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SKAppenings |
Parshat Vayishlach
11 Kislev 5768
November 21, 2007 |
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QUICK LINKS |
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
CLASS of 1998: Stay tuned for information on
your grade's 10 Year Reunion
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Lilmod Ule'Lamed for Mothers and Alumnae!
We thank Mrs. Leah Feinberg for completing her outstanding series on "The Imahot
as reflected in Parashat Hashavuah." Special thanks to the Kalter family who
dedicated last week's shiur in memory of Mordecha
ben Aharon Leib a"h and
Miriam bat Sachna a"h. Hakarat hatov to the Goldberg family who
dedicated this week's shiur in memory of their aunt Chana Leah bat Rivka Rochel
a"h.
Rabbi Eisenbach will begin the next series this coming Tuesday, November
27th at SKA on "The Power of Prayer."
Sponsorship is available for next week's shiur.
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.org
or at 374-7195, ext. 155. | |
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A Message from Mrs. Spirn
This was a
difficult week as we grieved with Rachel Chaya Siman-Tov, her sister Ariella
'05, and her family over the loss of Rachel Chaya's mom, Mrs. Shari Siman-Tov
a"h, after her 5 year battle with cancer. How hard it was for our students to
assimilate the news on Motzai Shabbos at the Shabbaton! At that time, we tried
to emotionally prepare the girls for the levaya the next day and did a lot of
hugging, schmoozing, and sharing.
We know this is a
challenging time for our students as they experience the fragility of life, many
of them for the first time. This was complicated even more by the untimely loss
of beloved HALB teacher, Mrs. Robin Greenstein, a"h, who inspired all those who
encountered her.
Within our school
family, we've tried to emphasize unity in times of joy as well as adversity,
love and support for our friends, sensitivity, kindness and understanding. We've
tried to help our girls confront the many emotions they are facing through the
help of Mrs. Haber and Ms. Keehn, SKA social workers, their Grade Level
Advisors, and our faculty.
In addition, we are
privileged to be working with Chai-Lifeline. Mrs. Zehava Farbman and Mrs. Lisa
Reich, Chai-Lifeline social workers, conducted sessions with our girls this week
and discussed some of the issues which have emerged from this tragedy.
We are very proud of our students, especially our Sophomore Class, who dedicated
themselves to perform acts of kindness and show sensitivity toward their
classmate. They have learned what chesed shel emet is all about and how to
express kavod chavercha.
At our Shabbaton,
we focused on our theme, "Y'hi kavod chavercha
chaviv alecha k'shelach," We received inspiration from
Rebbetzin Esther Jungreis and enjoyed our
Senior Class presentation of the Museum of Loving Kindness.
How impressive our Seniors were in their portrayal of true acts of chesed ; they
made us all think and reflect about what is truly important in life.
I also want to express my condolences to Faigy Weintraub
('06) and the entire Weintraub family on the loss of their beloved mother,
Mrs. Naomi Weintraub, a"h. May Hashem provide comfort for the
Weintraub, Simantov and Greenstein families amongst the mourners of Tzion
and Yerushalayim.
I hope that the Thanksgiving break will provide our students and families with
the opportunity to spend quality time with each other as we all continue to give
each other comfort and chizuk.
May we only share smachot
and besorot tovot!
Shabbat Shalom! |
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Shabbaton
2007!!
Why is it that no matter how long we look forward to Shabbaton (this year
even longer, because it got pushed off!) it's still over in a blink of an
eye? As usual, it was a blast from the first moment on Friday morning
when Bus 5 didn't show up, to the last moment on Sunday afternoon, when we
were all too tired to walk straight. But, of course, it was way too short.
We got to Kutsher's Hotel on Friday afternoon and, after eating lunch, there was
swimming, ice skating, strolling around the huge hotel, taking pictures, and
enjoying each other's company. Then preparation for Shabbos began - a
several-hours-long process when 4 or 5 girls share one bathroom! But, we all
managed to look beautiful and still have time for the famous "Shabbos pictures"
before going downstairs for tefila.
Kabbalat Shabbat was beautiful and spiritual as 370 people joined together to
welcome the Shabbos and hear more about the theme of the weekend. Singing,
Kiddush, and dinner followed - the salad bar was as good as QCumbers'!!
The entire school joined in one big circle to sing songs, cheer, hear Divrei
Torah about this year's theme: Kavod Chavercha - honoring your friends - watch a
Sign Language class presentation, sing our Shabbaton theme song and in general,
have a blast.
