This Chanukah, the students of WYHS enjoyed an incredible amount of fun and inspiration. From basketball games to a tzedaka auction, serving food to the needy, and having breakfast at our teacher's homes, there was never a dull moment during this week of Chanukah. However, the uncontested highlight of the of the week was the annual Chanukah Chagigah.

Bringing together students, faculty, families and alumni, the Chagigah holds a special place in the hearts of the WYHS family. Immediately after school, the students headed into the ballroom where they found the room transformed into a Chanukah wonderland with glittering decorations.

The festivities began with the lighting of the chanukiah by the head of the Chanukah Committee Avi Lasko (’07). A delicious dinner was served and as soon as the iconic school band, Under Construction, struck their first chord, the party really got started. Both sides of the mechitzah featured incredible ruach /spirit, intense dancing limbos and even some crowd surfing.

After the passionate stint on the dance floor, a beautiful d’var Torah was delivered by Ilana Singer (’06) about the inner light within all of us that can only be nurtured and sustained by Torah. In accordance with that message, a movie completely created by our own students was shown. Featuring an animated film and street interviews conducted by Brain Surasky (’06) and Zach Cohen (’06), the movie emphasized the true meaning of Chanukah and its importance in our everyday lives.

This amazing night could not have happened without the dedicated efforts of the entire Chanukah committee and Rabbi Spodek, who worked tirelessly to make this the best Chagigah ever.

Happy Chanukah!

Tuesday, the second day of Chanukah, was a day that the girls varsity basketball team had been anticipating for months. They got a chance to face off against our cross-county rival, the Hebrew Academy Warriors at the American Airlines Arena, the home of the Miami Heat.

The Storm started off the first half with a bang, staying neck and neck with the Warriors. Leah Bensimon (’07) led the charge with her awesome intensity on defense and point guard Ilana Singer (’06) shined as a true leader with her command of the offense. The biggest surprise of the game for the Storm came from Amanda Markovitch (’06) and her unbelievable free throw shooting, showing extreme calm under pressure. Even though at the end of the day WYHS did not prevail, everyone had great time at this once in a lifetime experience.

Meanwhile, the boys took part in a sports day barbecue extravaganza. The event included a delicious barbecue, football and the annual varsity vs. faculty basketball game. Surprising everyone, the staff stayed strong at the beginning of the game, keeping almost even with the Storm. However, the varsity team surged ahead and won the exciting game by eight points.

All in all, this afternoon of sports and fun was another great addition to the great Chanukah schedule for the week.

On Monday morning, the first day of Chanukah, all of the students of WYHS were invited to their teachers’ houses for a mesiba style breakfast and a Chanukah celebration. Immediately after davening, the students rushed from the school and headed to the home of their respective teacher.

The teachers and Rebbeim (or their wives) prepared delicious breakfasts and graciously opened their homes to all of the students. Beautiful songs were sung, inspirational words of Torah were spoken, delicious food was eaten, entertaining games were played, but most importantly, unbreakable bonds were created.

These mesibas were so amazing and had such an impact on the students because it gave them the opportunity to interact with their role models and teachers in an informal setting. The breakfasts showed how willing the Judaic faculty of WYHS is willing to go above and beyond their roles as teachers in order to connect and bond with their students.

The amazing ruach felt at these celebrations helped set the tone for the rest of the Chanukah week.

Thank you so much teachers and Rebbeim.

When students finished fourth period on Monday, the first day of Chanukah, many did not know what to expect for the much hyped mid-day break. They found the Beit Midrash covered in sports-themed decorations and blasting with music. The room was transformed into a mini-basketball court for various competitions to take place.

In the free throw contests, Ari Struhl (’09) Ilana Singer (’06) Raquel Amram (’07), star goalie of the girls soccer team, and Doron David (’09), all fought hard, but only Ari and Doron walked away as the free throw champions.

In the slam dunk competition Michael Schiff (’08) and Athletic Director Coach Jon Kaweblum showed off their athletic prowess, but in the end only Coach Kaweblum was awarded with near perfect scores. Rabbi Schochet and Rabbi Houben battled for the next slam-dunk title, complete with wipe-outs and complete misses. Rabbi Schochet wowed the crowd and the judges with his human springboard method and was awarded the most points. In the final and most thrilling event, the Director of College Preparatory, Mr. Dobrick, beat Admissions Director Melissa Pereira in the faculty round of the free throw contest.

The second awesome mid-day break on Wednesday, the third day of Chanukah, was a school-wide dreidel hunt. The Chanukah committee scattered over a thousand dreidels over the field, and marked four with smiley face stickers. The four lucky participants who found these dreidels were given the chance to win a pair of Miami Heat tickets.

Ultimately, the “lucky dreidels” were claimed by Mrs. Schochet, Jordan Lieber (’06), Daniel Zvouloni (’08), and Daniel Poliak (’06). Later that night at the Chagigah, the winners of the scavenger hunt battled it out in an extreme dreidel spin-off, with Jordan Lieber (’06) defeating Mrs. Schochet in the final round.

The fun of the mid-day breaks has infused our school, inspiring students to get involved and participate in Chanukah, one of the most memorable holidays here at WYHS.