Friday, March 4, 2011
28 Adar I
Parshat Pekudei
Candle Lighting at 6:05 PM


College Guidance:

An Increasingly Challenging Task

 

The competition to get into every college has increased significantly. Our country's population grew by 50% in the past 30 years, and the percentage of Americans going to college has increased. Students think that "if you have a bris you can get into YU", and that a 1300 is an Ivy League-worthy score. Perhaps in their parents' day, but not today.

 

Many students dismiss the wake-up call that preliminary college entrance exam (SSAT, PSAT, and PLAN) scores should provide, and don't "open that e-mail" until they take their first ACT or SAT. It is true that studying, courses and tutoring can help, within reason. There are different tiers of schools open to students of different abilities. 

 

Once one identifies safety, appropriate and reach schools, the college application process dauntingly requires students to capture their unique personality in 500 words, make no grammatical or spelling mistakes, to interview for first time in their lives, and to meet unforgiving deadlines. 

 

To complicate matters further, beneath a senior's 18 year-old bravado is the unstated but real fear of leaving friends and family, and the nurturing and structure of a private high school.

 

In addition, WYHS' classes are growing rapidly. There are 100 students between grades 11 & 12 this year. Next year there will be 140! There will be more students competing for acceptance to the relatively short list of colleges with significant observant populations.

 

To address all of these issues, WYHS has begun increasing its college guidance services, and will do so even more dramatically next year. This week, I'd like to share with you our plans for early intervention.

 

WYHS Director of College Preparatory Subjects Dr. Laura Becker, herself a Brown and Penn grad whose two sons went to MIT and Yale, has researched every incoming WYHS student academically even before they enter our school. Dr. Becker will continue to guide students' course selection decisions and closely monitor their grades in freshman and sophomore years.

 

Next year, Dr. Becker will be meeting with each sophomore during their second semester to help them align their academic and extracurricular performance with their abilities and interests. In the first semester of the junior year, Dr. Becker will be meeting again with each student to make sure they are on track, to help them make wise summer plans, and to plan when they are taking (and how they are preparing) for the ACT and SAT exams. Dr. Becker, who does undergraduate interviews for Brown, will also help students create a list of a preliminary list of appropriate schools to investigate.

 

Next week I will share our plans for the second half of junior and first half of senior year.

 

Shabbat Shalom, 

 

Rabbi Perry Tirschwell  

Head of School

Coming Attractions

Sat March 5  

Student Council Shabbaton

Girls Melava Malka at Morah Alcalay

Sun- Mon
March 6- 7

Rosh Chodesh Adar 2

Mon March 7
BBQ Breakfast
and Chagigah

Sat Night March 12
DST Begins


Sun March 13
SAT @ WYHS

Mon March 14
Blood Drive
Pi Day

Thurs March 17
Ta'anit Esther-
2:30 Dismissal  

 

Sat Night March 19

Purim Chagigah-

Don't Forget to RSVP! 

 

Mon March 21

Shushan Purim-

No School

 

Sun March 27

Yom Iyun @ YIHFL-

Click Here for Details

 

Good & Wellfare

Mazel Tov
 
Meli (Drachman '06) and Tzvi Naierman on the birth of a boy

 

Shayna (Hoenig '04) and Jeremy Bekritsky on the birth of a girl

 

Amanda Krasna ('07) on her engagement

to Avi Hoffman of
Teaneck, NJ

History Dept.

Presidential Profile(ing)
American History is Digitized by Juniors

  

Written By Shoshana Linzer ('12) 

Graphic By Andy Agus ('13)  


This week, Dr. Debbie August's 11th grade American history class completed an assignment to design a personal Facebook profile for an American president. Students were able to imaginatively employ nearly every part of the Facebook profile to display the lives of our leaders in a memorable fashion.

Many commonly used Facebook features were inserted, ranging from the "status update" to the "like" button. Creative freedom was given in selecting the most appropriate "friends" and "interests and activities" for each president. The projects also included "updates" from the president, such as with Thomas Jefferson who was "waiting for Lewis and Clark to return." Other students ingeniously "tagged" photos of the presidents performing their duties. Particularly memorable was the photo of a peach, in which the only president ever truly impeached, Andrew Johnson, was tagged.


