6th Grade Family Retreat 

6^th Grade Family Retreat
A Shabbat Weekend Dedicated to:
Strengthening our Community &
Making Becoming a Bar/Bat Mitzvah More Meaningful

Who: 6th graders and at least one parent

What: Shabbat is a time for community, celebration, learning, relaxation, connecting to God and connecting to what is most important in our lives.

We’ll spend the weekend together: 

• Getting to know our 6^th grade community on a deep level
• Exploring what it means to be a Jewish adult (as an emerging teenager and as the parents of one)
• Celebrating Shabbat with great camp energy
• Enjoying the beautiful setting of the hills of Orange California

Where: Irvine Ranch Outdoor Education Center in Orange

When: Friday afternoon, May 30^th through Sunday morning, June 1^st (the weekend after memorial Day)

Why:  During the summer of 2012, our Temple families started to ask a big question: ‘How can we make becoming a Bar or Bat Mitzvah at Temple Beth El more meaningful?’ We started to ask this question through an initiative with the Union for Reform Judaism called B’nai Mitzvah Revolution (BMR). BMR aims to empower synagogues to return depth and meaning to Jewish learning and reduce the staggering rates of postB’nai mitzvah dropout. Our Temple is one of 14 synagogues in the country chosen to participate in the BMR Pilot Cohort.  Our Temple B’nai Mitzvah Revolution task force is comprised of parents representing the diversity of our community along with members of our professional team. Our task force articulated the following goal when approaching the work of making Bar/Bat Mitzvah more meaningful:
Strengthen bondsamong students and families and work to create grade level group identity that endures beyond bar/bat mitzvah. Our Task Force developed this 6^th Grade Family Retreat to help take relationships among 6^th graders and 6^th grade families to the next level and to create an intimate space to explore what it means to be a Bar/Bat Mitzvah on a deeper level.

Details: We ask that 6th graders and at least one parent attend the 6th Grade Family retreat. We’ll have childcare available for siblings throughout the weekend. Unfortunately we do not have the facilities available to accommodate brothers & sisters overnight.
The retreat will begin late afternoon on Friday May 30^th and conclude before lunch on Sunday June 1^st.

 Irvine Ranch Outdoor Education Center is a beautiful camp facility located inside Irvine Regional Park (about 30 minutes from the Temple). We’ll stay in bunk facilities. Kids will stay with counselors and Rabbis Kort and Levi will stay with adults. The accommodations are shared and simple, but brand new and pristine. 6^th graders will have an opportunity to use the camp’s low ropes course; we’ll enjoy Shabbat Services in a beautiful outdoor amphitheater, and we’ll be able to enjoy the camp’s water slide and pool on Saturday afternoon. 

 Cost: $375 includes accommodations and meals for one 6th grader and one parent. $50 per additional parent participant (to cover the cost of food). Like all educational programming at the Temple, no family will be turned away from this opportunity because of financial need. You can choose to pay for the retreat in one lump sum or make monthly payments toward the retreat between now and April. If you need scholarship to participate in the retreat, please contact Rabbi Peter Levi: 949-362-3999, ext. 101. As always, financial conversations will be kept confidential.

To register for the retreat, use the links below, or go to the Temple Website www.tbesoc.org and click on "RSVP for 6^th Grade Family Retreat” on the right side of the page.

Questions: Please do not hesitate to reach out to us if you have questions about the 6^th Grade Family Retreat.

 Rabbi Rachel Kort                   Rabbi Peter Levi                      Bonni Pomush
rabbikort@tbesoc.org             rabbilevi@tbesoc.org             bpomush@tbesoc.org
949-362-3999, ext. 102          949-362-3999, ext. 101          949-362-3999, ext. 214

 

 

Register Now!