and focus together with a group of strangers. I recently learned that his favorite part of a show is when the whole audience is singing along together with the performer and then the performer goes silent but the audience continues along, all together for a moment. like a musician, Bryant can ﬁll a room and engage a group. But like a savvy performer, Bryant can also step away from the spotlight--even though he’ll tell you he hates to do so. What happens when Bryant steps away is what makes his leadership seamless; his audience (whoever they are) then steps up, taking the lead so that their experience becomes paramount. An example of this is Mr. Palmer’s famous call and response. You heard it at graduation. What I’ve realized is that when Mr. Palmer does this call and response with the students, it’s about Mr. Palmer, but it’s mostly about the experience that those children have as a group, calling back, hearing their voices together as one loud, tween or teen blast. Sure, Mr. Palmer loves the attention and he loves setting things

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up with the Bryant Palmer Show, but it is bigger than that. Just when he’s fooled us all into thinking it’s the Bryant Palmer Show, the channel changes and there’s new programming. And what we see is the tennis team working together, or the yearbook going to print, or a 5th Grade advisory sitting in Mr. Palmer’s room just listening to music. Or maybe it’s an alumni dinner or students cheering for one another at the Geography Bee. Bryant, the one who brought everyone together on his show, is nowhere to be seen. The real magic to Bryant’s leadership is that people want to come together when Bryant is around. Bryant does not need slogans to build community because Bryant invites community.

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When I think of Mr. Palmer I think of sitting on the tables in his room in 5th Grade singing along to “Travelin’ Soldier” on repeat!!! There were about 15 of us and we would do it every break and it was so fun:)

Mr. Palmer was definitely one of the most, if not the single most influential teacher that I’ve had in my life. I am so grateful for his compassion and conviction.

—SABRINA WEINTROB, ‘11

——————————————— One story that I remember well was in 5th Grade history class. It was in about the middle of the year, and we were all getting bored of learning and wanted to do something fun. So Mr. Palmer said, “Okay guys. What do you want to talk about? Bacon?” We all agreed quickly. “Okay,” he said.“Let’s learn about Nathaniel Bacon.” He is such a nice person, and that was his way to get us excited to learn. —ESTHER FLEISCHER, ‘13

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—LILY J.M. GURMAN, ‘06

——————————————— Mr. Palmer was one of the most influential, motivating, kind, and thoughtful teachers (and friends) I've been lucky enough to know. —RACHERL SARD

———————–———————— I remember in 3rd or 4th Grade he came to sit with us at lunch and introduced himself as one of the Middle School teachers. I remember he sat atop of one foot, like we did. It was the first time I met him and it definitely eased the anxiety I had about graduating to the next level of my education. —SHAYNE COPLAN, ‘12

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——————————————— 1) When I was in 5th Grade, we were learning about Ferdinand Magellan. He was an explorer who went around the world, then landed in the Philippines and got eaten by cannibals. None of us knew that, and he said he needed a volunteer to “play” him, and he picked me. All I needed to do was lie on the ground, he told me. He whispered something to two others in the class, and they started laughing. I lay on the ground, and as I was just minding my own business, they came over and pretended to be cannibals and eat me! Everyone started laughing because of how ridiculous it was. I got up, a little embarrassed, and he said, “How did you get up? You’re still dead!” Everyone started laughing harder, including me. It was pretty funny.

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I was having a very difficult day and he asked me what was wrong. I told him I didn't want to talk about it and he replied, “All right. Why don't we do a little character development. If Annabelle," the character I was writing about at the time, “were having the same problems you're having right now, how would she deal with them?” From 5th Grade to 11th Grade, I still carry that idea with me. It helps me understand my problems in a way I previously could not (or just stubbornly refused to) and I am still grateful for everything he has taught me.

I remember his amazing talent as a teacher; in many ways, Mr. Palmer established my foundation for History and helped inspire a pursuit of knowledge that has continued through my everyday life! Back in 5th Grade, he even inspired me to make a board game where the more questions you answered about the Revolutionary War, the farther your piece advanced until it ultimately crossed the finish line and won the game. Of course we learned about Magellan and the Iroquois, but in doing so, we also learned about ourselves. I learned about what interested me as a person, how to get along with my peers, and how to perfectly match my silliness with some discipline in the classroom, even if I didn't quite realize it at the time. Mr. Palmer is one of those teachers that you never forget, and the incredible impact he has had on so many people is self evident by what I’m sure is a vast outpouring of stories and thank you's. Thank you for the wonderful years, Mr. Palmer.

