Family
Handbook

Pardes Day School creates a loving, Jewish learning environment where students are taught with the caring, warm, and nurturing love that defines Judaism, and where every child and family feels important and respected.

Our curriculum reflects a strong core of knowledge and skills in both General and Judaic Studies, a foundation for a lifetime of learning. Our guiding principles are rooted in a love for Hashem, Torah, Mitzvot, Eretz Yisrael, and every human being.

Pardes Day School began in 2011, when Katy Horowitz (Head of School) and Sharone Eichberg (Director) set out to build a warm Jewish school that every child could call home. Families loved it so much that they did not want to leave, so the school grew, classroom by classroom, into a full elementary school.

Today the elementary school learns together from Kindergarten through 5th grade, in a place where every child is known by name and no one gets lost in the crowd.

We recognize the uniqueness of each of our students, and we aim to provide an environment where every child can flourish in their own way and at their own pace. Intentional groups and hands‑on learning give children the attention and focus they each deserve, supporting healthy social and emotional growth alongside academic success.

We are not here to "fix" any child. We believe Hashem created every child perfectly. We are here to accompany every child on their academic and social‑emotional journey.

Arrival

Gates open at 8:10 AM. A student who arrives after 8:30 is marked tardy, with a 10-minute grace period until 8:40. A student who arrives after 8:40 is noted as late, and repeated late arrivals, more than three, require a meeting with the administration before the student returns. Please wait inside your vehicle with your child until 8:10 before entering the building. You may not leave your child in the driveway with the guard.

Carpool

Afternoon carpool runs from 3:55 to 4:10 PM. On Fridays it runs from 1:45 to 2:00 PM. Arriving after carpool ends is considered late. A $10 late fee is added to your ProCare account for every 10 minutes, or part thereof, after carpool ends. The fee accumulates, so 10 minutes late is $10, 20 minutes late is $20, and so on.

For the school to run well and for your child to succeed, it is important to bring your child to school every day and on time, within the drop‑off window. Being on time teaches respect, responsibility, and the value of promptness, and it helps your child settle into the morning routines. Attendance and tardy records are kept and reflected on report cards, and attendance is also important for maintaining scholarship status with the state.

If you must take time off during the school year, please notify the teachers and administration at least one week in advance, and report any absence to office@pardesdayschool.org. Teachers cannot be responsible for providing more than one week of missed work, and students are responsible for making up anything they miss. After a lengthy absence, it is not always possible to fully catch a student up.

These are the illness policies we follow at Pardes. For the health of your child and everyone in the school, please read them and follow them honestly. If you suspect your child has any contagious illness, please call us right away so we can take preventative measures.

A healthy, fresh hot lunch is available for $6.50 per day for elementary students and $5.50 per day for Gan Katan. Middle school does not have a hot lunch program. Middle school students have Pizza Fridays only, at $6.50 per Friday.

Lunch is ordered and paid for online at pardes-lunch.web.app, one month at a time. It is no longer charged to ProCare. Orders for a given day close at 9:30 AM that morning, so if you realize at 8 AM that no lunch was packed, you can still order for that day. Lunch is served only on the days you have paid for.

Sneakers are recommended, and shoes must be closed‑toe. Flip‑flops are not allowed, and neither are slip‑on shoes or shoes without backs. All uniforms are available through the school. Morah Sharone collects orders by text.

Good to know

We have seen a significant rise in issues surrounding technology and unsupervised access to the internet. While much of this happens outside of school, it affects our school environment too.

We are committed to a safe and respectful environment for all students. Pardes prohibits cyberbullying and harassment in any form, including instant messaging, texting, e‑mail, chat rooms, camera phones, or any technology used to harass or bully. If bullying or harassment occurs, students should feel able to report it, knowing it will be investigated and addressed promptly.

Students may not bring electronic devices or gadgets from home, including cell phones, smart watches, tablets, and handheld games. The school may grant special permission at its discretion. A device found without permission is held by the school and returned at the end of the day.

