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Recent Happenings
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December 2
Shabbat Dinner with Congressman Michael Ross and Manginah, Brandeis University’s Jewish a cappella choir, Buckingham Browne & Nichols
December 5
Dalton Israel Club Meeting
December 6
Chanukah Party sponsored by Marin Academy Jew Crew and TCI, Marin Academy
December 8
Jewish perspectives on body image discussion and Chinese dinner, Dana Hall
December 9
Interschool Shabbat Dinner, Manhattan JCC
December 9
Classroom presentation on Chanukah and the Nature of Light, Mercy High
December 11
Deerfield Academy and Winsor School Jewish student clubs visit National Yiddish Book Center, Amherst, MA
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Metro NY Interschool Shabbat Dinner
Any outsider peeking in at the teens gathered at the Manhattan Jewish Community Center (JCC) on December 9th might have been puzzled by the questions they were asking each other: Am I a movie star? Am I a male? Am I alive?
How could they know that this seemingly odd discourse was actually a fun icebreaker — the group was trying to name Jewish celebrities taped to their backs — that headed off a unique Shabbat dinner, co-sponsored by the student-run Dalton Israel Club and TCI.
The dinner—just a sample of the many programs TCI facilitates alongside Jewish students at independent schools—brought together 15 high school students from the Trinity, Dalton, and Kew Forest schools, as well as Jewish teachers from Trinity and Dalton.
A lively Shabbat service at B’nai Jeshurun Synagogue on Manhattan’s Upper West Side started off the evening. Shabbat songs and a hearty meal followed at the JCC, where students also had the chance to chat about college with students representing New York University’s Bronfman Center for Jewish Life. This aspect of the program supported TCI’s goal to ensure that independent school students maintain connections to their heritage once in college.
“It was just so great to meet Jewish students from other schools in the area,” emphasized Meryl Zises, co-president of the Dalton Israel Club, which meets monthly to discuss Israel-focused issues and programs, which TCI advises.
“It was also really cool to hear about what stuff is going on in college. I really felt like tonight was a success,” added Zises.
The dinner allowed students from different schools to meet together as Jewish students with common experiences, and make connections to their shared but unique identities as Jewish independent high school students.
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Students Visit World Renowned Yiddish Book Center
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A fresh layer of snow did not stop 11 New England students from visiting the world renowned Yiddish Book Center, in Amherst, MA on December 11th.
The full day began in the morning when several students from the Winsor Yiddish Club met up with Deerfield Academy's Jewish Student Union for brunch. From there, Deerfield history teacher Bernie Baker and students from a Deerfield religion class set off with the others to the center.
With TCI New England Teen Coordinator Rebecca Rubin-Schlansky at hand, the group learned about how the center began as one person’s curiosity, and has become an unmatched resource of Yiddish literature and the largest and fastest-growing Jewish cultural organization in America. It now holds over 1.5 million recovered books, many of which were discarded during anti-Semitic regimes in Eastern Europe.
“I think the thing that the students appreciated most was how great an impact one person can have on something that is a passion for him or her,” remarked Jan Flaska, Deerfield’s religion teacher.
This field trip is just one of the many innovative, hands-on ways that TCI brings Jewish culture to Jewish students and greater school communities.
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TCI has teamed up with BBYO to create a unique summer trip that will allow independent school students to bond over their shared life experiences, while creating fresh connections to their Jewish identities as a group.
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The Center for Religious Inquiry
The Curriculum Initiative has partnered with The Center for Religious Inquiry to offer you exceptional classes and presentations that promise to pique your intellectual curiosity. Explore the role ethics should play in our lives. Examine and compare Jewish, Islamic and Christian cultures, values and traditions. Or, learn about great religious thinkers. The Center for Religious Inquiry has myriad classes and events that spark your thinking about our ethical, spiritual and religious world.
The center has kindly agreed to offer parents and teachers from TCI partner schools a 50% discount to all its offerings. Enter the code word "Initiative" when you register. Log on to http://www.stbarts.org/cri.htm for information about the center's 2005-2006 calendar.
Contact Michele Israel at 646-230-1630, ext. 203 or misrael@tcionline.org for more information.
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TCI Directors:
Eileen Gress, Executive Director
Michele Israel, Deputy Director
Adrien Uretsky,
New England Regional Director
Adam Gaynor,
New York Regional Director
Adrian Schrek
Bay Area Regional Director
For additional information or to unsubscribe, please contact mkay@tcionline.org |
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