With 48 hours between touchdown and takeoff, the Genesis Fellows of Kehilla High School took New York City by storm, this past week, for their freshman class trip.

After landing at the La Guardia, Kehilla’s five freshman (and chaperone) drove into midtown Manhattan’s Museum Of Modern Art (MOMA), one of the world’s largest art museums, followed by a visit to the Diamond District, dinner at KD46, and then up to the Washington Heights neighborhood, where students experienced New York’s little Dominican Republic, on the west side, and then Yeshiva University, on the east. The night ended with a visit with Rabbi Dov Lerea, one of the founders of the famous Heschel School.

The second day began at Ground Zero and the 9/11 museum, followed by lunch in Chinatown and then a stop at the Tenement Museum, where students toured two apartments belonging to immigrants from Poland and Puerto Rico, both from the famous third wave of immigration. From there the group experienced Lower East Side pickles, at the Pickle Guys and then walked up to the High Line, a former, raised New York Central railroad spur that has since been turned into a green park. After eight and a half miles of walking, students cabbed up to Times Square, had an early dinner at Le Marais, kosher French steakhouse, and then were treated to Hamilton on Broadway.

With only half a day left, students woke up early, and visited the Statue of Liberty and then off to the airport.

In many ways, the trip was a true reflection of the values of Kehilla: making connections between disciplines and across cultures, learning more deeply about the world around through exposure and conversation, and building our own community through positive experiences. The trip brought the students closer together and looking forward to future school adventures.

Below: Aaron Cheng, Carson Pounds, Xavier Rodriguez, Ava Sassser, and Isaac Simpson, explore the sights, sounds, taste, and smells of New York City on their freshman class trip.