In theUnited Stateswe send 20 million plastic baggies to landfills everyday! Only 1-3% of these bags are recycled. By the end of the school year it is estimated that each child will generate 67 pounds of waste.

Why should we care about this? A major problem is that plastic is non-biodegradable.  There is an estimated 50,000 pieces of plastic per square mile in the world’s oceans. 3 mothers were horrified by these statistics and wanted to make a difference. So they created Lunchskins.

Lunchskins are a food-safe, dishwasher friendly alternative to the plastic bag! In 2010 people using Lunchskins saved 120 million plastic baggies from going to landfills. They come in different colors and designs. Stop by the preschool lobby to check out some sandwich bag and snack bag examples!

We are selling them in the preschool and they will benefit our school. Sandwich bags are $6.80 and Snack Bags are $5.97.

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle and help Beth Shalom! Orders are due Friday, February 24^th.

You can fill out the form below and submit a payment using a credit card. It does say “donate,” but that is the proper paypal button to click.

Then we split into 2 teams to travel around “Israel”, without leaving the gym. We visited four cities in Israel. At each stop, teams were awarded points based on their performance in the task at hand in a competition. We moved from Israeli city to Israeli city by following a series of riddles.

In Tel Aviv, we played a round of basketball…

In Jerusalem, we bartered (as “vendors” or as “tourists” – each team drew an envelope of instructions, randomly) in a shuk…

And in Eilat, we played “Ostrich, Seahorse, Leopard,” a variation of the popular “Wizards, Giants and Elves” game, where two teams face off before making a group decision to be an Ostrich (with one hand/body motion), a Giant (with a different hand/body motion) or a Seahorse (with a third hand/body motion). The winning animal’s team must recognize the other team as the loser, then chase them to the opposite wall of the gym. Any player tagged by the winning team becomes theirs.

Finally, in Haifa, we raced to do a big math problem on our cell phones and talked about the Technion.

Then, we had lots of free time to watch the Lion King on T.V. (for fun!) and chill in the Youth Lounge with snacks and lemonade for all. What a fun night.

Sunday afternoon brought us Lesson #2 of the Jewish Cooking Club series: HAMANTASCHEN! Together, K-5th grade learned how to make this delicious Purim treat and everyone took home a copy of the recipe. We thank Deena Ross of Creative Kosher for her dough, filling and assistance with this project.

Check out these great photos of our youth learning how to roll out hamantaschen dough, cut out circles, fill the hamantaschen, and bake! Each child took home 6 freshly-baked hamantaschen of their very own to share with their families. We became experts in rolling, filling, pinching and of course, eating hamantaschen.

Our next Jewish Cooking Club is Sunday, March 18 at 12:30 p.m. The cost is $15.00/session or $10.00 with advance RSVP! We’ll be making soup…yum!

See you next time! Mark your calendars for the Purim Carnival on Sunday, March 4 from 10:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.!

On January 8, all Beth Shalom families met at the Schenley Park Skating Rink for a night of ice skating, snacks, board games and winter fun. Our Chaverim (K-2nd), Atid (3rd-5th), Kadima (6th-8th) & USY (9th-12th) families enjoyed hot chocolate and tested their skills on the ice!

Over Martin Luther King weekend, on Sunday, January 15, all 5th-12th graders were invited to join the Religious School for a morning of volunteering around the community. Some teens participated in projects around the building – including making sandwiches for a women’s shelter, decorating photo frames for Children’s Hospital, and organizing the Hoffman Library. Others travelled to Phipps Conservatory and a local animal shelter to spend the morning volunteering there.

Afterwards, we reunited for pizza and a debriefing with USY about our social action experiences.

USY also held their annual tri-chapter overnight this January, with Beth El Congregation and Tree of Life/Or L’Simcha. We spent Friday night, January 28 at Congregation Beth Shalom, playing icebreakers and improv games, celebrating Shabbat and sleeping at the shul. We woke up early Saturday morning for a short walk to Tree of Life, where we had Shabbat morning services, lunch and an excellent shiur on Israel advocacy with Jewish educator Danielle Kranjec. Our theme for the overnight this year was Friday Night Live, based on Saturday Night Live! It was a blast!

That night, January 28, USY and Kadima then met at Beth Shalom in the evening for Havdalah together. USYers left to go home after an awesome 26 hours together, and Kadima quickly hopped in cars to head to Laser Storm in the North Hills for a night of Laser Tag with their friends. We played 2 games together, ate lots of snacks, and had a lot of fun together at Laser Storm.

