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The Weekly Newsletter of
Weinbaum
Yeshiva High School
Parshat Ki Tavo
Friday, August 31, 2007
Shabbat begins in Boca at 7:22pm
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From the desk
of
Rabbi Perry
Tirschwell
Ben Gamla- this cohen gadol who lived during
the second Temple has become
embroiled in a nationwide controversy due to the new
school that bears his name in our backyard in
Hollywood. People have strong views about this
publicly funded charter school, which focuses on
teaching Hebrew language, serves kosher meals, is
run by an Orthodox rabbi and attracts predominantly
Jewish students. Whatever your opinion may be on
the church and state issue, what are the lessons that
Jewish day schools can learn from this extraordinary
development?
I think that this is an excellent opportunity for us to
reflect on why we sacrifice as parents and students to
attend yeshivot. What can a Jewish day school
do that a publicly funded school can not do?
Inspire Torah observance. This is the
first
half of our school's mission. This can not be even a
slight element of the mission of a publicly funded
school.
Provide excellent role models for children,
who are
desperately looking for them. A charter school can not
discriminate in its hiring based on religion or ethos.
Teach the centrality of prayer. In addition to
learning
how to daven, WYHS students learn that prayer
is the most important thing we do each day.
Give individual attention. We can keep our
school and
class size small enough that we know each and every
child, and are able to help them meet their potential.
Offer a diverse student body. Geographically,
our
students hail from South Beach to Jacksonville. Socio-
economically, if not for their religious dedication, we
have families that would have sent to upper crust
private schools and those would never dream of it.
Minimize discipline problems, through
admissions
based on behavior. We are able to address issues
without the restrictions on publicly funded institutions.
Create a like-minded peer group whose
students and
families are committed to the same goals. A charter
school may not be selective in its admissions.
Whether you are for or against Ben Gamla, it can
never be a Jewish day school. Until the Supreme
Court determines that our government can fund
private, faith based schools, we will remain proud,
independent school parents and students.
Shabbat Shalom
Rabbi Perry Tirschwell
Click
on the images below
to
link to these
nine websites
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Upcoming Events
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School Supplies Drive
for the Children of
Sderot
Tuesday, Aug. 28 - Monday, Sept.
10
Click
here for more information
Mitzvah Market and BBQ @ BRS
Sunday, Sept. 2 @ 11:00 - 3:00
Click here for more information
Meet the Teacher Night
Tuesday, Sept. 4 @ 7:30pm @ WYHS
Girls Musical Auditions
Wednesday, Sept. 5 @ 6:00pm
Selichot Program for Grades 10 -12
Motzei Shabbat, Sept. 8 @ 10:00pm
at BMA in
Hollywood
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Good and Welfare
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Faculty Mazel Tovs:
Mrs. Ora Lee Kanner on
the birth of a granddaughter, Naama
Mrs. Melissa Pereira
on the marriage of her son, Adam
Mrs. Ravit Shalit on being appointed a
NETA
School Mentor
Refuah Shleimah to Mr. Jules
Weiss
Alumni Mazel Tovs:
Daniel Seif ('02) on being WYHS' first
graduate to receive smichaand on his marriage
to Rena Binter of
Chicago
Zvi Rantz ('02) on his recent
marriage to Eliana Novick of West Orange
Uri Turk, ('03) Hudi Moscowitz ('03) and Ziyona
Rantz ('06) on their aliyah
Dina Turetsky ('04) on her recent
engagement to Jonny Dobkowski of
Rochester
Yael Weiss ('04) on her recent
engagement to Yonatan Orlinksy of Teaneck
Yaakov and Shoshana Seligman ('04)
on their recent marriage
Jesse (Esquenazi '05) Sasson
on the birth of a son Moshe
Moshe Genet ('06)
on enlisting in the Israeli Army
Yocheved Fox ('06)
on her recent engagement to Josh Gordon of
Kendall
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Click On
Picture For A Exciting WYHS Movie Trailer!
Welcome Back!!
"Keeping it
Going"
with Students
and New Parents
By: LeeLee Borzak ('10)
Freshman
Orientation
On Friday, August 24th, anxious freshmen took
their first steps through the doors of WYHS for
their "Freshman Orientation." While this could have
been a nerve-wracking experience for the new
freshmen, Student Council took the edge off right from
the start, welcoming them at the door and leading
them upstairs for a beautiful davening, good music
and a delicious breakfast.
Rabbi Tirschwell, Mrs. Kanner, Dr. Becker,
Shimmie Kaminetsky and Rabbi Spodek all
welcomed the freshmen to WYHS and spoke about
the inherent differences between middle school and
high school and the uniqueness of being in a Yeshiva
high school.
To help ease some of the anxiety of the day,
Student Council members led the freshmen in a great
ice-breaker game of human-foosball and dodge ball.
