|
 From the desk of
Rabbi Perry
Tirschwell
Each summer we take an honest look at our
school, and set three goals to bring the mission to new
heights in the coming year.
Our
first goal, which after only twenty days of school has already made
a major impact, is Developing Student Leadership.
To develop public speaking skills, one of our three
student council presidents makes the daily announcements each
morning at the end of our prayers. At school programs such as this
past week's Rosh Chodesh Chagigah, a student now gives a dvar
Torah.
The thirteen student committees that our Program
Director Rabbi Josh Spodek has created are responsible for
everything from this past week's chagigah to Israel
programming at WYHS.
I meet each week with the student council presidents
to elicit their view on the state of the school and to brainstorm
about the issues that we feel should be addressed.
We have invited a student to join the staff of the
High-lites, so the virtual voice of WYHS will reflect the
students' perspective as well. Our student leaders wrote the
featured article (at the right) in this issue.
The Judaic staff is truly looking forward to spending this
shabbat with our Hollywood students and their families.
Shabbat Shalom
Rabbi Perry Tirschwell
Principal
| What a Great Week It Was |
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Last
Friday's Rosh Chodesh Chagigah, the first of the
year, was an outstanding way to kick off the month of
Cheshvan! The beautiful davening,
courtesy of Mr. Shimmie Kaminetsky, was followed by a
delicious breakfast and lively dancing!
The WYHS
theme for this month is continuity, which was beautifully
introduced in an eloquent dvar Torah by senior Jennifer
Marder. WYHS founder and dean, Rabbi Kenneth Brander,
spoke powerfully about enabling the inspiration of the recent
chagim to continue to inspire our daily and weekly
activities throughout the year.
On Friday afternoon, freshman student council
elections were held to choose two class representatives
for this year. Congratulations to Shira Poliak and Michael
Schiff on their new student council positions!
On
Tuesday, WYHS students and faculty were privileged to spend
the day with world renown adolescence expert Dr. David
Pelcovitz.
Dr. Pelcovitz met with students, faculty, and
administrators in small groups to discuss topics such as
coping with stress and interpersonal relationships. On Tuesday
evening, Dr. Pelcovitz addressed a packed room of WYHS parents
at the first of three parenting seminars this year.
This
week, seniors had the chance to further expand their college
options by attending a presentation about Brandeis University.
Seniors will continue to have opportunities to hear college
presentations during the next weeks and months before
applications are due.
Assistant Principal Mrs. Ora Lee Kanner had the
distinction of speaking at last week's PEJE Leadership
Assembly (Partnership for Excellence in Jewish Education)
in Boston. PEJE, the only organization which provides serves
to Jewish day schools of all denominations throughout the
country, feels that WYHS is the paradigm of a school that is
mission- driven. PEJE asked Mrs. Kanner to present a session
about harnessing "vision" as a driving force in day-to- day
school life.
At the conference, Mrs. Kanner also had the opportunity
to hear other educators and Jewish communal leaders from
across the country present a wide variety of topics vital to
the continued growth of Jewish education.
|
| "It Was a Dark and Stormy
Week" |
|
Congratulations to the boys soccer team on their
huge 6-1 victory over Wellington Christian! Goals were
scored by juniors Jordan Lieber and Jonathan Struhl and senior
Jeremy Gelbart. Most unbelievable, however, was the goal
scored by sophomore Jason Mann, who came all the way up from
his position on defense to score from the corner!
Mark your
calendars! The girls soccer and boys & girls
basketball seasons are about to begin! 
Girls
varsity soccer tryouts will begin on Sunday, October 24 at
9:00 a.m. at Lake Wyman Park and will continue on Tuesday and
Thursday (October 26 and 28) afternoons after school at Hillel
Day School in Boca.
Girls
varsity basketball tryouts will begin on Sunday October 31
at 9:00 a.m. at Chaminade Madonna Preparatory School, and will
continue on Tuesday, November 2 at Loggers Run Middle School
(time to be announced) and on Thursday, November 4 at Veterans
Park at 6:00 p.m.
Boys varsity and junior varsity basketball
tryouts will begin on Sunday, October 31 at 11 a.m. at
Chaminade Madonna Preparatory School and will continue on
Tuesday, November 2 at Loggers Run Middle School (time to be
announced) and on Thursday, November 4 at Loggers Run Park at
7:30 p.m.
For more information on times and directions, please
contact the WYHS school office.
