Advisor packet spring 2009

Spring 2009

Eimatai

Advisor

Packet

Yeshiva University • 500 W. 185th Street, Suite 440 New York, NY 10033 • Phone (212) 960-5261 Fax (212)-923-3745 • [email protected]

www.eimatai.org

mailto:[email protected]

http://www.eimatai.org



Schedule

Sunday, March 1, 2009

8:30 Tefilat Shacharit in 29th Street Synagogue

9:10 Breakfast and Welcome by Aaron Steinberg

9:30 Board Buses

9:45 Buses Depart for Pearlstone

1:30 Arrive at Pearlstone. Go straight to Lunch (bags to holding area on porch of dining room.)

2:00 Tefilat Mincha (Room 100)

2:20 Welcome and Rules (Room 100)

2:45 Ice Breakers (Activity Center)

3:30 Session 1 Buzz Group (Personal Values) (Breakout Rooms)

[3:30 Faculty Session #1] (Library)

4:45 Introduction to School Initiatives (Room 100)

5:15 Move into rooms (Faculty give keys to students)

6:00 Dinner (Dining Room)

7:00 Creating School Initiatives (Activity Center and Breakout Rooms)

8:30 Tefilat Arvit (Room 100)

8:50 Optional Chuggim (Breakout Rooms)

10:30 Layla Tov


www.eimatai.org





Monday, March 2, 2009

7:30 Boker Tov!

8:15 Tefilat Shacharit (Room 100)

9:00 Breakfast (Dining Room)

9:45 Session II Buzz Group (Communal Values) (Activity Center and Breakout Rooms)


10:45 Break

11:00 Jew-conomics (Activity Center)

11:45 Break

12:00 School Initiative Planning: Decision Time! (Activity Center and Breakout Rooms)

[12:15 School pictures by group]

12:45 Lunch (Dining Room)

1:30 Tefilat Mincha (Room 100)

1:45 Leadership and Team Challenge (Activity Center)


2:30 Break

3:45 Energy Project Guest Presentation (Room 100)

5:00 School Initiative Planning: Making Action Plans (Activity Center and Breakout Rooms)

6:00 Dinner (Dining Room)

7:00 School Initiative Planning: Fair Presentation (Activity Center/Breakout Rooms)

7:30 Skills and Experiences Round Robin (Room 100)

8:45 Tefilat Arvit (Room 100)

9:05 Bonfire Kumzits (Outside)

11:30 Layla Tov


www.eimatai.org





Tuesday, March 3, 2009

7:45 Boker Tov

8:30 Tefilat Shacharit (Room 100)

9:15 Breakfast (Dining Room - Bring Bags and return keys to faculty advisors)

10:00 Session III Buzz Groups (Topics in Patriotism) (Activity Center and Breakout Rooms)

11:15 Finish Preparations for School Initiatives Fair (Activity Center and Breakout Rooms)

12:00 Lunch (Dining Room)

12:40 School Initiative Fair (Activity Center)

1:15 Conference Wrap Up (Activity Center)

1:35 Tefilat Mincha and Evaluations (Room 100)

2:00 Leave Pearlstone

6:00 Arrive at Yeshiva University (Wilf Campus)

Have a safe drive home, and make sure you stay in touch with your advisors!!!

Contact Us!

Eimatai Leadership Development Project

500 W. 185th St.CJF Storefront

New York, NY 10033

(212) [email protected]


www.eimatai.org





Buzz Group #1

Spring Conference 2009

1

Buzz Group #1 Individual By: Yael Ausubel, Gila Cohen, Dov Goldstein, Matt Schwartz, and Uri Westrich

Goal: To acquaint the group with one another, setting the tone for further

group discussion throughout the conference.

To get the students thinking about what values motivate their decision

making processes as well as the origins of these values.

Total Time: 55 Minutes

Materials: • Apples to Apples “Green/Value Cards” and “Red/ Create Your Own Cards”

• Markers

• Body Parts for Make A Mensch

• 2 Raccoon Circles

• Value Cards

• Quote Cards

Process:

NB: from our experience with the Fall Conference, some schools arrive late,

and the group dynamic changes as new members arrive. Should this happen,

this may be an appropriate time to run a quick icebreaker in order to introduce

everyone.

Triggers

Apples to Apples (10-12 minutes)

Each person gets five "create your own" cards. There are five "green" values cards:

honesty, laziness, happiness, kindness, greed. (two are “bad” qualities, two are “good”,

and one is the morally ambiguous "happiness"). The game is played like a normal game

of apples to apples only in this game each person writes their own "red cards" that they

put down for each value-- it can be anything that comes to mind when they think of the

value. The judge chooses the card that he or she think matches the value most closely.

Then everyone gets to explain the reasoning behind their cards. You may play all five

rounds, but if you wish to cut down a round or two in the interest of time, that is fine as

well.


2

Make-A-Mensch(15 minutes)

Each person gets the outline of a person on a piece of paper, and the goal is to create the

best person they possibly can. Each needs to choose and write the person's values, how

they spend most of their time, how they spend their money, etc.

- On the left arm, write how this person would spend an extra 100 dollars.

- On the right arm, write how this person would spend a free Wednesday afternoon.

- On the left leg, write two words that this person’s friends would use to describe him/her.

- On the right leg, write two words this person’s family would use to describe him/her.

- On the torso, write this person’s role model.

- On the head, write this person’s catchphrase

Once everyone is finished with their own person have them split into two groups

and give each GROUP one blank “person”. Explain that now they need to create the best

person they can as a group. They should compare each of their own Menschs, talk it out,

and explain to each other why they think a certain value or activity is more important

than the other. As a group they can only choose a certain number of activities, qualities

etc. for their person (same number on each limb as before), so they will need to choose

and they can't just write down everyone's! Have each group present their person.

Brief Discussion:

• How did you decide what your values are?

• Are they inherent?

