By: Emanuel Barkagan and Robert Zohar (10th Grade)
With midterms looming, junior Michaela Acevedo escaped her daily stress this past week by taking part in the school’s Chanukah Spirit Week festivities.
“Having nine classes a day, compared to a lot of other people I know from outside of school, it can get overwhelming, especially being a junior. And we also have to worry about SATs and ACTs, so having this week off has been good for me,” Acevedo said. “Not only do I have time to actually study for SATs and ACTs but I also have time to be with my family and workout and do what I used to do.”
According to students, the Chanukah “chill” week provides a much needed break from the end of semester anxiety as exams approach in just two weeks. The lack of the regular weekly assignments combined with the interesting daily themes of the week provides a fun and uplifting experience.
“I really liked the themes because I got to wear whatever I wanted and got a break from the uniform. I really liked the breaks from class and it was fun,” said Jonathan Alishayev (11th).
The school also hosted a Chanukah carnival with food and games. As the Israeli music blasted, students milled around, going from activity to activity, enjoying the food, laughing, and taking pictures. Games like water pong, mini-basketball, ring toss, and corn hole gave students opportunities to score points for their class to win a grade beach day.
“The chanukah carnival was a lot of fun,” said Ariel Bramy (12th). “The ring toss, it was so hard, but I finally got it. The snow cones and cotton candy were also pretty good.”
Whether it be in the actual religious celebration of the holiday, the decreased workload, or the themes and festivities, Chanukah week is universally enjoyed by the student body.
“You don’t really have weeks like this all the time,” said Emanuel Pinkhasov. “Chanukah is about us winning the war and the oil. I like how we light candles everyday and how our whole family gets together.”