Dear Parents,
What a fantastic week it has been at MDYHS! I am so happy to be able to share a glimpse of it with you.
Our Senior Internship highlight this week is an amazing story that I'm sure you will enjoy. Sarah Harari is an wonderfully gifted photographer, whose internship is at a shoe store where she takes pictures of the merchandise to post on the store's on-line catalog. Now hold that thought...
David Gindi, a superstar politician who is currently interning at the office of Congressman Michael Grimm (please see the attached photo of David with the congressman), interned during winter vacation at the office of Mitt Romney. While there, Mitt Romney's staff had asked if anyone knew of a great photographer, in case there would be any events during the campaign where photos would be needed but where they would not want the event open to the press. David immediately submitted Sarah Harari's name to the staff. Now fast forward to last week...
Sarah received a call from Mitt Romney's office, asking her if she would like to do a job for them. Sarah was picked up in a limousine and brought to Mitt Romney's presidential nomination victory celebration in New York City - a private event which was closed to the press - where she photographed Mitt Romney and thirty of his wealthiest supporters - nationally and internationally known leaders, captains of industry, and stars - throughout the evening. (Please see the attached photo of Sarah with Mitt Romney - taken by a less talented photographer). What a wonderful, rare opportunity - earned by the great talent of our interns and their intense loyalty in looking out for each other!
The Internship Program is not just about amazing stories; it is about great personal and career growth. Steven Cohen expressed this idea so nicely in one of his journal entries this week. "I can easily say that I am gaining an amazing amount of knowledge and experience at my internship. I am being tasked to do real things for the company, which puts both responsibility and stress on my shoulders. Thank G-d, I have also been able to fulfill most if not all tasks very efficiently and successfully." Well said, Steven!
.jpg)
While on the theme of career and life experiences, Dr. Abe Tawil, our teacher of the college credit course Small Business Management, took five MDYHS students today to visit TechStars' New York City headquarters. TechStars provides seed funding for more than 75 top venture capital firms, as well as intense mentoring to hundreds of the best entrepreneurs around the world. It is the number one "start-up accelerator" in the world. Our students are getting a tour of the office and a chance to speak with Managing Director David Tisch. The future managers, investors, and executives coming out of MDYHS are well on their way! And on a related note, the students of Mr. Daniel Kamelhar's 11th grade Principles of Investment class visited the Federal Reserve Bank of New York on Monday. The class learned about monetary policy and how the Fed deals with inflation in the U.S. Students descended 15 stories below ground level to see one of the world's largest gold vaults in the world. Alas... they did not bring back any free samples. (Please see the attached photo from this trip).
MDYHS is proud to harmonize excellence in Torah and general education, career path guidance, and dedication to hessed. On Wednesday, Ms. Audrey Nasar took four of our students, Hannah Cohen, Max Cohen, Frieda Kassab, and Rachel Tawil to a special event sponsored by Connect 2 Survivors, an organization devoted to fostering hessed relationships with Holocaust survivors. (Please see the attached photo from this event). The event was a dinner in New York City, which included a keynote speech from a child of survivors. Following the speech, the master of ceremonies called on Max to share some of his experiences visiting a survivor regularly over the past four years. At the end of the program, as part of his concluding remarks, the sponsor of the event said, "...and thank G-d for people like Max Cohen, who realize from a young age what it means to care about others." Max - we are so proud of you!
These values are internalized in and out of the classroom at MDYHS - day in and day out. With that idea, under the guidance of our own Rabbi Joey Haber greatly assisted by Ms. Rivka Ullmann, our seniors will be enjoying a Shabbat dinner tonight at MDY elementary school. Students and faculty will meet at the school for minhah at 6:45 pm. The program includes delicious food, ruah singing, and an open discussion with teachers and students about life issues. This is a wonderful and meaningful opportunity to continue the legendary bonding between MDYHS students and their teachers!
As we look ahead, please note that this Wednesday, May 9th, from 6:30 to 8:30 pm, we will be hosting an Art Show at MDYHS, under the direction of our talented art teacher Ms. Barbara Dweck. Please join us for an exhibition and celebration of the artists of MDYHS. Their work is outstanding, and some of it will no doubt find its way into museums and galleries - and you can say that you saw it from the very beginning! And please remember that our Drama Society will be presenting its production of the play Heaven Can Wait on the evening of Wednesday, May 30th. Look for flyers and announcements in the week ahead.
Finally, in the area of sports, last Friday our Boys Varsity Softball Team, under the wonderful coaching of David Shamah, defeated the team of Yeshiva of Flatbush by a score of 5-3. Marc Sayegh was the winning pitcher, and Albert Manopla hit the game-winning two-run homer. The Warriors are unstoppable!
As always, please accept my warmest wishes for a Shabbat Shalom and for a great week ahead!
Sincerely yours,
Rabbi Saul Zucker
