The Brandeis School of San Francisco

Meet our School Nurse, Kate Polak! Kate will be on campus every day, helping to keep our community safe and healthy!

Election Day is tomorrow and Brandeis Giving Day is almost here. On November 13 we will call upon our community to celebrate our students and support their Brandeis education. First-time voter and Brandeis alumna Paige Quaintance '16 embodies the American ideals of democracy and civic engagement and is extremely grateful for her Brandeis education, Brandeis encouraged me to speak up for things that are important to me and gave me the tools to do so at a young age. Paige supports Brandeis, and we hope you will join her on Brandeis Giving Day by making a gift at give.sfbrandeis.org. #makeitmatter #brandeisfund.

We were beyond excited to welcome our students back to campus today!!

Brandeis Family Feature: Get to Know the Pierce Family! Q. Who are the people and animals who live in your house? A. Hannah (1st grade) who’s left arm is now cast free, Jackson (2nd grade) who’s already the height of one of his grandmas, Lindsey (at home) when she’s not stuffing q-tips up the noses of strangers and Doug who has re-retired to cut apples, steam eggs, and read Harry Potter aloud. We also have Burl, our three year old cat, and Samie, our new kitten named after Sa...mwise of Lord of the Ring fame. Also present is an astonishing amount of dust and crumbs - science should be done on this small material self-generation! Q. What does your family like to do to relax? Have you taken up any new hobbies or activities? A. A few months ago the kids explored our stash of complicated board games and correctly insisted they could play them. We’ve mastered Mage Knight and have moved on to Gloomhaven. There’s nothing like having a six year old remind you how to properly follow game rules. We also have a long standing tradition of family movie night and just finished all six Hobbit/Lord of the Ring movies. During the summer we developed a three times a week Ocean Beach habit. We all have wetsuits and take turns on our boogie boards. Jackson and Doug did manage to get pulled into a riptide and swam parallel to the shore to get out of it. Important lessons learned! We also love to roam Golden Gate Park, playing capture the flag, climbing trees, and meeting masked friends. Recent discoveries include the realization that larger children can inadvertently pull smaller children out of trees leading to broken elbows. Q. What foods (or takeout items) have brought you comfort during the past few months? A. Special events have been indulged with Flour + Water takeout. Baking (homemade Challah, other breads, cookies, cupcakes, and pies) is always a hit. Q. What trip will you take when it’s safe and easy to travel again? A. We have family in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. It would be amazing to be able to see them live and in person! Q. What’s something unique or unusual about your family that people may not know? A. Dinner conversations at home are generally a chaotic mix of stuffed animals talking to each other, recaps of the day, wonderings about how many people would have to tell us something we know to be false is true before we start to doubt ourselves, discussions of medical curiosities, plans for the next day, and reminders to parents about the current day of the week.

. Brandeis Giving Day is almost here. On November 13 we will call upon our community to celebrate our students and support their Brandeis education. First-time voter and Brandeis alumna Mira Terdiman '16 embodies the American ideals of democracy and civic engagement and is extremely grateful for her Brandeis education, Brandeis taught me extremely valuable lessons in repairing the world and caring for my community. Mira supports Brandeis, and we hope you will join her on Brandeis Giving Day by making a gift at give.sfbrandeis.org. #makeitmatter #brandeisfund.

Last week our amazing SCB hosted our first virtual Middle School B'nai Mitzvah celebration. They introduced the students who had a B'nai Mitzvah and then had a zoom dance party with DJ Wild!

