April 4, 2015
You were strangers in the land of Egypt…
Lessons about Passover have been rich and deep this past month. Mirowitz students have become intimate with the hagaddah, Pesach songs and blessings. And they know that Passover is more than a meal, but rather a retelling of our shared history. They understand that we were strangers in the land of Egypt, and have become sensitized to the quality of our own interactions with strangers from other lands.
Just this week, we welcomed “strangers” from our sister city in Yokneam/ Megiddo and became fast friends. They spent the day in our classrooms marveling at the quality of the experience your children are having. One teacher was even teary, saying she wished her own children could come here.
One exciting outcome of that day is a new project that will make friends out of strangers. We have been connecting our students with Israeli children from our sister city for years, but will be making a new effort for the same students to follow one another from first through eighth grades. The children will grow up together, friends from afar, until eighth grade when the Israeli kids host ours for home hospitality during the Mirowitz graduation trip to Israel. When teachers from across the world connect, they can truly make magic for our children. 
Similar efforts to reach out to strangers are taking place here in St. Louis! Operation Cooperation connects our third graders with students from Christian, Muslim and Catholic schools, and our new Peace through Pyramids Project connects Mirowitz students with their peers in Ferguson schools. (More on that below!)
“You shall tell your children on that day: it is because of what Adonai did for me when I came forth out of Egypt” (Exodus 13:8).
Yes, the lessons of Passover are prominent in the life of the school and in the heart of our students. May this Passover lead your family to develop friendships with the strangers you have welcomed. Enjoy the warmth of family, the insights of your “wise” children and the celebration of freedom.
Chag Sameach,
Morah Cheryl
More about Peace through Pyramids: Mirowitz and Ferguson students will join together to learn circus arts and perform together, demonstrating that children can help bridge our social divide and be part of our community’s healing. If your child would like to participate, contact Cheryl immediately for more information.