Senior Shiriyah Reflections

This year's Shiriyah has been absolutely incredible. Our grade came together in such a way that made us unstoppable. The Seniors worked together in unison to achieve the coveted Shiriyah 1st place title, one that we have been longing for since Freshman Year. Our amazing generals, Sammy Kroll, Joseph Mayer, Shira Cohen, and Leah Hazan, recognized that each of us in the Senior class has our own unique talents, and that by utilizing our unique skillsets, we would emerge victorious. And winning is exactly what we did. Whether it was dominating intellectually in Trivial Pursuit and Chess, physically in Boys and Girls Soccer, or artistically in Banner, we succeeded because we were together as one, focused on achieving a common goal. I look back on the beautiful moments of this past Shiriyah, such as after mincha on Day 2 when Abigail Mottahedeh and Claudia Tawil delivered amazing speeches and divrei Torah. Or when Jeremy Gorjian (aka DJ Gorj) got on the set and won the DJ Competition. And of course when the Seniors all joined in at the end of the amazingly-coordinated Boys Dance performance.

Nevertheless, many of these happy moments were met with a bittersweet feeling in our hearts, as it finally hit us that these were our last moments together and that our time at North Shore is truly coming to an end. I still recall the beginning of my freshman year, when Dr. Vitow and the faculty told our grade that in the blink of an eye, we would be graduating. I didn't believe it at the time, but here we are now as a class about graduate and embark on new adventures. As our General Shira Cohen said “This year’s Shiriyah was truly incredible. As seniors, we made the most of each moment, knowing it was our last. We worked hard and we worked together, putting our best foot forward. We were truly unbeatable. This is an experience I will never forget and I am so thankful I had the opportunity to participate in it. Thank you so much to all those who put it together so beautifully!” I could not have put it any better than that. We are the Seniors, the grade that has had to endure two years of Covid-19, yet still persevered and made it here to finally achieve that win we were so longing for. I still remember the scene after Mrs. Septimus’ announcement of our victory. Many of my peers burst out crying, both out of joy and pain, knowing that we will soon embark on our own paths. I want to personally thank all those who put together such an amazing Shiriyah! You not only brought joy to the entire school, but also enabled the Seniors to understand the power of coming together as a grade in pursuit of a common goal.

Finally, a message to the Senior Class of 2022- we have had such an incredible 4 years together, with ups and downs along the way. Each and every one of us has their own unique abilities and strengths, but when we join together, there is nothing, absolutely nothing, that can stop us. I still can’t believe that we will all be graduating so soon. May we the Seniors, as well as all the other grades, learn from this Shiriyah the power of Achdut, unity, and that of coming together in such a beautiful manner.

Thank you for an amazing 4 years at North Shore.