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SKAppenings |
23 Sivan 5768
June 26, 2008 |
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ATTENTION
ALUMNAE
Please keep us informed of important
happenings in your personal and professional lives. It will be our pleasure
to post your news in our next SKAPPENINGS! Please email us at
hspirn@skahalb.org
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A Message from Mrs. Spirn
Baruch Hashem, we have completed our 15th year of studies at SKA! We
have granted diplomas to 59 Seniors at a beautiful graduation ceremony and
had the opportunity to speak about each graduate in a meaningful way at our
Senior Night. We are proud that members of the Class of 2008 have been
accepted to the finest colleges and seminaries of their choice. We are
thrilled that over 90% of our graduating class will spend the year learning
Torah in Eretz Yisrael. Ki miTzion tatzai Torah udvar Hashem
miYerushalayim....
We have watched 297 students
successfully complete Regents and final examinations in many subject
areas. We have seen a large number of our students opt to take AP exams to
enrich their learning and qualify for college credit. We have seen our
students receive awards and recognition in many disciplines and witnessed
seniors receiving academic scholarships to various institutions.
We have been zocheh to help the larger community through our students' acts
of chesed and the fulfillment of more than 12,000 hours of their collective
chesed responsibility. We have donated a new playground to be built
in Sderot after a successful Walkathon that drew close to a thousand people
of all ages. We sponsored an entire wedding in Yerushalayim for a yesoma
through Ezer Mi'tzion. We have supported many institutions and offered
respite to many families through both our Chesed projects and our Senior
Work Study Internship program and have watched our students develop their
personal interests and talents.
We have been zocheh
to inculcate in our students a deeper understanding, knowledge and love of
Eretz Yisrael through our Irving and Toni Israel Studies and Programs and
the David Project and are excited about a new course on the History of
Israel that we will be introducing next year.
We are
fortunate to work with a great Parent Council under the leadership of Esther
Weinstein and Jan Wernick who support our efforts in countless ways and
hosted a beautiful Mother Daughter Brunch honoring a beloved faculty member.
We are grateful to offer educational opportunities for our moms like Lilmod
Ule'lamed on Tuesdays and ongoing Community Wide Lectures for Women.
We are thrilled to welcome so many of our alumnae each week for shiurim and
learning here at SKA and at Stern College. We were honored to host several
reunions here in the States and in Yerushalayim and look forward to an
upcoming reunion for our second Graduating Class of 1998.
We dedicated this school year to the theme of Kavod Chavercha and
incorporated ideas of building good midot and good behavior at Shabbaton and
Lag Ba'Omer, with many monthly events in between. Our GO provided many
wonderful opportunities for fun, growth and reflections too, especially on
the theme of Kavod Chavercha.
Production 2007
highlighted the musical, dance, dramatic, sign language and artistic talents
of more than half of our school at three performances which were attended by
one thousand women. Shabbaton 2007 was an incredible retreat with the
opportunity to bond with classmates up in the country while enjoying the
experience of being part of the SKA family.
Our students produced beautiful publications which we shared with our
larger community: The Looking Glass, our school newspaper; our weekly Parsha
Press and season Yom Tov Press; At Ptach, our Haggadah; our 9th grade
Holocaust Journal; Matrix, our Literary Journal and our Yom Yerushalayim
Hebrew Journal.
It has been a wonderful year of growth and accomplishment for our
students. I wish all the members of our SKA family a wonderful summer and an
opportunity to relax, reflect and to grow.
To my
students....please remember the words of Dovid Hamelech, "Sur maira
v'aseh tov!"......Remove yourself from negativity and be sure to
perform actions that are positive and chesed oriented. If you concentrate on
doing tov, removing yourself from negative influences and difficult
situations won't be so hard. May you all continue to "do tov" and grow
in your avodat Hashem to be the beautiful, sensitive and talented young
women you are meant to be!!!
Have a wonderful summer
and be sure to relax!!!
