by: Ary Hammerman ’25
TLS’s annual Yom Iyun, a day of learning, was held on Friday January 5th, and centered around the topic of sports. Along with staff advisor Sami Mazo, a student committee composed of juniors Hayden Cohen, Ari Mayblum, Leah Raich and Maya Gitnik, and senior Aliza Sapiro Polishook, were responsible for planning this day. They contacted potential speakers, coordinated logistics, and helped spread the word to the student body of the importance of a Yom Iyun.
Communications chair Hayden Cohen helped to prepare for the Yom Iyun in a variety of ways, and prior to the day, she was looking forward to seeing her hard work come to fruition.
“It’s been a big group effort, we have had a lot of meetings and we have been planning this since last spring,” Cohen said. “We have put so much time and effort into planning this and we are excited to show everyone.”
Student body president Aliza Sapiro Polishook also helped plan the day, and specifically worked on deciding what the theme of the Yom Iyun would be.
“The way that we chose the theme was that we wanted something that was interesting for students and would pique their interest,” Sapiro Polishook said.
The day featured a keynote speaker, breakout sessions, a career panel, and the TLS tradition of bubble soccer. The breakout sessions included both movement based-activities and traditional speakers on a variety of topics, ranging from sports journalism to marketing to gender equality in sports. This ensured that any type of student was able to find a session they were interested in.
This was the second Yom Iyun for junior Sidonia Rotenberg-Schwartz, who was surprised by the variety in speakers.
“As a student who is not very involved in sports, I found it very inspirational,” Rotenberg-Schwartz said. “We got to hear from many different people, who were involved in the sports industry in different ways but all left major impacts on the spheres they influence. I especially enjoyed the career panel.”
While the day was mostly planned by students, faculty at TLS also held an important role in running the Yom Iyun. Mr. Bassin, Dr. Kay, and Mrs. Mazo were all involved in the preparations for the day, and the maintenance and cooking staff also helped ensure the day ran smoothly and that everything was set up.
Mrs. Mazo, as the faculty advisor for student government, sat in on some of the planning meetings and helped think through any issues that came up.
“I was their partner,” Mazo said. “But, the students really did an amazing job.”
As the student government term comes to an end, President Sapiro Polishook is proud of the work that she put into planning the Yom Iyun.
“Even though my term’s ending, I won’t stop working on projects at TLS,” Sapiro Polishook said. “This day showed a lot of unity and I am so proud.”
