The November-December TI Teen Ed Bulletin
For RYFTI’s first event of the year, on Saturday,
November 1st, we avoided the rain and held a Fall Fest here
at TI. We painted pumpkins, baked some pumpkin treats, played a great
game of sardines, and shared in a beautiful peer-led havdalah service. It was a great
start to RYFTI’s year!
Our K-7 Religious School students will benefit from the
guidance of a wonderful group of madrichim this year! The 5775 madrichim gathered for
orientation on September 7th, and have begun working successfully
alongside our great religious school teachers. On Wednesday, October 8th,
a group of our madrichim helped to facilitate the erev Sukkot K-4
Family Education program, which preceded the festival service!
Confirmation Kallah 5775 took place overnight, Friday afternoon 10/24 through Saturday
night, 10/25. Seventeen Temple Israel 10th Graders spent the weekend
together at Camp Burgess in Sandwich, MA.
They shared in Shabbat services, learned about and discussed ideas on
central Jewish themes, took on ropes course challenges, and had a ton of fun. They came away from the weekend more deeply
bonded as a group, and are ready for a year of great work together.
RYFTI Reunion/College Shabbat – November 28th
Each year, we invite our TI college students back home for
the Shabbat immediately following Thanksgiving, to reunite as RYFTI alumni/ae,
and to be recognized by our congregation.
This year, College Shabbat falls on Friday, November 28th,
beginning at 6:00pm. All TI college
students (such as Eva Ackerman and Zoë Davis, pictured on their way to Clergy
Weekend 2011) are invited and encouraged to attend!
RYFTI Fall Kallah – November 21-23!
All 9th-12th graders are invited to
come with RYFTI to Camp Bournedale in Plymouth, MA. Spend time with your classmates outside the
Temple walls, get to know fellow RYFTI participants in other grades, and learn
in programs designed by teens, for teens (all programming for Fall Kallah is
written and led by high school students!).
TIKKUN To Bring Teen
Advocates Back to Beacon Hill
On Monday, December
8th, after spending the previous day in preparation at TI, the
students of the TIKKUN class at Monday Night School will visit the MA State
House for lobby meetings with their own State Senators and
Representatives. This is our second year
running the TIKKUN Class at MNS, taught once again by Rabbi Matt Soffer, joined
this year by Ohel Tzedek Coordinator Andrew Oberstein; it will also be
our second TIKKUN Intensive and Lobby Day program. At last year’s inaugural
TIKKUN Lobby Day, eight RYFTI juniors and seniors (pictured) toured the State
House, and then met with legislative aides of Rep. Coppinger and of Sens.
Chang-Diaz and Creem, and directly with Reps Sanchez and Smizik. They lobbied for an increase in the minimum
wage, not be tied to cuts in unemployment insurance, and for stronger gun
control as a means to combat gun violence.
On Friday, January 31st, Teen Ed Director Mike Fishbein and
three of the eight participants, Mariel Ehrlich, Gabe Hodgkin, and Aaron Sege,
gave a d’var Torah at Qabbalat Shabbat services. Mr. Sege, now a freshman at Pomona College;
then a senior Co-President of RYFTI, closed with these words:
“Two years
ago, Gabe and I attended the L'Taken seminar in DC, and Mariel is part of the
group headed there in one week. I loved
going on L'Taken. It got me very excited
about getting involved in politics. With
TIKKUN, we took the basic format of L'Taken and pushed it to the next level,
with a more detailed back-and-forth. The
experience of meeting with power-brokers was very satisfying. It was great to be able to have a conversation
with the legislators and staffers and to press them a bit with questions. I
felt like I was able both to speak my mind and to have an impact on them. They took us seriously and treated us with
respect. TIKKUN showed us that state
politics are really compelling. In Massachusetts, a policy can be more creative
and more energetic than it can be on the national level, and we can have a much
bigger impact on it. Celia, our teacher,
said that civic groups are the ‘special sauce of American democracy,’ and that
hit home for me. I think that our tight-knit teen community at TI, coupled with
a set of values and traditions that transcend one historical moment or problem,
give us the strength to make a difference at the State House, which we now
call, ‘Our House.’”
Calling all Teen
Program Parents, AND ALL 7th GRADE PARENTS! – MNS Family
Night is Monday, December 1st!
Parents, come join us at Monday Night School! Our MNS year is off to a great start. Spend an evening with us and learn about our
vision, our course offerings, and your teen’s experience. 7th grade parents, here’s a great
opportunity to learn about the options that await your 7th grader
next year. RSVP! Please respond by Monday, November 24th
to let us know how many family members will be attending. We need these numbers
so that we can be sure to order enough food!
RSVP to Mike at 617-566-3960 x126 or mfishbein@tisrael.org.
A
Message from the RYFTI Co-Presidents, 12th Graders Sophia Rintell
and Mariel Ehrlich
RYFTI
has gotten off to a great start. Dinner served in the atrium on the first
Monday Night School was a festive way to begin the 5775 school year. Members of
RYFTI have already begun to spend time together as a community. Some teens went
to Slichot services together and many spent time together at High
Holiday services. It was exciting to see some alumni in the crowd and to catch
up with them. We are lucky to be a part of a community that will last beyond
just our high school years, and will rekindle year after year as we return for
holiday services and Jewish celebrations. Our first RYFTI event will be on
Saturday, November 1st and will be apple picking at Honey Pot Hill Orchards.
The RYFTI Board has been hard at work planning for the event as well as for
Fall Kallah. We are excited for all that this year holds for RYFTI!
Funds available for first-time Jewish
camping!
If your child has never attended a
Jewish overnight camp for a stretch of three weeks or more, he or she is
eligible for a $1000 incentive grant towards camp tuition from TI and CJP's
Jewish
Educational Overnight Camping Initiative.
For more information, please contact
Irina Preys in the Education Office at 617-566-3960 x121 or ipreys@tisrael.org
2014 Teen
Program Dates In November and December
- RYFTI Goes Apple Picking! 11/1
- Camp Shabbat, 11/7
- Madrichim Development Meeting, 11/9
- NFTY-NE Fall Conclavette, 11/14-16
- RYFTI Fall Kallah! 11/21-23
- RYFTI Reunion (College Shabbat), 11/28
- MNS Family Night, 12/1
- TIKKUN Intensive & Lobby Day, 12/7 & 8
- Madrichim/Morim Co-Development Meeting, 12/14
- RYFTI Event 12/20
- NFTY-NE December Institute 12/26-30
