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December 18, 2009
1 Tevet 5770
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Parshat Mikeitz
Candle Lighting at 5:14 |
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 IT SHOULDN'T BE LEGAL...
...To have as much fun as WYHS students
have during Chanukah! Two concerts, a chagigah,
and COLOR WAR! We even had a few classes this week.
Israelis can't believe that we have
school on Chanukah. Though the educated ones
understand that Chanukah doesn't have an isur melacha (prohibition to do
work) like Succot and Pesach, culturally Chanukah has become a
vacation time when all the schools are off in Israel (they don't have
Thanksgiving a week before!).
Chanukah presents an opportunity that
the other holidays do not- to infuse mundane school with
the energy and excitement of a Jewish holiday. Some of the most fond memories
of our families are centered around the unique charisma of each of our chagim.
The same is true about students' feelings about school.
Our missions of "Inspire and Challenge"
compete with each other at times. Sometimes
the inspiration in Chumash can be lost in the studying late nights for a test. Inspirational
programs and speakers, on the other hand, take away precious instructional
time.
Chanukah is the perfect time to emphasize
the "Inspire" side of our mission. As opposed to
most schools,WYHS doesn't have a single day off in the month of
December. We do, however, pack the month with both inspiration and challenge.
As we return to emphasizing "Challenge"
next week, I want to thank the entire staff for a
fantastic, inspirational Chanukah week. In particular, Director of Student
Activities Mrs. Shira Englander, Assistant Director of Student Activities Rabbi
Allan Houben, Color War Coordinator Mrs. Amy Horowitz, Director of Technology
Mrs. Claudia Cohen, Director of Art Projects Mrs. Loren Stein, and our
Custodian Terry Niren. Executive Director Shimmie Kaminetsky worked even longer
hours than usual.
Chodesh Tov, Happy Chanukah, and Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Perry Tirschwell
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CHAGIGAH =BREAKOUT
By Ezra Kurtz ('12)
STAFF WRITER
A
fun filled week of Chanukah activities was kicked off after school on
Monday with the annual WYHS Chanukah Chagigah, for students, families,
and teachers. After a meaningful Ma'ariv and Chanukah candle
lighting ceremony, everyone was treated to a delicious dinner of deli
subs and of course, latkes and jelly doughnuts. After devouring the
festive spread, everyone rocked out to their favorite Chanukah tunes
played by WYHS's very own Chazak band. Following the dancing, students
were treated to a WYHS style Family Feud, where contestants were asked
to identify what the majority of the student body answered to
various questions, such as, "what is your favorite hot lunch?", "who
is the oldest faculty member?", "what is your favorite snack from the
vending machine?", and more. At the end of the game, Rabbi Houben
announced that the winner of Family Feud would receive the contents of
an unidentified envelope as their prize. As the suspecting student body
crept closer, the envelope was opened and sheets containing the coveted
Color War teams were tossed into the air, filling the air with red,
blue, and yellow, while jubilation and pandemonium reigned amongst the
ecstatic student body. It was COLOR WAR!
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PANOPLY+CHANUKAH=PANOPLUKAH
Panoplukah,
an intense game of Panoply played on Chanukah, is a unique WYHS
activity that is a highlight of Chanukah. This year, the competition
was more fierce as it became a Color War activity. Panoplukah is a
chance for students to show off their artistic talents, trivia knowledge,
and even culinary skills.
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Click on each of the crowns above to listen to the divrei Torah of each team.
By Elana
Kaminetsky ('12)
STAFF WRITER
Then, team Torah's Daniella Lieberman ('10) spoke
about the essential need for Torah to guide us and permeate our lives. Torah is
our "water-" just it is impossible to live without water; we absolutely cannot
live without Torah. The chief example of this concept is evident in the
Chanukah story with the Maccabees who would do anything to learn Torah.
Last but not least, Arie Hizkiya ('11)
spoke on behalf of team Malchut, the
kings. He conveyed to us the real mitzvah
of appointing a king. The kings are our ultimate leaders which constitutes
more than simply delegating tasks. To be a king one needs kindness and the
ability to confess to being wrong. The initial leaders, Yehudah and David,
were both able to do both, which is what made them remarkable leaders.
