Past Events
Our programs and projects help children explore the roots of who they are today, as Americans and as Jews, and to see themselves as agents of change.
We celebrate our culture with joyous events and meaningful projects.
Here are some photos and memories from past events:
Thanks to families, teachers, and our many guests for making this year’s community seder meaningful and fun. Our secular ceremony, led by Hannah, blended songs, readings, and our always crowd-pleasing line-up of family skits. With Zach’s leadership, the klezmer ensemble gave terrific performances. Judy and Paula serenaded us in…
Purim, Puppets, Politsey! The Purim shpil we co-hosted with Jews for Racial and Economic Justice was a fabulous success, with giant puppets, incredible music and wild Purim fun for all. Our kids wrote hilarious rhymes introducing the Purim characters, quizzed the audience on their Purim knowledge, sang songs from…
Deborah Strauss led a beautiful seder which took us through a sequence of fruits, nuts, and juice; songs in Yiddish, Hebrew, and Ladino; and a program focused on how we treat the environments in which we live. The kids made a lovely tree with their Tu B'Shvat "resolutions." Thank…
Social justice teacher and organizer Hannah Temple led our annual event to honor Martin Luther King's birthday. Kids and parents created a timeline and discussed the role of Jews in the Civil Rights Movement. Jonah read from his letter to the Freedom Riders, and the Vov class showed the…
On January 13, Kolya led his fabulous Trip to Yiddishland. There was a flight on Shtetl Air, and a play with Yiddish songs kids had been learning through the fall with Paula. Artwork included a mural showcasing the Giml-Dalet class's study of Genesis with Judy. Parents brought kasha varnishkes, cabbage…
Everyone pitched in to make this a beautiful and delicious celebration. Kolya started us off with “Khanike extreme memory.” The b’nei mitsve class lit candles with blessings they composed, honoring people, qualities, and communities they value. The teachers led their classes in Yiddish and Hebrew songs. Carla, Karyn, Jeff, Jilleyn,…
Teen group and shule students, accompanied by EJ, Hannah, and Carla, spent Veteran’s Day at an Occupy Sandy hub in Fort Greene, Brooklyn preparing supplies for communities in Brooklyn and Queens that are still deep in crisis. Marissa, Jordan, Emma, Lauren, Julia, Benji, Max P, Max B, Anton, Blaise, Zane, Mateo and Jonah…
Zach and our group got everyone smiling and clapping to Yiddish songs at VillageCare, a senior living facility near our school on the West Side of Manhattan. We walked over after shule and entertained residents in their lounge. Max played saxophone, Emma provided a sign-language accompaniment, and Shayna G, Shayna…
Midtown shule teens joined New York Cares for its volunteer day to beautify New York City public schools. Emma, Jordan, and Jojo painted a mural of ocean life for an underfunded school in Sheepshead Bay. Afterwards, they met up with Anton, Benji, Max and Phineas for a meal. As Emma reported…
Our series of parent programs began with a fascinating talk by longtime shule Yiddish teacher Kolya Borodulin: “Stalin’s Forgotten Zion: Experiments with Yiddish Culture in Birobidzhan.” The audience included many guests to our shule as well as members of our new teen group. In a personal and passionate presentation, Kolya…
Our first field trip this fall was a family program at the Museum of the City of New York, “Learning about Immigration through Theater.” In a mock-journey to America led by theater educators Liz and Carrie, kids acted out what they’ve been learning about adapting to a new land and…
What a beautiful, rich, hands-in-the-dirt, kids-in-the trees Sukes at the Wyckoff House, the oldest house in New York City. Jason, the garden head, guided our group through planting, pressing cider, and learning about sustainable farming and composting. With Melissa, who runs the museum’s education programs, we created planters for basil…
Celebrating the New (Jewish) Year, our Rosh Hashone event was led by MWCS's inimitable Deborah Strauss with musical accompaniment from faculty member Zach Mayer. This year's celebration was woven with klezmer, coloring, singing, apples, honey and homemade challah. Klezmer band practice followed, before the teen program. Here are some photos of…
Our school’s new year officially began with our community picnic on Sunday, Sept 2, featuring Labor Songs for Labor Day in Central Park. Teachers Perl and Hannah led us in Yiddish songs of work and struggle. A highlight was a reprise of the song we sang with the Klezmatics at…
Mazel tov, 2012 graduates! Our 2012 collective B’nei Mitsve ceremony was held at Camp Kinder Ring in the beautiful Hudson Valley. Shule families joined friends and relatives of the nine b’nei mitsve students for an extraordinary day. What people are saying about your amazing day: "I feel good about the future,…
Our annual Purim carnival features games, music, arts and crafts, storytelling, and performances by each class. Highlights from Purim 2011: Our yearly guessing game, known informally as Which-Jew-Am-I? Each child comes dressed as a Jewish figure of fact or fiction, then stands before the group and offers three clues to his or…
On October 23, 2011, the Midtown Shule occupied Wall Street. After a kid-friendly discussion in a nearby park, we made signs and marched to Zuccotti Park, where children explored the site and spoke with protesters. Here’s a parent’s e-mail after the event: "This is the first time in years that I've…