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SKAppenings
Parshat Bamidbar
1
Sivan 5770
May 14, 2010
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A Message from Mrs. Spirn
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As we prepare for zman matan toratainu and reflect on
our own personal commitment to limud Torah and kabbalat hamitzvot,
I want to focus on three recent school events that I found
inspiring.
The Girls' Torah Bowl Championship took place two weeks
ago and was an experience to remember. Four schools participated
and each had won their Division Title, qualifying them for the
Championship round. Sitting in the audience, I was awed by the
mastery of Torah that so many girls had acquired and not only at
SKA! Their broad knowledge of Chumash and Rashi and their
speed in responding to the questions reflected their commitment to
Limud Torah and personal amelut. We were so proud that our Torah
Bowl team members won 2nd place among 22 schools. Mazel tov to
all the girls who participated all season and to Chaya Leba Berger,
Miriam Pearl Klahr, Deena Miller and Jennifer Strauss who represented
our team so magnificently at the Championship game. Special
hakarat hatov to Mrs. Beaty Menchel, dedicated Torah Bowl advisor and
coach.
We are so proud of our students' participation in
Yeshiva University's Bekiut Program in Gemara under the guidance
of Rabbi David Friedman. Mazel tov to Deena Miller, Rachel Lunzer and
Esther Klapholz who placed 1st, 3rd and 4th place in the Amud
competition and to Miriam Khukhashvili who placed 10th in the Daf
competition. Both of these programs were optional and the girls
spent countless hours of learning Torah lishmah to prepare for these
competitions. We are so proud of their efforts and
accomplishment! Kol hakavod!
Our 9th, 10th and 11th graders participated in a special
MACS program yesterday that focused on Inner Beauty vs. Outer
Beauty. The girls were thoughtful and reflective as they analyzed
messages of the media and their own perspectives about beauty. I
was particularly moved by the individualized gift prepared for each
student, displaying her inner beauty as perceived and appreciated
by her classmates. It was inspiring to see our MACS members
running workshops for the students and shopping with so many moms and
daughters at our MACs sponsord evening at Annie Sez.
We hope that many of you will be able to join us at our
schoolwide Tikun Layl Shavuot! May we all be zocheh to be strong in our
Limud Torah, each of us at her own level, and may we continue to be
inspired and grow by exploring important issues together!
Good Shabbos and Chag Sameach!
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Senior Announcements
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On behalf of the entire school, we would like to wish a big mazel
tov to:
Valedictorian - Deena Miller
Salutatorian - Leah Khukhashvili
Keter Shem Tov - Miriam Khukhashvili
We would also like to extend a sincere mazel tov to the Seniors elected
to speak at the Senior Dinner: Emily Feldman, Erica Liebman, and
Shayna Nordlicht.
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G.O. Tie-Dye
Event!
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What are all
those girls doing on SKA's front lawn? TIE-DYE!! This past
week, the G.O. ran their final program of the year. During club
period, all the students were invited to outside where tables with
clothespins, rubber bands, and socks were set up. Each girls was able to
tye-dye a pair of socks with different color dyes that were set up all
around the baseball field. Additionally, there were delicious
muffins given out and great music for atmosphere! Thanks to the
G.O. for organizing such a fun activity and giving us one last time to
spend together as an entire school before the Seniors say their
good-byes! We'll miss you Seniors!
Written by:
Esti Hirt
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Rav Goldwicht Speaks At SKA
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This past Monday night, Rav Golwicht delighted the SKA
students with meaningful words of wisdom on the topic of Yom
Yerushalayim. He spoke about the importance of Yerushalayim and the
historical significance of Yerushalayim, Shechem, and Chevron. the SKA students
were so inspired and greatly anticipated dancing on Yom Yerushalayim.
Special thanks to Rav Goldwicht for his beautiful words.
Written by: Tova Hammer
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Work Study Begins for the Seniors!
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Classes
are over! Well, at least for the Seniors, they are! For the
next three weeks, the Senior Class has the unique opportunity to intern
at real jobs and gain some great experience! This year, the Seniors
will be interning at a variety of jobs ranging from party planning and
florist shops to law firms and medical centers. SKA has also set up
a Beit Medrash Program for girls who would like to learn Limudei Kodesh
in the SKA environment. All the students are excited to embark on
this exciting journey and we wish them all much hatzlacha!
Written by:
Esther Klapholtz
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SKA's Torah
Bowl Team Is At It Again!
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SKA's Torah Bowl
Team finished off an outstanding season this past week. We competed
against Flatbush, Bruriah, and Bat Torah for the Torah Bowl Championship
Title and the competition was intense! Although SKA began the game
with a slow start, we had an incredible comeback and played so
well. We came in second, behind Bruriah by only a few points. We
were all impressed with the amount of Torah the players from all the
schools had learned over the past months. Special thanks to all the SKA
students who came to cheer us on, the entire Torah Bowl Team for all your
hard work this year, and especially, to Mrs. Menchel for always being
such an amazing coach!
Written By: Kimberly Hay
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MACS Chats Round Two!
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On Wednesday, May 5, the students of SKA were presented with the second
MACS CHATS of the year. Many girls elected to use their lunch
periods to learn about different topics and halachot in tznius.
