Since the first day of school, the children in Early Childhood have been immersed in daily mindfulness exercises. This year, Early Childhood teachers are being guided by the Calm Classroom curriculum and implementing moments of mindfulness throughout the day. 

I would like to take this opportunity to share some exciting technology news with all of you. In the coming weeks, we will be upgrading our first and second grade iPad collection! We will now be able to offer the most up-to-date applications and curricular opportunities with the latest iPad models.

We are looking forward to welcoming you to Parent-Teacher Conferences on November 25th and 26th. Our teachers will be arriving with student work samples, up-to-date feedback and insight about how students are learning, growing and even engaging in good struggles. When meeting with teachers, we encourage you to share what you observe and hear at home.  

Raffle tickets are now on sale! Click to purchase tickets and win one of these amazing prizes:

Music Crew member Danny Goodman says, “I deeply believe the audience should expect a unique performance with transformational music, that allows you to truly feel immersed in the magical story of The Velveteen Rabbit.”  

For this multidisciplinary program, Judith Joseph will present the history of the Haggadah and ancient art and science (chemistry) of its creating with the entire Middle School in the Sanctuary on Tuesday, November 19th at 1:00 p.m. Parents who wish to see her presentation are welcome to attend.

For the last couple of weeks, Nursery B students have been creating self-portraits through a variety of methods (the 100 languages of learning). This self-portrait unit is in preparation for a deeper study of their families and the world around them.

Join us on Wednesday, December 4 for a new speaker series, Zell Talks, featuring Dana Hirt, founder of Dana Hirt Parenting, speaking on value-based and intentional parenting with a Jewish lens.

All Bernard Zell families are challenged to put down their screens (eReaders permitted) for one night to READ! Snap a photo of your family reading and send it to library@bernardzell.org to receive a fun, wearable prize!

After learning about the seven continents of the world and the five regions of the United States, 4th graders have chosen a state that they want to learn more about. In this final phase of their geography unit, students used text sources to learn about their chosen state’s history, landforms, tourist attractions, and more.

She is the smiling face you see upon entering Bernard Zell, the woman with all the answers and a fixture of our school community. And since her arrival in the role of receptionist more than 20 years ago, Ms. Kimberly Houston has been the go-to person for fielding any and all questions about BZ.

This year's Annual Campaign has officially launched! DO YOU KNOW? We are off to a great start having raised over $390,000 from our families so far. Please join the 79 families who have already their gift and help us reach 100% parent participation.

Progress reports for all divisions will be made available on Friday, November 22 by 2:00 p.m. via BZ Connect.

During the last few weeks, 8th-grade students have learned, practiced, and engaged in conversations in Hebrew about food.

Thank you to everyone who came to Wednesday's first PTC meeting in Makom Rina. In case you missed it, we heard from special guests Stephanie Bloom and Jenny Einberger and heard updates about PTC committees.

Cold weather? Snow worries. The warmth and camaraderie the sixth-grade class cultivated during their field trip to the Loyola University Retreat and Ecology Campus (LUREC) in Woodstock, Illinois were felt by students and teachers alike.

During their Torah service in Makom Rina, our new spiritual space, Early Childhood students learned all about Noah and his ark.

What neighborhood do you live in? Third graders are focusing on exploring Chicago’s neighborhoods this year in Social Studies. The students kicked off the unit by concentrating on Chicago's history.

We are off to a great start having raised over $341,000 from our families so far. Please join the 54 families who have already made their gift and help us reach 100% parent participation.

Join us for our Jane Herron Lecture on improving executive functioning skills featuring author Dr. Sharon Saline on Monday, November 11 at 7:00 p.m.

Volunteer for JCFS Project Winter Warmth on Sunday, November 24 from 9:00 - 11:00 a.m. Bernard Zell families will meet at the Target on Elston to shop for warm winter clothing for families in need.

The BZ Spirit Store is now open through November 17! Free delivery to your child's homeroom the week of December 8. Shop now!

True growth and positive change are only achieved through self-reflection. As the formative experience for Bernard Zell students and their families, the Early Childhood division felt that it was essential to participate in last spring’s inaugural Jewish Early Childhood Collaborative Parent Survey.

As educators, everywhere we turn, we hear and read about the importance of helping kids develop 21st-century skills, defined as the broad set of abilities, work habits and character traits that are necessary to succeed in today’s world and workforce.

In my first letter this year I shared a story of how teachers remarked that the new building called on them to elevate their practice. Just a few months into the school year and a symphony of teaching and learning play in classrooms across Middle School.

