I’ve always wanted a living room like this.

A few years ago I started referring to the 2nd floor Common Space as our community’s living room, and it certainly felt that way this week. It is the space where it all happens, the hearth of our school. I’ve been privileged to watch some of our younger siblings crawl for the first time or take their first steps right here in our living room. One of our staff members got engaged right here in our living room. Our living room has seen birthday parties, Chanukah parties, and alumni parties.

Just in the past two weeks alone, our living room hosted: a group of writers and researchers piloting scripts for new Daniel Tiger shows to some of our students, a 50-parent workshop on Exmissions 101, a full-staff breakfast, community-wide Shabbat sings, 3s age-band Shabbat sings, two sessions of Baby Play, a sing along for newly-admitted families, teachers touring our school from the Job Fair we hosted in the auditorium, two groups of teachers visiting our school from Temple Israel across the park and JCC on the Hudson just upstate.

And those are only the scheduled programs! This week our living room also saw our atelierista Sari work with paint with numerous groups, Room 1 build a boat out of hollow blocks, Rooms 4 and 6 contribute to the Penny Harvest bucket, Room 7 sketch the babies during Baby Play, and Room 8 explore the kitchen for ingredients. Our living hosted countless parents and caregivers schmoozing and passing time before, after, and during class; our living hosted numerous spontaneous playdates after dismissal but before children were ready to leave.

I’ve always wanted a living room like this! And I’m so glad to share it with each of you. Please linger – come early, leave late, feel at home. Feel comfortable. It’s our community’s living room.

Shabbat shalom,
Noah