December 3, 2004  20 Kislev 5765

Parshat Vayeishev
SKAppenings
in this issue
 
Focus on Faculty

A new face around SKA is that of Rabbi Jonathan Muskat, teacher of Jewish History and Rebbe of Advanced Torah She Beal Peh . Rabbi Muskat, who is also the Rabbi of the Young Israel of Oceanside, comes to the east coast from California where he was a Rabbi in Los Angeles. Sandwiched between the west and east coast positions was a year of learning in Israel. Rabbi Muskat spent a number of years as a youth director in the Young Israel of Great Neck, was an NCSY Regional Advisor and spent summers in Russia as part of YUSSR. He has a law degree from New York University and practiced law on Wall Street for four years. He also has Semicha from Yeshiva University. He knew that he would either be a lawyer in Israel or a Rabbi in America and the decision of which road to take in life was "gut wrenching".

Having been involved in both informal and formal education, he appreciates the balance he finds at SKA between academic pursuits and the many other activities that take place. He enjoys teaching the SKA girls whom he describes as very bright. He wants his students to understand the "big picture" of Torah and Jewish History while they develop a love for Yiddishkeit. In fact, he feels that he brings them a fresh perspective, since he is one of the few men on faculty.

So how will someone who spent the past few years in a warm climate adjust to the rainy and snowy New York weather? Not a problem. "I grew up in Toronto where I walked to school in deep snow. I remember it well." Welcome to SKA, Rabbi Muskat!























Tzaischem L'Shalom!

After twelve years of running the SKA office, Debbie Lyman has accepted a position with the Israel Bonds office in New York City. Debbie has been with us since the inception of the school and has been involved in so many aspects of the school, growing with us from the original class of 38 to our student body of almost 300.She has brought a power and efficiency to the SKA office marked by her personal charisma and wherewithal. It will be hard coming to school and not seeing a cup of coffee on her desk or her many "dogs" on her shelves. Thank you, Debbie, for the many years that you gave SKA. We wish you Mazal and Hatzlacha in your new position. We will always remember you and hope that we will meet on many happy occasions. May we continue to share in each other's accomplishments and achievements!






































Rabbi Orlofsky Speaks to the 9th and 10th grade



We were honored to have Rabbi Orlofsky from Yerushalayim address our freshmen and sophomore classes on themes in Parshat Vayeishev. Troubled by Rashi focusing on Yaakov's difficult life, Rabbi Orlofsky invited responses from our girls who participated avidly. With Rabbi Orlofsky's sense of humor and entertaining style, the presentation was a winner!





Student Awards













Alyse Stein, a senior at SKA, was awarded the Make a Difference Award by the Town of Hempstead. She was one of 12 individuals to receive this award in a ceremony which took place on Tuesday, November 16th.

In a letter sent by Kate Murray, the Supervisor of the Town of Hempstead, Alyse was noted for her involvement in the Kulanu program, her work in the Young Israel of Woodmere, her Co-Chairing of a Yachad Shabbaton and her Co-Chairing of the SKA Soup Kitchen. Alyse has also taken part in the SKA Open House, has been an important member in the Intergenerational programs, is involved with Tomchei Shabbos and is a member of the Sign Language Group for the SKA Production. Alyse will be a Co-Chair of the SKA Blood Drive.

Alyse's involvement in chesed is a paradigm for all SKA students. We are so proud of her and wish her and her family our warmest mazal tov. Alyse's honor brings honor to all of SKA.
















On October 31, 2004, Arielle Schiff was awarded the Rudy Rosen Community Service Award by the Young Israel of Woodmere for her work at Tomchei Shabbos. Arielle packs food for Tomchei Shabbos every Thursday evening and has been doing this for the past year and one half. Arielle, a sophomore at SKA, has gone to St John's Hospital to visit patients and is looking forward to getting involved in nursing home visitations as part of the SKA Chesed program. But she enjoys Tomchei Shabbos the best. She says that it is inspiring to come and see children, teenagers, adults and even grandparents working side by side preparing the packages which help needy people throughout the week. She is part of a larger "SKA" carpool which includes Nava Dworetsky, Sarit Klein and Simone Nussbaum. Mazal Tov to Arielle for being selected for this award and a special thanks to her and her carpool for working with this wonderful chesed organization!






Mazel Tov to:

Rabbi David on the birth of a granddaughter

Raizy Gorfinkel '99 on her marriage to Aryeh Yanofsky

Rebecca Kramer Cohen '98 on the birth of a baby boy. Mazal Tov to grandparents, Lenny and Louise Kramer, Co-Chairperson of our Parent Council.

Quick Links...




A Message from Mrs. Spirn

It has been a busy week as we concluded our first trimester. Israel interviews, 8th grade interviews, and team competitions made the week even busier and quite exciting.

We look forward to distributing our first set of reports on Wednesday, December 13th. Remember, we don't mail report cards home! We want our students to see their report cards first and then share them with their parents.

Parent-Teacher Conferences will take place one week later. Since the inception of our school, Parent-Teacher Conferences have operated on an appointment basis and with the help of our Parent Council, our parents have been spared the frustration of waiting in long lines. This year, for the first time, SKA parents will have the opportunity to go online, sign up for their own appointments and create their own Parent-Teacher Conference Schedule. Details to follow!