—JAMIE DESSEN ‘12

——————————————— When the 8th Grade class of 2004 had our picture taken for the yearbook, Mr. Palmer got in the middle of the street and risked his life to get the best angle with all of us in the pic. Sean Goldberg and I thought this was so funny, our mouths are wide open in the pic. As a side note, his southern accent was more pronounced in those days. In and of itself, the accent is less funny than Bryant’s wit. However, the conjunction of the two had me laughing at least once per class in 6th Grade.

—JACK JAVER, ‘11

——————————————— Another fun Mr. Palmer memory came in 5th Grade when he had our entire advisory memorize the first verse of “Ice Ice Baby.”

—EVAN MILLER, ‘04

—LILY J.M. GURMAN, ‘06

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2) When we were in Israel, I tried to take a picture of Sophie, who was right in front of the Western Wall, but Mr. Palmer was right next to her. He said, “No paparazzi, please!” but proceeded to pose dramatically with his hand in front of his face for my camera. —NIKKI ZIEBELMAN, ‘13

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——————————————— At RSS, Mr. Palmer flooded my world with books like “Walk Two Moons,” seared the quadratic formula into my brain, enlightened me about places around the world from Alabama to Tanzania, trained me in all things yearbook, and ultimately guided me through my graduation speech. But most importantly, Mr. Palmer filled my days at Rodeph with laughter, inspiration, warmth, and a ridiculous amount of fun. —TESS LEIBOWITZ, ‘04

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——————————————— I was hesitant to send this story in, as it is, for me, a bit embarrassing. I decided I had to submit it (and risk the embarrassment) because it exemplifies what a wonderful person and teacher you are: In 5th Grade, I wrote notes on my hand for a pop quiz in your history class. I was sure I’d gotten away with it. Later that day, you came into my JS class with Mrs. Abraham and asked for a volunteer, knowing I would most certainly raise my hand. You called on me and took me out of class, only to inform me that you knew I had cheated. I was totally wigged out, and even though I had done something wrong, you still comforted me and my worried 5th Grade tears. What has stayed with me most, however, was how you made sure not to embarrass me when taking me out of class. That has stuck with me for eight years and will continue to stick with me for a lifetime. Thank you for that. —LILY J.M. GURMAN, ‘06

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One of my clearest gradeschool memories is of Mr. Palmer teaching us how to use deodorant in 6th Grade. Maybe not teaching. More like, gently suggesting that it might be time for each of us to take a good, hard sniff and figure out whether it was time to up our hygiene game. It was a critical life lesson. My male classmates started improving their odor. And Mr. Palmer showed me how to handle a potentially awkward conversation with sensitivity and forthrightness — a model I continue to carry with me in my adult life. —JESSICA BENDIT, ‘04

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– I wanted to take a moment to let you know just what an impact you have had on my life/experience as a student. I truly believe that my love of books, writing, and ultimately my decision to major in English in college came from reading books in your classroom. I have such vivid memories of having THE BEST time reading, learning and laughing with my friends while we worked in that room. I know this sounds cliché, but I

just wanted to say that you are by far the best teacher that I've ever had. And those memories of learning to love English are really important to me. —RACHEL PLUTZIK

–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Mr. Palmer completely changed my perspective on learning. He turned me into the enthusiastic, dedicated, and conscientious student that I am today. Mr. Palmer’s passion for learning and teaching was contagious. He taught me how to find a balance between working hard and having fun. Mr. Palmer’s strengths weren’t confined to the history classroom; he was an incredible advisor. If I was having trouble in a class, he was the first person I went to. If I felt disorganized, he was the first person I went to. If I hated lunch in the cafeteria that day, he was the first person I went to. Mr. Palmer was always there to give me advice and reassurance, no matter how silly my concern was. —DANI ZUCKERMAN, ‘11

–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Donations in honor of Bryant Palmer Andrew Braiterman and Ronne Mandelker P’05 Jessica K. Bendit Beth Braiterman ‘05 Beth Rubin and Mitchell Hoﬁng P'10,'13 Rose Marie and Morty Katz P'01 ezra levine '00 Nicholas levy Carolyn and Jeﬀrey Meckler P'14 Jacob Perman '12 Rebecca Rogers-Hawson '01 Rachel Simon and Ronald Rothblatt P'12 David Rothblatt '12 Jacob Scherr '14 Tami Schneider ‘10, ‘13

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Extended Family Program each year RSS welcomes more than 300 grandparents into our School through the extended Family Program to strengthen the special bonds among our students, their families, and our community. The program is run by Special events Coordinator and former 2nd Grade teacher, Sarah Schimmel, and features classroom visits, shared community service learning experiences, a dedicated newsletter for grandparents and friends of the School, and special invitations to social events. In addition to events organized specially for extended family, grandparents, aunts, uncles, caretakers, and family friends are always welcome to accompany current parents to any important RSS moments.