• Did you consciously learn them? If so, from where?

• Is a value something you spend most time on during the day, or something you

WANT to spend most time on but aren’t practically able to? (due to time

constraints, other things getting in the way, etc.)

• Did you come up with mostly Jewish values or American values?

Western values vs. Jewish values Game (12 minutes):

Show the group a giant Venn diagram made out of two raccoon circles. Label one circle

as "Western Values", and Label the other circle as "Jewish Values". In the overlapping

space between the circles label it "Shared Values".

Show the students cards that have different values written on them. For each card, discuss

with the students and have them decide where they think each value belongs: in the

"Western Values" circle, in the "Jewish Values" circle, or in the "shared values" space

(where the circles overlap).

A lot of the discussion can and should ensue as you present each value. Some of the

values listed below have suggested discussions that might enhance the conversation and

participation.


3

Examples of Values:

Charity

Freedom of speech

Honoring parents

Achievement

Appreciation

Camaraderie

Control/Power

Conviction

Happiness

Honesty

Education/Knowledge

Leadership

Say What?

Show the students a quote from a quote card, and have them determine whether the quote

came from a Jewish or a secular source. Still looking for quotes… ones rooted in both

work really well, what does it mean that a “secular” source has Jewish roots. For

example:

“A time to gain, a time to lose A time to rend, a time to sew

A time to love, a time to hate A time of peace, I swear it's not too late!”

From “Turn, Turn, Turn” by Pete Seeger (and made famous by The Byrds). This song is

largely inspired by the Time-Poem in Qohelet, but takes a 1960’s hippie twist at the end

of the verse.

More quotes to follow…

The following discussion questions are but a sample of questions you may or may not

choose to use. We strongly encourage each facilitator to read through the questions in

advance and to decide for themselves which ones they wish to use.

Different Types of Values

• Are there differences between Western values and Jewish values?

• What are some differences between them?

• What are some similarities?

What are Jewish Values?

• What constitutes a Jewish value?

• Does halacha dictate what Jewish values are?

• Does it come from Jewish history or Jewish Culture?

Basis of Values

• Choose a value that the Eimatai-ers decided is in the "Shared Values" sections:

• When they exercise that value in their life, do they do it because it is a Jewish

Value or as a Western Value?


4

Dual Identities

• Do you act one way with a teacher in school and another way with your friends?

• Do you think that is hypocritical?

• Is that necessarily a bad thing if it is hypocritical?

• Maybe it is ok to have a Hybrid identity (not having one consistent identity). If so,

Why?

• What does the phrase "Lakol Zman V'et" mean?

• How might this phrase excuse or explain certain behaviors we may be less proud

of?

Promoting Western Values

• Can you think of examples when Western society/culture is a source of positive

and productive values?

• Are there any examples of how we have incorporated positive Western values into

our Jewish culture?

• Does it pervert or corrupt our Judaism by incorporating Western values into our

religious lives?

Promoting Jewish Values

• Can you think of examples when Jewish culture contributed in a positive way to

Western society?

• Is this something that has always happened, or is it unique to the 20th century?

• Does it pervert or corrupt American values by bringing in ideas from religions?

Wrap up discussion (8 minutes):

• What is the difference between an "American Jew" and a "Jewish American" or a

Canadian Jew and a Jewish Canadian?

• Can we even combine these two terms in any meaningful way, or are they just

placed next to each other?

• Is one of the terms more important than the other?

• Do they have to be balanced?

• What does it mean to live as a Jew in a different country?

• How do you find a balance?

• Do you mix the two? Do you not mix them at all?


5

Wrap up Game: What’s My Identity? (5 minutes)

As a final activity, give each student an index card, and have them write on it what it

means for them to be a Jew and an American/Canadian...? Remind the students that they

will discuss this throughout the conference, so they don’t have to have a solid opinion

now.

This will be a working definition for their American and Jewish Identity.

They can address how they balance the two roles, which they consider more important, if

they think one is more important than the other?

Encourage the students to carry this card around with them throughout the conference

and refer back to it. You can ask if anyone wants to share what they wrote.

Buzz Group #2


1

Buzz Group #2 Jewish Community By: Shoshana Balk, Aliza Rabinovich, Sion Setton, Uri Westrich and Rena Wiesen,

Goal: To understand what it means to be part of a community, and to

discuss some of the conflicts that face the Jewish Community in NA.

Total Time: 55 Minutes

Materials: • Aaron’s Getting to Know Me Sheet

• Blank Getting to Know Me Sheets

• Community Institution Sheets

• UJA Mission Statement Sheets

• One Vote Tally Oak Tag

• Markers

• UJA Conflict Cards

• Pens

• Blank 5x8 index cards

• One sheet with all 10 scenarios

Process:

My Many Communities (13 minutes)

The idea of this session is to help the students think about how they define themselves as

being unique from other people, and what communities they associate themselves with.

Explain to the group that you are going to do a little icebreaker. Tell them that they will

have up to 25 seconds to describe themselves however they want to the rest of the group.

The only requirement is that they give their first name, and some other information.

Hopefully the students will have described themselves in different ways. At the very least,

each advisor should give some information that goes to a deeper level of who they are,

and the various associations they have.

Give the example sheet of Aaron’s Getting to Know Me Sheet, and then hand out the

blank sheets for the students to think of many different ways they could use to define

themselves.

Our Many Associations

• How do we define who we are?


2

• What are the different groups we associate with?

• What does it mean to be a part of these groups?

• How do those associations define who we are?

• Are some of those associations more important than others?

First Round of Introductions

• What sorts of things did people mention in the first round?

• Are those the most important associations we have?

• Why are those the ones everyone mentioned?

Influence of Groups

• Are we influenced by all of these different groups we are a part of?

• Do we act differently when we are in different groups?

• How can we be a part of so many communities without changing our identities to

fit in each one?

Geography and Religion** (IMPORTANT)

• What, if anything, is special about a geographic community?

