CYHSB WEEKLY

Cooper Yeshiva High School for Boys

Volume 17, Issue 11

Cooper Clicks

Page 3

The Triumphant Return of Chess to the CYHSB

Page 4

CYHSB Steak Dinner: An Unforgettable Experience

Page 5

Weekly Riddle: Word Wheel

Page 6

Parshas Beshalach: The Importance of Gratitude

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This week’s Weekly is sponsored by Avi Becker in honour of his father’s Birthday this Shabbos.

Nadav Lowell (’25)

It's that time of year again, the temperature has dropped below 40 degrees, and to many southerners it’s starting to feel like we’re living in the Antarctic. That’s right: the city was hit with another ice storm warning this past Tuesday. To many, this warning brought back memories of last year’s storm, which resulted in many community members losing power. The

“Now,” those from more northern areas might ask, “how can an ice storm warning cause the city to shut down and supplies to disappear as if we were in a hurricane?” In order to answer this question, we must stop and take a moment to appreciate the fascinating world of ice and snow removal in Memphis, Tennessee.

Did you know that there are 800 functioning snowplows in the state of Tennessee? However, and unsurprisingly, just eight of those are in the entire city of Memphis. We used to have more, but due to our local administration's brilliant decision-making, they've been left to disrepair. Also, let's not forget about our outdated plows that don't even fit the new fleet of service trucks. Don’t worry though, there’s still some good news: have you heard about the state's new secret weapon against ice on the roads? They are now mixing the normal salt mixture with beet juice. This is a revolutionary new idea which will allow the salt to stick to the roads much more easily and is less harmful to the environment than the previous chemicals that were used.

Now, while this sounds like an amazing and useful innovation, Memphis’s salt trucks only target the “primary” roads. So if you live on a secondary road, or if you are a student who for some inexplicable reason was forced to attend the CYHSB on Tuesday morning when the rest of the building and city was shut down, you're on your own. Let's look on the bright side, companies as well as other businesses are donating essential machinery such as snow plows and other utility vehicles in an attempt to clear away the ice.

Even with the city-wide shutdown, many CYHSB students have taken advantage of the weather and are spending their time in multiple creative ways. Canadian and sophomore Nathan Greenbaum said, “Coming from the north, I wasn't expecting snow, and I definitely wasn't expecting a snow day. It's great having a break from work during the school week.

Members of the AP art history class all breathed a cool sigh of relief when we heard the news that school was canceled as it gave us all a few more days to prepare for our unit exam.” While those more studious types took the snow day as an excuse to get more work done, many students found new ways to enjoy the ice. Many CYHSBers had fun slipping and sliding around the school junglegym and swing set, hunting for icicles, and sledding down icy slopes.

This icy week has given students a much-deserved and needed break, but at the same time it has shown us the true values of our school and our city. Even though it was hard for many, there were still a lot of students who made the attempt to come to the school for a few hours to learn Torah and daven, making the best of a difficult situation. Even though the city of Memphis is ill-prepared for these types of circumstances, which seem to be appearing more frequently, people and businesses have done their best to try and help others by donating equipment or by just offering a helping hand. May we all take this opportunity to learn that even if a seemingly bad situation comes our way, we can always turn it around for the better.