Gazette Spring 2015.indd - Harkham Hillel Hebrew Academy

Transcription

‫ב"ה‬
Harkham Hillel Hebrew Academy
Spring 2015
Teach. Empower. Inspire.
Aviv 5775
Volume 8, Issue 2
Video Production Laboratory Presents
Arutz Hillel
Right:
Seventh
graders
Maya
Schapira
and Ari
Hillel has a brand new news channel! It is called Arutz Hillel, and the VPL which stands for Video Production Laboratory - is the group of students that work Schlacht
film a
to produce each news segment. Through this brand-new news channel, we report
segment
what is currently happening at our school and in the Hillel community. We are to be
creating new segments on events and activities that are going on at Hillel. Even included
though VPL has an elective time on Fridays, many students devote their time
in an
during recess and breaks, as well. In Video Production Lab, we learn ideas and
episode
concepts to filming, editing, and publishing. Arutz Hillel is 100% scripted, filmed, of Arutz
edited and produced by Hillel students.This process currently takes us about one Hillel.
Both
month from start to finish.
students
are
Our first segment came out on February 21, 2015. The team introduced Arutz
involved
Hillel and gave a taste of many more shows to come. In our first episode, we
in the
showed how lucky our school was to have distinguished guests visit our school,
VPL.
Maya Schapira, 7th Grade
such as Senator Joe and Hadassah Lieberman, and Chief Ashkenazi Rabbi David
Lau. We then introduced the COW (Computer On Wheels). Lastly, we showed
the championship victory of the boys’ varsity and Junior Varsity basketball teams.
Our second episode came out not long after. In the second episode we covered
three stories. The first story was about Hillel hosting a shloshim for Rabbi
Gottesman. Our next story was on the third graders’ wax museum unit. And our
last segment was on the middle school’s science fair. (Continued on p 16).
Hillel Launches Robotics Program
Talia Myers, 7th Grade
Left: Sixth grader Joey Blumofe
tests out his robot after
programming it on a laptop
computer.
Can you imagine what it would be like to be in a class where you do robotics? Earlier this year, the
seventh grade girls’ class completed a robotics unit in science class. In the robotics unit, we started
off by building a basic robot and we had also had the option to build a puppy, a gyro boy, and a
color sorter. My group decided to build the puppy.
In order to build the basic robot, you have to follow the steps that are given to you on the
computer. After building the robot, you have to create your own program so that the robot is
programmed to do different things. Once we build the robot and create the program, we have to
write it in our journals.
Something that you can learn from the robotics is that you are learning how to build the robot and
you are also getting to know what pieces you are using. You can also learn that you can program it
in such a way that it can actually do things in real life. For example, when we built the basic robot,
my group had to go back a few steps because we did something wrong. Something that I learned
from this unit of robotics is that you have to have a lot of patience because if you don't have enough
patience, it will be really hard for you. When doing the robotics program, I learned that every step
you do is very important. For example, if you put a piece in the wrong place, you have to go back
and fix it because it affects the next step.
I spoke with the teacher that is directing
the program, Mr. Irons, and he shared his
experiences and what he thinks about the
robotics program. At the beginning of the
interview, we spoke about why he wanted
us to do the robotics program and he
responded that robotics is a way to the future
and he wants us to learn about how you are
supposed to program the robot.
(Continued on p 16).
2
‫ב"ה‬
Community life
The Hillel Gazette
M
essage from Student
Council
Dear Students, Faculty and Friends,
The Hillel Middle School Student Council (STUCO) has had
an action-packed last few months. We began the month
of Adar with dressing up the week of Purim. During this
time the Bat Ami did an amazing job decorated the atrium
with the theme of Israeli candies. One more thing on Purim
week was a beautiful Megillah reading led by Rabbi Boruch
Sufrin.
One trip student council is remembered for is our Purim
trip. This year, we took everyone in middle school on an
exciting adventure to Jump Sky High for a day packed with
jumping. During this trip, we had a chance to have fun with
our friends, and connect with our teachers and Rabbis.
