The Masks We Wear – part II

Purim Resources: Many wonderful Purim resources are available to you at no cost.

As always, the Lookstein Center provides remarkably
in-depth Purim resources.

Gateways is a Jewish Education site which features several Purim resources specifically designed for children with special needs and educational challenges.

The Jewish Agency for Israel offers a comprehensive menu of resources including activities, history and geography, feminist perspectives, a summary of specific Purim customs practiced in different countries, and innovative educational activities.

The National Library of Israel’s Purim resource pack contains historical gems from the time of the British mandate – Purim celebrations, pageants, discounted railway tickets to encourage attendance at holiday festivities, and a somber cancellation of a Purim party due to the Warsaw Uprising. It also features personal insights from a collection of letters home from Jerusalem and activity suggestions.

Click here to read The Masks We Wear – part I

Should your masks need a re-haul or just some tweaking, please reach out to me. Feel free to send me an email or call me at 516.569.8070.

Kol tuv,

Candace Plotsker-Herman

Got Questions? – part I

Do you have a question?

I’ll bet you do! After all, on Pesach, we are mandated to re-experience the Exodus. For educators, that demands innovative, creative pedagogy guaranteed to evoke questions. With older children, we elicit and explore deep questions about the Exodus narrative, the hagaddah liturgy, and the lasting lessons both can teach us. With younger children, we use costumes, props, and dramatic reenactment.

Got matza? Got wine? Got gefilte fish?
My sedarim – which always featured locusts, blood-like water, and ma-nishtana puppets along with meaningful divrei torah – have become a bit less intense, but much more fun, since we’ve started parting the Nile (a blue, ocean-themed, shower curtain hung up in my dining room archway), welcomed Eliyahu (my good-natured, costumed nephew), and discovered wiggly, green jello frogs perched on our plates. These recent additions evoke not only squeals of delight but also a myriad of questions from the more recent additions to our family!

However, right now I’m thinking about a different type of questions – ones that your parents yearn to ask. I suggest that this year, in the goal of true partnership and transparency, you invite your parents to question you. But don’t just play lip service to the concept: really open it up! This takes a bit of daring.

Want to learn more? Click here to read Got Questions? – part II.

Please feel free to call me at 516.569.8070 or send me an email to learn more about how to turn your present parents and stakeholders into loyal ambassadors and supporters. I’m also happy to discuss special projects as well as annual retainers. Chag kasher v’sameach!

Kol tuv,

Candace Plotsker-Herman

Got Questions? – part II

Parents’ questions will yield:

 Enhanced relationships
 Important, actionable data

How you invite these questions depends on your school’s culture. Possibilities include:

 Open school-wide town hall meetings
 Small parlor meetings
 
A physical question box that children decorate or build (in a preschool class or a high school woodworking class)
 
A user-friendly online form

Follow up is key! Of course, you must respond to each query in a personal and timely manner. More important, you need to analyze the queries. The questions may show you areas that need slight tweaking or larger overhauls. Questions may motivate you to open up clearer lines of communications, revamp your Ivrit curriculum, revisit tenure polices, or just pat yourself on the shoulder for an A-plus job. Either way, opening up lines of communications will show parents that you value them. How can this Pesach be different for your parents than any other chag? Let this be the one that is transparent, inviting, and demonstrates that parents are your partners!

Click here to read Got Questions? – part I.

Please feel free to call me at 516.569.8070 or send me an email to learn more about how to turn your present parents and stakeholders into loyal ambassadors and supporters. I’m also happy to discuss special projects as well as annual retainers. Chag kasher v’sameach!

Kol tuv,

Candace Plotsker-Herman

The Treasure of Trees – part I

It’s Time to Celebrate!

While some people I know and love are counting down until Pesach, I’m thinking about birthday parties. Truly, I’m thinking about one in particular – the one that occurs on the 15th of Shevat.

My mom and I share an annual laugh recollecting buxser – that inedible fruit that PTA moms, for some inexplicable reason, distributed to us each Tu b’Shevat. Perhaps they were dentists. Thankfully, my children were presented with sweeter, easier to bite, fruits and even participated in meaningful Tu b’Shevat sedarim. (Turns out that buxser is actually carob – but not those chocolaty chips I sprinkle on my frozen yogurt while pretending virtuously that I am eating a healthy, low-fat treat. Buxser is also noticeably absent from the list of biblical fruits that includes olives, dates, grapes, figs, and pomegranates.

