The WHHS Experience

• Judaic Studies
• Secular Studies
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• Special Programs
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At the beginning of each school year, students and faculty gather for a two day retreat at a hotel in Upstate New York. Many of the activities are planned by the Student Government. Sessions are conducted on a Torah theme and students engage in team building as well as sports activities. The retreat is conducive for the integration of new youngsters into the student body.

The first months of high school are a period of acclimation and can be accompanied by a degree of stress. On Freshman Day, our ninth graders enjoy a day of fun-filled activities. They begin with a Chessed project (soup kitchen work, cleaning up in cemeteries, etc.) and end the day with bowling, a movie or a visit to an arcade. Students return to school refreshed and ready to pursue their academic and extra-curricular activities.

There is no better way to come together as a group than to spend a Shabbat together in a local community. Our freshmen spend a Shabbat with a faculty members and advisors at a local community synagogue. Students lead services, prepare Divrei Torah, attend study sessions, and plan fun-filled activities for Motzei Shabbat (including snowball fights). The sophomores, juniors and seniors represent WHHS admirably at grade-specific Shabbatonim throughout the tri-State area. On Shabbat students bond in a different way than during the week at school, and everyone gains an appreciation for the spirit of a Shabbat together.

In addition to in-school and after-school Chessed projects, each grade has the opportunity to spend a school day performing acts of Chessed. Students prepare and serve food in a kosher food kitchen, participate in Habitat for Humanity, make packages for Israeli and American soldiers and visit the sick and elderly. Following Hurricane Katrina, our students flew to Houston to provide sorely needed supplies and moral support to hurricane victims.

The Harvey Goodstein Memorial Basketball Tournament is an annual event organized by WHHS students. Following Hurricane Katrina, WHHS students felt the need to mobilize. They conceived of and organized the basketball tournament in order to raise funds for hurricane victims. Students from schools in the local and metropolitan area were invited to participate in the all-day basketball tournament and the monies were donated to hurricane relief causes. Our students became energized and bonded in order to make a difference. Future tournaments will raise funds for local tzedakah projects, to be determined jointly by students and administration.

WHHS and the WHHS Parent Council sponsor special Rosh Chodesh and holiday programming. Guest speakers and lively singing and dancing are capped off by a delicious breakfast.

Throughout the year special days are designated for in-depth learning on a specific issue. Topics relevant to the lives of our students are chosen and explored throughout the day. Forums of learning vary from small groups to a speaker addressing the entire school body. Often new learning or co-curricular projects are inspired by topics discussed on Yemei Iyun. Topics include: ‘going above and beyond the call of duty,’ ‘kindness to all,’ and ‘the power of speech.’

Under the guidance of WHHS faculty, groups of students visit museums, galleries and special events that take place in New York City. They attend theater performances, concerts and charity events throughout the year. These are often tied into the curriculum and discussed in class. Most NYC experiences begin or end with a sampling of local kosher cuisine!