*Please note: As we navigate the situation surrounding the COVID19 outbreak, some of our programs may require some modification to ensure the safety of our teens. Such programs include those which incorporate alternative locations, trips, and food. If needed, most of our programs will be able to successfully pivot to the online platform. Please stay tuned as we learn more.
Post-B’nai Mitzvah students can earn money through our PAID internship program while strengthening their resume and connection to the Jewish community! Students attend 3 dinner meetings throughout the year and complete 25 hours of hands on work in one of the departments at CRS through one-hour-per-week sessions. This work teaches students about networking and leadership skills that are essential for their future success.Post B’nai Mitzvah Paid CRS Internship (7th/8th Grade)
Confirmation Program (10th Grade)
Confirmation is the next major milestone in Jewish life after Bar/Bat Mitzvah. Working with our clergy, you will experience a year of exploration where you will wrestle with some of life’s big questions, such as “Who am I? Where do I fit in? What do I stand for?” Discover your own answers as you experience eye opening study sessions and a trip to Berlin, the birthplace of Reform Judaism and Rodeph Sholom’s roots. Your year culminates at the Friday night Confirmation service and celebration.
NEW: Interest-Based Opportunities (8th–12th Grade)
The options listed below will only run if a minimum of 5 students sign up.
OR…
NEW & IMPROVED Clergy Connections (8th–12th Grade)
With more topics and sessions in the Spring!
NEW: Buddy Programs (8th–12th Grade)
Use the wide network of Rodeph Sholom to your advantage! Get paired up with a teen who’s been in your shoes before! BONUS: Parents, you can be buddies with a parent of a teen who’s gone through the same experience too.
Congregational Mentorship Program (11th and 12th Grade)
11th and 12th Grade teens have the opportunity to be paired with a congregational mentor based on their interests to gain valuable résumé-building skills, a unique Jewish experience and insight into what it means to be a professional who is Jewish out in the real world.
Madrichim Program (School Assistants) (8th–12th Grade)
Mondays, Tuesdays and/or Wednesdays from 3:50-6:15 PM 8th–12th Graders have an opportunity to build community by working and helping in the Religious School. These years are the most impactful for our Kindergartners through 6th Graders, and our teens make a positive impact upon the children with whom they work. The program is a perfect way to contribute to CRS, allowing our teens to act as Jewish role models and leaders for our younger youth community. Madrichim can support teachers in the classroom or teach Hebrew. Teens may choose to receive compensation or community service hours for their participation in the program.
CRS BBYO Chapter (8th–12th Grade)
Affiliated with the international movement, our chapter is one of the best places to meet other 8th–12th Grade Jewish teens at CRS. Our group meets every other Tuesday from 6:30–8:00 PM and offers a diverse array of activities ranging from social nights to community service projects. BBYO also hosts a number of regional events that take place regularly throughout the year including leadership development workshops, dances, community service days, sports events, and weekend-long conventions.
To Join our BBYO Chapter please click here
When completing this registration form, please be sure to select ‘CRS BBYO’ in the Chapter Preference category.
Tzelem NYC : Trans, Non-Binary & Gender Questioning Teen Group (8th–12th Grade)
High School is a challenging time in any teen’s life but it can be even harder for a teen questioning their gender identity and seeking peers to relate to. That’s why we’ve partnered with Moving Traditions and a number of area synagogues to provide this small-group, safe, monthly experience with similar-minded peers. Your teen will build confidence and strengthen connections with other teens and the broader Jewish community as they continue their own gender journey. Students will have the opportunity to form new friendships, express their fears, self-doubts and struggles, find reassurance and strength from their peers and connect with a young adult mentor who’s been through it all themselves too. Meets once a month on select Saturday afternoons.
NEW & IMPROVED: The Mitzvah Team Leaders (TMT-Leaders) (8th–12th Grade)
The Mitzvah Team Leaders is the social action-focused arm of our teen programming at CRS. Leaders will function as a board to learn about the non-profit world and a variety of important causes. Together, they will also plan initiatives and one-off events to support causes of their choosing and offer community service opportunities and social action engagement to their peers. All while building their résumé too!
Program-specific sign-up forms will be released following registration in the coming weeks.
Tikkun Orleans NOLA trip (8th Grade)
March 12–March 15, 2020
8th Graders have the opportunity to take a service learning adventure with us to New Orleans in order to help repair the world, explore the Jewish culture of the South and tour one of the coolest cities in the world! Of course there will be jazz, beignets, and gators too!
RAC (9th–12th Grade)
January 24th–January 27th, 2020
CRS teens along with Rabbi Karol will be visiting the Religious Action Center for their 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, D.C. 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.
Berlin Trip (10th Grade)
February 13th–February 18th, 2020
There are few cities quite as evocative for modern Jews as Berlin—the city of the Enlightenment which helped give birth to Reform Judaism and the city of emancipation where Jews confidently rose to meet the challenge of life in the modern world. It is an energetic city that demonstrates the high points of integration and success, as well as the low points of persecution and destruction. Rabbi Greg Weitzman will lead you through encounters with people and places that will have you explore who you are as we visit the birthplace of Reform Judaism and Rodeph Sholom’s roots. Enrollment in the Confirmation program is required to be part of this trip.