Community Partners Help Community Day School Prepare for Hanukkah

December 11, 2020 – Sarasota

This year, the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah began at sundown on December 10. While Hanukkah is typically a very social and festive occasion, COVID-19 has made the traditional observance of the holiday more difficult. Leaders at Hershorin Schiff Community Day School – with the support of several generous community partners – has planned advance activities as well as in-person and virtual celebrations during the holiday’s eight days in order to enable school families of all faiths to share in the joy and fun of the holiday while keeping everyone safe and distanced.

Some of the donations from partner organizations include: hanukkiahs (nine-branch menorahs that hold the candles to be lit each night) for families that don’t have one,  from Chabad of Sarasota; dreidels and gelt from the Sisterhood at Temple Beth Sholom; and “Hannukits” – which provide supplies for parents or teachers to teach a lesson about the cultural significance of Hanukkah and the dreidel game, and read a PJ Library book about the holiday – from the Jewish Federation of Sarasota County.

In advance of Hanukkah, classes learned about and did crafts projects related to the holiday. For example, one preschool class “traveled the world” to learn about the holidays celebrated in countries such as Israel, Mexico and Italy.

While Community Day is a Jewish day school, families of all faiths are welcome and enrolled. The school strives to build bridges between different faiths, levels of observance, and cultures in order to create a safe, inclusive environment for children to learn, play and grow.