2014-2015 Grandparents Events GIGI ON BROADWAY

GIGI oN BRoADWAY coMPLETE WITH LuNcH WITH RSS PARENT AND THE SHoW’S PRoDucER, JENNA SEGAL AND HER MoM, LESLIE KATz. 34|FRIENDS OF RSS 2014-2015 IMPACT REPORT

2014-2015 Grandparents Events 2nd Grade

WELcoMING EvENT IN THE STuDENTS’ FIRST YEAR IN ouR 79TH STREET cAMPuS FEATuRING cLASSRooM vISITS, A STuDENT PERFoRMANcE AND LuNcH. ExTENDED FAMILY MEMBERS FINISH THE DAY BY WRITING THANK You LETTERS FoR THEIR STuDENTS To REcEIvE IN THE MAIL.

THREES PROGRAM

vISITS To THE cLASSRooM, SHABBAT SERvIcE AND A BRuNcH REcEPTIoN FoR ExTENDED FAMILY MEMBERS oF ouR 3S STuDENTS. —————–––––––—————––––––––––––———————————————————————————————————————————————————— FRIENDS OF RSS 2014-2015 IMPACT REPORT

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2014-2015 Grandparents Events Kindergarten Passover Celebration

PASSovER cELEBRATIoN FEATuRING STuDENT ART AND PERFoRMANcE, REcEPTIoN, AND SERvIcE LEARNING PRoJEcT. ExTENDED FAMILY MEMBERS MADE HoLIDAY cARDS WITH THEIR STuDENTS FoR THE SENIoRS oF DoRoT. DoRoT oFFERS voLuNTEER oPPoRTuNITIES AND SERvIcES MEETING THE JEWISH coMMuNAL RESPoNSIBILITY To cARE FoR ouR ELDERS. 36|FRIENDS OF RSS 2014-2015 IMPACT REPORT

2014-2015 Grandparents Events 4th Grade Poetry Reading

Other Programs

extended family members attended a private viewing of Kabbalah Me, a documentary from RSS Parent, Steven Bram.

ExTENDED FAMILY MEMBERS ATTEND THE cAPSToNE EvENT oF THE 4TH GRADE PoETRY uNIT, FEATuRING A SPEcIAL vIDEo, READINGS oF oRIGINAL WoRK BY EAcH STuDENT AND A BEAuTIFuL REcEPTIoN.

To date, RSS has collected over 140 recipes and stories from grandparents for our ﬁrst-ever extended Family cookbook. The book will be on sale at this year’s Parent Association Book Fair, Celebrate Books!, on November 12th and 13th. Copies will also be available through the School website and make great holiday gifts!

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GRANDPARENT GIVING A whopping 76% of grandparent donors increased their gift as part of the Light Our Match Challenge campaign this year. And the number of RSS grandparents participating in the Annual Fund grew by 50% since last year, making our extended family community one of the most generous in the country.

KEY: * = Increased gift to the Annual Fund | N = First year in the community GP= Grandparent | GGP= Great Grandparent Abbey and Richard Aborn GP'20, '21, '26 Israella and Howard Abrams GP'25 Jasi and Sergio Abush GP’22* Gene Phillips GP'25 June and Robert Amsterdam GP'14, '17, '20* Dorothy and lawrence Arnsten GP'15, '17, '19* ellen Bakst GP'15, '17, '20* Susan Bank GP'14, '16* Dale and Max Berger GP'19, '21* Janet Rosen and Joel Bernstein GP'25* Wendy and Mark Biderman GP'19 Arlene Blitstein GP'22* Judith Borkowsky GP'23, '24, '24* Michael Borkowsky GP'23, '24, '24* Wilma Braun and Victor Schneider GP'16, '18, '23 Victor Brener GP'23 N Karen and Gabriel Brodsky GP'24, '26* Suzanne and Nordahl Brue GP'23, '25 N lynda and George Carlson GP'19, '22 Harriet and Morty Chwatsky GP'18, '21* Suzanne F. Cohen GP'15, '15* Marian and Harvey Cooper GP'25* ellen and Sabin Danziger GP'16, '20 Charlotte and Jeﬀrey Denenberg GP'24 ellen Rudnick and Paul earle GP'25* Joan ebel GP'24, '25 Charlene and Pierre eilian GP'19, '22, '24, '25* ethel eisenberg GP'17* Julius eisenstadt GPP'18* Diane Krantz-epstein and Bernie epstein GP'14, '16, '19* Ingrid and William erber GP'24 Donna and Allan essenfeld GP'17, '20* Judy and Peter Farkas GP'25* Bela and George Fischer GP'24, '24* Rochelle and Jerald Folk GP'22 Marilyn and lawrence Friedland GP'22* Jill and Richard Gallen GP'22* Vivian Garfein and Mike Abram GP'23, '24* Cynthia and Michael Geller GP'21, '24, '26* Susan and Micahel Gerson GP'22, '25* Marjorie Goldin GP'19* Kenneth Gordon GP '25 N Sandy and Ken Greenbaum GP'22, '25* Judi and lenny Haber GP'17, '20* 38|FRIENDS OF RSS 2014-2015 IMPACT REPORT

