by Joshua Stadlan ('11)

Gabriel Grynsztein ('13) is over a thousand miles away from his native home of Curacao, an island in the Netherland Antilles.  He knows Dutch, Spanish, and English, but he doesn't know what to expect from his new high school, not to mention his new home and new group of peers.

Amir Tzafarti ('13), commuting from Hollywood, Florida, is already acquainted with a few of the other incoming Freshmen, yet he worries (if ever slightly) about the transition from North Broward Preparatory School to WYHS.

Eliana Feldan ('13) and Yair Bengio ('13) have both previously met most of their future classmates and are aware of the typical day at Yeshiva, learning from their older siblings, Avi Feldan and Gilad Bengio, respectively.  Still, they share the fear of receiving an overwhelming amount of assignments as soon as they begin high school. 

To add to the list is their anticipation of Freshman Orientation, stereotypically described as a bunch of speeches delivered to a group of nervous yet excited, intimidated yet enthusiastic teens attempting to maintain their "cool" in order to make the best first impression on their peers while being bombarded with rules, schedules, and course information.  (Sounds scary and overwhelming!) 

At WYHS, however, the administration recognizes just how crucial a smooth, pressure-less transition into high school really is, and therefore put a lot of effort into planning Freshman Orientation last Thursday.

As soon as they received their nametags, the eighty-five (biggest WYHS class to date!)  no-longer-middle schoolers realized that they wouldn't be trekking through high school alone, for they were  immediately greeted by -- as described by Amir -- "nice, helpful, and friendly" student council members and other upperclassmen volunteers.  Following a lively davening with running commentary supplied by Rabbi Tirschwell, the new students were treated to a scrumptious breakfast (with healthy foods like donuts).  After a few welcoming speeches, tours, book distribution, Edline account set-up, and lunch, the massive incoming Freshman class played Human Bingo.  The game encouraged the students to learn about their new peers and allowed everyone to introduce him- or herself to his or her classmates, even though they may have been too shy to do such on their own.  In the process, the Freshmen also discovered that Rabbi Hochman 's eyes are green, not blue, regardless of what he claims.

Afterwards, the new students visited 12 different stations, each with representatives and visuals depicting the wide spectrum of extra-curricular activities currently available at WYHS, from Academic Clubs and Chesed to Drama and Videography.  "They [the extra-curriculars] were all very interesting, though some more interesting than others," remarked Eliana, "but they definitely got me more excited to become an active leader at WYHS."  Amir, making use of his expert skills, is already a leading photographer for WYHS events, and many other Freshmen have attended the first of many Yearbook meetings.  

Freshman orientation was "good fun, and didn't place too much pressure on us," Amir concluded.

Although after the initial program, the 9^th graders were beginning to adapt to the school, they still weren't left to swim on their own.  On Monday, a Big Brother/Big Sister program was held, an event that fosters connections between Freshmen and their upperclassmen 'older sibling' (chosen at random).  The program was trivia gameshow style, with the musical guest (school band) Chazak to kick it off.  The tunes were irresistible; people began dancing spontaneously.  "Everyone experienced the ruach in the dancing," commented Yair.  "It didn't matter who you were standing next to but we all grabbed hands and started dancing," Eliana elaborated.

Then came the exhilarating suspenseful game show, replete with buzzers and flashy lights, in which male 'siblings' and female 'siblings' matched wits in music, TV, and movie trivia.  Without noticing, the Freshmen grew more comfortable, socially speaking, in the WYHS student body, sharing many laughs and hysterical moments with fellow 9^th graders and upperclassmen alike.  In the midst of the game, they learned that, despite people's attempts to deny it, everyone has seen Finding Nemo and knows the characters on Sesame Street. 

"I got to know Michael Mizrahi ('10) a lot better," said Yair regarding his 'big brother' at the program.  Eliana and felt the same way about her 'big sister,' Brooke Bienenfeld ('11):  "She's really funny, and made me laugh a lot.  She definitely made me more comfortable being with upperclassmen."

After surviving the first week of high school classes, the Freshmen have no reason to freak out- they have 'big siblings,' caring teachers, and Freshman advisors to guide them every step of the way, whether academically, socially, or religiously.

Good luck to the class of 2013!