Another archaic American event that was transformed into the virtual world of Facebook was the riveting feud between Jefferson and Hamilton. Wall posts regarding strict vs. loose interpretation of the Constitution began appearing on all the presidents' "news feeds." In a slightly more morbid joke, the corpse of Andrew Jackson
 posthumously posted that he was "chillin' underground."


While the primary objective of this assignment was to bring a creative aspect to the sometimes tedious study of American history, students were also able to incorporate modern technology into their education. However, the most rewarding part of the entire experience was the originality and cleverness that each and every project displayed.

Dept. of Prophecy

And the Oscar Goes to... 
Navi Class Produces Homemade Films on Shmuel Bet 
 
 

Written By Sruli Fixler ('13) 

Graphic By Jonah Katz ('11)  


This past week, the understanding of Navi at WYHS escalated to an entirely new level. Following a comprehensive study of the first half of Sefer Shmuel Bet, Rabbi Avi Hochman's students took on the challenge of using their knowledge of the text and its commentaries to produce creative videos that reenacted crucial scenes in the Navi.
  
Rabbi Hochman believes that through these videos, "the students acquired a hands-on learning experience that brought the Navi alive. These videos allowed the students to take the information learned in the classroom and show it in an entirely different venue, using other talents besides a pen and a piece of paper."
  
The students' responses to the incredible success of this project have been everything Rabbi Hochman desired. Seth Fisher ('13) greatly enjoyed the videos he and his peers produced and he expressed that "doing this project allowed me to appreciate the story and truly gain a full understanding of the Navi in a unique and entertaining environment." This experiment enjoyed astounding success, and Rabbi Hochman and his students are looking forward to taking the project a step further in the second half of Shmuel Bet.  
 
 
Mathematics Dept.

As Easy as Pi
Junior Calculus Class Creates Math Tutoring Network 

 

Written By Jessica Hopen ('13) 

Graphic By Amir Tsarfati ('13)   

 

 

Whether they need help preparing for a test, or just require a little extra assistance in understanding a particularly abstruse concept, students now have a brand new resource to aid their study of mathematics.  This appeared last week in the form of a Math Lab, run by several eleventh grade students who are gladly offering their own time and mathematical abilities to other students. I had the opportunity to sit down with two of the tutors, Andrew Wald and Zach Griff, to find out more about the Math Lab:

 

Jessica Hopen: How did you come up with this revolutionary idea for a Math Lab?

 

Zach Griff: Recently a survey was administered throughout the school about the math curriculum, and a lot of people showed great interest in a lab per se because math is a subject involving many different and difficult concepts. Due to the tremendous feedback we received, Director of College Preparatory Studies Dr. Laura Becker and Math Department Chair Mrs. Beverly Weiss encouraged me and my fellow juniors Eram Zaghi, Josh Gittler, Razi Katz, Mathew Wolkowitz and Andrew Wald to form this lab.

 

Andrew Wald: That's true. Through the surveys we also saw that people were receiving a lot of outside help from tutors. We figured that if students will be learning the concepts in school, they should at least be given the opportunity, if needed, to gain a better understanding of their math if they didn't get it the first time around.

 

JH: How many kids do you help on a daily basis?

 

ZG: So far we've only had a few, but were looking for it to expand. We understand that some kids need extra help before tests and major assignments, and although we strongly discourage cramming per se, we are expecting many more to come to our lab as test days near.

 

AW: Well, so far we haven't had too many students, but we are hoping that after this article gets out and people start hearing more about it, that they will come to the Math Lab and we will have more people to help.

 

JH: What impact has the Math Lab had on you and your fellow tutors?

 

ZG: The Math Lab solidifies and concretizes our knowledge of math, and also gives us the opportunity to help our younger peers. It's good to see that they are doing the same and are able to attain a greater understanding of math.

 

AW: Through our participation in the Math Lab we are able to see how much we

remember from previous years and lessons. Also, we get to help our fellow students, which is always a good thing.

 
 
chesedMedical Dept.

Doctor Dialogue
 Medical Student Advises Aspiring Doctors
  
 
Written By Bracha Brauser ('13)
Graphic By Jason Mark ('14)

 

This past Wednesday, the Bio-Medical Club was privileged to hear the wise words of Aaron Cohen, son of our Technology Director Mrs. Claudia Cohen, who spoke about his experiences in the field of medical education. Aaron is a graduate of Yeshiva University and a fourth year medical student at University of Miami. He majored in biology and plans to go into internal medicine.