elinor and George Haber GP '21* Jean and Jack Hentel GP'18, '20, '24* Barbara and Merryl Herskovits GP'24 leslie and Joel Katz GP'20, '22, '25* Michael Katz GGP'25* Thelma Kaufman GP'21* Ai Ra Kim GP'25N Arlene and Melvin Kirschenbaum GP'15, '24* Judith Klemperer GP'23 '25 N Helene and earl Koenig GP'22, '23* Sherry and Cary Koplin GP'18, '20, '24* Susan and Mark Korsten GP'21, '24* Sarah Ann and Werner Kramarsky GP'15, '15* lynn and Jules Kroll GP'17,'19, '20, '25* Angie and Ken Kudon GP'17, '20* Barbara and Jerrold lavine GP'17, '19, '22 Claire Alpert and Bob levenson GP'23* Cecile levenson GP'24* Beryl and Samuel levinger GP'19, '21 Cathy levinson GP'24* Robin and Jay lewis GP'23* Marian and Fred lichtstein GP'16 Joan lipin GP'10, '15 Rose lipman GP'11, '13 Marjorie Mann and Bob Gordon GP'15, '17, '22* laurie Margolies and Jason Horowitz GP'23* Marilyn and Jerry Markowitz GP'17* Sarah and Howard Miller GP'23 N Glenda and David Minkin GP'23, '23* Marilyn and Joel Morgovsky GP'22 Beatriz and Isidoro Orlanski GP'13, '17 Judy and Ronald Osur GP'25* Marcia and David Perman GP'12, '15 Ruth and Arnold Peskin GP'19 eugenia and Sidney Possick GP'22, '23* Mary Beth and Neil Proshan GP'14, '17, '20 Susan and Arthur Rebell GP'22* Martin Richter GP'18, '21* Diana and Ira Riklis GP'22, '24 Iris and Ira Rimerman GP'22* Sue and Jerry Rolnick GP'17, '20* Tanya and Michael Romanoﬀ GP'21* Holly Russell and Jack Rosenthal GP'20, '18* Melanie and Michael Rothenberg GP'25* Ruth Rothman GP'24* emily and louis Rubinﬁeld GP'22*

Sheryl and Bill Rubinstein GP'18, '19, '22* lois and larry Schimmel GP'25 Judy and Joseph Schocken GP'20, '21, '26* Howard Schulder GP'18, '22* Susan and lawrence Schulman GP'18, '21* Myrna and everett Schuval GP'13, '16, '19* evelyn Schwerin GP'21, '22 Meira Shaham GP'21* Diane and Isaac Shalev GP'23* Joan and leonard Shore GP'17, '19* Thomas Silbiger GP'25 N Batia and Miro Silvera GP'21* elaine and Marc Silverman GP'17, '20* leslie Silverstein GP'15,'17,'22* Marta Sivitz GP'25* Nelly and Genrikh Sivorinovsky GP'21* Jerry Skolnick GP'26 N Betsy and Martin Solomon GP'22* laraine and David Spector GP'23, '25* Sue and Martin Spector GP'17, '19, '22 Dean Spiegel GP'21, '23* Sharen and Randall Spratt GP'22* Claire and Paul Stuken GP'15, '18, '22, '26* Nonie and Peter Susser GP'19* Barbara and Harvey Taub GP'21* Ann and Richard Travis GP'18, '18 Tova usdan GP'13,'16 Geta and Michael Vogel GP'16, '20* Sandra Wasserman GP'21, '26* Stephen Waxman GP '23 N Sandra and Martin Weinstein GP'20* Susan and Robert Weiser GP'22* elaine Weiss GP'22, '25* Norma Weiss GP'25* leslie Wiesen GP'23* Joan Winter GP'23* Nancy and edward Wojslawowicz GP'21, '21* lois Silverman and Jim Yashar GP'17, '20* Miriam and Bernard Yenkin GP'13, '16* Susanne and Melvin Young GP'25* Idyth and Jay Zimbler GP '25 N Anonymous (3)

