22 | JULY 30 • 2020
Free Virtual Jewish
Summer Day Camp
Camp Fox, an all-new, all-vir-
tual Jewish day camp for kids
in grades K-5, features virtual
programs on Broadway theater,
quarantine cooking classes,
improv and comedy, sports
trivia, breakdancing, yoga,
songwriting, karate, Legos, art,
music lessons, challah baking,
zoology, American Jewish histo-
ry, Summer Reading Book Club,
and much more.
Camp Fox runs online every
weekday from 9 a.m.-3:30 p.m.,
from now through Aug. 14. Best
of all, it’
s free.
Camp Fox is a collabora-
tive effort involving nonprof-
it organizations, including
the Kaiserman JCC, Marcus
Jewish Community Center of
Atlanta, Jewish Federation of
Greater Philadelphia, National
Museum of American Jewish
History, Elmwood Park Zoo,
Philadelphia Insectarium
& Butterfly Museum, Wolf
Performing Arts Center, The
Bible Players, Jewish Family &
Children’
s Service, PJ Library,
jKidPhilly and many other cor-
porate partners.
“With the economic down-
turn, it is a wonderful resource
for families who would other-
wise not be able to offer a Jewish
camping experience to their
children,” says Camp Director
Wendy Armon. “With the
COVID crisis, this is an espe-
cially timely resource available to
our community to support fami-
lies in a variety of ways given the
economic and social issues of
our current environment.”
Visit campfoxjcc.org for
details or contact campfox@
phillyjcc.com with questions.
A virtual program
from Camp Fox
M
ore than 70 Southeast
Michigan Jewish edu-
cators have been par-
ticipating in a month-long online
educational conference organized
by NewCAJE, the New Coalition
for Advancement in Jewish
Education. The conference began
July 6 and continues through
Aug. 2.
Normally held “live” over five
days on a college campus, the
annual conference was moved
online because of the COVID-19
crisis. Because the usual $1,500
registration fee was reduced to
$250, many more educators could
participate. Instead of its usual
200 registrants of day school and
religious school teachers, the
trans-denominational conference
attracted more than 900.
Lectures, panel discussions
and workshops are held through-
out the day and recorded for
later viewing. Evenings feature
concerts, games and other enter-
tainment. The organizers also set
up frequent “job alike” sessions
where participants could chat
informally with others doing sim-
ilar work.
Rabbi Abi Taylor-Abt, president
of the Metro Detroit Board of
Jewish Educators and a member
of the NewCAJE
program committee,
helped make it possi-
ble for so many local
teachers and admin-
istrators from con-
gregational religious
schools to attend.
Few Detroit religious schools
could afford to send their teachers
and administrators to previous
NewCAJE conferences, said
Taylor-Abt, who also heads the
Yachad religious school sponsored
by Congregation Beth Shalom
and Temple Emanu-El, both
in Oak Park. She negotiated a
reduced fee for Detroit-area edu-
cators, then secured a grant from
the Hermelin/Davidson Center
for Congregation Excellence to
cover the cost.
In the current crisis, Jewish
educators have come to see
themselves as essential work-
ers, said Rabbi Cherie Koller-
Fox, president of the Newton,
Massachusetts-based NewCAJE.
“Who knew that people who don’
t
come to sit in the pews would
suddenly appear on their Zoom
screens on a Friday night? Who
knew that people who saw their
Jewish identity as second or third
or fourth priority would suddenly
turn toward that identity to keep
their feet on the ground and give
them hope in dark times?”
Conference presenters included
Melissa Ser, director of educa-
tion at Adat Shalom Synagogue
in Farmington Hills, and Rabbi
Asher Lopatin, executive direc-
tor of the Jewish Community
Relations Council/AJC and spiri-
tual leader of Kehillat Etz Chaim
in Oak Park.
Detroit-area NewCAJE
participants enjoyed the
experience.
“This has been an amazing
conference,
” said Carrie Keogh
of Bloomfield Hills, who teaches
teens at Congregation Shir Tikvah
in Troy. She especially liked the
variety of offerings. “I love that I
am able to not only learn for my
students’
sake but also for my own
curiosity and self-improvement,
”
she said.
Hilary Duberstein of
Waterford, director of the Sholem
Aleichem Institute in West
Bloomfield and religious school
teacher at Congregation Shaarey
Zedek in Southfield, said she liked
the flexibility. “If I have a conflict
with a session, I am able to go
back and watch the recording,
”
she said. “I literally could attend
all of the sessions if I so desired.
”
Francie Fruitman of Southfield,
who teaches first grade Sunday
school at Temple Beth El in
Bloomfield Township, said
attending NewCAJE has made
her feel more confident, connect-
ed and inspired to engage her
students online.
Rabbi Abi
Taylor-Abt
Jews in the D
Thirsty to Learn
Detroit educators enjoy virtual NewCAJE
Conference at reduced cost.
BARBARA LEWIS CONTRIBUTING WRITER