by LeeLee Borzak ('10)

After returning from Logger's Run, students recharged themselves with lunch and Mincha, and heard inspiring divrei torah about the importance of lev and the significance of rosh from Ariella Davis ('09) and Ben Scheiner ('09) before partaking in the more unusual, but very entertaining, color war activities.

For the "Text Twist" competition, six letters for each team were displayed on a screen. Four members from each team were selected to not only type in as many words as possible using those letters, but also to come up with the one word which incorporated all six letters in order to proceed to the next round. Both teams showed great teamwork as everyone had the opportunity to shout the words to the typing team member.

Color war also featured Junkyard Wars, a competition in its fourth year at WYHS that challenges each team's ingenuity and design ability. This year, each team was given a budget in order to acquire the materials needed in order to build a kite. Their challenge was to design a functional kite whose effectiveness would be tested by its height and duration of flight. It was incredible to see what students were able to create in only a short period of time.

by LeeLee Borzak ('10)

One of the most anticipated events in all of color war is the "Amazing Race" - an activity that combines intellect, athletics, and chocolate pudding. With over twenty two different events, team members were assigned various tasks, such as hula hooping, toilet paper wrapping, shooting basketballs, and completing a surprisingly challenging children's puzzle.

New this year were "road blocks" in which teachers would at random halt the race until team members completed a specific task. Some memorable ones included "Paddle or Waddle" in which two members from each team had the choice to either kayak across a small lake or carry the boat on their shoulders and "Hydrate Yourself" which called for one member from each team to run around the lake with a shopping cart and pick up five gallon-sized jugs of water on the way. These road blocks added to the suspense and excitement of the Amazing Race.

Some of the race's highlights were watching blindfolded senior girls feed freshmen girls pudding and watching the boys form human pyramids. One of the greatest parts of the race was the final competition with a very close race around the lake.

Color war is an opportunity for students' artistic and musical talents to shine. This year's color war banners were especially stunning. Rosh and Lev displayed their respective team's theme through Torah by using the prism of art. Teams combined their artistic abilities with their knowledge of verses or sayings in the Torah to create beautiful pieces of art that will hang proudly in our halls for years to come.

New this year was the stomp. Teams were given ordinary items, such as brooms, pots, and empty water jugs to create a harmonious beat. Despite some extremely complicated beats, participants proved to have impressive senses of rhythm. The stomp was a major success!

Theme songs are a major part of color war. Requiring team unity and creativity, the theme songs are sung by every member of each team and feature original and poignant lyrics sung to popular songs. Lev's chorus "always use your heart, no matter what you think, from this day now and forever more; Natati lahem lev lada'at oti ninsor et libeinu tamid " and Rosh's refrain of "Use your rosh and everything is alright. It will guide you when it seems there's no light. Moach shalet al halev; use your heart but more importantly your brain" resonated the true meanings of each team's name.

It was a beautiful moment watching each team singing their hearts out for their team.

A unique segment of color war, the photo competitions, featured the photographic skills of students. They presented the best moments of the day captured in beautiful photographs. Visually stunning, touching, and sometimes hilarious, these pictures summed up the entire day in a visual medium through an entertaining competition.

After pizza and drinks, there was yet another activity which was new this year. "American Gladiator"-in which two opponents step into their own inflatable spheres and race around a track. This was an amusing, creative and exciting final competition of color war. Some intense rounds included brothers Zack Baratz ('10) vs. Elie Baratz ('08) and the team captains racing against each other.

Students then gathered together as teams for the last time to watch the final color war slideshow. Produced by Technical Director Claudia Cohen, these pictures chronicled the events of Color War, from the first moments of breakout to moments just before the finale. All watching were able to relive the intense and packed events of Color War.

After much anticipation, the color war winner was announced-Team Rosh! However, each student's ruach and hard work made each and every one of them winners.