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SKAppenings |
Parshat Terumah
3 Adar I 5768
February 8, 2008 |
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ATTENTION
ALUMNAE
Please keep us informed of important
happenings in your personal and professional lives. It will be our pleasure
to post your news in our next SKAPPENINGS! Please email us at
hspirn@skahalb.org
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A Message from Mrs. Spirn
How fortunate I was to spend Intersession vacation with my family in Eretz
YIsrael. What a special experience it was to bump into so many SKA
students and families in the Rova, at the Kotel and everywhere else we
seemed to go. We had the zechut to join the HALB Trip for two wonderful days
filled with touring, discovery and friendship, resulting in a stronger
connection to and a heightened love of Eretz Yisrael.
There were
two special evenings that gave me tremendous chizuk on both personal and
professional levels. On Motzai Shabbat, I hosted our first ever
Reunion for SKA graduates living in Eretz Yisrael. More than 30
graduates arrived, some with baby carriages, almost all with photographs and
a desire to reflect on their memories of SKA in a positive and wistful
way. Almost 50% of those gathered were from our first two graduating
classes! I can't wait to do it again!
On Monday
night, it was off to Michlalah where the Class of 2007 gathered together for
a beautiful reunion, featuring a DVD from SKA filled with personal messages
from our faculty and of course, a special screening of this year's SKA
Production. Our graduates came out in droves and wanted to watch every
possible moment of both DVD's. After the screening, we continued to bond,
sing, dance and even kumsitz together. It was hard to say goodbye but
we did so.....four hours later. It was wonderful to be together and
share our SKA memories, but even more special to see how everyone loves
being in Eretz Yisrael and is growing so beautifully in their learning and
personal journeys. May the rest of the year be filled with more growth
and may we always appreciate the strong connections our girls have with each
other and our administration and faculty! Baruch Hashem, that we are able to
keep the kesharim that we create in high school, with each other and with
the people that help us grow.
Upon our
return to school, we were delighted to hear the news of more smachot
of our graduates; engagements, weddings, and births. Mazel tov to our
many alumnae who are listed in this week's Mazel Tovs. We are delighted that
two more SMARTBOARDS were installed while we were away; our students
certainly appreciate the opportunity to learn with cutting edge technology.
Two videos
were just released about our inspiring Yom Iyun on Disabilities and about
being part of Production 2007. We hope that our extended SKA family
gets a taste of both of these programs by clicking on these links.
I look
forward to welcoming the Senior Class to my home on Motzai Shabbat for this
month's Moreshet Aviva gathering on the middah of Bitachon. Girls, may
you have bitachon in the decisions that you have made these past weeks about
your next year's study in Eretz Yisrael. We are so proud of you and
the personal choices you have made!
May you all have an inspiring
and restful Shabbat!
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Israel Reunion X 2
During intersession vacation, SKA was zocheh to host not one, but two Alumnae
Reunions in Israel.
In what has become a yearly tradition, the graduating class assembled with Mrs.
Spirn, SKA Principal, and faculty members, past and present. Over 50
graduates of the Class of 2007 gathered in Yerushalayim for a "4 hour"
get-together of shmoozing, laughing, learning and singing. The
graduates were thrilled to be together once again at the reunion and enjoyed
watching a DVD with messages from current SKA faculty and administrators. They
truly appreciated watching clips of this year's SKA Production, Generations.
Dancing, singing and a kumsitz
brought the Class of 2007 together in a unique way, in Yerushalayim, proudly
displaying their achdut and hakarat hatov toward SKA and their former
classmates. We wish them continued hatzlacha and growth in their limud Torah and
personal journeys this year!
The
second Alumnae Reunion was held on Motzai Shabbos by Mrs. Spirn for graduates
who are currently living in Israel. They started arriving with baby
carriages, baby pictures, cameras and lots of excitement. All in all, more
than 30 women came to the reunion and were thrilled to be nostalgic, reminisce
about their SKA years, catch up and share their enthusiasm about living in Eretz
Yisrael. Many of the graduates have "officially" made aliyah while others are
spending time learning for a defined period of time. The evening
was euphoric and filled with warm memories of SKA and personal experiences.
We are proud that so many of our graduates are living in Eretz Yisrael and look
forward to future Alumnae Reunions in Yerushalayim.
CLICK HERE TO SEE MORE PICTURES!!
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Mazal Tov to Our Merit Finalists
Mazal Tov to Rebecca Krauss and Sarah Meira Rosenberg who
were named National Merit Finalists. They are now eligible to compete for the
Merit Scholarship.
We wish them and their families much hatzlacha as they go
me'chayil el chayil
!!
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Sophomore and Junior Parent Orientation/
Internet
Awareness Night
Sophomore and
Junior parents gathered in separate meeting on Tuesday night, February 5, 2008
to learn about opportunities for their daughters. Mrs Spirn told the 10th
grade parents about the courses the girls could take in the 11th
grade including the electives and AP classes, highlighting how this will impact
their junior year and their college choices. Dr. Meier, Mrs. Sachs and Mr.
