Every grade is prone to be excited before embarking on a Shabbaton, and that was certainly the case for the Sophomore grade. On November 30th, tenth graders arrived to school as they always do at eight o’clock, but instead of carrying backpacks into the building, they were lugging overnight duffel bags. Unlike last year’s Freshman Shabbaton, all nerves were parked at the door as students exhibited excitement for the weekend. Avigail Dupont ’21 noted, “This year’s shabbaton was different because everyone was familiar with the scheduling and each other, which made the weekend more enjoyable and allowed for more quality time to be spent with the grade as a whole.”

Like every Shabbaton, the weekend began on Friday morning with a gradewide davening. Afterwords, sophomores traveled on two buses towards the Berkeley Oceanfront Hotel in Asbury Park, New Jersey. Their first stop was the Jersey Shore Arena, where sophomores had the chance to go ice skating and eat pizza. After ice skating, the sophomores made their way to the hotel. As expected, the girls headed to the lobby after doing their hair and makeup to take pictures before the start of Shabbat. As the sun began to set, sophomores had the chance to flaunt their a pre-shabbat ruach by participating in an Oneg. After singing and dancing, the sophomores davened Kabbalat Shabbat and ate a delicious Shabbat dinner.

The theme of the this year’s Sophomore Shabbaton was “choice.” Sophomore Grade Dean and biology teacher Ms. Dashiff explained the different levels of decision-making that occur inside the human mind, as well as the importance of making rational decisions by not letting old fears take root. Sophomores seemed to appreciate the chosen theme, noting that it felt especially relevant to their lives. Samantha Sinensky ‘21 said, “I thought the theme of the Shabbaton was very appropriate. Ms. Dashiff touched on a very relatable topic that resonates with kids in high school.”

After Ms. Dashiff introduced the Shabbaton’s theme, the sophomores split up into their session groups. The first session meeting focused on comparative decision making. After individual sessions, all the groups joined together to play a modified version of the game “two truths and a lie.” There were four teacher on the stage each telling a variation of the same story, but only one of them was telling the truth. Three students questioned the teachers to find out which one of them was  telling the truth. After a few laughs and lies, sophomores were able to, play board games, hang out, and enjoy dessert. The night ended with a midnight curfew.

The following morning, teachers woke students up for Shacharit. The whole grade prayed together and heard two beautiful Divrei Torah. Afterwords, the students broke out into their second session. The second session focused on trying to connect Parshat Vayeshev with other sources. The purpose of this activity was to give students the necessary material to craft a Dvar Torah. This culminated in a Dvar Torah Competition, in which each group chose one representative to present his or her Dvar Torah before a panel of judges.

After lunch, the sophomores were able to hang out with one another or go on a beachside walk with Dov. As Shabbat came to a close, the grade sat in a circle and sang songs in unison. The singing continued into Motzei Shabbat and finished with Havdalah, during which the grade danced together one more time.

That Saturday night, the sophomores ventured to Bounce, an indoor trampoline park located in Deal, New Jersey. Adorned in glow in the dark shirts, the sophomores bounced enjoyed jumping off walls covered in trampolines, playing slam dunk basketball, and scarfing down pizza. The Shabbaton-hype came to an end after the buses departed from Bounce and began to make their way towards the Upper School. All in all, it is clear that the Sophomore Shabbaton was an astounding success and a weekend to be remembered by the entire grade for years to come.