By Shoshana Louzia – 04-28-15
Magen David Yeshivah High School sets aside one day, towards the end of every school year, for the 12th grade girls and their mothers, to highlight the importance of mother/daughter relationships and how they can be improved. To guarantee a girls-only event, the boys left the school to spend the day playing paint ball.
The girls had a wonderful day planned for their moms, which included a home-made video, brunch and games. Early in the day, they made beautiful challah, which were true masterpieces. When their mothers and grandmothers arrived, the girls led them to tables to watch the cute video. There were smiles all around when the mothers saw that their daughters had made the video and it contained photos of each mom with her daughter and a few of the girls reciting why they appreciate and love their mothers. Later on, brunch was served, and everyone had a great time, bonding and schmoozing.
As brunch came to an end, everyone received a flyer which explained how to speak with one another in a proper, respectful manner. Once that was read aloud, it was time for some games! Mothers and daughters were called up as a pair and given a controversial scenario which they were required to talk out to reach a mutually satisfying conclusion. The game was fun, but there was a greater purpose to it. The teachers were watching to see if the students remembered what the flyer said. They did; everyone spoke respectfully as they resolved their conflict.
Finally, the girls had a unique surprise for their moms. Before the program began, every girl wrote why she appreciates her mom on the back of a Styrofoam puzzle piece. Once the girls gathered all the pieces together and put them in the right order, the giant puzzle was flipped over and formed a strikingly beautiful painting.
Everyone had a wonderful time, but it was a bittersweet event. After years of special programs at Magen David, this was the last; it was the end of an era. In less than a month, the girls would be off to interesting internships and then everyone would meet one last time for graduation.