Our
illustrious guest speaker, Rebbetzin Esther Jungreis addressed us after
bentching. Her speech
was moving and thought provoking and we all enjoyed it greatly. She told us that
life can be challenging, but it is in our power to remain positive and look at
the Torah as a source of chizuk to overcome those challenges. We were all
emotional after the Rebbetzin's presentation, but then we had grade-wide onegs,
with fun games and amazing singing, until it was time to go upstairs.
We woke up Shabbos morning and went down to davening (breakfast, if you were
early enough!) and continued on to a Kiddush and then a great program run by the
12th graders. The
Museum of
Natural Kindness was an 'exhibit' used to show us how we can bring
kindness into our everyday lives. The Seniors did a great job with this
interactive display and we really learned a lot and were inspired by
their presentation of true life stories. The program was dedicated l'zecher
nishmat Sheva Rachel Bat Tzvi,a'h, mother of Henna Warman. Lunch followed -
again with an amazing salad bar. Mincha followed and then an hour to relax or
nap. Seudat Shlishit included incredible circle-time, beautiful singing and
another speech from the Rebbetzin. After an inspiring havdallah, we lined up to
receive our own copy of Rebbetzin Jungreis' book, Life is A Test.
After Mrs. Spirn shared the news of the petira of Mrs. Shari Siman-Tov a"h, we
heard from Rebbetzin Jungreis who delivered extra divrei chizuk. We needed time
to absorb the tragic news, as individuals, as a grade, and as a school.
And of course, the programs scheduled for the evening were adjusted to reflect
our sadness.
We really came together within our grades and as a school during the Melave
Malka. There was some dancing, a fantastic
slideshow compiled by Junior Rachel Herzberg, and a short movie from Talent Show
Heads Elana Bindiger, Elana Haar, Emi Renov, and Jaime Rothman. An inspirational
kumsitz closed the program and we ate and shmoozed until lights out (ha ha!).
Sunday morning wakeup was early and, after tefila and breakfast, we were on our
way back to SKA with great memories, inspiration, and chizuk.
CLICK HERE TO SEE MORE PICTURES!!
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Rebbetzin Jungreis Presents Life Is a Test to SKA Students
As if hearing her words of inspiration and chizuk were not enough, on Motzei
Shabbat, every student, madricha and teacher at the Shabbaton was given a
copy of Rebbetzin Jungreis' newest book, Life is a
Test. Imagine more than 350 people on line waiting to
receive a hug, a kiss and a sefer from Rebbetzin Jungreis. And that's just
what happened!
Since Rebbetzin Jungreis made extensive reference to the book during
her Friday night presentation, the girls just couldn't wait to start reading
her book and hear even more Torah and chizuk. We thank the Zehnwirth
family for sponsoring this special presentation in honor of the faculty and
students of SKA.
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SKA-DRS Parent Internet Awareness Program
Internet Cop Phil Rosenthal was the guest speaker at an Internet Awareness
Evening sponsored by SKA High School for
Girls and DRS Yeshiva High School for Boys. The event, which took place
on November 14, 2007 at DRS, was a proactive program for parents only and will
be followed up with a program for the students.
Phil Rosenthal told the crowd of people who filled the DRS Beit Midrash that
while the Internet has many benefits, like so much else in life, it is also the
site of many harmful activities. Unfortunately, many of our teens are online and
do not realize that the Internet is, in fact, a vast public arena.
The dangers of Facebook, "stranger danger," and pornography were some of the
topics that he spoke of as he told stories, sometimes with humor and
often with sadness, of his own investigations over the years.
His advice to parents included: not allowing teens to have Internet access in
their own rooms behind closed doors, to forbid or at least monitor Facebook
postings, to set Internet limits, and to have appropriate filters to help our
children positively navigate the Internet. He noted that once something is
posted on the Internet, as in an AOL profile, it is there forever and anyone who
has a little computer knowledge, can access it. He said that future
employers now search the Internet to understand who their applicants are and
even Israeli Yeshivot have contacted him to understand how they can access
information on prospective students.
But the overarching message was
this. Do not think this is only about someone else. It is about us, our
children, and our community. We must talk to our children and communicate with
them to assure that they are educated and safe. Together, we can protect our
children and promote Torah, spiritual development, and academic growth in the
next generation.
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Israel Night and Interviews
A Joint Long Island Girls' Israel
Night, a first for Long Island Yeshivot, was held on November 7, 2007 at
HAFTR High School.
SKA parents and students first met with Mrs. Spirn, Dr. Meier, and Mrs.
Yudin for an overview of the evening and the whole application process.
Then, everyone dispersed to visit the more than 25 rooms which were occupied by
the Israel Schools. The response to the evening was overwhelmingly positive and
we thank HAFTR for hosting this event.