Tu b’Shevat presents many easily implemented opportunities for marketing messages. In fact, this morning, I received a LinkedIn offer for a free poster from Aishdas. I must say that I was quite attracted to its marketing message, “We often complain that we spend so much time on the halachic trees, we lose sight of the forest. Hoping this helps you remember.” Why not take advantage of Tu b’Shevat to publicize how you keep your eye on both the trees and the forest – nurturing children, planting seeds, and reaping lasting, nourishing, wholesome, results?

Reach out to your stakeholders using these themes of planting, sowing, and reaping.

For a comprehensive list of resources, click here to read The Treasure of Trees – part II.

Should you have any questions about implement a Tu b’Shevat plan, marketing, resource development, assessing present materials, crafting compelling stories, utilizing data-driven research to present your case, or about any of my cost-effective day school services, please feel free to send me an email or call me at 516.569.8070.

Kol tuv,

Candace Plotsker-Herman

The Treasure of Trees – part II

Resources to Explore

Lookstein Center
The Lookstein Center compiles an extremely comprehensive annual list of resources including creative teaching activities, projects you can recommend to families, and Tu b’Shevat sedarim.

Hazon
Hazon
 is offering a variety of resources, lesson plans, and an updated Tu b’Shevat Hagaddah this year. 

The Jewish National Fund (JNF)
See JNF’s
 Tu b’Shevat Across America Page for a host of ideas, projects, and resources.

Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life (COEJL)
The Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life (COEJL) website provides creative resources about the Jewish approach to the environment.

Jewish Interactive
For a host of interactive experiences, please visit: Jewish Interactive.

Click here to read The Treasure of Trees – part I.

Should you have any questions about implement a Tu b’Shevat plan, marketing, resource development, assessing present materials, crafting compelling stories, utilizing data-driven research to present your case, or about any of my cost-effective day school services, please feel free to send me an email or call me at 516.569.8070.

Kol tuv,

Candace Plotsker-Herman

To Love Your Fellow Jew – part I

Lag b’Omer Memories

My childhood memories of Lag b’Omer are of days filled with plain old-fashioned fun. No classes, a bagged picnic lunch, and games outdoors. And… if my bangs were in my eyes… that was the day to get them trimmed. (Yom Haatzmaut or Rosh Chodesh, in that case, would have been missed opportunities.)

Want to share your favorite memories? Please click here. I would love to share them in my Shavuot issue.

The holiday holds several PR messages– in fact in a past Lag b’Omer issue, I shared 33 ways to promote your message on Lag B’omer.

To Love Your Fellow Jew
This year, however, I want to focus on only one Lag b’Omer message. It is one that can speak to all your constituents loudly and clearly. I admit, it may seem too simple, too sweet, but here it is: (with attribution to Chabad.org).

The Talmud relates that in the weeks between the Jewish holidays of Passover and Shavuot, a plague raged amongst the disciples of the great sage Rabbi Akiva,  “because they did not act respectfully towards each other.” These weeks are therefore observed as a period of mourning, with various joyous activities proscribed by law and custom. On Lag b’Omer the deaths ceased. Thus, Lag b’Omer also carries the theme of the imperative to love and respect one’s fellow Jew (Ahavat Israel).

So… how can you use this theme to recruit and retain students? Read on!

Click here to read To Love Your Fellow Jew – part II

Should you have any questions about marketing, resource development, assessing present materials, crafting compelling stories, utilizing data-driven research to present your case, or any of my day school services, please feel free to send me an email or call me at 516.569.8070.

Kol tuv,

Candace Plotsker-Herman

To Love Your Fellow Jew – part II

Promote Compassion and Integrity

Yeshiva parents are certainly concerned about their school’s academic track record. They also want to raise children who have stellar values. Therefore, a parent needs to know that the place where their child lives for close to 40 hours a week, the school that their child attends, is a partner with the parent in promoting values. As Rabbi Zvi Bajnon, the former menahel of my children’s alma mater often asserted: not every student can earn academic honorable mention… but every child can be a mentsch.

Let your parents know how you promote compassion and integrity. Document that your environment is a healthy one where sinat chinam is not an option.

Share information about your:

 Anti-bullying program
 Derech Eretz curriculum
 Honor code

Show them that chesed is not limited to “community service activities,” but rather that kol yisarel areivim zeh le zeh is integrated not only into daily lessons but also into daily life. In fact, show them that community responsibility extends out of your own insular community as well.

How? Compelling stories and hard data.

If you want to learn more about how to craft compelling stories and use data driven research to make your case, please send me an email.

On a deeply personal note, I am thrilled to wish mazel tov to my children Netti and Ari Herman on the birth of a son. I pray that through being raised in a home where Torah values rule the day, zeh ha katan gadol yihiyeh. May his parents raise him to Torah, chuppah, and maasim tovim.

