Dear Parents,
It has been an amazing week at MDYHS, and I am honored to share a glimpse of it with you.
Election 2012 has come to the classes and hallways of MDYHS! On Monday, under the talented supervision of our Social Studies Department chairperson, Mrs. Shara Netkin, the senior class hosted our Election Expo. The students arranged more than 20 exhibits, depicting the platform stances of both President Obama and Governor Romney on vital issues such as the economy, foreign policy, immigration, health care, and education. All grades toured the exhibit in the Atrium - they are now knowledgeable in the issues, and are prepared to vote in the MDYHS presidential elections on November 5th. (Please see the attached photos from this program). Before the election, students will participate in a number of rounds of presidential debates, the first of which began yesterday. I had the extreme pleasure to sit in on one of those debates, moderated by our own Mr. Mike Randall. Governor Romney (Chaim Salameh) and President Obama (Raquel Salem) made presentations, rebuttals, and counter-rebuttals in a spirited, dignified exchange. It was a joy to observe - I think the real candidates could learn a great deal from our students!
This past Sunday and Monday, 8 MDYHS students participated in this year's JUMP Seminar. JUMP is a program sponsored by the Orthodox Union wherein different schools identify issues relevant to their respective communities and develop strategic plans and business models to address those issues and needs - all in a major competition judged by prominent world renowned business leaders. The final event in last year's competition took place in Donald Trump's office, and he presented the competition awards. The goal of this program is to train students in the areas of leadership, business, Torah values, and hessed. This past week's Seminar was the competition's launch, and we know that our team of Linda Dayan, Gary Guindi, Yoni Hadar, Frances Mamiye, Benny Mann, Zachary Mosseri, Raquel Salem, and Sandy Yedid, along with their dedicated faculty advisor Rabbi Avner Bitton, will achieve wonderfully. In fact, they have already accomplished some great things - I received the following email from the JUMP coordinator - a colleague of mine - after the seminar: "I wanted to let you know that your students were excellent! It was really a pleasure and a bonus to have such fine young men and women participate in the seminar. They had wonderful ideas..."
In another exciting trip this week, 13 MDYHS students, led by our own Mr. Larry Tirone, participated in the Careers in Chemistry Program at Brooklyn College. Our students were given a special tour of the college labs, and were told about opportunities in the field of chemistry in particular, and science in general. The culmination of the program was an awards ceremony, where our own 11th grade student Albert Antar was presented with the Outstanding Achievement in Chemistry Award. Mabrouk to Albert for this wonderful accomplishment! I can see the future Nobel laureates in science coming out of MDYHS...
And speaking of colleges, this past week our Director of College Guidance & Career Counseling Services, Mrs. Debbie Solomon, conducted a seminar for our faculty members on the Key Elements of an Effective College Letter of Recommendation. Just because someone can write well in general does not mean that his or her letter will be the most effective that it could be in the eyes of the Deans of Admission of various college. There are specific strategies for writing an outstanding college letter, and our faculty are being carefully guided in this critical area, for the ultimate benefit of our students.
The idea of "the ultimate benefit of our students" is very much on our minds while the students are here - and well after they graduate. Our Director of Spiritual Guidance, Rabbi Joey Haber, has invited students - in small groups - for weekly Lunch & Learn sessions. The boys' groups enjoy delicious lunches while learning sections of the gemara not covered in class, and the girls' groups enjoy delicious lunches while learning Life Lessons from a Torah perspective. The Lunch & Learns are standing room only, as students clamor to spend time with Rabbi Haber and to learn precious Torah values. And it does not stop in the halls of MDYHS... our own Rabbi David Elnadav has begun a Lunch & Learn program at Baruch College for MDYHS alumni there. Twenty alumni meet to learn with Rabbi Elnadav during Baruch's Tuesday Club Hour, to study lessons from the parashah. What a beautiful testament to the warm relationships that our students and faculty share!
Part of our student leadership training involves a special Big Brother / Big Sister program, under the supervision of our warm and talented Mrs. Beth Goldberg. This program has 11th graders at MDYHS paired with 8th graders at our elementary school - helping to provide mentors and role models for the younger students. On Wednesday, our Big Brothers and Big Sisters hosted a post-BJE exam barbecue for the entire 8th grade class. Students met in groups, talked and laughed, participated in a fun "memory" activity, and ate delicious hot dogs and hamburgers. (Please see the attached photos from this enjoyable program). The 11th grade students told me how meaningful and fulfilling it is to bond together and to serve as mentors to fellow students.
Finally, I am proud to report that the Boys Varsity Basketball team has begun its glorious path to victory at the Cooper Invitational Basketball Tournament in Memphis, TN. The mighty Warriors, under the superb coaching of Ikey Dweck, defeated the team of the Yeshiva High School of Atlanta yesterday by a score of 67 - 41. Morris Dweck and Jeffrey Pardo were the high scorers with 16 and 15 points, respectively. The team plays in the next round this afternoon, b'ezrat HaShem, and then enjoys a beautiful Shabbaton program before additional games over the weekend. Go Warriors!
As always, please accept my warmest wishes for a Shabbat Shalom and for a great week ahead!
Sincerely yours,
Rabbi Saul Zucker
