Announcements

Hi families,
Sorry for two emails in one week! We hope you've taken the time to join the WhatsApp groups (and signed up for the Welcome Back BBQ), but we have important information to share in advance of Shabbat, as well as other exciting Teen opportunities for you.

In this email, you'll find:

• Information about a fire drill on Saturday, August 23.
• Our Teen Trip to Washington, DC!  Click here to apply by September 3.
• Hadracha: volunteering in the Religious School. Email Alyssa for more information.
• Teen Collab: meets on Thursdays from 6:30-8:30 pm. Register here.
• The information from the last email about upcoming events, the WhatsApp groups, and the 1 minute survey.

Thanks,
Alyssa Berman
Director of Youth & Family Engagement

Dear Community, 

In response to congregant interest and because it is best practice, we will be conducting a fire drill this Saturday, August 23rd at 11:45 am (services will end at that time). 

To ensure everyone’s safety and participation, please make sure that your children are with you. After we say Hamotzi in the sanctuary, the fire alarm will go off and we will exit the building for a couple of minutes and we will return to enjoy Kiddush. 

We would like everyone to gather in the sanctuary for the start of the drill but if you are elsewhere in the on the premises please follow these directions:

• Downstairs — Exit through the Nursery School door and gather at the back of parking lot #2. Return when you receive the all clear signal. 
• Main floor (security desk level) — Exit through the front doors and walk across the street until the alarm is turned off.
• Playground — Move towards the back of parking lot #2 and when you receive the all clear signal you can return to play and/or kiddush!

Thank you for helping us practice this important safety measure together.

SIncerely,
The Safety Team

We are also happy to launch our application for our Teen Trip to Washington, D.C. in November! We are partnering with Generations Church, a local church in downtown New Rochelle, in which we will take ten 9th-12th graders from each community to explore our shared histories. We will spend two days/three nights visiting the National Museum of African American History and Culture and the US Holocaust Memorial Museum, plus some other fun activities. Oh, did we also mention that it's free?! Thanks to a generous grant through the UJA Federation, we are able to offer this amazing opportunity to our communities at no cost. 

Click here to see our recorded information session (~8 minutes).

Do you enjoy working with kids? Do you need service hours? Volunteer as a teacher's assistant in the Religious School! 

Our K-7th Grade Religious School has a broad spectrum of opportunities for teens to get involved supporting teachers and kids in the classrooms. This opportunity is for teens in grades 9-12 and can take place on Thursdays, Sundays, or both. You do not have to make a full year committment! We offer monthly training on Sundays. 

For more information, email Alyssa at aberman@bethelnr.org.

Please note that we may have a limited number of spots, so don't wait!  

• Teen Kickoff: Beth El’s Welcome Back BBQ – Sunday, September 7, 5:00 – 6:30 p.m. RSVP here!
  • Teens should all meet at Parking Lot #2 (the side lot near the pirate ship playground) at 5:00 p.m. We will have teen-only programming, a yummy barbecue, and activities to kick off the year! Rain location TBD.
  • This event is BYOF (Bring Your Own Friend). Every teen who brings a friend (member or non-member) will get something special. Please make sure every teen who is coming (including non-members) fills out the RSVP link above.
• Teen Services: High Holidays at Beth El – Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur
  • More detailed information will be coming soon about teen-specific High Holiday programming at Beth El. Please be on the lookout!
• Sushi in the Sukkah – Sunday, October 12, 6:00 – 8:00 p.m. RSVP here!
  • Come hang out in Rabbi Schuck’s Sukkah! We’ll make sushi, play some games, and Rabbi Schuck will lead a text study/discussion around his fire pit once it gets dark (with s’mores, of course!).

As we kick off the year, I want to highlight that our main source of communication will be through WhatsApp, so please download it both on your (parent/caregiver) phones as well as your teens’ phones (if you are comfortable with them communicating over this platform). We will have two WhatsApp groups – one for parents/caregivers and one for the teens – both of which will be managed by me, and both of which will have the same announcements and information. Please remind your teens of appropriate online behavior, and that inappropriate messages or language in the chat will not be tolerated. 

Please join your respective WhatsApp Group using the following QR Codes:

Please fill out the linked Google Form so we can collect some demographic information about your teen.