Finally, the annual Brandeis Bardin/Color War trip was a
huge success! The day was filled with ruach and fun, and
really brought the middle school and our community together. Both teams, tzanchanim and golani, had amazing
times. After we had an awesome BBQ, followed by a series
of songs sang together to end the day off.
Look out for more exciting activities that we will have in the
next few months!
Thank you all for your tremendous support,
Hillel Middle School Student Council
Written by Jacqueline Englanoff and Josh Mintz, 7th Grade
Hillel Gazette Staff
Talia Myers
Etai Shachar
Liam Abucasis
Rebecca Cohen
Contributing Writers
Yonah Berenson
Eleanor Moheban
Sarah Nachimson
Mitchell Hoenig
Talya Heyman
Shirin Neman
Yaelle Shaye
Shawn Partovi
Rena Harkham
Jake Wainburg
Joey Blumofe Sabrina Jahan
Tala Moradian
Avital Sarir Dana Even
Shmuel Kligman
Nicole Klausner
Daniel Suriel
Gideon Gordon
Uri Cohavy
Leah Sarir
Hannah Shaye
Emunah Garmaise
Bracha Garmaise
Rebecca Wizman
Celine Basiratmand
Jacqueline Englanoff
Shlomo Bookstein
Jonathan Krombach
Isaac Herskovitz
Gabriella Gomperts
Benjamin Sarir
Leah Golfiz
Gazette Faculty Advisor
Hebrew Faculty Advisor
Head of School
General Studies Principal
Samantha Pack
Rabbi Y. Boruch Sufrin
Dalia Golan
Jason Ablin
Judaic Studies Principal
Rabbi Yahel Tsaidi
Hebrew Language Writers
Talia Abel
Emma Mackler Atara Cohen
Mia Fishbein Rebecca Rabbanian
Michelle Navi Barak Kaplan
Gabbi Stein
Shirin Neman
Rachel Simon Rena Harkham Liam Abucasis Rebecca Wizman
Tamar Shriki Abby Blumofe
Shawn Partovi Doreen Harooni
Penina Waghalter Shlomo Bookstein
Jacqueline Englanoff Noa Nelson
Tala Moradian Nuria Kerendian
Eleanor Moheban Amir Maman
Uri Cohavy
Shmuel Kligman
Mia Fishbein
Meagan Rabbani
Michelle Navi Elisheva Ferszt
Noam Barnes Kayla Cohanfard
Sabrina Jahan Talia Myers
Gabriella Bentolila Shmuel Kligman
Eitan Ulitzky
Alya Shriki
Haim Oliel
Yaelle Shaye
Sarah Ratner-Stauber Elie Ibgui Maddie Adatto Celine Basiratmand
Abbi Sentchuk Bella Ferszt
Benjamin Edidin Rebecca Cohen
Ella Keller Roy Vivat
Jordana Glouberman Bracha Rosenberg
Spring 2015 Aviv 5775
Lady Hillel Hawks: Volleyball
Leah Golfiz, 7th Grade
Volleyball is an amazing sport at Hillel because most people enjoy it.
Tryouts were a big deal because it depended on whether you get on the
team or not. Everyone had a fair opportunity to try out. When the team
was finally chosen, we were all good, but we could work to be amazing.
In practice we do many things, such as setting the ball, spiking the ball,
serving, and towards the end we play a practice game. When we start
practice we do warm-ups. The first warm-up we do is we run around
the whole court many times for approximately 5 minutes. Then we start
doing jumping drills such as jumping up and touching the net, followed
by push-ups. We also perform walking squats and other fitness exercises.
Next we get partners and we bump and set the ball to them through
various drills. After that, we practice serving the ball over the net.
Finally, we have a practice game.
Communication is very important in volleyball because we need to
know who's going for the ball, so that we know that if someone says
"mine" then we don't go for the ball. At the beginning of the season, our
communication was average and needed improvement. At the moment
we are good with communication but we need a reminder to say “mine”
from our teammates or coaches.
