Schools

On Wednesday, June 7, Central gave a fond farewell to the Class of 2023 with a graduation ceremony at Lamport Auditorium on the campus of Yeshiva University. While every graduation day is a bittersweet milestone for students, families, and faculty, this year’s graduation was particularly meaningful, as it coincided with Central’s 75th anniversary. The event was both a celebration and reflection on the Yeshiva University High School for Girls sending 75 classes of students into the world as kinder, more thoughtful people for having been a part of its community. Through the changes and challenges of the past four years, this latest group of graduates bonded and thrived, proving themselves to be resourceful, supportive of one another, and most notably of all, joyful.

Ever hear the phrase “Work hard, play hard”? Well, that’s what the student body of Yeshiva Sha’arei Zion High School for Girls did. With the end of the school year right around the corner, students took the opportunity to reflect on their accomplishments and set goals for finals week. You should have seen the atmosphere this past week at the high school. Students studied conscientiously for their exams and enjoyed fun Brain Breaks after each day’s final.

Rabbi Mendelson’s eleventh-grade shiur has been busy this entire year. To celebrate their end-of-year accomplishments, the talmidim went on a couple meaningful trips with their rebbi to mark the occasion. One such trip was to visit the shul of Rav Aharon Kahn, Rosh Yeshiva at Yeshiva University, where over 100 ba’al habatim spend their mornings learning before heading to work in the afternoon. It is an incredible sight, seeing so many adults in the professional world who have dedicated their mornings to Torah learning before heading to the workplace. This practice has now been adopted in other shuls, and we hope it will continue to spread. The talmidim enjoyed a BBQ at Rabbi Mendelson’s home following this visit.

Hadar Bet Yaakov’s STEM team won their third consecutive medal in this year’s ORT STEM Contest. This year, they proudly won first place under the tutelage of STEM teacher Ms. Michelle Weingarten and ORT STEM program director Ms. Irit Tzemah. For the contest, HBY’s two STEM teams presented functional business websites for different commercial ventures they created. One team designed a camp website while the other constructed a website selling tickets to a school production. Both sites utilized navigation bars, hyper-links, drop-down menus, images, and created interactive pages so customers could make purchases or fill out applications. Teams were able to integrate both coding language and website design skills to construct a professional website for commercial use.

The SKA commencement exercises were held on Sunday, June 11, at DRS, where family members joined the graduates, the SKA administration, and faculty members to honor this milestone. After stirring introductions from Mrs. Bluma Drebin, Principal, General Studies, and Mrs. Elisheva Kaminetsky, Prinicipal, Religious Studies, Valedictorian Arielle Rosman, Salutatorian Atara Razi, and Keter Shem Tov Awardee Jordana Brown addressed the audience.

On Sunday, June 4, YCQ proudly participated in the Celebrate Israel Parade, showcasing their commitment to Eretz Yisrael and am Yisrael. With enthusiasm and pride, hundreds of students, teachers, and staff marched together down Fifth Avenue in Manhattan. The theme of this year’s parade was “Israel @ 75: Renewing the Hope,” and the festive atmosphere, colorful floats, and uplifting music created a memorable environment for all.