teens on the go

by Madeleine Gonte and Sara Weinfeld

Noa Chandler,

trip of a lifetime

Hi

Julianna Subla, tour

Class of 2010 created lasting memories in Israel.

guide Hannah

Moskovitz and Re-

T

he 55 eighth-graders from
Hillel Day School of Metro-
politan Detroit landed April
12 in the holy land they have learned
about for nine years — Israel. There
they "lived out the pages of their text-
books" for two weeks.
For the past five years, the Farm-
ington Hills school has sent its gradu-
ating class on the ultimate fieldtrip. It
was a privilege to be there and visit
places like the Dead Sea and the Go-
lan Heights. A definite highlight of
the trip was the Kotel (Western Wall).
"When we were at the Kotel for
Friday night services, it changed the
way I thought about prayers by bring-
ing them to life," said student Reva
McDowell of Huntington Woods.
Everyone would agree that this
was the main event, the major site
that connected them to their Judaism.
Most of the students cried while giv-
ing their heartfelt prayers to God.
Although the Kotel was the most
meaningful place, students really
enjoyed exploring King Hezekiah's
underground water tunnels in Jerusa-
lem. Striding through the cold water
with flashlights attached to their heads
made them feel like major explorers.
During other parts of the trip, sing-
ing Hebrew songs from the bus rides,

such as "Jerusalem" by Matisyahu,
was exhilarating.
To add to all that adrenaline, stu-
dents rappelled off of the Ramon Cra-
ter, which was formed in the Negev by
a meteor that crashed into the Earth's
surface long ago. The meteor created
this attractive and natural popular
tourist destination, which is similar
to the Grand Canyon. Rappelling off
the crater was probably the most chal-
lenging and thrilling experience of all.
Stepping over the side of the cliff and
peering out at the breathtaking view
was overwhelming.
These experiences challenged the
students physically, mentally and
spiritually. It really pushed them to
step out of their snug comfort zones.
And, of course, the students could
not have created all of these fun mem-
ories without their loving teachers.
They were the ones who encouraged
them to enter the Israeli world of risk-
taking and exploration.
The students dearly thank Josh Cut-
ler, Rabbi Jonathan Berger, Amalia
Pons and Alita Rossen. They are the
awesome teachers that experienced
this amazing trip with their students,
and no one can replace that. The Is-
rael trip wouldn't have been the same
without them.

becca Kaufman pick

potatoes.

Left: Madeleine Gonte, Jackie Katz, Zoe Soble at the Dead Sea. Right: Jesse Arm, Oliver Soble,

Amichai Nadiv on Jerusalem's Ben Yehuda Street.

Israel wasn't just a trip. It was a
chance to branch out to make new
friendships that will last a lifetime.
Friends who experienced these amaz-
ing memories together will always
have a place in each others' hearts.
The inside jokes that were made and
the everlasting feelings created will
never die out. This is the trip that will
always be remembered.
"Israel was one of the most mean-
ingful and inspirational experiences
of my life, and there is nothing that
will compare to it until my next trip
there," said student Jesse Arm of West
Bloomfield.

The Israel trip is what defined the
eighth-graders as the Class of 2010. It
was definitely the highlight of their
years at Hillel Day School and there is
no possible way for them to give back
to Hillel what they each received. (

Sara

Weinfeld, 13,

of Farming-

ton Hills and

Madeleine

Gonte, 1.4,

of Bloomfield Hills recently graduated from

Hillel Day School of Metropolitan Detroit In

Farmington Hills.

slice of life

by Liza Kohlenberg

book beat

gift to Detroit school fuels love of reading.

n May 28, my fam-

ily and I visited
Schulze Academy
for Technology and the Arts
in northwest Detroit. For
my bat mitzvah project, we
brought more than 200 books
to the school library. We col-
lected them based on a wish
list from Ingrid Stemmerich,
the school's media specialist
and librarian.
When we arrived, she took
us on a tour of the library and
the school. Schulze is a new-
er, state-of-the-art school with

kids from preschool to sev-
enth grade. The school will
add eighth grade in the fall so
they needed more books for
their library.
I love to read and decided
to donate books that were
used in the centerpieces at my
May 22 bat mitzvah party at
Temple Israel in West Bloom-
field. Volunteers from Temple
read to children to Schulze.
I was able to meet teach-
ers and students at the school.
The teachers seem to really
care about the kids and all

truly appreciated the
donation of books.
The school has little
money in its budget
for new books so the
donation of books
ranging from Dr. Se-
uss to the Twilight
Series was all the
more special.
I was so happy
to see the students looking
through the books and get-
ting excited to start reading
them. As an avid reader, I
know how they feel. }

Liza Kohlenberg, 13, of West

Above: Liza Kohlenberg with

Bloomfield is a seventh grade

Schulze fifth graders Traivon

student at Orchard Lake Middle

Lever, Fantazia Vaughn, Joshua

School in West Bloomfield.

Huff and school librarian

Ingrid Stemmerich

teen2teen June 17.2010 TT3