Yesterday, WYHS students entered school excited about the celebration of Israeli Independence Day. Morning tefilot had an addition of Hallel, lead beautifully by Shimmie Kaminetsky, and all that was seen was a wave of people wearing blue and white, in recognition of this day.

The energy was palpable as students entered a blue and white decorated room with student band "Under Construction" playing and the smell of fresh falafel, shwarma and Israeli salad in the air. Yom Haatzmaut is the only day of the year when the school serves lunch to the entire faculty and student body, which everyone thoroughly enjoyed. After the meal, everyone hit the dance floor for phenomenal dancing on both sides of the mechitzah . This chagiga was particularly poignant, being that it was the last day for the seniors. They danced and sang their hearts out, which was the perfect way to end the year and say goodbye.

The afternoon's guest speaker was Elyasaf Schwatz, a 22 year old Yeshiva University student. After attending MTA (Yeshiva University High School for Boys) and two years of Yeshivat Har Etzion (colloquially known as "Gush") in Israel, Elyasaf made a decision to join Machal, the Israeli Army's program for non Israeli citizens. He served with bnei yeshiva, a platoon of 30 religious students, for nine months, before returning to the United States.

Through his extensive and thorough responses to questions, Elyasaf painted a vivid picture of his army experience. He shared, surprisingly, that the army strengthened his religious commitment, rather than the norm where people tend to lose touch with their spiritual side.

He also expressed the excitement he felt when putting on his uniform for the first time. His grandparents, who are Holocaust survivors, would have died for the opportunity to put on an IDF uniform in defense for the Jewish nation. Elyasaf said that every time he wears it, the feeling never wears off. Elyasaf's speech was truly inspirational.

This Yom Haatzmaut was truly an exuberant one, and next year may we all benefit to be in Yerushalayim!

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Wednesday morning's Yom Hazikaron program was both meaningful and moving. One at a time, the students quietly entered the dimly-lit ballroom, whose walls were covered with photos of fallen heroes from Israeli wars and terror attacks.

Avi Lasko ('07) introduced the program and explained the significance of the juxtaposition of Yom Hazikaron and Yom Haatzmaut. Program Director Rabbi Spodek then shared a powerful poem he wrote about his experience attending a funeral for one of the 73 soldiers who was killed in a tragic collision of two helicopters in 1994. Afterwards, Executive Director Shimmie Kaminetsky recited Yizkor in memory of those who died protecting our homeland.

As Hebrew Department Chair Mrs. Alcalay gave a brief history of each of the wars Israel has fought, a large yarzheit candle was lit by juniors Ilana Singer and Ori Matilsky. The table, with the 6 yarzheit candles and signs with the names of each war, was later moved to the hallway right outside of Rabbi Tirschwell's office, where it remained for rest of the school day.

We then heard three very moving and inspiring stories by Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach about the heroism and religious awakening of Israeli soldiers. Avi Lasko presented a PowerPoint presentation he tirelessly prepared on the Israeli Defense Forces.

The informative and inspiring Yom Hazikaron program was concluded with a dvar Torah by the Rosh Kollel of the Boca Raton Community Kollel, Rabbi Yehuda Rock. Rabbi Rock shared his personal experiences in the Israeli army as well as the challenges of being an observant soldier.

All the students who attended were moved and felt they had a greater understanding of the significance and importance of the day.

One of the highlights of this year has been the welcoming of the newest, youngest additions to the WYHS family. After much anticipation, this Tuesday we celebrated the births of faculty children Mordechai Pinchas Grossman, Ayelet Miriam Esther Shochet, and Shifra Sugerman. The excitement surrounding each of these births was truly tangible and reflected our deep connection with our teachers.

To properly celebrate the new arrivals, the theme of this past Tuesday's Rosh Chodesh Chagiga was a festive "Baby Bash". The Beit Midrash was decorated with baby paraphernalia. Because we celebrated the birth of both a boy and two girls, the secondary theme was a "Battle of the Genders." Half the room was decorated with blue balloons, tablecloths, plates and silverware; the other half was festooned in pink. Separating the blue and pink halves of the room was a buffet table upon which was served a breakfast of grilled cheese, french fries, fresh fruit and salad.

After birkat hamazon, the parents of the newborn children delivered one poignant and two hilarious divrei Torah. The girls were then pitted against the boys in a heated quiz show battle of trivia. Led by Assistant Program Director Rabbi Chaim Lanner, the boys were asked to answer questions on clothes and cosmetics, while the girls were quizzed on sports. It was clear to this reporter that the girls won hands down.

Most college freshmen, let alone high school seniors, have not chosen a college major or future profession. Some have ideas based on their interests and/or aptitudes. However, students often make the wrong choice. They may have an unrealistic view on their prospective field because they lack the knowledge and experience on it.

Senior Experience came about because Mrs. Pam Turk, WYHS' immediate past and founding president, wanted to help our seniors avoid such a problem. The seniors who took Economics first semester were given the choice of either taking Government or undertaking an internship for the second semester. WYHS dubbed this experimental program "The Senior Experience".

Those of us who chose to enroll in the Senior Experience were asked to write a proposal including what we wanted to do, why, when we would go to work to fulfill the 3 ½ hours per week requirement, and what we would do for our final project. Moreover, we were asked to submit a journal each week by e-mail describing what we did and what we learned. This past week we presented our final project to the class and our mentors for an evaluation on our work for these months.

The jobs that we chose included Public Relations, Journalism, Law, Medicine, Theater, and Marketing/Publicity. The internship required time, dedication, responsibility and seriousness. It certainly wasn't the easy way out since both our mentors and Pam Turk were supervising us.

As students we found this experience very rewarding, not only because we learned what the field is all about first hand, but because we now could make an educated choice on a potential career in the future.

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by Moshe Genet ('06)