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Yeshiva Highlites
End-of-Year Special Edition
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It's All About Philosophy
Our school's mission and educational philosophy comes
through loud and clear in our unique Graduation, post graduation Senior Trip,
and Annual Dinner, all three of which are celebrated in this Special Edition Yeshiva Highlites.
Every Student is Important at WYHS- Our graduation
celebrates the accomplishments of all our graduates. As opposed to having the two students with
the highest grade point averages speak, at WYHS each and every student is
featured in the Graduation Video which the students themselves create, and each
student's accomplishments are lauded by a faculty member as they receive their
diplomas. We Respect Your Time- I am fond of quoting Yeshiva
University Rosh Yeshiva Rabbi Mordechai Willig who once remarked that we
believe "Money is Time" (as opposed to the popular saying "Time is Money"). The
most important commodity we have is Time. We therefore announce our dinner
schedule in advance- buffet at 6:00 and program and 7:30, and keep to this
schedule. I trust that you find this is true in every interaction you have with our school. We are deeply appreciative to all those who participated in the
journal and the dinner and helped it succeed exceeded its fundraising goal. WYHS Is About Inspiration- Our students' last
experience in high school is a post graduation trip with their teachers, which
culminates in a truly special Shabbaton. The number of weddings and engagement parties that the faculty and I
have the privilege of attending this month attests to the everlasting bond
between our faculty and students. Once WYHS- Always YHS! As Yeshiva Highlites signs off for the summer, I ask you all
to keep Alec Feintuch ('13) in your prayers. Alec is an affable, athletic and sincere
young man who is the first (and hopefully the last) student in WYHS' history to battle cancer.
We are sending out bracelets with Alec's name- Ben Tzion Klonimus Chaim ben
Leah Rachael in the mail in the next week to all '09-'10 students and Tehillim to all who committed to say them each day. If you would like to participate in either, please e-mail Director of Student Activities Shira Englander. Wishing you an enjoyable and invigorating summer, Rabbi Perry Tirschwell
Rabbi Perry Tirschwell
Head of School
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| UPCOMING EVENTS | MAZAL TOV!
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Freshman Orientation
Thurs Aug 26
Returning Student BBQ
Thurs Aug 26
All Student Orientation
Fri Aug 27
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Micah and Eliana (Rosenblatt '03) Katz on their marriage
Yossi and Ilana (Webberman '07) Bendel on their marriage
Aryeh and Brandy (Brenner '05) Meitles on their marriage
Ora and Avi Lasko ('07) on their marriage
Simi and Devora (Greer '06) Shabtai on their marriage
Michael and Yael (Koeninsberg '04) Schertz on the birth of a boy
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Dining & Dancing for Distinguished Honorees
WYHS's Annual Journal Dinner
Click on the picture to view more photos of the event
The
WYHS Annual Journal Dinner, which took place on Monday evening, May 24th,
was truly a night to remember. Two hundred WYHS supporters gathered
together at B'nai Torah Congregation to honor Dr. Sam & Arlene Lasko, Dr.
Zorik & Ellen Spektor, and Mrs. Heather Andron.Following a delicious buffet dinner and a slide show of exciting WYHS
activities, Executive Director Shimmie Kaminetsky delivered the welcoming
remarks, thanking the chairs of the event for all of their efforts and acknowledging
the members of the WYHS Keter Society
for their ongoing support of our school.Next, WYHS Founder Rabbi Kenneth Brander, Head of School Rabbi Perry
Tirschwell, and Principal Mrs. Ora Lee Kanner made presentations and offered
words of praise to honorees Dr. Sam & Arlene Lasko, Dr. Zorik & Ellen
Spektor, and Mrs. Heather Andron. All
of the speakers spoke eloquently about the tremendous contributions our
honorees have made to WYHS from the early days of the school until today. Noah Lasko ('10) shared a few personal
insights about his grandparents Sam & Arlene Lasko as did David Spektor
('10) about his parents Zorik & Ellen Spektor. Thank
you to the members of the dinner and journal committee, the members of the
Tribute Committee, and all of whom were in attendance for making this year's
dinner a tremendous success.
