Thank you to all the parent volunteers

who make Purim Ball possible!

Event Chairs: Jacey and Amit Natanzon

Natasha Ali Chanie Beckman Emily Berman Nadine Binstock

Abby Frank Tova Geller Darci Lewis Naama Moshe Miller

Moshe Nelson Allison Turner Shana Zucker Julia Zuckerman

   

MILTON gratefully acknowledges the generous challenge grant

provided by Legacy Heritage Fund to upgrade our school's science

laboratory and science equipment. With the Foundation's help,

we have been able to train our staff in the latest technology,

and our students are working in a renovated science laboratory

with updated equipment producing works of excellence.

The Legacy Heritage Science Upgrade Challenge Grant

has enabled our school to make the leap into the 21st century.

A Tribute to our Beloved Head of School Naomi Reem 

 

For 15 years, you have selflessly devoted yourself to the education,

growth andwell-being of Milton's students. You took on an impossible job, navigated skillfully through countless challenges, and you now leave

hundreds of children and families as the grateful beneficiaries.

 

It has been our pleasure and our honor to have had the opportunity

to work with you to grow and sustain this amazing school.

 

We wish you tremendous luck and success

as you move on from Milton. We hope the next chapter

of your career will be fulfilling and also allow you

more time for some well deserved relaxation!

 

Steve & Chani Laufer

BS"D (בס״ד)

Todah Rabbah to Naomi Reem for 15 years of visionary leadership.

As an organization committed to elevating Jewish days schools,

we honor your commitment to innovation and excellence.

You have given so many students the opportunity to love Jewish learning

through your leadership, and your wisdom, influence,

and community-minded spirit elevates our field.

 

We wish the Milton Gottesman Jewish Day School

of the Nation's Capital continued strength and success

as a day school exemplar.

 

Sharon Freundel, Managing Director

Rabbi Shmuel Feld, Founding Director

Rachel Mohl Abrahamas, Senior Advisor, Education Grants & Programs

BS"D (בס״ד) Mazel tov to Naomi Reem for 15 years of leadership

and dedication to the Milton community. Your commitment to building

a strong Jewish future through our younger generation of leaders

will have a lasting impact.

Mazel tov to Susan Schatten & Johnathan Epstein.
Mazel tov to Steve and Brett Wernick.

May God bless the Milton Gottesman Jewish Day School community

with continued strength, success and joy.
Manette & Louis Mayberg
and the professional staff of the Mayberg Foundation

 

 

Naomi Reem

Your leadership, brilliance, tireless work, and vision

moved the entire school community to reach greater heights...continually.

 

You made Milton Gottesman Jewish Day School

of the Nation's Capital a crown jewel

in the field of Jewish day schools,

in the educational offerings of the nation's capital, and in the

Jewish community throughout the world.

 

Thank you for giving us your passion, wisdom,

creative energy, heart and soul.

 

With admiration and gratitude,

Adina, Bryan, Nathaniel, Eliana and Maxwell Kanefield

 

With love to our friends and colleagues

who have continued to make JPDS

an innovative beacon of Jewish learning.

 

Naomi - from sharing playdates to honoring your leadership

as a woman with hitlamdut (a stance of learning) coupled always

with zerizut (enthusiasm) - the combination has served

this community in countless and enduring ways.

 

Steve and Brett - from sharing assemblies and board leadership

to serving JPDS with the depth of your knowledge -

we are all the beneficiaries.

 

My friends, we are honored to honor you.

 

Naomi - you have done so much to transform the school

that will ALWAYS be JPDS to us and will always be in our hearts.

 

Mazel tov to you and thank you for your hard work

and dedication to make this school what it is today! 

All our love,

The Eyl / Chanin Family (Jackie, Leonard, Jacob & Ethan)

Thank you Naomi for your leadership, for all the love and passion you have given to the students, faculty and families so generously. Your vision of what  Milton  could be has been realized.

The greatest testament to you is your legacy:
A most special Jewish school that provides from a very young age through adolescence, a profound education filled with intellectual curiosity, creativity. citizenship, compassion for others and the importance of community. Milton is truly a gift you have grown so meaningfully for the greater Washington DC area and all the generations of students to come.

