Helping Your Child Gain Independence while Learning Remotely

One of my favourite lines about child development comes from Dr. Alex Russell, a psychologist who specializes in supporting families and educators. He says — and I’m paraphrasing slightly — children need a healthy dose of “non-catastrophic, painful failure.” Now, I should note that the last few times I attended a speaking function where he […]

Grateful Beyond Words: Reflections on the Day of Giving

While there is much that we don’t know this year, there is one thing we do know, and that is that the Bialik community is one of a kind. What a Day of Giving we have just had! We are absolutely inspired by the 791 families who donated to our 26-hour fundraiser, bringing in a […]

Chanukah Greetings from Our Head of School

As our Chanukah celebrations draw near, I’ve been thinking about the challenges Jewish educators have in teaching children about our holidays. And specifically, how can we make the story of the Maccabees and ancient Chanukah rituals relevant to our young students, living in secular society in the 21st century? This year, of course, there is […]

The Adaptability and Flexibility of Children: A Lesson for Adults

When reading through the extensive literature and research on best practices in educational administration, there is, of course, very little available on global pandemics and educating children during extreme moments of uncertainty. Throughout these past nine months, educational leaders have been forced to learn on the job, using their systems management understandings, interpersonal skills and […]

On Becoming a New Bialik Parent…

The start of school felt very different this year for me personally. In my role as Vice Principal, Primary Division, I always look forward to welcoming the students on the first day of school, in particular our new JK students. This September, I saw it from another perspective when I sent my own child off […]

Shana Tova from Our Head of School

Dear Bialik Community, .ורחובות העיר ימלאו ילדים וילדות משחקים The squares of the city shall be filled with boys and girls playing. Zechariah 8:5 So far, the school year that promised to be like no other has not disappointed! The first days of school have been filled with many adjustments — to new […]

Transitioning Back to School: Supporting your Children’s Social and Emotional Well-Being

As we enter the last week of summer and turn our attention to getting ready for the first days of school, we want to emphasize Bialik’s strong focus on our student’s social and emotional well-being during this transition. Our administration and teachers have our students’ well-being at heart and we want our families to know […]

Mazal Tov to Our Resilient Grade 8 Graduates

Dear Bialik Graduates of 2020, Mazal tov to you all! .כל הכבוד על המאמץ, העבודה, הנחישות, והאכפטיות שהביאו אותכם לרגע הזה Completing your time at Bialik represents a wonderful accomplishment, one which should give you and your families a tremendous sense of pride. This is true of every graduating class, of course, but all the […]

Presenting Our 2020 Valedictorians

It is a time-honoured Graduation tradition to hear from not one, but four Bialik Valedictorians — one for each language taught. We were so moved by their speeches at our Virtual Grade 8 Graduation Ceremony. Despite having had to deliver their addresses to a camera lens instead of an audience of their loving family and […]

Please Don’t Drop the Self-Care Ball

Parents are by nature carers. We intuitively put the needs of our children first. After all, they depend on us. In times of stress and uncertainty, the demands of everyday life for parents are magnified, and all the more so now during this long period of confinement and restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic. Our roles […]