 

Aaron weighed the pros and cons of pursuing a career in medicine, noting that on the negative side is the hard work, confidence and motivation that is needed. However he was quick to remind the club that at the end of the day you feel like you're contributing to the world and helping so many people. Aaron explained that his choice to pursue the field of internal medicine can be compared to majoring in the liberal arts- it opens the doors, keeping many options open for the future.

 

When asked by a student if his education at Yeshiva University prepared him for his rigorous studies in medical school, he confirmed that it did, further noting that his history in Jewish schooling gave him the benefit of being able to endure long days that he has come to expect in medical school. 

 

Ultimately, Aaron concluded that medicine is a great field to pursue and one should have his goals in mind during high school and focus on these ambitions, yet not abandon other passions and interest during one's high school years. The Bio-Medical Club greatly enjoyed Aaron's commentary and advice on education in the field of medicine and thanks him for his time.

Where Are They Now

Seforim, Seforim, 5 Cents Apiece! 

Alumni Coordinate Annual Seforim Sale


Written By Mathew Wolkowitz ('12)
Graphic By Jonah Stein ('13)

This past Sunday marked the final day of this year's annual three-week long Yeshiva University Seforim Sale. The Seforim Sale is the largest Jewish book sale in North America and is run completely by students.

 

This year's sale featured over 13,000 different titles for sale-including Gemaras, philosophy books, cookbooks, and even children's books. In total, over 25,000 people attended the sale which netted more than $1 million, with all $30,000 of its profits helping YU students who cannot afford basic necessities.

 

WYHS is proud to have two alumni, Ben Shai ('07) and Yocheved Tirschwell ('08), who participated in running the sale. Mr. Shai is currently a student at YU and lives with three other WYHS alumni in Washington Heights, NY. When Mr. Shai was offered a position at the sale, he accepted it gladly because it was a great position to add to his resume, a huge social event, and a great place to purchase books at low cost. During the sale, he held the position of Director of IT. He managed the website, the IT staff, the database of inventory, and went over transactions before they could be processed.

 

Similarly, Ms. Tirschwell, a student at Stern, was participating in the sale for her second year. She worked as the Hebrew Tanach Section Manager, organizing seforim before the sale opened and reordering them whenever a book was sold out. WYHS is so proud to have our wonderful alumni so involved in the world of Yeshiva University.

 

Ashreinu

 

   Click on the image above to view this week's Ashreinu.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Picture of the Week

SLAM DUNK!

 

After much anticipation, the latest addition to the WYHS campus opened on Tuesday. Since then, students have been thrilled to use the brand new full-court basketball court located directly in front of the beit midrash. Many free periods this week were spent playing a pickup game of 3-on-3 or a friendly game of HORSE. The fantastic new court has already begun to fulfill its incredible potential as a location where athletics coexist with leisure.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Yeshiva Highlites Staff


Ezra Kurtz
Editor in Chief

Justin Stauber
Technical Editor

Sarah Struhl
Creative Editor

David Hopen
English Editor

Elana Kaminetsky
Chief-of-Writers

Jeffrey Herr
Layout Editor

Binyamin Feit
Assistant Technical Editor

Jonah Katz
Chief Programmer

Joshua Stadlan
Senior Editor

Rashel Maikhor
Creative Editor

Shoshana Linzer
Creative Editor

Technical Staff

Andy Agus
Josh Firestone
Jason Mark
Aaron Rose
Jonathan Razon

Jesse Slomowitz

Jonah Stein 

Amir Tsarfati- Photographer

Interview Department
Jessica Hopen
Darren Jacoby
Andrew Wald- Investigative Editor
Matthew Wolkowicz- Investigative Editor  

Writing Staff
Simcha Adelman
Bracha Brauser
Elliot Danis
Eliana Feldan
Sruli Fixler
Elana Gelman
Leora Litwin- Sports Editor
Rebecca Muller
Adam Poliak
Kelley Tripp
Aaron Zimmerman
Faculty Advisors
Claudia Cohen
Rabbi Houben
Mrs. Amy Horowitz- Proofreader