L'Dor V'Dor. We look forward to the next generation of Milton students- especially our family's newest beloved addition, Michaela and Zac's daughter, Margalit Dalia Elkaim.
 

"Kindness is not an act, but a lifestyle"
To Steve and Brett
From Board member to Milton leader, working with you has taught me the meaning of kindness, giving, and leadership.  You have worked tirelessly  and passionately to make Milton a great school. Working with you has been an honor and a true pleasure.  
 
Susan and Jonathan
Thinking back on Rafe's admission to Milton, one thing that I knew for sure was, not only did you have great kids, but that your contribution to Milton was going to be monumental.  I can't thank you enough for all that you have done to make our school great and for contributing so much in every aspect possible.  Your hours of volunteering, helping to come up with new programs, and never saying no has left a lasting impression on me.  I hope you will always stay in touch with us and may your spirit of volunteerism continue to touch so many. Thank you! 

The disciples of the wise are engaged

all their days in building up the world.
-The Talmud
 
To Naomi-thank you for being a mentor, a friend, and a true leader.  You have built a school that will continue to educate and create the future leaders of the Jewish community.  Your gifts of wisdom, perseverance and treating each area of adversity as a new challenge will always reverberate in the Milton halls. We have learned from you, grown with you, and seen fifteen classes of Milton children spreading their wings and taking their knowledge to make the world a better place.  Your impact on the many is immeasurable.  Thank you for inspiring us to reach for more and to see greatness in everyone.    
 
With love and appreciation,

Sindy Udell, Ken, Hannah, and Ethan Josovitz     
 

Mazal tov to this year's Purim Ball Honorees 

Steve & Brett Wernick

Susan Schatten & Jonathan Epstein

 

Thank you for your many years of service and commitment

to Milton. Only through the hard work and dedication

of people like yourselves could Milton have become

the thriving school and community we celebrate today.

 

We also honor Milton's teachers and staff.

Whether you're working at school or online, your devotion

and your creativity are helping form the next generation

of citizens and leaders for our community, our nation,

and the Jewish people.

 

May you go from strength to strength!

Steve & Chani Laufer

 

Mazal Tov to all of the honorees! A special Kol Ha'Kavod to Naomi for all of your hard work and devotion to Milton, the students, and the families. While we will always think of it as JPDS, a school newly back in DC with only 140 students, we have watched as your vision and leadership nurtured the school to become the amazing institution and model of pluralistic Jewish education it is today. Even more, your even temperament and your steadfast dedication (the sabbaticals that never were; your presence at every simcha and sorrow) have provided the backdrop for the strong sense of community JPDS is known for. There is no doubt that you are leaving Milton better than you found it and that it can only continue to grow and thrive far into the future. Can you take that sabbatical now?

 

In admiration and with endless gratitude, 

Lisa, Judah, Maayan, and Arava

Naomi, although this is far from the way either of us pictured our spring transition, I am grateful every day (usually during one of our Zoom meetings!) to be succeeding such a smart, creative, committed, intuitive and overall extraordinary Head of School. The shoes I will try to fill are incredibly big, but I am so lucky to be following in your footsteps.  

 

Thank you for everything you have done these last 15 years to bring MILTON, and the whole Jewish Day School field,

to a whole new level of excellence.

 

Deborah Skolnick-Einhorn 

Naomi,

We are grateful for your endless devotion of heart and soul

to our children and institution on a daily basis. Your legacy of leadership

to Milton is most remarkable and will remain for generations to come.

 

Susan & Jonathan,

Yasher Koach for your continuous involvement both within view

and behind the scenes. You are great models for our community.

 

Steve & Brett,

Thank you for creating order in our dynamic Milton enterprise

by bringing your calm and your clarity.

Wishing you the best in your next chapter.

You will always have a home at Milton.