Click here to read To Love Your Fellow Jew – part I

Should you have any questions about marketing, resource development, assessing present materials, crafting compelling stories, utilizing data-driven research to present your case, or any of my day school services, please feel free to send me an email or call me at 516.569.8070.

Kol tuv,

Candace Plotsker-Herman

Plant, Weed, and Sprout Sensational PR – part I

Tu b’Shevat catalyzes blooming PR!

I’m enjoying an exceptionally mild New York winter. I gaze outside and see small bare bushes, a proud sapling we planted a few years ago, a gnarled old tree we were advised to chop down years ago, as well as majestic trees whose vibrant green leaves stubbornly refuses to fall to the ground.

In fact, while researching the latest Tu b’Shevat resources to share with you, I found this tree age calculator. I’m going to find my trusty tape measure and determine the exact ages of my lovely trees. Your students might enjoy this challenge as well.

And while the different ages and relative strength of my trees cause me to think of my multigenerational family, it also makes me think of the obvious connections between trees and the work that you, Jewish educators, do daily. Whether your campus is bursting with blossoms or bare in the cold, it is a good idea to use Tu b’Shevat as a catalyst for blooming PR! Read on to learn of ways that you can use Tu b’Shevat to encourage your constituents to reflect about how you work to nurture seedlings that can grow into strong trees… with many strong branches.

Plant PR Seeds…
No doubt, your Tu b’Shevat plans are in place. Preschool and lower school bulletin boards are dressed in creative “trees” that may be blossoming self portraits, blooming mitzvah notes, or even sprouting pictures of students’ extended families. Hopeful little planters adorn classroom windowsills. Middle school students may be involved in multi-faceted projects that weave Torah and Science together. Perhaps they are participating in innovative cross curriculum projects such as Hazon’s Min Ha’Aretz.

Click here to read Plant, Weed, and Sprout – part II

Smiling faces, interactive cross-curriculum learning, and directly linking Torah with “Green” are all positive Tu b’Shevat pitches. Think about the crop you want to reap before planting your PR seeds! Sow strategically and you will not only gain clips; you’ll also achieve your goals! Should you have any questions about writing more effective press releases or about any of my day school services, please send me an email or call me at 516.569.8070.

Kol tuv,

Candace Plotsker-Herman

Plant, Weed, and Sprout Sensational PR – part II

Weed PR Myths…
Possibly, your high schoolers decided to host a Tu b’Shevat seder for the seniors from the local nursing home and/or the public school students down the block.

Perhaps they are raising awareness about, and funds for, The Jewish National Fund’s National Water Task Force.

My point? Tu b’Shevat is celebrated is a variety of ways. Analyze your school’s unique Tu b’Shevat from a public relations perspective. Then strategically sow your PR seeds and weed out any PR myths that may be threatening your harvest.

Your Tu b’Shevat PR should be about more than getting a picture in the paper. It should help attain your short and long term goals.

Dispel Myths! Myths persist and sadly the bad ones blossom. Use your Tu b’Shevat PR to weed them out!

Myth One: The school’s Judaic Studies curriculum is basic, boring, and not rigorous.
Promote your Tu b’Shevat Seder not only as a feel-good” photo-op but also as a concrete celebration of Jewish history and philosophy.

Share how students learned about the development of rituals. An Introduction to the Tu b’Shevat Seder by David Jay Derovan, provides excellent background, tracing the b’Shevat Seder’s historical development to the sixteenth century kabbalists of Tzfat.

Myth Two: Students put money in a tzedaka box every Friday and participate in bike-a-thons, but they don’t connect to them or Eretz Yisrael in a meaningful manner. 

If such misperceptions keep you awake at night, your PR efforts should focus on how you teach a connection to the earth. Focus on your innovative, cross-curricular methods of teaching environmental responsibility. 

Myth Three: The school provides and excellent Judaic and Secular studies education. Sadly, they don’t seem to be very Zionistic.

Your release should demonstrate that your Tu b’Shevat lessons foster a direct connection to Israel by addressing current environmental issues and challenges in Israel. 

Sprout Sensationally…
It’s possible that your goal is simply to appear in the newspaper monthly. Even so, think about your overall calendar.

A simple PR calendar should reflect your school’s varied strengths. Even if you have a loyal base AND a pre-school waiting list, you must present a well-rounded image.

Clearly, a community day school promotes itself differently than a mesivta. Yet, the strategic rules are the same. If your goal is to be in print once a month during the school year, you still need to plan twelve releases and be sure that collectively they reflect ALL your priorities.

