Learn More About SKA's Learning Specialist
How does a school ensure that the educational
needs of all its students
are being met? For over the past five years, SKA's
Learning Specialist,
Mrs. Sara Taib, has been coordinating
accommodations within the
framework of the school for students with varying
learning issues - and
making it all work seamlessly! From the time a
girl
enters ninth grade, an
easier transition to a new environment has been
assured, thanks to Mrs.
Taib's dynamic systems.
A gentle, but resolute liaison between parents,
teachers, and other professionals, Mrs. Taib balances
provisions for students
who need extra
time on tests, readers for exams, and a host of other
services, all to
ascertain that every girl in SKA has the opportunity
to succeed in school.
"My work is a testament to Mrs. Spirn's
dedication to
her students - the philosophy of striving to help all
students achieve is ingrained in this school!
Every teacher and staff member is committed to
aiding students to do their
best; even the librarian does her part in the 'extra
time room' for midterms and
finals!"
With her calm encouragement, the soft spoken
Mrs.
Taib also teaches organizational and study skills to
her students. But it's
her one Chumash class that really makes her look
forward to coming to school! "Ever since I began as
an educator, teaching Limudei Kodesh has always
been my first love."
Formerly known in the school as 'Ms. Silverman,'
the
newly married Mrs. Taib
has been putting her enjoyment of the culinary arts
to work at home in Kew Gardens Hills.
Her subtle
sense of humor is expressed by her unusual hobby -
she loves reading the comics!
We look forward to a continuation of Mrs. Taib's
inspiring support!
You can now view all previous issues of
SKAppenings and Parsha Press at our newly revised
website,
www.skahalb.org
Sports Update:
Our Sonic Volleyball and Basketball Teams are
both
doing
great on their way to the championships.
Volleyball is
in second place with a 7 and 3 record! We are
playing Magen David for our first playoff game and
we hope to see all of you there cheering us on!!!
Basketball is, of course, in first place with an 11
and 0
record! Last game, SKA Basketball beat Bruriah 49-20
with high scorers Lisa Ogorek with 16 points and
Jaclyn Ramras with 13! Wow! We hope to see you all
at our playoff games throughout the next few weeks!
Mock Trial Moves On:
The Mineola Court House has recently been
impressed by
the performance of our Mock Trial team who has
had
two recent competitions there and will be moving on
to the next round of competition. After long
hours of
preparing both the plaintiff and defense sides of the
case,
the team performed brilliantly! The case involves
an
eighteen year old girl who won millions of dollars
at the age of fourteen in the "North American Shining
Stars" and is now suing her parents for mismanaging
her funds and failing in their fiduciary roles by
squandering her money. The parents, however,
defend themselves on the grounds that they always
acted in the best interest of their daughter and did
not violate any fiduciary duty imposed on them by
the law.
In our first trial, Judge McLaughlin was a
harsh
but fair
judge. The witnesses and lawyers were excellent.
It
was a long and tough trial and the outcome was
extremely unpredictable. In the first trial acting
as
plaintiff, our team won both the verdict and received
more points than defense. In the second trial where
we performed as the defense, the verdict went
against us, yet we
earned more points and that allowed us to move to
the next level.
The team's "extra hours" under the direction of
our coaches, Mr. Jeff Lewisohn and Mr. Mark
Sokolow, have really paid off
and
we look forward to success in future rounds!
Miss Melina Kramer on her engagement to Brian
Mendelson
Hillel and Rock Davis on the marriage of their son Ariel
to Yael Zemelman. Mazel Tov to 12th grader Tali
Davis too on her brother and sister-in-law getting
married!
Shoshana Sperling '98 on her engagement to William
Yagoda
Elana Sokolow '01 on her enagagement to Rafi Rosman
Condolences to Rabbi Muskat on the loss of his
grandmother
Quick Links...
February/March Test Schedule
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A Message from Mrs. Spirn
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It's hard to believe that four weeks have passed
since intersession vacation!
Grade trips have been the focal point of the last
two
weeks. Our Sophomores had an
outstanding
experience on their two day trip to Washington, D.C.
The Seniors could be sighted last week in hats
and
gloves snowtubing down Hunter Mountain.
Our
Juniors just returned from their two day Jewish
Experience throughout the New York area and
they
were exposed to so many different types of Orthodox
lifestyles and institutions.
