On Friday April 1, middle school students were shocked to hear from Mr. Hus that they would need to participate in additional MAP testing…but it was all a ruse and instead they had color war breakout!
The overall color war theme was “Hashem Chose Us.” Students spent two days exploring the themes of slavery and redemption as they relate to the story of Yetziat Mitzrayim.
Both teams, yellow, Geula (redemption) and red, Avodah (holy service) explored these ideas and the heroes associated with these themes. Students gave beautiful divrei Torah about being ovdei Hashem and the ideas of geula as it pertains to Pesach. Additionally, each team was tasked with creating an art project and stop motion video that depicted their team theme, and performed two songs (one Hebrew song and one original English song).
Students competed in a variety of fun activities from sports to trivia, puzzles to skills competitions and more! More important than any competition though was the beautiful display of teamwork, collaboration, sportsmanship and midot tovot by each and every participant.
“One of our proudest moments is watching our students shine in areas outside the classroom. Color war has something for everyone, whether it is expressing creative talents on a canvas, competing on the courts or displaying their Pesach knowledge in the chidon, there is an event for every student,” said Melissa Appel, director of Students Activities.
“This was a bonding experience for our grade since this was our last color war at MDS,” commented Mayah S. and Claire L.
Students joined together in the beit midrash to present their projects and songs. Rabbi Genack spoke about how everyone is one united Team MDS and sang the MDS song and “Acheinu,” with the eighth graders from both teams sharing the stage in this emotional finale.
Team Avodah, the red team, was ultimately announced the victor. However, every single one of the MDS students were winners in this year’s color war. Thank you to the generals and teachers for their commitment and dedication to their teams.
