Youth Group News

5771 2010 -11year in review

Youth Group News

Dear Parents,

Shalom! As the Shaaray Tefi la Director of Youth and Informal Education, I am pleased to present a review of our 2010/2011 activities. The Youth Department fosters fun, educational, exciting, and transformative Jewish experiences for students, age 5 to 18. Our youth leaders, Youth Committee, and part-time youth group advisors partner with families to create Jewish memories and instill Jewish identity.

Parents have an important role in encouraging involvement in synagogue youth programming.

Studies have shown that informal Jewish education, including youth group programs, Jewish summer camps, and travel to Israel, in addition to family rituals and religious school participation, form the strongest infl uences to shape and affi rm a lifelong Jewish Identity.

Youth Groups at Shaaray Tefi la provide

· a place to make friends

· an opportunity to develop programs

· a place to grow into leadership

· a time to strengthen and enjoy Jewish identity

TaSTY Temple Shaaray Tefi la SENIOR YOUTH GROUP for students in grades 9-12

- Monthly teen lounge night

- Plan & participate in educational, cultural, social, and social action programs each month

- Trips for fun, for learning, and for connecting with other teens

- Community-building, volunteer work and social networking

- Meaningful personal growth & leadership development

- Affi liated with NFTY (The Union for Reform Judaism North American Federation of Temple Youth)

JUST 8 for students in grade 8

- Community-building and social networking

- Exciting programs and trips

- Connect to TaSTY in preparation for high school & senior youth group

JJS (Jewish Journeys at Shaaray) Junior Youth Group for students in grades 6 & 7

- Community-building through fun social gatherings

- Explore the themes of Torah, Avodah, and Gemilut Chasadim

- Field trips and fun programs

- Social action-based activities

CLUB 45 for students in grades 4 & 5

- Fun and social programming in the synagogue

- Age appropriate fi eld trips, social-action-based activities & informal learning opportunities

ROSH CHODESH for girls in grades 6—8

Based on the Jewish tradition of women’s New Moon celebrations, activities build self-esteem, Jewish identity, leadership skills, and friendship networks for adolescent girls.

FAMILY FUN DAYS for families with children in grades K-3

- Interactive informal Jewish educational programming for students and families together

- Special programs and activities at the synagogue

- Holiday programming

Enjoy the newsletter and have a wonderful sum-mer! I look forward to seeing your students in September!

- Hope

A Note from Hope Chernak

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Youth Group NewsTaSTY’s Kick-off EventOur high school students gathered in September for their fi rst event of the year: Cruzin around NYC. TaSTY mixed ‘n mingled on the dance fl oor; our new TaSTY members had a great time!

TaSTY at NFTY-NAR’s Leadership Training Institute (LTI)In the fall, our teen leaders participated in a day-long leadership training workshop with teens from a number of sister congregations in the New York area. Hosted by Shaaray Tefi la, the program included time management, tips for running meetings and facilitating large group activities.

Above: Leadership Training Institute (LTI)

3Top + Bottom: TaSTY’s kick off event, Middle: TaSTY dancing on the cruise!

Above: TaSTY leaders at NFTY-NAR’s LTI

Youth Group News

TaSTY’s Mifgash withIsrael StudentsOur students and teens from Congregation Or Hadash in Haifa, Israel spent last summer and fall as pen-pals. They fi nally had the opportunity to meet in person here in New York! Learn more about this congregation at http://www.or-hadash-haifa.org/

Sushi in the SukkahAnother great evening of fun mixers and games over delicious sushi in our Sukkah for all of our youth groups. Our songleader, Josh Adland led us in a rousing Sukkah song session and we learned about the traditions of Sukkah from Rabbi Joshua Strom.

Religious School & Teens inConversation with Anat Hoffman Anat Hoffman, Executive Director, Israel Religious Action Center (IRAC), spoke with our teens and Religious School students about advocacy and support for pluralism in Israel. IRAC is the public and legal advocacy arm of the Reform Movement in Israel, working to strengthen the democratic character of Israeli society and to advance civic equality.

