6th Grade Retreat

Contributed by: SARAH STUCKEY, 6th grade class member

[Blog Editor's Note: Every year, as part of the Religious School curriculum, all of the 6th graders go on a class retreat with the clergy and professional staff of the Temple. This year's retreat to Camp Harlam took place on January 9-11.]

Camp Harlam was a trip that I am sure no one who went on will forget. This year we experienced a fun time with friends, rabbis, Cantor Ott, and group leaders. The sixth graders had a theme to the trip. It was immigration. Throughout the trip, we had activities that had to do with that theme. For example, every sixth grader was assigned a family and had to go through the hardships of coming to America.

Something else that almost every sixth grader thought was cool was partially unrolling the torah. This event happened during Saturday morning service. This was just some of the learning we did.

In between learning we went sledding, hung out with friends, and spent time in the cabins where we were staying. With snow everywhere, everything looked beautiful. Sledding was a blast! However, while sledding, some of us had a few difficulties. This includes when Rabbi Fellman and Rabbi Kogan went through a fence. This accident was one of the funniest times at Camp Harlam. At the end, everybody went back to the cabin to get warm. The girls were on one side while the boys were on the other. Not only were the days fun but also nights. At night we stayed up talking about the day and what we would do on the days to come.

Every activity had something in common. In each one everybody was with friends. This includes not only old friends, but also new! In not one situation did the words, “This is boring” come out of someone’s mouth. This grade had a great time with everything and everyone. The only problem was, we all can’t go back next year.

Building Jerusalem, One Lego at a Time

January 24, 2009

Almost 200 parents and children spent a wonderful Shabbat afternoon together today, building the Old City of Jerusalem out of Legos. Under the direction of architect Stephen Schwartz of Building Blocks Workshops, we created Jerusalem's ancient walls, the Temple Mount with the Beit haMikdash, the Tower of David, and Montefiore's Windmill, as well as many landmark buildings inside the walls.

Our Shabbaton began with a delicious lunch, after which we gathered in the Social Hall. There, we found a large outlined map of Jerusalem spread across the floor. We all sat around the map as Mr. Schwartz explained to us that it is sometimes hard to visualize a city from a flat map, so we were going to build a 3-dimensional model. He assigned small groups to work on the windmill, the Kotel, and the Beit haMikdash, and gave us some general directions about building walls so they would be structurally sound. Then we dumped out six huge boxes full of Legos and went to work.

For about an hour, the room was filled with the happy sound of children, parents and grandparents all working together. Many of us helped build the walls; others built buildings which were then placed inside the walls. As we worked, Mr. Schwartz came up to many of us offering suggestions, advice, and encouragement. He seemed to be having as much fun as the rest of us! The walls rose up around the city, with decorative gates and fanciful parapets. Everyone worked together with wonderful cooperation.

Finally, we finished our model. Everyone who had built a house or other building placed it inside the city. The windmill was put in its correct spot in the southwest corner outside the walls. Then we all sat down again around our model, while Mr. Schwartz gave us a tour, using our own model to indicate the important places as he talked about the history of Jerusalem.

Everyone sat very quietly and listened carefully, and we all learned a lot. It was a wonderful way to spend a Shabbat afternoon--family and friends all working together, playing together, and sharing in a very special experience. We finished the day with havdalah and dessert. Everyone got a certificate to take home so we could always remember that we built Jerusalem, one Lego at a time.