Our family is growing and we are so glad to be part of this exciting time which allows up to connect to each other.

The Nesher Broward County website can keep you updated at www.jewishagency.org/nesher

 What's Up in the Partnership - June:

Steve and Fay Shackter visited in Nesher for the first time and learned about the community, the Partnership and the special connections that have developed between our communities. The senior center activities were explained by Rubi Abromovitz, and allowed the Shackters the chance to learn about this special center that people come from around the world to learn about. The Rabin school welcomed Steve and Fay and they had a chance to meet with the children. At the music center they met with young musician. Many new ideas were brought up and we look forward to their continuing involvement in the partnership.

Selma Telis once again graced all of Nesher as she took part in the Face 2 Face program for two weeks. This is Selma's second visit to Nesher. Volunteering in the mornings in the Senior Center and in two elementary schools, Selma met each afternoon with the teen delegation to help them improve their spoken English. Loved by all that met her, Selma contributed so much to the Nesher community. Ten different families hosted Selma at their homes while she lived at the partnership apartment. "What an amazing person, it was such a pleasure to get to know her" said one of the families "please call us when other members of the community visit us, we would love to host them". The Nesher teen delegation became very attached to Selma "she is wonderful, just wonderful. We love her and can't wait to see her when we visit in Broward".

Mike and Betsy Maserek spent a busy day in Nesher learning about our many projects including the School Twinning program, the Shorashim project and much more. The Rabin School welcomed the Masereks with their award winning children's choir and then toured the school and met with students one on one. Lunch with Selma Telis added an additonal perspective to the visit as well as meeting with the teen delegation. Wonderful ideas were raised and we are happy that they have joined our partnership family.

Awards of Excellane Prize: we are proud to tell you that the Shorashim/Roots project received first prize at the Annual P2K Conference that was held in Jerusalem. Sam and Audrey Maline were present and received the award in the name of the partnership. This project connects young teens in the seventh and eighth grades through producing scrapbooks that trace their family's roots. For more about the program please see our website.

"We are so pleased to tell you that the Nesher Broward County Partnership won one of four Awards of Excellence on Thursday at the 4th  Annual International Partnership 2000 Conference.

We are very proud to part of this educational initiative and thank Moshe Laufer, Leah Shahaf, Ruth Omer from Nesher and Anat Nagar from the David Posnack Middle school and salute their dedication and hard work to make this project such a success.

Sam and Audrey Meline, co-chairs of the Jewish Foundation of the Federation of Broward County were present to receive the award.

Mr. Natan Sheransky handed out the award and congratulated the partnership for a job well done. Congratulations to us all! May our partnership continue to blossom and grow." Levana Caro

The Watynski Family learned about Partnership 2000 through the School Twinning project that their son Joey participates in connecting the Beit Yehoshua School in Nesher with the Beth Torah Hebrew School in Broward. This was the first visit for the project an a very exciting one for all involved. The Beit Yehoshua school principal Anna Barazani welcomed the family as they arrived. The students in the classroom prepared a short program in English. Joey presented Anna a certificate from the Beth Torah School and a gift of a tzedaka box. During recess the real connection occurred as the students wouldn't take no for an answer and took Joey to the playground. Later at lunch, the family was joined by a local family and their son, Face 2 Face volunteer Selma Telis and new Face 2 Face participants Mimi and Noah Meliguir.

"We would like to thank you again for our visit to Nesher this morning" wrote Amir Watynski, "We felt so welcomed by you, your staff, and Anna, and it was a really special experience - I'm sure it will be a highlight of our entire visit."

Mimi Meliguir and her daughter Noah took part in the Face 2 Face project for a few days and volunteered at the Beit Yehoshua school. The children in the class are partnered with the fourth grade class Kol Ami Emanuel in Broward and have been connecting through identity cards, video clips and video conferencing. The wonderful face painting project that Mimi and Noah did with the children made a great impact and the school will remember their visit forever. Mimi looks forward to her next visit in Nesher.

Nesher Principals met to summarize the School Twinning project in Nesher and conference calls were held between the Nesher and Broward principals to summarize this year's project and to plan for next year.

We look forward to updating you again soon as we look forward to Natalie Shrock's vist at the beginning of July, to Karen Zemel's visit together with Laura Goldblum and Suzanne Andistman's visit mid July and to Sam and Audrey Meline's visit the third week in July.

That's it for now.

"Partnership is about people. As we learn about each other, we learn about ourselves".

Karel Glazer

Living Bridge Coordinator Nesher Broward County

The Israel Department

972-52-6091626