Grandparents on Campus By Sarah Haun DIReCTOR OF COMMuNICATIONS

he foundation of the Rodeph Sholom School community is its families, and RSS is becoming ever stronger through the growing involvement of extended family members. In addition to financial contributions, grandparents have been an increasing and welcome physical presence on the RSS campus this year. A link to cultural heritage and family history, companionship in play and discovery, a sense of safety and protection—even profound influence on brain development—the effects of a strong grandparent-grandchild bond have been well-documented by scientists and educators.(1) And, of course, many busy parents benefit, too, from the emotional and financial support, parenting tips, and affordable childcare that many grandparents offer their families. At RSS, we make a special effort to encourage these bonds, not only by inviting grandparents to special events during the school year, but also by tapping into their professional experience and knowledge. “Why do some countries have more money than others?” asked Professor Martin Carnoy, grandparent of Andrew ’23, Catherine ’23, William ’20, and Natalie ’18, when he spoke to a 3rd Grade class in May. He is the Vida Jacks Professor of education at the Stanford Graduate School of education in California and took the time to talk with RSS students about global and educational economics. RSS teacher and parent laura Stuken P’22 had met Professor Carnoy when he visited William in 1st Grade with William’s father, David Carnoy. David had come in to discuss what it was like to write and publish his books (Knife Music and The Big exit). Fast forward a few years, and when she was planning lessons on economics for a Social Studies unit, she remembered

Grandfather Martin’s expertise and arranged the visit. “He’s a charismatic teacher,” said Ms. Stuken. “He spoke about the relationship between a country’s economic status and the educational opportunities available to its people in a way that our 3rd Graders could understand.” In January, another student’s grandfather, Dr. Jeffrey Tigay, came to speak with 5th Grade students about the epic of Gilgamesh and the Akkadian language. Dr. Tigay is emeritus A.M. ellis Professor of Hebrew and Semitic languages and literatures at the university of Pennsylvania. One of Dr. Tigay’s publications, The evolution of the Gilgamesh epic, examines how different civilizations transformed the ancient Mesopotamian epic poem over time into the form we know today. Tigay explained to our 5th Grade students that the variations in the telling and re-telling of the story reflect a given civilization’s values and reveal the way it interpreted history and the natural world. Through the guidance of this eminent scholar/author who also happened to be related to a peer in the room, these fortunate RSS students were able to make connections on both emotional and intellectual levels. Drawing on theirknowledge of Social Studies, Jewish Studies and Hebrew, they were able to understand the changing meanings of a story that has existed since the third millennium BCe.

even outside the classroom, our grandparents imparted knowledge that benefits the School. Professor uri Riechman, grandfather to leo ‘24, Amalia and ella ‘22, spoke with the administrative leadership team about his role as the founder of the first private institution of higher education in Israel, the IDC Herzliya. like RSS, the IDC prioritizes faculty as the most important factor in the quality of the education they can provide. uri emphasized the importance of technologically capable students who are prepared to think and act globally. The administration was grateful for the time he spent and reinvigorated by the knowledge that RSS shares so much of its mission with an important institution like the IDC. The active participation of our families is one of the greatest strengths of our School community, benefiting students, faculty and parents alike. (1) [Footnotes] •

Kate Fogarty, PhD, “The Protective Role of Grandparents,” Family, Youth, and Consumer Sciences (University of Florida, 2007)

•

Mary Gavin, MD, “Bonding with Grandparents,” http://kidshealth.org

•

Daniel Goleman, PhD in Mark Matousek’s, “We’re Wired to Connect,” AARP Magazine January/February 2007

•

Roma Hanks, PhD, “Connecting the Generations: The New Role of Grandparents” The Harbinger, (Mobile, AL: 1997)

•

Rod Kochtitzky, “Back to the Future: How Early Attachments Shape Your Relationships,” Attachment Parenting: The Journal of Attachment Parenting International, 2007.

•

Silverstin & Ruiz, 2006, “Breaking the Chain: How Grandparents Moderate the Transmission of Maternal Depression to their Grandchildren” Family Relations, 55.

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Riklis Library Naming In October we dedicated the Ira and Diana Riklis early Childhood library on our 84th Street Campus. Rabbi Ben Spratt shared a blessing and the Riklis’ grandchildren gave copies of their favorite books as gifts to their loving grandparents. Joined by Head of School Jerry Katz and members of the administration, the Riklis and Day families imbued this new learning space with love, dedication to family, and appreciation for literature and learning.

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LEADERSHIP CUMULATIVE GIVING TO FRIENDS OF RODEPH SHOLOM SCHOOL 2014-2015 As we celebrate our high participation and donations of all amounts, we are also proud to highlight those in our community who are able and choose to make RSS a philanthropic priority. This list reflects cash received to all charitable initiatives between July 1, 2014, and June 30, 2015.

