Note: this article is slanted for publication in the Jewish Press New Year’s issue, September 2009. It contains fragments from interview with Principal R. Giller of Friedel Jewish Academy, recruitment Officer Yaffa Podbilewicz Schuller, former Board President Susan Fellman-Witkowski, and Dick Fellman, who was instrumental in the rebirth of the school during the 1970’s.
Part 1: Ron Giller, Principal of Friedel Jewish Academy
By the end of May, when the last diplomas are handed out, the final homework put away, and students’ minds are on summer camps and swimming pools, the work of a Principal is far from over.
“When the kids leave, we begin working on a long list of things, like class schedules for the new school year, staff development, and textbook orders. If we happen to need any new staff, summer is the time to finish recruiting, and we have to evaluate our emergency evacuation plans. It isn’t just the Principal and teachers who continue during the summer. Right now, Josh Gurock, one of our board members, is hard at work on improving the school lunch program; something which we are looking forward to”.
Before the end of the 2008/09 school year, standardized testing was completed, and the results are in: “We use the summer to look at those test scores, and analyze them. Our students consistently score above average in all areas; we look at how they arrived there, and how we can continue to help them excel”, Giller says, “but, of course, it doesn’t end there.”
Before the time students and parents arrive at Friedel for a brand new school year, a very long list has to be completed. The parent handbook needs to be revised, furniture must be inspected and ordered new where needed; staff has numerous meetings, and a new after school program is being developed. “We are especially excited about the option of having after school activities, “ Giller says. “At the moment we are considering a technology club, math, and chess, but the possibilities are endless. It will be one more way to strengthen our Friedel family.”
That Friedel family is growing; the 09/10 school year will welcome 54 students to the building. “We are definitely excited about our growth,” Giller says. “To see our student body practically grow under your nose is a very inspiring thing. The next few years will bring a crucial change to the school, as we anticipate that this pattern will continue.”
The summer of 2009 is a far cry from last year, when Ron Giller had just started as Friedel’s Principal. “The nice thing now is, I don’t have to ask as many questions, and I am very much at home with all the expectations. I have a calendar in my head, I am familiar with things like endowment due dates, I don’t have to second-guess myself. I definitely feel at home; a year makes all the difference!” Giller has spent much of this past year familiarizing himself with everybody in the community, meeting with different people at all the different agencies: “I feel closer to everybody who makes this community thrive, and have been able to build my own relationships, and strengthen Friedel’s relationships with the Jewish Federation, the Jewish press, the CDC, the Blumkin Home, the Center for Jewish education, the Kripke Library, the ADL, BBYO; the list goes on and on. I have met so many fantastic people, and every single one of them has made me feel welcome. We have been able to do projects with the CDC and the Blumkin Home, and we hope to continue that in the years to come. A school like Friedel can’t stand alone, and we are lucky to be part of the bigger whole. It gives our students a very solid start as valuable community members.”
In addition, Giller is grateful to have the support of the Jewish Clergy, as well as very involved parents, enthusiastic students, and a dedicated staff who can’t wait to start the new school year. “It is a bit quiet in the building during the summer, without the kids,” Giller said, “and we all look forward to that first day of school.”
Speaking of that much anticipated first school day, how should the students get ready?
“They should get a good night’s sleep, eat a healthy breakfast, and put a smile on their faces,” Giller said. “We can’t wait to see them again.”
Part 2: Gary Katz, Kripke Jewish Federation Library
To a Librarian, Like Gary Katz at the Kripke Library, summer is a time for scheduling special activities, like the Kids’ Reading Club, special-theme classes, or the American Girl tea party. It is also a time busy with ordering new books, scheduling classes for the fall, and preparing for authors to come and speak, and getting ready for CDC and Friedel students, who will flock to the library come the new school year.
In addition to being a librarian, Katz is also a father. He and his wife Monica have two children, Joseph and Charlotte. Their oldest child, Joseph, is starting Kindergarten this year. Getting ready for that monumental day reminds Gary of his own illustrious career as a Kindergartener in New City, New York: “I had to take the bus every day, “ he recalls, “and I remember my mom waving me goodbye in the morning. It wasn’t like these days, when kids get dropped off and picked up by their parents, like I see happening next door every day; I had to get on that bus all by myself!”