Above: TaSTY students with teens from Haifa, Israel (fall 2010)

Above: JJS & Just 8 at Sushi in the Sukkah, Below: Students in Sukkah

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Above: Club 45 at Sushi in the Sukkah

Above: Anat Hoffman with Devorah, TaSTY’s President

Above: TaSTY leaders at NFTY-NAR’s LTI

Youth Group News

Rosh ChodeshOur girls’ group participated in programs focused on community and character building throughout the year which included social action projects. Some of our social programming included pottery design and health and beauty care.

Family Fun DayAvi Wisnia returned to debut his show at Shaaray Tefila. We were so honored and excited as we enthusiastically joined in singing many of our favorite songs - I am a Latke, Morning Glory, and the Ice Cream Song. Children and parents enjoyed schmoozing and getting to know each other over pizza.

Club 45 Pizza TourTwenty-three students boarded a bus, welcomed by Scott of Scott’s Pizza Tours. We learned everything there is to know about pizza and got to taste different slices from Grimaldi’s (the fi rst pizza shop in the US – an institution in the world of pizza), and Sam’s (the Brooklyn shop open for over 80 years). With our pizza survival kits, we toured the shops and had a close-up view at how brick-oven pizza is made!

JJS Limo TourMembers of our Junior Youth Group: JJS, climbed into a stretch limo with only one clue. Once they guessed the fi rst answer, they were off to Dylan’s Candy Store. The two teams had lists of scavenger hunt items they had to fi nd. Back in the limo, they shared chocolate, listened to music, and guessed their next destination: Central Park. With perfect weather, they ran around and took lots of photos. At their fi nal destination, Crumbs, they enjoyed cupcakes and lots of laughs over the silly photos they had taken of each other!

Above: Students on Pizza Tour

5Above: Avi Wisnia in Concert

Above: JJS Limo Scavenger Hunt

Youth Group NewsCamp Appreciation ShabbatOn Friday, November 12, our congregation celebrated Shabbat and embraced the power of Reform Jewish camping.

Prior to services, URJ camp representatives, past campers, our clergy, and educators met interested families for an informational session. Shaaray Tefi la campers participated in Kabbalat Shabbat with selected readings. Parents of our campers led the blessings for candles and wine. Rabbi Strom, a URJ camp alum, delivered the sermon on the impact of Reform Jewish camping. The joyous music of our camps uplifted our worship, led by our cantors, our adult choir, Kol Rinnah and our junior choir, Shaaray School of Rock (24 students strong!) accompanied by a band and guitars. We rocked out our love and passion for camp! Our high school youth group, TaSTY, was represented on the bima and participated in readings. Religious School kindergarten and fi rst graders participated in the service as well, and learned about URJ Eisner and Crake Lake Camp during their Shabbat dinner following services. During our Oneg, a TV played a camp DVD, and those with camp experience wore a specially created “I LOVE CAMP” button so members could easily ask questions.

At Shaaray Tefi la we see Jewish camping as an integral part of lifelong learning. With this fi rm commitment, we offer a 25% subsidy to each of our URJ campers each summer.

Camp Appreciation Shabbat (cont.)During our service, one camper shared, “Before I went to camp, my family didn’t really celebrate Shabbat. We’d go to Friday night services sometimes, and Bar or Bat Mitzvah celebrations some Saturday mornings, but that’s about it. But once I went to Crane Lake Camp, I learned what Shabbat is really about - having fun with your friends, doing Jewish prayers and singing Jewish songs.”

Our Friday evening program, service, dinner, and oneg helped us share the joys and success of camp with our synagogue community, especially giving our younger families an opportunity to speak one on one to alumni and representatives.

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Teen Tuesdays at Shaaray Tefi la Students in grades 6-8 arrived early for Religious School to play games with Rabbi Strom and Hope Chernak in the Youth Lounge. Then our TaSTY teens ran an informal program for these students during the last 45 minutes of Religious School. Next year, our pre-Religious School programs will be called, “Mix n’ Mingle.” We’ll continue to offer “Teen Tuesday” programs during Religious School several times a year, with our TaSTY leaders engaging the 6th and 7th graders.

