Havurah, a George School student organization that provides educational and cultural experiences related to Jewish events and holidays for the entire school community, will host a weekend of events for the student body from Friday, January 21 through Sunday, January 23.
The weekend will begin with candle lighting for Shabbat in front of the dining room prior to dinner on Friday evening. Members of Havurah and other students who join them for the candle lighting will then have a traditional Shabbat dinner in the dining room. On Saturday, Havurah will prepare traditional Jewish dishes in coordination with the Cooking Club. The food will be served that evening at a bar/bat mitzvah-themed dance, which will include dances and games that are often a part of bar/bat mitzvah parties. The weekend events will conclude with a Jewish-themed movie marathon in the student center.
Music teacher Jackie Coren, the faculty sponsor for the group, explained that hosting a weekend at George School is "a way for any organization to give something to the community" as well as to raise the student body’s awareness of the club’s purpose. Havurah’s regular activities include introducing the student body to the Jewish High Holy Days through assembly announcements, constructing a sukkah on campus each year for the Festival of Sukkot, holding a latke sale at Chanukah time, holding a Passover Seder, and leading a workshop on Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Members of Havurah will teach traditional and modern Israeli folkdances to students and faculty for the club’s MLK Day workshop this year, entitled "Rikudei Am: Dances of the People."
In addition, Havurah often pairs Jewish boarding students with local Jewish George School families who volunteer to host them for a holiday dinner. Jason Hellinger, the student leader of Havurah, said that the weekend events will help Jewish students who are not a part of the club to become familiar with its members so that they will know whom to approach if they need to find a host family with whom to observe a holiday.
About George School
George School, founded in 1893 by members of the Society of Friends (Quakers), teaches that each person shares a responsibility for helping to make the world a better place. The student body is diverse, representing twenty states and thirty foreign countries and a variety of ethnic, racial, religious, academic, and economic backgrounds. Each year more than $4 million in need-based financial aid is provided to eligible students.