Youth Group Newsletter (April 2013)

I would like to extend a big thank you to all of the families who stepped up and volunteered their time and energy to make this year’s Purim carnival such a big success! I could not have done any of it without all of you!This year’s awesome Outer Space themed carnival was preceded by a night of fun at the congregation’s annual Purim Shul-in!

The shul-in, which is lead by members of NUTSY, our congregation’s senior youth group, for participants in the Junior Youth Group, kicked-off with a delicious Mexican food dinner followed by a beautiful Havdalah service written by NUTSY’s Religious and Cultural Vice President, Erica Thureson. The night was filled with programs in which participants both prepared for the carnival (all of the beautiful posters in the social hall on Sunday morning were designed by participants at the shul-in) and learned about Purim. For example, one of NUTSY’s co-presidents, Eamon Wizner, lead a program in which participants made mishloach manot baskets to be distributed to their friends and family.

The night was made complete as NUTSY co-president, Jesse Chen, showed off the DJ skills of his incredible company, Royal Entertainment, with dancing and games that kept everyone active and having a ball throughout the night!

Later on, in March, NUTSY members got together for a very fun meeting planned by our Religious and Cultural Vice President, Erica Thureson. Participants discussed our hopes and dreams for the future, culminating with the creation of some beautiful collages!

Also in March, the Young Israeli Emissaries to the Hartford area, Yuval and Ido, joined us for an informal dinner at the temple, hosted by NUTSY, which allowed the young Israelis to bond with some of their American peers in our community!

On a regional level, NUTSY members had the amazing opportunity to travel to Schenectady, NY to Congregation Gates of Heaven on the weekend of March 15 for NFTY NE’s annual Spring Conclavette! The theme of this year’s conclavette was sacrifice, which was reflected in the incredible peer-led programming throughout the weekend.

As usual, NUTSY’s co-president Jesse Chen played a big roll in the success of this regional event by songleading throughout the weekend at services and song session. We are all incredibly proud of him and all of his hard work! Saturday night featured an amazing “Jungle Jam” themed dance, which kept participants on their feet, dancing, and having the time of their lives throughout the evening! Sunday morning transitioned into the NFTY NE regional board meeting, during which the next regional board was selected by voting delegates from each youth group. Throughout the weekend, a great time was had by all! 

April promises to be a very busy and fun month as well! Please check out the calendar for upcoming events and activities! As always, if you have any questions, please feel free to find me at the Temple on a Sunday moming or Wednesday evening or by email new-message24 at any time!

Mitzi Young, Youth Group Coordinator new-message24