Denver Jewish Day School

Throwback Thursday this week takes us back to our final full day of school—and what better way to kick off summer than with our very first June Jam at the Farmette. ☀️🐐🎶

And jam we did.

Students, families, staff, alumni, community members, and a few very interested farm animals gathered together for an evening full of face painting, caricatures, Hip Pops, live music, and plenty of time to enjoy one of our favorite places on campus.

We were also honored to celebrate a very special milestone together with the dedication of the newly named Bombel Family Pavilion, recognizing the incredible generosity of Stuart, Jill, and family and their investment in this beloved space and the experiences it creates for our students and community.

With more than 300 students, families, and community members joining us, June Jam turned out to be the perfect way to wrap up the school year.

One of the things we love most about DJDS is finding reasons to bring people together—and there may be no better place to do that than our beloved outdoor classroom.

After all, do you know any other schools that can offer goats, gardens, greenhouses, kittens, chickens, live music, and room to celebrate the start of summer with 300 of your closest friends?!

🎓🐯 Last but certainly not least, we’re wrapping up Milestone Week with our youngest milestone-makers and one final celebration of mishpacha: Pre-K Continuation.

Caps were worn. Songs were performed. Families were proudly watching from the audience wondering how their children suddenly became this big.

PreK Continuation is one of those joyful DJDS moments that feels equal parts celebration and time machine. Somehow the students who arrived with tiny backpacks and big opinions are suddenly standing confidently in front of a crowd and getting ready for kindergarten.

Surrounded by their mishpacha—parents, grandparents, family, friends, teachers, and classmates—our students celebrated not just the end of PreK, but everything they’ve learned along the way: independence, confidence, curiosity, friendship, and the excitement that comes with discovering new things.

And for these rising kindergarteners, milestones like these are only just getting started.

Mazel tov to our youngest Tigers and their families. We’ll see you in kindergarten.

We continue with Milestone Week on this Tiger Tuesday with a spotlight on our newest Upper Division Tigers, who completed their Lower Division education last week in one of our favorite DJDS traditions: Bridging. 🐯🐅

Bridging marks the moment our 5th graders officially close out Lower Division and prepare to become Upper Division students—and it also means things are about to change in some pretty exciting ways.

New teachers. New opportunities. New independence. Slightly bigger backpacks and much bigger books. Lockers with actual locks.

Last week, students celebrated this transition surrounded by family, faculty, and classmates as they reflected on their Lower Division years and looked ahead to what’s next.

At DJDS, students don’t just move to a new building—they step into a new level of independence and responsibility that comes with deeper learning, new challenges, and opportunities to shape school life through clubs, athletics, leadership, and community.

And while we know these students are more than ready, we highly recommend—on behalf of parents everywhere—enjoying one more summer before suddenly becoming “the big kids.”

Mazel tov to our 5th graders and their families on this exciting milestone. We can’t wait to see you as official UD Tigers in August!

It’s Mischpacha Monday, and last week was full of mishpacha! This first week of summer break, we’re looking back at some of the incredible milestone moments that helped close out the year, starting with our 8th grade Siyum.

Siyum means completion—and for our 8th graders, it marked the completion of middle school and all the growth, learning, friendships, and unforgettable moments that came with it.

And let’s be honest…middle school is not for the faint of heart.

These students navigated changing schedules, changing friendships, changing heights, changing voices, and approximately 14,000 emotions over the course of three years (and occasionally in the course of about 3 minutes because…middle school)—and somehow, miraculously, we all came out the other side ready for what’s next.

One especially meaningful tradition of a DJDS Siyum: each student received a book thoughtfully selected just for them by one of their teachers—a reflection of who they are now and what their teachers hope they’ll carry with them into this next chapter. Pun intended.

Some of these students will continue their journeys here at DJDS, and some will head off to new adventures—but this moment was a reminder that middle school is only one chapter (also intended) in a much bigger story.

Mazel tov to our 8th graders and their families.

You did it. You survived middle school. 🎉

Throwback Thursday feels a little impossible this week, because how exactly do you fit an entire school year into one post?

Still, we’re giving it a shot.

From our first Kabbalat Shabbat of the year…to graduating the largest senior class in DJDS history…it’s been quite a ride.

Looking back through these photos, there’s a pretty good snapshot of life at DJDS:

Chagim and celebrations.
Playing basketball at Ball Arena.
Read-a-Palooza.
Dunking our UD principal.
Color War.
Upper Division taking the stage for *Grease* at the Mizel Center for Performing Arts.
And closing out the year by welcoming more than 500 community members to celebrate our LARGEST GRADUATING CLASS EVER.

There were moments that were loud and moments that were quiet. Big productions and everyday traditions. Things that took months to plan and things that somehow came together at the last second.

And in between all of it, students grew.