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Graduation
On June 15th, SKA held the Twelfth Annual Commencement Exercises with the
graduation of the Class of 2008. The Valedictorian, Elisheva
Zinberg, Salutatorians, Michal Zlotnick and Lauren Bayer and Keter Shem Tov
Awardee, Rebecca Krauss addressed the audience as did Mrs. Helen Spirn , who
reflected on the past four years and the achievements of the girls and gave
the graduates a bracha. Thank you to Co-Presidents, Mr. Jay Gelman and Mr.
Joseph Genachowski for participating in the presentation of diplomas, to Mr.
Ken Zitter, Vice President for presiding over the event and to the Parent
Council headed by Mrs. Esther Weinstein and Mrs.Jan Wernick for the lovely
gifts to the graduates and the beautiful collation. We wish all the
graduates Mazal Tov and hatzlacha as they leave the halls of SKA. We will
truly miss them and hope that they all stay in touch!!
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On June 2, the Senior class had their pre-Graduation Senior Night at the
Young Israel
of Lawrence Cedarhurst. The girls had dinner and than watched a video of the
grade featuring pictures and candids throughout the years and clips of
different teachers giving their last messages to our seniors. Midot
awards were presented to Aliza Abittan,Temima Herzberg and Davina Wadler.
The parents soon arrived and the program opened with divrei Torah
delivered by Alyssa Brody, Rebecca Eichenbaum, and Leora Niderberg. A team
of eight administrators and teachers then spoke about each girl in
the grade, highlighting every person's special qualities and strengths. The
evening
continued with spirited dancing where Mrs. Spirn danced with each girl and
her
mother.
The students made a special presentation to Mrs. Rivka Yudin, their
Grade Level Advisor, who is going on aliyah with her family this
summer. A student committee also expressed their hakarat hatov to the SKA
faculty and administration and presented a beautiful gift which will be
placed in the SKA Teacher's Room. The program concluded with the
presentation of Graduation Awards and the distribution of this year's Senior
Yearbook, just in time for Senior Trip. The evening was indeed a very
meaningful and emotional event for all of our seniors.
CLICK HERE TO SEE MORE PICTURES!!! |
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Senior Trip
Following a beautiful Senior Night, the SKA twelfth graders headed to Montréal
for their senior trip! The events included hiking and white water rafting at
Lake George
(everyone getting really soaked), horse and buggy rides, quadracycling and jet
boating
( again everyone getting really soaked) in Old Montréal and a visit to the
Montréal amusement park, La Ronde. Not to be missed was the night Ghost Tour
which depicts the history of the city in small vignettes, acted out in the
courtyards and lawns of the old city. And of course, there were the usual stops
at the border. The grand finale of the trip included a stop at Camp Magen Av
with festive balloons, Carlos and Gabbys food, a bonfire and a kumsitz and
surprise guests: Mrs. Kaminetsky, Mrs. Yudin and Dr. Meier. But what was really
unique about this trip was that the seniors decided on random rooming, putting
into action the SKA theme of the year - y'hei k'vod chavercha chaviv alecha
k'shelach- and highlighting the achdut of the grade!
Many thanks to Rabbi Zak and Mrs Storch for planning this blast of fun.
Thanks to Rabbi Zak, Mrs. Antmann, Mrs. Budne, Mrs. Pomerantz and
the madrichot Elisheva Davis, Shira Pasternak and Gabby Soep for accompanying
the seniors ! As one senior said as she boarded the bus to return to New York,"
it was the best trip of my high school years!" We will miss you, seniors!!
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Year End Awards
Mazal Tov to all of this year's Middot, Tanach, Amalei Torah, and Chesed
awardees!
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Year-End Grade Luncheons
 
During the last week of
classes, SKA students in each grade took the opportunity to reflect on their
year with an End of Year Luncheon. The 9th grade were hosted by Mrs. Spirn
at her home. The students ate together while reminiscing on the past school
year with skits and songs presented by students and teachers. Dessert
was, of course, a delicious cake with good wishes written on it. See you
next year: 2008-2009!!