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We Did It!
Class of 2010 Commencement Ceremony
By Rebecca Dresner ('10)
Graduation usually signifies the good-bye between the class,
teachers, and school. It usually marks
the "moving on" and "the passing of the torch" as high school graduates make
their way to seminary/yeshiva or college.
However, the graduation ceremony
at WYHS two weeks ago was so much more.
Each student was individually and personally honored, as
Mrs. Carla Greer, Rabbi Benjy Horowitz, and Dr. Laura Becker discussed and
reflected upon the growth and qualities of each and every student. Afterwards, each graduate received his
or her very own siddur, which signified
that the responsibility of living a life
of Torah would now rest in the hands of the soon-to-be-independent
graduates.
As the teachers and students sat side-by-side in the
auditorium and watched the senior video (a film full of class jokes and
memories from the past four years at WYHS), we realized how far we have come in both Torah and secular
knowledge as well as in friendship and maturity. However, the realization that we were leaving high school didn't
fully settle as we boarded the bus to travel twelve hours to our next
destination: Atlanta, Georgia.
This trip allowed graduation to become more than a good-bye; it strengthened high school friendships into
life-long ones.
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Class of '10 Takes Atlanta by Storm
Aquarium, Six Flags, and Their Last Shabbat Together
By Chana Brauser ('10)
Juggling graduation caps, floral bouquets, and jam-packed
suitcases, we, the class of 2010, scrambled onto the bus where we would ride
for a seemingly interminable twelve hours before reaching their destination.
After months of planning capped off by a celebratory
graduation night, we headed off on a trip to Atlanta, where we'd spend a whirlwind of four days
enjoying our last moments together as a class. The first day turned out to be a
blast-overcoming the handicap of approximately two hours of sleep, even the
most skeptical of the senior class found the Georgia
Aquarium to be an incredibly dynamic experience and the visit to the
Coke Factory provided both a dose of cultural history and a lot of free soda. Ice-skating later that evening was a welcome respite
from the Atlanta heat (which, of course, hardly measures up to the stifling
Florida summer), as we glided, and, in some cases, slipped our way through the
night. The next day found us at Six Flags, where we spent four hours exploring
the superhero-themed park (aptly designed to coordinate with our yearbook theme),
riding the dizzying roller coasters and winning
prizes.
After a quick stop at Bruster's, an incredible ice cream
store with a bewildering amount of flavors where we met up with Rabbi
Tirschwell and Mrs. Kanner, we returned to the hotel to prepare for Shabbat. From kabbalat
Shabbat to the divrei Torah to the after-dinner
discussions, Friday night was an inspiring
experience, and Shabbat day was even better. We walked to Beth Jacob, a
shul in Atlanta, to hear Rabbi Feldman speak. The hour-long walk was certainly
worth it; Rabbi Feldman told an incredible story with a powerful message,
conveying the importance of putting one's trust in Hashem and realizing that we
can't control every detail of everything.
When we returned to the hotel, the boys and girls split up
for their respective kumsitzes, which
featured student recollections, incredible singing, and emotional goodbyes, as
the senior class bid their tearful farewells to one another and to Mrs. Jacob,
a beloved Judaic teacher who will be moving to New
Jersey. After a quick dinner at the Broadway Café, we boarded the bus
for the final twelve hour stretch, amidst a yearbook-signing frenzy and the
last few goodbyes. Thank you so much to Shira Englander, Shimmie, Rabbi Houben,
and class presidents Ari Shachter ('10) and Chana
Brauser ('11) for expending so much time and effort organizing this trip,
and a big thank you to Rabbi Sugerman, Rabbi Schochet, Claudia
Cohen, Mrs. Jacob, Mrs. Horowitz, and Shimmie for being such awesome
chaperones.
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