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COLOR WAR SPECIAL
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January 30, 2009
Parshat Bo
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 The Good Ole Days
Does the energy and enthusiasm that pervaded the school in its early
years still infuse our students' experience in our second decade, even
though we have fifty students per grade? The answer is a resounding "yes."
Each year WYHS takes our nationally acclaimed ruach up a
notch. This week's Rosh Chodesh Shvat Chagiga, with spirited
dancing, live music, an Israeli breakfast in honor of Tu Bishvat, and
a high level address by the State of Israel's Vice Consul was certainly memorable.
When I visited boys yeshivot in Israel last year, the head of
one school felt compelled to tell me that he has heard boys tell a WYHS
grad, who weekly views the pictures and videos in the Yeshiva Highlites, that
they wish they had such a ruach-filled high school experience.
Over winter break, I asked a boy who attends a New York area yeshiva high
school what they do for Rosh Chodesh. "We have bagels or donuts."
"Any program?" "No." "Dancing?" "Never." A school I visited recently told me
they even did away with the donuts. Rosh Chodesh at most schools
means a longer davening and, perhaps, a few more carbs.
This week's fantastic Rosh Chodesh Chagiga, however, seems like a
distant memory after Tuesday and Wednesday's unbelievable Color War.
This was the Best Color War in WYHS History, as you will see below.
For the first time, we chose an IDF theme, in a salute to our troops who
performed heroically in Gaza this month. We frankly didn't realize the
astonishing impact this would have on the already over the top Color War
ruach. This (and every) year, new competitions were introduced,
designed to give each and every student a moment to shine.
Thank you to the people who infuse WYHS with this energy- our unrivaled
and deeply dedicated faculty. It is their personality in the classroom,
interaction with students at chagigot, shabbatonim and programs, and
frequently opening up their homes that defines WYHS.
Our Director of Student Activities Shira Englander and Assistant Director
Rabbi Allan Houben, Director of Technology Mrs. Claudia Cohen, Director
of Chesed, Israel and Tzedaka Projects Mrs. Heather Andron, and Student
Council Presidents Doron David ('09) and Holly Hampton ('09) spend an inordinate number
of hours between their weekly meetings with Mrs. Kanner and me to designing
the myriad of programs that WYHS runs.
The Good Ole Days were great. This year is even greater. Next year will
be even better! Shabbat Shalom, Rabbi Perry Tirschwell
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BREAKOUT!
Click the picture for a "colorful" slideshow (it will take several minutes to load)
"Time to go back to class," Rabbi Allan Houben, Assistant Director of Student Activities, told WYHS students after announcing the results of last month's Panopluka Contest. As students rose from their seats and made their way to class, pandemonium broke loose! Suddenly, tan and green shirts were soaring through the air, team lists went flying, and students went crazy: it was COLOR WAR, the multi-faceted, intense, highly anticipated WYHS event. For the next 32 hours, the tan Golani team and the olive green Givati team would battle it out with various sports, activities, and presentations.
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One of the most incredible parts of Color War is that throughout the yelling, cheering, and sports, Torah still remains an integral part of the event. To begin the day, the teachers gave Shiurim to each team about the Halachot-the Jewish laws-pertaining to war. It was a great way to start off the day and really impart to students one of the deeper meanings of Color War.
After the intense sports, both teams were privileged to hear Divrei Torah from team Golani and team Givati, Ariella Davis ('09) and Ben Scheiner ('09) respectively. Both spoke beautifully about the concept of Jewish war and the Golani and Givati brigades.
Both the Shiurim in the beginning of the day and the Divrei Torah in the afternoon not only taught students new things about Jewish war, it also made Torah an important part of Color War.
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The Amazing Race:
from pyramids to puzzles and everything in between
The Amazing Race is, as the name implies, incredible. One of the last events of Color War, the Amazing Race takes place on the entire campus and combines intelligence, speed, toilet paper, and chocolate pudding. Every player contributes, whether it's running a race, picking a lock, or cheering on the sidelines.
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Click here to Watch Golani's STOMP Routine || Click here to Watch Givati's STOMP Routine
Click here to Watch Golani's Theme Song || Click here to Watch Givati's Theme Song
Click here to Watch Golani's Video Presentation || Click here to Watch Givati's Video Presentation
The finale of Color War is the last, and arguably the most highly anticipated, event of Color War. Team members worked late into the night and throughout the day for their finale presentations: the theme song, the stomp, the banner, and, new this year, the team video and the team mascot.
Each of the presentations truly utilized the teams' musical ability, creativity, dance skills, and artistic talents. Whether you were on the stage presenting or watching from the audience, it was amazing to see each teams' efforts materialize into stunning banners, beautiful songs, and more.
It was a well fought battle and both teams competed fiercely. Congratulations to team Givati on wining Color War 5769! A huge thank you and Mazel Tov to Golani captains Arielle Struhl ('09) and Arie Grunberg ('10) and to Givati captains Yoni Levenson ('09) and Rachel Danis ('10). Another shout-out to the inaugural lieutenants, Daniella Eson ('11) and Simon Markovitch ('12) from team Golani and Adam Poliak ('11) and Nikki Charlap ('12) from team Givati.
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"Win or lose, Color War is the best day of the year;
not just the school year - the entire year!"
-Lior Goldstein ('10) after going 0-3 in his high school Color War career
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