A New School Year, A New Beginning at Our Maitland Preschool

By Marni Mandell, CEO, Shalom Orlando
2 minute read

There is something pretty special about the beginning of a new school year at our Maitland preschool.

Over the past few days, I have loved watching our campus come alive again. Children are walking through the doors holding their grown-ups' hands, carrying brand-new backpacks that sometimes look almost as big as they are. Parents are navigating new routines. Classrooms are buzzing. By the time we gathered for Shabbat, that wonderful feeling of community was already settling back into place.

A new beginning in Jewish tradition

In Jewish tradition, we place enormous value on beginnings. We are taught that every new chapter brings with it the opportunity to learn, to grow and to become a little more of who we hope to be.

It feels especially fitting that the start of the school year comes as we begin turning our attention toward the High Holidays, another season that invites us to imagine what the year ahead might hold.

And there is so much possibility in these first days.

The work behind the first days

What our families see when they arrive each morning is the result of an incredible amount of work behind the scenes. Our ECLC educators and staff have spent weeks preparing classrooms, planning experiences, welcoming new families, reconnecting with returning ones and thinking carefully about how to make this year meaningful for every child.

They are not simply preparing children for kindergarten or the next classroom. They are creating a place where children can ask questions, explore, build friendships, develop confidence and experience the rhythms and joy of Jewish life along the way.

Finding community through Shabbat

That is what made watching our children celebrate Shabbat together this week feel particularly meaningful.

For some, these traditions are already deeply familiar. For others, they may be experiencing them for the very first time. Either way, they are learning that Shabbat can mean singing, friendship, challah, community and being together.

A new backpack will eventually get dirty. The first-day outfit probably will not look quite as pristine by next week. And before long, walking into school will simply become part of the everyday routine.

But right now, everything still feels new. And there is something pretty wonderful about getting to witness the beginning.

Learn more about our Maitland preschool (https://shalomorlando.org/eclc)

About the author

Marni Mandell is the Chief Executive Officer of Shalom Orlando. Before returning to Orlando in early 2026 to lead the organization, she spent fifteen years founding and running technology companies in Tel Aviv, including co-founding the marketing data analytics platform Konnecto. Marni has also led Jewish nonprofit organizations in the United States and Israel for over a decade, and is a co-founder of the Israeli Children's Fund (Atufim B'Ahava), supporting children who lost parents in the October 7, 2023 attacks. A native of Orlando, she attended The Roth Family JCC's Richard S. Adler Early Childhood Learning Center as a child.