We have watched 310 students successfully complete Regents and final examinations in many subject areas. We have seen a large number of our students opt to take AP exams to enrich their learning and qualify for college credit.  We have seen our students receive awards and recognition in many disciplines and are proud of our seniors receiving academic scholarships to various institutions.   

We have been zocheh to help the larger community through our students' acts of chesed and the fulfillment of more than 12,000 hours of their collective chesed responsibilities.  We have seen a new playground built in Sderot after a successful Walkathon last year that drew close to a thousand people of all ages. We sponsored an entire wedding in Yerushalayim for a yesoma through Ezer Mi'tzion. We have supported many institutions and offered respite to many families through both our Chesed projects and our Senior Work Study Internship program and have watched our students develop their personal interests and talents.  

We have been zocheh to inculcate in our students a deeper understanding, knowledge and love of Eretz Yisrael through our Irving and Toni Israel Studies and Programs and the David Project and are excited about our new course on the History of Israel that we introduced this year.   We were honored to introducing a Teacher Training and Internship program this year and we are proud that 2 of the 3 teachers in the program will be joining our faculty this September, iy"h.

We are fortunate to work with a great Parent Council under the leadership of Yocheved Goldberg, Carol Krauss and Heshy Schertz, who support our efforts in countless ways and hosted a beautiful Mother Daughter Brunch honoring Mrs. Tzipi Antman and Mrs. Sara Taib.  We are grateful to offer educational opportunities for our moms like Lilmod Ule'lamed on Tuesdays and ongoing Community Wide Lectures for Women.  

We are thrilled to welcome so many of our alumnae each week for shiurim and learning here at SKA and at Stern College. We were honored to host several reunions here in the States and in Yerushalayim and look forward to an upcoming reunion for our second and third  graduating classes.

 

We dedicated this school year to the theme of Emet and incorporated ideas of behaving honestly and with integrity in private and in public at Shabbaton , with other occasions in between. Our GO provided many wonderful opportunities for fun, growth and reflections too, especially on the theme of Emet.

 

Production 2008 highlighted the musical, dance, dramatic, sign language and artistic talents of close to two thirds of our school at two performances at Hewlett High School, which were attended by over one thousand women.  Shabbaton 2008 was an incredible retreat with the opportunity to bond with classmates up in the country while enjoying the experience of being part of the SKA family.  

 

Our students produced beautiful publications which we shared with our larger community: The Looking Glass, our school newspaper; our weekly Parsha Press and seasonal Yom Tov Press; At Ptach, our Haggadah; our 9th grade Holocaust Journal; Matrix, our Literary Journal and our Yom Yerushalayim Hebrew Journal.

 

 It has been a wonderful year of growth and accomplishment for our students. I wish all the members of our SKA family a wonderful summer and an opportunity to relax, reflect and to grow! 

To my students....please remember the  letters you wrote in our yearend meetings and the words of Dovid Hamelech,  "Sur maira v'aseh tov!"......"Remove yourself from negativity" and be sure to perform actions that are positive and chesed oriented. If you concentrate on doing tov, removing yourself from negative influences  and difficult situations won't be so hard.  May you all continue to "do tov" and grow in your avodat Hashem to be the beautiful, sensitive and talented young women you are meant to be!!!  

Have a wonderful summer and be sure to relax!!!