From the desk of Rabbi Perry Tirschwell
As students settled in their classes in the first full week of
school, students and their families were reminded about what
makes WYHS unique through a number of powerful programs
described below.
Kudos to Technology Coordinator Claudia Cohen's addition
of captions to this week's photoes. Look in the coming weeks'
high-lites for streaming video of WYHS programs.
Shabbat Shalom
Rabbi Perry Tirschwell
There Wasn't a Dry Eye in the
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This was a unusually emotional week, as WYHS students
focused on two monumental American and Israeli
tragedies.
On the morning after two heinous bombings in Israel
(see picture at left), students watched a heart wrenching
film prepared by One Family which traced the lives of five
people who were paralyzed, blinded, or orphaned by terrorist
attacks in Israel. Students and teachers broke down and
cried when confronted with the magnitude of these
individuals' loss and their courage to overcome their physical
and emotional obstacles.
WYHS Founder Rabbi Kenneth Brander then challenged
the students to renew their commitment to study in and visit
Israel and to make the most of their prayers.
On September 11th, students viewed never-seen- before
footage from inside the World Trade Center on September
11, 2001. The film which followed firefighters on 9/11 made
the students feel as if they were actually in the building on
that fateful day. To bring the experience even closer to home,
9/11 survivor Jonathan Pittinsky, who traveled from NYC
for the morning, shared his amazing story of escaping the 51st
floor of the World Trade Center.
Assistant Principal Mrs. Ora Lee Kanner then
challenged the students to emulate the example of the brave
firefighters by taking every opportunity to show care and
concern for their fellow students.
The memorial program ended with a new, moving song
by Shoresh that combined news broadcasts from 9/11 with an
emotional rendition of a classic Jewish song, Gesher Tzar
Me'od. Thank you to Rabbi Spodek and Mr. Dobrick for
putting together this powerful program.
In a related story, Tzedaka Committee Advisor Mrs.
Esther Grossman announced this week the beginning of a
tehillim-a- thon whose goal is to buy 25 full
emergency response kits for Magen David Adom. Click on the
link at the right to participate. Just print out and fill in
the form and send it in with your donation to the school
office.
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Want to Go Back to High
School? |
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A
record number of parents attended the annual Meet the
Teacher Night on Wednesday. Parents actually experienced a
simulated school day by following a modified version of their
child(ren)'s schedule.
During the "lunch" break, school president Rabbi Kenneth
Brander and Mrs. Pamela Turk shared shared their impressions
of the powerful program that took place that morning.
Executive Board Member Dr. Sam Lasko asked the parents to help
retire the school's accumulated deficit, which is due
to the school's policy of accepting students regardless of
their family's financial resources.
Seniors and their parents attended a special College
Application Seminar with College Guidance Counselor Judi
Rabinovitz, where they received important information about
application deadlines, letters of recommendation, SATs and
ACTs, and college visits.
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A
Thriller of a Game |
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This week brought new excitement to the world of WYHS
sports. Our boys varsity soccer team tied Lake Worth
Christian 2-2 on Wednesday in a game that went down to the
wire. Goals were scored by sophomore Dov Lieber and senior
Bryan Lieber, with an assist by senior Danny Krasna.
Come out and show your support for our girls varsity
volleyball team (pictured above) at one of their three
tough matches next week! Click on the link below for
detailed schedule information.
Volleyball & Soccer Season
Schedules »
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WYHS Comes to Hollywood and
Miami |
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This weekend, the WYHS senior class, Miami Beach
students and their families, and the Judaic Studies faculty
will share a ruach and learning filled Shabbaton in Miami
Beach. Parents and teachers will have the opportunity to
get to know each other in a non- academic setting, while the
seniors will focus on how they can become school and
community leaders.
Save the date! Our first ever sophomore and junior
selichot programs will take place on Saturday
night, September 20th, at 9:30 p.m. All sophomore and junior
boys are invited to Jonathan Struhl's house in Boca Raton, and
all sophomore and junior girls are invited to Jessica
Hoffman's house in Hollywood for a pre-selichot pool
and pizza party, followed by selichot.
Transportation will be provided at the conclusion of
selichot from Boca to Hollywood and Hollywood to
Boca.
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Teachers and WYHS Invest in Each
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In WYHS' constant quest to stay on the
cutting edge of independent school education, WYHS has
instituted an exciting new program recommended by ISM, the
recognized world experts in private education.
WYHS faculty members are known to go the extra mile for
their students. Beginning this year, teachers who invest
time into the school, will be recognized by WYHS as Senior
Teachers and Faculty Leaders. Teachers who attain these
statuses hese statuses will be compensated for the additional
time and energy they expend to make WYHS great.
Students benefit from having teachers cheer them on
at sports games, host them for Shabbat, host review sessions,
run clubs, and join them on their class trips. This program
rewards teachers who take out valuable free time to attend
conferences and courses and write curricula to become even
more effective instructors.
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