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Excelsior! As a native New Yorker, I of course learned my state's motto as a young man. Emblazoned boldly on every flag that flew before a state office was the word, "excelsior." Being the victim of a joker, for most of my youth I was under the impression that the term could be translated as, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it!" This jibed perfectly with my understanding of the no-nonsense pragmatism of your average New Yorker. It wasn't until high school that I finally learned that the state of New York had chosen a slightly more inspirational motto for itself. Excelsior really meant, "ever higher" or "ever better." This discovery also met with my understanding of the place I grew up in: always rebuilding and reinventing itself. New York was in part New York because it strove to be first in so many undertakings. The motto of "excelsior" need not be, and is not, constrained to New York. Now in Tucson, I would like to see us apply the same kind of thinking to our Temple Religious School. We have made many advances this year: new texts in our Hebrew classrooms, talented new faculty working with our students and a greatly expanded enrollment. For all of our improvements, we must not be tempted to sit back, but rather we should reach ever higher. One way we can reach higher this year is to make some physical improvements in the classroom environment in which our students learn. Our education building is beginning to show its age, so an incremental program of improvements will be critical to our future growth and success as a school. This year I would like to see us replace the old chalkboards with new whiteboards in all of our classrooms. The whiteboards will give the rooms a more modern look, increase the visibility of what our teachers write, and have the side benefit of eliminating chalkdust from our schoolroom atmosphere. How, you might ask, can I help the Religious School take this first step in it campaign of classroom improvements? The answer is simple – eat some dessert! This year's Sisterhood Passover Candy Sale will directly benefit the Religious School and will enable us to make the change to whiteboards in all of our classrooms. What a sweet deal! Please take a moment to look at the order form that is contained in this month's newsletter. If every one of our families buys a box or two of candy we should easily achieve our goal. I am sure that your help (and appetites!) will see us to a sweet spring semester. B'Shalom Rabbi David Freelund |