The laughter was electric and the excitement was
palpable as the freshmen began to get to know
each other and feel more comfortable.
After a delicious lunch, the freshmen heard from
Student Council Co-President Julie Rosenberg who
encouraged the freshmen to get involved in the
school. After Student Council Co-President Anosh
Zaghi introduced the other members of Student
Council, the freshmen watched a video which
explained each of the fourteen student-run
committees in WYHS, and encouraged them to
participate.
After signing up for committees and receiving
large piles of school books, the freshmen were given
a special gift bag presented by Student Council with
Shabbat goodies and a poem welcoming them to our
school.
The orientation was a huge success, and we
are sure that the class of 2011 will accomplish
great
things over their next four years.
New
Parent Orientation
While the first day of school may be hard for the
students, it can be even tougher for new parents.
Over fifty new parents came to Sunday's New
Parent Orientation to understand first-hand the
inner workings of their child's new school. The
orientation started with a delicious brunch, which
helped make the atmosphere a little more relaxed.
Parents all received packets of their child's
schedule, test schedule, and other documents
necessary to survive WYHS. Speeches from Rabbi
Tirschwell, Mrs. Kanner and Dr. Becker, ranging in
topics from leading by example and WYHS's
philosophy, all informed new parents of how to assist
their child in making the most of his or her high school
career.
Transfer Student
Orientation
Freshmen are not the only newcomers to WYHS.
This year, ten students from all around the
continent transferred to WYHS. For the first time
ever, this past Sunday, WYHS hosted a transfer
student orientation.
Led by Community Service Coordinator, Mrs.
Andron and Program Director, Rabbi Spodek, with the
help of Student Council Presidents Anosh Zaghi ('08)
and Julie Rosenberg ('08), and other class
presidents, the ten new transfer students learned
about WYHS from a student's perspective. They
learned all the crucial aspects of WYHS: where to eat
lunch, where to make copies, the location of the
various offices and "who's who" at WYHS.
The goal of the transfer student orientation
was to make these new students feel comfortable
switching into a grade that is already accustomed
to WYHS. The orientation was a success and
hopefully, the new students will feel right at home
here at WYHS.
General Student Orientation
As the entire school convened for the general
orientation on Monday, the scene was loud and
exciting: students greeting one another with hugs
and high-fives, catching up on each others' summers,
discussing classes, activities, and plans for the New
Year.
The day began with a scrumptious lunch and
continued with Rabbi Tirschwell's address to the
students. Rabbi Tirschwell spoke about how every
single student has an opportunity for a fresh new start,
an "academic Rosh Hashanah." We
should all take our mistakes from the previous year
and learn from them, in order to improve ourselves in
every way possible.
Students were then treated to an original movie
trailer about WYHS, made by Jeremy Hodkin ('09),
Vice President of Communications and Zach Cohen.
('06) The video focused on how great previous years
at WYHS were, but moreover how incredible this
year is going to be. With that in mind, Student
Council Presidents Anosh Zaghi ('08) and Julie
Rosenberg ('08) delivered a beautiful Dvar Torah and
relayed a simple, yet effective, message: Keep it
going! WYHS students should keep dancing at
chagigas, keep getting involved, keep cheering on
sports teams, and keep on "getting into it," even more
than before.
As the day continued, students were privileged to
hear from other faculty members such as Mrs.
Saddler who spoke enthusiastically about the
school's upcoming plays and the fantastic drama
department. We were then introduced to Dr. Laura
Becker, Director of College Preparatory Studies, and
Mrs. Marcy Roberts, Director of College Guidance.
All of the faculty speakers conveyed the school's
unique commitment to Torah and spirituality,
academic excellence, service to the school and
greater community, and-through it all-having fun.
Hopefully, the inspiring words of our faculty will
guide us all towards a year of growth and success!
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Student Council
Learns
about "The Power of
One"
By Rachelli Kaplan ('09) Vice President of
Programming
As a new member of WYHS's Student Council, I
was a little nervous to begin to fill the shoes of my
predecessor, Ethan Wasserman '07. During the
previous year, Ethan's devotion and ingenuity to
Student Council was quite commendable and I was
pretty dubious of my own skills in comparison.
Thankfully, my nervous thoughts were soon
mollified by the Student Council BBQ and leadership
seminar at Rabbi Spodek's house. After a
delicious BBQ lunch and friendly conversation
amongst the fourteen members of Student
Council, Rabbi Tirschwell joined us to speak
about "the power of one".
He began with an anecdote about Rabbi Brander,
which entailed Rabbi Brander's perseverance in every
obstacle that crossed his path, as well as his
unbelievable selflessness and eager desire to help
his community. Rabbi Brander single handedly
accomplished extraordinary goals, simply because of
his mindset and strong belief in himself. He proved
that the "power of one" truly makes a drastic
difference and with the correct approach and self-
sacrificing attitude, anything can be done.
