Warriors' Week in Review
Dear Parents,
What a fantastic week it has been at MDYHS! It is a privilege to share a glimpse of some of the events and programs of the past few days with you.
Our Senior Internship Program, under the creative direction of Mrs. Sabrina Maleh, wraps up its third week today. Yesterday, two members of the Internship Team, Mr. Daniel Zide and Mr. Daniel Kamelhar together with school interns Jeffrey Dweck, Elliot Elo,and Sarah Zafrani, conducted site visits to many of our young career professionals. They came back to school glowing, with a "snapshot" of the outstanding experiences and successes of our students: Joe Abitbol coming up with a unique marketing idea that his employer is now going to implement in his business...Marie Betesh sitting in on actual court cases while working for NY Supreme Court Justice Arthur M. Schack...Michael Cabasso making his first major sale in tee shirt design...Alicen Franco working on the Spring 2014 line - layouts, patterns, and designs...Joanie Kraiem writing articles that are to be published in Image magazine...Ally Menascheobserving pet surgery in a veterinary clinic...and Albert Zalta observing eye surgery in an actual operating room... The students are enjoying an outstanding opportunity, getting experience and exposure as they begin their career pathways. One employer was so impressed with our students' work that she reached out to us saying, "MDYHS should keep doing whatever you are doing because these students are so well prepared for the real world - they are serious professionals!" (Please see the attached photos from yesterday's wonderful site visits).
Our students' career pathways actually begin well before the Senior Internship Program. On Tuesday, MDYHS hosted our Sixth Annual Entrepreneurship Contest, under the direction of Mr. Joe Naftaly and Mr. Daniel Kamelhar. Seven different teams, led by Estie Ammach, Sharon Anobian, Osher Battat, Jack Beyda, Judy Chalouh, Celia Cohen, Ricky Cohen, Lorraine Franco, Laurie Louzeh, Shoshana Louzia, Sara Mamrout, Stella Sadaka, Harry Shomer, Ralph Shweky, Jamie Yatcha, and Victoria Zalta, presented their formal business plans along with a sample prototype of their product or design. The creativity, business sense, and ingenuity of our students were breathtaking. The presentations were judged by our own Dr. Abe Tawil, Dr. Edward Rogoff, Professor of Management and Academic Director of the Lawrence N. Field Center for Entrepreneurship and Small Business at Baruch College, and Mr. Irwin Dayan, Executive Director of the Sephardic Angel Fund. The top three teams will be announced, b'ezrat HaShem, at the MDYHS Annual Entrepreneurship Dinner in May. I have no doubt that in the not-too-distant future we will be buying products designed and produced by our talented MDYHS captains of industry! (Please see the attached photos from this inspiring competition).
MDYHS creative genius is not limited to the world of industry and finance alone. On Wednesday, students in Mrs. Rachel Harari's Freshman English class completed their final project for Romeo and Juliet. The students were assigned different scenes from the play that they were asked to memorize and then present in a dramatic performance in front of their peers - in full costume and props, and in Shakespeare's original language. I sat mesmerized as I watched our students act out their roles with passion and depth. Sir Laurence Olivier had nothing on our young actors and actresses! (Please see the attached photos from this moving performance).
And while our dramatis personae were acting, other MDYHS artists were getting a rare experience of their own. The Art Appreciation Club, under the direction of Mrs. Natalie Greenberg, visited Sotheby's Auction House on Wednesday, where they viewed theSteinhardt Judaica Collection that is to be auctioned off next week. Our delegation viewed Jewish artifacts and objects from antiquity through the 20th century. The highlight of the collection is a rare, illustrated Mishneh Torah of Rambam, from 15th century Italy, whose auction estimate is $4.5 to 6 million dollars. (Please see the attached photos from this great viewing).
Less expensive, modern books also have a place at MDYHS. On Tuesday our Book Club, led by Hannah Cohen and Zach Mosseri, and under the guidance of Mrs. Bruchie Weinstein, discussed Ayn Rand's Anthem. The group explored the author's views on communism, fascism, altruism, and egoism. Albert Hamowy contributed particularly insightful and articulate comments. After the lively and deep discussion, our students chose the book 1984 by George Orwell for their next read. Ask any Book Club member - the enjoyment of a good read is incomparable!
Not all learning takes place in the classroom. Yesterday, a group of 35 MDYHS math whizzes, led by Mr. Alan Rader and Mr. Bruce Bromfeld, traveled to Citi Field to enjoy the Mets-Dodgers game. The trip was in recognition of the students' outstanding math performance over the course of the year - and this particular date was chosen because it was College Day at Citi Field, whererepresentatives from more than 30 colleges met with our students. While the Mets did not win - our students most certainly did!
And speaking of college, I am pleased to extend warm wishes of Mabrouk to Sarah Kabariti who was notified this week that she has been selected for the Sage Honors Scholars Program at Hunter College ($4,000 for four years, for a total of $16,000). In fact, I was informed this week by one of the CUNY Directors of Admissions that MDYHS is among the top 10 high schools - and the only yeshivah - having the most students admitted into the Macaulay, Presidential, and Dean's Scholars programs. Magen David students are truly extraordinary!
These amazing results are achieved by careful preparation and planning, along with diligent, serious work. Toward that end, Ms. Katie Chabbott, of our very own Writing Center, has been working with our juniors on their college essays, and is on pace to ensure that every single eleventh grader will have completed a final draft of his or her college essay by this June. Ms. Chabbott's goal in mentoring the students in their writing is "to have the student's words reach out from the page and touch the reader." Many of our students have told me how much they appreciate the caring guidance of this Writing Center program. And while on the subject of guidance, please note that the MDYHS SAT Workshop, free to all students and under the leadership of Mrs. Sara Haleva, concludes this Tuesday evening with a session on Math: Direct and Inverse Variation, Simultaneous Equations, Quadratics and Inequalities, as well as a session on Critical Reading. Take advantage of this comprehensive, invaluable preparation!
As MDYHS continues to grow, we have finalized plans for our accreditation renewal scheduled for the coming academic year. Every ten years, the school undergoes an extensive self-study, which is designed to lead to a comprehensive education plan - and culminates in a week-long inspection visit by a team of professionals from the Middle States Association of Schools & Colleges - the same organization that accredits Princeton University. MDYHS is the only yeshivah day school in the borough that enjoys this special, privileged status, and we are proud to have committees consisting of a cross section of educators, lay leaders, parents, students, and alumni to join in crafting our self-study as we continue to chart a course of excellence into the future. I welcome all of your comments and insights as we prepare for the next phase of our glorious future.
Finally, in the realm of sports, I am pleased to announce that our Junior Varsity Boys Softball Team, under the leadership of coachNathan Zalta, defeated the team of MTA by a score of 5-4. Eddie Levy was the winning pitcher, and Ralph Shamah had the game-tying hit and the game-winning run. And congratulations to the Boys Varsity Tennis Team, under the leadership of coach Eddie Elbaz, on their win against the team of HANC by a score of 6-0. Go Warriors! For all the news at MDYHS, pick up the latest issue ofThe Flame, our fantastic student newspaper, which was distributed this week.
As always, please accept my warmest wishes for a Shabbat Shalom and for a great week ahead!
Sincerely yours,
Rabbi Saul Zucker