Some learned to read.
Some learned to lead.
Some learned they actually do like sautéed greens if they harvested them first.
Some learned they can speak in front of a crowd, perform under stage lights, advocate for an idea, build something with their hands, or try something they never thought they would.

There’s truly never a dull moment at DJDS.

And we wouldn’t have it any other way.

(That said…we’re not quite done yet. We still have a few more highlights from this week to share, so stay tuned.)

For our final Wild Wednesday of the school year, we couldn’t resist making it about our truly tiny Tigers. 🐾🐯

With warm weather, the greenhouse thriving, gardens in full bloom, shady places to relax, attention-seeking goats, friendly chickens, and resident cats Simba and Chili, there are already plenty of reasons to spend time outside on the Farmette.

But the kittens have made it officially irresistible. So much so that students are volunteering to clean the litter box.

These kitties are at peak fluff. Peak tiny meows. Peak playfulness. Peak “just one more minute and then I’ll go back to class...” (That last one is from the students, not the kittens...)

Our little additions to the Tiger family have been bringing an outsized amount of joy to students during this final week of school—and if we’re being honest, to staff, parents, visitors, and pretty much anyone lucky enough to walk by.

Now we need your help naming them!

Current suggestions include: **Cow, Spot, Oreo, Paprika, Sox, Lox, Ginger, Poppy, Pepper, and Pinto** (though to be fair, some of these may have been submitted suspiciously close to lunch).

Our current top five:
🐾 Poppy
🐾 Oreo
🐾 Pepper
🐾 Sox
🐾 Ginger

But we’re open to persuasion.

Drop your best kitten names in the comments—Tiny Tigers deserve excellent names.

On this final Tiger Tuesday of the 2025-26 school year, we’re celebrating **Class of 2026 Holden Demain**—because apparently graduating, being accepted to Princeton, playing Tiger basketball, giving heartfelt speeches to UD students at Shabbaton, helping lead his team to a Color War Victory. and wrapping up a term as Student Council President wasn’t quite enough for one spring. 🐯✨

We are so incredibly proud to share that Holden has advanced to the finalist stage of the U.S. Presidential Scholars Program, one of the nation’s highest honors for graduating high school seniors.

Students cannot apply directly for this recognition. Candidates are identified nationally and then evaluated through a highly competitive process that looks not only at academic achievement, but also leadership, service, character, essays, and impact in their school and community. From there, the field narrows dramatically—with just two students from each state ultimately selected as U.S. Presidential Scholars.

Holden is currently one of only 10 seniors in Colorado to advance to this stage.

And if you know Holden, you know this recognition totally tracks.

Outgoing Student Council President. Former Senate Page. Future Princeton student. Thoughtful leader. Big ideas. Strong opinions (occasionally delivered at impressive speed). Someone who consistently shows up and makes this community stronger.

No matter what happens next, this is an extraordinary accomplishment.

Mazel tov, Holden—your whole Tiger family is cheering you on!

It’s Mischpacha Monday, and there’s something especially meaningful about welcoming the whole mishpacha—parents, grandparents, family, and friends—to our campus celebrate a milestone together.

Last week, our 2nd graders celebrated **Chagigat HaChumash**, receiving their very first Chumashim.

The celebration included a lively and interactive student presentation, and a lot of proud smiles as our awesome grade two students marked this important moment in their Jewish education journey.

We love watching students reach the point where they begin engaging with Jewish history and traditions a new way—and even better when the people who cheer them on every day get to be there to witness it.

Mazel tov to our 2nd graders and their families on a beautiful milestone.

📣📣📣 This week’s Shabbat Shout Out goes to rising senior Cooper Coughlan, who has had a pretty remarkable week.

In the span of just a few days, Cooper was elected Student Council President and named the recipient of the Bryan M. Hay Community Service (Chesed) Award.

If you know Cooper, this probably doesn’t come as a surprise.

When he’s not editing The Paw, helping put together the yearbook, dancing up a storm at prom, vacuuming after Shabbaton, organizing impromptu ice bucket challenges at school BBQs, or finding some other way to improve the Upper Division experience, Cooper is usually in the middle of making something happen.

The Chesed Award recognizes an 11th-grade student who has demonstrated a meaningful commitment to acts of loving kindness and service both within the school and throughout the broader community. It honors a student whose actions reflect the Jewish value of chesed through sustained service, leadership, and care for others.

What makes this week especially meaningful is that both honors—Student Council President and the Chesed Award—are rooted in something similar: showing up, pitching in, leading by example, and earning the trust and respect of your community.

Cooper Coughlan is a busy teenager. Fortunately for the rest of us, he tends to channel that energy into making DJDS stronger, kinder, and a little more fun.

Mazel tov, Cooper.

Shabbat Shalom.