• What, if anything, is special about a religious community?

• Is it true that your community has an effect on how you view yourself and how the

world views you?

• Are some communities better to be a part of?

• What attributes make those communities better?

Community Building Game (12 minutes):

We each articulated what makes our Jewish Community unique, and now we are going to

see what we all have in common and identify our values as a Jewish community.

Break the group in two, and tell them that they are each going to have to create their own

Jewish community from scratch with limited resources.

• Jewish K-8 School

• Jewish High School

• Synagogue

• Kollel

• Jewish Community Center

• Mikva

• Pizza Shop

• Bikkur Holim Center (soup kitchen, visiting elderly, etc)

• Judaica/Seforim Store

• Kiruv Center

• Jewish Nursery School


3

Give each group 5 minutes to decide the 3 things they would build if they had the option.

Have each group present to the other which three items they chose, and on what basis

they made those decisions.

• Did the groups come up with similar for the same resources?

• Were the groups’ rationales for choosing similar, but the final decision different?

• What would have happened if the two groups had to make one decision – would it

have been easy?

• Was it difficult trying to come to a consensus?

• Were there conflicting values that different members of the group held?

• How were the groups able to make a decision in the end?

• Was every member of the group happy with the final choice of three?

• How realistic is this game?

• Do you think that real communities go through these challenges when they are

growing?

• Do all members of real communities have truly shared values?

• How do you think your community grew the way it did with a relatively diverse

Jewish population?

Now that we have identified what the core values of a community are, the next activity

will question and test these values when they are faced by US society. Now that we've

established what is important to us as Jews in our community, how do we reconcile those

values with the American community's values?

Model UJA Game (20 minutes):

“Congratulations! You have been elected to be on the board of your state’s UJA

federation– part of the United Jewish Communities – an organization that gets thousands

of dollars from different donors to be used for many different projects, locally and

globally.”

Hand out copies of the UJA mission statement:

Welcome to your local Jewish community… in action.

Whether people seek to enrich their Jewish lives or simply need help, our community is

ready. We help older adults with senior adult day care, Kosher Meals-on-Wheels or

expert long-term care. We support Jewish education at day schools, regional high

schools and congregational schools, and we are training a new generation of educators.

We offer counseling services, respite care and special needs education. We assist those

looking for work or exploring new careers. We deepen connections with Jewish life

through educational, cultural and recreational activities. We offer resources in


4

synagogue Federation relations, social action, community relations and advocacy.

We take action, as a community, to help Israel during these challenging times. Through

gifts made to our Annual Campaign we support social, educational and health care

programs throughout Israel, provide meals, after school programs, medical care and

other vital services. We help resettle emigrés from around the world who seek a new life

of freedom and opportunity. And, wherever else Jews are in need — from Belarus to

Buenos Aires, in a total of 60 countries — we help with social services, training,

medicine, and other assistance.

“Several cases have already sprung up that need immediate attention. As part of an

American state (and receiving some funding from the U.S. government), you feel the

desire to give money to American causes. Still, you are a Jewish federation, and of course

you want to help out your own brothers first. Caught in this American-Jewish tension,

your council needs to decide: in each instance, how will you distribute the money you are

given?”

For each case, each council (2-3 groups of 4-5 students each) will confer and decide. The

votes will be marked or noted on a poster board. After each of the ten cases (or however

many you choose to do), discussion should take place explaining why each group voted

the way they did.

1. Conflicting Rallies

A local human rights group is organizing a march on the state capitol to demand that the

state divest from companies that cooperate or benefit the Sudanese government. You

have already been informed that three local churches will be attending, along with other

religious groups. You have been approached to encourage the Jewish community to

attend this rally.

Scheduled for the same day is a visit from the secretary of state to a local University.

Members of the Jewish community are interested in using this opportunity to demand that

the US put pressure on Hamas to free Gilad Shalit. The UJA has been asked to sponsor

and attend this rally.

What do you do?

2. Blood Drive

You have been approached by Magen David Adom, and were informed that they now

have the resources, WHO permission, and customs permission to transport donated blood

from the United States to Israel. They would like to partner with you for semi-monthly

blood drives in your JCC.


5

For the last 8 years, the Red Cross has been running a regularly scheduled blood drive in

your community, and many members of the Jewish community donate at this drive.

Do you partner with MDA, or direct your community members to the Red Cross?

3. Supporting the Arts

The UJA has budgeted 5% of its annual expenditures to supporting the Arts. Should the

money be used only to support Jewish artists, or are all artists eligible for funding?

Should preferential treatment be given to artists who explore Jewish themes regardless of

their personal religion?

Should money be spent opening a gallery in the JCC to host local Jewish artists, or

should it be sent to the city’s Art Museum to keep its exhibits up to date?

4. Local Jewish soup kitchen vs. Downtown Homeless Shelter

Due to the recent economic downturn, a number of members in the Jewish community

have had difficulty providing basic necessities to their families. Considering the scale of

this problem, there are also rising poverty and homeless rates among the general

population as well.

You could open up a kosher soup kitchen/pantry in a location near the JCC, and

hopefully people would feel comfortable coming to get food for their families.

You also know that the downtown homeless shelters are in desperate need of expansion.

The increase in the number of people sleeping on the streets over the last 6 months has

been starkly noticeable.

You can only afford to fully fund one of these programs. What do you do?

5. Pardons for Criminals

U.S. President Bill Clinton is about to leave office, and has the power to pardon anyone

he wishes before he goes. A group of Jews were jailed two years ago due to involvement

in some illegal business dealings. There is a member of the UJA Board who is close to

President Clinton, and some members of the board want him to plead with the President

to grant these men clemency.

The Board member was troubled: on one hand, these men broke the law and deserve a

prison sentence. On the other hand, how can he refuse to help his fellow Jews?

He has asked the board to help him make the decision. What should he do?


