Israel Activism Symposium 2017

On  February 15, 2017 Yeshivah of Flatbush hosted an Israel Activism Symposium where 70 students from different schools and backgrounds joined together to learn more about why we should be/continue advocating for Israel. We had phenomenal speakers who dedicated time out of their extremely busy schedules to come speak to us including: Rudy Rochman, Manny Dahari, Tomer Kornfeld, Ann Atkins, Ben Tzion, Yehuda HaKohen, Morris Shalom and Sonia Betesh. It was a very successful day. From the start, we felt the passion in the rooms radiating. Each speaker brought a different message but connected with the students well and gave them all a better picture of why we advocate. Thank you to all who participated in the planning and in the event itself, without all of you this day wouldn't have happened. Hope that what my fellow students learned today will stick with them and they will one day be speaking to students like themselves. Wish everyone hatzlacha and always remember עם ישראל חי!!! ~Amanda Heskiel, Class of 2017

For a Youtube playlist of videos, click here

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Cooking for a Cause: February

Earlier this month, chefs Mrs. Susie Sorcher, Mrs. Ami Sasson, Mrs. Rochelle Dweck, and Mrs. Alice Goldman took over the student lounge to turn pounds of meat into meals for hundreds of needy families at the Cooking for a Cause event.

Cooking for a Cause gives students the opportunity to learn how to prepare a variety of entrees, dinners, and desserts while participating in a Chesed event. All of the food prepared in these events are sent to needy families who can then enjoy delicious homemade dinners.

8th Grade Visits High School

Earlier this month, Yeshivah of Flatbush 8th graders visited the Yeshivah of Flatbush Joel Braverman High School. As part of our junior mentor program we welcomed the students with music, played a very fun bingo game filled with all the incredible extra curricular activities offered at the school and ate lunch together. After lunch each student was assigned to a class based on his/her interests. The choices were Tanakh, STEM, English, History and Art. The program was a great way for the 8th graders to get to know all that Flatbush has to offer as well as to form friendships with those that will soon become their seniors next year. Everyone truly enjoyed the event and we can't wait to welcome the students again as the class of 2021!
~Jordan Senior and Marlo Dayon, Class of 2018

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Pathfinders: Healthy Cooking Demo With BuddhabowlsAndBurpees

On Tuesday, February 14th, Ms. Michelle Gindi, also known as "BuddhabowlsAndBurpees" came to the Yeshivah of Flatbush Joel Braveman High School to teach students about the importance of eating healthy. Through a cooking demo students learned how to make her vegan granola. They even got to taste the granola they made in a yogurt parfait! She showed them that healthy cooking can be easy, fun, and delicious. She also answered all of their questions regarding health and nutrition. Her positive attitude and simple recipes inspired the students along with many other people to lead a healthy life.

Mock Trial Teams Visits Assistant District Attorney

On Tuesday, the Yeshivah of Flatbush Mock Trial team visited court with assistant district attorney David Klestzick (ES '83, HS '87). This was a great opportunity for students to get real world experience in the life of a trial lawyer.

Freshmen Learn To Code

Students growing up in a digital age must have a grounding in technology that informs their 21st century lives and careers. To meet this need, the Yeshivah of Flatbush Joel Braverman High School has offered electives in engineering, coding, and robotics, entrepreneurial clubs and internship opportunities. Student have visited a variety of tech companies in New York through our Pathfinders Program and have had three exciting STEM & Entrepreneurial trips to Israel over the last few years. This year, we established our first two Robotics teams; they have successfully competed in two city-wide competitions, with a third meet this Sunday.

Last Friday, we began an exciting new high school initiative, Freshman Coding Day, immersing all ninth graders in a one day technology boot-camp. Experienced coding teachers introduced them to the fundamentals of code. Students worked with iPads to program familiar games such as Minecraft with “drag & drop” block code on Code.org and Tynker. They also learned about writing programs using the Make Schools website. The boot-camp expanded on understandings of the Internet, the background that led to today's technology, and insights into the big tech companies such as Google and Yahoo.

Jack Hidary (HS '86), Senior Advisor, Google X Labs and Chairman of the Hidary Foundation and Joe Tricot (HS '13), Program Director of the Hidary Foundation, helped organize and implement this unique educational event. Mr. Hidary spoke to the students about the critical importance of coding skills in their future education and careers. He also encouraged them to find tech internships and to register for summer programs, such as Code Academy boot-camps that he plans on establishing in Brooklyn and Deal.

The freshmen responded enthusiastically to their Coding Day. Both boys and girls were energized and inspired by what they learned. In fact, many of them noted that they are now considering careers in the field. Next Friday, we will have a Junior Coding day designed for novice and veteran coders in the 11th grade. This event is part of our continuing commitment to prepare our students for success in the ever advancing digital world.

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Flatbush Students Collaborate on Women's Art program at the Morris I. Franco Cancer Center

 

On Tuesday, February 7th, a group of Yeshivah of Flatbush 11th and 12th grade girls, led by guidance counselor/art therapist Ms. Eva Dayan, visited the Morris I. Franco Cancer Center to collaborate on an art project with women who are fighting cancer. After touring the facility, the girls met with center's clients and the center's art therapist, Ms. Dayna Weiner. Flatbush students and the Center's clients played ice breaker games, discussed the art project and worked on individual creative designs using felt pieces that became part of a larger tapestry. The tapestry project will be presented at the Cancer Center's annual art show in May. ~Naomi Sanders, Class of 2017

College Bowl Team Competes in Westchester

Last week the Yeshivah of Flatbush college bowl team met in Westchester, where our team played against 6 other schools. Our JV team is tied for second place so far, in the League, perfectly placed before we make our final surge at the next meet to hopefully head to the championships.

Pathfinders Update: Students Get Realty Experience

Last Week, Yeshvah of Flatbush students visited Misrahi Realty on NYC's Lower East Side through our Pathfinders Program. The students met with head agent Joe Safdie, who taught them the ins and outs of becoming a real estate agent. 

After the discussion Joe took the group on a tour of two of his showings, one an apartment building and the other commercial building, rented by the food company By CHLOE. Joe shared details on both of the showings and explained to the group his role as an agent in maintaining the buildings. Students enjoyed the tour and were eager to ask questions. This trip was arranged by Nancy Mizrahi (HS 2015) and Florence Dweck (HS 2015).

Robotics Club Competes in FIRST Tech Challenge

The Yeshivah of Flatbush Joel Braverman High School's two Robotics teams recently competed in FIRST Tech Challenge, a region-wide robotics meet. Teams created their own robots which performed automated and driver-controlled tasks for the competition. The Robotics Club-Team Hidary, was led by STEM and Robotics teacher Mr. Shai Horowitz and Robotics Club coordinator Isaac Cohen (HS 2008). In their rookie year, the Flatbush teams finished with impressive rankings of 11th and 13th place out of 20 teams.

The Sunday event began with team check-in at 8 AM. The robots were judged on compliance with technical specifications and each team presented their engineering notebooks to a panel of judges. The excitement in the room was palpable as the various teams scrambled in the host school's lunchroom to make last minute adjustments and perform trial runs on the practice field.

From 10:30 to 2:30, the competition was on! Team members buzzed around the room with pliers and Allen wrenches to tighten screws and ran to and from outlets to recharge robot batteries to increase their chances of winning. Enthusiastic spectators and fans cheered on the teams. Each of the Flatbush teams won 2 out of 5 matches.

Returning to the Yeshivah, the teams began to prepare for the February 19 competition at the Dalton School. This event will be even larger, with 28 teams in the competition. With some experience under their belts, we hope to come home with top rankings!