Above: URJ Camp Eisner

6Above: Teen Tuesday regulars

Youth Group News

Junior Youth GroupAnnual Dreidel Disco

In December, Junior Youth Group students (Club 45 and JJS) danced the night away with a great DJ. They won cool raffl e prizes and noshed on pizza and chips. This event, coordinated each year by our TaSTY high school students, provides a safe and exciting environment for our younger students to celebrate Chanukah while they learn about Israel and tzedakah. Registration fees and proceeds from raffl e tickets were donated to The Jaffa Institute (www.jaffainstitute.org), a multi-service social agency that assists thousands of severely disadvantaged children and their families in Israel. Junior Youth Group students learned about the Jaffa Institute during a presentation at the dance. 2010 Teen Dreidel Disco Co-Chairs: Sam, Erika, Elana, Lauren

Chanukah ChooplahOur Family Fun Day families and Shaaray Tefila community enjoyed a festive afternoon celebrating Shabbat with arts and crafts, a jumpy castle, cotton candy, and songs and prayers with Rabbi Jonathan Stein and Cantor Todd Kipnis.

Above: Rabbi Strom accepts a thank you certifi cate on behalf of TaSTY from the Jaffa Institute

7Above: Family Fun Day at Chanukah Chooplah

Above: Teen Dance Coordinators

Above: Teen Tuesday board gamesBelow: Hanging with Rabbi Strom in the Youth Lounge

Below: Games at Chanukah Chooplah

Above: Family Fun Day at Chanukah Chooplah

Youth Group NewsNFTY-New York AreaRegional Events

Our High School Youth Group, TaSTY, is part of the North American Federation of Temple Youth and our region is called NFTY-NAR. Many students participated in weekend-long events held at URJ’s Eisner Camp in the Berkshires. These events are held in the fall, winter, and spring. Our students participate in exciting song sessions, fun programming, educational seminars, and meaningful workshops. TaSTY sends more students to these events than any other NYC congregation.

Rosh Chodesh Beauty DayThis year our Rosh Chodesh health and beauty day focused on the pressures that teen girls experience in daily life and how as girls we are infl uenced by media. We shared ways that we can feel positive self esteem on a daily basis while we spent time learning about skin and nail care by doing facials and giving each other manicures.

Religious Action Center (RAC) Confi rmation Trip This year, our synagogue’s Confi rmation Class participated in the L’Taken Seminar held by the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism (RAC) in Washington, DC. This intensive four-day teen kallah focuses on Jewish values and social justice. The RAC has been the hub of Jewish social justice and legislative activity at the capital for over 40 years. It educates and mobilizes American Jewry on legislative and social concerns, serving as an advocate in the Congress of the United States on such issues as Israel and human rights, a woman’s right to choose, civil rights, international peace, and religious liberty. An affi liate of the Union for Reform Judaism (URJ) and the Central Conference of American Rabbis (CCAR), the RAC represents 1.5 million Reform Jews and 1,800 Reform rabbis in more than 900 congregations throughout North America. To learn more about the RAC, visit www.rac.org.

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Above: TaSTY Students with Hope Chernak at Fall Kallah

Above & Below: TaSTY Students at Spring Kallah

Above: Students lobbying on Capitol Hill

Above: Rosh Chodesh Beauty Day

Youth Group News

Social Action ProjectsRosh Chodesh girls in grades 6-8, TaSTY students, and the Religious School Grades 8 and 9 participated in Spring Mitzvah Day. Our students went to Yorkville Common Pantry with Rabbi Deborah Hirsch where they sorted food and prepared food packages for those in need in our community.