So while a mesivta might learn more heavily toward articles that reflect its Limudei Kodesh curriculum and the kesher maintained with alumni while students are studying in Israeli yeshivas and after they return to pursue college education. To reflect varying strengths, a mesivta should be sure to promote its AP scholar and state-of-the-art Science program. Similarly, the Community Day School might promote the way it stresses that stellar analytical skills are not only for acing tests but also for being productive and inclusive members of both klal yisrael and secular society.

More Tu b’Shevat Resources

Canfei Nesharim
Canfei Nesharim’s website includes many articles and Divrei Torah exploring the connections between Tu b’Shevat and the environment. It also features sample lesson plans to educate about the environment from a Torah perspective.

Lookstein Center
The Lookstein Center provides links to a variety of lesson plans, articles and printable Tu b’Shevat Sederim.

Hazon
Hazon is a dynamic organization that works to create a healthier and more sustainable Jewish community for all. Learn about its innovative educational curricula and resources and download the Tu b’Shevat Haggadah.

Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life (COEJL)
COEJL seeks to expand the contemporary understanding of such Jewish values as Tikkun Olam, Tzedek, and G’Milut Chasadim to environmental action and advocacy. Its Tu b’Shevat page features creative resources.

Jewish National Fund
The Jewish National Fund (JNF) is not only about tree certificates and little blue Tzedaka boxes (though they certainly are a source for both)! Access the JNF’s Tu b’Shevat Across America page  which provides different Tu b’Shevat Haggadot, activities, lesson plans, sermons, and a host of other resources. Tu b’Shevat in the Schools program will provide you with free educational newsletters and posters.

Teva Center
The Teva Center is a non-denominational Jewish Environmental Education Institute. It runs single-day programs as well as residential programs (from two- to four-days in duration) for fourth- through eighth-graders. These intensive programs are designed to sensitize participants to nature’s rhythms and help them develop a more meaningful relationship with both nature and their own Jewish practices. (These programs take place at several sites in the Northeast.)

Click here to read Plant, Weed, and Sprout – part I

Smiling faces, interactive cross-curriculum learning, and directly linking Torah with “Green” are all positive Tu b’Shevat pitches. Think about the crop you want to reap before planting your PR seeds! Sow strategically and you will not only gain clips; you’ll also achieve your goals! Should you have any questions about writing more effective press releases or about any of my day school services, please send me an email or call me at 516.569.8070.

Kol tuv,

Candace Plotsker-Herman

Chaunkah Unwrapped – part I – The Latke Story

As Chanukah approaches, I think about the Chanukah stories – not only those about the nissei ha chag but also about the miracles that occur in your classrooms. And somehow, sizzling latkes and sugary sufganiyot creep into my thoughts (and to-do list)! Last Chanukah, I shared some tips about enhancing your PR efforts through the lessons that can be gleaned from these Chanukah treats. Readers who implemented them thanked me for the “gift.” If you didn’t use all the ideas (or even if you did) – get ready to unwrap these tried and true hints.

Did you know that the Lookstein Center offers wonderful Chanukah resources? Click here to find original Chanukah lesson plans, PowerPoint presentations, and articles created by Lookstein Center staff or contributed by Jewish educators.

What does a latke have to do with a story?
Well, you start with something simple – a potato. Add some ingredients; do something special to them – and what do you get? A delicious latke. OK – unleash this image on your parent ambassadors and ask them how their children’s teachers took something simple and turned it into something spectacular.

Are they stuck? 

How did a seemingly simple teaching strategy turn a child who was frustrated with Rashi script into a parshanut super-star? 

How did a morah’s simple yet magical words take a sulking child – whose mom was in the hospital having a new baby – and transform him into a proud big brother and cooperative second-grader?

Latke Cooking Activites
Here is another thought to share with your parent ambassadors:
 
Tell them the many ways that your teachers transform a latke cooking activity into a comprehensive cross-curriculum event.
 
Let’s count eight ways!
  A Jewish History lesson.

   A Math lesson.

    A Science lesson.

     A Hebrew language lesson. Read the ingredients in Hebrew rather than in English.

      A Music lesson.
Students sing songs about latke making while they grate the potatoes.

       
A small group collaborative activity.
One group peels, another grates, and the third measures.

        A bracha review. What is the bracha for a potato latke?
What if the potato latke is part of a larger meal?

         
A chesed activity. Students share their latkes with the class next door, the school secretary, the crossing guard, the security guard, and the school nurse.

Click here to read Chanukah Unwrapped – part II

My team and I are here to help you communicate effectively, increase visibility and loyalty, recruit and retain students, and raise needed funds. To discuss your needs, please send me an email or call 516.569.8070. Wishing you a happy and healthy Chanukah!

Kol tuv,

Candace Plotsker-Herman