SKA's very own teachers formed panels to answer students' questions
about modesty, with sessions on "Tznius in Motion - Body
Language," "Does G-d Really Care What We Wear?" and
"Maintaining Your Standards Through the Summer." Kol
HaKavod to all the girls who chose to take part in MACS Chats - we look
forward to more MACS events coming up! A special thanks to Mrs.
Kaminetsky and all the grade representatives for all their hard work!
Written by: Miriam
Khukhashvili
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SKA Wins JUMP Challenge!
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The final NCSY JUMP challenge came to an exciting end as the winning
teams from the Stella K. Abraham High School for Girls and SAR each
received a prize of $1800 to run the program they presented as part of
their business plan.
On Tuesday, April 27, SKA students, Gila Joseph, Stephanie Leichtung,
Rachel Simon, and Shira Stavsky, under the superb guidance of their
leader, Elissa Schertz with assistance from Duvi Stahler, had twelve
minutes to present their business plan to judges Phil Rosen and David Friedman.
With the creation of "livelong," they arranged for a
community health awareness day of physical activities and sports, with
nutritious foods available to snack on, to be held in their
local neighborhood. Their program seeks to encourage the youth of
the community to become active and lead a healthier lifestyle.
Project JUMP, NCSY's Yeshiva Day School program which has brought
leadership training to Yeshiva students around the greater New York area,
is run under the direction of Efron Sturmwind and Rabbi Aryeh Lightstone.
SKA's JUMP club has raised money throughout the year for funding NCSY's
Jewish Student Union clubs where public high school students learn the
basics of Judaism.
"I'm extremely proud of these terrific and dedicated young
people," said Mr. Rosen, one of the judges. "Their
commitment to chesed and good deeds is so admirable. Aryeh
and his team are doing a magnificent job inculcating great Jewish values
in these boys and girls." Mr. Friedman agreed. "We
have much to look forward to with students of this caliber; NCSY deserves
tremendous credit for putting this program together."
At the final challenge, upon introduction to Donald Trump as future
philanthropists, the students were presented with oversized JUMP checks
to fund their project. Mr. Trump was duly impressed with the
articulate representatives of NCSY and their schools. No one was fired!
Written by: Mrs.
Martin
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9th Grade Lag Ba'Omer Activity
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This past Motzei Shabbos was a very
exciting one for the Freshman Class. The entire grade spent erev
Lag Ba'Omer at a one of a kind program in SKA. The girls were split
into groups; each group raced through the bowling alley in the school to
be the first to complete the Scavenger Hunt. The crazy part was -
it was all done in the dark! The girls searched everywhere, from
the pitch-black locker rooms in the basement to the offices on the third
floor, to find every last clue and put the pieces of their puzzle
together. Finally, when the race ended, the students joined Mrs.
Spirn, and their grade level advisors, Mrs. Leibtag and Mrs. Gelernter, for
an uplifting kumzitz. It was so much fun and we look forward to
many more amazing experiences to share as a grade! Special thanks
to everyone who worked on this outstanding activity!
Written by: Leeza
Hirt
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Sophomore Trip
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On Thursday, May 6, the Sophomores were privileged to attend
"Shakespeare On Ice" in Manhattan. This cultural
experience left the 10th Graders feeling intellectually stimulated and
more familiar with Shakespeare and his plays. The girls truly had a blast!
What a fun and educational day! Thank you to all those who
chaperoned the event!
Written by:
Sarit Schreier
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10th Grade Lag BaOmer Get Together
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Are we in Hawaii? No, it's just the Mael's backyard! This past
Sunday evening, the 10th Grade had a spectacular Lag Ba'Omer luau.
The Mael's backyard was transformed into a peaceful Hawaiian beach with a
radiant fire. There was lots of food, elbow tag, and a beautiful
kumsitz. We could not have asked for a more wonderful event!
Thanks to everyone who made this special occasion possible, especially the
Mael family for hosting and the Bortz family for the radiant fire! We
look forward to many more activities to "light up" our
year!
Written by:
Meira Davidowitz
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OHEL: The
Year In Israel Program
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Letting your
child spend the year after high school in Israel can trigger much anxiety
in parents, especially if this is their first child's experience.
Under the auspices of UJA- Federation, the JCC of the Five Towns and Ohel
Children's Home and Family Service joined SKA and DRS in a special
program about the "Year in Israel" experience. On Tuesday
evening, May 11, parents listened as Mrs. Helen Spirn, Principal of SKA,
Rabbi Yisroel Kaminetsky, Menahel of DRS, and Mr. Barry Horowitz, Coordinator
of Ohel's Long Island Services shared their insights on what to expect
from the year in yeshiva or seminary.
Questions from
the audience were fielded by the speakers and parents Mr. Seme Joszef and
Mrs. Ricky Genachowski and students Avi Chesner, Michal Zlotnick and
Steven Greenstein. "We have no family in Israel; where does my child
go for Shabbos?" "Where do I turn if my child has a
problem adjusting?" "How do I react when my child comes home
after being away for a year?" The exchanges between the panel
and listeners were so beneficial to all. Thanks to all the
participants for a most informative evening!
