Graphic by Ariella Mayer ('23)

Parshat Tetzaveh continues the Torah’s description of what the people need to do in order to build the Mishkan. In contrast to last week’s parsha, which discussed the construction of a physical building, this week’s parsha focuses on what the kohanim need to wear in order to serve Hashem.  The Torah spares no details as it describes the materials, the colors, and the workmanship necessary for the choshen, ephod, me’il, ketonet, tashbetz, mitznephet, and avnet, and it names every stone that was to be put into the urim v’tumim.  At first it seems as though this is extraneous information that is unnecessary for us to know.  However, when we probe beneath the surface, we find that the pesukim emphasize all of the details in order to convey that the kohanim needed to wear these garments לכהנו לו, in order “to serve Him.”  The vibrant colors, beautiful fabric, and precious stones were necessary to create an environment wherein the kohanim could act as agents of Hashem and could do His holy work.  The beautiful garments were a critical component to the service of God and they teach us that we have an obligation to sanctify the physical in order to connect it to that which is innately spiritual.

This past week at KYHS focused on a similar idea.  Although at first glance we can look at a basketball tournament, a bounce house, hamentaschen, and a whipped cream pie as inherently physical objects that have no spiritual associations, the students at KYHS were able to elevate each of them in order to imbue them with meaning and help their fellow students connect to something beyond themselves.  Our girls basketball team not only participated in a basketball tournament but joined together over Shabbos for an inspiring and uplifting Shabbaton that focused on davening, singing, and words of Torah.  The Chesed Track of Al Shlosha Devarim not only rented bounce houses, but did so as part of a carnival that they created for families of children with special needs. The women of the KYHS community not only got together for a fun-filled evening, but they did so by baking hamentaschen and sharing divrei Torah about Purim.  And the seniors of KYHS not only orchestrated the opportunity for the students of KYHS to throw whipped cream pies at their teachers, but they did so in order to raise money to help those who cannot afford to attend the senior trip. 

Each of these events could have been seen merely as a social gathering that gave students the opportunity to get together and have fun.  But when viewed through a different lens, one can also see that every activity, even that which appears to be the most mundane, provides us with an opportunity to elevate the physical and turn it into an opportunity to serve Hashem.

Shabbat Shalom,

Mrs. Perl

Friendship Festival with Family and Fun

Al Shlosha Devarim Chessed Track Hosts Crazy Carnival for Special Needs Families

Graphic by Rivka Reich ('23)

This past Sunday, students from the Al Shlosha Devarim chesed track hosted a pre-purim carnival for Yachad, Friendship Circle, and Chai Lifeline members and their families. Leaders and volunteers from the Chesed Track worked hard to brainstorm for, plan, and execute all aspects of the carnival in order to make it such an exciting and joy-filled community event. During the carnival, everyone got to enjoy bounce houses, carnival games, face paint, and delicious refreshments such as snow cones, lemonade, and popcorn. One of the highlights of the festivities was being able to exchange carnival tickets for fun prizes! Additionally, everyone at the event had the opportunity to make homemade masks and groggers, a perfect preparation for Purim next week! 

“The carnival was really nice. I really liked it a lot and it was very fun!” remarked Shaina, a Yachad member who enjoyed the carnival. 

Not only was the carnival a blast for Yachad, Friendship Circle, and Chai Lifeline families, student volunteers also had an incredible time running carnival games and various other activities on Sunday. 

“As part of the chesed leadership committee in school, it was truly beautiful seeing the joy on everyone’s faces as they played carnival games, joined in activities, and claimed their prizes at the end. Giving back to the community was truly meaningful,” said Naomi Baredes (‘23).

Overall, the carnival was a resounding success and brought such Adar simcha to everyone who attended it. A special thank you to Chesed Track leaders Mrs. Stein and Rabbi Kimche for making the carnival the great success that it was!

Article by Talia Distenfeld ('23)

They Shoot, They Score

KYHS Girls' Basketball Team Competes in an Incredible Miami Weekend Tournament

Graphic by Josh Haik ('24)

This week, the girls basketball team competed in the Miami tournament. The team played a series of four games over the course of four days, winning one of the games. Wednesday evening, the team joined the other competing schools for a delicious opening barbecue, which encouraged the teams to socialize and really set a positive tone for the tournament.

The players also spent an amazing Shabbos together filled with ruach and excitement leading up to the final game on Motzei Shabbat. Storm took the win for the final game on Saturday night in an incredible buzzer-beater shot made by Sophia Pearl (‘24).

