Penina's Favorite Article of the 2024-2025 School Year

 by Penina Charry, SSLI '27

Editor’s Note: PPN continues a tradition of winding down our year of reporting by celebrating each editor’s favorite post. We invite you to follow the link to the celebrated article.

My favorite article from this past year was “Schechter Hosts Memorial Service in Honor of Omer Neutra” by Sam Levenson. Although it is heartbreaking that Paw Print Now had to cover it, Sam did a great job connecting the readers to Omer and reporting on the service.

Before he explained the memorial service itself, Sam shared that Omer was a graduate of the SSLI Class of 2019 and was a proud Zionist. Sam detailed how Omer joined the IDF in order to serve the country that he loved, and that he soon became a tank commander. On October 7, 2023, Omer was tragically killed by Hamas terrorists after his tank was hit. Sam’s short but informative introduction allowed readers to understand Omer’s dedication to the land of Israel and to the Jewish people.

The entire Schechter community was devastated by the news of Omer’s death, and Sam’s reporting on Omer’s memorial service allowed readers to understand just how beloved Omer is to our school. Sam spoke to different students who all felt like the service helped them get to know Omer better. He was able to combine their individual thoughts and feelings to create a complex article. At the service, teachers and some of Omer’s classmates shared their favorite memories of him, highlighting his funny and friendly personality. This allowed students to feel connected to Omer even if they did not know him personally. 

Staff writer Sam Levenson is today's celebrated writer! (S. Levenson)

Sam wrote that, to end the service, the school community sang Acheinu and Hatikvah together. Afterwards, people were able to write letters to the Neutra family. Sam interviewed a variety of students and teachers, and effectively brought their words and feelings together to create a sense of what the community was feeling.

Sam did a great job capturing people’s emotions during the memorial. As a new staff writer for PPN, Sam will continue to write more amazing articles next year!

Penina Charry is an editor for Paw Print Now and has been published on the site since October 2023. Penina is currently a sophomore at Schechter School of Long Island and can be reached at the following email address: pcharry27@schechterli.org