Laughter With Lots Of Marshmallows

Fresh Ink for Teens: Shira Wald is a senior at Maimonides School in Brookline, Mass.
Throughout my three years volunteering at the Gateways' Sunday Program, I have learned from my students as much as my students have learned from me. Gateways is an organization that helps students with special needs learn about Judaism and become active participants in their Jewish communities. Each year I have had the opportunity to work with a new student and gained new insights and experiences from each one.

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Family Of Woman Injured In ATV Accident Raising Funds For Hospital

Jen Granek for WJZ

OWINGS MILLS, Md. (WJZ) — It’s been nearly six months since an Owings Mills woman suffered a traumatic brain injury celebrating her 40th birthday in Costa Rica. It’s a story WJZ has been following.

Now Ron Matz reports on her progress, and how her friends and family have turned this tragedy into a way to help her and others.

Last October, Jennifer Granek suffered a severe head injury in an ATV accident in Costa Rica.

“She is making baby steps, but those steps are in the right direction,” said her husband Brian Granek. “She’s making very small improvements daily.”

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What Happens When Adolescent Girls Really Talk?

Naomi Katz for Kveller

“Hey sexy…want to come home with me?”

It was 7 a.m. I was on the way to work. I felt sick as I entered the subway station, like a stranger had just undressed me with his eyes. His words were actually harmless, but the way he looked at me made me feel dirty.

I was 23 and teaching at a middle school in New York City. The girls in the school—who were probably closer to my age than many of the other teachers—often crowded around my desk, probably because I seemed—and looked—more like an older sister than a teacher. They talked to me very openly about things that were going on in their lives, including being catcalled on the street. It was one thing for me, an adult woman, to have to deal with such behavior. My reaction was clear—I didn’t like it. For my students, girls emerging into their sexuality, it was much more complex. There was definitely a part of them that didn’t like being catcalled, but there was another part that felt complimented, appreciative of the sexual attention from older men, even if it felt creepy.

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When Hate Hits Home: This High School Student Says She Was Targeted For Being Jewish

By Erin Taylor Neuman for Rise News

Hana Epstein, a high school student living in Katonah, NY recently received something in her mailbox that wasn’t mail- but instead a painful reminder that hate is still alive in the world.

In the early morning hours of January 25, Hana’s father went out to get the mail out of the family’s mailbox. He realized their mezuzahs had fallen off near the front door.

Hana’s dad continued to the mailbox where he discovered a white object that he thought was some kind of food lid.

After further inspection, he suddenly realized what it really was; a white square covered in swastikas. The name “Hannah” is also written across the square, with the last h underlined twice with a blue pen. The connection suddenly became evident.

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