Written By: Mrs.
Martin
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Freshmen International Lunch
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SKA has gone
international! This past Tuesday, the entire Freshmen class went to
Hapina to enjoy a cultural luncheon. Senora Perlmutter's Spanish class,
sung many Spanish songs and Mrs. Bowe's sign language class gave a
special presentation, signing to the song "We are the World."
Special thanks to all those who chaperoned the trip and to the language
teachers, Senora Perlmutter, Morah Antman, Morah Rotenstein and Mrs.
Bowe. It was truly a great event!
Written by: Jamie Simon and Talia
Gottesman
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Yom Yerushalayim
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Notice the
displays about Israel in the bowling alley? Using their creativity,
students in Morah Antman's Ninth Grade classes produced decorative and
informative posters and scrapbooks in celebration of Yom Ha'Atzma'ut and
Yom Yerushalyim. So much effort went into these works; information about
the history of Eretz Yisroel and its cities and borders are painstakingly
detailed. What a terrific salute to the State of Israel!
In celebration of Yom Yerushalayim, the students of SKA watched videos
and skits portraying the progression of the rebuilding of Yerushalayim
and the state of Israel. The girls also enjoyed listening to the
beautiful songs which the SKA Choir performed and after, the leibadik
dancing! We look forward to standing in support of Yerushalayim and the
state of Israel next Sunday at the annual parade!
Special thanks to Editors-in-chief Gratzia Rose, Rachel Rose, and Ayelet
Lerner and faculty advisor Mrs. Antman for compiling the beautiful,
annual Jerusalem Journal!
Written By: Tova
Hammer
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New York State Math League Competition
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Congratulations
to Dr. Klahr's Pre-Calculus class who completed six contests in the New
York State Math League Competition. The top four scores were
obtained by: Ayelet Lerner, Gratzia Rose, Jennifer Strauss and Adina
Hart. Mazel tov to the winners and to all the participants!
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Health Day for the Seniors
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On one of their last days of school, the Seniors assembled in the library
to address a specific issue that plagues our society: eating
disorders. The program began with a newly released video on eating
disorders filmed from a Jewish perspective. While the video was
very intense, it emphasized very relevant and important themes such as
the society in which Jewish girls are currently brought up in and how to
live up to the perfect model designed for Jewish women, the "Eishes
Chayil." The movie was followed by workshops in which smaller groups
of students were able to discuss their reactions to the movie with an SKA
social worker. The seniors then heard an inspiring shiur by Rabbi
Dovid Goldwasser on the halachic perspective of eating disorders and
other self destructive behaviors. The Senior Class of 2010 will
I"yH be able to deal with the challenges and excitement that will
face them in the years to come with strength and awareness!
Following this informative program, the Senior class also heard from Mrs.
Block about maintaining healthy eating habits during their year in
Israel. She gave many helpful tips and even developed meal plans
with healthy choices for the girls. What a wonderful ending to a program
which we all felt was so appropriate for our time! Thanks to all the
social workers who spoke to the girls about this delicate matter and of
course, to Mrs. Block for all her wonderful words of wisdom!
Written by: Chaya Lieba
Berger
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Michalah Math Competition
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This week, SKA's very own Erica Liebman and Raquel Glickman competed in
the final round of "Mathematics Ulpaniada," Michlalah Math
Competition, in Jerusalem. Only sixty-seven girls out of 1,885
from 85 schools made it to the last part. We are so very proud of
our mathematic scholars!
Written By: Danielle Koppel
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Sports Update
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These past two
weeks were very exciting for all the SKA sports teams! The
Hockey Team played magnificently against North Shore, beating them 6:1!
They also played two extraordinary games against SAR and continued to
defend
title of second place! Moving on to Softball, SKA's Softball Sonics
played
very passionately against HANC and Central and continue to show their
enthusiasm on the field. Finally, the Varsity Volleyball Team
played their
very best against Shulamith in the championship game. Kol
Hakavod
to all the teams. Here's to a great season!
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Tikun
Leyl Shavuot
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G.O. Corner
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With the
Seniors' last day last week came the last schoolwide GO function sadly.
But it was definitely a fun-filled program! Students tie-dyed socks, ate
muffins and chocolate milk, and enjoyed the beautiful sunny outdoors with
music playing and birds chirping. Stay tuned for the next GO corner when
we announce the GO of 2010-2011! Best of luck to all those who choose to
run!
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Rivka Fogel '08 on her engagement to Elie Cohen
Leah Kanner '04 on her engagement to Shmuel Segal
Lara Ostreicher '02 on her engagement to Zvi Klein
Yonit Penzoh '07 on her engagement to Yaakov Tzvi Kerschenbaum
Ariella Siman-tov '05 on her engagement to Jordan Lehav
Tova Smith Goldring '02 on her graduation from Harvard Law School
Elana Sokolow Rosman '01 on her graduation from NYU Medical School
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SKAppenings
Staff
Writing
Editors:
Erica
Liebman
Shayna Nordlicht
Michal Schulman
Technology Editors:
Ariela Bortz
Shoshana Kaminetsky
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