Where Community Begins

February 1st, 2010

As we round out 2009, I wanted to take a moment to say thank you to everyone who has volunteered their time, energy and skills to support Bet Yeladim in its mission to provide the highest quality secular and Judaic education to children. You are all proof that involved families make a difference in continuing our pursuit to make our school better for our children and the future classes of Bet Yeladim. I know that I speak for all the board members, administration and faculty when I say how proud we are of the new building and all that 34we have accomplished. It is through all the hard work and dedication of the board, various committees, administration and faculty that we are able to provide such a wonderful learning environment for the children and to give them the wonderful opportunities that they have.

I would like to recognize all of the committee members whose hard work, time and energy make a real difference … each and every day:

The Fundraising Committee – Ashli Greenwald, Allison Mayberry and Randi Benesch have held multiple fundraisers this school year and, to-date, have raised over $3,600.00. Barnes and Nobel night is one of the events, which in addition to raising money for our school, also provides a forum for families and faculty to connect and have fun together. Other fundraisers such as coupon books and gift wrap sales helped along the way. The funds that this committee raises go towards providing additional materials and resources for our children.

The Parent Involvement Committee – Deb Hennessy and Mary Levinsohn-Klyap have consolidated feedback from parent surveys to make it easier for parents to get involved, and have taken on the job of logging volunteer hours for a contest with the Associated which is trying to reach a goal of 90,000 volunteer hours for Jewish programs in the area to gain monetary awards and recognition for Bet Yeladim. As you all know, parent involvement is critical to Bet Yeladim’s success. Our objective is to make parent involvement easy and rewarding.

The Special Events Committee – Andrea LeWinter, Ilya Cherkasskiy, Dina Gordon and Kelli Livay have already provided us with the Sukkot picnic, Havdalah service and Chanukah Party, all of which were a tremendous success, pulling together the Bet Yeladim community and giving families a chance to meet and socialize.

Newsletter – Stacey Winakur Harris designs and drafts our newsletter each month, keeping parents informed, providing critical information and raising awareness of events and school activities.

The Staff Liaison Committee – Shara Alpert, Nadia Khalid and Emily Wells helped class parents to assume their important roles and held a class parent coffee to provide them with best practices, information and support.

Jewish Community Affairs – Susan Klein is the Bet Yeladim liaison with the Jewish Federation and participates on a committee formed to organize and run the Howard County Purim Carnival. She has been doing this for a several years now and also continues to support our commitment to involvement in the broader Jewish community. The Purim Carnival is coming up soon – stay tuned for more details.

Relay For Life – Rachael Zang and Rachel Burrows are the Bet Yeladim liaisons for the Howard County Relay For Life, a fun-filled overnight event designed to celebrate cancer survivorship and raise money for research and programs of the American Cancer Society. They continue to demonstrate their passion for the cause by giving their time and support. The event is coming in June – more details will follow soon.

The Capital Campaign – Buffy Beaudoin-Schwartz, Randi Benesch and Stephanie Gordon have raised over $12,000 for the school which will be used support our Heart Of Children Fund. They have an ongoing project in which families can purchase tiles for $100 and paint them to be displayed in the school and showcase our pride and dedication to Bet Yeladim. Contact anyone on this committee if you are interested in purchasing a tile – it is a fun way to give money to the school and leave a lasting impression of your love and support.

Website – Ben and Erica Hirsch- our new website has been launched and continues to evolve. It looks amazing and showcases our school professionally and with style. The website is a big, on-going project that offers potential for enhanced communication across our school and community. We look forward to future changes, enhancements and additions.

We wouldn’t be where we are without the time and efforts of all of these people. Thank you so much for all you have done for Bet Yeladim!

We always need more people to get involved. There is never a shortage of things to be done to support our children and school. If you have time and an interest, we would welcome your involvement in our efforts, please feel free to contact me anytime.

Rena Shooman
410-579-1525
RLShooman@aol.com

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