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| A Super Week Ahead |
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|
The
annual WYHS Shabbat in Hollywood will take place this
weekend, October 22-23. The Judaic Studies faculty members and
their families will join the WYHS families of Hollywood for
Friday night dinner and an Oneg Shabbat.
Seminary visits begin next week with two
presentations. On Monday, October 25 at 10:45 a.m., Rabbi
Weiss of Orot will speak to the senior girls and any
interested parents.
On Thursday, October 28 at 9:15 a.m., Rabbi Kaplan of
Midreshet Lindenbaum will give a presentation to the senior
girls. There will also be a meeting for parents of senior
girls interested in Midreshet Lindenbaum on Wednesday,
October 27 at 8:00 p.m. at the home of Bernie and Melanie
Kaminetsky, 7991 Tennyson Court (Boca Hamlet) in Boca.
Thursday
night, October 28 is Freshman Night Out for all ninth
graders. Girls will get together at the home of guidance
counselor Mrs. Simone Broide, and boys will meet at Rabbi
Tirschwell's house for an evening of food and fun! Both
programs will take place immediately after school at 5:30 p.m.
and will be over at 7:00 p.m. so that all freshmen can take
the post-mishmar bus home that evening.
There
will be no school on Friday, October 29 due to a
faculty in-service conference scheduled for that day. The
optional PLAN exam will be given to sophomores at 10
a.m. on that day.
|
| In the Not Too Distant
Future |
|
Parent
Teacher Conferences are scheduled for Monday, November 1
(A-K) and Tuesday, November 9 (L-Z). There will be a Friday
schedule on Monday, November 1 with a 2:45 p.m. dismissal and
Monday bell times. Tuesday, November 9 will follow a regular
Tuesday schedule.
On
Sunday, November 7 at 7:00 p.m., bestselling author Naomi
Ragen will be speaking at the South Palm Beach County
Federation, in Zinman Hall, to benefit WYHS. Tickets are $25
and $45, and sponsorships are available. All sponsors will be
invited to a private dessert reception after the lecture. Please click here to order
tickets.
Save the
date! The WYHS School Shabbaton will take place in
Orlando, from Friday, November 19 through Sunday, November 21.
Applications were distributed in school and are still
available in the school office. Return your completed
application ASAP to make sure you don't miss out on this
unbelievable weekend!
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Leadership Training 101 |
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by WYHS Student Council Presidents
Jenna Bienenfeld, Debbie Ganz and Jake
Singer
This year's Student Council is comprised of thirteen
extremely talented and dedicated teenagers. Though we are only
at the beginning of the year, we have already met numerous
times to discuss different issues and create many
activities for the student body.
The WYHS student council has already been responsible
for many events, including organizing the different committees
of the school, the first exceptional Rosh Chodesh
breakfast, the Saturday Night Selichot program, and the
Big Brother/Big Sister programs. We are very proud of the
success of our chesed projects, which took place
on Wednesday, October 13th. We hope to continue such exciting
and meaningful events throughout the school year.
Student Council has started off with a bang and refuses
to continue with anything less. Our future holds countless
new adrenaline-rushing programs. We hope to live up to the
goals set forth in our mission statement (see below), and make
this year the best ever! We believe that student council will
help the students grow religiously while maintaining a "fun"
atmosphere throughout the school.
We cannot wait to see the upcoming school events
unfold. We are particularly anticipating the annual school
shabbaton, which keeps getting better each year! See you
there! And don't forget to buy sweatshirts!
Student Council Mission
Statement
Our
mission is to...
- Dedicate ourselves to the needs and wants of the
students by creating and carrying out fun and meaningful
programs on a constant basis. Furthermore, we must
dedicate ourselves to the growth of our fellow
students through our actions both in and out of school.
Our goals are to...
- Lead by example with a life of Torah values,
treating others with respect and kindness and actively
contributing to the Jewish and world communities. By doing
so, we hope to aid our fellow students in reaching their
full potential.
- Satisfy the will of the students by making sure
that every student is heard and that the students feel
comfortable expressing themselves to the student council
representatives.
- Incorporate the ideas of the student body as a
whole and involve as many students as possible in as many
activities as possible.
- Excite our fellow students about getting involved
in school events, school spirit, Judaism, and our school and
communities at large.
|
GOOD and WELFARE
|
| Refuah Shleima to board member
Bernie Oppenheim
|
| Condolences to Guidance Counselor Mrs. Marilyn
Goldstein on the loss of her mother. She will be sitting
shiva at her home in Boca Raton next week.
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| Condolences to senior Shoshana
Webberly and her family on the loss of her father.
| |