In our first game, it was a little challenging because we had trouble with
saying “mine” and we were nervous. Although in our second game, we
stepped it up and we were outstanding versus Pressman. We improved
in all ways. For instance, we got the job done and did what coach said
and what our teammates said. During the game against Maimonides,
we had an amazing game and we showed a lot of improvement and
hard work. Even though we lost the game, it was still a very close game
and the coaches were very happy. The last game for the 7th graders
was against Pressman. In the game we all did amazingly because we
always tried saving the ball no matter what. Hopefully, playoffs and
championships will be outstanding.
My teammates are working hard for each game. They are working
hard because they practice at home and during P.E. a lot. At home,
even though some of us don't have the equipment, we find a way. For
example, Brittany Marshak uses a soccer ball. Many of us don't have
someone to play with sometimes and if we don't, we use the wall to hit
the ball of off. Captain Jordana Glouberman has been doing a great
job leading us the right way. Altogether, I think each and every one one
of us are doing extremely amazingly and have improved in numerous
ways.
Our managers, Kira Faerstain and Rebecca Wizman, have a big job.
Kira and Rebecca's job is to make sure everyone gets to the games. Kira
and Rebecca make the rides for us to get to the games, and they answer
any questions that we have. They also make sure there are no problems,
and they do the scoreboard at the games, the score sheets, and last but
not least they make sure that everyone is happy. One way they made
sure we got our questions answered is they made a volleyball group
chat. In the group chat we ask questions, and they make us confident
and motivate us by saying, "You guys are amazing," " You guys got
this," "You guys are gonna win!" and much more. Our managers also
give us compliments such as "You did good at practice," "You guys have
improved," and more kind compliments such as “Hope you have a fun
practice." All in all our managers, have been doing a great job in their
big job.
Our coaches are always finding and making ways to get our team on the
right track. They always have good advice, like to keep a positive and
motivated mental focus throughout the game. If we do make a mistake,
they advise is to acknowledge it and move forward. When someone has
trouble with doing something, coach tries either a different technique
to help the player or re-explain, in case perhaps the player didn't
understand. (Continued on next page).
3
‫ב"ה‬
Community life
The Hillel Gazette
"Few Things in Life are Perfect:"
Ms. Elyse Allen's Bone Marrow Donor Story
Jacqueline Englanoff, 7th Grade
Eleven years ago, the current Hillel Librarian, Ms. Allen, had a wonderful opportunity to save a young boy’s life. It all started back when she
attended a conference in Washington D.C., and did a cheek swab for an organization called "The Gift of Life," which is a Jewish organization that
matches bone marrow donors with people in need of it.
Almost two years later, Ms. Allen received an unexpected call from "The Gift of Life," explaining to her that her bone marrow was an exact match
to a 7-year-old boy diagnosed with leukemia. They asked her to go through a difficult surgery, and donate a portion of her bone marrow to this boy.
The only thought she had was that she could save someone's life by this act.
After a long series of health tests to ensure that she was able to withstand this surgery, she was on her way to the "City of Hope" a hospital in
Duarte, about an hour away from L.A. She went through a painful surgery to remove this bone marrow for donation. It was not until two
years after the surgery that the organization asked both parties - the boy’s family and Ms. Allen herself - if they would like to exchange contact
information. Of course, they both said they would love to. From that initial contact, Ms. Allen has used social media to keep constant contact with
the now 18-year-old boy and his family. However, she had never had the opportunity to meet him in person.
Because this boy’s story is so remarkable, his brother decided to write a play based on his brother’s story. This play was entered in a contest in
Germany, and came in first place. Because of this achievement, the play was being shown in a major theater in Mannheim, Germany. When Ms.
Allen heard this news, she decided that this would be the perfect time for her to meet the boy for the first time, and watch the play.
