September 28, 2026
Dear Mirowitz Community,
Last Sunday, we built a sukkah at Mirowitz.
It had been packed away carefully last spring, but sometime over the year, wasps moved into the shed and built a nest. One of our dads, who is severely allergic to wasp stings, came to help anyway. So did a lot of other people.
Led by Morah Leiba Levine and Morah Cyndee Levy, parents and kids hauled boards, held poles steady and argued good-naturedly about what went where. It was hot. Nobody had to be there. They came.
I noticed how many of our Israeli families were in the middle of it. A few told me about growing up in apartment buildings in Israel, where everyone built one sukkah together in the courtyard. I asked one of our students, who was born in Israel, why it mattered to him.
“It reminds me of home,” he said.
I keep coming back to that. We are a school, and learning is our work. But we are also trying to be a place where kids and families feel at home. Nobody builds that alone.
That’s what our Annual Campaign is about. Tuition and Federation support don’t cover what it costs to keep Mirowitz accessible for families. The campaign fills the gap and pays for the things that make this place what it is: our teachers, Hebrew and Jewish life, the arts, learning support and the everyday moments of joy.
I hope every family will give this year, at whatever level feels right. I care much more about everyone taking part than about the size of any gift. And right now, there’s even more reason to participate: thanks to the generosity of the Hendin family, parent gifts are being matched, making every contribution go even further. You can pledge now and pay anytime before July 31, including monthly, and gifts are tax deductible to the extent allowed by law.
One person carried a board. Someone else held it steady. Someone kept the little ones busy. And by the end of the morning, there it stood.
We built it together. That’s Mirowitz.
Chag Sukkot Sameach and Shabbat Shalom,
Brian Thomas
Interim Head of School