ThE ANNUAL JANIS KAPLAN AUTHOR's DAY
Hershorin Schiff Community Day School is honored to host the annual Janis Kaplan Author's Day, made possible due to generosity of the Kaplan Family.
Janis Kaplan worked as an enthusiastic and committed elementary teacher in the Norfolk Virginia school system. She loved teaching and adored her students. Tragically, she passed away in 1990 after a 10-year battle with cancer. In her honor, her parents established a fund for an annual author's day program at a Virginia school and, ultimately, here at Community Day School - of which the family felt was the perfect place to honor Janis' memory her dedication to education. Jay Kaplan, the brother of Janis Kaplan, calls the annual event "a tribute to quality education and a small attempt to help in the endless challenges of giving children the best opportunity to learn and grow."
This year's Author's Day will feature recipients of the Sydney Taylor Book Awards, which are presented annually by the Association of Jewish Libraries to outstanding books for children and teens that authentically portray the Jewish experience. We are grateful to continue Janis’ legacy of education and share her love of reading with each student at Community Day School.
During Author's Day, community volunteers will be reading to the early learning and Kindergarten through 4th-grade classrooms. Each student will be gifted with a copy of the book selected for their grade. In addition, local author of Mr. Lucky: My Unexpected Journey to Success, Mitchell Epstein, will join our middle school students for an engaging Q& A session on the writing process, with class sets of books selected for their grade levels.
Thank you to the Kaplan Family for continuing to make the Janis Kaplan Author's Day such a beloved tradition at Community Day School!