Signing Off for Finals (and Summer!)

by Shir Levenson SSLI '26

Dear Readers,

It’s that time again–time to sign off for the summer. This year truly flew by, and we are so grateful for our team’s hard work. Between the daily editors, staff writers, and writers who helped pitch in when we needed a hand, the year was made possible because of the time and effort everyone put in.

We want to take a moment to thank our graduating seniors, the five editors, and two staff writers who passed down the baton to our new team just a few weeks ago. Ellie, Carly, Yael, Risa, Sasha, Hannah, and Talia, thank you for everything you did. From editing and writing, to guiding us as we moved into our new roles, this smooth transition could not have been easier.

As we transitioned to a new staff, in addition to our new editors, we also gained three new staff writers. Sam, Gavi, and Rebecca rose to the occasion over the past few weeks and have been strong additions to our team. We look forward to continuing to work with you next year!

The Editors and Staff Writers for the 2025-2026 school year. (S. Thorgersen)

For many of us, this school year was not easy. Whether it was college applications for our seniors, or tests and quizzes for the juniors and sophomores, we persevered. On top of the class assignments, club commitments, and after-school sports, we stuck to keeping you, our readers, updated on all the happenings here each day.

We would be remiss if we didn’t acknowledge the hostages who are still held in Gaza and the war in Israel. This was a tough and painful year for Am Yisrael and our Schechter community, who advocated for the release of Omer Neutra HY’D, one of our alumni. When we found out that Omer was killed on October 7, 2023, the community was heartbroken and devastated. But, we came together to mourn and support one another, and we are still fighting for his release.

We pray for the strength of the IDF and safety in Israel. We also hope that, by the time we return this fall, the hostages will be home and there will be peace.

May our students, teachers, and administration have a fun and relaxing summer. We can’t wait to see you in September when we present our traditional first post of photos from our school retreat!

Signing off,
Shir Levenson

Shir Levenson is a writer for Paw Print Now and has been published on the site since December 2022. Shir is currently a junior at Schechter School of Long Island and can be reached at the following email address: slevenson26@schechterli.org