On Purim night, all the grades at SKA had grade chagigot that took place after megilah reading and the fast break: Thanks to all the Grade Level Advisors who planned and attended the evenings and to the madrichot who joined in.
 
The 9th grade Purim chagigah had an overwhelming feeling of ruach and achdut. The students creatively dressed up according to the "black and white" theme. There was great food, fun games and amazing spirit. A special thanks to the Thalheims for opening up their home for us and hosting an amazing party! 
       
        Written by: Dina Rubin

  At the 10th grade Purim Chagigah   there was lots of dancing and singing, as well as an amazing speaker and a creative skit! Every 10th grader's Purim was greatly enhanced by this amazing Purim party filled with simcha. Special thanks to the Honig's for opening their home to our girls and hosting the Chagigah.

      Written by: Shira Stavsky

  The eleventh grade enjoyed a wonderful dreamland-themed Purim chagigah at the home of Jordana Mael. The girls played musical chairs, sang, danced, and ate in the spirit of Purim simcha! The highlight of the Juniors' evening was t-shirt making, when each student decorated her own t-shirt to be worn the following Wednesday at school.. The eleventh grade motto, "Oxygen, Seatbelts, Juniors" was found on all of the girls' t-shirts and was cheered numerous times during their chagigah! A special thanks to the Maels for opening their home! The Juniors look forward to Purim 2010 when they will be able to chant: "Oxygen, Seatbelts, Seniors!"

Written by:  Nina Mehlman, Rebecca Najjar, and Rachel Chaya Simon- Tov

  The Seniors spent the night riding in a special Purim bus that they had decorated, going to different teachers' homes, and wishing them a "Chag Purim Sameach!" The Seniors dressed up as fictional characters and danced at the homes of Mrs. Spirn, Mrs. Ralbag, Mrs. Lavner, Mrs. Wagner, and Mrs. Kaminetsky. The students sang a grammin for each teacher and enjoyed lots of food and nosh at each home. The girls had a splendid time and enjoyed spending Purim b'achdut!

       Written by: Reva Fenster

 

The Senior class celebrated from Rosh Chodesh Adar until Purim, coming to school in costume every day for two weeks. On the first day an e-mail was sent out with a calendar informing every senior what costumes they should wear for the next 14 days. There were princesses, "green day", hippies and a "post Israel" look. The girls truly enjoyed seeing what their friends plan on being in 5 years! It was a great way to unite the class of '09 and to welcome the Chodesh of Purim!

        Written by: Naomi Weiss

 

Thursday February 25th was trip day at SKA and the 9th grade went on their annual Freshmen getaway to Coca Key, an indoor water park. The girls truly enjoyed going on the water slides and "chilling" out with their friends and teachers. Then an adventurous SKAvenger hunt in the mall was followed by a trip to New Rock City where the students  played exciting games and ate a pizza dinner. The trip was   filled with achdut and fun. Special thanks to the Freshmen Grade Level Advisors, Mrs. Leibtag and Mrs. Segal for planning  the trip and to Mrs. Leibtag, Mrs. Segal, Mrs. Antman, Ms. Borg, Mrs. Perlmutter, Mrs. Pomerantz, and Ms. Statman for chaperoning the trip.
 
Written by: Shoshana Kaminetsky, Ariela Bortz, Jessica Myers, Aviva Zimmermann & Rikki Lewis

 

A lay'l iyun for the 10th graders on the theme of heroes! Sleeping at SKA with a 4 a.m. wakeup!  Yes! It was the 10th grade annual Washington lobbying trip. The girls lobbied intensely against terrorism and terrorist funding for four packed hours and then enjoyed an early dinner at Max's Deli. They arrived back at SKA at 11:00 tired, but with a sense of accomplishment knowing their opinions made a difference. A special thanks to Mrs. Gross, Mrs. Jacobs, Mrs. Alter, Mrs. Bryk, Mrs. Budne, Mr., Fiedler, Rabbi Friedman, and Rabbi Zak who chaperoned the trip.
 
