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From the desk of
Rabbi Perry
Tirschwell
I am proud to announce that the school's
new website,
www.wyhs.net
(Click here to see it!)
,
is open for
business. In addition to
being a
vehicle to communicate the school's message to
prospective students, parents and teachers, the
website contains a tremendous amount of useful
information for our school community. On our
website you will find links to the websites of all the
colleges, yeshivot &
seminaries
that our graduates have attended; slide
shows of
WYHS' last four plays; a photo-filled powerpoint
presentation on the benefits of a WYHS
education;
links to e-mail staff members; every new
and back
issue of
high-lites is archived; links to important
forms and information;
and photos of
students throughout.
Thank you to Mrs. Claudia Cohen for the
huge amount of time that
she has invested in three major projects this year-
this website, making grades and assignments
accessible to parents and students through Ed-line,
and creating e-mail addresses for the staff at
wyhs.net. This is in addition to the hours that she
dedicates weekly to creating this great newsletter
and the photos which appear in it.
The website is a work in progress, so I'd greatly
appreciate your sharing comments and suggestions
with me. Shabbat Shalom from
Orlando,
Rabbi Perry Tirschwell
Principal
| A Wild Thursday Morning Tisch & More |
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One of the most memorable events in WYHS history
took place on Thursday morning in preparation for
our Shabbaton in Orlando.After
davening,
students were surprised with a breakfast
tisch,
where they enjoyed spirited singing and
dancing as well as challah, cholent, potato kugel
and brownies! The Judaic studies staff, lead by
Shimmie Kaminetsky, Mrs. Ora Lee Kanner and Mrs.
Amy Horowitz, literally and figuratively
created "A Taste of the Shabbaton".
Mr. Bill Tannenbaum, whose
wife Reina's first yarzheit is today, spoke powerfully
to the students about "It's Not All About Me", which
is the theme of the shabbaton. The students danced
into the halls and outside on the basketball court,
where they had an impromptu kumsitz. The
tisch got everyone hyped for the exciting
Shabbat they are about to experience with their
friends and classmates.
This past weekend, members of the WYHS Chessed
Committee visited a soup kitchen to feed the
homeless on a Sunday. Junior Mimi Begas
attended
the event
and described: "It was so different from just packing
food to be delivered to the homeless. Here we got
to actually get to know the people we were helping,
and it made it so real. It was amazing to realize
that
there is so much more to a person than what you
see on the outside." The students who took
part in
this program were really inspired by the chesed and
hope to be able to repeat their
experience.
Sunday's Open House was the biggest and
best
ever! Over 65 prospective students and
their parents attended, and many more were
unable to
attend the open house despite their interest in
WYHS. In addition to the model classes and
presentation by various teachers and faculty
members, one of the day's highlights was the
speech given by Mrs. Julie Schiff, mother of
Amanda, '05, and Michael, '08. To read Mrs. Schiff's
stirring words, please click on the link below this
article.
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| Mother vs. Daughters & Basketball |
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Last Sunday's mother-daughter volleyball
game was a great success, featuring match-ups
such as sophomore Raquel and Mrs. Amram, senior
Ashley and Mrs. Musoff, freshman Jessica and Mrs.
Friedman, and sophomore Malka Hizkiya and her
mother, Ms. Pesacov. Sophomore Stephanie
Trachtenberg also got to play opposite her aunt as
well as faculty members Mrs. Liz Saddler and Mrs.
Melissa Pereira.
Several younger siblings also joined in the fun and
gave fans a glimpse of future WYHS talent!
Next week is a busy sports week at WYHS.
The boys varsity basketball team will participate in a
tournament hosted by the Rabbi Alexander S. Gross
Hebrew Academy of Miami and the David Posnack
Hebrew Day School. The first game will be held on
Monday, November 22 at 6 p.m. against the Donna
Klein Jewish Academy, and the second game will be
held on Tuesday, November 23, time to be
announced. Both games will take place at the David
Posnack JCC in Davie.
There are also two other games being played on
Tuesday, November 23. At 4:00 p.m., the girls
varsity soccer team will play at the Hillsboro El Rio
field. At 5:30 p.m. the girls varsity basketball team
will play their first game of the season against Donna
Klein Jewish Academy at the JCC in Boca.
Make sure to check the calendar for the sports
schedule for the upcoming weeks! For directions to
all games, click on the link below.
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| The Shabbaton and Beyond |
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Any parent who needs to contact his/her child at
the Shabbaton before or after Shabbat can call
Rabbi Spodek (561-706-9276) or Shimmie Kaminetsky
(561-414-1328) on their cell phones.
Buses will be making stops in Boca, Hollywood, North
Miami Beach, and Miami Beach on Sunday night.
We will post a message on the answering
machine at the school at 8:00 p.m. on Sunday
night and again at 9:00 p.m. updating parents about
the arrival time of the students. Students will also
be asked to call home within one hour of their
anticipated arrival.Don't forget that on
Monday, November 22,
school will start at 12:00 p.m. with college
preparatory classes. There will be a 9:00 a.m.
minyan for local students that
morning. Buses to school will pick students up
exactly four hours later than usual. Students who
order Monday lunch will receive lunch on that
day.
