The 2017 Yeshivah of Flatbush Joel Braverman High School Color War was a huge success from start to finish. It began with a school-wide assembly where Rabbi Beyda spoke to the student body about the annual 'Study Survey.' He ended the assembly by telling the students to go back to class. Since there was major speculation that color war was to break out, the students were confused. In a staged argument between, senior, Albert Arazi and Rabbi Beyda, the two went back and forth over how the student don't even want a Color War. At that point Arazi turned to the crowd and riled them up chanting "Color War! Color War!" The lights shut off and intense music started to play! Through the back doors, the Generals stormed the aisles making their way to the stage. Colored lights flashed and students began to get pumped up and excited for these next few days of intense competition. We introduced the thoughtful and inspiring themes for this year. The intro videos describing each theme came on screen. This year's color war was all about inspiring the students to find the right path to take on their journey through life. Each of us have the ability to choose from right and wrong but we have to use specific lenses to view our situations to make sure we decide the correct path to take. Four of them being Integrity (yellow), Curiosity (green), Resilience (red) and Bravery (navy). It is our job to use these traits to change our lives and make the world a better place. This color war helped the students believe in their ability to do just that. No matter where we stand in life, each and every one of us will be instilled with the power to do the right thing.
After the intro videos, the teams went to their team time locations where they were handed their team's color hats (with the beautiful YOF logo). Their generals: Navy- Yair Aiash and Leah Katach, Green- Jonathan Kraidman and Barbara Haddad, Yellow- Daniel Sitt and Jeanne Rahmey and Red- Ikey Benzaken and Sarah Horowitz invited them all to a Saturday night meeting and to school on Sunday morning to help their teams decorate their school hallways in their colors. Saturday night was a blast, each team actively working on skits, videos, games, songs, banners, hallway decorations and so much more. On Sunday teams began decorating the school's hallways portraying their team's theme and color that told a story. Sunday afternoon, the teams put together sports squads to participate in the competitive sporting games that lasted into the night.
The next two days were jam-packed full of fun games and activities. On Monday, we began with musical chairs during breakfast. An epic finale in the boys game between Albert Arazi and Sam Beyda set the tone for the rest of the day. The same way the two boys battled it out for the last chair was the same way each team competed for every point. We then all moved to the auditorium to watch the four, theme-related, Dvar Torah videos. Then began the activities. Each grade participated in different events simultaneously. The freshmen played Fun Games, while the Sophomores engaged in Marathon. Juniors and Seniors stayed in the Auditorium for Trivia. Each event ran smoothly. After 45 minutes the grades switched activities. The teams worked together as best as they could, which showed their devotion and drive to win.
On Tuesday, during breakfast we played another huge game of musical chairs. There were regular classes in the morning but after lunch the greatness went down. First, the teams gathered for a final rehearsal of their songs and details before the final auditorium session. The students arrived into the assembly cheering their team's colors and themes! At the very beginning, the SGO collected over $1,000 to be distributed to four different charities, each charity connected to one of the teams. We then proceeded to watch the spectacular skits, beautiful songs, magnificent banners, and the beloved boys' dance from each team. Each year these four activities trump the year's before but, this year, the teams portrayed such amazing work it's going to be hard for 2018's Color War to beat them.
After a closing speech from Ms. Marcus about the past few days with an emphasis on the handwork that all the generals, Black Team, and the SGO put into this legendary event; we closed everything with a cute and warming slideshow that compiled pictures from the very start to the very end. SGO President Elliot Shamah then got up and announced Red Resilience as the victors!!!
Congratulations to all of the teams for their outstanding hard work, to the teacher generals for all of their dedication and devotion and to all of the students for their active participation, enthusiasm and involvement. Special thanks to the SGO, Ms. Marcus, and our black team generals Marcelle Cohen, Sarali Cohen, and Morris Matalon who helped this color war run so smoothly and prepare each event to make this the best color war yet! We hope you loved it and truly learned something meaningful from this experience! We saw true leadership abilities in each and every one of you and we were so proud to see the Flatbush family so united and happy together! We hope you had a blast and enjoyed every minute of it, we know we did! Hold on to this experience of a lifetime and never forget it!
With great pleasure,
Your SGO 2017
Elliot Shamah, Albert Dweck, Morris Mamiye, and Ralph Chattah.