 

Steve and Sarah Fertig Trauben

Tanaim 

 

Dear Mrs. Jacobson, Ms. Kochavi & Staff,

Thank you for being the most amazing teachers to our

1st grade class, Tainim. We really appreciate all the hard

work you do to make our learning environment exciting,

happy, and a great place to learn. We really enjoyed our study of the

natural world through our Rock Creek Park project and our

Hebrew and Judaic studies. Ms. Kochavi always makes learning

Hebrew easy and fun to learn. We are grateful to have

such wonderfully amazing, caring teachers.

 

Thank you, Tainim Class of 2027

Eliem, Nili, Matilda, Margalit (Gali), Ruben, Zev, William, Eitan, Talya, Eleanor, Amira, Gabriella (Gaby), Sefora, Selma, Tzurielle,

Shai, Benjamin and Ariella.

Madanim

 

The Madanim students and parents are so thankful to our excellent educators, Rebecca Ravski and Chana Kupetz, for fostering in our children a love of reading, problem solving, friendship building, and endless curiosity about outer space. 

 

We are so grateful to have these talented educators helping our children grow and learn in 2nd grade this year.  We are forever grateful for your commitment to our children, and to your excellence in teaching. 

 

Love, Max, Lev, Eli, Avital, Maya, Hope, Theo, Abby, AJ, Vered,

Matan, Dakota, Ethan, Zoe, Elana, Josiah, Rahel, and Elijah

Navatim

 

Thank you Alyssa Brunner, Orit Hatzav, and Paul Simpson for your dedication to making every day special in our 2nd grade education. 

 

You've taken us on fantastic field trips galore

and taught us there are many galaxies yet to explore.

We are grateful for the life skills: Reading, Writing and Math

All the work you do daily to set us down the right path.

 

Thanks to you, our Ivrit is yafeh meod

So Todah Rabah, Thank You! And Kol HaKavod!

With great love and affection for all that you do,

The families in Kitah Navatim pay tribute to you!

 

Nate, Golan, Noam, Yonah, Zachary, Edan, Evie, Henry, Zev, Dov, Ilan, Aviv, Nathan, Dylan, Eleah, Ayla, Mallory, and Maya

   

To the THIRD GRADE teachers: 

You taught us how to climb the highest academic MOUNTAINS,

travel through the SEAS of knowledge, and

soar through the endless SKIES of learning.

We adore you and thank you for ALL that you do. 

You go above and beyond and it is all appreciated! 

With love, gratitude, and admiration,
The THIRD GRADE students and families 
 

Navigators

 

Dear Miss Prell and G'veret Malkiel,

You've helped us to think deeply about the main characters in the books we read, taught us to review and critique our writing, explored with us the climates and landforms of various countries and taught us

basic map skills. You helped us master multiplication and division of

multi-digit numbers and pushed us to crack the code of pesukim in the Torah and interpret the stories. Thank you for constantly motivating, supporting, and challenging us to achieve our best.

 

Love the students from Navigators,

Eliav, Sophia, Nobel, Abby, Dahlia, Leah, Ella, Rebecca, Ori,

Hersh, Eli, Hobbes, Eitan, Isadora, Yaniv, Yakov

To our 7th grade teachers:

Thank you for continuing to guide and inspire our children through their journey through the "middle" of middle school. Seventh grade offers our kids so many ways to get excited about learning - from adventures in nature, justice, and biblical art, to Renaissance history, geometry, building the Mishkan and exploring meaningful ways to daven. Beyond nurturing our kids with opportunities to learn, ask questions, think critically, and understand their areas of strength and growth, we know you are supporting them in their social and emotional development - which is no easy feat these days! We are so grateful to all of you for your energy and

dedication to our children. Mazal tov!

 

Love, Adiv, Alex, Aliza, Avital, Azaria, Benji, Boaz, Chris, Coby, Dalia,

Dee Dee, Dino, Elan, Eliav, Elisheva, Gabriel, Gabi, Gideon, Hannah, Isabel, Jacob, Jonah, Josie, Julia,  Mattan, May, Maya, Mayer, Micah, Michal, Nathan, Nava, Navah, Noa, Rafi, Reuven, Seth, Shalvah,

Tamar, Tovah, William, Yedidya