Student Life

Lower School students are introduced to clubs through fun, age-appropriate lunchtime opportunities that center on play, creativity, and social connection. These experiences help students feel comfortable trying something new, learning alongside peers, and discovering what they enjoy in a joyful, low-pressure setting.

Recent offerings have included Dancing & Drawing, LEGO Building, Origami, and Mensch Makers.

Middle School clubs give students greater choice and ownership as they begin to shape their interests more intentionally. These clubs provide space for collaboration, self-expression, and confidence-building, while encouraging students to take initiative and connect around shared passions.

Middle School club offerings evolve each year based on student interest.

Upper School students have access to a robust roster of student-led clubs and national organizations, reflecting both personal interests and deeper leadership or service commitments.

Clubs are interest-based groups that grow out of shared curiosity and collaboration. In recent years, offerings have included VEX Robotics, Science Olympiad, Environmental Association, and Wellness Committee.

Organizations are more structured, mission-driven groups that often involve defined membership expectations and connections to regional or national networks. Recent offerings have included National Honor Society, CTeen, NAMI, and CEO Connections.

Our 5th-graders in Lower School begin their journey with the leadership elective, meeting twice a week to develop their emerging leadership skills and plan community-building activities for their Lower School peers.  Taking on responsibilities to benefit the community is a relatively new experience for our fifth-graders.  The leadership elective offers them the opportunity to plan, execute, and reflect upon engaging programming. 

It is a common misconception that Middle School students can't be community leaders. With intentional lessons, Middle Schoolers can learn that leadership is not bossing people around, but the ability to lead by example, get things done, stretch themselves to do uncomfortable things like oral presentations, and communicate effectively with their peers. Middle school leadership is an elective class which is open for any middle school student who’d like to enroll.   The class meets regularly with the goals of teaching leadership skills through practice and preparing students for high school leadership experiences. Students are given opportunities to highlight their strengths and stretch areas of challenge throughout the entire year by participating in planning and implementing town hall meetings, updating the internal student life page, and brainstorming programming ideas, to name a few.

Upper School students lead our Associated Student Body (ASB).  Elected and appointed members meet weekly, seeking to create positive school culture through various activities such as spirit days and dances.  The ASB is also responsible for leading weekly town hall meetings with topics varying from current events to social issues to fun games promoting grade bonding.  ASB also oversees student clubs, ensuring that clubs are up, running, and successful, and is the conduit for communicating club meetings and other offerings on campus. Our ASB members continue developing their leadership skills by listening to their peers’ needs and determining the best way to implement changes that will enrich the upper school community.  

Lower School students and faculty are committed to social justice and are inspired to engage in meaningful, impact-driven learning experiences, putting our value of Tikkun Olam into practice. Whether that is by creating cards for nursing home residents, or contributing items to a food drive, they begin to develop compassion for the community around them.  Each grade adopts a theme for community service, dedicating time to learning about the topic, creating a tikkun olam project, and educating their peers about the issue.  

The lessons learned in Lower School continue to develop in Middle School.  Students are able to look outward and determine the needs of the world around them.  Service learning becomes more intentional and student-driven, connecting research, Jewish learning, and action. In sixth grade, students participate in a tzedakah fair connected to Purim, where they research nonprofit organizations and invite the broader school community to engage through giving. During their B’nai Mitzvah year, seventh graders focus on meaningful philanthropy and service projects, emphasizing responsibility, reflection, and impact rather than material gifts.

By the time they reach Upper School, students are prepared to take sustained ownership of service and civic engagement. Students complete a minimum of 100 hours of community service over the course of grades 9–12, often far exceeding the requirement through individual initiative and leadership. Student-led clubs and organizations address local, national, and global issues through ongoing service projects and advocacy. Experiential learning trips frequently include service components, including the Poland and Israel trip, where eleventh graders engage directly with communities and work alongside Israeli children with disabilities, reinforcing the values of responsibility, compassion, and global citizenship.