“I remember they served us these small square pizzas, on cafeteria trays, and I remember playing a lot of kickball. There were tow things I really loved back then: kickball and books. Our teacher was a very young woman, it was her first year of teaching, and she was newly married. I don’t remember her name at all, but I do recall she was blond and pretty. But then, every woman is pretty when you are a five-year-old boy. What did I know?”
There were about 20 kids in Gary’s class, and Gary only spent a year with them, as following Kindergarten, his family moved to Rochester. “My most vivid memories, besides the pizzas and the kickball, have to do with books,” he says. “I remember Curious George. The teacher would send books home with us, to practice our reading, and I loved George, even back then. Something else I liked was ‘monster’ books; I would take them home and learn my letters. Even back then, a love of books was in my blood. I guess it was inevitable I grew up to be surrounded by books, although my love of kickball didn’t turn me into an athlete. ”
How is Gary preparing his son Joseph for Kindergarten? They talk a lot: “Joseph has been talking about it non stop all summer,” Gary says. “We have also driven by his building a few times, and, of course, we read books”
Any tips? “Yes, we read “Sammy Spider’s First Day of School”, by author Sylvia Rouss. It is a great book to read with your child while they are getting ready for Kindergarten. We have it at the Kripke library, if anyone wants to read it.”
Obviously, the race between kickball and books is over: the books have won.
Part 3: Yaffa Podbilewicz-Schuller, Friedel Recruitment Officer, Board member, and parent
Home in Mexico, Yaffa Podbilewicz-Schuller attended the same Jewish Day school for 16 years. She started Junior Preschool at the age of three, and stayed until she graduated high school at 18. “We started with roughly one hundred students in my year, and most of them stayed around until the end,” Yaffa says. “It was amazing to go to school with the same kids for so long, and be able to build such wonderful friendships. I never questioned that we would be split up by the time we went to middle or high school, it was just a given that we had the opportunity to stay together”.
Although Yaffa’s father was a board member for many years, it was uncommon for the students to see much of their parents while in school. “ I remember there was someone dressed as a Dreidel, who visited the class room,” Yaffa recalls, “and we were supposed to spin around with it. So we did, we were spinning, and suddenly I hear this voice coming out of the Dreidel. Imagine my surprise: it was my mother!”
Preschool was separated from the rest of the building: “We really didn’t get a chance to interact much with the older kids. The age differences are big, and when you are in preschool, you need your own space, your own playground. As a result, I didn’t really know where I was going when I started First grade. My father took me to see this new, strange, part of the building, so I would be prepared. He even pointed out who would be my Hebrew teacher, and told me how fantastic she was. I vividly remember him taking me there, putting me at ease, preparing me for what was to come.”
Nowadays, Yaffa has two tasks during the summer: preparing her two daughters, Eliana and Yael, and guiding new parents in enrolling their children at Friedel Jewish Academy. As the recruitment officer, she is constantly in motion to educate new parents about the advantages of sending their children to a Jewish Day school. Currently, 54 students are on track to be either returning or entering for the 2009/10 school year. “The growth is phenomenal,” Yaffa says, “and we may have some additional students in the fall that we are not yet sure about. When I talk to new parents, I always remind them that getting ready for Friedel, means also getting the home ready. Make sure to create a space to study, talk about expectations, answer any questions children may have about the journey they are embarking on.”
How does she get her own daughters ready? “Yael will be starting second grade, and Eliana is entering fifth grade. Of course we shop for school supplies, including uniforms and shoes. Friedel’s staff sends out a complete list by the end of summer, and we make sure they have what they need.”
According to Yaffa, there is quite a difference in those needs, compared to when she was in elementary school herself. “We were given one pencil, and one pen; what more do you need to write with? We definitely didn’t need piles and piles of things, and we had to cover our own books. I was also given two pairs of shoes at the beginning of the school year, and a bottle of shoe polish.”
“At home, we clean out their desks, and sort through last year’s school stuff. We decide together what to keep, and what to throw away. We clean closets, separate too-small uniforms and donate them back to the Friedel closet; getting ready at home is a big part of getting ready for school. Just like I was as a child, my daughters look forward to returning to school. Going back to school is the highlight of the summer!”