At a recent commemoration at the Illinois Holocaust Museum, 8th grade students were invited to the stage to tell the stories of Survivors.

What can you learn about from studying birds? Quite a lot, actually! During their year-long exploration of birds, 3rd graders learn to identify the different birds that call Chicago home as well as those that call it their summer retreat.

8th-graders visit Loyola University’s Museum of Art to view artist Ellen Rontal’s exhibit featuring charcoal portraits of Chicago’s homeless based on her volunteer work with the Chicago Help Initiative.

Help us spread the word! Our Admissions Open House is Sunday, October 27 beginning at 3:30 p.m.

Since the first day of school, students in Early Childhood have been immersed in daily mindfulness exercises. This year, Early Childhood teachers are being guided by the Calm Classroom curriculum and implementing moments of mindfulness throughout the day. 

We are looking forward to the first Likrat Shabbat celebration on October 18. Students in 2nd- 8th grade will gather in Blum from 12:15-1:00 p.m. to welcome Shabbat as one big Kehillah—community! 

What's the Big Idea!?: 6th Grade classes explore paper sculptures expressing universal themes. 

To prepare for Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, EC students developed a deeper understanding of the holiday symbols with various activities and projects.

On Thursday, October 31 and Friday, November 1, between 7:30 - 8:30 a.m., the BZ Yad B'Yad committee will be collecting gently used child and adult coats, gloves, hats and scarves which will be donated to Cradles to Crayons.

In 3rd and 4th grade, students were recently introduced to elections in Israel. They learned what democracy looks like in Israel, what the Knesset is and how Israeli citizens select the government and their Prime Minister. 

Today, fifth-graders experienced Tashlich at Lake Michigan and reflected on what they wanted to "throw away" for the new year.

While learning about Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur and the importance of the ten days between these two holidays, 1st graders welcomed some very special visitors to their Hebrew class.

If you are anything like I was when my children were in preschool and kindergarten, you probably wish you could be a "fly on the wall" in our Bernard Zell classrooms...

With nineteen days of school under our belts, we are officially off and running! It has been an exciting beginning of the school year with our new indoor and outdoor learning spaces.

At the start of the year, a middle school teacher shared that the evolution of a new physical teaching space called on all of us to raise our teaching and to extend our own teaching beyond what we know as best practice.

The 2019-2020 Bernard Zell Parent Handbook is here!

JK 103 begins the year by creating a positive environment and spreading kindness!

Every year the 8th-grade teachers at Bernard Zell Anshe Emet Day School design year-long interdisciplinary projects for their students.

Last Tuesday, I had the privilege, along with some students and staff members, to attend the annual JUF luncheon.

Join us for a celebration of your Leadership Gift* to the Annual Campaign and meet special guest, CJ Jacobson, Chef Partner at Ēma and Aba restaurants and winner of Bravo TV's Top Chef Duels. 

The library commissioned a custom "Stick Together" pixelated mural of Mr. Weisserman.

Last Sunday, 52 parents and students practiced tikkun olam (repairing the world) when they cleaned up Montrose Beach in partnership with Alliance for the Great Lakes.

Thanks to the PTC, the Art Department received a class set of iPads funded through the TII grant.

Watch this year's Morton Reisman Eighth Grade Operetta reveal!

Thursday, September 12 is officially Bernard Zell Spirit Day! Our girls' volleyball team and soccer team will play in the Pritzker & Pucker Family Gymnasium and Performance Space and our new Field of Dreams.

Join us for a celebration of your Leadership Gift* to the Annual Campaign and meet special guest, CJ Jacobson, Chef Partner at Ēma and Aba restaurants and winner of Bravo TV's Top Chef Duels. 

The Nursery students have taken advantage of the beautiful weather while exploring the new outdoor play spaces.

First graders are exploring math manipulatives as part of their introduction to first-grade math. 

This week, fifth graders worked on creating identity maps that reflect who they are after exploring questions like, "what is important to me?", "what do I deeply care about?", "what makes me happy?" and "what connects to me?"

This past spring Bernard Zell Early Childhood Educators Hagit Lewis, Tami Mizrachi and Abby Aloni along with peers from three other area schools participated in a research project to understand how 3-and 4-year-olds think, feel and understand about Israel

Just like in a fancy restaurant, the tables in the Bernard Zell library were elegantly set with candles and placemats. Second, third and fourth-grade students were invited to participate in a tasting menu full of book delicacies.