BY Baltimore - new rule

amother

Mocha

Mon, May 13 2024, 6:29 pm

amother Oleander wrote:

Baltimore absolutely needs a 3rd girls' school. Why can't the OCA parents form at least a 3rd high school?

Well I’m an OCA parent and know nothing about opening up a school so…. I guess no one else does either? Or wants it badly enough to go through all of the insane hard work I’m sure it entails?
I wish I were that person. But I’m just not. Sad

amother

Scarlet

Mon, May 13 2024, 6:49 pm

amother Ballota wrote:

I could be so so wrong but the person who said that - I wonder if they are one of our NY transplants. That was a very un-Baltimore kind of thing to say.

Nope Baltimore native here.

What I mean by standards is that BY is just overall frummer. Still a community school but they are just more strict. It probably stems from the differences between a boys school and a girls school. Also, TA highschool is small and not the automatic feeder high school. BY highschool is very large and is considered a continuation of middle school. Also, the frummer boys go to TI and there is no equivalent for girls so automatically, there is a frummer crowd at BY that isnt represented at TA. (Although I hear dynamics are changing at TI)

Therefore they have lots of enforceable rules that dont happen at TA high school. Ex: I think the girls cant go to pizza shops with friends Sat night. No such rule at TA. There is a stronger technology policy at BY. Other things I cant recall at the moment.

amother

Scarlet

Mon, May 13 2024, 6:52 pm

amother Oleander wrote:

Baltimore absolutely needs a 3rd girls' school. Why can't the OCA parents form at least a 3rd high school?

Baltimore desperately needs another all girls non bais yaakov school.

They started YMC to be a high school for OCA boys. Why dont they have something for OCA girls? Many end up at BT or SS which is either not religious enough or too far.

amother

Scarlet

Mon, May 13 2024, 6:53 pm

amother Oleander wrote:

Thank you for clarifying. I stand corrected. I am not a current parent and was just going based off of op's statement that women must either wear tights, stockings, or knee highs.

Pretty sure the letter said tights or knee socks.

Someone posted it upthread.

amother

Chicory

Mon, May 13 2024, 7:01 pm

amother Oleander wrote:

Covering your calves is not basic tznius. It is a beautiful and commonly accepted chumrahs, but a chumrah nonetheless, and falls under the category of minhag hamakom.
This is precisely the danger in schools overreaching- people forget what is basic halacha and what is a chumrah. I think chumrahs are beautiful, but only when taken on by an individual's innate desire.

I was told by rabbanim in Baltimore (specifically ones on the vaad of the school) that it is minhag hamakom in Baltimore to wear socks. Not gonna argue back and forth because I have nothing to do with it. Just what I was told

amother

Hosta

Mon, May 13 2024, 8:51 pm

amother Chicory wrote:

Socks, yes. Knee socks/tights, no.

amother

Hydrangea

Mon, May 13 2024, 9:00 pm

amother Hosta wrote:

Socks, yes. Knee socks/tights, no.

I know it goes back to probably the 1970s or 1980s but adminstrator at B.Y. told my class (in the 90s) that the reason that the school allowed the girls to wear short socks was because that was the psak given by R' Yaakov Kamenetsky as the basic halacha of what needed to be covered per school dress code. I know at a certain point the school changed that to knee socks (due to outside pressure from parents, nothing to do with a new psak), but if that's the psak the school was given it makes sense that short socks would be considered the minhag hamakom still.

amother

Pumpkin

Mon, May 13 2024, 9:04 pm

amother Hydrangea wrote:

And not to mix two threads…I believe it was also Rav Yaakov who started girls having bas mitzvah parties. I heard that was also controversial.

justforfun87

Mon, May 13 2024, 9:40 pm

Here's the thing. There is an upcoming event for mothers. I strongly am against this rule but I am also not interested in stirring things up to be disrespectful. I won't be wearing knee highs though so I guess I'll be breaking the new rule that was apparently just made up.

amother

Pumpkin

Mon, May 13 2024, 9:43 pm

justforfun87 wrote:

It isn’t a new rule.
They’ve sent out letters like this before.
Why are you so against it?

amother

Coffee

Mon, May 13 2024, 9:55 pm

justforfun87 wrote:

But the wording isn’t a rule. It’s a “we kindly request”

amother

Scarlet

Mon, May 13 2024, 11:00 pm

justforfun87 wrote:

You wont be the only one. I will also be there sockless and tights less.

and I just reread the letter. it says "we request" it doesn't say "you must"

amother

Cinnamon

Tue, May 14 2024, 1:36 am

amother Navyblue wrote:

Wow, I grew up in Baltimore when there was no uniform in elementary school and in HS we could do whatever we wanted as long as we wore the uniform. Sandals with no socks, nail polish, etc.
Several mothers did not cover their hair.
A couple families were not shomer shabbos.
Some girls wore pants outside of school.
There were no rules for parents or for the girls outside of school.

I was there many years ago. But must’ve been after you.
I remember 27 years ago the rule for nail polish was: clear, light pink and buttercup (I wonder how many on here remember that)
And by highschool families had to be shomer Shabbos. Exceptions were made for Russian immigrants.
As I wrote earlier we had to wear socks.
And we definitely had rules out of school. Girls were kicked out for hanging out in certain places at certain times. Some were not allowed to graduate or asked to leave bec they didn’t follow the rules.
It wasn’t a free for all.

amother

Razzmatazz

Tue, May 14 2024, 1:45 am

I remember Rabbi Zweig standing on stage and talking about the nail polish. Yes - buttercup - lol what a memory.

But I don't remember any rules being communicated about behavior outside of school or girls being kicked out and not allowed to graduate.

Bnei Berak 10

Tue, May 14 2024, 8:31 am

amother Cinnamon wrote:

Nail polish was permitted in school? Surprised

Times have definitely changed (guess the colors were more refined in those days)
What did buttercup look like?

amother

Pumpkin

Tue, May 14 2024, 8:39 am

Bnei Berak 10 wrote:

Nail polish was permitted in school? Surprised

Times have definitely changed (guess the colors were more refined in those days)
What did buttercup look like?

Light pink is allowed in middle school and high school. No nail polish in elementary.