Schools

This year’s opening day of school was certainly like no other. Throughout the first week of school, we welcomed faculty and students and the Class of 2024. The excitement was palpable throughout the building as we have not been together for so long.

On Tuesday, September 1, the enthusiasm was palpable throughout the building as Shevach High School held its faculty and student orientations. Rebbetzin Rochelle Hirtz, Shevach’s principal, opened the meeting to welcome both new and previous faculty members to a new year. Mr. Heshy Neuman, Shevach’s co-president, then described all the various upgrades and innovations that have taken place over the summer in order to prepare the building for the safe and secure opening of the coming school year. Students and staff alike were particularly excited to be back in the classrooms, after being away for close to six months, due to the trying times of the coronavirus.

It was an emotional and exciting return to school for students and teachers at Bnos Malka Academy. The school has been very busy preparing the classrooms, hallways, and dining room in anticipation of this day. Desk shields, sanitizing stations, and signage are just a few of the measures taken to protect the girls and staff.

September 11 is a day of infamy and filled with grief. On this tragic day, The World Trade Center was crashed into by hijacked airplanes, an airplane taken hostage had crashed into the Pentagon, and the heroic passengers of Flight 93 fought their hijackers over Pennsylvania. HANC, a Long Island yeshivah, was honored to host guest speaker Ben Diamond, a volunteer EMT who portrayed his emotional, heroic story for the students, in a riveting program honoring the fallen.

In Dr. Katina Manko’s exciting new senior interdisciplinary elective, “Street Law and Literature,” students will learn about legal responsibility and rights through the perspectives of U.S. History, Civics, and Literature. The course will be arranged as a series of case studies on topics such as Search and Seizure, Stop and Frisk, Fair Housing, Voting Rights, and Workplace Harassment. The class has begun the term with a quick review of the Constitution and Bill of Rights. They have begun to examine how the Supreme Court has interpreted the establishment of religion clause in our first amendment, which guarantees free expression of religion and the separation of church and state. 

On Thursday, September 10, MTA’s Student Activities Department challenged each shiur to take a creative, socially distant selfie with an original theme. It was a great way for talmidim to bond with their friends and rebbeim and work together as a team. Each shiur made sure to include talmidim who are participating in yeshivah via Zoom and had a great time coming up with fun ideas and ways to fit everyone into the photos in a socially distanced way.