6

6. High School Green Ranking The local newspaper is ranking all of the local high schools, private and public, according to how environmentally friendly they are. Your neighborhood just began building the first Jewish high school and are faced with a dilemma: The school will look bad and rank poorly if they don’t install $10,000 in solar panels on the roof that could generate 1/3 of the school’s overall energy- an amazing environmental and economic coup. However, the school badly needs a Sefer Torah for prayers in the morning (the Torah itself along with increased insurance and security costs come to $10,000). The solar panels will end up saving $10,000 in electricity bills, but not for another 5 years. Should the money go towards the solar panels, pushing off the Torah purchase, so that the Jewish school is looked upon favorably, or should they buy a Sefer Torah now so that they have proper Torah reading every week? 7. Missing Child A local girl goes missing after a school trip to Montana’s Helena State Park. The girl’s church is holding a candlelight vigil in the center of the town at 7pm to unite and hope for her safe return. The weekly Tehillim (Psalms) group that meets at the same time is also specifically praying for the girl this week. Which event should the UJA endorse? 8. Hatzalah Hatzalah is a Jewish volunteer ambulance corps. Due to limited bureaucratic limitations, their response time is often faster than the city’s 9-1-1 ambulances. Hatzalah is solely supported by donations from within the Jewish community. While Hatzalah will respond to any call it receives, and will never ask whether the person in need of help is Jewish, the Hatzalah phone number is not posted in community-wide publications. It is distributed through phone number magnets at synagogues and the JCC. Should Hatzalah be publicizing its emergency number to the entire community, or limit its scope to the Jewish community? 9. A New Community

30 Jewish families are moving into a new part of town to start a Jewish community there. A new complex is being built, and that they have the opportunity to cluster themselves on one or two blocks, or to spread themselves out throughout the development. Should they move in on the same few blocks, or spread out?


7

10. Little League

The town is organizing a little baseball league for kids in the area. Observant Jews make

up 15% of the town’s population. Should you request a separate team that consists only

of Jewish kids, and for the team’s schedule to be such that they won’t play on Shabbat or

holidays? Or is it better to promote good neighborly relations, and have the kids be

integrated into the other teams, and have to miss a few games if necessary?

Discussion Questions:

• Which scenario did you feel the most conflicted about, and what led you to your

final decision?

• What were some of the conflicting values you dealt with in making your

decisions?

• Do you feel that the conclusions you came to were ideal solutions?

• Were your decisions purely based on your values, or did you also factor in how

others would react?

• Did the desire to prevent a chillul Hashem or create a Kidush Hashem affect your

choices?

• What do you feel are some of the responsibilities of a Jewish community, and

how do these relate to the decisions you made?

• How much cooperation and communication should there be between different

groups of Jews (Orthodox, Conservative, Reform…) within a single community

when it comes to these situations?

• Would dilemmas like these ever exist for a community in Israel?

• Would you consider these unique dilemmas a Jewish community outside of Israel

faces to be positive, negative, or neutral?

• Are the responsibilities of a Jewish community different from the responsibilities

of a Christian, Muslim, or other religious community?

3-2-1 Wrap-Up Exercise (10 min):

Hand out pens and 5x8 index cards to each student.

Instruct students to write down the following on their index card:

• 3 things we discussed as a group that they found interesting.

• 2 things they learned from the session.

• 1 question or issue they still have regarding the session topic.

Give them a few minutes to collect their thoughts and write down their responses. Have

students share their thoughts with the group if they feel comfortable.

Buzz Group #3


1

Buzz Group #3 Patriotism Mollie, Rena, Shosh, Aliza

Goal: For the students to react to different patriotic images, symbols, and multimedia from American and Israeli culture. They will distinguish the images, symbols, and multimedia to which they feel more connected. It may be for both Israeli and American images but they will gain insights into the definition of patriotism and if it is possible to be patriotic to two countries. Materials:

• Patriotic music clips • Patriotic video clips • Patriotic images • Reaction paper sheet • Pens • Poster board for the advisor to write down National Anthems

National Anthem Game: (10 minutes)

The idea of this is for the students to start thinking about patriotism, how we define it, what it actually means to be patriotic. Explain to the group that you are going to do a little icebreaker. They are going to go around the circle, and recite a national anthem (The Star Spangled Banner, Hatikvah,

and Oh Canada) by heart. The trick is that they have to go in order around the circle, and each person can only saw one word at a time. It doesn’t matter which song they recite first. While they are saying it, the advisor transcribes on a poster board. A student can also say “SKIP” and move on to the next student. The advisor should keep track of how many SKIPs there are, and see which song had the least number of SKIPs. Once they are written down, the group will sing Hatikvah and The Star Spangled Banner and Oh Canada together. Initial Reaction

• Which anthem did you know better? • Which anthem could you say in your sleep? Both? Are they equal in your

memory? • When you sang it, which one did you feel more emotional towards? • Is this patriotism?

Understanding Patriotism

• How would you define patriotism? • Should one be patriotic for America/Canada? • Why? • Where does Israel fit into your patriotism? • Do we have as strong relationship with Israel?


2

• Is it possible or right to be patriotic to two countries? National Anthem

Flag/National Anthem

• What are our motives for putting up your country’s flag? • Do you feel like you should sing the national anthem at sporting events? • Is it pure pride or is it out of an obligation?