        Written by: Shevi Daar

 
The 11th grade girls embarked on an incredible, life changing journey, the annual Jewish History trip. The students visited various Jewish communities such as Williamsburg, Crown Heights, YU-Stern, New Square, the Syrian community and the Upper West Side and had the opportunity to hear about the life styles and traditions of these Jewish groups all over New York. It was eye-opening to see that all these communities are united in the same love of Torah and Avodat Hashem, although there are also obvious differences. It was truly an inspirational and awesome experience and an educational one as well! Many thanks to the chaperones:, Mrs. Shmulevitz, Ms. Aeder , Ms. Chambre, Mrs. Sova, Mrs. Bindiger, Rabbi Eisenbach, Mrs. Kaminetsky, Mrs. Mirsky, Mrs. Rotenstein,  and Rabbi Rothman
 
       Written by: Shana Wagner

 

It was a whirlwind day for the SKA seniors! All the other grades went "away" on trips and the seniors stayed local...and had a blast!
 
Seniors joined the children at the Queens Gymnasia in celebrating Purim and then had some creative time painting pottery at Artrageous. A former SKA graduate, Mrs. Jackie Bitton, spoke with humor and strength about the meaning of true simcha. The seniors participated in a murder mystery and even watched a fun movie about shidduchim. When it was over, the students gathered in the bowling alley, lit candles, sang beautiful songs to the guitar accompaniment of Shira Williger, and listened to some of their friends talk about overcoming challenges in life and being b'simcha.
 
It was a perfect day with an interesting blend of fun, chesed and inspiration. Thanks to Mrs Kobre and Mrs Ralbag for all the planning, to Mrs. Block for opening up her home to the girls, and to the chaperones: Mrs. Kobre, Mrs. Ralbag, Mrs. Block, Mrs. Feinberg, Mrs. Manne, Mrs. Mirsky and Dr. Meier.

 

 
The Varsity College Bowl Team attended a meet a HANC on February 26th and played three rounds against HAFTR, HANC and DRS.  A special thanks to coach, Mr. Fiedler for an amazing year and to Mrs. Lavner for chaperoning the event.
Sara Schnoll

 
The SKA SHAC committee   kicked-off its theme for Chodesh Adar by focusing on positive speech, Lashon Tov. SHAC sponsored the first Teacher vs. Student basketball game and presented the new theme with an awesome halftime show. The gym was packed with students and teachers cheering for their friends, as well as loud music to pump up the atmosphere! SHAC will be continuing this theme of Lashon Tov throughout the month with different ideas such as the "Hello in the Hallways" game which is coming soon. A special thanks to the entire SKA basketball team, the faculty who participated in this event, and to Mrs. Jacobs, SHAC Faculty Advisor. Guess who won the game!!

  The SKA Debate Team recently took part in two exciting debates: "Should the United States put a cap on punitive damage?" and "Should hospitals take away funds from a hospital that forces its doctors to perform any procedure?" In anticipation of both debates, the students researched many articles on their topics, and were able to stun their opponents with fantastic arguments and rebuttals. We are so proud of the team for trying their best and winning numerous matches! Thank you to Ms. Chambre for coaching and chaperoning the girls.

      Written by Elana Schreier

 




















Tu B'shvat arrived at SKA and with it came a hysterical  G.O. skit to convey the importance of  the day  and the significance of the Chagim in general. The skit included a talking tree, the Sheva Minim and even a "very cool" Rabbi!   The entire school was then invited to enjoy a "birthday snack" in honor of the trees' birthday. Thanks to the G.O. for this special treat!

  SKA had what? A tisch! No.....two tisches!!
As part of the B'Lev Echad program, to highlight the middah of kedushat Shabbos, the creative GO planned two beautifully inspiring tisches at the Wernick and Schreier homes. With two grades at each house, GO went from door to door, bringing ruach and excitement to each Tisch. There was an overabundance of cake, candy, soda, potato kugel, and of course, chulent which was enjoyed by all! A special thanks to the GO and all of the teachers and administrators who attended the Tisch, sharing their inspiring stories, songs, and Divrei Torah with the students. This was another one of those SKA fabulous firsts!