Part 4: Susan Fellman-Witkowski, Past Board President and parent
Susan Witkowski is more than averagely involved in the wellbeing of Friedel Jewish Academy. She has served as President of the Board for the past two years, has made Friedel logo clothing a staple, participated in the organization of the annual Friedel gala, and volunteers for anything that might come up. Any given day, you could find her cooking a special Shabbat lunch for the students, assisting with the Latke sale, or helping out during the scholastic book fair.
Susan and her husband Isaac Witkowski have a daughter, Gabby, in third grade. Their son Julian will begin Kindergarten at Friedel during the 2010/11 school year, so Susan’s involvement is sure to continue for many years to come.
She is following in the footsteps of her father, Dick Fellman, who was an equally involved parent when Susan was little.
“Before there ever was a Friedel Jewish Academy, I went to what was then the Omaha Jewish Day School. During the early seventies, I attended K through 3rd grade, in a school that had approximately 15-20 students in total. The two-story building was located on Pacific, where Beth Israel Synagogue is now, and we had an understanding with the Montessori school up the road. Teachers from the Montessori would come over and teach us general studies; for Judaic studies, we had a Rabbi.”
To get the full picture of Dick Fellman’s involvement, we have to go back in time: “First, there was the Omaha Hebrew Academy, and it was located near the downtown JCC building, on 20th and Dodge. It was run very much like a Yeshiva, usually had between 20-25 students; in the mid sixties, it abruptly folded when the Rabbi who headed the school left with little notice. Because he left just a few weeks before the beginning of the school year, there was no time to find a replacement, and the school closed. That summer marked the end of the Omaha Hebrew Academy. ”
Dick Fellman wasn’t satisfied, and together with other concerned community members started working towards reopening a Jewish Day school in Omaha. “We started working in earnest in 1970, and it was an uphill battle. We had no building, no accreditation, no staff, and no money.”
So where, eventually, did the money come from? “That’s an interesting story,” Dick Fellman said, “and the story starts with Dr. Shapiro, who ran a Bingo game at the old City Auditorium. You have to remember there was a time when there were no casinos on the Missouri river; the only option people had for any type of gambling was the bingo game. Catholic churches, for instance, would often obtain the special license necessary to run a Bingo game, and then proceed to use it for fundraising. Dr. Irv Shapiro did the same thing, to benefit education; when the Hebrew Academy closed, the bingo game didn’t. Dr. Shapiro kept running it, and we were able to access some of that money and use it to open the new Jewish Day School”.
So the school was paid for through gambling? “Well, not exactly,” Fellman said, “first of all, we had several additional donors; people like Joe Kirshenbaum and Dr. Paul Shyken were instrumental in re-opening the school. Also, we weren’t allowed to use the bingo money directly for the annual budget, because it came from gambling. That part was a bit frowned upon; what we did instead was use it for scholarships, and if the school would run a little short, we’d take out short term loans against the bingo money.”
By the fall of 1972, the Jewish Day School of Omaha was open for business. “We were grateful to our donors, and for all the practical assistance from Dr. Michael Rockland, UNO Professor of Elementary Education, and consultant Dr. John Langhan, who would go on to become the Chairman of the Omaha School Board, as well as Dean of UNO’s College of Education.
One thing is certain: Dick Fellman had to go out of his way before he could send his own daughter to a Jewish Day School. Nowadays, when Susan is a parent herself, things are certainly easier. Friedel Jewish Academy, which has ultimately replaced the Jewish Day School of Omaha, is continuing to grow: the 2009/10 school year welcomed a Kindergarten class of 17, bringing the total amount of students to 54. “It’s so much more of a family nowadays,” Susan stated. “Friedel is a completely different school. For instance, I love the Tal Am program, as well as the fact that the school is more integrated in the community. The whole experience my daughter has is different from when I was her age”. That experience includes one of Susan’s most vivid memories: the daily prayer the boys had to deliver, thanking God for not making them women.
“I managed to ask the Rabbi whether there was a similar prayer for us girls, and landed myself in a bit of trouble over that question,” Susan remembers. We can assume she has since been forgiven for that minor infraction.
For information about Friedel Jewish Academy, or to make an appointment to visit the school, call Mary Jane Tweedy at 334 0517