Mazel Tov to Brian Goldman ’97 who argued his first case before the U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday! The case is Pereida v. Barr, and Brian is serving as the pro bono attorney for a non-U.S. citizen in a case concerning the burden of proof in deportation proceedings. https://www.orrick.com/en/People/5/2/2/Brian-Goldman https://news.bloomberglaw.com//justice-lean-toward-relief- https://www.sfbrandeis.org/alumni/class-notes

Brandeis fifth grader Mila D. is one of 5 finalists out of 350 original poetry submissions to the American Jewish Historical Society's Emma Lazarus Poetry Contest. She will be celebrated as a runner-up in the Emma Lazarus Statue of Liberty Awards Ceremony. Her poem for the Statue of Liberty speaks to her vision of America. The Statue of Liberty... by: Mila D. (5th Grade, The Brandeis School of San Francisco) I have traveled far and wide In search of a life where I might not hide From a government that does not recognize The differences in all of our eyes. You stand tall and proud And your voice, in my heart is very loud. Telling me to be courageous, big hearted and hopeful Yet my overwhelming feeling is just grateful. I know I am powerful, strong and I can survive In this new world, I will finally feel alive. Although I also feel alone, Incredibly scared of the unknown. Let your torch light my way So I can see, live and feel a new day. Liberty you stand for what it is right, Liberty you will always light my night. Mila dedicated this to her great grandmother Agnes Buchalter, great grandfather Leslie Buchalter, grandmother Katy Gardner and great uncle George Buchalter, all of whom immigrated to New York City from Romania.

Please welcome our 2020-2021 Student Community Board! The student community board (SCB) works to make student life as fun as possible and to connect students during distance learning. The SCB leads a weekly assembly/Kabbalat Shabbat on Fridays, hosts meetings with the advisory representatives of the Middle School, who speak for their advisory to ensure that every student has a voice. The SCB also helps to plan Jewish holidays and events for the Middle School (including school dances) and more. Currently, the SCB is brainstorming ways to show support to the KZV Armenian School on Brotherhood Way, and recently had their first of many meetings with this year’s advisory representatives! The SCB hopes to continue to build a strong community in the Middle School, even if we have to start this semester online.

High Holy Day Food Drive Our High Holy Day food drive benefiting the JFCS food pantry has been a huge success! Community partners at JFCS have shared that we have already donated 500 pounds of food. The food drive runs through October 9th, so it's not too late to donate. Let’s keep those food donations coming throughout the Sukkot holiday! (Food barrels are in front of the school and you can also donate through the JFCS website.)

The Brandeis Community Stands Against Hate & In Solidarity with our Armenian Neighbors The KZV Armenian School and community center next door to us, as well as an Armenian church across town, have recently experienced hate crimes including vandalism , graffiti and arson. Please check out the link here for more information https://www.nbcbayarea.com//san-francisco-police-/2367328/. Brandeis leadership has already reached out to express our grave concern and solidarity, and ...the Brandeis Student Community Board will be reaching out as well. Please consider participating in the GoFundMe link below in an effort that has been set up to support our Armenian neighbors and to help restore their beloved community institutions. https://www.gofundme.com/f/san-francisco-armenian-church-am See more

Visit the Brandeis Sukkah It’s a Mitzvah! The school sukkah will be open for visitors from 2:00 - 5:00pm, Monday October 5 through Friday October 9. Please sign up https://www.signupgenius.com/go/30e0f4aa5aa2eaafa7-sukkot to reserve your spot! We are in need of volunteers to staff the sukkah. If you can help out please email: [email protected].... More info https://sfbrandeis.myschoolapp.com/podium/push/default.aspx.

As the High Holidays approach, let’s show each other some love when we see members of our community doing good! Post photos and tag them using the hashtag #COVID/Kavod. The Hebrew word kavod means honor, or respect, and when we congratulate someone we often say Kol HaKavod, or "all the honor." Let's use it to call out the many ways we are continuing to honor each other and the world around us during these challenging times. Sophia and Ryan B. empty their tzedakah box to fil...l up the JFCS food bank bins! We also have Marlo and Sadie R. shopping for supplies for the JFCS Food Bank! #COVID/Kavod

We are so proud of our Brandeis alumn and noted freestyle and battle rapper Alex "Frak" Fraknoi who won $10K with this delightfully crispy Doritos rap, in which he refers to himself as "Danny Dorito." It debuted over the weekend during an NFL game! https://twitter.com/FrakThePerson/status/1305208515196141568