At its annual congregational meeting last week, the Reconstructionist Synagogue of the North Shore members recognized teens and seniors for participating in “Better Together,” a year-long, intergenerational learning experience generously supported by a national foundation.
The synagogue’s 10th and 11th graders met with senior citizens from the RSNS community each month to share a meal, engage in lively conversation, and explore social justice topics through an intergenerational lens with Cantor Eric Schulmiller and educator Solomon Hoffman.
As part of the program, each student wrote an essay for the Better2Write contest about their experience in the program and their interactions with the senior citizens. The essays were judged anonymously and Schreiber 10th grader Sally Hirschwerk was selected as the winner of the RSNS school prize. In addition to winning the school prize, Sally Hirschwerk received second prize in the National 2018 Better2Write contest.
As a result, RSNS is being awarded a scholarship fund by the prominent national foundation to be used for RSNS teens’ educational experiences in the larger Jewish world.
“We are so proud of Sally, and of all the teens and seniors who participated in this wonderful new program,” said Cantor Schulmiller. “It’s another great example of the many opportunities our teens have to deepen their Jewish identity and connect with each other here at RSNS. From working with Holocaust survivors, to trips and social action with our Youth Group, to teen girls and boys groups and educational programming, our teens are an essential part of our community.”
“Meeting and getting to know our teens gave me the sense that we are leaving our society in good hands. I hope they enjoyed spending time with us as much as I enjoyed spending time with them,” said Harriet Feiner, a founding member of RSNS and an active senior who participated in the Better Together program.
To learn more about the program, view the final project video at this link: https://youtu.be/kZsBottzoYo
