Spring Concert 2016

On Friday, April 8, 2016 Yeshivah of Flatbush held its annual Spring Concert event, which is a showcase for many of our high school's most talented musicians and vocalists to share their talents with a vibrant audience of peers and members of the faculty. Thank you to seniors Zack Fernandez, Esty Fromer, and Sonny Setton for organizing the event with the help of Ms. Lamm.

Flatbush Students Learn About NY Political System

A few weeks ago, my friend Sammy Beyda and I attended a rally for the campaign of Rebecca Harary, who is running for NYC Assembly District 73. When I was first given the opportunity to attend this event, through the Yeshivah of Flatbush Pathfinders Program, I was intrigued and excited to be able to attend a real political event. Upon arrival we introduced ourselves and expressed our interests in politics to the head of the campaign. We met Mrs. Harary and learned a lot about micro politics and the role of an assemblywoman. Overall it was an experience that helped me better understand our political system.  ~Ezra Faks, Class of 2019

AP Literature and AP Language Classes Expereince Shakespeare at BAM

On Wednesday April 6, the students of Ms. Bloom’s AP Literature and senior AP Language classes, chaperoned by Ms. Bloom and Ms. Agassi, went to the Brooklyn Academy of Music or BAM in Downtown Brooklyn to see the Royal Shakespeare Company’s enactment of the play Henry V. The Monday prior to the trip an instructor from BAM came to our class to give an acting workshop and gave us some background on the play, which was highly entertaining. On the day of the play we were one of the first schools to arrive (Just as Ms Bloom planned!), which allowed us to get front row seats! The play was fantastic with amazing acting and many funny, sad, and thrilling action-packed scenes. The end of the play had every student enrapt with attention and full of laughter; Ms Bloom even got a wink from King Henry! Thank you to Ms Bloom for organizing this trip, which was enjoyed immensely by everyone involved. 

~ Max Edeson, Class of 2016

JV College Bowl Team Competes at the Final Championships!

After competing in this season’s series of College Bowl matches, and winning the title of Division Champs in the Yeshivah League, the Yeshivah of Flatbush Joel Braverman High School JV College Bowl team went on to play in the semifinals and final Championship games on Wednesday, April 13. The intrepid JV team, David Azrak, Jacques Mosseri, Jonathan Kraidman, Josef Kusayev, Danielle Duchan, Moses Bakst and Robert Adler, played against the Central team in the semifinals, and after fielding fast paced challenging questions from all academic areas including politics, math, English, social studies, science and more, triumphed in a resounding win and advanced to the finals round. 

Cheered on by their Coach, Ms. Rachail Kurtz, family and friends, after a valiant battle of wits and scholarship which was streamed live for the benefit of all fans and supporters, the YOFHS team won a trophy and a second place finish in this year’s final Championships. Congratulations to the team for an exciting game and a satisfying year of College Bowl competitions.

Flatbush Math Team Goes to Yale

On Sunday April 3, the Yeshivah of Flatbush Joel Braverman High School Math Team being Max Edeson (Captain), Chiya Abramowitz, Jacques Mosseri, Alan Frastai, Abe Madeb, and Yaron Sternberg travelled to Yale University under the supervision of our coach Mrs. Shulman. We travelled to Yale to participate in the Math Majors of America Tournament for High Schools (MMATHS). The Jewish students of Yale were kind enough to organize a second tournament date on Sunday in the Slifka center so that Jewish high school students could also participate, as normally the tournament is only held on Saturday for thousands of students across the country. The Saturday tournament was held in Yale University, Columbia University and the University of Miami for non-Jewish students.

We got up bright and early at 7:30am to travel to Yale for the tournament at 9:30am. There we met the students from Frisch and Kushner’s math team and had a nice breakfast. After breakfast the tournament was under way with the individual rounds in which every student took a test of very difficult word problems on various subjects of Math. Following the individual round we were served a nice lunch from Yale and were given the opportunity to visit the Yale bookstore. After the individual rounds was the tie-breaker round for the top scorers and the mixer round where all the other students were placed on teams of mixed schools to get acquainted with one another and socialize. Yaron Sternberg’s team was the winner of the mixer round.

