SKAppenings
Parshat Vayeitzei
7 Kislev 5770
November 27, 2009 |
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A Message from Mrs. Spirn
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It's hard to believe that we just completed our seventeenth annual SKA Shabbaton and what an outstanding success it was in all areas! The ruach, the achdut, the beautiful tefilot, Jackie Goldman Bitton's presentations (SKA '00), "A Day in L.A." presented by our Seniors, the singing at our meals (especially Seudat Shlishit), the Melave Malke dancing, the amazing Student Talent Show with guest appearances of our faculty, administration and madrichot, the SKA Family Power Point Presentation and the Kumsitz were all awesome! The davening, the learning, the Divrei Torah of our students, the Hakarat Hatov readings, the overall achdut and our students' positive attitude were spiritually uplifting and inspiring for all of us. CLICK HERE to see pictures from the Shabbaton! I thank all of our faculty and madrichot who attended the Shabbaton for all of your dedication and effort in making this year's Shabbaton an unforgettable growth experience for our girls. May our SKA family continue to grow and may we continue to share in positive, ruach filled and growth oriented experiences together! I know you will enjoy reviewing all of the beautiful pictures in this week's SKAppenings! I wish you all a relaxing and enjoyable Thanksgiving weekend with family and friends! Shabbat Shalom! |
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Shabbaton '09
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This past Shabbos, SKA enjoyed its 17th annual SKABBATON. It seems that each year is better than the year before, and each year we wonder how that is possible, but SKAbbaton 2009 was the best to date!
The Raleigh Hotel was decorated with different arrangements to help spread the theme of HaKarat Hatov. SKAbbaton began with a beautiful Kabbalas Shabbos on Friday night, followed by zemirot, cheering, the "rebbes and the rebbetzins" presented by the madrichot and divrei Torah prepared by the students. The amount of ruach in the room was truly incredible. Following the delicious seudah, everyone joined in the main shul to hear the guest speaker, Mrs. Jackie Bitton, an SKA alumna who set an "SKA first," as the first alumna to return as a guest speaker on Shabbaton. Her beautiful words of Torah, her detailed stories, her humor and her unique perspective on the theme left every student and teacher inspired and ready to enjoy the rest of Shabbos. It gave each student tremendous chizuk to see an SKA alumna accomplish so much in such a short time and it showed how much potential each girl has. After Mrs. Bitton's speech, the girls enjoyed "onegs" by grade with their friends, teachers and madrichot.
A beautiful Shabbos morning davening was followed by Kiddush, and then the Senior program. The Seniors led their fellow students on a tour of L.A. in order to portray the theme of Hakaras Hatov. The tour included a "live taping" of Dr. Phil, a movie premiere, a trip to the pier, and several stops along the way. Thank you Mrs. Storch, Mrs. Kaminetsky, Mrs. Kobre, Mrs. Ralbag, and the entire Senior class for coordinating such an inspiring, yet humorous program!
The rest of Shabbos certainly flew by! Lunch, Shalosh Seudot, zemirot, and more words from Mrs. Bitton.The girls hoped Shabbos would never end. But Motzei Shabbos came and the ruach at SKAbbaton only increased!
The Melava Malka and talent show were certainly a great hit and everyone, teachers and students, had an awesome time! There was sign language, a magic show, tap dancing , the teachers' skit , the students' skit : the audience really enjoyed it all. Leibadik dancing followed, then a slideshow and a beautiful school-wide kumsitz. Everyone left SKAbbaton '09 with a newfound excitement and appreciation for SKA and the teachers they are so fortunate to learn from. A special Hakaras Hatov to Rabbi Zak, the entire administration, faculty, madrichot and student body for contributing to such an incredible Shabbaton!
Written by: Elana Schreier
CLICK HERE TO VIEW MORE PICTURES FROM SKABBATON '09...
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Shabbaton Prep
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Shabbaton spirit was surely in the air the week before the event with exciting activities, snacks, and committees! The girls had a blast at the beginning of the week with surprise Shabbaton Ruach which included dancing , cheering and even tasty potato kugel and soda from the G.O. in the spirit of Shabbos. During the week, students had the chance to choose how they wanted to contribute to the SKAbbaton: by painting banners, putting together gorgeous bisamim bags, decorating centerpieces, filling welcome bags, or by practicing in the beautiful choir that sung Shabbos afternoon. One could really feel the weekend's excitement throughout the halls of SKA - during, after, and even before the SKAmazingSKAbbaton.
Written by: Reva Black
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Kristallnacht Commemoration |
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Kristallnacht. The Night of Broken Glass.
On the nights of November 9 and 10, 1938 gangs of Nazi youth roamed through Jewish neighborhoods breaking windows of Jewish businesses and homes, burning synagogues and looting.
