Dear Parents,
The classrooms are mostly quiet, and the hallways are rather still - classes at MDYHS for the current year are over, and the students now arrive at school for just part of the day to take their final exams - and soon, to take their Regents exams. And yet, despite the change of pace, there are still quite a few things I would like to share with you about recent days at MDYHS - things of which we should be so proud.
Just before classes were over, our 9th grade girls hosted Minhah Moments: Memories. An exuberant committee of young ladies - Esty Ammach, Aliza Elias, Jennifer Tricot, and Claudette Yedid, under the talented supervision Mrs. Beth Goldberg - designed this inspirational program. The girls sent beautiful invitations to the entire class, and produced a colorful banner for the event. Mr. Jeff Bieder spoke to the class about the true power of tefillah in the context of the miraculous recovery of his son-in-law. The girls then heard from Mrs. Annie Savdie who spoke of the origins of the minhah prayer and the special place it has in our day. Each student received a beautiful minhah siddur inscribed with the words "Our Minhah Moments - Class of 2015" after which everyone partook of delicious ice cream with all the toppings. What a sweet way to look back at the year of prayers that our students experienced and enjoyed! (Please see the attached photo from this great program).
Now that the school is in "finals mode" the teachers have been reflecting upon the students' accomplishments over the course of the year. I had the extreme pleasure of hearing from one of our great math teachers, Mr. Alan Arbisfeld, that on the very last day of class, as he was reviewing the final geometry lesson, Jake Sutton came up with a novel and creative approach to solve one of the problems that the teacher had given the class. Mr. Arbisfeld took great pride in telling me about "Jake's Theorem." That evening, Mr. Arbisfeld researched Jake's Theorem further, and found that another great mathematicians had indeed suggested it as well. Congratulations to Jake on his sharp insight, and to Mr. Arbisfeld for nurturing and encouraging this wonderful creativity in our students!
And speaking of nurturing and encouraging, I am pleased to announce that next year, b'ezrat HaShem, we are planning a Peer Tutoring Drop-In Center for students, during all of the lunch periods each day. Students who have expertise in a given subject area will sign on in advance as Peer Tutors - they will be trained in a special seminar focusing on how to tutor effectively, and then any student who needs help in any area will be able to avail themselves of our team of student experts throughout the year. This is a wonderful addition designed to ensure the academic success of all of our students. I am very excited about this new program - both from the perspective of those being tutored and from the perspective of the tutors. Look for details about this program in the beginning of the coming year.
Last Sunday, we had the joy of proudly marching in the Celebrate Israel Parade in New York City. Our students and faculty - under the wonderful supervision of our own Mrs. Esther Tokayer ably assisted by Ms. Maggi Eida, Dr. Chagit Hadar, Ms. Audrey Nasar, and Mr. David Shamah - had a beautiful and colorful display, representing the theme 'Olam Hessed Yibaneh - all of the wonderful acts of hessed that Israel does for the world, from providing medical relief to countries that suffer crises, to sharing technology with nations that benefit from Israel's expertise. The colorful T-shirts that we all wore, as well as the beautiful, meaningful banner that we carried, were designed by eleventh grader Alicen Franco, under the guidance of our Art teacher Mrs. Barbara Dweck, and the spirited "dance routine" of our march was choreographed by our students Adina Ben-Shlomo, Lisa Chakkalo, Jennifer Harari, Danielle Maleh and Esti Sardar. (Please see the attached photo from the parade). What a great, creative way for our students to show their devotion to and pride in our beloved Israel. I have heard from quite a number of people that our students marched so nicely - it is no wonder that WOR-TV chose MDYHS's march to air Sunday night on their news broadcast of the parade!
Finally, the newly elected SGO administration has planned its first event - only a week after coming into office! The students, led by Renee Cohen, Yoni Hadar, Rosie Mosseri, and Zachary Mosseri, are hosting a "Roast" - presented by students and teachers - where pizza and refreshments will be served. The warm camaraderie between students and teachers is a great way to help end the year on a wonderful high note. We look forward to an enjoyable and memorable program at MDY elementary school on Sunday night from 6:00 - 8:00 pm.
Next week, in the final MDYHS School-Home Partnership email for the current academic year, I hope to look back on the wonderful year that we have had at MDYHS, and to share a vision for the coming year. Until then, as always, please accept my warmest wishes for a Shabbat Shalom and for a great week ahead!