KEY: FR = Friend | FS = Faculty/Staff | P = Parent | GP = Grandparent $100,000+

$17,999 - $10,000

lisa and David Carnoy P'18, '20, '23, '23 erica and Jeﬀrey Keswin P'17, '17, '19 Diana and Ira Riklis GP'22, '24 Jenna and Paul Segal P'20, '22, '25 Anonymous

Kara and Jon Aborn P'20, '21, '26 Dina and evan Bakst P'15, '17, '20 Charlene and Pierre eilian GP'19, '22, '24, '25 Marci and Paul Finger P'18 Marilyn and lawrence Friedland GP'22 Cindy and Brian Gavin P'12, '21 Jenifer and Adam Geller P'21, '24, '26 Debra Wasserman and Jason Glasser P'21, '23 liz and Ken Kopelman P'17 Felicia Grumet and Mitchell levine P'14, '17 Jennifer and Mark lotke P'19, '22, '24 Judy Gallent and Scott Metzner Irina Sheynfeld and Vlad Portnoy P'16, '20, '26 Rhonda and Rick Press P'10, '12, '17 Jasmine and Michael Rothbard P'22 Hope and David Rothschild P'16 Talia and Henry Siegel P'18, '21, '23 Tammy and Adam Sloan P'21 laurie Izes and Stephen Switzky P'20, '20, '23 Nancy Crown and Samuel Weisman P'12

$99,999 - $50,000 Peter Fine P'10, '13, '15 liz Fine P'10, '13, '15 Janet Cohen and Daniel Kramarsky P'15, '15 Natalie and Jonathan Silverstein P'15 '17, '22 Stephanie Rein and edward Stern P'14, '15

$49,999 - $36,000 Karen and Halle Benett P'18, '18 Anonymous

$35,999 - $18,000 Sandra and eduardo Abush P'22 Karen and Jeﬀrey Bank P'14, '16 Hilary and Richard Cooper P'17, '17 Tina and James Deutsch P'23, P'26 elyssa and William Friedland P'22 Suzanne Waltman and Martin Friedman P'10, '12, '13, '22 Nancy Rose and John Kimelman P'20 Robin and David Kranich P'20, '22 Beth and Mark May P'15, '18 Cheryl Mercuris P'18 Jennifer and Adam Rosenthal P'17, '20 Risa and Harry Schessel P'18, '21 Jenifer and Michael Silverman P'17, '20 Deborah and Gadi Slade P'22, '22, '24 Anonymous

$9,999 - $5,000 Marlene Delon Baron and Matthew Baron P'19, '22 erin and Brian Berger P'19, '21, '26 Karen Berman P'17, '19 Keri and Ron Bernstein P'17, '20 Candice and Benjamin Braun P'16, '18, '23 Talia and Andrew Day P'22, '24 ethel eisenberg GP'17 Roni Jacobson and David Feldman P'16, '18, '23

Judy and David Fleischer P'10, '13 liora and larry Fogelman P'23 Jodi Schenck Gallagher and Richard Gallagher P'16, '18 erica and Mark Gerson P'22, '25 Natalie and Nathaniel Ginor P'19, '22, '24 Meredith Kotler and Daniel Gitner P'21, '24 Suzanne and Alex Golten P'19, '21 Abbe and Andrew Haber P'17, '20 FS Stacy Kanter and eric Kornblau P'04 Annabel Samimy and Jason Krantz P'14, '16, '19 Gina and Rabbi Robert levine P'98, '00, '08, FS Amy and Steven lipin P'10, '15 Jaynee and Steve lipman P'11, '13 Sarah and Howard Miller GP'23 Svetlana and Sergei Nodelman P'20 Nancy and Stanley Perelman P'20 laurie and Jeffrey Ravetz P'13, '16 Judith Rimerman P'22 Iris and Ira Rimerman GP'22 Dana and Neal Roodin P'19, '22 Michele and Jeff Rosenberg P'19, '22, '24 Tami Schneider P'10, '13 Sara and Samuel Schwerin P'21, '22 Jennifer Cuoco and Ben Silverman '82 Karina and Bernard Steinberg P'15 Stephanie Nallet and Roger Von Spiegel P'21, '23, '26 Susan Hitzig and Kenneth Yaffe P'17, '20, '20 Jonathan Yellen P'17, '19 Wendy and Matthew Waxman P'26 Anonymous

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NAMED AND RESTRICTED FUNDS L

Donations and pledge payments to restricted funds from July 1, 2014, through June 30, 2015.

