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It’s been a great week! Every morning we have been reminded to “stay woke” by the call of our shofar. We are, as a community, continually called to be Rodephei Shalom, or “Pursuers of Peace.” As such, HBHA instituted a new Hakarat HaTov (Recognizing the Good) program this week, where students can recognize one another for acts of kindness or generosity they have witnessed. There were more than 20 different students recognized this morning, in our first week of the new program. We are proud of the menschlichkeit of our students!

But that’s not all we are proud of: Our middle school soccer team won their first two games of the season, against Barstow and Pembroke, and our Cross Country and Varsity soccer teams are also working hard. We are a school of scholars, mensches, and athletes! 

Finally, we had our first PTO 2.0 event last night. Twenty two participants came for almost three hours of conversation, creative thinking and building, and laughs. In the process, some profound discoveries were made last night. One of the common themes: people often feel isolated, alone, or simply on the outside of community. We realized we need to do more as a community to bridge the gaps between families of different ages, between religious denominations, and between people born in Kansas City and those who have moved here. The work of building community is real - and important - work.

In our Design Thinking process last night we generated many brilliant community-building ideas which I will share with you as we progress. This work of identifying our opportunities for growth and brainstorming solutions is still in its infancy; but for now, I can tell you our community is already tighter and stronger than it was. Our needs and values are being recognized, a vision is coming into shape, friendships are being created and strengthened, and our batteries be being recharged. I am very excited to develop next steps and see where this leads us. I hope you will join us in the work.

As always, I am grateful for your partnership.

Shabbat Shalom!

Adam Tilove
Head of School