Teen Programming for 8th-12th
N’siyah: Jewish Journeys for our Teens
N’siyah (“journeys” in Hebrew) is our framework for our Teen programming. N’siyah encompasses all of our Teen programming— educational programs, social events, leadership opportunities and community service/Tikkun Olam for Teens in 8th-12th grades. N'siyah also includes our USY youth group programming. N’siyah is designed to allow our Teens to pick their own Jewish journeys while developing leadership skills and enhancing their Jewish knowledge. There are multiple “journeys” available, listed below our upcoming and past events.
We are excited to offer a variety of journeys for 2023-2024 for our Teens!
1. Join us for one or two unique semesters of Jewish learning for our teens. We meet twice a month in person at SPS to learn together, then have an outing in the city that reinforces what we're learning, and it all leads to a trip. Everything has our teens in mind from relevant topics, being in our new Lounge, and setting our teens up with meaningful learning experiences that they can take with them outside of the SPS walls.
In the Fall, dive into Teen Pop Culture Happy Hour! This is where we examine important Jewish topics through popular culture and the news. One class could be examining how Hollywood portrays the splitting of the sea in the Exodus story compared to how it's written in the Torah, while another could be listening to the hit song Turn, Turn, Turn and realizing that it's directly pulled from Kohelet.
In the Spring, we'll be learning how to identify, combat, and talk about anti-Semitism. For example, we'll dissect the Kanye West situation from where his preconceived notions about Jewish people came from, why what he said is problematic, and how other celebrities stepped up (or didn't).
This is the link to sign up: https://spsnyc.shulcloud.com/form/teenclass2324
2. Weekly Madrichim Program: https://spsnyc.shulcloud.com/form/madrichim23-24
3. Are you interested in taking a leadership role in planning and executing volunteer events for your fellow SPS teens? Become a part of the Teen Tikkun Olam Board! Leadership positions and volunteers hours are available!
Join us on September 27th at 7:00 PM for an informational session and email Rozsa at rgomory@spsnyc.org to sign-up.
N’siyah Social Events and USY Programs
Meet monthly, usually on Wednesdays but also some weekends.
Leadership Opportunity: Teen Advisory Council
Teens will work with Rozsa to plan, advertise, and implement our social events. Teens will commit approximately 2 hours per month to meet with Rozsa complete designated tasks, etc.
General Teen and Congregational Events
All Teens in 8th-12th grades are invited to participate as volunteers for our Purim Carnival, performers in our Purim Shpiel, readers for Simchat Torah or Purim, leaders for Teen Shabbat, and to have roles in our annual Yom HaShoah (Holocaust Memorial Day) and Yom Ha’Atzmaut (Israeli Independence Day) commemorations.
Questions?
Email Seth Golob (sgolob@spsnyc.org) or Rozsa Gomory (rgomory@spsnyc.org)
Follow N’siyah (@spsnsiyah) on Instagram to stay up to date on programming.