Giving our children Room to Grow - capital campaign

Paul Druzinsky Teacher Enrichment Fund

Fundraising completed in 2011 to renovate 79th Street Kai and Christopher Falkenberg P'17 liz Fine P'10, '13, '15 Peter Fine P'10, '13, '15 Christina and Michael Gantcher P’18 Abbe and Andrew Haber P’17, ‘20 FS erica and Jeﬀrey Keswin P'17, '17, '19 Nancy Rose and John Kimelman P'20 Cheryl and Spencer Kornreich Gail Zweig and John Mascialino P'15, '18 Judy Gallent and Scott Metzner P’12, ‘15 Jocelyn Nager P'18, '21 Susan levitt and Diego Orlanski P'13, '17 Bradley Shaw P'18, '21 Sekka Scher and Steven Williams P'19 Anonymous

Established in 2013 to annually award two members of the faculty with extraordinary professional development opportunities lisa and David Carnoy P'18, '20, '23, '23 erica and Jeﬀrey Keswin P'17, '17, '19 Gina and Rabbi Robert levine P'98, '00, '08 FS Anonymous

84th Street Renovation Diana and Ira Riklis GP'22, '24

Rosalind B Schulman Nursery Library Fund Susan Schulman FR

PARDeS challenge campaign Grant, Legacy Heritage Fund Established in 2013 to secure a match from Legacy Heritage Foundation to support Financial Aid Judy and David Fleischer P'10, '13 erica and Jeﬀrey Keswin P'17, '17, '19 Rhonda and Rick Press P'10, '12, '17 Jenifer and Michael Silverman P'17, '20 Natalie and Jonathan Silverstein P'15 '17, '22 Anonymous

The Susan and Herbert Rein Elementary Libary Dedication By Bryant Palmer, DIReCTOR OF AluMNI RelATIONS At nearly any moment during the school year, it’s easy to find elementary students using the newly named Susan & Herbert Rein elementary School library in a number of ways. Some will be selecting books to read or listening to a teacher tell a story, and others will be spending free time designing original typefaces or 3D objects, or learning Scratch programming. 2nd through 4th Graders visit the library at least once per week for class, and many are there more often. The place feels special: the true definition of a multipurpose learning space. During a recent ceremony to officially name the library, attendees learned about the importance of books and learning to Susan 42|FRIENDS OF RSS 2014-2015 IMPACT REPORT

and the late Herbert Rein, grandparents of recent RSS alumni Avery Stern ’14 and ezra Stern ’15, and parents to Stephanie Rein, whose gift with her husband eddie Stern will help RSS inspire a love of reading, books and learning to hundreds of students, the way Susan and Herbert inspired the same in their children and grandchildren. With a collection of more than 18,000 books–plus e-books, audiobooks, and student-created works–the library oﬀers reading and educational opportunities galore and plays a central role in the life of so many students. We are honored that it is now named for a family who has supported RSS so tremendously.

RSS is honored to accept gifts dedicated in celebration of family members, faculty, friends and mitvot. We are also deeply touched to accept gifts in memory of loved ones.