Before you know it, we will be celebrating the miracle of Chanuka, at home and in school. We look forward to Grade Trips, a Chagiga, edible treats and our annual Chanuka Auction!

Shabbat Shalom and Chag Urim Sameach!


Academic Teams Off to a Fast Start!


College Bowl
The SKA College Bowl team had their first match of the year on Monday, November 29th. The match was hosted by HANC and yeshivot from all over Long Island came to participate. After an amazing lunch, the teams went to compete. Led by the Varsity captains, Daniella Isaacson and Gila Schreier, and JV captains, Batya Herzberg and Elkie Spitzer, the team overall did very well, even beating one school by a score of 27 to (negative) -1. College Bowl is a rapid fire setting in which students must buzz in and answer questions. The range of topics for the questions? Endless. Questions can be about makeup, football, or history, and there is no telling which until the question is asked. The College Bowl Team is very proud of their accomplishments and only wishes to do better in the future. Special thanks to Mr. Fiedler, faculty advisor.







Debate
The SKA Debate Team got off to an amazing start. After much preparation and help from the entire team, certain members attended the first debate of the year on Tuesday night. Tzipora Kuperman, Orah Weiss, Emily Levine, Michelle Zomber, Hadas Fried, Jaime Beitler, Rebecca Bell, and Deborah Goldman all went to Central to debate the resolved whether or not the US should lower the legal drinking age to 18. We look forward to the team's success, at the forthcoming debates. We are very pleased to say that the girls met with formidable opponents, but emerged triumphant.
Special thanks to advisor, Mrs. Leibtag.



Math Team
Six times a year, from October through March, over fifty schools in Nassau County send teams of students to compete in Math Contests. Twenty girls from SKA join with students from Rambam, HAFTR and DRS for each of these contests. In order to help prepare for the contest questions, which cover topics not ordinarily covered in math classes, thirty four SKA students work on problems either on their own or during Math Club every week. Some of these girls are so diversified in their interests and abilities that they are members of more than one team which meets during clubs; therefore, they have chosen to work on extra math problems each week in order to be members of the team.

Before last year, there was only one ten-member team at SKA and only seniors in Advanced Placement Calculus were participants. Last year a math club was formed to help girls in grades 9-11 prepare for the questions. At that point, SKA began sending two teams to enable more students to participate.

Some schools worry that girls are not interested or involved in math and science. The thirty four girls participating in the Math Club and teams prove that things are different at SKA. Special thanks to Mrs. Budne, faculty advisor.




Mock Trial
Mock Trial season has officially begun! With practices three times a week, the team is one of the most dedicated ones in the school. Two coaches, both lawyers, Mr. Mark Sokolow and Mr. Jeff Lewisohn, donate their time to help the team. Then there are the student captains, Daniella Isaacson and Elkie Spitzer and of course, the rest of the team, Yael Rubin, Shira Markovits, Gila Lerman, Orlie Shalev, Yakira Fuchs, Tzippy Wiesenfeld, Shoshi Schoenfeld, Michal Wagner, Leora Hefter, and Lauren Bayer. The Mock Trial Team gets a case and then prepares to go to trial based on that case. There are members of the team who play the role of witnesses, others who play the role of lawyers. When it is time to compete they have a 'Mock Trial', complete with a judge and everything else that makes up a trial. At their recent competition at Great Neck North High School, the team tied for 2nd place with Solomon Shechter. We applaud the efforts that this group of 12 young women have put into their team and we wish them much luck in future competitions.


Interview Season Has Begun

The whirlwind of interviews at SKA has begun. There was nervous anticipation in the air as the seniors awaited their interviews with several of the Israeli schools who were at SKA meeting the students: Shaalvim, Midreshet Lindenbaum, Midreshet Moriah, Midreshet Tiferet and Midreshet Tehilla. In addition, Stern College visited SKA on two days to interview the overwhelming number of seniors applying there.

So how did the seniors feel after the interviews? "I felt they went really well. The interviewers made us feel very comfortable," said Aviva Aryeh. Ayala Bindiger added that "they ( the interviewers) were very easy to talk to". In fact, both girls remarked that "interviews are fun!"

There are more meetings scheduled for the next few weeks and then the seniors will await the decisions. We know that they will do very well and we wish them much hatzlacha.


Chesed Update

Tuesday'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. She explained to us what we would be doing and what we should expect to see and then we got busy in the kitchen preparing lunch. As the clients streamed in, we served them lunch, we walked around and kept them company, and tried to create a generally friendly atmosphere that they would enjoy. Thank you to Deena Klein and Fraydie Leifer whose efforts in organizing the trip made it the success that it was.

The Chai Lifeline Toy Drive is in full-swing. Rebecca Koppel, Shaindy Pollack and Batsheva Waltuch have been busy hanging signs, making announcements and getting the word out about this very important cause. The toys are beginning to pile up in the bowling alley and on Wednesday they will all be packed up and picked up by Chai Lifeline. We can already picture the smiles they will create on the faces of the sick children who will receive them. Don't forget to bring in toys by Wednesday!