The Reactions Game: (20 minutes)

A multimedia presentation will be prepared of images, music clips, and video clips of different patriotic moments and symbols from American and Israeli culture. Additionally, there will be images and symbols of Jewish events. Each student will have a sheet: and only after they hear everything. They will rate each image or clip on how much connection they felt to it from 0-10. 10 being the most emotionally connected. Images(on the computer at school-have to send tomorrow) Song clips:

• NFL Football Theme • Yerushalayim Shel Zahav • G-d Bless America-Celine Dion • Take me out to the Ball Game • Tikva-Subliminal

Images:

• Israeli Soldier in Uniform • American Soldier in Uniform • Shay Doron-Israeli Basketball Player that plays for University of Maryland • Terrorist attack on the Chabad in Mumbai • Daniel Pearl-Jewish American Journalist being executed • Thanksgiving Meal • Yom Hazikaron • Yom Hashoa • Yom Haatzmaut • July 4th Fireworks

Video clips:

• Israeli army at Auschwitz • 9/11 clip • Inauguration • U.S Army doing something • Entebbe • Israel Day Parade • Olympics: Israeli Flag going up- when an Israeli wins a gold medal • American Flag going up • Thanksgiving Day Parade:


3

Discussion:

We will go around and hear from different people about their reactions.

What they felt more connected to. Hopefully it will start a large debate.

What did you feel the most emotion towards?

• Is it OK to live in America or Canada without caring much about the country? • Does that attitude of living here because it’s comfortable strip away all patriotic

sentiment towards the country?

Based on your reactions:

• Do you feel more of a connection to fellow citizens (Americans/Canadians), whether they Jewish or not?

• Or do you feel more of a connection to any Jew around the world more than to Americans/Canadians?

Specifically the American Army and 9/11 Clip/Memorial Day:

• Do you feel a compelling responsibility to remember the lives of people who gave their lives for this country?

• Did you mourn the loss of those who died on September 11th because it was a horrible tragedy or because you felt it was an attack on America?

• When America was so patriotic in the aftermath of Sept. 11th, did you a feel a part of that patriotism and unity?

• How do the reactions that we have when we hear about terrorist attacks in Israel compare to how we reacted to September 11th?

• If they are different, how so? • Why do you think that is?

Israel/Jewish Social Events

Israel Day Parade

• Does it make sense to have an Israel Day Parade down 5th Avenue in Manhattan? • Do you feel a connection to the parade? • What is your motivation for going if you go at all (school, loving Israel, etc.)? • Do you feel like you are supporting Israel as Americans or do you have a feeling

of representing Israel in America? • Why do you think we have a parade like this? • Is it any different than the Puerto Rican Day Parade or the St. Patrick’s Day

Parade? National Holidays

Yom Ha’Atzmaut, Yom Ha’zikaron, Yom Yerushalayim, Yom Ha’Shoah

• Do you feel different about celebrating these different holidays? • What different emotions do these different holidays evoke? • How does celebrating these events of Israeli/Jewish history compare to

celebrating the “American” holidays?


4

Student Debate: (15 minutes)

The goal of this program is to force the students to defend a position they may not

personally hold, and to understand the various aspects of certain debated topics. Two

topics are presented below, and the advisor can decide whether to engage the students in

one, the other or both.

Split the group in two, and assign each smaller group to one of the sides of the debate.

They will have 5 minutes to prepare their arguments, and then they will have to send at

least one representative to debate with the other group.

The advisors should spend a minute or two in each group to make sure they are thinking

about as many of the different perspectives as possible.

Topic #1: American Army vs. Israeli Army

The group is debating what type of army service an 18-year-old American should enlist in. The options are either the American army or the Israeli army. Here are some possible questions for a quick post-debate discussion:

• Is there a responsibility for American Jews to join the American army? • Is there a responsibility for American Jews to join the Israeli army? • If our answers are different for each question, why is that? • What does that say about our priorities? • Is that wrong?

Topic #2: American Aid to Israel

The group is debating whether the Jewish community should be in favor of the American government sending Israel $3Billion a year in military aid. One side will be pro and one side will be con. Here are some possible questions for a quick post-debate discussion:

• Why does the US give Israel so much foreign Aid? • Should America treat Israel differently? • Is Israel only gaining from this money? Are there any downsides?

School

Initiative

Planning

Sessions

1

Project Planning Sessions

Goal: To provide participating students with a basic understanding of the science of

planning projects, and some strategies for planning effectively.

Goal Objectives: 1. Teach effective planning.

2. Practice brainstorming and creative thinking.

3. Conduct a needs assessment.

4. Create an Action Plan

5. Design a program

Supplies Needed: • Flipchart

• Markers

• Handouts (Five Steps to Planning, Brainstorming Challenge, Brainstorming Tips,

Needs Assessment, Action Plans,

• Scratch paper

Five Part Program:

• Part 1- Intro to Planning - 30 min

• Part 2- Brainstorming – 60 min

• Part 3- Choosing an Idea - 45 min

• Part 4- Action Plan - 60 min

• Part 5- Presentation Creation - 60 min

2

Part 1 – Intro to Planning (30 min) Sunday 7:00pm

Students will break into school groups led by Eimatai Advisors. This program will take

place in school groups.

Number Counting Trigger (15 min) This activity is designed to get the students thinking about the importance of planning.

Start out by telling the students that no talking will be allowed during this first activity

except for numbers. They should stop talking right now.

Tell the students that they are going to have to figure out how to coordinate themselves to

accomplish a task. Their task is as follows:

The students must collectively count aloud from 1-15 without the same

person saying two consecutive numbers, and without any two people

speaking at the same time. If they do either of these things, they must start

again at the beginning. NO non-counting TALKING!

Give them a few minutes to try accomplishing the task. It should be difficult if they jump

right into it, but it’s also possible that with a few hand gestures they could get it very

quickly. Each group will be different. (If you want to make it harder, you can say that

people cannot say a number after a person they are sitting next to.)

If they were not able to get it the first time, have them try again, but give them 30

seconds to talk before they try. It should be a lot easier this time.

• Why was this task easier when you could talk about it before?

• What exactly is the point of planning?

• What can happen when you don’t plan ahead?

• What if the task had been much more difficult? Would you have even had a

chance without planning?

• What did you do to plan?

3

5 Steps to Project Planning (7 min)

The questions to start out this part of the program is:

• What are important parts of planning a project?

• What do we need to be thinking about to even start this process?

