This week we launched a new educational initiative at Yavneh with fantastic results. At Yavneh we aim to educate the whole student and make sure that they are gaining the life skills they need to flourish in their high school years and beyond.  In addition to our rigorous core curriculum we need to help students learn about responsibility, consequences and good choices. Janet Henson, a very experienced therapist with the JFS, spoke to parents on Tuesday night and then to each grade at Yavneh individually on Wednesday. Parents and students appreciated Janet's style and felt energized by the conversations and thought provoking ideas. The conversations with the students centered around making good choices and recognizing what we have to give up when we make certain choices. This serves as a fertile ground and a safe space to discuss risky behavior which we know our teens can be exposed to during adolescence and beyond. We plan to have Janet return a number of times each year to continue to form a relationship with the student body. These conversations are critical in the development of our students and we were very happy to kick them off with such a talented therapist.