During lunch on Wednesday, the Tzedaka Chesed Heads, led by Amanda Pariser and Mindy Werblowsky, were treated to a presentation about Keren Ohr, an innovative center in Jerusalem dedicated to the education and care of multi-disabled blind children. All who attended were inspired by the words of Mrs. Madelyn Cohen and Mrs. Sherry Herring and by the video that they showed. Following the presentation, the Tzedaka Chesed Heads met and they are currently planning the best possible way to make a meaningful contribution to this very worthy cause.


SKA Ruach

Freshmen Tuesday Night Mishmar

Ensconsed in the warmth of the Hefter home, the Freshmen enjoyed a special guest speaker, Mrs Chana Zweiter. Her claim to fame, as she explained, is that she is Mrs Yaffa Storch's mother. Yaffa is our Chessed Coordinator. Mrs. Zweiter is well known in the world of chesed for having started the now nationwide program for people with disabilities, called YACHAD. She ran an interactive workshop for the girls, dealing with recogninzing one's individual greatness as well as those qualities that make others feel special. This was a great way to enhance our 9th grade chesed program of how to help those with disabilities. We know that the skills learned with Mrs. Zweiter will definitely empower the girls everyday and be especially useful on their chanukah chessed trip to HASC. We greatly appreciate the unbielevable Hachnasat Orchim displayed by the Hefters. The home-baked brownies and Harvey Wallbanger cake (YUM!), the beautiful spread and the welcoming smiles of Mrs Hefter and Leora attested to their enthusiasm. Thank You, to Sora Meira Rosenberg for making the platters. And thank you, Malkie Warshaw for being the photographer of the evening. "You're Hired."





















Sophomores
Stay tuned for the next issue about the upcoming Sophomore Melave Malke!
We can't wait for our next Tzemach Program!





















Learning and Dougie's, what could be better?

Members of the 11th grade, accompanied by Miss Fragin and Miss Allen, had the fabulous opportunity to hear Rabbi Dovid Orlofsky, a noted lecturer (who is also quite entertaining). A group of eleventh graders chose to spend their evening together with their friends enjoying Rabbi Orlofky's words of Torah at a shiur given in Washington Heights. Rabbi Orlofsky inspired the girls with his words about the significance of Chanukah and the dreidel in particular. The shiur was preceded by a meal of poppers, wings and salad at Dougies. The girls returned excited about the meaningful evening they had spent together.



















12th Grade Melave Malke

On Motzei Shabbos, November 27th,the Seniors enjoyed an evening of achdut and inspiration at the home of their classmate, Yael Haar. Yael's father, Rabbi Avi Haar, treated the girls to an uplifting shiur, highlighting the role of mature thinking in determining a course of action. He emphasized the relevance of this message in our daily interactions with others. Sitting around the fireplace and toasting marshmallows, most certainly enhanced the warm atmosphere and sense of kinship amongst the Seniors. We know that the Seniors are looking forward to sharing many more such special moments throughout the year.



Sonics Rock!

This year's SKA Sonics are off to an incredible start. Whether it's our undefeated Basketball Team or our defending conference champion Volleyball Team, you can be sure to see them playing hard and having fun.

Led by Coach Esther Oppenheimer, and Captains Yael Haar, Tali Friedman, and Becky Steinmetz, the Basketball Team is off to an incredible undefeated start. First beating Shulamith in Brooklyn for opening night, and crushing Ilan at our home opener, the team took off from there. We then went on to beat Ezra, and Zvi Roth (a new team in the league). The Sonics can be seen wearing their sweatshirts on game day, or at the front ordering dinner before a game. Juniors Lisa Ogorek, Deena Klein, Jaclyn Ramras, Rocko Genuth, Naomi Kramer, Danielle Todfeld, and Gabrielle Graber are a tremendous asset to the team; as are sophomore Chava Grossberg, and freshmen Rachel Mehlman, Rena Rubel, and Yael Leiderman. Despite their extremely busy and hard practice schedule, they always manage to have a fun time on the bus, while listening to music, or hanging at Esther's house. The Sonics are looking forward to their upcoming tournament in Boca this March, and are looking forward to being the defending league champions for 11 years!

Just like the Basketball Team, the Volleyball Team is off to a great start. Led by Coach Rachel Gross and Captains Leah Black and Lena Deutsch, we came very close to beating the defending champion team Shulamith, losing the first set but winning the second. The third set was very close, however, Shulamith came out cheering. The Sonics did not let the loss get them down and came back to win 2 sets to none against MAYHS. We can't wait to continue our season with our great team including seniors Merissa Goldstein, Evie Smulevitz, Lauren Genachowski, Arielle Kaish, and juniors Jordana Wertheimer, Megan Leifer, Jaime Klein, Rebecca Weinstein, Ayelet Nussbaum, Devorah Mansdorf , Jenny Deluty, Miriam Teper and Carrie Rabinowitz. With our weekly practices and our bus rides the Sonics have great times together. This year the volleyball team hopes to make it to the championship again and bring home the gold this time!

Let's Go Sonics!!


phone: 516-374-6851 x2