FROM ANNE'S
DESK
Give Your Children the Gift of Education
I am excited the eighth grade program Spark
HeartAction will once again take place. It had a powerful
impact on eighth grade students last year. Linking volunteer
work with timeless meaning, Spark HeartAction combines Jewish
learning with ongoing service to the elderly. Our eighth graders
will once again be given an opportunity to put the Jewish
values of chesed (compassionate action), tzedek
(justice) and hidur pinei zaken (honoring the elderly)
into action, challenging their understanding of the elderly
and deepening their connection with their communities.
As relationships grow through a process of regular visits,
reflection sessions, text studies, journal activities and
personal encounters, our eighth graders gain a new perspective
on their place within the world and what they can do to improve
it. Spark HeartAction is an exploration of community service
as a meaningful expression of Jewish Identity and the perfect
addition to our social action program already in place.
I know some teens struggle with the decision to continue
on in their studies. Some friends have "dropped out."
Some have simply decided that Bar/Bat Mitzvah was the goal
and it was met. As a mom, I am pleading with parents who have
not yet registered their eighth, ninth or tenth grader to
make this decision as the parent and complete the registration
process.
This is a crucial time in the lives of our teens when temple
life can play a very important role in the development of
their Jewish identity. Students who once wanted to stop attending
but whose parents stepped up to the plate with the same strength
they put forth on issues of drugs, drinking, curfews and homework
were Confirmed at the end of tenth grade and LOVED the experience.
Please see a description of our eighth
through tenth grade programs at Jeremiah and Identity
Statements by two members of this year's Confirmation
class. Please register your children
today and give them the gift of education, a gift that can
never be taken away.
- Anne Lidsky, Ph.D., RJE
- Re-printed from the July, 2008 Covenant | 