Wherever our girls traveled, they created a
tremendous Kiddush Hashem through their ruach,
strong performance and excellent behavior.
Kudos to
the Juniors who had to "plan" their attire for their
visits to some Chassidic communities and did so with
charm, grace and kavod to our hosts. Todah
Rabah to all of the administrators and teachers who
planned and chaperoned these trips.
Our Sophomore and Juniors submitted their
Elective Sheets for next year in a flurry as we
continue to plan for a year filled with exciting
courses and electives.
It's been quite a whirlwind this past week as we
welcomed several dozen eighth grade students to
SKA. We know that more girls will be visiting
next
week. Hakarat Hatov to the many freshmen who
served as hostesses to our prospective students and
a special thanks to the G.O. who provided great
breakfast treats and conversation. We hope
that
our visitors from Bnos Bais Yaacov, Bais Yaacov of
Queens, HANC, HAFTR, Har Torah, Ohr Haiim, TAG
and Yeshiva of Central Queens enjoyed the time they
spent with us. We look forward to welcoming all of
our registrants from these schools and, of course,
from HALB, at our upcoming Yom Chaverut.
I hope everyone enjoys their snow day. Here's to
an
inspiring and restful Shabbos!
Shabbat Shalom!
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Junior Jewish History Trip
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This Wednesday and Thursday, the Juniors
went on the annual Jewish History Trip!!!
With a
very full itinerary, the 11th graders set
out to learn about different Orthodox communities
and their varied approaches to Jewish life. Their first
stop on Wednesday,
was Williamsburg, where they met with
representatives of the Satmer
Chassidic community.
They visited the Satmer Bikur Cholim, where
many
women volunteer to cook meals for patients and their
families that are staying in the hospital. The
amount
of chessed that was taking place was AMAZING!
Afterwards they met with Mrs. Maryam
Deutsch and
Mrs. Chumie Bodek who spoke to the girls about
many issues, including the
Satmer view on Zionism and women covering their
hair. The girls asked many intelligent questions
and were intrigued by the answers given.
Next, the Juniors headed to Stern College for
Women
where there was a panel of students set up to
discuss "What Torah U'Mada Provides for Me."
After
they ate lunch and socialized with the Stern women,
the Juniors headed to Chelsea Piers to have
some
fun bowling and ice skating.
Later they visited the Carlebach Shul,
where
they learned about Reb Shlomo Carlebach's life,
goals, and
music. The Rabbi of the Shul, Rabbi Citron,
addressed the girls and was
accompanied by Meir Soloman, who played
guitar.
The last stop of the day before dinner was at
Lincoln Square Synagogue, where Rabbi Ephraim
Buchwald spoke about the National Jewish Outreach
Program and the focus on Kiruv at the shul.
Now that the girls had worked up an
appetite, "Dinner on 72nd Street" was next,
and the
girls split up between Dougies and Pizza
Cave. Upon returning to the Hilton Gardens
Hotel in Monsey,
the girls had the opportunity of going swimming
and
had time to socialize with their friends and
teachers.
On Thursday morning, the Juniors set off to New
Square
where Mrs. Holczler spoke to the girls about growing
up with the Skverer Chasidim. Once again, the
girls
got involved in asking questions and learning about
different lifestyles. Soon afterwards, we visited
Beth Rivka High School, the Lubavitch High
School for Girls . The Lubavitch Girls were
full of
excitement when the Juniors entered their school.
They ate lunch together and provided some small
entertainment. The room was full of enthusiasm and
conversation.
The trip moved on to Shaarei
Tzion, a Sephardic Shul in Flatbush,
where the girls got a taste of the Sephardic Syrian
community. To end their trip, the girls went to
Kahal
Bais Yitzchok where they had the privilege of hearing
from Rav Dovid Goldwasser. Rav Goldwasser
inspired the girls with a shiur about the true
meaning
of "V'ahavta L'rai'acha Kamocha," and how loving
your fellow Jew not only means to love her and
not
to judge her, but it also means helping her come
closer to Yiddishkeit. He explained how one extra
mitzvah has the power to help the world be judged
positively, while one more avera can chas v'shalom
have the world be judged negatively. Therefore,
it is
our job to help our fellow Jew stay away from
aveirot
and help her do more mitzvot.
