December 2023 | Tevet 5784

8th-12th Grade Monthly Newsletter

Welcome to the 8th-12th grade newsletter!

Approximately every Rosh Chodesh (Jewish new month), these will be sent to update you on the amazing things our teens have been doing.

What's in this newsletter?

"Jew" York City: Spamalot on Broadway recap!
The Table: Get a taste of what we've been chatting about recently!
Confirmation: Latke Making
Madrichim Corner: A word from our Madrichim Coordinator, Ryan!

"Jew" York City

Our "Jew" York City program offers 8th and 9th graders 6 trips to New York City focusing on educational, cultural, and social action based themes throughout the year. This month, we completed trip #2 as our teens took in a Broadway show and saw Spamalot!

Cantor Kleinman had a wonderful time with everyone seeing Spamalot! The hysterical musical comedy was an amazing way to spend the afternoon embracing the Jewish value of humor!

The Table

8th and 9th Grade

In this month's edition of The Table we enjoyed a tasty pizza dinner and continued to discuss the situation in Israel. Cantor Sonett-Assor put together handouts chronicling the biggest events that have happened since we had last convened so we could have everything in front of us. Not only did having this refresh everyone's memory a bit, but it also inspired thought provoking questions from our teens! We were also thrilled to have our shinshinit, Noy, join us as she provided insightful answers to the questions!

11th and 12th Grade

Our juniors and seniors met twice since the last issue of our newsletter. For the November 15 edition, we also had a tasty pizza dinner and were joined by Noy as we continued our discussion about Israel. For the December 13 meeting, we were fortunate enough to attend "A Conversation With Alex Edelman", a UJA Donor event that was held in the Sanctuary! Edelman, a comedian who stars in a Broadway one-man show, shared his thoughts about Israel and the relationship between comedy and Judaism.

Confirmation

Over the past month, our 10th Graders spent some time in the WRT kitchen making latkes for Chanukah.

They also engaged in meaningful learning and conversations about what happens after you die, the historic tropes of antisemitism, and the difference between something being funny and antiemetic.

Madrichim Corner

A word from our Madrichim Coordinator, Ryan

When thinking of the madrichim since the last issue, I keep running into the same word: continue. To no surprise, our madrichim have continued to excel! They have continued to amaze me and my appreciation for them has continued to grow. Since our last issue, we also had our second and third monthly meetings which we spent talking about leadership styles and what kind of leader we view ourselves as. I'm excited to continue spending our meetings going over these themes with a focus on how we can bring it to the classroom. I can already tell all of these good things will continue into 2024!

Looking Ahead

"Jew" York City

Our next event is our trip to The Jewish Museum on January 28! Sign up info will be released shortly after Winter break!

Learn about the museum here:

The Jewish Museum

The Table

Upcoming meetings:

January 17
January 31 (11th/12th only)

Confirmation

Resumes January 10!

JLL Schedule Notes

There will be no JLL from December 23 to January 7 for Winter break and no JLL from January 13 to January 15 in observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Madrichim who would normally have classes during those dates should not come in.

Monthly Madrichim Meetings

Upcoming meetings:

January 24: Location TBD

8th Grade Civil Rights Pre-Trip Meetings

Registration is closed for the trip and that means it's time to start preparing!

Students will attend the following classes on Wednesdays from 7pm-8:15pm:

January 10th
February 7th

Students AND parents will attend the following meeting:

March 6th

We wish everyone a very safe, relaxing, and pleasant break and beginning to your 2024.

Happy New Year!

WRT Stands with Israel