Telem runs two high schools, three youth centers, emergency housing and a post-high school “Leaving for Life” program. As a result, there are dozens and dozens of professionals working in different places and at different times. In order to successfully continue with our multi-faceted integrated programming, it is essential that our staff at the very least have an understanding of the full range of available services and preferably have a relationship with staff working in our different settings. In this way there is an easy flow of referrals, follow-up etc.

On motzaei Shabbat Jan. 21^st, Telem brought its staff together for a melave malka. Continuing with the concept of being a multi-purpose agency, Telem maximized this evening and incorporated educational, spiritual and social elements, of course with delicious and attractively prepared food befitting a melave malka!

We began with “Voices from the Field” where representatives from each program gave a short presentation on what goes on in their specific program, new developments, recent accomplishments and one story that highlighted their work. Throughout this part of the program one could hear quiet expressions such as, “That’s great to know!” “I’m so glad I have somewhere to refer one of my students!” “I really need to speak to her later to discuss this in depth!” Needless to say, the stories were extremely moving and certainly brought the points home!

Part two of the evening was professional development. As we know, if you don’t move ahead, you move backwards for standing still is in essence backsliding. Dr. Flora Mor, author of the book Seeing the Children: A Guidebook to Creating a Nurturing-Educational Environment for Students at-Risk, psychotherapist and director of the area responsible for developing educational programs for at-risk populations within the educational system for Ashalim under the auspices of the Joint Distribution Committee of Israel, presented a workshop on effective approaches to dealing with our population across inter-disciplinary lines. She was so personable and approachable that the questions and comments began almost immediately! The case study she presented and the interventions we analyzed together were fascinating and certainly helped our staff to reflect on their practices as well as consider potential additional approaches to their work.

Although the hour was already quite late, no Telem program is complete without some inspiring words of Torah. Rabbi Dvir kicked off this part of the evening with a few words that made the parsha relevant to our work and introduced Rav Yisrael Ganz, one of Jerusalem’s leading poskim and a Rosh Yeshiva in Kol Torah, who came out specially to offer his words of wisdom together with a bracha for our continued success.

In this case, our staff truly left with “צידה לדרך”  – food for the trip home. We were satiated on a physical, spiritual and intellectual level. Having been re-energized, we again felt ready to face our daily professional challenges armed with new enthusiasm, tools and confidence that we are in fact helping Hashem to make the world a better place and educating each girl according to her specific needs!

The Telem High School for Music and Arts was established in 2006 as an option for girls at risk in the Orthodox and ultra-Orthodox sectors who could not find their place in the mainstream educational system. The alternative media of music and the arts enables our students to understand, express and ultimately build up their inner selves. We have been blessed with tremendous success in so many ways! In a concrete example of the words of Rav Nachman “If you believe it can be broken, then know that it can also be fixed,” our students undertook a special ceramics project. Using hammers, they broke different pieces of ceramic tiles and then rearranged them to form decorative rings which were used to frame the numbers 1- 10. An additional 40 decorative ceramic circles were also created. This project began in the spring and continued throughout the summer under the warm and professional guidance of our art instructors and Mrs. Dvir, herself a talented artist and educator. With the cooperation of the municipal authorities, the concrete in the park closest to our high school was broken out and removed to allow these circles to be embedded into the space, thereby creating a hop-scotch type play area for the local youths. As one of our students commented, “This work tells our story. We were broken and now we are rebuilding ourselves and becoming beautiful again!” On February 7th, members of the Common Sense family foundation joined us in this visit to the park. Together we then spent the morning meeting the students and staff of the High School for Music and Art and experienced the program first hand. After being guided through the classrooms by the staff who professionally and eagerly responded to the many questions about the education, support, materials and program of the school, we were escorted into the “hangout space.” Since the school serves as a second and in many cases only real home for these students, there is also a “living room” type space in which to “hang.” Here we were treated to food for the body and soul. Homemade soup was served and students in the music major performed both in groups and as soloists. It was truly heartwarming to observe the principal who took the time to accompany the group throughout the morning. She so clearly knew each student and her sensitive approach to them helped us to understand why this school is so successful! While their talent was impressive, their choices in music revealed much more. They sang about being stranded on the streets searching for a safe haven and begging Hashem to bring them home; they sang about the darkness of despair with a hope for a brighter tomorrow; they read poetry that reflected their internal reality, and finally they presented our guests with two magnificent paintings they had done that captured the interplay of music in their lives. There wasn’t a dry eye in the room! We invite all of our friends to let us know when you will be in Israel next. We’d be happy to invite you to one of our programs so that you too can live the Telem experience!

We went on a group field trip to the city of our forefathers – Chevron and the Me’arat HaMachpeilah. At the Cave of the Patriarchs, a light buffet was waiting for us, with baked goods, cold and hot drinks. After refreshing ourselves, we began the real activity of the day: joining together in stirring, heartfelt prayer to our Creator. After this, we continued on to the ancient Jewish cemetery. We ended this uplifting day looking forward to our next group outing.

]]> https://mtelem.org.il/en/art-exhibit/ Mon, 26 Oct 2015 12:30:24 +0000 https://mtelem.org.il/2015/10/26/%d7%90%d7%95%d7%9e%d7%a0%d7%95%d7%aa/?lang=en Art Exhibit – Olamot Read More »

A group exhibit by the girls doing an art concentration in the High School for Music and Arts (Olamot).
This exhibit allows for a rare peak into the world of the girls in the art major, who are living in Jerusalem and its environs. The drawings reflect an internal view into the girls’ worlds and their sense of connection to the city they live in. By exploring their ties to Jerusalem, the capital of Israel and the holiest place for a Jew, this artistic exercise enables them to connect their creative processes to their internal faith processes. The exhibit thus presents a variety of personal interpretations, as well as a wider social critique.
The varied modes of expression and the aesthetically rich and individual techniques of each girl enable us to expand our views of the majestic Jerusalem, its gates and windows and entranceways. The Modern-Ancient Jerusalem, through the eyes of the students at the High School for Music and Arts (Olamot).

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course consisted of a hands-on overview of the latest cosmetic trends and tips for achieving a fresh, natural look, with demonstrations of natural makeup techniques.

In this experiential workshop, the participants were introduced to the world of makeup and color, as a means to emphasize the natural beauty that exists in each one of us.  They learned about the principals of makeup and beauty, through observation and hands-on practice.

Course Syllabus:
Different types of makeup, and how to match makeup to skin tone – learning about and experimenting with new textures.
Understanding the underlying principles of cosmetology and how to achieve a natural, flattering look.
Blush and shades – how, how much, and why
Eyebrows and eyes – designing and thickening the eyebrows, and eye makeup for everyday
Lip highlighting – up-to-date tips – learning about and experimenting with new textures
Concluding exercise, giving each participant a chance to do a full makeup treatment.
Learning two techniques for eye makeup design.

Reference materials and visual aids:
The course includes presentations, demonstrations and use of cosmetic materials.

A Hafrashat Challah (Separating the Challah) event, combined with emotion, joy and a good sprinkle of humor, made for a powerful spiritual experience. We prepared our challah dough amid singing and high spirits, and then we all came together in a spiritual circle and said a prayer, from the bottom of our hearts, to the Creator of the world to open the gates of Heaven. We each prayed our own personal requests, with candles lit in honor of the righteous tzaddikim illuminating the scene. 

We concluded with a challah braiding demonstration. Each participant learned, through a hands-on demonstration, to braid a spectacular-looking challah.

The Art Concentration is an integral part of our academic curriculum, providing students with exposure to and experience with a range of techniques and styles.  The modernist style gives girls a  medium for free and direct expression.