Confirmation Class Update
Hello Confirmation Families,
We hope you all are doing well. We only have FIVE more sessions of Religious School - I can't believe it!! We have so much to do before the end of the year and attendance is so critical as we prepare for the Confirmation Service and wrap up the year.
Our hope is for all students to continue to attend in person as this is the preferred mode of engagement. That said, a number of you have told me you have conflicts that prevent your teen from making it in person but would allow them to log in virtually. Given how critical attendance is leading up to the Confirmation service, we have decided to make this an option for students. We hope this will help enable all students to have 100% attendance through the end of the school year. This option will be available starting tonight.
CLICK HERE FOR THE LINK FOR CLASS
Please review important information below
Reminder to Save the Date for Confirmation Service
As a friendly reminder, the Confirmation Service occurs on Erev Shavuot every year as the students confirm their commitment as Jews to the covenant at Mt Sinai with the giving of the Torah. Please make sure you have the date saved in your calendars and share with any extended family you'd like to invite.
Saturday, June 4th
Students arrive at 4pm
Service begins at 7pm
Flower Sale Support - Sign up Now for your Shift!
Every year our Confirmation students help with a flower sale to raise funds to give a gift to the congregation on behalf of the class. The synagogue continues to benefit from so many of these gifts today, including the apple and plum trees, the flag poles, the youth lounge TV and furniture, and most recently the path and platform down to the pond by the Religious School entrance. A few weeks ago our students made phone calls to get the word out about the sale. We hope that you, as parents, will support the sale by purchasing flowers yourself and sharing the link with your family and friends.
In addition to the Wednesday phone-a-thon event, it is expected that the entire Confirmation Class and a few willing parents participate in shift work on:
Tuesday, May 3rd 5:00 - 6:00pm Parents - when the plants are delivered to the synagogue to sort plants into the orders
Wednesday, May 4th from 4:00pm - 7:00pm Parent & Students when the plants will be picked up by buyers
Sunday, May 8th from 8:30 am – 12:00 pm Parent & Students when the plants will be picked up by buyers
Click here to signup for your volunteer shift(s).
Philanthropy/Tzedakah Project
For the last few years, a community member has made an incredible donation to enable our Confirmation students to take what would have been a theoretical conversation about philanthropic giving and make it real. The students have the opportunity to allocate $3,000 to tzedakah after discussing and debating Jewish values around philanthropic giving. A few weeks ago the students and I explored a number of texts and debated whether it is best to give local, or abroad, to the Jewish or general community, whether it is better to give a large amount to one or two organizations or a smaller amount to many. We asked the question how we can have the biggest impact and what are the most pressing needs in the world and our community. It was an amazing conversation. We will be making a final vote next Wednesday and will keep you all updated on where the students decide to allocate the gift. This was an amazing opportunity for the students to have a real impact and I'm grateful to the donor who made it possible.
Rabbi Crimmings