Dear PS 107 Families,
This weekend’s Holiday Craft Fair was a wonderful success! A big thank you to the event chairs, Spring Hofeldt and Jill Davitt, as well as to the many volunteers who were instrumental in making the second annual craft fair run so smoothly. Thanks, too, to Parent Coordinator Nadia Benlarbi for all of the behind-the-scenes support. I’m so thrilled that the Craft Fair is becoming a 107 tradition!
On a very different note, I have been struggling lately with how to address the global rise in antisemitism with the PS 107 community. As an American Jew whose family, two generations ago, escaped the pogroms in what is present-day Ukraine, reports of rising antisemitism strike a deep and foundational chord. And yet, as a white American fortunate to be raised with relative privilege, I cannot help but feel that there are so many significant issues facing communities of color, that I often feel a bit awkward using my voice to speak out against antisemitism, perhaps, I worry, to exclusion of other forms of hatred.
Emily Bazelon, a staff writer for the New York Times Magazine, whose work I have a great deal of respect for, recently shared her own conflicted feelings about antisemitism, and they resonated. While many American Jews have found themselves in positions of relative privilege, as she and I have, it is indeed very concerning, as Bazelon stated, to see “a creeping into the mainstream discourse, these ideas that are responsible for many, many people’s deaths and other suffering over the centuries.” It is critical that, as a community, we do not ignore and risk normalizing these signs that hatred and “othering” of large groups of people are on the rise across the world.
All of this reminds of the quote by German pastor Martin Niemoller (1892-1984), who initially sympathized with Nazi ideas and far-right rhetoric, but eventually became an outspoken critic of Adolf Hitler and spent years in Nazi prisons and concentration camps:
First they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a socialist. Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a trade unionist. Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—because I was not a Jew. Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.
We must all remember that hatred directed towards any of us ultimately threatens all of us. It is designed to do exactly that—tear apart the bonds of our community so that power may be concentrated in the hands of a few. It is critical that we are always on guard against this.
Related to this, some of you may be familiar with the CBS show, The Equalizer, and you may have seen the signs around the neighborhood that they will be filming near our school on Tuesday, 12/13. The show has decided to tackle the thorny issue of antisemitism and will be filming two difficult scenes at the Park Slope Jewish Center (mid-morning) and on 14th Street (during after-school hours) on Tuesday. The location coordinators have been working closely with me and with Pamela Rosenberg to ensure that our students are not impacted in any way by the filming of these scenes. We have made some minor operational changes to our school day and to after-school on Tuesday so that our students don’t encounter the film shoots. What you need to know as parents:
Filming at the Park Slope Jewish Center will not start until students who have PE at the Armory from 10:10 am to 11 am have entered the Armory. Filming will wrap up by 11 am when students will be leaving the Armory to return to the school building.
The Big Yard will not be used for after-school on Tuesday from 5 to 6 pm.
If you are picking up your child during that hour of after-school, you must pick them up from the main entrance of the school building.
We are looking to expand play options for students in the Big Yard during recess and our School Counselor, Sarah Green, is seeking donations of Duplos. If you have sets of Duplos that you can donate to PS 107, please drop them off with Agent Sharon anytime this week. Please label your donation with Sarah’s name. We would also gladly accept new sets of Duplos, which you can have sent to the school addressed to Sarah Green.
Thank you all for your tremendous support of our school community, as well as the larger District 15 community. Your donations over the last week to the District 15 Day of Action project will help many families in need across the district! Please consider attending the District 15 Day of Action culminating celebration, which will be held at PS 24 in Sunset Park, on Thursday, December 15th, 4-5:30 pm. Our students’ welcome cards for asylum-seeking families will be on display and will be distributed after this event. For the complete event program, see here. And to RSVP, click here.
Have a wonderful week!
Warmly,
Ms Joanna
PS Two of my former colleagues at PS 169 (PS 107’s sister school in Sunset Park) have put together Amazon wishlists to get a holiday gift for each of their students. There are still many items left — can you help every child in their classes get a gift this holiday season?