Youth Group Newsletter (September 2015)

Shalom, Temple Sinai!

I hope that you all had a wonderful summer! This year’s NUTSY (Newington United Temple Sinai Youth) schedule is still in the works, but we already have some fun events planned for the fall!

On Wednesday, September 16, all Temple Sinai members in grades 8-12 are invited to our Welcome Back party. This event will be pure fun, and a great way to kick off the school year! Please check in for details during the first week of Religious School.

On the evening of Thursday, September 24, NUTSY teens will gather to decorate the Temple’s Sukkah. There will be pizza, and time to catch up with old friends and make some new friends as we make the Sukkah look amazing!

On Wednesday, September 30, we will have our much-anticipated annual Sushi in the Sukkah event!

The best way to stay up-to-date on all things NUTSY is to join our Facebook group, NUTSY for NFTY-NE. The page is used as a forum for peer-led planning, and serves as a message board for scheduling and events. All Temple Sinai teens in grades 8-12 are invited to stop by most Wednesdays at 6:30 p.m. to check out our NUTSY lounge nights and meetings. We will also have a full schedule of regional and local events this year. Regional events include dances, peer-led institutes, leadership training, and religious and social action opportunities with teens from the entire northeast region of the North American Federation of Temple Youth (NFTY).

Regional events are open to all NUTSY members in grades 9-12. Local events are open to all NUTSY members, including our 8th grade members, and last year this included our youth group hosting nearly 300 teens at NFTY-NE’s Fall Conclavette, as well as amazing parties for many of the Jewish Holidays, an outing to Elizabeth Park, and a Passover Iron Chef competition. In the past we have visited Lake Compounce together, gone apple picking, created hand-made Valentines for residents at a local rehab facility, and participated in an awesome photo scavenger hunt. Sometimes, we also attend events hosted by neighboring Temple Youth Groups; for example, we joined a youth group in Glastonbury for a chocolate Seder, and a youth group in Springfield hosted us at a human game of Clue overnight.

All NUTSY events are scheduled and planned by a board of actively involved Temple Sinai teens. This group works hard to ensure that activities are fun, inclusive, and enriching experiences!

This year’s NUTSY Board includes

  • Co-Presidents: Julia Silverman and Casey Bachman
  • Religious and Cultural Vice President: Joey Siegel
  • Social Action Vice President: Eliza Wizner
  • NFTY Rep: Brittany Chen

This incredible board will be working together to ensure that the 2015–2016 school year is filled with lots of fun and ruach!

Four NUTSY members began this school year by spending five days in August at the NFTY-NE Summer Institute. The event takes place every summer on the campus of the absolutely beautiful Crane Lake Camp. It was a great honor that our NUTSY co-president, Casey Bachman, was selected by the region to serve as a Prayer Coordinator, welcoming the 170 teens who participated in the event by planning and leading an incredible evening worship service on the first night. NUTSY always has a great presence at regional events, and I am so proud of our members!

This is also going to be a great year for our Junior Youth Group, which is open to Sinai members in grades 5–7. We will have several seasonal social events planned for this age group, including the amazing fun that is our annual Purim Shul-in. At the Purim Shul-in, participants spend the night at Temple, working to create and plan a unique and fun Purim Carnival, which takes place the following morning. The event includes dinner, a havdallah service, and some NUTSY-led fun (and, of course, some extra time in the Carnival’s bounce castle)!

Following the great success of last year’s group, young women in grades 8-12 are invited to join Temple Sinai’s “Rosh Hodesh: It’s a Girl Thing” group. Join with your peers in a Jewish sisterhood, most Sundays during Religious School, in the Youth Lounge, where we will talk, be heard, think, discover, eat, listen, create, and hang out! This program is designed to be accessible for teens working in the Religious School as assistants, but is open to all who are interested.

NUTSY meets most Wednesday when religious school is in session. Schedules and membership forms for all youth groups and activities will be available in the Temple Sinai Youth lounge. If you have any questions, or to request that a schedule and membership form be sent to you, please feel free to contact me any time new message24