Since Spirit Week, the rest of the year flew by! We had an awesome Shiriyah this year with the Seniors taking home the win. It was by far one of the most successful Shiriyah's in the schools (or Dr. Vitow's) history! Watch this fabulous highlights video!
After Shiriyah, we practically jumped right into Passover, March of the Living and AP Week. Honors Night and the amazing art show were next and now here we are at Graduation. The seniors celebrated their friendships and academic successes at Senior Dinner on Tuesday, June 9th. And yesterday, to a packed audience, they graduated at John Cranford Adams Playhouse at Hofstra University.
During the week of December 15th, 2014, North Shore Students and Faculty pulled out all the stops to celebrate Spirit Week.
Jewsical
The
festivities began with an amazing performance of "Jewsical: The Jewish
Experience on Broadway". Two shows were performed: one during the day
for students and faculty and one in the evening for parents.
The highlights video below demonstrates the success and excitement of the performance.
The selection included songs from various Jewish composers including Berlin, Rogers and Hammerstein, Sondheim and Rice and Webber and
and productions including Pippin, Milk and Honey, Fiddler on the Roof,
West Side Story, Yentl and Spamalot. Narrators added depth to the
performance through their explanation and historical insights of the
different numbers. Hour of Code
Next
up was the school wide hour of code. The Hour of Code is a global
movement reaching tens of millions of students in 180+ countries. It is a
one-hour (or one period) introduction to computer science, designed to
demystify code and show that anybody can learn the basics. The event was
a bit hit among students and generated a lot of buzz regarding the new
computer science courses introduced at North Shore this year.
Students worked alone or in pairs/groups to gain valuable experience.
Student helpers from AP Computer Science and Engineering courses were assigned to each room and facilitated the event.
Even teachers were joining the bandwagon!
Going once, Going twice, Gone!
The
first annual "Chana Poupko Israel Scholarship Fund Auction" was a huge
success.This auction was designed to raise money to send a student to
Israel in memory of Dr. Klein's daughter Chana Poupko who passed away
tragically last year after a long battle with cancer. Donations from the
community made the event possible. The day before the auction, physical
items were on display in the student lounge. On the day of the auction,
everyone got a piece of paper to hold up and a list of available items
for purchase, some of which included homework passes, parking in Dr.
Vitow's spot for a day and other tangible and intangible items. A
professional auctioneer ran the event. Student really got into it. Some
items went for around face value while other items made much more of a
profit. The ability to make a schedule change no questions asked went
for over $300! Artwork custom made by Ms. Lindsey Rabson also went for
several hundred dollars.
In total, the school raised over $6,200!
Spirit Day 2014!
The culminating event for Spirit Week 2014 was Spirit Day. This all day event began with mentalist David Blatt demonstrating the power of thought through a variety of mental exercises.
Next up was the NSHAHS Girls Varsity Basketball team taking on the NSHAHS Girls JV Basketball team in the gym. While Varsity took the game, it was an exciting match to watch!
During the double lunch period, several activities were going on simultaneously. The girls had an opportunity to do Zumba with Coco! Several students participated in a Backgammon Tournament with Rabbi Beitler. And many students cheered on the 4 representatives from each grade who were competing in a relay Pizza Eating contest refereed by Mr. Nagel.
Following lunch, half the students went to hear Rabbi Skydell speak in the shul about Chanukah, while the other half enjoyed the Chanukah Chagigah with Eitan Katz in the gym. There was lots of singing and dancing and everyone had a great time! After about a hour, they switched activities, so the whole school would experience both.
At the conclusion of the day, after Mincha, the championship holding NSHAHS Boys Varsity Basketball team took on members of the faculty and staff for an exciting match up in the gym. While the Varsity team easily took home the win, the faculty did make an impressive showing and were fun to watch. The half-time show was a pushup contest represented by one student from each grade.
To wrap up Spirit Week, there was a dessert bar and every student and faculty received a Chanukah present - a NSHAHS blanket to keep them warm on the soon to arrive freezing cold days!
Graduation took place on June 11, 2014 where over 100 students received their diplomas, in this milestone graduation year. The very first graduating class of North Shore Hebrew Academy High School was exactly 10 years ago in June 2004. A decade later, NSHAHS is flourishing with classes of nearly 100 students each year, prestigious college and Israel program acceptances and numerous honors and awards by many students.
To mark this milestone, a student from the first graduating class, Yehuda Miller, was asked to deliver a keynote speech where he reflected on his time at North Shore and provided insight for students as they take their next steps.
Both student speeches, valedictorian Emma Oberstein and speaker of the class Naomi Hakimi, delivered exceptional and poignant addresses to their peers, reflecting the quality and depth of their experiences and education acquired throughout their high school years.
Rabbi Weinberg led the graduation ceremonies. Dr. Vitow presented students with their diplomas and the PTA presented them with gifts.
At the end of the ceremony, the entire class came together in harmony singing a song led by the choir. It was a spirited conclusion to a wonderful graduation ceremony.
After being invited to participate in the exclusive trip to Google headquarters in the Fall, senior Ali Paul was inspired to apply for one Google's programs designed to expose computer science students to life in the computer industry. The program she applied for is called CSSI - Computer Science Summer Institute. The program enlists students who already have some experience with programming and immerses them in a 3-week training program in Seattle, Washington.
As per the CSSI website, "It's an intensive, interactive, hands-on and fun program that seeks to inspire the tech leaders and innovators of tomorrow ". Ali noted that she does not believe she would have been accepted if she had not taking AP Computer Science this year (through a virtual course offered by e-imacs) and if she were not also pursuing a major in computer science and electrical engineering. Programs such as this at Google are designed to lead to internships at Google throughout college, and eventually provide an edge into employment at Google's numerous locations. We, at NSHAHS, are extremely proud of Ali's accomplishments. Great job!
*Spotlighted on*
The first full band and select choir concert debuted this Spring 2014 in the North Shore Hebrew Academy library. Students and parents were invited to attend. Freshman Derek Fuller took video footage and edited the concert for everyone to enjoy!
Shiriyah this year was a big success! All the grades really put their all into the activities, the hallway displays were impressive, our cake designers went all out, and in general everyone put their best foot forward!
Here is a glimpse at the Shiriyah banquet at The Sephardic Temple last night. The color-coordinated balloons and impressive ballroom made for a fantastic evening for all involved.
After dinner, we all went into the shul for the singing and banner competitions and to hear the long awaited results. Shown below is the Freshman singing their grade song.
The Seniors chanted "I BELIEVE THAT WE WILL WIN" and they were right! Sophomores were second followed by Juniors and although the Freshman came in last, they did make an impressive showing winning several major categories.
Stay tuned in the coming days for video snapshots and more images from Shiriyah 2014!
North Shore Hebrew Academy High School'sCollegebowlteam started off the season with a bang. Both the Varsity and Junior Varsity went undefeated at the season's first competition held on November 7th. The competition was between other Long Island yeshivot and it took place at Temple Beth Sholom in Lawrence. The next competition will be in February.
