Staff Week!
Last week, our staff convened at Tel Yehudah to join together as we prepare for our chanichim (campers) to arrive! Now, with Staff Week coming to a close, we would like to take this moment to express our excitement for the beginning of TY’s 70th summer and share some of our experiences with you.
With programs rooted in our values of k’hila (community) and pluralism, we began our training with staff-wide activities geared towards culture building, strengthening our relationships not only to each other but to the Jewish community as a whole. Our staff is comprised of individuals from a variety of countries (including Israel, England, and Poland) as we work to build international connections and learn from one another’s diverse backgrounds. During the week, we have had discussions regarding our different identities and cultures, kept Shabbat as a community, and celebrated together on Saturday night at rikud (dance)!
This spirit of enthusiasm and k’hila has umbrellaed our staff’s training as our programming reflects our dedication to experiential education. Using activities in sessions to reinforce our own learning, we work to professionally and personally develop ourselves through the same approach that we use to guide our chanichim: by providing the space for individuals to have experiences that they can then question and learn from. In these training sessions, we have discussed topics ranging from safety and policy to feedback and counseling methods to, of course, fun activities to do to our chanichim!
This week has been absolutely phenomenal. We’ve had so much fun preparing for the summer and know that it’s only going to get better from here on out!
To all our chanichim, we so excited to see you tomorrow! #70tysummers is going to be AMAZING!