Green, red, blue and yellow filled the halls of SKA on Thursday as each grade competed against the other in an exciting, fun and ruach-filled Color War. The girls were completely shocked as Goldberg the bird master, broke out Color War on Wednesday. Under the pretense of a program for Shabbat Shira the entire school was invited into the auditorium to watch the different birds race, perform interesting tricks, and break out the most exciting event of the school year, Color War.

Through the many activities the students participated in this Color War, each girl was able to express her own talents and strengths. The morning activities ranged from human foosball and blow up jumping machines to arm wrestling and plain old dodge ball, where the different squads competed to earn their own team the most points possible. Other relay races, popcorn eating contests, and tug-of-war competitions filled the afternoon, before each grade presented its dance, banner, dvar Torah, bulletin board, theme song, power-point presentation, and improv skit. Through the beautiful and entertaining presentations, the work that the girls from all grades put into Color War was evident. However, in all competitions there must be a winner. And this year's winner of Color War was the Junior Blue Team! Congratulation to all grades on a job well done and much thanks to Rabbi Zak and his staff for organizing this Color War.

By Leora Niderberg, 11th Grade

One would expect the first few days back in school after mid-winter break to be ordinary. Whether it’s the girls sporting tans from warmer climates, skiers returning from the white slopes, or girls who took the week to chill out at home, everyone needs time to get back into the swing of school. Of course, anyone familiar with SKA knows not to expect a “normal day” any day; many of the teachers joke that this is really “Camp SKA”. But even before the screening of a special video for the entire school and color war entered the scene, some new surprise set the whole school abuzz with excitement. Gleaming SMARTBoards were installed in a few classrooms over the break, and none of the girls can stop talking about them.

What is so special about these boards, exactly? Well, SMARTBoards are so ingenious because they seamlessly combine the benefits of dry-erase board note-taking with the advantages of multimedia presentations. This means that a teacher can present a video, slideshow, or pictures to her class by simply attaching a VCR, DVD player, camera or laptop to the board itself and voila! The presentation appears, the teacher can write on top of it—and no clumsy projectors are necessary. This SMARTBoard actually comes equipped with its own projector, which is situated above the board and allows the teacher to maneuver normally without creating any obstructive shadows. In addition, the touch-sensitive board offers lots of formatting and storage options, including a “button” which offers to save the notes actually handwritten with “digital ink” in the board’s memory. One of the most helpful tools is the “Gallery”, which allows teachers to upload images, document files, or applications into the board’s memory and use them at any time. For instance, one math teacher marvels that with a magic touch, the board instantly becomes a giant piece of graph paper. Evidently, not only do these boards make classroom learning more interactive and interesting, they also allow teachers to work more efficiently by performing time-consuming tasks with the push of a button.

So how are the students reacting to the new SMARTBoards? There have been two mainstream responses. Some girls, clumped near the two SMARTBoard classrooms, point excitedly at the board and claim all of the astounding feats they have witnessed it perform. “I’m almost positive I heard it tell me how to finish that problem on my test today.” She was right; they actually talk! Or this: “Did you see what it did to the weather? I’m telling you, the minute the teacher pressed the ‘on’ button, the sun came out!” Other girls content themselves by stopping near a SMARTBoard classroom and simply gaping as it does its magic. Either way, the entire student body and faculty is thrilled to have SMARTBoards join the SKA family. We hope there are more to come!

Sophomore parents gathered with Mrs Spirn and Junior parents gathered with Dr Meier , Mr. Fiedler and Mrs Sachs to plan for the future.

The parents were informed of the electives the students could take, the pros and cons of taking AP courses, what colleges are interested in seeing and how best to help their daughters grow . Junior parents were additionally presented with materials that would help them navigate the college and Israel yeshivot application process.

The tenth and eleventh grade students also had their meetings with administrators during the school day. They too were presented with options for next year. The sophomores can look forward to an “elective fair”, where teachers of the eleventh grade classes will describe the courses so that students could make educated decisions. The juniors can look forward to making lots of choices and taking part in shaping their senior year.