Last Saturday afternoon, February 4, Chaverim met in the Youth Lounge after Shabbat morning services to play some Shabbat-friendly games and enjoy lunch together, for our second Chaverim oneg. Chaverim talked all about the parsha (Beshalach) for the week, played games in the gym, and learned about the crossing of the Red Sea and the Israelites’ journey through the desert! We’re so glad so many of our friends could make it.

USY had their turn at Laser Tag that evening after Havdalah in the Lounge. Over 20 USYers turned out to put their game face on and enjoyed snacks in the party room and 3 games of Laser Tag together! It was a fun, social and exciting event for all. We’re looking forward to our Tu B’Shevat seder tomorrow night and Specialty Kinnus at the end of the month – we hope you’ll join us!

Kadima Kinnus was also this weekend (Feb. 3 – 5, 2012) in West Bloomfield, Michigan, outside Detroit. Nine Kadimaniks from Beth Shalom and 2 USYers boarded a bus with Kadimaniks from Tree of Life, Beth El and 3 Cleveland congregations for the journey to Michigan. The theme of Kadima Kinnus 2012 was SUPERHEROES. Upon arrival, everyone split into Batman, Superman, Spiderman and Wonder Woman teams for lots of “hero” programming all weekend long. We also had a blast Saturday night at a local recreation center, climbing up an enormous climbing wall, swimming in the pool (complete with fountains, a water slide, a lazy river, and a hot tub) and playing games in the gym! What a great weekend!

This Saturday night, February 11, Atid will meet in the Youth Lounge at Beth Shalom for LAILA B’YISRAEL: A Night in Israel! We’ll tour the State of Israel in the gym, learning about 4 different Israeli cities (Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Eilat and Haifa) and enjoying Israeli snacks and games along the way. Join us this weekend!

Thank you for your constant support and to the many Chaverim, Atid, Kadima and USY members who participate in our endless programming! We’re happy you’re here!

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The week before the project was due my mom and I were down at the grocery store buying every kind of candy bar we could find. We then took them out of the wrappers and I made my candy bar scrap book. My mom kept the candy bars in Ziplock bags and we had candy for months! My mom and I still laugh about this and the fact that sometimes 100 days just sneaks up on you.

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It almost feels like that here. Can you believe we’ve almost been in school for 100 days? This is a large amount of time for anyone to be in school, so we are going to celebrate here at Beth Shalom! Each classroom will have different projects based on age group! Be on the lookout for different projects up in the halls and in your child’s classroom! Our 100^th Day of School is February 1^st.

-Kara

Check out what we’ve been up to recently…

On Sunday, December 18, Beth Shalom hosted LATKEPALOOZA, a community-wide Chanukah celebration in the Samuel and Minnie Hyman Ballroom. It was a great success!

The 7th grade Religious School class cooked lots of different kinds of latkes in the kitchen – falafel-flavored, sweet potato, potato, and more – and served their creations to families, alongside real Israeli sufganiyot from Sweet Tammy’s in Pittsburgh and Main Line Kosher Catering in Philadelphia.

Our youth enjoyed lots of carnival games, craft tables, Israeli music, and festive Chanukah decorations. The Religious School kindergarten class even performed a play about the story of Chanukah.

At the end of the event, we announced the Religious School raffle winners for two big gift baskets and a posterboard of lottery tickets. Congratulations, winners! Thank you to the many families who showed your support for our school.

The wee morning hours before Latkepalooza begins…

Beth Shalom friends, trying their luck at the duck pond

Members of Kadima play carnival games together at Latkepalooza

The night before Latkepalooza, on Saturday, December 17, members of USY joined with other teens from around the city of Pittsburgh for snacks and Havdallah before the second “Conversation for a Jewish Future,” a 4-part speaker series organized by the Agency for Jewish Learning and the Federation. This week, the speaker was Rabbi Dr. J.J. Schachter, who asked the question, “Will There Be a Jewish Religion in the Future of Our Community?” (His answer: yes.)

We thank the AJL for sponsoring snacks for our teens before this event, and for organizing Havdallah.

Did you know real potatoes can be painted and drilled with holes to use as chanukiot? Earlier in December, in celebration of Chanukah, Kadima tried these awesome craft project together at Open Lounge night. Visit the link here to learn how to make your own potato chanukiah for next year!

