Sophomore Seminar highlighted the importance of self commitment to change. It highlighted that in life there will be many obstacles that you will have to face, but it is important to try to overcome them.The various speakers, sessions, and videos proved to the sophomore grade that at this time in their lives they have an opportunity to set the direction of where they want to go in life and what they want to achieve.
On Thursday afternoon, the sophomores had a program in school with JACS in order to learn about the importance of making the right decisions. Friday morning the excitement was roaring. Everyone loaded the buses and headed to the Berkeley Hotel. After getting comfortable in their rooms, the sophomores took part in a program which discussed the problems with bullying. Debbie Nehmad (HS '09), spoke about her experiences with bullying and the courage it took her to speak out against it. Following the speaker, students had the opportunity to express their opinions in an advisor session. After lunch and dancing, a senior spoke about the kedushah of Shabbat. After changing and having a bit a free time, students, joined by teachers, and their advisors brought in Shabbat beautifully with pre-Shabbat ruach. After davening and dinner Sophomores had a session about the importance of relationships. Friday night came to an end when student gathered late Friday night at the tish. Students got the opportunity to share stories and lessons that they learned from a past experience and also to pass the message onto others. Shabbat was filled with with an advisor session and an elective session. As Shabbat was coming to an end, we sat together in a circle to sing during Seudah Shelishit. We then had a musical havdalah followed by rekudim. After we had to to shower and change we enjoyed some fun activities during class wars. The night came to a close with an emotional and inspiring program, which ended with a kumzitz.
By the time Sunday came around, no one could believe the weekend went by so fast, but they knew they had learned life lessons forever.
Head advisor, Jeanne Franco, summed the whole seminar by saying, "The whole grade was so cooperative and unified and it was such a beautiful thing to see. It was a real blast and we all learned so many valuable lessons." ~Rashelle Gersh