Mrs. Spirn, Dr. Meier, Mr. Fiedler, and Mrs. Sachs will all be available to our sophomores and juniors for follow-up meetings to assist individual students with their decision making process.

Good luck to all in this very exciting process!

The Mock Trial team set out this past Wednesday to the Supreme Court of Nassau County to compete in the first of hopefully many trials. As both sides masterfully presented their view of the cyber-stalking case, the judge was split in her decision and our Mock Trial team won the actual case, while losing in the points. The girls loved the experience of participating as witnesses and lawyers in a real courtroom with a presiding judge and are anticipating next weeks and many future competitions. Special thanks to our coach, Mr. Isaac Zucker for all his time and hard work in preparing the team!

The graduating class of 2006 have been waiting impatiently for January to arrive. Why, you may ask? You may think it's because January is finals time and the SKA girls all love finals, but really it's because we have been waiting for Dr. Meier to come!!! In honor of Dr. Meier's arrival an SKA reunion was organized. Pizza and Rugaluch was ordered and brought to the Michlala diningroom where the reunion took place. Almost all the girls studying in Israle from last years graduating class came, it was so nice to see everyone! Dr. Meier surprised us with the DVD from production and we made our way the auditorium to watch it. It was so much fun to watch, but it did make us all wish that we could have been there. Mrs. Kraft, Mrs. Foxbrunner and Mrs. Weinstein all came to see everyone and it felt as if we were right beack in SKA, except the only thing we were missing were the couches.

As a personal favor to his students, Rabbi Eisenbach came into West Hempstead on the last Thursday of winter vacation to impart Divrei Torah to SKA students and alumnae. Rabbi Eisenbach discussed many insights into Shabbas and the potential that one can unlock if he is able to tap into Shabbas’ incredible power. He discussed the Rambam’s view on Hashgacha Pratit and even gave practical tips on better connecting with Shabbas. The shiur was a great success and gave our vacations the spiritual injection that it needed. Everyone present is extremely grateful to Rabbi Eisenbach for coming all the way into West Hempstead to teach us. We also want to thank Rivky Bell for organizing the night and as well as the Bell family for opening up their home and for providing refreshments.

Thursday’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 Ore, the organization that runs the soup kitchen. He explained to us what we would be doing and what we should expect to see and then we got busy in the kitchen grilling hotdogs, pouring condiments and assembling dessert platters. 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 Ayelet Brecher, Jorge Bienenfeld and Sarit Klein for all their help in organizing the trip.

If someone had gone around SKA before vacation, asking girls whether they considered radical Islam an immediate threat, most would probably answer in the negative. After all, the phrase “radical Islam” conjures up images of exploded Israeli buses and planes crashing into the World Trade Center; despite that these events hit very close to home, (baruch Hashem) most SKA students were not personally affected. Therefore, it is difficult to understand how “jihad”, the Arabic word for “holy war”, threatens our day-to-day existence. But after viewing the jolting documentary film “Obsession” last Tuesday, students certainly came out with a better feel for what the Jewish community and Western culture are facing at this point. In Mrs. Spirn’s introduction to the film, she explained that even though many segments are “very graphic”, it is extremely important that we become aware of the real danger which is posed by radical Islam. It seems that the film achieved its intended goal with the SKA audience: at the end of the program, Rabbi Maryles, head of the Israel Advocacy Club, asked the girls whether they were frightened by what was depicted in “Obsession”. By a show of hands, the answer was a resounding “yes”.

But besides making the danger real, “Obsession” calls upon any and all self-respecting people to become active in the fight for freedom of religion and ideas, a freedom which the radical Islam movement is rapidly stifling. After watching clips of countless public rallies proclaiming “Death to America and Israel!”, and after hearing former PLO terrorists testify to the insidious inculcation of murderous values within Muslim children, the girls also saw the critical need for involvement and education. The film continually emphasized that it is the responsibility of all those who are conscious of the radical Muslims’ global jihad to educate others. As much as the film was a shocking portal into a hostile foreign culture, it was a powerful wake-up call: if we don’t actively try to hold back the terrorists, who will? For more information about “Obsession” and how to make a difference, visit www.ObsessiontheMovie.com.

