Youth & Education
Notes from our Youth Worker
With all the ups and downs and challenges the past year has brought, FRS youth has remained a true staple of laughter, friendship, and community throughout it all.
While the year began with a continuation of online sessions, it was so great to be able to return to in-person activities as the year went on!
Non-residential Day Camps
Despite having to be held online, Feb Scheme was a blast! We explored the theme of going green, and as garden gnomes and robots debated, played, and maybe muted each other by accident (or not) we were grateful for how much fun we could have together from our own homes and for all the resources we have within our own environment to create fun with.
Summer Scheme this year – named ‘Summer 2SY’ with Alyth Synagogue – was a complete joy. We loved meeting and making new friends and sharing all the fun with another community. In fact, it was so successful that we are now looking forward to repeating the experience next summer!
Residentials
Having had to hold off on residentials since the start of the pandemic, we waited with bated breath to see if our summer ‘make-up’ residential in Kent for Years 4, 5 and 6 would actually be able to happen. Thankfully, we were able to go ahead, and it was absolutely a huge highlight of the calendar year. It was such a joy to take a trip away as a group of leaders and with our incredible youth for two nights/three days, as we stayed up far too late laughing and enjoying each others’ company.
Donut Weekend remains as one of our most exciting events of the year! We ventured to the newest Kingswood site, in Buckinghamshire, and spent the weekend den-building, climbing, Maccabee mystery solving, scavenger hunting, dancing, and - of course - eating many donuts.
Other Activities
In December, we celebrated our first Sunday Funday together in over a year! A hula-hooping masterclass from Guinness World Record-holding company Cahula, involving lots of spinning, of both hoops and dreidels, as we celebrated Chanukah! In addition, our teens also celebrated Chanukah with another fun ice-skating trip to JW3.
Hadracha Training
Our Hadracha (leadership training) course, for our Year 9 cohort, takes place from January to March each year, and this year was no different. The new madrichimot (young leaders) admirably managed the challenge of much of their training being online and, after an adapted not-quite-residential, were all able to graduate from the course in the summer, since which time they have been actively using their new-found skills at summer scheme, Sunday Fundays, Kochavim and other activities for our youngsters. It is always a joy to see our one-time chanichimot (participants) blossom as they turn the corner to becoming leaders of our community.
We're so grateful for our entire youth tsevet (team) – all our completely incredible madrichimot – without whom we couldn't carry out our extensive programming, and who bring all the creativity and care that we could wish for to our community's youngest members.
All the time spent together this year, whether online or in-person, has really brought home how lucky we are to have such a special community of young people at FRS. We can’t wait for another year, and a new building (with our very own youth room!) to look forward to!
Maya Gottlieb