TaSTY’s President Message Year in ReviewBy: Devorah Kasmin

It is crazy to think my time as president is over. I started this school year with so many hopes and dreams for TaSTY, wondering if they were at all realistic. I feel that this year our youth group has made leaps and bounds in so many different ways. We had the youth group’s most successful “kidnap” last June, and managed to retain many of the eighth graders we kidnapped as new freshman, a feat I was very proud of! Seeing so many ninth graders sitting around the table at our monthly board meetings, I have no worries for the future of TaSTY.

Social action programming has been one of our weaknesses. Although we have run great trips to New Orleans for rebuilding, it was always a struggle to bring awareness back to the rest of our members. Finally, I feel as though our youth group in its entirety is on its way to making a difference. We started off the year with a great turnout for the Invisible Children presentation in November. Invisible Children is a humanitarian organization dedicated to helping the people affected by Africa’s longest running war. Then in December at our social dinner, each member

Above: RAC ParticipantsBelow: Confi rmation students with Rabbi Stein, Rabbi Strom, & Hope Chernak

Above: Rabbi Hirsch & High School ParticipantsBelow: High School Particpants Making Sandwiches

Above: Mitzvah Day Yorkville Common Pantry Participants 9

Youth Group NewsClub 45 Improv EventThis year we brought improv games to our Junior Youth Group, Club 45. Our students learned about the art of improvisation by our special guests and had the opportunity to participate in games.

PurimThe TaSTY youth group organized the annual Purim Carnival and Pandemonium for our Junior Youth Groups and Shaaray Tefila community. Our teen coordinators, Rachel and Lauren, organized the event and our TaSTY students participated by running the booths and handing out prizes.

Below: Devorah, President of TaSTY and Rabbi StromBottom: TaSTY Students heading to Dallas, Texas for NFTY Convention

TaSTY’s President Message Year in Review (cont.)brought a toy for Toys for Tots, a not-for-profi t public charity. We continued our social action work in December by running a dance for the JYG students raising money again for the Jaffa Institute in Israel. We also participated this year with Project Cicero and Shaaray Tefi la’s Spring Mitzvah Day.

One of my many goals as President was to increase involvement in NFTY, the North American Federation of Temple Youth. It is a great way to meet Jewish teens from all across the country, and I always felt our youth group under-utilized this great organization. I am excited to say that we had nine students in February attend NFTY Convention in Dallas, Texas! This convention is held once every two years, and takes place in a different city each time. We participated in great workshops on hot topics such as immigration, God, and voting in Israel; we sang our hearts out during song sessions, and experienced engaging and uplifting worship with over 700 hundred other teenagers.

I will end by just adding one last note on our involvement throughout the Temple. Our members have sat on numerous committees, such as the Social Action Committee, the Associate Rabbi Search Committee, and the Teen Involvement Committee over the last year. Serving as the 2010-2011 TaSTY President has been a blessing, and I am so proud of the work of my fellow board members this year.

Below: Improv games with Club 45

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Youth Group News“The Jew-Tang Clan” (cont.)into adulthood and begin to consciously craft their own personal and Jewish identity. Our time together has been filled with physical activity, deep thinking and conversation, a lot of laughter and a lot of fun.

We’ve looked at some of the images, messages, celebrities and role models that have a tremendous impact on the way we look at what it means to be a man, and incorporated them with our own experiences.

The honesty, depth, and maturity of these discussions have been incredibly rewarding and enlightening. And did I mention we’ve had a ton of fun? I am looking forward to continuing the momentum of this spring next fall.

-Rabbi Joshua Strom

Think You Can Shpiel?TaSTY participated in the fi rst annual NYC Teen Community Contest. Hosted at Temple Israel of the City of New York, we gathered with teens from other congregational youth groups. TaSTY won the awards for Best Show, Best Ruach, and Best Costumes! We will be hosting this NYC Temple Youth Group event next year.

“The Jew-Tang Clan”A new group for boys ingrades 8 and 9This spring Shaaray Tefila participated in a pilot program created by Moving Traditions, who are the creators of the tremendously successful “Rosh Chodesh: It’s a Girl Thing!” program for adolescent girls. This pilot program is aimed at 8th and 9th grade boys, and while Moving Traditions calls it “The Brotherhood,” part of the program is for the group to give itself a name.