Painting potatoes to use as chanukiot (Kadima)

USY celebrated Chanukah this year at Open Lounge with “Edible Dreidels,” a craft brought to USY by Cantor Ben.

With just a kosher marshmallow, pretzel sticks, some icing, and a Hershey kiss, USY learned how to make dreidels that we then enjoyed eating!

We also lit candles and sang Maoz Tzur together with Cantor Ben’s guitar.

USY eating edible dreidels at Open Lounge

A complete Edible Dreidel!

In December, USY also hosted a Shabbaton for members of CRUSY who were on their way to Philadelphia for International Convention…or just interested in a two-day sleepover with their friends at Beth Shalom! Nearly 30 USYers from Ohio, Kentucky and Pittsburgh attended. We had a great time and we thank the Weissfeld and Berman families for hosting us in their home for dinners and programming while our maintenance staff enjoyed some well-deserved time off for Christmas. Keep an eye out for our upcoming YouTube video about the Shabbaton!

USY retells the story of Chanukah using candy at the BSUSY Winter Shabbaton

That brings us to the highlight of December 2011 for USY, following the Shabbaton…International Convention in Philadelphia, from December 25-29!

Congregation Beth Shalom sent four USYers to this amazing convention of over 800 teens from all over the world.

Here is our region, Central Region USY, eating lunch at IC.

Beth Shalom USYers at International Convention 2011

January will be another busy month for all of our youth…with family ice skating, MLK Day of Volunteering, and lots of other great upcoming events!

Ice Skating Tonight!

Sunday, January 8

6:30 – 9:00 p.m.

Stop By After the Steelers Game!

$10/family or $5/student

(Admission to the Rink: $4.00 for adults and $3.00 for children;

Skate Rental: $2.50)

Snacks! Board Games! Hot Chocolate!

And More in the Party Room!

Don’t Miss Out! See You on the Ice!

Check out the new Google calendars on the Youth pages here, the new Snow Plan page, and feel free to visit our new-and-improved “Donate” page. We’ve added a Paypal button for families to show their support for our Early Childhood, Religious School, and youth programming whenever they want, however they want.

Read over the Youth Department Wish List posted on the page or make a general donation today - we need you!

Thank you for your constant support. Happy January!

Check back soon for photos and updates on all of our December programming.

Have a Happy and Healthy 2012!

On Tuesday night, December 6, Kadima painted potatoes to celebrate the season of Chanukah. Directions for turning these colorful potatoes into menorahs (by drilling holes into them and filling them with candles - How to Make a Potato Menorah) were provided for Kadimaniks to take home. (We recommend that fresh potatoes are used for this craft at home, since the ones that we made together on the 6th will not last until December 20th.)

Kadimaniks painting potatoes

USY watched the Pens/Flyers game together last Thursday in style, with USYers wearing their Pens jerseys and Sam Mellits, our USY advisor and a Philadelphia native, in his Flyers gear. Then, we held a shootout in the gym to raise a little bit of SATO (social action/tikkun olam) money for our chapter. To try a shot at the net against goalie David Levin, USYers paid $2.00 towards tzedakah.

USY SATO shootout

SATO proceeds from our chapter this year will benefit Heifer International and Kiva, two national organizations that promote self-sufficiency around the world. Check out their websites!

And don’t forget about Latkepalooza this Sunday, December 18 from 10:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. in the Samuel and Minnie Hyman Ballroom!

There will be lots of latkes (cooked by our Religious School 7th grade), sufganiyot (from the amazing Main Line Kosher in Philly!), music, arts and crafts, carnival games and more! The suggested donation is just $5.00/family. This event is open to the community – check it out! It’s the Chanukah party of the year at Beth Shalom!

See you there!

USY Open Lounge night – playing the board game Risk

On Saturday night, December 3, USY met at the Winter Concert with Leon Zionts to run a coat check for this awesome congregational event (which was also a smashing success).

We collected coats on behalf of concert attendees and requested donations towards our youth programming in return, including our upcoming Lunch and Learn this Shabbbat with Daniel Solomon, the national President of STAND.

The coat check was  very successful!Thank you to our supporters, and to the USY volunteers who gave up their Saturday night.

Meanwhile, Kadimaniks (6th-8th grade) met at Beth Shalom at 8:00 p.m. for their annual overnight. It was a BLAST! We slept in the synagogue all night long (or didn’t we?) and had a really amazing time bonding with each other, learning about Israel, and having fun in the Youth Lounge together! There were 13 Kadimaniks in attendance at the event, plus Carolyn and Lauren Demby, the Kadima advisor.

