I hope that everyone enjoyed their summer with family and friends. As I reflect upon the past year at the Shalom School, I smile as I remember the wonderful opportunity I had getting to know the students personally and seeing their smiling faces weekly as they learned together. This summer I have been preparing for the coming year. As part of that I have been interviewing teachers. When asked how to describe the Shalom School and its students, I had one word to describe it, "SPECIAL". There is something very special about the students who attend the Shalom School. When asked what makes the school so special I responded with the answer that the children and families are caring, warm, appreciative and really want to learn. At the Shalom School the greatest reward is making a difference in a child's life and of passing on our beautiful traditions from generation to generation (l'dor v' dor). This year my hope is to build upon what has been created in the past year, and create new positive experiences for everyone as they venture on their  own Jewish journey. We will continue our tradition of beginning each Sunday morning at 9:15am with a Family Havdalah. In addition, this year we will be focusing on building  community and sharing in Shabbat. (Watch for more information to come shortly....)

There is a new program at Temple Beth Shalom in Melrose and is open to teens from 8th Grade through 10th grade.  SSTI will meet twice a month on Wednesday’s from 5:30pm to 8:00pm.  We will begin with a social dinner followed by two hours of interactive programming.