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Holiday Exploring

undreds of children,
each equipped with
a special backpack
and "explorer" map, made
the trek through Dora and
Diego's Shavuot Adventure at
Congregation Shaarey Zedek in
Southfield.
On a search to reach Mt. Sinai
in celebration of the holiday of
Shavuot, these joy-filled chil-
dren packed the room to learn
alongside their proud parents.
The event began on a beautiful
sunny late afternoon on June
7, Erev Shavuot, with a family-
friendly dinner followed by
interactive stations encouraging
the preschoolers to explore the
themes of Shavuot, a celebra-
tion of the giving of the Torah
on Mt. Sinai.
Along the way, children
stopped for a photo with car-
toon character favorites Dora
and Diego; searched the desert
sand for Torah "artifacts:' con-
structed their own set of Ten
Commandments and enjoyed
eating their very own hand-
made edible Torahs.
Barbra Giles of Novi brought
her incredibly excited son Ryan.
"Ryan and I thoroughly
enjoyed the Dora and Diego
Shavuot program:' Barbara
said. "He loved making the
journey through each of the
stations, placing a sticker over

the destinations that he visited
and finally arriving to see Dora
and Diego."
Lisa Findling of Huntington
Woods and her 4-year-old
daughter Ivy attended together.
"Ivy and I had so much fun
together. We loved digging
in the sand for artifacts and
our favorite activity was the
obstacle course led by Moses
and Aaron."
Working in partnership with
Federation's Shalom Family,
Shaarey Zedek's Megan Topper,
assistant director of youth and
family education, designed
the program to welcome the
community's families and
kick off the summer season
of Applebaum Young Family
Programming at Shaarey Zedek.
With more than 300 people
in attendance, the program was
a hit. In the coming months,
families with children under
age 7 will have a chance to par-
ticipate in a multitude of activi-
ties, including a weekly Tuesday
morning story time, Thursday
morning open gym opportuni-
ties and monthly Shabbat in the
Park services.
For more information or to
receive a calendar of young
family events, contact Megan
Topper at (248) 357-5544 or
email to mtopper@
shaareyzedek.org . II

Space Launch

B

Shauna Schwartz of Farmington Hills with daughters Hannah, 5
months and Lily, 4, flanked by characters Dora and Diego

Megan Topper of West Bloomfield with Rabbis Aaron Starr
and Joseph Krakoff of Shaarey Zedek.

Max Young, 6, of Bloomfield Hills

Megan Topper with Ryan, 5, and Barbara
Giles of Novi

Pasteur Elementary alumni helped students visit NASA.

ecause of additional funding from
the Pasteur Elementary School
Alumni Foundation, 28 students
from Pasteur Elementary in Detroit went to
the Kennedy Space Center in Florida to view
the launch of the Space Shuttle Endeavor.
Because of the postponement of the
launch on April 29, students, parents and
staff missed the actual launch, but had great
seats in front of the clock two hours before
the cancellation. They were also able to visit
the space center and learn more about sci-
ence.
Funding for the trip seemed to be a
problem when principal, Sharon Lawson,
approached Marcy Feldman, president of
the Pasteur Elementary School Alumni
Foundation, for help.
Feldman and her classmates from the
Class of 1962 had started the foundation
in 1997 to help advocate on behalf of the
students. The foundation has 220 alumni,
mostly Jewish, who donate money and time

14 June 23 2011

Shaarey Zedek preschoolers enjoyed Dora and Diego's Shavuot Adventure.

to help with the children's education.
More than 1,200 alumni are listed on the
database and many volunteer with creative
projects for the students. Last year, the foun-
dation paid for the Jewish Ensemble Theatre
to perform two plays for the students.
The children were able to go to Florida
because of donations from families, fun-
draisers, the Pasteur Elementary School
Alumni Foundation and New Prospect
Missionary Baptist Church. The foundation
raised $6,300 from their alumni members.
Other officers and board members of
the alumni foundation include Kathy
Carter, Leon Coleman, Howard Davis, Cary
Levy, Marjory Winkleman Epstein, Fran
Gross, Richard Holmes, Paula Marks Kalt,
Deborah Manning, Tomeka Munford, Judith
Schneider, Charles Soberman, Deborah
Terrell, Wendy Wagenheim and Henry
Winokur.
For more information on the association,
go to www.pasteuralumni.org. LJ

Detroit's Pasteur Elementary School students, staff and parents were able

to travel to the Kennedy Space Center in Florida because of help from the
school's alumni fund.