We would love to celebrate your child's birthday. Let us know and we will make it special. We set aside time on Friday to sing and dance and make a fuss of the birthday child, and then share a birthday treat sent in by the family. Treats must be pareve or cholov yisroel, store bought, and approved by the administration before they are shared. Please do not send goody bags.

We believe every child should celebrate their birthday with friends. When planning a party outside of school, please be mindful of other children's feelings. If you are throwing a party, please either invite the entire single‑gender class, meaning all the boys or all the girls, or keep it small with two friends of your choice. No one wants a child to feel left out.

We will not be sending daily homework. We will send varying reading practice in Hebrew and English in the upper grades, and books home for our younger students, which must be read. Daily reading practice, which we also do in school, significantly strengthens reading ability. At times we may assign special home projects, usually no more than twice a year.

Our main channel for school communication is WhatsApp. We also reach you by text and email, share daily stories on Instagram @pardesdayschool, and send a weekly newsletter with a look at your child's week and what is coming next. When you enroll, you consent to classroom photos and video, and class photos are shared in a Google Photos album for your child's class. For safety, our classrooms and common areas are monitored by security cameras. Please come to us with any comments or concerns; we are always open to talking things through. Do let us know about changes at home, such as a parent traveling or a change in routine, since these can affect behavior and we want to take them into account.

Please do not text your child's teacher during school hours; for an important message, use the main school number so it reaches them. Please also be respectful of staff time and avoid contacting them before 8 AM or after 9 PM. If you do not hear back within two school days, please contact a member of the administration.

Report cards are sent home twice a year, at the end of the second and fourth quarters, with a full overview of grades, teacher comments, and progress. Families also receive ongoing updates through Principal Reports and parent conferences.

We do not label students as good or bad; we focus on acceptable and unacceptable behaviors. Children are never subjected to severe, humiliating, or frightening discipline, and discipline is never tied to recess, food, or toileting. Physical punishment is prohibited, and we never use responses that would demean a child. When needed, we may briefly remove a child to a safe space in the office to calm down, regroup, and talk it through, and welcome them back once they are ready.

Our goal is to turn challenging moments into teachable ones, helping children build problem‑solving skills. We use natural consequences, which are forms of redirection rather than punishments, and which should be respectful, relevant, and reasonable:

Bullying is unwanted, repeated behavior that involves a real or perceived power imbalance and is meant to harm, intimidate, or exclude another student. It can be verbal, physical, social, or digital, such as repeated name‑calling, regular pushing or hitting, deliberately leaving a student out, or spreading harmful rumors in person, online, or by text.

Not every unkindness is bullying. We separate ordinary peer conflict and one‑time incidents from harassment and from bullying, and we respond to each. A single serious act, such as a threat or a physical assault, may not fit the definition of bullying but still calls for immediate action.

A student who is bullied receives additional support, regular check‑ins, and ongoing communication with their parents to make sure the issue is resolved. Our goal is a safe and respectful environment where every student feels valued.

The following are serious violations of our code of conduct. Depending on the child's age, intent, context, and the safety involved, they may lead to immediate suspension and, in serious cases, expulsion, at the discretion of school leadership.

Consequences may include in‑school suspension, out‑of‑school suspension, removal from specific privileges, or other measures as determined appropriate. These are our red lines. They are non‑negotiable, they are not limited to the examples above, and they exist to protect the emotional and physical safety of every person in our school. Thank you for reinforcing these expectations at home.

Pardes Day School relies on regular, timely tuition payments to operate for your children. Tuition may be paid in full by August 1, 2026, or divided into 10 monthly payments from August 1, 2026 through May 1, 2027.

Each family is required to have a ProCare account with autopay set up by credit card or ACH. Payments are drafted on the 1st of each month, after the monthly invoice or any additional charges such as late fees, a replacement uniform, or an unreturned library book.

Families with an outstanding balance cannot sign up for hot lunch or afternoon activities. Any outstanding balance must be resolved before student records are released or re‑enrollment is offered. Enrollment is a commitment for the full school year; if you are considering a change after the May 17, 2026 enrollment deadline, please speak with the office as early as possible so we can support your family and review the terms of your enrollment agreement together. Please review each invoice carefully and contact us with any questions.