The trip was a HUGE success! Hakarat Hatov to
all of our Mechanchot, Miss Allen, Mrs. Block, Miss
Fragin and Mrs. Hirtz, and to our teachers and
Rebbeim, Mrs. Kaminetsky, Dr. Meier, Mrs. Mirsky,
Rabbi Muskat, and Rabbi Rothman, who
helped make the trip the success that it was.
Thank you for this memorable trip!
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Sophomores Invade Washington
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Very early, on Wednesday morning, February 16th,
the
Sophomores arrived at SKA to go on their
10th Grade
Lobbying Trip to Washington, D.C. On the
way to the
Capital, we stopped at several interesting
and fun
places. First we arrived at the Herr's Chip
Factory
where we were given a tour and met
with the mashgiach, who carefully
supervises the kashrut at the factory. Many of
us enjoyed the ½-price bargains in the Gift Shop
when buying the "Oops" snack bags. We then
proceeded to the Laser Dome, an arcade
facility with
a unique and entertaining Laser-Light Show.
Following
this excursion, we went to a dairy farm.
Those girls who were able to withstand the
strong cow odor, enjoyed watching the cows
being milked on
the large milking apparatus, known as the
Carousel. Finally we reached
our destination, prepared for our lobbying sessions
and then turned in for the night.
The next day we broke into groups with our
teachers and junior advisors and actually went
lobbying "on the Hill." We
discussed with the Senators and Congresspersons
the
importance of supporting Israel and the dire need to
address the Iranian nuclear program situation. Some
of the groups were even lucky enough to spot the
likes of
Senator John Kerry, Secretary of State Condoleeza
Rice, and Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld.
The trip was a great success! The Sophomores all
described it as a trip they will never forget, and were
very appreciative of the day off they were granted
on the day after they returned.
Special thanks to Miss
Blisko, Mr. Fiedler, Mrs. Haber, Dr. Meier and Rabbi
Zak for all
of their hard work and for chaperoning our trip.
Thank you to Mrs. Leibtag who helped prepare
us "politically" for this undertaking. Hakarat hatov to
11th graders Atara Feinberg, Megan Leifer, Shana
Naiman, Avital Shenker and Leora Sperber who
provided us with advice and support before and
during our lobbying sessions!
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Senior Snow Tubing Excursion
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Last Thursday, the Seniors enjoyed a fun-filled
day at Hunter Mountain. We boarded the buses
at
8:30; little did we know the excitement we were in
for. We arrived at the mountain and donned our
winter-wear and were "pulled" up the mountain.
The tubing was incredible and the thrill we felt
zooming
down the mountain was amazing. We had the
entire
mountain all to ourselves. Afterwards, we went to
Shira
Thalheim's house in Tannersville, only ten
minutes
away from Hunter Mountain! There we enjoyed
delicious popcorn and steaming hot chocolate. We
played Outburst, Apples to Apples, UNO and much,
much more. It was an incredible bonding experience
for our grade! We roasted marshmallows and made
smores. Afterwards, we boarded the buses with
our
delicious Hero sandwiches in hand.
We would like to
express our hakarat hatov to Mrs. Thalheim for her
hachnasat orchim and
for taking out time from her busy schedule to come
up to Tannersville and graciously host sixty girls.
Special thanks
to Grade Level Advisors Mrs. Feinberg and Mrs.
Yudin, and to Rabbi Rothman for coordinating the
trip and for spending the day and evening with us.
We had a blast!
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The 50th Annual Dinner
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The 50th Annual Dinner will take place,
IY"H, on
Motzei Shabbat, March 12th at the Sands at
Atlantic
Beach at 8:45pm, where we will pay tribute
to "50
Years of Our History." HALB will honor its
past
presidents who have worked tirelessly to make HALB
what it is today. Rabbi Dr. Armin H. Friedman
will be
the recipient of a Distingushed Educator Award
and
HALB will also present a special Community
Service
Award to Mr. John Adam Kanas, President, Chairman,
and CEO of North Fork Bank.
To place an ad in our souvenir journal or to make
dinner reservations, please call 516-791-8200 x107,
fax 516-791-6261, e-mail dinner@halb.org, or visit
our
website www.halb.org.
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