At the beginning of this school year, the Jewish Heritage Club was one of the many new clubs created during the 2022-2023 school year at Riordan.

“We are offering a place for Jewish students to meet and represent their culture,” said Armando Castillo, World Languages Department Chair and moderator of the Jewish Heritage Club.

Because of their fresh start, the club has 10 to 15 members who meet every other Wednesday in Room 205.

During meetings they can be found discussing agendas, planning events to figure out sales, or discussing their first ever club hoodie.

On the other hand, although the club was started only this year, this is not the first Jewish Heritage Club Riordan has had. In fact, they both share similar values.

However, because of the COVID pandemic, the club was forced to shut down.

In a way, this club is working to revive it by bringing the Riordan community together to appreciate Jewish culture in a Catholic community.

This year, students may have seen the club selling baked goods at the Valentine’s Day carnival.

Ariel Shkolnik ’26, president of the club, said she created this club to “help Jewish kids feel comfortable going to a Catholic school.”

Recognizing the hardships Jewish people face is an important value of hers, noting, “[we] spread awareness since Jewish people have to face antisemitism every day.”

Although the Jewish Heritage Club has just started, they continuously work to represent their proud Jewish culture.

In the future, they are planning to sell traditional Jewish foods, with details to follow once their plans are complete.