The IRDS Blog

The last 10 days have been very busy for us. We resumed classes at our temporary site and the children are all enjoying being back in class learning and spending time with their teachers and friends. A special thank you to Temple Etz Chaim for the kindness and generosity that they have shown by opening up your doors and welcoming our community in.While we have been settling in, work has been progressing on our campus.   Read More...

From the flames that tried to take us down several weeks ago, tonight we will light a flame that will raise us back up with hope and peace. These last several weeks, our community has been blessed to be moved from feelings of despair and destruction, to a place of light and hope through the dedication and support of so many. The Ilan Ramon Day School wants to thank everyone who has supported us these last several weeks, through words of encouragement, through financial and material donation...  Read More...

I went up to the school this morning for the first time since the fires that swept through our lovely neighborhoods. I was initially overwhelmed with the damage but then COMPLETELY overwhelmed with what was left untouched, EXACTLY how we had left it at the end of that Thursday afternoon. And I felt blessed, just blessed. I walked around towards our door, through the mess that the winds had made and started up the steps when I noticed the amaryllis. We’ve planted an amaryllis...  Read More...

We are so excited to have welcomed our students back this morning. Everyone is settling in nicely to our temporary home and having a great day. It is great to be together again and hear the sounds of children’s laughter and learning.   Read More...

Dear IRDS Families,Happy Thanksgiving! Our Ilan Ramon Day School Community has so much to be thankful for. Thank you for your support over the past couple of weeks.   Read More...

Message to our IRDS/Heschel West Alumni Families,Thank you for your support over the past week. It has been heartwarming to see our community come together committed to rebuild our beloved school.I wanted to take this opportunity to provide you with an update of what has been going on over the past week.Receiving word that our school had been damaged by the fire was heartbreaking for our small tight knit community. It was wonderful to be able to come together last Saturday night for Havdallah, t...  Read More...

As you are aware, the nearby fires have impacted over 90,000 acres. An increase in winds have contributed towards the spread and will make it more difficult to contain over the next few days. In addition, air quality in and around the affected areas continues to be a concern. We had hoped that we would regain access to the campus this morning, but the Fire Department has maintained a closure of the roads leading to school, so we have not been able to access it today to begin our fire mitiga...  Read More...

I want to thank everyone who made the effort to be present last night at the Havdallah ceremony. I know so many of you who wanted to come, but because of the challenging circumstances you are finding yourself in could not. The spirit of Ilan Ramon Day School was inspiring last night and we hope everyone is taking care and is safe.This morning, thanks to the Lost Hills Sheriff’s Department, I was granted access to campus for a short while.   Read More...

While we would not typically reach out to our school community over Shabbat, we are doing so in order to invite you to come together and join us this evening for Havdallah.Havdallah is a ceremony that separates the sanctity of Shabbat as we enter into a new week.  So tonight as we will gather as a community, we will separate from Shabbat and the fire that continues to devastate our school and many of the families in our community, and begin to heal.Join us this evening at 6:15pm at de Toled...  Read More...

First and foremost I hope and pray all of our families are safe and secure, and those who have needed to evacuate have done so. If anyone is in need of anything please let us know. The teachers, families and entire Ilan Ramon community is here for you.   Read More...