• Has anyone had experience with project planning that they want to share with the

group?

• What did they learn from those experiences?

Advisors should hand out the sheets, and ask some of the questions below as you go

through the sheet.

• Which part of planning will be the hardest? The easiest?

• Are any steps missing from the handout?

SMART Goal Setting (8 min) If they have not already, have the students turn their sheets over to the back side, and go

over the steps to SMART goal setting.

• What are some other examples of Specific/Measurable/Attainable/Relevant/Time-

Bound goals?

• Can we see these principles fitting into our lives in other ways?

• Why is it so important to follow these five principles?

• What would happen if our goal were not SMART?

• Are there any other criteria we should come up with before we start thinking

about our goals?

SMART Goal Setting

Specific

Measurable

Attainable

Relevant

Time-bound

Specific Is your goal well defined? Avoid setting unclear or vague objectives; instead be as

precise as possible.

Instead of: To do well in my exams…

Make it specific: To increase study time to 30hrs per week and attend all scheduled

revision sessions

Measurable Be clear how will you know when you have achieved your goal. Using numbers, dates

and times is one way to represent clear objectives.

Instead of: To get better grades…

Make it measurable: achieve a one-grade improvement in next 2 assignments.

Attainable Setting impossible goals for your team will only end in disappointment. Make goals

challenging, but realistic.

Instead of: Catch up on this year's backlog of reading during vacation…

Make it attainable: Allocate 4 hours a week in vacation to do reading.

Relevant Try and step back and get an overview of all the different stakeholders your are

responsible to: School, community, peers, etc. Consider how relevant each objective is to

the overall picture.

Time-bound Set a time scale for completion of each goal. Even if you have to revise this as you

progress, it will help to keep you motivated.

Instead of: Find out about work abroad for vacation…

Make it time-bound: By end of Easter holidays compile CV and identify 4 possible

vacation opportunities using resources at the careers centre or on the web.

5 Steps to Project Planning

1. Establish a Goal

• The first step to determining a goal is to brainstorm, and conduct a Needs

Assessment for your school/community.

• Use the SMART Goal Setting model on the back of this sheet to make sure

your project’s goal is on target.

2. Project Deliverables

• Project deliverables are the actual things you will do or create in order to

accomplish your goal. They are the means through which you will reach your

goal.

• Break the deliverables up into the various steps it will take to complete them.

“Run a fundraiser” should consist of no less than 15 steps.

• Make sure you determine who will be responsible for each of the deliverables,

and how they are going to accomplish it. Do not assign people to tasks that

they won’t be able to complete.

3. Establish a Time Table

• Once you have all of your deliverables, the steps, and the people responsible

for them, it’s time to figure out when you plan on conducting the project.

• Set realistic dates, and record them on an Action Plan. Having a sheet of paper

that everyone has access to will create accountability and increase

organization.

4. Share your Idea

• Once you have a clearly defined plan, share your idea with the relevant

stakeholders. Be sure that you can quickly and clearly explain to someone

what you plan on doing.

• Create visuals that can be placed in a physical location, or converted into

fliers, that will help transmit your message even when you’re not there.

5. Make it Happen

• Now all you have to do is follow your plan. Keep your goal in mind, follow

your action plan, keep on s schedule, and spread your message.

• If you run into stumbling blocks, it’s OK. Make adjustments to your schedule

and/or deliverables, and keep going.

• Most importantly, HAVE FUN!

4

Part 2 - How to Brainstorm (20 min) Sunday 7:30pm Advisor should ask the bold questions

Now that we learned about how to prepare the logistics of a project, how do you

come up with a creative project idea?

• What is brainstorming?

• Why do we brainstorm?

• How do we brainstorm?

Brainstorming is an activity used to generate many creative ideas that have no right or

wrong answers and are accepted without criticism

Brainstorming Challenge - (12 min)

Split group by schools and pose the following challenge:

You are part of a team of engineers that is stuck on an island in the middle of a lake.

There are 5 members of your team. You have run out of food, and everyone must get off

the island. In 10 minutes how many ways can your team think of to get off the island and

make it to the shore? The island is 1000 ft from shore.

You only have the following supplies:

• 500 ft. of rope

• A 10 ft long canoe that holds only 2 people and contains 2 paddles

• An abandoned school bus. The bus is broken and cannot be fixed, but can be

taken apart

• 5 trees, each tree is 50 ft tall and only 2 ft wide

You get 1 point for any solution, 5 points for a solution that the other team does not have.

Creativity Counts!

Give the students 10 minutes to do the activity, and then facilitate the following

discussion with them:

Yeshiva University

Brainstorming Challenge

You are part of a team of engineers that is stuck on an island in the middleof a lake:

There are 5 members of your team. You have run out of food, and everyonemust get off the island. In 10 minutes how many ways can you brainstormfor your team to get off the island and make it to the shore?

You only have the following supplies:- 500 ft of Rope- A 10 ft long canoe that holds only 2 people and

contains 2 paddles- An abandoned School Bus. The School Bus is broken

and cannot be fixed, but can be taken apart- 5 Trees. Each Tree is 50 ft tall and only 2 ft wide

One point will be awarded for every solution. 5 points for a solution that theother team does not have. Be creative!

5

Discussion (8 min):

• What was challenging about this activity?

• Why was it challenging?

• How did your group come up with solutions to escape the island?

• What do you think would have made this challenge easier?

• What are some practical tips for brainstorming that we can learn from this

activity?

You can review the following brainstorming tips with the group following the

activity:

o Define the problem you want solved clearly, and lay out any criteria to be

met

o Keep the session focused on the problem

o Ensure that no one criticizes or evaluates ideas during the session.

