The principal at Ezra Academy (Ms. Sima Fish-Berezovsky, Esq.) has started a new initiative this year. She has begun having lunch with individual seniors or small groups of 12th grade students. The plan was to spend even more quality time with the older students as they are preparing to make incredibly difficult and significant life decisions – to hear the different ideas that the seniors have regarding a gap year in Israel, college, potential careers, marriage, etc.

It was meant to lend support, an open ear, a trusted heart, and some adult insight to wonderful kids making hard choices. As a warm, family-oriented school that is demanding more and more from their students academically, the decisions they are facing are real as they contemplate which colleges to attend, which scholarships to accept, and how to convince parents to allow a gap year (when the community they come from is less excited about the opportunity).

Ms. Fish looks forward to the lunch time schmoozes where the seniors are treated to sushi and Ms. Fish is treated to the deep insightful thinking of her beloved students. It has been an inspiring initiative for the administration, and meaningful for the 12th grade. It is so inspiring, in fact, that when lowerclassmen heard lunchtime appointments being made through the administrative assistant in the office, they asked for the same opportunity.

So the lunchtime schmooze initiative is growing to include other grades, where students are openly discussing important ideas with the principal. But rest assured that the seniors maintain an element of senior privilege in the program, because sushi deliveries are for seniors only.

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