Teen Center Overview — 2022-2023 (5783)
All our programs reflect current CDC and NY State safety guidelines for COVID
A Place and Program Where Teens Are Always Top Priority.
Shaaray Tefila is the place for teens to THRIVE. At our NEW Teen Center, our teens have a place to explore who they are, cultivate meaningful relationships and build upon the skills and values that matter most, to become their best selves far beyond the walls of TST and the Jewish community.
S.T.A.R. (Shaaray Teen Action Reboot)
STAR is our exciting NEW social action and social justice focused arm of our teen programming open to ALL Westchester teens. Throughout the year teens will have the opportunity to explore a variety of social issues and important causes while taking action to make real change. Join us for volunteer projects at beloved organizations like The Cottage School, Neighbor’s Link, Blythedale and new ones too! *Membership to STAR is open to non-TST members for a separate fee, so bring a friend!*
- Social Action Sundays- Join us one Sunday a month for an afternoon featuring some of your favorite service projects and new ones too! Spend an afternoon of service with your whole friend crew! ALL TEENS WELCOME!– It’s the place to be and give back on a Sunday afternoon!
- Teens Talk Series- Join us one Wednesday evening a month for this critical conversation series featuring experts, facts, and dialogue that centers YOU learning about the issues that matter, from racial justice to gun control. Come with your questions, confusions, opinions, and most of all an open mind and heart for “Makhloket l’Shem Shamayim”-- Debate for the sake of heaven, the greater good.
- STAR Volunteer Network - Looking for a regular volunteer opportunity compatible with your schedule? We’ve got you covered! We’ll work with teens individually and in small groups to determine a great local organization with ongoing Shaaray Tefila relationships. Bring your experience back and share it with the Teen Center Community too!
LEADERSHIP OPPORTUNITY- Is Social Action your passion? Join STAR board and help us shape and plan Shaaray Tefila Action Reboot Programs for you and your friends all year long! Meets 2x a month.
Monday Night Live - Only Better!
- Cracking Open the People of the Book (8th-10th Grade) The Jews have long been known as “The People of the Book” because we never stop learning! Join us on Monday nights for an innovative look through a Jewish lens on history from “Creation to Today”. All your most pressing Jewish questions answered every week! PLUS Innovative interest based elections during the 2nd half of our evening including cooking, theater and more!
- Imagineer Your Jewish Identity (10th-12th Grade) Confirmation is the next major milestone in Jewish life after Bar/Bat Mitzvah. Using Walt Disney’s model of Experience by Design in his landmark Imagineering Process you will experience a year of exploration targeted towards the areas of Judaism that already resonate most for you. Disney’s world-renowned Imagineers know that an experience is about Head, Heart, and Hands. Together we'll discuss Jewish takes on tough topics, the ways Judaism can support us most in times of heartache and joy, and how our faith drives us towards action. Judaism: The Most Magical Faith on Earth!
- Turn it and Turn it (11th-12th Grade) As Rabbi Ben Bag Bag says, “turn it over and over, for everything is in it”. We will return to topics that need more attention, may desire a deeper understanding, and provide our teens with the knowledge and confidence to walk out of here sufficiently understanding the power of their education and where they can go to access more if they wish to find it.
Teen Engagement Network (inTENSe)
Join us to reinvision and rebrand a purely social and Jewish experience at Temple Shaaray Tefila! Hang out with your friends, celebrate Holidays and explore the intersection of Judaism and just being a teen! From hanging out after school in the youth lounge, to bouncing around at Rock n’ Jump, being a teen at TST is a blast!
LEADERSHIP OPPORTUNITY: Become an inTENSe Fellow and help shape teen social programming at Shaaray Tefila!
Cup of Joe and the 5 Books of Mo(ses)
Join us at your favorite local coffee shop once a month for this Pop Culture Parsha Study! Learn how the week’s parsha connects to the world of celebrities, sports, social media and more all while enjoying your first frappe on us!
Madrichim (School Guides)
On Sundays and Mondays teens have an opportunity to build community, give back and serve as a role model by working in our Religious School classrooms. Madrichim can support teachers in the classroom or teach Hebrew through our NEW Hebrew Buddy Program.
Throughout the year, our Madrichim receive professional development to foster classroom management skills and leadership abilities that translate to a fantastic resume building experience that gives back to our community. 8th Grade Madrichim earn community service for their time and efforts, 9th-12th graders can choose community service or payment.
Plus Trips, Trips, Trips!
*Trips are at an additional cost beyond Teen Center Membership and vary based on destination. All trips require a minimum of 8 students to run, trips have varying maximum capacity.
- Disney: The Most Jewish Place on Earth? (10th-12th Grade CONFIRMANDS Only)- Join us on a ONE OF A KIND Confirmation Capstone Trip to Disney’s Orlando Florida to learn how one of the world’s most successful companies actually embodies Jewish values, can help us shape our Jewish identities and teach us more than we could ever imagineer about the future of Judaism!
- Washington, DC Social Justice Trip (10th-12th Grade)- From January 27th to 30th join the Shaaray Tefila Teens for a weekend at the Religious Action Center for their renowned L’taken Seminar, an initiative designed to teach teens all about social justice and legislative activity at the heart of where it all happens – Washington, DC. Teens will discuss issues that are important to them, learn how to lobby for those issues, and have an opportunity to actually go to Capitol Hill and meet with our congressmen and women.
- Tikkun Orleans NOLA Trip (8th & 9th Grade)- Head down South with us on a service learning adventure like no other. We’ll learn and explore together how service beyond our own community can truly make a difference. PLUS we’ll hop out of our comfort zone to experience Southern Jewish Life first hand and explore what it means to do Jewish outside of New York!
- The Jewish Future is YOU: Israel Aventure (12th Grade)- To the Holy Land we go! 12th graders join us for a dynamic Israel adventure with your favorite friends and staff! *DID YOU KNOW: According to the Generation Now Research from the Jewish Education Project notes that teens who travel on an organized Israel trip prior to college show higher social-emotional growth and note the trip as a peak teen experience.
A Typical Month at the Teen Center
Teens will be able to choose their own schedule with as many activities as their schedule can handle.
Week One
Throughout the week: Teen Center [currently known as Youth Lounge] open for Coffee hours/study etc.
Sunday- Madrichim and STAR Social Action Sunday
Monday- Monday Night Live and Madrichim
Wednesday- STAR Board Meeting
Thursday- inTENSe Fellows Meeting
Friday- pre-shabbat Cup of Joe & The 5 Books of Mo
Week Two
Throughout the week: Teen Center [currently known as Youth Lounge] open for Coffee hours/study etc.
Sunday- Madrichim and inTENSe Social Program
Monday- Monday Night Live and Madrichim
Wednesday- STAR Teens Talk Series
Week Three
Throughout the week: Teen Center [currently known as Youth Lounge] open for Coffee hours/study etc.
Sunday- Madrichim and STAR Social Action Sunday
Monday- Monday Night Live and Madrichim
Wednesday- STAR Board Meeting
Thursday- inTENSe Fellows Meeting
Week Four
Throughout the week: Teen Center [currently known as Youth Lounge] open for Coffee hours/study etc.
Sunday- Madrichim and Teen Leadership Council Meeting
Monday- Monday Night Live and Madrichim
Wednesday- STAR Teens Talk Series
Thursday- inTENSe Social Program