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.
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!
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!
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!
Overall, the week was a huge success!
*Featured on NSHAHS Highlights*
