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. 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