Graphic by Avi Schneider ('14) 

Written by Sophie Rose ('14)

This past Sunday, I, along with Shira Englander and seven other juniors, was privileged to attend the NCSY JUMP Leadership Seminar. When the nine of us finally got to Melville, Long Island, we were ushered into a large room, where we met up with fourteen other Modern Orthodox Jewish youth groups that were also participating in the JUMP program. We listened to numerous incredible speakers, including Phil Rosen, Duvi Stahler, Elliot Tansman, and the President of YU, Richard Joel. They spoke on a multitude of topics ranging from Governor Romney, to marketing skills, to NCSY summer programs, all revolving around the underlying message of what it takes to be a capable leader.  

We learned that each and every one of us has the ability to impact the world, especially the Jewish world, just like these four men have. Afterwards, it was our turn to test out our very own leadership qualities. 

We had to do several team-building activities such as trusting our teammates to describe the placement of jellybeans in the letters NCSY. Then we were given a challenge: create your very own organization that responds to a specific issue in your Jewish community or to a global issue at large. My teammates and I developed an organization that dealt with the growing issue of assimilation. Our plan? Outreach. We developed a project called JEWNITY, where students from our school would team up with Jewish teen leaders of south Florida such as school presidents, leaders of school clubs and NCSY, and many others, all with the common goal of helping to unify Jewish teens from multitudes of backgrounds. We hope that through exciting event, long-lasting friendships among all these different teens will eventually form. Additionally, we hope that this program will reach out and inspire teens who are unfamiliar with Judaism.  

Through my experiences with JUMP, I learned that becoming a leader is not necessarily easy, but nonetheless it is possible. A true leader is a visionary, a listener, and a fighter. According to one of the participant's mothers, "JUMP has helped so much, and [my daughter] is now brainstorming ways to act upon her desire to help her fellow Jews and have that incredible accomplished feeling." We all hope to put our skills into action: making the impossible possible and turning our visions and our ideas into reality.   

Graphic by Ariel Haar ('13)  

Penina Taylor, Director of Shomrei Emet Institute for Counter-Missionary Studies, is a former missionary herself. After 17 years in a variety of Christian leadership roles, Mrs. Taylor discovered truths about the alleged proofs of Jesus being the messiah and returned to the faith of her forefathers. Now Mrs. Taylor works to educate Jews of all persuasions about why Jesus is not the Jewish messiah. Mrs. Taylor and her family live in the Jerusalem area.  

To hear Penina Taylor's inspiring message click here.

Graphic by Amir Tsarfati ('13)   

Vollyball: Kayla Petrover ('15)

I always like to listen to pump-up music so I can get in game mode.

KP: Winning our first game against Hillel NMB was definitely my greatest memory this season.

KP: I started playing when I was in 6th grade at Hillel Day School. I've been playing on my school volleyball team ever since. 

KP: At first, it might be confusing because it is a new type of skill, but with a lot of practice and dedication you will for sure get the hang of it!   

Graphic by Josh Firestone ('13)  

Click on the image above to watch the video.

Graphic by Cherie Landa ('15)  

WYHS proudly hosted its first blood drive of the year on Wednesday. Each student's donation can save up to 3 lives! A big Yashar Koach to the 42 students who participated, and hopefully many more will donate next time.