Criticism introduces an element of risk for group members when putting

forward an idea. This stifles creativity and cripples the free running nature

of a good brainstorming session

o Encourage an enthusiastic, uncritical attitude among members of the

group. Try to get everyone to contribute and develop ideas, including the

quietest members of the group

o Let people have fun brainstorming. Encourage them to come up with as

many ideas as possible, from solidly practical ones to wildly impractical

ones. Encourage creativity!

o Ensure that no one train of thought is followed for too long.

o Encourage students to develop each other’s ideas, or to use those ideas to

create new ones.

o Appoint one person to jot down ideas that come out of the session. The

chart should be reviewed and evaluated after the session.

Now that we have learned about brainstorming, we are ready to brainstorm some

ideas addressing a few of the different areas of need in our schools

6

Part 3 - School Brainstorming (40 min) Sunday 7:50pm Schools should brainstorm about some of their needs of their schools. Use the tips and

skills they learned from the brainstorming activity to enhance their brainstorming of

activities they can run in their school.

Advisors should hand out the Needs Assessment handout. Encourage the students to use

the strategies for brainstorming you just reviewed.

FIRST – Brainstorm the goal of the program (the cause you want to support)

SECOND – Brainstorm the methods to fulfill the goal (bake sale, school assembly, etc.)

• Get as many ideas listed as possible.

• Make sure everyone is involved and has the opportunity to say what they think.

• THERE ARE NO BAD IDEAS DURING BRAINSTORMING

Part 4 - Choosing an Idea (45 min) Monday 12:00pm Schools should work together to figure out which project idea they would like to follow-

through to completion.

It’s not always easy to come to a consensus, so recognize that sometimes there will be

people unhappy with the choice that is made. There will need to be compromise, and

students should figure out what idea is best for the group, not which one they thought of.

Criteria to consider when choosing an Idea:

• Which is the most practical idea?

• Which is the group most passionate about?

• Which idea fills the greatest need?

• Which idea will get administrative/communal support?

Yeshiva University

Brainstorming Tips

Steps for Brainstorming

Step One: Set the problemClearly define the problem you want solved, and lay out any criteria to be met.

One of the most important things to do before a session is to define the problem. The problem must be clear, nottoo big, and captured in a definite question. If the problem is too big, divide it into smaller components, each withits own question.

Step Two: Ask for IdeasBefore trying any fancy tricks, just ask the group if they have any ideas. Make sure to emphasize that there are nobad ideas, and encourage people to build off of one another. The goal here is quantity; get as many ideas out as youcan.

*Make sure you record all ideas so you can evaluate them later on!

Step Three: Utilize Brainstorming TechniquesIf no ideas are coming out, or your group has hit a wall, try using one of the various brainstorming techniques onthe other side of this sheet. They are designed to evoke creative ideas in a bunch of different ways.

Step Four: Organize and Evaluate IdeasWhen you feel that you have generated as many ideas as possible, you are now ready to analyze the ideas and deter-mine which have the most potential. You can have an open discussion, you can have people vote on the best ideas,or you can try to group ideas into categories. Now is that time to identify the pros and cons of each idea, and tryto pick the best ones. One strategy is to first cut out any ideas which may be duplicates or obviously unfeasible.Sometimes the best idea can be a combination of two lesser ideas.

Step Five: Identify the Best IdeasYou should be ready to decide on 1-3 ideas which are the best solutions to your problem. Take those ideas, reviewthem with the group, and try to flesh them out as much as possible. Keep in mind that you will most likely have tochoose only one of these ideas, so don’t get too attached.

Yeshiva University

Brainstorming Tips

Brainstorming Guidelines1. Focus on quantity: This rule is a means of enhancing divergent ideas, aiming to facilitate problem solving throughthe belief that quantity breeds quality. The assumption is that the greater the number of ideas generated, the greaterthe chance of producing a radical and effective solution.

2. No criticism: It must be emphasized that during group brainstorming, criticism should be put 'on hold'. Instead ofimmediately stating what might be wrong with an idea, the participants should focus on extending or adding to it,reserving criticism for a later 'critical stage' of the process. By suspending judgment, one creates a supportive atmos-phere where participants feel free to generate atypical ideas.

3. Unusual ideas are welcome: To get a good and long list of ideas, unusual ideas are welcomed. They may opennew ways of thinking and provide better solutions than regular ideas. Looking from another perspective or settingaside assumptions can generate uncommon ideas.

4. Combine and improve ideas: Good ideas can be combined to form a single very good idea, as suggested by theslogan "1+1=3". This approach is assumed to lead to better and more complete ideas than merely generating newideas alone. It is believed to stimulate the building of ideas by a process of association.

Brainstorming TechniquesGroup Passing Technique:Each person in a group writes down one idea on a piece of paper, and then passes the paper to the next person in a clockwise direction,who adds some thoughts, comments, and/or concerns about the idea. Each person gets 30 seconds with each sheet. This is repeated untileverybody gets his/her original paper back. By this time, it is likely that the group will have extensively elaborated on each idea.

The Nominal Group Technique:Participants are asked to write down their ideas anonymously on index cards. The moderator collects the ideas, and each is voted on by thegroup. The vote can be as simple as a show of hands in favor of a given idea. This process is called distillation.After distillation, the top ranked ideas may be sent back to the group or to subgroups for further brainstorming. Each group will come backto the whole group for ranking the listed ideas. Sometimes ideas that were previously dropped may be brought forward again once thegroup has re-evaluated the ideas.

Team Idea Mapping Technique:This method of brainstorming works by the method of association. It may improve collaboration and increase the quantity of ideas, and isdesigned so that all attendees participate and no ideas are rejected.Each participant creates an individual brainstorm of ideas on a sheet of paper. After 5 minutes, all ideas are then merged onto one largeposter. During this consolidation phase, the participants may discover a common understanding of the issues as they share the meaningsbehind their ideas. As the sharing takes place, new ideas may arise by association. Those ideas are added to the poster as well. Once all theideas are captured, the group can prioritize and/or pick a direction.

