A gentle reminder that your child's saliva sample must be dropped off tomorrow morning as they arrive at school. As always, students will be asked to drop their return envelope into one of the collection boxes found at each entrance. All samples must be dropped off no later than 8:30 a.m.

Please click here if you wish to receive an email confirming that we have received test results and finished notifying affected parties. Please note that this will be an automated email that will not include information on whether there were findings of clinical significance, only that our process has concluded for a specific testing cycle.

We are so grateful to Chef Ben and the PT for the granola for our parents on the first day back. it was wonderful to be involved in that way with the parents on our first day back. Chef Ben has had many requests for the recipe - scaled down for the home kitchen and listed below. Enjoy!

This week highlighted many new beginnings for our Nursery and Junior Kindergarten students, meeting new teachers and other students, learning new spaces and routines and for some being in a school setting for the first time. We celebrated these new moments as well as honored how trying new things can be hard but can get easier by practicing the mantra “we are strong, we are brave, we can handle new things.” To support the celebration of a new school year, all Nursery and JK students sang the Shehechiyanu blessing. Shehechiyanu  (Hebrew: שהחינו‎, "Who has given us life") is a special Jewish blessing for saying thank you when we experience something new for the first time

As we head into the Labor Day weekend and the High Holidays, we want to reinforce the importance of safe practice in preventing the spread of COVID-19, particularly among the unvaccinated, which includes the majority of our student body.

Hosting a young Israeli in your home is an exciting and enriching opportunity for the entire family. Host families everywhere regard this as a deeply meaningful experience. Hosting a shinshin may only last several months, but the relationships last a lifetime. We’re looking for thirteen wonderful host families in the Jewish community to be a part of this exciting experience.

Fifth grade advisors welcomed the newest members of our middle school to class on Monday! From day one we are working on building our kehillah (community). On Monday and Tuesday we did this by learning about one another through making picture frames that represent our favorite places, people, trips, and hobbies. Our fifth graders were able to share parts of themselves with the Gibush so we can get to know each other best.

We are excited to be launching our Be Renewed social media campaign leading into Rosh Hashana and our 75th school year. We will spread joy and express ways in which we will help Bernard Zell thrive in the coming year, and inspire peers in our community to do the same. Here is what we would love for you to do:

We are looking forward to our virtual Lower School Back-to-School Night to share general information about what your child will be experiencing in Lower School this year.

There will be two identical sessions held from 6:30 - 7:00 p.m. or 7:15 - 7:45 p.m. Feel free to choose the session that works best for your schedule. It's important to have your cameras enabled for this event so we can meet "face to face" without masks! You can access the Zoom links per teacher below:

We are looking forward to our virtual Early Childhood Back-to-School Night tonight to share general information about what your child will be experiencing in Early Childhood this year.

There will be two identical sessions held from 8:00 - 8:30 p.m. or 8:30 - 9:00 p.m. Feel free to choose the session that works best for your schedule. It's important to have your cameras enabled for this event so we can meet "face to face" without masks! You can access the Zoom links below:

Please join the PTC Yad b'Yad Committee on Sunday, September 12 from 9:30 a.m. - 11:30 a.m. for our 5th Annual Adopt-A-Beach program event where we will be cleaning up Montrose Beach by removing trash and collecting data for The Alliance of the Great Lakes. Click read more to sign-up!

Bernard Zell’s most recent alumni, the Class of 2021, are beginning new adventures this week as high school students all over the Chicagoland area. 

While their eighth-grade year was more challenging than most, it also proved rewarding for this dedicated and resilient group of students who preserved when presented with a pandemic school year. Now, with the incredible foundation of a Bernard Zell education, each of these 54 graduates is poised for success in high school and beyond.

Join Hagit Lewis on the loggia by the field for a beautiful start to the new year with our own BZ Challah Cleanse this Friday from 8:30 - 9:30 a.m. No baking experience required. Everyone will make a small challah to take home and bake. Masks must be worn while at the event. Click read more to complete required registration.

All new parents are invited to drop-by Barr House, home of the business office and advancement team, at 728 West Grace Street, anytime between 8:15 - 9:00 am after morning drop off this Thursday, September 2. 

In first grade, students have been busy learning and practicing their classroom routines. They also are having fun and enjoying being explorers doing things such as going on Word Hunts, going on a classroom scavenger hunt,  and manipulating a variety of math tools that they will be using in First Grade. We are already having a blast and can't wait to see all that First Grade has in store!