Fiedler spoke to the 11th grade parents about the college application
process. The parents then gathered together to hear Mr. Phil Rosenthal give a
wonderful workshop on the topic of internet safety. This is the second time Mr.
Rosenthal has presented this program to SKA parents and he always receives rave
reviews.
The
evening was jam packed with all sorts of information and we hope this will make
next year a wonderful learning and growth experience for the SKA students.
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Internet Awareness Program for Students
This week we had the privilege of hearing Ms. Cindy Bloch, Case Manager at the
Missing and Exploited Children Clearinghouse at the NYS Department of Criminal
Justice Service, speak to the school about Internet Safety. She brought up very
important points about how easy it is to track people on the Internet. In four
separate grade presentations, Ms. Bloch was able to show us that within 20
minutes you can be tracked down using basic information posted on profile pages.
She taught us the importance of not posting private things on Facebook, MySpace,
and other social sites that we would not want to be judged upon. She enabled us
to become fully aware of the dangers of the Internet and this impacted us in
many ways.
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Mock Trial Wins 1st Trial of the Season
On Wednesday the SKA Mock Trial Team went up against the HAFTR team and
won!!!
The SKA lawyers cross examined intensely and the witnesses played their roles
beautifully, fighting with all their might! This was the first trial and the
team could not have done such an amazing job without the help and guidance of
coach, Mr. Isaac Zucker. Thank you so much Mr. Z!!
The team is now looking forward to taking the other side as the defendants
on Monday against
Friends Academy.
Good Luck!!!!
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Toni and Irving Rosen Israel
Studies and Programs
This week all the grades participated in an
Israel
advocacy program. The
students watched a slideshow, put together by
Mrs. Feinberg, which
presented facts and information about Israel,
its history and the current political situation. The students then went into
different rooms where the slides were again displayed on SMARTboards for
reference and the girls
wrote letters of advocacy
to important figures in our nation's government . The program concluded with
the recitation of tehillim for Medinat Yisrael. Students learned information
about Israel
and at the same time enjoyed feeling that they could make a difference.
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Intergenerational Program
Intergenerational
Day is always an exciting treat to those of us who love spending time with our
friends at Woodmere Rehab. This past Thursday, for our "frosty fun"
themed program, SKA brought in about 10 residents to share lunch with us and to
join in stimulating activities to help us battle the cold. After some
fascinating schmoozing and yummy refreshments, each student volunteer worked
with a resident to build their own snowflakes!!!! Then, we built snowman out of
clay with the residents. They delighted in the names they picked and the various
items of clothing they designed to put on the snowmen. SKA
girls were warmed by the residents ' happiness, truly excited by the senior
citizen excitement. The chesed went both ways. It was a true winter
extravaganza!
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AP Biology Takes a Trip to Cold Spring Harbor
On Thursday February 7, the eleventh grade AP
Biology class went to the DNA Learning Center at Lake Success. With the
help of the lab assistant they were able to use the high tech equipment and
transform E.Coli bacteria with a
GFP plasmid. The students left with a
deeper understanding of biotechnology and the tremendous impact it is having on
our lives. Each group took home their set of petri dishes which they
analyzed in class the next day. Amazingly, the
students' results conformed to their predictions.
This trip was a follow-up to last week's AP Bio lab activities that explored the
procedures of biotechnology. The class had a chance to learn hands on about
restriction enzymes and gel electrophoreses. Last Friday's lab utilized six
brand new gel electrophoresis sets to analyze harmless viral DNA. Thank you to
Mrs. Gross for making this a fun and educational week!!!!!
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Weiss Family Makes a Seudat Hoda'ah for the 11th Grade
This past
Wednesday, Rosh Chodesh Adar, the Weiss family held a
Seudat HoDa'ah, a Feast of Thanks, to thank Hashem for saving them from the
terrible fire that destroyed their home and to thank everyone in the grade for
helping them get through this difficult time.
Bagels, muffins, and fruit were served as the 11th
grade experienced something that most have not experienced before and the girls
were introduced to the concept of a Seudat HoDa'ah.
Naomi, Mrs. Weiss, Mrs. Spirn and Mrs. Kaminetsky spoke and the speeches were
uplifting, inspiring and emotional. Each student in the
eleventh grade was given a special shemah card, so she could learn the
importance of saying shemah every night and be a recipient of the protection
this tefillah gives Am Yisroel.
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Math Team Competition
Thirteen girls from grades 9-12 participated in the Nassau County Math Contest
on Tuesday, Feb 5. This was the fifth of six contests
sponsored during this school year. Half of the contests allow
graphing calculators to be used, half do not allow any calculators and this one
did not .
The SKA team travels to DRS to complete with students from DRS, HAFTR, and
RAMBAM at the same time that hundreds of other students are competing all over
Nassau County.