For the Brotherhood at Temple Shaaray Tefila, the name chosen by our 10 participants is “The Jew-Tang Clan.” The content of this series of programming is centered around what it means to be a Jewish male in America, and how to negotiate their individual paths as they mature

Below: TaSTY Purim helpers!

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Youth Group NewsTaSTY’s Spring EventsWe had a busy spring with Youth Sandwich Saturday, Iron Chef with celebrity host, Shaaray Tefi la congregant, Chef Julian Medina, our annual sleepover (with 25 students, our largest participation ever), 8th grade Recruitment Breakfast, TaSTY Board Elections, our spring fl ing event: “Amazing Race,” and our End of the Year Shabbat Banquet. We said, “farewell” to our seniors and started planning for next year.

It’s been a great year. Here are a few photos taken this spring:

Above: Iron Chef against Temple Israel’s Youth Group with Chef Media

Above: TaSTY Shabbat dinner

Above: TaSTY’s Amazing Race Above: TaSTY Banquet

Above: TaSTY honors the seniors in May

Above: Rabbi Strom shares a blessing with the TaSTY leadership

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Youth Group News

voices, singing through prayer has been one of the most emotional moments that I have witnessed in my life so far.

NFTY and TaSTY are all about teen engagement! Our voices are actually listened to by our peers and the adults and clergy that work with us. If I had to describe NFTY and TaSTY in a few simple words, I would say: community, family, and love.

So—please before saying “Nah, why would I want to be part of TaSTY and NFTY?”—remember these words. I regret joining so late into high school. Don’t make the same mistake I did...and please join TaSTY!

Your fellow Shaaray Tefi la member (and now active TaSTYite/NFTYite!),

Matthew Simon

Article written by Matthew Simon, TaSTY Board memberDear 8/9th Graders:

I am writing this letter to you, from my perspective – someone who has sat in your seat before....

At the end of my 8th grade year, I was asked a simple yet life changing question, “Do you want to join TaSTY?” Back then “tasty” was a word that I used to describe how I felt about eating a slice of pizza or a cup of ice cream. This would continue to be my thought process about the word “tasty” until just a few months ago. Now, when I think of the word “tasty,” I think of a family, a loving community fi lled with joy and fun and of a life changing experience.

Here I am, sitting in the ballroom at NFTY convention in Dallas, Texas, where just a few hours prior, this ballroom was fi lled with over 700 Jewish teens. Through this life changing few days, I’ve realized an important truth about my life. I’ve missed so much—by not being part of TaSTY and NFTY. Yes, the transition between middle school and high school is diffi cult; however, NFTY and TaSTY are anything but a burden.

Joining TaSTY and NFTY has honestly made me feel connected and I am proud to say I’m a Jewish teenager! I have re-learned what it means to be part of a Jewish community. Being Jewish is not solely about the prayers and the Torah. Being Jewish is about relating what you have learned about Judaism and applying it to your personal life. It doesn’t have to be separate. TaSTY and NFTY is the best place to express your ideas as a teenager, in a judgment free environment.

As an active member this year in TaSTY, I have heard feedback that services and lack of teen engagement at the synagogue are the two main reasons why students have left after 8th grade. Being in your shoes once before, I know your arguments. I do understand where you are coming from.... Let me tell you from my fi rsthand experience that TaSTY events and NFTY events are completely different. For example, worship services are one of the most powerful aspects of these groups. Hearing everyone’s

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Temple Shaaray Tefi la Youth Programs Staff 2010-2011Rabbi Joshua Strom

Hope Chernak, Director of Youth and Informal Education, TaSTY Advisor

Lori Jacobson, JYG Advisor for Club 45, Jewish Journeys at Shaaray (JJS), Just 8, and Rosh Chodesh (youth group for girls in 6-8).

Shira Cohen, Family Fun Day (FFD) Advisor

For more information about youth programming:Please contact Hope Chernak at 212.535.8008, ext. 270 or at hchernak@tstnyc.org