The Divrei Torah built upon what we had learned Tuesday morning in the shiurim given by different faculty members. These shiurim delineated the meaning of the Color War teams, the three crowns, and explained the impact and
magnitude of each crown. All the shiurim and Divrei Torah were incredible and
really enlightened us to the true purpose of this Color War. |
Rocking Out to Lipa Schmeltzer 
Taking a break from Color War, WYHS students were eager to attend an awesome concert by Lipa Schmeltzer. Excitement, ruach, and energy filled the air. All
the teams came together as one and danced to the beat of Lipa Schmeltzer's
catchy songs. After the concert,
everyone was ready and pumped up to finish Color War with even more enthusiasm.
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By Rashel Maikhor ('12)
STAFF WRITER
SIMON SAYS
One of the
unique aspects of WYHS's Color War is Simon Says. The teachers went all out
when picking all the crazy tasks for the students to perform. From jumping
jacks, to hopping on one foot with eyes closed, to jazz hands, the students did
it all--no questions asked!!!
JUNKYARD WARS
Junkyard Wars is definitely an essential
part of Color War. The students who are passionate in engineering and science
are able to use their talents to contribute to Color War. In honor of Chanukah,
the task this year was to make a motorized dreidel that was able to spin on its
own. Each team was given aluminum and
copper wire, rubber bands, AA batteries, coins, magnets, and popsicle sticks in
order to create the spinning dreidel.
With creative designs, the three teams successfully completed the task
with flying colors.
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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 on each of the three bands above to watch the teams' performances
One of the most exciting parts of the finale is Battle of the Bands.
Each team formed a four person band and was given a list of three
traditional Chanukah songs and the instructions to play them in any way they
desired. Each band's performance was unique, as each band combined and remixed the classic Chanukah songs differently. These three live concerts were not
only a thrilling part of the competition but also added to the Chanukah spirit.
The audience was blown away by the musical abilities of the
students--drummers, guitarists, pianists, and even a violinist--as they
not only played their respective instruments with such expertise, but
also formed the bands and composed the medleys hours before performing.
For Kehunah, Sam Harris ('13), Moriel Weiner ('13), Daniella Eson ('11),
and Dean Tansman ('13) rocked out to their unique Chanukah jam. The
Malchut band, consisting of Seth Fisher ('13), Amiel Abir ('10), Andy
Agus ('13), and Jon Razon ('13), showed unbelievable musical talents.
Keren Marks ('10), Jake Abitbol ('10), Daneal Lugerner ('11) and Jordan
Brown ('13) made up the Torah band and expertly played their Chanukah
medley.
Thanks so much to all the musicians for putting all the time and energy they put into their musical productions!
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By LeeLee Borzak ('10)
SENIOR EDITOR & SPORTS LIAISON
What makes Color War at WYHS so unique is that it gives students' various talents a time to shine. This year's
Color War banners were especially stunning,
representing their respective team's meaning through 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.
The team theme songs, which require team unity and creativity,
were especially impressive this year. The theme songs were expertly
written to the tunes of popular songs, and each song had poignant
lyrics about the concepts of Torah, Kehunah, and Malchut and about the
unified spirit of Color War.
Following the finale, students ate a pizza dinner and gathered together
as teams for one last time to watch the Color War slideshow. Produced
by Director of Technology Claudia Cohen and Michael Feit ('10), the
slideshow featured pictures that
chronicled the events of Color War, from the first
moments of breakout to moments just before the finale.
It was a well-fought battle and all three teams did great.
Congratulations to the yellow team, Team Torah, on winning Color War! A
huge thank you to Torah generals Zack Baratz ('10) and Alix Greenberger
('10) and lieutenant Rachelli Mizrahi ('11), Kehunah generals Jacob
Hirth ('10) and Daniella Litwin ('10) and lieutenant Sara Tepper ('11),
and Malchut captains Amiel Abir ('10) and Esther Amram ('10) and
lieutenant Alex Stein ('11).
Shout out to Moshe Kaminetsky ('11) for helping with so much of the
setting up. Thanks so much to Shira Englander, Rabbi Houben, Mrs.
Horowitz for all the the time and energy they put in to making this
such an amazing Color War!
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