With Gratitude

13 November 2015Rosh Chodesh Kislev, 5776

Shalom Chaverim,

I landed in Israel yesterday afternoon to meet with colleagues and partners about Israel education at Gann and, most importantly, to accompany our juniors home on the last leg of their transformative, three-month Israel experience. I look forward to sharing my reflections when I return.

In the meantime, I continue to feel uplifted by last Saturday night’s celebration of Gann’s 18 years. One of the things that I felt most strongly and on which many people have commented was just how much love there was coming from the almost 600 people who attended this event. The spirit in the room felt like family—from Gann founders and generations of alumni to community members and parents of young children who were getting to know Gann for the first time.

Gann honored me with a gift of an Israeli paper cut of the “tefillah l’moreh—a prayer for a teacher”, which touched me deeply because, with the increasingly wide-ranging expectations of heads of school today, I am an educator at heart. If you are interested, you can view the reflections I shared at the event here.

As we enter Shabbat, let me once again thank our extraordinary community for your love and support, for what we have built together, and for joining me as we embark boldly on the journey of our next 18 years.

Shabbat Shalom,

Rabbi Marc Baker