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Friday, February 5, 2010
21 Shvat 5770
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Parshat Yitro
Candle Lighting at 5:48 PM
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Click on the images above to jump to the corresponding article
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Public
School to Yeshiva
The Path Less Traveled
I attended public school until I started yeshiva high school in ninth grade. It was a decision that not only impacted on my religious commitment, but truly transformed my personality.
An International Baccalaureate student at a public school joined us this week (Freshman # 88!). She is one of
the nine outstanding students who joined us this year from public or private school (of the 50 who didn't attend day school in Boca).
Why are these students
opting for a longer school day? A commute? Why are
these parents opting to pay tuition (in the worst economy in fifty years)?
We don't always realize what we have in a Jewish day school. When I ask prospective students who have spent a day at our school (which happens daily in February) to share their impressions, they tell me that at WYHS:
1) Students & faculty care about you
2)
It's a like minded student body & faculty
3) You can get involved in so many extracurriculars
4) There's a level in each subject for each student
5) It's fun to be Jewish.
Which public students should consider this move? The prerequisites are no different from those for a day school student- they have to want to be inspired and challenged. If they are motivated, they can catch up in no time. One day you they even run a yeshiva high school!
To paraphrase Robert Frost, "They took the one less traveled
by, And it will make all the difference"
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Perry Tirschwell
Head of School
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Feb.@WYHS |
Tuesday 2/9
Early Dismissal 2:00pm
P/T Conferences
Wednesday 2/10
9:15am School Starts with shacharit
Friday 2/12
Chodesh Adar Chagiga
for present & prospective students
Golf Tournament
Monday 2/22
Purim Chagigah
Saturday Night 2/27
for present students & their families,& alumni
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Good & Welfare |
Mazel Tov
Yoni ('06) & Moriel Schiff on their marriage
Refuah Shleima
Annie Berman
Mrs. Marilyn Goldstein
Ariel Givoni ben Rivka
Simcha Chaya bat Luna
Ruchama bat Dina Malka
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News Brief
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Seniors
Snack Together
The 12th Grade's
Special Lunch
By Elana Kaminetsky ('12)
STAFF WRITER
On Monday,
February 4th, the Senior class kicked off a new monthly program, Senior lunches. The 12th graders brought their lunches to faculty
members' houses to eat, converse, and bond with their teachers and
classmates. The girls met at Mrs. Shira
Englander's house with several other of the female faculty, while the boys
enjoyed their lunches at Rabbi Horowitz's with several other Rabbis. This activity was just one of the many opportunities
offered to students to 'hang out' with the teachers outside of the classroom. Because of the positive feedback received
from both the students and teachers, the program will be continued. |
 News Brief |
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What You Get
When You Give
The Importance of tzedakah
Click on the picture to listen to
Mrs. Nimhauser's speech
STAFF WRITER
This Wednesday, the
students of WYHS had the privilege of hearing the humorous and inspiring words of Mrs.
Cindy Nimhauser, immediate past chair of National Young Leadership of the Jewish Federation of North America and a
vice chair of the South Palm
Beach County Jewish Federation.
Due to the importance of tzedakah, which we
are daily reminded of and encouraged to take part of in our school,
Mrs. Nimhauser assured us that it is never too early to get started
helping the greater community. She described to us through personal experience the
true meaning of being a ba'al chesed: how it has has impacted her life
tremendously, and how easily we can experience the same rewarding feeling of doing something truly meaningful.
We are so grateful to Mrs. Nimhauser for
taking her time to tell us all how she found her passion in tzedakah and
to share with us that it's never too early to find ours.
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News Brief
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It's Getting Hot
in Here
WYHS Learns About
Climate Change
By Simcha Adelman ('12)
STAFF WRITER
Before winter break, WYHS hosted an
environmentalist speaker, President of the South Florida Audubon Society Doug Young, who spoke to the students
about the effects of pollution on the climate.
He taught us about climate change and global warming, from factual
evidence to future predictions. He also mentioned that the terms "climate
change" and "global warming" are not interchangeable; even if you do not agree
with certain views on human-caused global warming, climate change is a scientific
fact and must be acknowledged. He
explained to us that climate change could explain the strange, off-pattern
weather in Florida, including the recent record-setting cold weather.
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News Brief
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Coming Soon...
By David Hopen ('12)STAFF WRITERFeeling overwhelmed, drowning in a
seemingly endless flood of stress and a raging sea of essay assignments?
The English Department's new writing
program, created to provide a direct resource for students looking for some
guidance and help with their writing, is here to assist. Offering support in a
more helpful 'writing lab' structure, the program allows students to meet with peers who have
been exposed to the same teachers, lectures, styles, bewildering questions, assignments,
and petrifying worries. This opportunity offers a unique experience: mindful
of the same struggles and challenges flashing before you, these mentors can relate to you and your own individual needs on a personal level, all in a friendly student-to-student environment.
Looking to melt your frustration,
pinpoint tips, share secret methods of ancient survival, and hone your essay skills? The writing lab will meet for the first time this coming Wednesday during lunch.
