metro >> around town

Girls' Night Out

Seventy women let loose at Vashti's Banquet for a fun time.

S

isterhood of Congregation Shaarey Zedek in
Southfield again welcomed women of the entire
Jewish community to join them for a girls' night out
at their fourth annual Vashti's Banquet on Tuesday, Feb. 5.
Almost half of the women came from synagogues other
than CSZ, including the Isaac Agree Downtown Synagogue,
Adat Shalom, B'nai Israel, Shir Shalom, Temple Israel, Beth
Shalom and the Woodward Synagogue, to name a few.
The synagogue was transformed into a Middle Eastern
bazaar, where 70 women enjoyed Middle Eastern kosher
food, kosher cocktails and belly dancing.
"Vashti's Banquet was such a blast!" said Vashti
Committee member Suzi Terebelo of Southfield. Other
committee members were Jeri Fishman of Southfield,
Mary Knoll of Bloomfield Hills and Karen Katz of West
Bloomfield. "There were phenomenal Vashti martinis and a
very hilarious 'Desert Housewives' overview of Vashti."
The women enjoyed great Middle Eastern fare and most
of the women belly danced with instructor Lana Mini and
walked away adorned with beautiful henna body art.

Lauren Cohen of Lathrup Village, Sisterhood President
Linda Cohen of Franklin and Jennifer Teper of Farmington
Hills

Vashti Committee: Jeri Fishman of Southfield,
Mary Knoll of Bloomfield Hills, Suzi Terebelo of
Southfield and Karen Katz of West Bloomfield.

❑

Safety First

F

Aqua Tots helps children with special needs improve skills and stay safe.

riendship Circle of West Bloomfield
and Aqua Tots Swim School of
Troy recently hosted a day of swim
instruction for children with special needs.
Children ranging from ages 5-15 par-
ticipated. Nine children arrived, excited to
have fun in the water while at the same time
learning the importance of water safety.
Aqua Tots Swim School owner Annette
Tomina spoke with each parent to deter-
mine what areas needed to be worked
on. Most children worked on floating on
their backs and opening their eyes under
water.
One child had a huge fear of the water
and, by the end of the lesson, with the help
of his instructor, was jumping off the side
of the pool into the water — laughing the
whole time.

Julie Zorn came with her two sons, ages
10 and 8. "My sons both had a very positive
experience during their swim classes:' she
said. "My sons are both good swimmers, but
have difficulty with socialization due to hav-
ing autism. The swim instructors were sen-
sitive to my children's unique needs. The
instructors kept the lessons moving along
at a good pace while engaging my boys in
learning new skills. Thanks to all at Aqua
Tots for your warmth and kindness!"
Bassie Shemtov, director of Friendship
Circle, said, "Aqua Tots is a great program
that helps our kids with special needs
develop coordination and fine motor skills
while having fun in the water. It also teaches
our kids an important lesson in water safety
— something any parent would be grateful
for

❑

Addison Mills paddles a canoe with stabilization from instructor
Kristan Carlisle.

24

February 21 • 2013

Sean Zorn works with instructor Kristan Carlisle.

Drew Zorn works on his kicking with instructor
Annette Tomina.

Conner Larson with instructor Annette
Tomina