In addition to the meaningful speech by Rabbi
Tirschwell, Rabbi Spodek and Rabbi Houben divided
the members of Student Council into small groups to
play a game called "think, pair, share." We were asked
to make a list of attributes essential to a successful
leader. These lists of characteristics were then
separated into the categories of bein adam liatzmo,
between a person and himself, and bein adam
lichaveiro, a person and his friend.
After much discussion as to what traits truly help
define a leader, we realized that being a leader is
not something that one is born into but one that
anyone can learn and become. In a leadership
role, one must be the proper role model for others,
and when these crucial qualities are achieved, the
position of being a leader becomes so much more
rewarding.
Thank you to Rabbis Spodek, Houben and
Tirschwell for providing us with this inspiring
afternoon.
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Bump, Set, Spike!
Girls Volleyball Starts
New Season
with a
Bang
By: Sofia Peimani ('09)
Girls Varsity Volleyball is off to a great start.
Although
they did not win their matches this week, they played
incredibly well, showing tremendous improvement
just over two games. The team learnt much from
Tuesday's game at Boca Prep. However, this past
Thursday night, we really began to understand
and
experience the notion of wining.
The Friedman sisters (Jessica '08 & Lauren '11)
kept
the score thrillingly close with their amazing
serves
and passes. The bump-set-spike plays were
flawlessly executed by Emily Waxman ('09), Jackie
Itzkowitz ('08) and Aleeza Ruben ('09), and racked up
a large number of points. Kudos to Jackie Berger ('10)
for her hard core blocks.
The team is improving with every game and every
practice. The team is looking forward to more exciting
games as well as an exhilarating rest of the
season!
All Storm fans are encouraged to attend
this
Saturday
night's game against Hebrew Academy at 9:30
p.m. at
@ Northshore, 72th Street and Harding on Miami
Beach.
Come
cheer us on
and share
your energy!
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Siblings, Strikes, and
Sprinkles
"Big Brother/Big Sister
Kickoff"
By LeeLee Borzak ('10)
This past Monday, the senior and freshman
classes enjoyed their first "Big Brother/ Big Sister"
Program. After orientation and book distribution, the
seniors and freshmen headed towards the loud
music playing in the Beit Midrash. There, while
snacking on delicious ice cream, each freshman
received a card with three interesting facts about
his or her big brother or sister.
Not knowing who they were paired with, the
freshmen had to ask the seniors questions to identify
which senior matched the card the freshman had
been given. The details were humorous, and even
embarrassing, but truly, so perfectly descriptive that
each freshman found his or her big "sibling" in
record time.
After the newly-introduced "siblings" chatted a bit
and got to know each other, they headed out to bond
over bowling. Congratulating each other over strikes
and spares and laughing at each other's complete
misses, the freshmen and seniors ended the day
with a special connection. "We got to know the
freshmen and hopefully it took some of the pressure
off of starting high school," said Leora Cohen ('08).
From here, the seniors will aim to help their
freshman "siblings" navigate their first year of high
school, support them through their ups and
downs, and hopefully impart a bit of "senior
wisdom" along the way. Good luck freshmen!
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He Said/She
Said
Up Close and personal With
The Class of 2011
By Daniella Greer ('09)
As the first week of school comes to a close,
freshmen Paul Hess and Maya Tsarfati spoke to us
about their first week at WYHS.
Why did you choose WYHS?
He said: I heard from so many people about how
amazing the school is and how strong the academics
are. What attracted me the most was how close of an
environment WYHS is.
She said: I wanted to get a good secular and Judaic
education. I especially wanted a great Judaic
education because I never learned Judaic studies
before and I heard that this was the greatest school
for that.
What have you found to be the biggest difference from
middle school to high school?
He said: I definitely feel more independent and more
like an adult now. Now that I'm in high school I feel I
should be more on top of things.
She said: This school has such a different
atmosphere from middle school. Everyone's so warm
and inviting. Also, the classes here are much more
challenging.
Are you feeling overwhelmed with the workload?
He said: I have very good study ethics so hopefully that
wont be an issue. Also, the teachers really make an
effort to make sure no-one gets too overwhelmed with
work.
She said: Not overwhelmed, but very challenged. All
my classes, are extremely intellectually stimulating
and
exciting and I'm so excited to learn and do the work.
After hearing about all of the activities the school has
to offer, are there any that you are really looking
forward to participating in?
He said: Everything I've heard about seems really
exciting to me and I'm to hoping to take as many as I
can.
She said: What I'm looking forward to the most is
yearbook and chesed. They both sound so rewarding
and fun.
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10 Number of transfer
students
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61 Number of students
in the
Junior
class
199 Number of
students
in the school
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"Your kids are terrific.
They have so
much
energy and are just great!!
They make me
proud
to be
Jewish"
-- random gentleman at the
bowling alley,
commenting on our
students at our Big Brother/Sister program
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