The Jewish Primary Day School

Nora Colman (JPDS Class of 2005) recently received the Field School community service award as well as the 11th grade English award, which is awarded to a student who consistently displays in depth textual analysis, eloquent and skillful writing, and a comprehension of the interconnectedness of themes and patterns in class discussions.

This is what was said about Nora: "This year’s recipient of the award is an exceptional listener who values and invites people to share their perspectives about class materials. This student stands up for her beliefs and convictions in a mature and balanced way. She thinks (and rethinks and rethinks and rethinks) about material and is comfortable with ambiguity. Her transcendetalism project was part Whitmanesque celebration of self and part Thorouvian personal accounting; she focused on her self as both artist and subject of art. The English department honors her hunger as a writer, and her persistence; she has revisited different texts and thought about them in more layered and textured ways as the year has progressed. She is the kind of thinker who helps bring the best out in her peers."

Gabe Colman (JPDS Class of 2008) was awarded the Field School's Allie Hardwick Award, the middle school's highest honor. The award is given yearly to the Middle School student who has had a profound impact on middle school life and on the cohesiveness of the Middle School community. It is given to the Middle School student who best exemplifies the academic, artistic, athletic and community standards of The Field School.

Here's what was said about Gabe: "In the classroom, he often feels great amounts of compassion for those less fortunate and quickly goes to the defense of the underdog. He was one of the first to bring in money to aid the people of Haiti. He’s the type of kid that always says 'thank you' to a teacher at the end of the class and gives a knowing smile when things have been derailed. He’ll often come to the teacher’s aide in these situations with a, “guys, let’s get back on track.” During games and matches, he is fun to watch. In basketball games, he instinctively calls out to his teammates and urges everyone to work their hardest."

Mia Bloomfield (JPDS Class of 2004) was awarded the Field School Citizen Award

Ezra Marcus (JPDS Class of 2000) will be graduating this May from Yale, where he majors in "Ethics, Politics and Economics". Ezra recently played the lead in the Gilbert and Sullivan Society’s production of "H.M.S. Pinafore" (he's the one holding the girl in the white dress, in the picture on the right), has sung baritone with a men’s a cappella group and the Glee Club, worked as a campus tour guide, helped found a journal on theology, served on the board of Chabad at Yale, interned with the New Haven Housing Authority, and played intra-mural soccer. This year he is a residential Freshman Counselor for sixteen first year students. Ezra is pursuing several urban policy fellowships for his life after college.

Sarah Stern (JPDS-NC Class of 2003) is currently a Freshman at Bard College. She recently completed an internship with Moment Magazine where she is now blogging about her upcoming summer project leading a summer camp for Palestinian women. To read Sarah's blog go to: momentmagazine.wordpress.com

Oren Hirsch (JPDS-NC Class of 1997) graduated May 2009 from Cornell University with a degree in Urban & Regional Studies. Since his graduation, he has been living in Jerusalem, studying at the Conservative Yeshiva, and doing an internship with the Jerusalem Municipality through the WUJS program.

In his spare time, he created an interactive bus map for the city that works in Google Earth and Google Maps. The map, which can be found online at jlembusmap.com, was written about in the Jerusalem Post. Read the article about Oren to learn more about his work here or visit his Facebook page. Enjoying the outdoor life in Israel, Oren participated in the Hazon Israel Ride, a 300 mile bike ride from Tzfat to Eilat to raise money for environmental awareness and sustainability research in Israel and throughout the world. His ride raised nearly $3,900 for the Arava Institute and Hazon.

Jillian Berman (JPDS-NC Class of 2001) is a junior at the University of Michigan. She has just started as Managing News Editor of The Michigan Daily. Jillian carries the tradition of JPDS-NC leadership in the news following in the footsteps of Gabe Nelson (JPDS-NC Class of 1999) who also served as managing editor of The Michigan Daily.

Send your updates on achievements and milestones to joshua.suchoff@jpds.org and we will include them on our website or on Facebook!

Rachel Brandenburg (JPDS-NC Class of 1992) was part of JPDS-NC's first class of kindergartners. Her journey in education, and in life, has been one of expanding boundaries and seeking knowledge around the globe.

After graduating from JPDS-NC, Rachel attended the Charles E. Smith Jewish Day School. She ran competitively with the CESJDS cross-country and track teams, served as Vice President of her class, and worked as an editor of school newspaper, The Lion's Tale.

Rachel attended Tufts University, where she majored in International Relations and Middle Eastern Studies. She continued to run track for Tufts and was active in campus politics, facilitating a weekly Arab-Jewish dialogue group and co-founding a new student organization called the New Initiative for Middle East Peace. This group allowed students to pursue research and travel related to the region. Through her involvement with the Tufts Institute for Global Leadership, Rachel traveled to Israel, the West Bank, Turkey, Cyprus, Iran and the UAE for field research and study.

After college, Rachel worked as an AJC Goldman Fellow at the Transatlantic Institute in Brussels, Belgium, as well as at policy-institutes in DC. She spent a year in Israel on a Fulbright Scholarship during which she studied Arabic and pursued research related to Israeli-Palestinian conflict-resolution initiatives. She lived in Jerusalem and traveled to Egypt, Jordan, Syria, and Lebanon.

While earning her Masters of Science in Foreign Service at Georgetown University, Rachel complemented her studies with several more experiences abroad. She received a fellowship to study Arabic in Jordan, and traveled to a women's leadership conference in the United Arab Emirates. She worked at the Department of State and as a Teaching Assistant for former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright.

Currently, Rachel is working as a Middle East Program Specialist at the US Institute of Peace in Washington, DC. In her spare time she serves as co-captain of a recreation-league ultimate Frisbee team that plays rain, shine, or snow!

Rachel was one of only 7 students in her class from Kindergarten through 3rd grade (at that time the school ended after 3rd grade). She enjoyed the small community and close friendships. She credits JPDS-NC with giving her a firm foundation for her education. In particular, she credits her Hebrew teacher, Lea Shiloach, for her continued ability to speak Hebrew in the years after she graduated from JPDS-NC. Rachel’s strongest memories from JPDS-NC include her Kindergarten Newspaper Club with Susan Koss, founding head of school, and time spent helping to set up for the first-ever Purim Ball, which her mom started and chaired for many years.