In-School Party Celebrations 
All in-school party celebrations do not include food. 

PTC Sponsored Gatherings and Birthday Guidelines  
We love that Bernard Zell brings together a diverse community of Jewish backgrounds, affiliations, and religious practice. We all share a commitment to Judaism and to our broader school community. To help ensure that parties are welcoming and inclusive of all members of our community, we ask that you remember the following expectations when planning parties.

• If you choose to host a celebration outside of school, it should not take place on non-working Jewish holidays including Shabbat (sundown on Friday until sundown on Saturday).  We believe in inclusivity and this will allow families who celebrate holidays traditionally, to be able to participate in all parties.

• For the 2026-27 school year, we ask that you do not plan birthday parties on the non-working Jewish Holidays listed below: 

  • Rosh Hashanah -Sundown to sundown of 9/11-9/13/26

  • Yom Kippur – Sundown to sundown  of 9/20-9/21/26

  • First Days of Sukkot – Sundown to sundown  of 9/25-9/27/26

  • Shemini Atzeret/Simchat Torah – Sundown to sundown of 10/2-10/4/26

  • First Days of Pesach – Sundown to sundown  of 4/21-4/23/27

  • Last Days of Pesach – Sundown to sundown  of 4/27-4/29/27

  • Shavuot – Sundown to sundown of 6/10-6/12/27

    • Please give families time to get home before candle lighting.  The schedule can be found here.

  • Parties should adhere to ingredient kosher dietary rules which means all provided food should have a Kosher certification or be dairy/vegetarian food without a Kosher certification. This policy is intended to ensure that all members of our pluralistic community will be able to eat comfortably and feel included.  Non-kosher meat should not be served.

  • If at least half the students from any group (such as a grade, class, or gender within a grade or class) are invited to a party, please ensure a welcoming environment by inviting all members of that group.  We realize not every student identifies within traditional gender groups.  We ask that you use your best judgment to make each birthday celebration a positive, inclusive experience for all children.  Remember to include the birthday student in the count of invited guests.

Click below to see full committee descriptions and list for 2026-27.

If you would like to join a committee at any point during the year, please reach out to PTC@bernardzell.org.

Click here to view the directory. Please note, you will need to be logged into the Parent Portal to view the directory. 

Nursery  – Class of 2037
Nikki Miller, Ashley Silver, and Michelle Ronay-Schlictman

JK – Class of 2036
Sarah Garoon and Lauren Lewis

SK – Class of 2035
Emily Jacob and Nikki Riskin

First Grade – Class of 2034
Jen Dorfman and Emily Jaffe

Second Grade – Class of 2033
Ashley Berman and Sara Brodsky 

Third Grade – Class of 2032
Sara Berman and Sarah Sager

Fourth Grade – Class of 2031
Scott Einberger and Talia Margolis

Fifth Grade – Class of 2030
Tanya Polsky and Emma Weiss

Sixth Grade – Class of 2029
Madhu Gaba and Mara Warman

Seventh Grade – Class of 2028
Emily Hoffman and Diane Welbel

There are so many ways to volunteer your time at Bernard Zell and new this year, we’ve streamlined the sign up process to make it as easy as possible.

Sign up for carline greeting, lunchroom, challah delivery and much more - all in one place!

Bookmark this link to our centralized volunteer hub as it will be updated through the year.

Thank you for helping us BE Organized!

Here are some ways to support BZ faculty and staff as all of the proceeds made by these programs go directly towards the Be Innovative Grant which gives funds faculty and staff to help implement new programs or initiatives in their classrooms and around school.

Thanks for supporting!

Purchase Spirit Gear from the BZ Spirit Store!

Click here to order weekly Challah delivery.

Click here to purchase Mabels Labels.

Click here to order photos & gifts from Minted. Use the code: FUNDRAISEBZAEDAY

Join us for BIG Bites, our monthly after-school treat sale!  

Volunteering continues to be an important part of our community and we want to ensure your experience is meaningful.This year, the PTC Volunteer Committee wants to try something new with you: volunteer how you want, when you want. We ask that each parent volunteers a minimum of 2.5 hours during the school year through our centralized portal.

To help make this more doable and more fun, we’ve made some changes:

• Assigned parking spots when you are volunteering for challah delivery, carline, and lunch. Let the officer at the gate know you’re here to volunteer and they will direct you.

• Lunchroom will be will only be one hour instead of two. Fun idea - sign up for lunch duty on your kids’ bday, and/or invite a grandparent to join you!

• Volunteer at carline with your 1st-4th grader. You will be able to open the carline doors, while your Lower School student escorts Early Childhood students to their classrooms.

• There will be a single signup link for all volunteering opportunities and monthly “asks” but feel free to sign up as far in advance as you like.

• We’ll be instituting fun (optional) themes for volunteers throughout the year - e.g., 80s month, dress up as Torah characters for holidays, etc.

• We’ll be sprinkling in some volunteer appreciation and maybe some friendly grade-level competition. 

For those new to volunteering at BZ, below is an overview of the ways you can get involved. You can also visit the PTC Resources page for a full list of the volunteer committees and descriptions:

• Carline Helpers: Weekdays from 8:00 - 8.30 a.m.

  • Help keep the carline moving each morning by opening car doors, helping students get out of the car and walking the younger ones to their classrooms.  

• Lunchroom Helpers: Monday - Thursday 12:00 - 1:00 p.m.

  • Spend one hour either cutting fruit or serving soup for SK through 5th grade students.  

• Challah Delivery: Primarily Fridays from 8:00 - 8.30 a.m.

  • Spend Shabbat mornings delivering challah—bring your EC student(s) or younger siblings to help.. 

• Library Reshelving: Do you like volunteering in a quiet space? Help reshelve books that students have checked out, while seeing what the library has to offer (Details forthcoming).

• One-off Volunteering: Finally, there will be additional opportunities during the year such as the Book Fair, Book Swap, Special Friends’ Day, and more. We will communicate those opportunities to the entire school community as they become available.

 Thank you for helping to be the extra set of hands to keep our school running smoothly.

Jessica Bleyzer and Becca Stone
PTC Volunteer Committee Chairs

Please submit any PTC reimbursements using this Form.