First, we met for Havdalah with USYers Maya Rosen and Eric Yoffee.

Then we set up for “Chopped: Israel Edition” in the gym! If you’ve never seen the T.V. show Chopped on the Food Network, the basic premise is that contestants receive a bunch of ingredients that would never normally taste good together, and are asked to create a few dishes that blend these ingredients together smoothly.

Since this was the Israel edition, Kadimaniks had to work with the following:

-Blue and white frosting

-Pita bread

-Falafel-blavored Bissli

-A bar of Israeli milk chocolate

Both teams came up with some really creative dishes!

Team One, with their appetizer, entree and dessert

Two Kadimaniks show off their creations

A winning team is chosen!

We also participated in a Tour of Israel around the gym. Each corner of the gym was set up as a different Israeli city: Tel Aviv, Haifa, Eilat, and Jerusalem.We divided Kadima into four teams and presented a different task for each station, which was relevant for that city’s particular culture and pride.

Once a team completed a station , they received a puzzle piece for a total of 4 different pieces. At the end of the rotations, each team raced to finish their puzzle of Israel’s geography and the surrounding nations.

In Tel Aviv, each team had to make basketball shots from marked areas on the gym floor in recognition of Tel Aviv’s Maccabi basketball team.

In Haifa, we solved math riddles and learned about the Technion.

In Eilat, we noted that this region is home to a wide variety of wildlife, and pinned fish, birds and foxes on the wall.

In Jerusalem, we learned about the shuk (market) and practiced bartering for goods with Israeli shekels.

Each team completed the puzzle of Israel and its surrounding nations successfully:

After these activities, it was time for plenty of free time in the gym, pajamas and a movie before bedtime. Phew!

We had a great time at the Kadima Overnight – we hope to see you there next year

Kadima friends in the gym

On Sunday evening, USY took a trip to Book ‘Em, a non-profit organization located in Garfield that sends donated books to prisoners around Pennsylvania and the nation. Prisoners write in to request specific types of books from Book ‘Em (books on business, mysteries, biographies, sports, etc.) Volunteers find these books on the shelves, and wrap and address the packages to each prisoner.

The opportunity to receive donated books on subjects that interest them, including books with future career options, life skills, and inspirational stories, is crucial to prisoners “escaping the imprisonment cycle,” as one letter put it. It was fascinating to learn about the subjects that prisoners wanted to read about, and to feel like we were making a difference in their lives.

Thank to our SA/TO VP, Jordana Rosenfeld, for organizing this event!

The Youth Department is looking forward to the upcoming Winter Shabbaton – see previous post! – as well as our Kadima and USY Chanukah parties, on December 6 (6:00 p.m.) and December 15 (7:00 p.m.) , respectively. See you there!

And of course, please join us for LATKEPALOOZA on Sunday morning, December 18 from 10:30 – 12:30 in the ballroom for latkes, music, sufganiyot, and more with our youth, Religious School, Early Childhood and community families!

Have a great week.

Have you heard about the Winter Shabbaton here at Beth Shalom, December 23-December 25? The Shabbaton is open to all members of Central Region USY. It takes place immediately before International Convention in Philadelphia, Dec. 25-29!

Please join us for an awesome event – we’d love to have you here!

Here is the application. Please visit the BSUSY Facebook page for the Travel Form and Waiver. (This application is also available in the group.)

These forms are all due December 4.

See you there!

Latkepalooza is our Chanukah celebration for families and children at Beth Shalom, open to the entire community. Last year’s Latkepalooza was a GIGANTIC success, and this year promises to be even better.

Join us on December 18th from 10:30am-12:30pm in the Samuel and Minnie Hyman Ballroom for a Chanukah celebration that includes:

GAMES!
CRAFTS!
CHANUKAH STORY HOUR!
SUFGANIOT (israeli Chanukah Donuts)
PRIZES!
MUSIC!
LATKES! (several varieties!)

While we celebrate, we want to do something to give back to those less fortunate before the coldest winter months. Bring NEW winter-wear (coats, gloves, hats, scarves) to be donated to our Winter Clothing Drive.

Latkepalooza is fun for your whole family– bring your kids and your chanukah spirit and join us for a great afternoon!

There is no charge, however a $5 donation per family is suggested.