Temple Israel – Coming Home

My family welcomed Ezra into our arms and hearts just over two months ago and I have had the pleasure and honor of being with him and adapting to our new family routine during my leave. His little personality is already starting to show through and certainly his big smiles.  Some of you have gotten to meet our newest addition at some family-friendly events, and I hope the rest of you get to meet him soon enough.  I want to thank the congregation, and especially our amazing office staff for allowing me to be “away” and have that time and as heartbreaking as it always is to leave the little bundle of smiles home, it is also nice to be fully back.  If you sent me something that still needs a response in the last two months, feel free to pass along a nudge to make sure I’ve seen it.

And as I welcome myself back into the office, we are also welcoming back our first session campers from GUCI who returned home to Dayton this Sunday (and belatedly our 2-week campers too).  In a way, we are also welcoming home our second session campers who arrived at GUCI, their home-away-from-home this week as well.  I am proud to be in a congregation that values camp so much and thank those who have supported any of our three campership funds through donations or attendance at Second Seder to help make these incredible and life-changing experiences possible for our future leaders.

At this halfway through the summer point, I’m really excited to be getting into full gear for the school year ahead.  I have a nice stack of registration forms waiting on my desk – if your child(ren)’s is not yet in it, this is your shameless reminder to send that in to the office!  We have a good number of returning teachers, but also a few spots left – if you are interested in working with our youth, or know someone who would be good doing so, please reach out to me.  If you have a special skill to share, I’m always open to bringing Jewish learning to different modalities.  In the coming weeks, you’ll hear more and start seeing the religious school wing come alive again.  In the meantime, here are a few dates to remember:

August 8^th – Regular Registration Deadline (before late fees apply to returning families)

August 20^th – Teacher Training, 9am (for teachers, specialists, and madrichim)

August 27^th – Opening Session & Picnic Lunch, 11am

And of course, another shameless plug, for a return to my other home, of the chlorinated variety – you can come join me at our Prayer and Play group at Sycamore Trails Aquatic Center for a splash-filled Shabbat on Saturday at noon.