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Solar Cooker!!!
May 29th was a beautiful day and Mrs. Alter's AP Environmental class took
advantage of the weather to build a solar cooker and make smores. A solar cooker
runs by the heat of the sun. The students built their cooker with a pizza box,
aluminum foil, saran wrap, and black construction paper and placed it in the
perfect spot in the sun. They then placed graham crackers, marshmallows, and
chocolate chips in the cooker, and watched as the solar cooker began to heat up
the ingredients . Soon enough the smores were ready to eat! Thank you Mrs. Alter
for a fun learning experience and an amazing year!!
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Sports Dinner
It was an exciting and fun filled celebration as the SKA Sports Teams
concluded yet another successful year and joined together at the annual
Sports Dinner. The evening commenced with an inspiring d'var Torah and
speech from SKA parent Rabbi Avi Haar as he reminisced on his own past
athletic endeavors. The Basketball Team was awarded trophies for their win
over Magen David in the Championship Game and pictures of the team with the
hampionship banner were taken before the banner was hung up with the many
banners decorating SKA's auditorium wall. Many other SKA sports
awards were distributed to the students and there was a warm sense of
camaraderie as each team reflected on the season filled with
highs and lows. And of course, there was delicious Dougie's food to round
out the evening. Thank you to Rabbi Zak and Sports Director Mrs. Helene
Myers for a truly great night enjoyed by all who participated! |
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Art Academy Produces Masterpieces
Under the guidance of Mrs. Suzie Libin, our 9th, 10th, and 11th grade Art
Academy students have once again produced amazing works of art. The pictures
above represent the selection from this year's 9th grade Art Academy class
that will be displayed in the SKA halls next fall.
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JUMP Club Receives NCSY Leadership Award
Mazal tov to the SKA JUMP Club for receiving the JUMP Club of the Year
Award, presented at NCSY Spring Regional 2008.
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SKA Seniors Visit Berlin
Instead of the typical Senior Work Study experience, a
group of SKA Seniors opted for a NCSY kiruv mission to
Berlin, Germany after participating in the SKA-NCSY Jump
Club. The girls had an opportunity to both do kiruv at
the Midrasha for women and visit some of the historic
sites of the WWII era.
CLICK HERE
to read the article published in the 5TJT, written by
SKA Senior, Rachel Rosen. We are so proud of our
students' accomplishments!
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Mazal Tov to Shaindy Schiffmiller on winning
the John and Agnes Funk Junior Achievement Scholarship
Award for Community Service.
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AP Biology Trip
The AP Biology class visited a nature reserve in
Hempstead on May 23rd to see the flora and fauna of the
reserve. The students collected water samples to
bring back to the SKA lab and did a chromatography
experiment at the reserve. The girls greatly enjoyed
experiencing AP Bio in real time ! Thank you to Mrs.
Gross for arranging such a fun trip!
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Yearbook Elections
The Junior class performed its first act as the "Senior"
Class of 2009 when they elected the Yearbook staff for
next year. Mazal Tov to Editors-in-Chief, Jenny
Moskowitz and Ariella Simpson and to Associate Editors
in Chief, Seffi Milstein and Shaindy Shiffmiller .
CLICK HERE to see a full listing of the
Yearbook Staff
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Salute to Israel Parade
SKA joined countless of other organizations and schools
and thousands of people on June 1, 2008 to celebrate
Israel's 60th birthday at the Salute to Israel Parade.
The theme, appropriately, was Israel at 60. SKA
students wore pink and brown shirts that were
beautifully designed by Chana Rosa Petrikovsky of the
11th grade and danced through the parade with streamers
in hand and Eretz Yisroel in their hearts. Thank you to
Mrs. Libin and her art staff for the beautiful banner.
It was truly inspirational to see so many people from
all over, join together in support of Israel. L'Shana
Ha'Ba'ah B'Yerushalayim!!
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