Dear Parents,
Although the school week is a little shorter due to the upcoming holiday, it has been a truly amazing week at MDYHS, and I am proud to share a glimpse of our recent programs and events with you.
The Sephardic Heritage Expo has come to MDYHS! Presented by the sophomores under the expert direction of our Jewish History department chairperson Ms. Audrey Nasar and a host of faculty advisors, the Expo consists of 25 different museum-style exhibits, displayed in the Atrium and in the MDY South Midrash. Students have been preparing over the past few months by doing extensive research, recording video interviews with different community members and leaders, creating beautiful artwork, and gathering artifacts for their exhibit booths. The results are outstanding! Walking through the exhibit, listening to students present their "museum-guide" speeches, and seeing some of them in period costume, one can almost feel the streets of Aleppo, and hear the sweet sounds of pizmonim and cherished melodies. I heard the excitement and genuine pride as the students spoke about Life in Syria, The Immigration to America, The Formation of SBH, The Chief Rabbis, Syrian Food (the samples were delicious!), The Different Languages of the Community, and a host of other topics. (Please see the attached photos from this extraordinary program). I wish I could adequately convey the beauty of this great exhibit - where our students are taking the pride of their noble and majestic heritage forward into their lives!
This past Tuesday, groups of students from Mr. Joe Naftaly's and Mr. Daniel Kamelhar's Entrepreneurship classes participated in the Fifth Annual MDYHS Entrepreneurship Competition. Each group presented its idea for a business venture to a panel of judges. The presentations included a brief PowerPoint showing, and many of the groups brought working prototypes of their ideas. The students had to chart expected costs, pricing, marketing strategies, and expansion plans. Congratulations to Albert Antar, Harry Bailey, Max Dweck, Judah Esses, Yoni Hadar, Aaron Harari, Joyce Kamkhaji, Mordi Lati, Zachary Mosseri, Raquel Sabbagh, Joyce Saideh, Chaim Salameh, Samantha Shamah, Jake Sutton, Jeffrey Tawil, and Orly Yazdi on their creative and ingenious business plans. I have no doubt as to the future successes of these financial superstars of tomorrow! (Please see the attached photos from the competition).Two critical features of effective, cutting-edge education are the centrality of active student participation throughout the lesson, and the use of technology in the process of learning. Our own Rabbi Michael Bitton has combined these two important features to produce classes and lessons filled with passion for learning. He uses EdTech features such as Google Docs (a shared document in cyberspace, where students and teachers can collaborate and examine whatever is posted) and Pod Casts (summaries of 45 minute lessons into 3-5 minute review files, along with supplemental information for the students to access at their own convenience). The results have been amazing. Please see the attachment, which is an actual Google Doc from Rabbi Bitton's Torah class. In it you will see a clear presentation of the text, along with the students' comments, insights, questions, and answers, as they prepared the text at home for an upcoming class. The inquiry and creativity of the students are inspirational! One can only imagine the effectiveness of the class after such an active preparation. Rabbi Bitton will be attending the Expanding Horizons Conference sponsored by the International Society of Technology in Education (ISTE) this coming June, b'ezrat HaSham, and he will return to MDYHS to present new and exciting approaches to the entire faculty in a professional development seminar designed to expand our educational technology repertoire across all areas of the curriculum.
This past week (and for the next two weeks), I have had the joy of having lunch with groups of tenth graders. In a program called 10 for 30 (tenth grade students, thirty minute lunch), I have asked students to give me feedback on their MDYHS experience thus far, and to make suggestions for the future, all while we enjoy a delicious pizza lunch. I am inspired by the students' maturity, insight, and creativity. We have discussed many ideas about student life that I plan to include in next year's MDYHS experience. Thank you so much to the students for your input! And in a somewhat related issue, the SGO (student government organization) will be having its elections of officers for the coming school year, next week. Under the wonderful guidance of Mrs. Esther Tokayer, Rabbi Benzion Scheinfeld, and Mrs. Ariella Falack, students will present political platforms and will campaign for the offices of President, Vice President, Secretary, and Treasurer, along with Senior Council officers. I am sure that November 2012 will pale in comparison to the May 2012 MDYHS campaign!
As we continue to hear about college admissions and awards, I am pleased to extend heartfelt wishes of Mabrouk to Max Cohen, who earned a Presidential Scholarship Award from Brooklyn College for the next four years. We are so proud of Max's great accomplishment! And speaking of college, today a number of our seniors took the Jerusalem Hebrew Exam - a comprehensive 6 hour test of Hebrew Language & Literature sponsored by the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Successful completion of this exam results in college credit at most universities - in effect, this is the culmination of an "AP Hebrew" course. The students themselves, their teachers, and I are all confident that our students will excel in their great work today!
Finally, kudos to our Boys Junior Varsity Softball Team, under the talented coaching of Nathan Zalta, on their victory over the Yeshiva of Flatbush team by a score of 13-5. Bobby Safdieh and Jake Sutton both hit home runs. With this victory, our mighty Warriors have clinched a spot in this season's playoffs.
As we are about to enter Shavuot, a time to reflect upon our commitment to Torah and its values, I wish you and your entire family a Yom Tov of joy and fulfillment. As always please accept my warmest wishes for a Shabbat Shalom and for a great week ahead!