After the Mixer Round came the Team Rounds were schools went head to head answering similar difficult questions in groups of three. Finally the results of the day were given in the awards ceremony: Max Edeson received a medal for being one of the top scorers of the day in the individual round. Thank You to Mrs. Shulman and the students at Yale for making this amazing opportunity possible as well as Dr. Goldberg for training us for the event. ~ Max Edeson, Class of 2016

Flatbush Students Participate in a Collaborative Women's Art program at the Morris Franco Cancer Center

A group of Yeshivah of Flatbush Joel Braverman girls from grades 10-12, led by Guidance counselor/art therapist Eva Dayan, went to the Morris Franco Cancer Center on Tuesday, April 12, to collaborate on an art project with women who are fighting cancer. The program began with a tour of the center and a video presentation focusing on the clients' experiences and how instrumental volunteers at the Cancer Center have been in helping them cope with their illnesses. Following the video presentation, they moved into the art studio where students and clients spent time getting to know each other. Topics of discussion ranged from favorite music and TV shows to deeper, more meaningful conversation, with the women sharing words of wisdom with the younger generation. 

Dayna Weiner, art therapist at the Cancer Center, led a guided meditation, segueing into the collaborative art project in which everyone worked together to create beautiful painted mandalas on "lucite" circles. Our students were grateful for the opportunity to be part of the journey to recovery for these inspiring women who kept asking when we would be back to visit them again! A special thank you to Rebecca Esses and all the volunteers at the Cancer Center who made this very wonderful event possible!

Flatbush Competes in Torah Bowl

Last month, Rabbi Taler and the Yeshivah of Flatbush Boys' Torah Bowl team participated in the last competition of the season in the league consisting of the schools North Shore, HAFTR, and HANC. Studying the entire Sefer Shemot and Rashi over the course of the year, Flatbush was ready for the playoffs and prepared the material for the last three parshiot, Ki Tisa, Vayakhel, and Pikudei. Each game was pretty intense and competitive, some leading to nearly tied games. Led by senior captain Joey Baum and assisted by senior member Chiya Abramowitz, Flatbush swept through against the home team of North Shore with a halftime score of 10-0, but ultimately lost in the semifinal against HAFTR. As this is the last meet for three seniors of the team, hopefully the younger Torah Bowl members will step up to win more games in the near future. ~Chiya Abramowitz, Class of 2016

Moot Court 2016 Finals

On Thursday, March 31, 2016, Yeshivah of Flatbush Joel Braverman High School hosted the final round of the Moot Court Competition.  The final two teams of three people went head to head in a “heated” dispute arguing a civil suit regarding damages via fireworks. The teams were Jonathan Kraidman, Jack Sedaka, and Jack Srour as the defense and Chiya Abramaowitz, Robert Adler and Perry Sanders as the plaintiff. Even though it was late in the night, the students put forward all their energy in order to beat their opponents.

"Defense" Team

"Plaintiff" Team

The teams were given the case materials and 15 minutes to prepare for their opening statements as well as direct examinations of their witnesses. After delivering their opening statements with the judges (Max Edeson and Aida Hasson) making notes on their every move they followed with examining and cross-examining the witnesses from both sides. The witness had to be quick and answer on the spot, especially during the cross-examinations, which they couldn’t prepare for, because anything he/she said would be used against them. All the while the lawyers were using objections, such as hearsay, based on various inconsistencies in the questions being asked by the opposing lawyer. Finally, each lawyer, after 2 minutes of preparation, gave their closing statements summarizing the points of his case.

The judges judged each team’s performance based on a point system, and while the teams were close on many categories ultimately the victors were Jonathan Kraidman, Jack Sedaka, and Jack Srour. Congratulations to both teams for their efforts and we can’t wait to do it all again next year. This was a great social and educational event, where all participants had an opportunity to learn something new as well as meet new people; this is definitely an experience that is recommended for all students who are interested in pursuing law in the future. ~Max Edeson, Class of 2016

The Phoenix 2015-2016 Issue 7

Cooking For A Cause: April 2016

This month's Cooking For A Cause featured its biggest menu ever. Students prepared 25 brick roast dinners and 36 chicken dinners for needy families ahead of Passover. Thank you to master chefs Mrs. Rochelle Dweck, Mrs. Jaclyn Marcos, and Ami Sasson for guiding our students long the way. Thank you to our sponsors: Mrs. Rochelle Dweck, Mrs. Ricci Haddad, Mrs. Jill Sanders, and Mrs. Ami Sasson.

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.