SKA made its annual visit to the renowned YU book sale on Thursday night. After a delicious dinner and some inspiring words from our mashgiach Rabbi Eisenbach, the girls excitedly boarded the bus, which was quite crowded due to the fact that so many girls took advantage of this great opportunity. The Book review handout prepared by our own students was super! The sale featured discounted books on all different topics – mussar, halacha, tanach and more – as well as great Jewish music, and everyone left with a new addition to her bookshelf. Thanks so much to Rabbi Eisenbach, Mrs. Kaminetsky and all the madrichot for accompanying us and enhancing the trip. Also, a special thank you to someone who was so moved by the fact that so many girls were interested in coming, that he sponsored a five dollar subsidy for each girl who bought books at the sale.

Dor Yeshorim , the Committee for Prevention of Jewish Genetic Diseases, came to SKA on Tuesday night, February 6th to present an informational session to interested seniors and their parents. The Dor Yeshorim system which bases its work on strict confidentiality, screens young adults for nine genetic diseases and only informs “potential couples” if they are incompatible . In that case, they are informed of the risks and given counseling. The success of Dor Yeshorim is that Tay Sachs has been essentially eliminated from the Jewish community. The hope is to eradicate all genetic diseases and save families from the agony of having children with devastating genetic diseases.

Dor Yeshorim will return to SKA on Wednesday, February 14th at 3:00pm to do the optional screening for interested seniors at a nominal fee . Please speak to Rabbi Rothman or Dr. Meier for more information.

The Women Write Seminar has officially begun! Every two weeks, a group of 9th grade girls meet during their lunch period with Mrs. Shenker to read and discuss various plays and stories by women writers. The girls are eager to express their ideas and analysis on the stories and differentiate the literary techniques and perspectives of female authors to those of male authors. The colloquium is not only entertaining and enjoyable, but it is also an innovative and interactive way to learn. At the first meeting, the girls discussed “Trifles”, a short play by Kate Chopin. Miriam Khukhashvili said, “I can’t wait for the next meeting!” Special thanks to Mrs. Shenker for continuing to inspire her students to build their love for reading.

On Wednesday night, our Parent Council coordinated the first event of our Mother-Daughter Cultural Arts Program. As we headed on the buses to Lincoln Center to see the New York City Ballet, the Parent Council handed out snack bags with delicious treats. As we walked into Lincoln Center, there was excitement that filled the air! Nobody knew what to expect but seeing all the advertisements around Lincoln Center we knew were heading into something amazing. We found our seats and then waited anxiously for the ballet to begin. The two and a half hour performance was really enjoyable. Both mothers and daughters had a great time together and we can’t wait for the next mother daughter cultural event! Many thanks to the parent council for creating such a wonderful opportunity! Special Hakarat hatov to Mrs. Mimi Samuels for all of her research and dedicated efforts on behalf of our program.

Yoey Sachs, a senior at SKA, has been named a Finalist in the National Merit Scholarship Competition. She is now being considered for the Merit Scholarship . Yoey came to SKA from the TALI School and has quickly become part of the fabric of SKA, as a member of the senior class, as a member of the Band, a member of Mock Trial and College Bowl.

We wish her Mazal Tov and much hatzlacha in the next round of the competition.

We are pleased to announce that HALB has obtained the rights to screen the highly acclaimed movie, "Lonely Man of Faith: The Life and Legacy of Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik".

We will be showing this movie at SKA to our entire 12th grade on Monday morning, February 12th, at 9:15 AM.

Mothers and fathers are invited to join us for the screening. DRS will also be screening the movie on the previous day at 9:45 AM.

We look forward to exposing our students and parents to a deeper understanding of the philosophy, impact and legacy of the Rav.

9th Grade Required Eating Disorders Workshop

Monday, February 12th - Sign-Up Begins at 7:15PM