Paired Brainstorming:Divide participants into pairs. Have each person offer a rapid-fire idea. Have them keep giving ideas back and forth, even if they get offtrack, until neither can think of anything further. Have the pairs come back to report to the larger group.

Yeshiva University

Needs Assessment

What are the perceived needs of your school?

What are the perceived needs of your community?

What is currently being done to attend to those needs?

What can be done to improve those efforts?

Prioritize the most important need at this time. Explain why you chose that need:

7

Part 5 - Action Plan (60 min) Monday 5:00pm Schools will explore Action Plans

Using a blank Action Plan as a guide, advisors should ask the bold questions.

• What is an Action Plan?

o A detailed list that says what needs to be done, who will do it, and by

when it must be done.

• Why is it important to have a thorough Action Plan

o In order for every aspect of your program to run smoothly and

successfully you need to create a thorough Action Plan. If you are missing

things on the report, then most likely you will forget to do it for the

program and something will go wrong.

• What does the Action Plan incorporate?

o It incorporates timeline, goal, and delegation.

! You need a timeline. For the timeline, work backwards from the

event. Make sure that you finish all of the preparation at least two

weeks before the program is to take place.

! You must always have a Goal for any program that you run. Make

sure to list it at the beginning of brainstorming and put it as the

header on your action report so that you will always be aware of

your objective. This way your program will never stray too far

from your overall goal. Programs have a lot of facets.

! The only way to accomplish everything is to have proper

delegation. Make sure that someone in charge gives out tasks to

people who have the time and skills to handle them. Assess the

people for yourself and assign them accordingly rather than relying

on what they tell you that they can do.

Your school group should now begin to work on an appropriate Action Plan for

their project. Make sure that the Action Plan is realistic. It is the key to success

for the program

What When Who

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

Find a location 10 weeks before

Explain the program to the people in charge 10 weeks before

Discuss programming needs 10 weeks before

Create application 8 weeks before

Invite Staff 8 weeks before

Write preliminary schedule for event 6 weeks before

Shop for Transportation 6 weeks before

Shop for caterers 6 weeks before

Find entertainment 4 weeks before

Inform caterer of event 4 weeks before

Book rooms at location 4 weeks before

Hire tech staff 4 weeks before

Confirm transportation 4 weeks before

Buy Materials needed 4 weeks before

Confirm quantity of materials needed 2 weeks before

Close applications for the event 10 days before

Finalize all transportation 5 days before

Finalize the order of food from caterer 5 days before

Assign staff roles (circles, Davening, etc) 5 days before

Copy program/schedule 3 days before

Finalize list of participants 2 days before

Decorate the venue 1 day before

Hang up signs/lists Day of event

Send thank you letters 3 days after

Generic Action PlanGoal:

List the different items and tasks that must be completed by the

“Who”

Assign the time frame or the exact

date when the “Who” does the

“What

Clearly delegate the individual that will be performing

the “What”

Identify exactly what the goal and purpose of your project or event

What When Who

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

Action Plan

Goal: ____________________________________________________________________

! ____________________________________________________________________

8

Part 6 – Presentations (60 min) Monday evening and Tuesday morning Schools will explore how to make an engaging presentation

What are some different ways we can make a presentation?

• Elevator Pitch

• Flyer

• Billboard

• PowerPoint

• Skit

• Song

Each school group MUST prepare the following:

• 30 second elevator pitch- This will be used during the School Initiative Fair

o An elevator pitch (or elevator speech) is a brief overview of an idea for a

product, service, or project. The pitch is so called because it can be

delivered in the time span of an elevator ride (say, thirty seconds or 100-

150 words).

o Every Elevator Pitch contains:

! A "hook". Open your pitch by getting the Investor's attention with

a "hook." A statement or question that piques their interest to want

to hear more.

! About 150-225 words. Your pitch should go no longer than 60

seconds.

! Passion.

! A request. At the end of your pitch, you must ask for something.

Do you want their business card, to schedule a full presentation, to

ask for a referral?

• Poster Board Tri-Fold

o Using a tri-fold poster board schools will create a catchy looking billboard

to be used during the School Initiative Fair.

o Poster board MUST include the Action Plan.

• Three minute presentation for the Fair

o Exactly what this consists of is completely up to your school group. It can

be a jingle, a story, or even just an explanation of the project.

Now the schools should work on their presentations together to make sure they are ready

for the school initiative fair on Tuesday.

Yeshiva University

Micro Grant ProgramWhat is it?Sometimes when planning your School Initiative, the hardest part is finding enoughmoney to get your project started. Other times your program is very low-cost, andyou are trying to find out how to publicize better. The Eimatai Micro Grant program isdesigned to provide you with a structure to get the resources you need.

How does it work?There are a number of stages that you will go through as you create a successfulSchool Initiative. As you complete these stages (and report the completion to yourEimatai advisor), money will be deposited in your school’s Eimatai account. Once yourbalance reaches $250, you can submit a budget for how you want to spend themoney. Once that budget is approved, you will be able to withdraw from your accountto pay for your program’s expenses.

Stage Value Description

Action Plan $50On the Eimatai Conference, students will learn about Action Plans, andhow to plan a program. Each school group should create and ActionPlan for their School Initiative.

Eimatai Presentation $50Towards the end of the conference, each school group will make apresentation in buzz groups, and a billboard for the School InitiativeFair.

Meet with Eimatai

Advisor$50

Following the Eimatai Conference, school groups should contact theirEimatai advisor, and conduct one conference call, start an email chain,and schedule time to meet in person.

Presentation to

administration$50

A presentation should be made to relevant school administrationabout the School Initiative. It should include the action plan, and anyrelevant program budget.

Newspaper Article $50Each school group is expected to write a 250 word article describingwhat their School Initiative will be. This article can be used in schooland local newspapers.

Advisor packet spring 2009

Education

star spangled

abandoned

jewish high

school initiative

smart goal

israel day

action plans

jewish culture