school days
youth groups
by Helene Glickman and Samantha Swick
By Rachael Vettese
making the connection
impact Boston
special day at school allows grandparents a taste of FJA.
National BBYO program allows teens to
experience community service.
F
.., or a grandparent, there is no
greater joy than shepping na-
chas (overflowing with joy)
over their grandchildren. At Frankel
Jewish Academy in West Bloomfield,
our annual Grandparents and VIP
Visiting Day gives grandparents and
other family members the opportu-
nity to walk around school, sit in on
various classes and eat a delicious
lunch with their grandchildren — all
while beaming with pride.
Grandparents learn about the
school and see what the students do
on the average day.
The Torah and Jewish values
taught in school are based on tradi-
tion and the passing of knowledge
through the generations. Our grand-
parents symbolize this connection
to our faith. They passed the knowl-
edge to our parents and our parents
pass this knowledge to us by sending
us to a Jewish day school. It is fitting
for grandparents to be as involved as
possible in this learning experience.
By sitting in on classes, grand-
parents have a firsthand account of
what their grandchildren are learn-
ing every day and how they are en-
joying school. They can meet the
friends and teachers of their grand-
children, play Jewish geography, ask
questions and sometimes actively
participate in class.
Recently, we had our sixth
Grandparents Day; it has always
proved to be one of the highlights of
the year. Imagine the amount of sup-
port and love one grandparent can
bring; now multiply that by more
than 100! Apparently, the love in
the air that this brings is contagious.
During last year's event, Shelly
Freedman, grandmother of Brett
Ferber, met Richard Steinek, grand-
father of Tedi Dorman. All the visi-
tors were greeted with coffee, snacks
and time to schmooze before seeing
their students. At this time, Shelly
and Richard were introduced, and
briefly spoke to one another. Dur-
ing lunch, they became reacquaint-
ed and spent more time getting to
know one another. By the end of the
day, Richard asked Shelly on a date.
Joyce Wecksteln with her grandson
Jonathan Pachter
Norman Katz with his grandson Alex Adler
ach year, hundreds of teens travel worldwide to participate in summer
programs hosted through BBYO. The programs have different themes,
including leadership training skills, Judaism and community service.
This summer, three 12-day camps in the U.S. focused on community service
and tikkun olam, repairing the world.
I attended one at Brandeis University in Waltham, Mass. Along with 91 other
teens from across the globe, we came together to improve Waltham and nearby
Boston. We were divided into eight service groups, each with slightly different
goals. The goal of Impact Boston was for teens to
discover a passion for community service and bring
that love back to their communities.
Some groups worked with two organizations
that help individuals with disabilities and work to
raise awareness; others gave service to groups that
deal with the homeless; and some worked in Bos-
ton with Spare Change News, a newspaper written by
and for the homeless.
Impact Boston teens also work at Waltham Fields
Community Farms to learn about the relationship
Hannah Rosenberg of Hunting-
between people and the food supply, and at Youth
ton Woods and Rachael Vettese,
Force, a group that promotes youth employment.
of West Blomfield took part in
My group worked with the Waltham Police
BBYO's Impact Boston.
Department and Officer June Conway, who cur-
rently helps create a more positive atmosphere in
Waltham's housing projects. We learned about the importance of community
policing, low-income housing and how government policies influence the de-
velopment and its residents.
We worked for five days at our service sites and later met with our service
groups to discuss the work we did and its relation to Judaism and Jewish values.
We also visited downtown Boston and encouraged individuals on the streets
and in surrounding neighborhoods to partake in the voting process following a
seminar on political efficacy.
In addition, we spent time with currently and previously homeless individu-
als, learning of their experiences. My whole experience in Boston was incred-
ibly meaningful and I am happy that I could dedicate time to making a differ-
ence.
Rita Weinfeld with her grandson Ethan
Rachael Vettese, 18, is a senior at Bloomfield Hill Andover High School.
Weinfeld
They have been together ever since.
Grandparents Day at Frankel
Jewish Academy is now not only a
day for students to enjoy the corn-
pany of their special visitors and
for the visitors to
get a taste of their
students' lives, but
also a "Yenta, the
matchmaker" kind
of day, too.
TT4 teen2teen November 18.2010
teen2teen staff •
hotline: (248) 351-5144 • kcohen@thejewishnews.com
Reporters I Chaviva Bluth, Molly Grossman, Avi Mendelson, Avielle Movsas, Jamie Rashly, Stephanie Schulman (Akiva Hebrew Day
School, Southfield); Yona Isaacs, Gabriella Ring, Claire Sinai (Berkley); Nechama Tawil (Beth Jacob, Oak Park); Madeleine Gonte
(Birmingham Groves); Rachel Gorosh, Emily Schottenfels, Mara Stein, Rachael Vettese, Rachel Wein (Bloomfield Hills Andover); Abby
Hyman (Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook-Kingswood); Mari Cohen (Community, Ann Arbor); Emily Zussman (Detroit Country Day, Beverly Hills);
Polina Fradkin, Emily Goodman, Helene Glickman, Rachel Goutman, Heather Grossman, Jessica Kahn, Rachel Klein, Noam Saper, Maddy
Soltz, Sara Weinfeld, Samantha Zwick (Frankel Jewish Academy, West Bloomfield); Rachel Hollander, Ad Weil (Harrison, Farmington Hills);
Daniel Chandross (Billet, Farmington Hills); Mayer Schneider (home schooled); Rachel Berlin, Sam Gringlas, Elie Neuman, Nate Strauss
(North Farmington); Rob Pasick (Novi); Jordana Hoffman (Oakland Earlyl College, Farmington Hills); Lily Grier, Liza Kohlenberg (Orchard
Lake Middle, West Bloomfield); Liz Nagle (Walled Lake Western); Jennifer Finkel, Abigail Jankelovitz, Heather Rosenbaum (West Bloom-
field); Liza Kohlenberg (West Bloomfield Orchard Lake Middle School); Mackenzie Coden (West Bloomfield Walnut Creek)
Photographers I Jessica Avery Polk (Frankel), Colton Graub (Cranbrook-Kingswood )
supervising staff
Helene Glickman and
Samantha Swick,
both 16, are juniors
at Frankel Jewish
Academy in West
Bloomfield.
iN
Chief Operating Officer I F. Kevin Browett
Editorial Director I Robert Sklar
Executive Editor I Keri Guten Cohen
Creative Director I Deborah Schultz
IT Director I Deanna Spivey
Teen Consultant I Jon Layne
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