Meanwhile, the interview process at SKA has already begun!! Rav Pollack of
Michlalah arrived at SKA on Monday, November 12th, to begin the
interviews and completed them on the 13th.
All the other Israel interviews will take place in December.
The following is a list of the dates as of now.
November 28:
Michlalah test
November 30:
Shaalvim
December 3:
Shaalvim
December 7:
Amit
December 11:
Midreshet Moriah, Nishmat
December 12:
Tiferet
December 12, 13: Stern College
December 14:
MMY test
Week of December 17th:
Migdal Oz
December 18, 20: MMY
December 26:
Midreshet Harova
Good luck, everyone!! We know that you will all do beautifully!! |
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Chesed at the Soup Kitchen
Last Thursday's trip to a kosher Soup Kitchen in Manhattan was a very meaningful
experience for all who attended. In the week preceding the trip, each
girl signed up to bring specific foods that would help supply a nutritious and
delicious lunch to those who would otherwise have gone hungry. When we
arrived at Emunat Israel,
we were greeted by a representative from Project
Ohr, the organization that runs the Soup Kitchen. He explained to us what
we would be doing and what we should expect to see and then we got busy in the
kitchen preparing the hot dogs and accompaniments. As the clients streamed in,
we served them lunch, walked around and kept them company, and tried to create a
generally friendly atmosphere that they would enjoy.
Thank you to Seniors Jorge Bienenfeld and Davina Wadler, whose efforts in
organizing the trip made it the success that it was. |
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The Juniors Help Clean Up the Cemetery
This past Monday, the Juniors went on the annual
restoration and cleanup trip to the Hebrew National Free Burial Society cemetery
in Staten Island. After hearing a shiur focusing
on a halachic overview of guidelines for a cemetery from Rabbi Weinberger,
including brachot and proper behavior, the girls headed onto the buses
for what would be a very meaningful trip. With
gardening gloves, rakes, and tons of garbage bags, they picked up leaves and
sticks, straightened up tombstones, and cleaned around the graves. Girls said a
few perakim of Tehilim and focused on the lineage of these forgotten Jews. The
11th
graders learned a lot about chesed shel emet and felt honored to give our fellow
brothers and sisters the kavod they so greatly deserve.
CLICK HERE TO SEE MORE PICTURES!
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Lev Connections Club
The Lev Connections Club, where a connection and bond is formed between two
Yeshivat Lev schools, SKA High School
and the Lev Chana Preschool, began this past Tuesday. This was the first
week in which 17 SKA girls, representatives of 9th, 10th, 11th, and 12th grades,
went to the 4 year old nursery classroom to read to their reading buddies. Each
high school student brought a book and was paired with two or three
preschoolers. The SKA students heard from Morah
Betty Shusterman, coordinator of the Lev Chana Preschool, about what makes great
literature for children. She provided guidance and her expertise in picking out
children's books. The high school students also learned about the unique
relationship that they could forge with Lev Chana preschoolers. The look
of eagerness and excitement was apparent in everyone's eyes. We look forward to
continuing an ongoing relationship with our reading buddies in Lev Chana.
Thank you to Mrs. Debbie Rubel, BOCES psychologist, for leading the club and
coordinating the program.
CLICK HERE TO SEE MORE PICTURES!
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College Bowl Begins Competition
We had our first College Bowl meet of the year at North Shore High School.
Both the Varsity and Junior Varsity teams played against Magen David, Rambam,
and HAFTR. Each team won one out of three matches. Special thanks to coach
Mr. Michael Fiedler for all of his efforts in preparing and guiding SKA's
College Bowl Team. |
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Gila Manolson Speaks at SKA
Gila Manolson, renowned author and speaker, came to SKA to speak to the tenth
and eleventh grade girls and focused on ideas
presented in her book, The Magic Touch..
Mrs. Manolson spoke to two assemblies drawing
from her experiences as a ba'alat teshuva and emphasizing the
beauty and power of being shomer negiah.
Mrs. Manolson told the girls the story about the first Jewish wedding she went
to before she became Torah observant. She had remarked to her Jewish friend that
the bride seemed more innocent than all the non-Jewish brides she had seen. She
was told to her surprise that the bride had never touched her husband and that
the first time they would touch would be after the ceremony. She was astonished,
but concluded that it made sense.
Mrs. Manolson explained to the girls that if they are shomrei negiah when they
are single, the physical and spiritual bond with their husbands will be more
meaningful and more powerful. She inspired the girls to look for deeper meaning
in these areas and to strive for a higher level of observance. | |
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