Cramming in the activities and goodbyes

With the end of the school year just around the corner, the last month of Hebrew Academy of the Five Towns and Rockaway High School has been busy and exciting, with more than a few tears shed by students in our graduating class. While we’re sad to say goodbye to an amazing group of kids, welcoming in next year’s freshman class is something to which we all look forward.

HAFTR worked alongside the New York Blood Center to provide the community with an outstanding opportunity to save lives. On April 24, the gymnasium was transformed into a blood donation center, where nurses and volunteer students helped to make it as easy as possible for people to contribute. As long as they were the correct age and weight, some students were even brave enough to donate!

Although summer break can be filled with fun, many students have been working hard to end the year with maximum effort by diving into studies for their Advanced Placement exams. HAFTR offers a wide range of AP classes, including biology, chemistry, English language, English literature, calculus, European history, U.S. government and politics, U.S. history, computer science principles, studio art and computer graphics. The faculty has done an amazing job of preparing the students, and each student has put in the necessary time and work to ensure that they’ll do as well as possible and make their school proud.

In addition to cramming for final exams, students celebrated Israel’s 70th birthday on Yom Ha’atzmaut (Independence Day), which was on April 18 this year. Everyone dressed in blue and white in colorful support of the country and danced energetically to Hebrew music. They enjoyed a carnival as well, with inflatables, bouncy houses, and even a replica of the Israel’s famous marketplace Mahane Yehuda Market popularly known as “The Shuk.”

It was a very special day for everyone to commemorate the joy of Israel’s independence, but that wasn’t the only celebration that took place at HAFTR this month. The student body and faculty also celebrated Lag B’Omer, marking the 33rd day of the counting of the time between Passover and Shavuos, with a schoolwide barbecue. Delicious hot dogs and sunny weather made the day both tasty and memorable.

On a final note, not only will we be saying goodbye to the graduating class, but also to our Judaic Studies Principal, Rabbi Gedaliah Oppen. We are all excited for Rabbi Yitzchak Riselsheimer and Rabbi Ira Wallach to become more prominent members of the HAFTR community, but Rabbi Oppen will surely be missed.