SKA sponsors a math club to help interested girls
prepare for the questions asked at the contests since the questions asked
gobeyond the regular NY State math curriculum.
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Dani Lent '07 Featured in
Odyssey Magazine
It was so
special to see Dani Lent,'07 , who is learning this year at Migdal Oz,
featured in Odyssey at Stony Brook University
where she developed a method of recycling plastics that is cost efficient and
environmentally friendly . There is a patent pending for her
process.
Dani, along
with her partner Emily Levine, was a Siemens Westinghouse Semifinalist
and won the Roch Award for Sustainable Development . She was also named a
Davison Fellow in Science for her work.
Once again, we
wish a Mazal Tov to Dani and to her entire family!!
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Mrs. Mirsky's Sophomores Write
Letters to an Author
The 10th
grade read Alice Hoffman's new young adult book,
Incantationwhich tells the story of a young girl whose family are Conversos
during the Spanish Inquisition. The book was
then used as a basis for a research paper on the Spanish Inquisition.
Students were so intrigued with the story that they wanted to write to Ms.
Hoffman and tell her how much they enjoyed her book and also ask her how she
came to write this story. Questions ranged from
"Are you Jewish?" to "Where did you grow up?" and "Did Estrella and her
grandmother escape successfully?"
Rather than write one letter
from the grade, each student wrote to Ms. Hoffman and asked those
questions that interested her most. After they were all written, Mrs. Mirsky
placed them in a folder and sent them to Ms. Hoffman only half expecting an
answer. But Ms. Hoffman did write back to the students. Not only did she
answer all their questions - she is Jewish and she grew up in West Hempstead -
but she agreed with Deena Miller who aspired to be like Estrella.
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9th Grade Light Up the Nights
Melave Malka
Last motzei Shabbos, the freshmen
came to S.K.A. for a meklava malka and were greeted
by their fellow students who had prepared an evening to
remember. Glow in the dark
bracelets and necklaces were handed out along with flashlights to aid them
with a scavenger hunt... in complete darkness! There was total chaos
as each group ran from room to room, and floor to floor, trying to decipher
the intricate clues in the dark! When one clue was found, another followed,
along with a puzzle piece. The
last clue led them to the auditorium, where each individual group tried to
assemble the puzzle and solve the code written on the puzzle.
This fun-filled evening ended
with a delicious malevah malkah : bagels, doughnuts, salads and
cake. And of course, an S.K.A. gathering is never complete without singing,
dancing and lots of ruach!! Our thanks to Mrs.
Liebtag and Mrs. Siegel who made this evening happen! Although it was not
Chanukah, the freshmen had a blast lighting up the night!!
CLICK HERE TO SEE MORE PICTURES!
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Rosh Chodesh Adar I
Rosh Chodesh Adar Aleph arrived at SKA with a bang!
The Rosh Chodesh Committee had a great short presentation about Adar Aleph and
Purim Katan. Dressed up in funky costumes, they gave out candy corn because it
had three corners, just like Haman's hat. The
G.O put "twisted" twizzlers on the lockers and the SKA students were treated to
" twisted" hot pretzels, with mustard of course! The seniors participated
as well, bringing simcha to the whole school (literally) and singing,
"mishenichnas adar marbim b'simcha." We love Adar!!
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G.O. Welcomes Everyone Back to School
Alhough the students are all happy to be back in Stella K. after our vacations,
the G.O. realized
that some girls might be missing their tropical or not-so-tropical time away. So
to bring vacation
back for a day,
S.K.A.'s wonderful G.O. brought the entire student body to a "tropical
island," with a little twist.
Dressing up as pirates Avi, Michal, Jorge, Miriam, Alana, Rebecca and Gratzia
"kidnapped" 4 students and 1 teacher and took them away to this Island. In order
to get their friends back, each grade had to complete a series of tasks
in order to regain their captives. Although the eleventh grade proved
triumphant, the kindhearted pirates gave back all the captives just in time for
ices!
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Clubs Begin Again
This past week clubs started again and the SKA girls can choose a club that
interests them most. There are so many options like guitar, sushi making and
jump rope. There is something for everyone so enjoy and have fun!!!
CLICK HERE TO SEE MORE PICTURES |
Lilmod Ule'Lamed for Mothers and Alumnae!
Just a reminder that our Lilmod Ule'lamed Program for
HALB mothers and alumnae will
continue at SKA next Tuesday, February 12th, at 12:00 PM
- Please note the time
change! Dr. Meier will present the final shiur in her
three part series on "Inspiration
from the Depths of the Churban: The Words of Yirmiyahu."
The series is being sponsored by Mrs. Debbie Benedict,
in loving memory of her father,
Menashe Nash Kestenbaum, a"h.
If you would like to reserve a date(s) to sponsor this
year's Lilmod Ule'lamed,
please feel free to contact Mrs. Spirn at
hspirn@skahalb.orgorat374-7195, ext. 155.
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