SENIOR ISRAEL TRIP 2018

On May 22nd,  the SSLI Class of 2018 left for a three-week adventure 

in Israel, under the leadership of Mrs. Hiltzik, our Upper School Principal and Mr. Mike Hirsch, Director of Student Life. 

 Click here to see photo gallery and read  student daily journal entries.

SSLI HS Student Government, students, alumni, clergy and friends celebrating our 6th Consecutive Blood Championship win!

At the C IJE Young Engineer's Conference, which took place on Sunday, May 6th,  SSLI placed second out of 28 schools in the "fewer than 15 projects" category.  In the "consumer products" category, the 1st place trophy went to two sophomores and co-inventors,  Ian H. (class of 2020) and Ella S. (class of 2020).

Over 1,000 high school freshmen and sophomores from 37 participating Jewish day schools in the Northeast participated in the Young Engineers Conference held at the New Your Hilton Midtown.  In total, 412 original inventions were submitted, displayed and judged in the areas of Engineering and Bio-Engineering.  The two-year Engineering course, developed by the Center for Initiatives in Jewish Education, focuses first on electrical, mechanical, computer and civil engineering during 9th grade, and in 10th grade, the focus of the curriculum is on Bio-Medical and Mechanical Engineering, specifically on the skeletal, muscular, and circulatory systems. Click here to read more.

Congratulations to our Spanish students who attained national recognition for excellent performance on the 2018 National Spanish Examinations, sponsored by the American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese.

Students from Schechter earned a total of one gold, five silver and four bronze medals along with two honorable mentions.  "Attaining a medal or honorable mention for any student on the National Spanish Examinations is very prestigious," said Kevin Cessna-Buscemi, National Director of the Exams, "because the exams are the largest of their kind in the United States with over 150,000 students participating in 2018."

Click here to read more.

In early May, when the weather got warm and trees began to bloom, high school minyan students enjoyed the uplifting experience of outdoor prayer! Students came together with their grade, singing with great spirit, allowing the natural environment to inspire their individual prayer, and absorbing the sunshine to begin their day with gratitude, optimism, and focus. Many thanks to the high school minyan faculty fpr guiding students in their spiritual growth every day: Rabbi Barry Chesler, Mike Hirsch, Howard Levine, Judith May, and coordinator, Becky Friedman-Charry.

Thank you for trusting the Parent Association again this year. We have continued to support many of the meaningful programs in our school while introducing some fresh ideas as well. This year has been a beautiful learning experience for our new leadership team and we look forward to making next year even better. 

The school year began with our Community Shabbat Dinner with over 200 people singing, eating, davening, and socializing. We had a mix of upper and lower school, new and veteran families, and even some prospective families in attendance.  Again we came together for the Sukkot Dinner held at the Upper School sukkah for a delicious meal and celebration. In January, we held our Ladies Night Out with a great crowd laughing and making new memories.  The spring brought around our first Casino Night and people sure did get lucky! Everything about Casino Night was fresh, fun, and well executed. We had a strong turnout for our final big event of the year. Guests were treated to a night of fun from the moment they entered the room and were greeted with a cocktail, to their exit with raffle prizes in hand. We are already planning our 2018-19 events! Click here to read more. 

This year, the pre-calculus class developed a special bond with their teacher. As Lyndsay L. explained, "Mr. Levine helped us all so much that when he casually mentioned that this is his 50th year teaching, we knew we had to

 do something. We decided to surprise him on the last day of class with an ice cream cake with a picture of his face on it. Mr. Levine has done so much for us throughout this year and we are all so grateful to celebrate his 50th anniversary of teaching with him!"

Jane Incao, Graphic Designer, visited Ms. Gatto's art students at the Upper School. Jane got her start out of college designing night club invitations and the logo for radio station, WLIR. Since then, she has developed a business of her own, YORK Design,  doing work for various products and companies in the states and Italy. Locally she has designed the logos, menus and products for the well known restaurants, Toku, Hendricks, Louie's, and more.   Other clients are Skinny Pizza, and her most recent account, Botticelli Olive Oil.   

Jane brought a wealth of information to the students, speaking about business, printing and design.  Most importantly that art is all around us, even in packaging.  We hope to have her visit again next year. 

Upper school  students completed the year with a wide variety of musical accomplishments. Students from both middle school and high school participated in NYSSMA festivals including All County and All State levels. Middle school students attended a performance by Project Trio at the Tilles Center, 9th grade students attended a school concert given by the NY Philharmonic featuring the music of Duke Ellington and William Grant Still at Lincoln Center and the 8th grade attended a dress rehearsal of the Metropolitan Opera's Romeo et Juliette. Music elective students wrote  theory exams offered on the AP level or sponsored by the Royal Conservatory of Music. 6th graders learned to play recorder and 9th graders recently completed their final guitar tests in which each student had to play a song utilizing at least three chords. Our Ukulele Club met faithfully each week during lunch to strum tunes and enjoy playing together. Finally, our Freshman Band, starring Emily B., Greg B. and Jacob S. represented our school at the Mid-island JCC event "Our Community Has Talent". Kol Hakavod to all the participants.

Click here to see Upcoming Community Events