HALB HS girls experience an amazing ‘SKAbbaton’

Capping a week of preparation that included a 10th grade pre-Shabbaton party, an 11th grade pre-Shabbaton cholent cookoff and more, the ruach at the annual Stella K. Abraham High School for Girls’ SKAbbaton was amazing!

SKA’s talented and hard-working G.O., together with Rabbi Yosef Zakutinsky, director of student programming, was the advance team that headed on Thursday, Nov. 19, to the Stamford Plaza Hotel in Connecticut,  to decorate and make preparations for the school’s arrival the next day when the fun began with bowling at Bowlmor Lanes.

It was a weekend of beautiful activities, including Kabbalat Shabbat,communal davenings, onegs, student-delivered dvar Torahs and shirum by the school’s rebbeim which were voluntary for students but well attended.

The seniors worked hard to make Shabbat special, with programs like Meet the Stars and Madame Taussaud’s Wax Museum. The annual talent show, always a high spot of the weekend, and the spirited melave malka were leibidig and enjoyable.

One of the highlights of the weekend was Friday night’s guest speaker, Saul Blinkoff, an animator for Disney Studio and director of feature films for MTV and Disney, who spoke of how he held on to his Orthodox Jewish identity while working in Hollywood.

Special thanks go to Rabbi Yosef Zakutinsky, director of student programming, and his staff, Mrs. Yafa Storch, Mrs. Jordana Bienenfeld Mallin and Ms. Stephanie Leichtung; Mrs. Elisheva Kaminetsky, director of religious guidance; SKA’s administration — Mrs. Helen Spirn, head of school; Ms. Raizi Chechik, principal grades 9-10; Dr. Tzipora Meier, principal grades 11-12, and Mrs. Deena Kobre, associate principal; and 12th grade level advisers, Mrs. Paghit Ralbag and Mrs. Avital Braun. Much hakarat hatov goes to the many SKA rebbeim, teachers and madrichot who joined for the weekend and played such an integral part in making SKAbbaton so wonderful.

And of course, each SKA student who attended SKAbbaton really enhanced the Shabbat.