“It was such a fun bonding experience for the team; going swimming, spending Shabbos together, and playing our best game against other schools. At one point, we were all screaming!” said Amira Kahn (‘25), a player on the basketball team. The girls showed a tremendous amount of achdut (unity) and truly showcased their talents and skills. Many students went to Miami for the games to cheer and show their support for the team and school. Overall, the tournament was a slam dunk!

Article by Lili Harow ('25)

The Great Jewish Bake-Off: Hamantaschen Edition

Women of KYHS Join Together to Prep for Purim with Sweet Treats

Graphic by Aaron Newman ('24)

What a night it was this past Tuesday at the KYHS first annual hamentashen bake! The cafeteria was lively as students, parents, grandparents, teachers, and other members of the school community joined for an awesome night of learning and baking.

The program started out with an inspirational d’var Torah by Mrs. Kanner. She spoke about how beautiful it was that we all joined together to make hamentashen, how united we were, and how together we can bring Mashiach. Then we began baking! Using the premade dough, we got to roll out and cut out circles. We filled the dough with many options: chocolate, sprinkle, raspberry and apricot jam, and poppyseed. Everyone enjoyed mixing and matching and coming up with different combinations. Senior Atara Sredni shared, “I really enjoyed making hamentashen tonight because I have never made them before, and my mom got to meet all my friends from school!”

There were also delicious refreshments served such as fruit and cookies, but most importantly HipPops! HipPops are delicious gelato pops that you can dip in your favorite chocolate then sprinkle with your favorite toppings. On top of that, Sharsheret was also there to spread awareness about their important organization. Candy platters were also being sold to fundraise for the senior graduation trip to Guatemala.

Gaby Cohen (‘23) shared her experience saying, “The hamentaschen bake was so much fun!! I especially loved getting to hang out with my friends and my mom (#GreatBondingExperience).” Thank you to the co-chairs of this event, Michelle Dimont and Rachel Harrow. It was a wonderful inaugural event and I am looking forward to what the newly founded PTA puts together! 

Article by Atara Keehn ('23)

As Easy As Pie

Students Mess with Their Teachers as Part of a Fundraiser for the Senior Trip

Graphic by Shoshana Weinstock ('24)

This past Monday was Presidents’ Day, and besides being an awesome day off and an extra long weekend, who knows what Presidents’ Day actually is anyway? The origin of this day goes all the way back to the 1880’s when the birthday of a beloved former President George Washington (‘32) became a federal holiday. The reason why the holiday doesn’t fall out on Washington's actual birthday every year is because Congress passed a bill called the Uniform Monday Holiday Bill, which moved many federal holidays to Monday to help workers enjoy longer weekends. This received a lot of backlash because many people thought that holidays should be celebrated on the day that the events being commemorated actually happened. Congress rejected changing the name Washington's Birthday to the name Presidents’ Day, even though Presidents’ Day is a widely accepted name for the third Monday in February.

Sophomore Ariella Mayer (‘25) told me about her eventful Presidents’ Day weekend: “I went to Orlando for Presidents’ Day, and had a blast, minus the traffic because everyone wanted to spend their extra day in Disney. We checked out the outlet malls and there were amazing sales because of Presidents’ Day, and it was great!”

This year, a Texas-based company named Celestis decided to do something very interesting to commemorate Presidents’ Day: sending actual authenticated hairs from the heads of former presidents George Washington, John F. Kennedy, Dwight D. Eisenhower, and Ronald Reagan up into space! If that doesn’t show their love for America I don’t know what will!

Article by Miriam Marcus ('25)

From KYHS to NASA: Yes, it Actually is Rocket Science

KYHS Graduate Inspires Students with Her Journey That's Out-of-this-World

Graphic by Highlites Staff

Esther Amram, graduate of the KYHS class of 2010, was not thinking about college, let alone rockets, while in high school. But after graduation, the Venezuelan immigrant packed her bags for Orlando and gave community college a try. 

The nurturing environment and good grades she received gave her the confidence to dream. She transferred to UCF’s Department of Aerospace Engineering to finish her degree. As a student, she did an internship at UCF’s Center for Microgravity Research and worked on CubeSats, which are small satellites launched to space to test things like how particles collide in space. This opportunity gave her practical experience in the field so much so that it caught the attention of an engineering manager on the Artemis program at NASA. 

Esther secured her first job out of college as a Main Propulsion System and Engines engineer with NASA’s Artemis launch contract. After four years of working on the launch team, she joined Jeff Bezos’s rocket launch company Blue Origin where she works as a Fluids Test Engineer. 

Her biggest piece of advice for our students was to get experience during the college years through research and/or internships. The name of the college you attend carries little weight if you graduate without skills in your field.

Article by Mrs. Bejar