Queens Jewish Link
Connecting the Queens Jewish Community 
The middle school students at Bnos Malka Academy displayed their creativity, talent, and achdus in their exciting Color War event last week. Teams Ora (blue) and Simcha (black) enjoyed friendly competition with creative relay races like carrying a soda can suspended from a spaghetti strand, and eating applesauce while blindfolded.
George Hooks, or “the Drum Man,” as the children of HALB Lev Chana fondly call him, had our children happily bonking out rhythms and beats with boom wackers, drums, cymbals, and rhythm sticks. What a fun and exciting way to work on listening skills, following directions, and learning about tempo, beat, soft, and loud! Our children jammed to the beat of the Drum Man’s kick drum and guitar, and played a rousing game of hot and cold using soft whirling hands on drums to signify cold, drumming fingertips for warmer, and loud pounding for hot (You’re there, you found it!). What a fun and merry way to welcome Chodesh Adar!
It’s not hard to tell that the month of Adar has arrived – just walk around the hallways at SKA!
The spirit of Purim has already permeated the school, as girls dressed up on Tuesday, February 25, to celebrate Rosh Chodesh Adar. The Seniors chose “Senior Citizens” as their costume theme, while the Juniors dressed as “Adults,” the Sophomores as “Children and Tweens,” and Freshmen as “Babies.”
MTA Juniors had an incredible time on their two-day, action-packed Junior Trip, which took place on Wednesday-Thursday, February 26-27. From golf, indoor sports, and snow tubing to the Nickelodeon amusement park at the new American Dream mall, broomball, midnight barbecue, lively minyanim, and inspirational shiurim, talmidim really had a blast! Grade-wide trips are the perfect opportunity for talmidim to spend time and make friends with boys they may not share classes with, bond with their rebbeim outside the classroom, and have fun with friends.
A milestone at the North Shore Hebrew Academy (NSHA) Middle School in Great Neck will be reached when 25 seventh and eighth graders, both Ashkenazic and Sephardic, will chant Megillas Esther for their schoolmates, faculty, and families, on Purim Day, March 10 (14 Adar 5780).
This past Sunday, students from Central’s AP Biology, AP Chemistry, and AP Physics classes were invited by Mrs. Ruth Fried to attend Yeshiva University’s 13th Annual Medical Ethics Symposium, honoring Rabbi Dr. Moshe Tendler. The title of the conference was “Who Shall Live and Who Shall Die,” and it included presentations and panels on topics pertaining to the beginning and end of life, including physician-assisted suicide and assisted reproductive technology. Junior Eliana Wachstock, an AP Chemistry student, said, “I was impressed that after every doctor or other medical professional spoke, there was also a rav giving halachic insight on the matter. It felt like there was a seamless connection between the two worlds we live in as frum Jews.” Senior Hannah Hamerman, a student in AP Physics, added that the conference was “a truly intriguing event. In general, I feel that these are topics that are shied away from. People are tentative when speaking about patient autonomy and issues regarding life support. But, this conference allowed these topics to be explained and discussed in an open manner.”