Donor

In Honor Of

———————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————––––———————————— — June and Robert Amsterdam GP'14, '17, '20 Jacqueline, Julia, Talia Proshan, grandchildren Judith Borkowsky GP'23, '24, '24 Abigail, Isabel and Jake Kennedy, grandchildren Michael Borkowsky GP'23, '24, '24 Abigail, Isabel and Jake Kennedy, grandchildren Victor Brener GP'23 Isabella Fogelman, grandchild Suzanne and Nordahl Brue GP'23, '25 Benjamin and Thea S. Klemperer, grandchildren Daryl Cantor FS Henry Irwin Cantor Harriet and Morty Chwatsky GP'18, '21 Alex and Jane Siegel, grandchildren Suzanne F. Cohen GP'15, '15 Jordy and Zan Kramarsky, grandchildren, on their graduation Fiona eisenberg P‘17 Myles edelson, son Howard and Janice Fineman FR Janet Cohen, their niece, in honor of her birthday Rochelle and Jerald Folk GP'22 Charlie Friedland elisheva Gould FS Merle Gould Dara and Kenneth Gordon GP'25 lilia Wilson Jane and James Greenberg ‘79, P ‘18 Peggy and Bill Donnelly Jean and Jack Hentel GP'18, '20, '24 The Koplin Family Joseph Hollander FR Barbara Fox, in honor of her birthday Arlene and Melvin Kirschenbaum GP'15, '24 Arianna Carpati, grandchild, on becoming a Bat Mitzvah Sarah Ann and Werner Kramarsky GP'15, '15 Jordy and Zan Kramarsky, grandchildren laurie Siegel and Joseph lando FR James lando and laurie Siegel Robin landow levitin P'13, '15 Rachelle and elia levitin, children Cathy levinson GP'24 Alexandra Rothman, grandchild Janet and Gary levy P’04,’07 Maxine Borenstein Robin and Jay lewis GP’23 Izzy and Charlotte Deutsch, grandchildren Marian and Fred lichtstein GP'16 Jordyn lichtstein, grandchild limor and Jordan Mann P’25 Jack Mann, son Victoria and Steven Mendal P'12, '16 Florette Gilinski Sarah and Howard Miller GP‘23 Isabella Fogelman, grandchild Jennifer Wolff and Steve Perrine P’22 Rosalie Solow Wolff Noah and Ashley Pettit FR eliana & Sophia Schimmel, nieces leslie and Marc Regenbaum P'25 Teddy Regenbaum, son lori Cohen and Christopher Rothko P'10, '12, '16 Alice Barzilay lisa Rudolph P'07, '09 Kyra and Gabriel Hurwitz, children elyse Fox and Joe Saporito P‘25 Minera Fox Marni and Jeffrey Serbin P‘25 Melissa Kahn and Aviva Axelrud Batia and Miro Silvera GP'21 Mia and lila Newman, grandchildren leslie Silverstein GP‘15, ‘17, ‘22 emilia Silverstein, grandchild, on her graduation laraine and David Spector GP'23, '25 Jacob and leah Obenshain, grandchildren Sharen and Randall Spratt GP'22 Ayalah Spratt, grandchild Barbara and Harvey Taub GP'21 Madeline Taub, grandchild Stephen Waxman GP'26 Rosalie Waxman, grandchild Wendy and Matthew Waxman P'26 Debbie Semmel, Doni levinson and Patricia Dennison Norma Weiss GP‘25 lucas Weiss, grandchild Jocelyn Nager P‘18, ‘21 erin leigh Peck Beryl and Samuel levinger GP'19, '21 Micah and Ariel Phelan, grandchildren Ghena and Jeffrey Korn P'22, '24 Jack Braun, in honor of his Bar Mitzvah; Alexis Siegel, in honor of her Bat Mitzvah; Spencer Nachman, in honor of his Bar Mitzvah; Andrew Bank, in honor of his Bar Mitzvah; lindsay Ravetz, in honor of her Bat Mitzvah; Gabriel Feldman, in honor of his Bar Mitzvah —————–––––––—————––––––––––––———————————————————————————————————————————————————— FRIENDS OF RSS 2014-2015 IMPACT REPORT

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Donor

In Memory Of

———————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————––––———————————— — Jasi and Sergio Abush GP'22 Baruch & Rena - Abraham & Rebeca Francine Alfandary FR Miriam Margolin, grandmother of Josh and Seth Margolin ellen and Neil eisenstadt P'18 Martin and Barbara Jacobs, grandparents of Nicole eisenstadt Adriana and Jerry Fishman P'17 Jack Fishman, uncle of Simone Fishman Debra Wasserman and Jason Glasser P‘21, ‘23 Bert Wasserman, grandfather of Bret and Blake Glasser Mike Glick FS Ralph & Keith Glick Nadia Gold and Igor Gonta ‘20, ‘22 David Gonta elisheva Gould FS Allan Gould Alyse and Seth Kadushin ‘24 Ira Pevar Steven Gronfein and Judith Klemperer ‘25, ‘23 Peter Klemperer Hilla Kollnesher Rev ‘25 Jonathan Rev Janet and Gary levy P'04, '07 Gene Borenstein lisa and Steven lidsky P'19 Alvin lidsky, grandfather of Ryan lidsky Arlene Markowitz P'10 Alfred M. Markowitz, M.D., grandfather of Jay Rappaport evan Miller '04 Arthur Miller Marge Olsen FS Frances and Anthony Bruni Alison and David Proshan P'14, '17, '20 Sandra Wadler Jay Rappaport '10 Marian Markowitz Haber, M.D., aunt emily Terry and Steven Sabella P'10, '12, '15 Andrew Kates Sarah and David Schimmel P’25 Miles Robert Fox, grandfather of Dylan Saporito Susan Schulman FR Saul T. Schulman and Rosalind Blum Schulman, parents of Susan Schulman. Gift to the Rosalind B Schulman Nursery library Fund. Stephanie and Andrew Slesinger P'23 Arthur eisenberg Dean Spiegel GP'21, '23, ‘26 Robert J. Spiegel, grandfather of Charlize, Rafael, and Sienna Von Spiegel Gretha Honsvald and Peter Weiss P'17, '20 Philis Weiss, grandmother of Skyelar and Tallisker Weiss Dara and Steven Weiss P'22, '25 Claire, Martin and Burton Weiss Nicole Fisher and Adam Wiesen P'24 Sherman and Shirley Wiesen, great-grandfather of Gideon Wiesen

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168 West 79th Street New York, NY 10024 P: 646.438.8650 www.rodephsholomschool.org