The second lecture in the three part parenting
series
will be held on Tuesday, November 23 at 8:00 p.m.
at
the Young Israel of Hollywood. Adolescence expert
Dr. Rona Novick will
speak about how to help teenagers deal with
competition, exclusion, and relationships. All parents
are encouraged to attend this seminar. Attendance
at one of the three parenting lectures is mandatory
for all WYHS parents.Erev Thanksgiving,
Wednesday, November 24, will follow a Friday
schedule with an early dismissal and Wednesday
bell times. There will be no school from Thursday,
November 25 through Sunday, November 28 in honor
of
Thanksgiving.
The Junior Night Out will take place on
Wednesday, November 24 immediately after school.
Students will
enjoy an afternoon of laser tag, followed by a
barbecue dinner for the entire grade at the home of
Daniel Poliak in Hollywood. The program will be over
by 8:00 p.m. Students are responsible for their own
transportation to and from the event.
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| Between Thanksgiving and Chanukah |
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The first Town Hall Meeting will take place in
North Miami Beach at 8:00 p.m. on Wednesday,
December 1 at the home of Dr.
and Mrs. Daniel Wolf. All
NMB parents
are encouraged to attend this open forum for
discussing
current school issues. For more information or to
RSVP, please click
here.
There will be an Informative Meeting for
Prospective Parents from Boca on Thursday,
December 2 at 8:00 p.m. at the home of Nancy and
Jackie Markovitch. For more information or to
RSVP, please click
here.
The last day of the first trimester will be
Friday, December 3.
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Striving to Be the Best Teachers They Can Be |
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During the summer and throughout the course of the
school year, many members of the WYHS faculty
seek opportunities for professional
development in
the form of conferences, coursework, and seminars.
In order to participate in these seminars and classes,
the teachers often have to give up their free time or
travel across the country to take advantage of the
most appropriate and most beneficial options
available.
By attending these extracurricular programs,
teachers can ensure that they are up to date on the
latest educational and/or subject-specific
methodology, technology, and research, and
WYHS students reap the benefits as
teachers
immediately
bring what they have learned into their
classrooms.
Examples of some of the recent professional
development experiences of the WYHS faculty are
listed below:
- New Hebrew language teachers Mrs. Yael
Waxman and Mrs. Ravit Shalit attended
the NETA
Intensive Hebrew Workshop, a three-week
seminar on
teaching Hebrew language via the NETA curriculum,
which took place at Hebrew College in Boston, MA in
August.
- Mrs. Carla Greer and Mrs. Bambi
Rainbeau each
took a week-long Advanced Placement
Preparation Courses in English Language &
Composition and
Biology, respectively. In these courses, Mrs. Greer
and Mrs. Rainbeau discussed topics and methodology
with their colleagues, and were exposed to new
resources for teaching their AP classes.
- Rabbi Ben Sugerman, who is teaching AP
Psychology this year, attended a one-day AP
Workshop (on Erev Yom Kippur!) at Nova
Southeastern University in Ft.
Lauderdale.
- Learning specialist Ms. Dana Sardano participated
in the Jewish Federation of South Palm Beach
County's first Educators Tour to Israel for
Jewish Day School educators who have never visited
Israel. Ms.
Sardano also attended a SACS Accreditation
Conference in Orlando
to learn more about the school accreditation
process, which she is currently supervising at
WYHS.
- Assistant Principal Mrs. Jessica Schultz is
currently taking an on-line advanced math
class to
supplement her preparation for the math courses she
teaches.
- Rabbi Josh Spodek spent his summer at
Loyola
University in Chicago pursuing a Master's Degree
in
School Administration and Supervision as part of
a
joint program with the Jewish Education Leadership
Institute (JELI).
- School counselor Mrs. Marilyn Goldstein
spent two
days at Yeshiva University attending a two-day
Workshop on "The At-Risk Child and
Adolescent in the
Orthodox Community," which dealt with the scope
and definition of the problem as well as prevention
and intervention strategies.
In addition to pursuing these opportunities outside of
school, all faculty members at WYHS participated in a
day-long Jewish Educators' Conference
coordinated by
the Jewish Education Commission.
This conference, held at WYHS, gave teachers the
opportunity to attend both general and subject
specific workshops with their colleagues from other
Jewish Day Schools in the area.
At the conference, the Judaic Studies faculty
particularly enjoyed hearing from keynote speaker
Rabbi Menachem Liebtag, well-known for his
approach to Bible study and for his affiliation with the
Virtual Beit Midrash, an on-line center of Torah
study.
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GOOD and WELFARE
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| Mazel Tov to senior Debbie Ganz on receiving an award from the Rotary Club. |
| Mazel Tov to Sal and Leslie Abady, Howard and Stacey Dubosar and Hana Marin on being honored at the Hillel Day School dinner. |
| Mazel Tov to board member Batzi and Dr. Billy Berman on the engagement of their daughter Dafna and to brother David, '02. |
| Refuah Shleima to WYHS parent Deena Borzak
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Refuah Shleima to board member Bernie Oppenheim
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