To commemorate this terrible event, Mrs. Spirn invited the SKA students on November 11th to view part of the movie Into the Arms of Strangers. The movie recounts the story of the child refugees who were transported to Britain to escape the Nazi Holocaust. The students also heard from Mrs. Belle Silverstein who spoke briefly about her experiences during World War II.
The SKA students were totally absorbed by what they saw and walked away with a taste of what children saw, felt and heard during those terrible times. |
| SKA Participates in the Long Island Challenge |
If someone told you that on a regular school day some twenty SKA students were at a television studio in Manhattan, would you believe them? Well, it's true. On Thursday, November 19, four SKA College Bowl members, with many excited Stella K. cheerleaders in tow, competed in the Long Island Challenge on behalf of SKA. The girls played against Lutheran High School in a nail-biting match and performed so well. Even though they lost (by only four questions!), everyone who attended agreed that it was the experience of a lifetime. After all, how many people can say that they had the chance to represent SKA on TV? Special thanks to Mr. Fiedler for prepping the girls and for accompanying them!
Written by: Leah Khukashvili
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Kickoff Big Sister- Little Sister Program
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The "Big Sister/Little Sister" program of 2010 has officially begun! Each Freshman was paired up with a Junior who will serve as her "big sister" for the next two years in SKA. The girls painted tiles with pictures of things that they are thankful for, in sync with the school's theme of Hakaras Hatov. Afterwards, the students enjoyed bonding over ice cream sundaes. The "sisters" had a great time and all are looking forward to building lasting friendships in the future!
Written by: Mikki Weinstein
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| Israel Schools Interview Seniors |
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The Israel School interviews for the Seniors have started. Rav Chaim Pollack arrived at SKA on November 18th to conduct interviews for Michlalah and other schools will be holding interviews in the coming weeks.
We wish the Seniors much hatzlacha!!
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Debate Team's Opening Meet
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"Should the federal government impose restrictions on executive compensation paid by larger entities engaged in interstate or foreign commerce?"
If the first thought that comes to your mind when you read this is "WHAT?", you're not alone. This past Tuesday, the novice members of the Debate Team attended their first debate hosted by MTA. The debaters, having done extensive preparation on the above topic, actually had a very enjoyable and informative evening. They had a chance to see how debates work, how they are scored, and of course, how to engage in the debate themselves. Congratulations to those students who won their debates, and good luck to the Team's more experienced debaters who will participate at the "Great Debate" on December 6th at MTA. A special thanks to Mrs. Shwartzmer, the faculty advisor, and to Captains Leah Goodman, Libi Ben Tzvi and Rachel Duftler for all of their help in preparing the team. Go SKA!
Written by: Rachel Lunzer |
First College Bowl Competition
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After a day of several intense matches at Central, the SKA College Bowl Team came out with quite a few wins under their belts! We know that they will continue to make us proud with those buzzers! Special thanks to Mr. Fiedler, faculty advisor, for helping the girls and accompanying them to the competition at Central. |
Sports Update
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The SKAthletic teams are off to a great start this season! With a new Coach on board, the SKA Basketball Team is not only undefeated, but also playing beautifully with new plays and maneuvers. The JV Volleyball Team, also undefeated with a record of 2-0, is proud of its success until this point and of the Freshmen who have joined this year to benefit the Team. Varsity Volleyball has also started this season off right with a record of 2-1! Special thanks to all of the Coaches, Captains, and Team Members who have given and continue to give their all into practices and games!
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G.O. Corner
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REDETAM had quite an exciting week! After the second "TGIT" during last Thursday's break, REDETAM took off on a jam-packed bus full of Shabbaton decorations, treats, and more, to the Raleigh Hotel to prepare for SKAbbaton '09! The G.O. worked through the night and woke up early to greet their fellow students in Shabbos robes and tichels, just before noon on Friday. The G.O. would like to extend a tremendous Hakaras Hatov to the student body, faculty, administration, madrichot and ofcourse, Rabbi Zak for making this year's SKAbbaton so superb! Enjoy Thanksgiving break, but be sure to save your appetite for "Muffin Monday" which will resume on Monday, November 29th.
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Engagements:
Shannon Friedman '03 on her engagement to Mendy Phillips
Goldi Nissel '06 on her engagement to Ben Thalheim
Gabrielle Graber '07 on her engagement to Josh Gold
Marriages:
Lakey Seidenwar '03 on her marriage to Josh Silverman
Malka Epstein Ismach '97 on earning her P.H.D in School
Pyschology
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SKAppenings StaffWriting Editors:Erica Liebman
Shayna Nordlicht
Michal Schulman
Elana Schreier
Esti Chesner
Tova Hammer
Technology Editors:
Mrs. Estie Bryk
Ariela Bortz
Shoshana Kaminetsky
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