Come ready to
enjoy writing once more! |
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Feature Story
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The WYHS Family
Faculty & Alumni Celebrate the 6th Intra-WYHS Marriage
By Adam Poliak ('11)
This past month--with the wedding of Daniel and Jennifer
(Adler) Poliak, both graduates of the class of '06--WYHS celebrated the sixth
intra-marriage in its short eleven years of existence.
At this simcha, just like almost any other simcha of any WYHS alumni, many
faculty members of WYHS were invited to attend. The unusually high
percentage of faculty involvement in graduates' lives after high school clearly
shows the warm relationships between faculty and students, which stems from the homey and intimate environment created at WYHS. This
relationship between students and teachers is constantly strengthened by the
faculty's commitment to students, evidenced by the numerous faculty-run
shabbatonim, faculty attendance at sports games, and other joint activities.
In
WYHS's first decade of existence, these relationships were easily made and
strengthened because of the school's small student population. In WYHS's second decade of existence, our school will surely look for creative and different ways to maintain that warmth despite the growing number of students. | |
Featurette
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Where in the World Was WYHS ?
After a strenuous week of midterms, WYHS students and teachers alike enjoyed a well-deserved vacation before returning to school refreshed and reinvigorated. Below is the breakdown of where WYHS students and faculty spent their time off:
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In Focus
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The 'Text' Big Thing in Education
The 411 on Texting in Class
By Andrew Wald ('12)
STAFF WRITER
Over the past month, students of history teacher Mrs. Amy An have been introduced to a more
interactive way of learning. Mrs. An is the first teacher at WYHS to implement a
"texting program" into her curriculum, transforming the cell phone from a classroom distraction into an educational tool. She
answered a few of my questions regarding the exciting new classroom technology:
Andrew Wald: What exactly is this texting program?
Mrs. Amy An: The texting phenomenon is a free online service
that allows teachers to set up multiple choice questions about the topic
they're discussing. The students then text
the correct answer and a graph next to the question projected on the board allows the students to see
the total number of people who chose each answer. After a few minutes, the correct answer is
bolded for all the students to see.
AW:
Where did you first discover such a program?
MAA: I was told about this at a teachers conference
and was immediately interested. I am
always thinking of ways to incorporate technology and students' interests into
the classroom.
AW:
What were your students' reactions to it?
MAA: Students
like it more than I even thought they would!
They like how this program is so unusual and unique. I believe that because using cell phones in
class is almost always prohibited, students have extra excitement and want to
figure the answers even more than usual.
AW:
Based on its success, do you think other teachers will follow this trend?
MAA: I hope they will, because this is a wonderful
program. I hope this article will put
the texting program on the map.
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Sports
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Using their advanced Talmudic analytical skills, the WYHS Rebbes have made their predictions about the Superbowl, the New Orleans
Saints vs. Indianapolis Colts:
The Rabbis' Disclaimer: predictions are not based on "Torah Codes" and are irrespective of the Rabbis' actual preference (well, for most of them)
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WYHS Culture Poetry & Prose |
Shoelaces
By LeeLee Borzak ('10)
as
originally published in the
WYHS Literary Journal, Allie's Mitt
Blond ringlets create a yellow curtain, Blockading
Her ability to "loop swoop and pull"
Gentle fingers comb back her locks, allowing her
tiny fingers to
Twist, turn, tangle
When suddenly, a knot
Is left before her-a coiled
Mesh, the bunny ears lifeless. The soft
Hands reach down, unraveling the
Knots, restoring the loops
Taming, tying, tightening
Securing her, from ringlets to toes
Blond ponytail slicked back, allowing
Her to look in the mirror, line her eyes in Black
Gentle fingers tell her not to
Twist, turn, tangle
Needlessly
For not only has she learned
To coax the bunny,
Her loops are gone-
Abandoned the need
To tame, tie and tighten
For her shiny new heels.
The soft hands wave good-bye to the
Smooth hair, spiky heels
Blond ringlets, bunny shoes
Until next time.
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Spirituality D'var Torah
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Can You
Hear Me Now?
Parshat Yitro
By Esther Amram ('10)
In this week's Parshah, Yitro,
many pose the question: Why is the Parshah called Yitro if
the main storyline is the giving of the ten commandments?
In the beginning of the
Parshah it says "Moshe's father-in-law Yitro heard about all that G-d
had done for Moshe and His people Israel" (Shemot 18:1). Why would it say
Yitro heard? Didn't the whole world hear, as it says "the nations heard
and shuddered?" The Zohar suggests that the whole world did hear but when
they heard they were not humbled by the thought. But when Yitro heard,
he grew in humility and fear towards Hashem. Every day people hear, but
does it really sink in to their hearts or even their souls?
No. For many
it goes in one ear and out the other. The Midrash Tanchumah says,
"There are those who hear and lose, and those who hear and profit." To
be successful in life one must not only hear but listen properly to what
they are hearing. We must take those words that we hear and react like
Yitro when he heard of what Hashem had done. Later on in the Parshah we
receive the Ten
Commandments. When we are told of these Ten Commandments each
year we should not only hear, but apply it to our lives and respond to
what we are listening to.
Shabbat Shalom!
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