In March of 2015, Ms. Allen, along with her family and some friends, took a trip to Dusseldorf, Germany for this event. Edis, the 18-year-old who
had leukemia, and his family picked them up from the airport, and Ms. Allen and her family stayed at Edis’s house. The next day they all went to
watch the play in Mannheim. When watching the play, Ms. Allen realized how much Edis’s sickness affected the entire family. Even though Ms.
Allen does not speak German, she still felt that the play was extremely moving.
After the show, Ms. Allen, her family, along with Edis and his family, went backstage to meet the cast. Ms. Allen had the opportunity to meet the
character that played Ms. Allen herself! One thing Ms. Allen mentioned was that it was very hard for Edis to watch the play, knowing that this story
is his.
Ms. Allen was in Germany a little over a week. After that day, she traveled together with Edis and his family to Amsterdam and Berlin. Throughout
this time, she was able to hear how thankful Edis and his family were for Ms. Allen. One thing he said that really stuck with her is, "Few things in
life are perfect, and this (everything Ms. Allen did) was perfect."
After this trip, Ms. Allen and Edis have become even closer, and Edis even plans to visit her soon in Los Angeles.
Ms. Allen says that it would be an amazing thing for people to just go to GiftofLife.org or call 1-800-9-marrow and register as a donor, because you
can potentially save someone's life.
Left: Elyse
Allen and Edis
in Germany in
March. This
visit is the first
time that Elyse
and Edis met
face-to-face!
Volleyball, continued from previous page
In the interview I had with Coach Jenna, I asked her what are her best strategies to make
your players better. She explained that we should not get intimidated and know that we
can accomplish. Coach Jenna also does other sports, such as a spinning instructor, a true
passion of hers. She also does long distance running and competes in races. She plays
tennis, soccer and of course volleyball! She says, "I love basically every sport but golf! And
I take frequent group fitness classes!" Both of our coaches are the best out of all and love
what they do.
At the moment, everyone has been working very hard and everyone of us is very proud of
them for doing the best job. I think our team is the best and luckiest team because we get
to have the best managers teammates and coaches.
Right: The girls' volleyball team poses with Coach
Jenna Kinsbursky.
Above: Elyse
and Edis's
family gather
together.
4
Current Events and Community Life
The Hillel Gazette
‫ב"ה‬
Yom Hashoah at Hillel
and in our Community
Rebecca Wizman, 8th Grade
A day of remembrance. “Remember.” Take a second and think of the word
“Holocaust,” and the first words that might come to mind are six million
Jews, killing, no freedom of religion, scary, hiding, camps, and some might
even think of Hitler.
However, the word “Holocaust” has multiple meanings beyond these
words. The Holocaust was a duration of time that was under the power of
a man who certainly hated the Jews, and had killed and separated families
who were identified as Jews. There were many who survived as well as a
tremendous amount who were killed. As part of the Jewish community, and
a student at Harkham Hillel Hebrew Academy, I took part in a ceremony
commemorating the six million Jews who perished, and many Jewish
survivors, which took place at Young Israel of North Beverly Hills on April
16.
In addition, at Harkham Hillel Hebrew Academy, we have the opportunity
every year to commemorate those who perished and join in a minute
of silence. Our Yom Hashoah assembly, which took place on April 15,
expanded on the idea of building a future.
How does one build a future? Of course, there are many different answers,
but one mainly important one that needs to become known, is planning
out your future! After the war, during the time of liberation, many didn't
understand what was ahead of them. A life? A husband or wife? Kids?
Family? Good fortune? Money? A house? For many, it was difficult to build
a future because they had no one to build it with. One must understand that
the past affects the present. Therefore, one must learn concepts and lessons
which were learned then.
For example, a Holocaust survivor at the 70 for 70 Memorial ceremony at
Young Israel on April 16 constantly repeated the importance of "staying
a Jew" and "building your future." As I wondered what had caused her to
continue repeating these lines, she explained quietly that when she was kid
she didn't know what was ahead of her, and even if she wanted to think of
what would be, she couldn't. She said, “I simply couldn't, I didn't have the
chance. I didn't have the time. Neither did I have the choice.” She knew,
based on the faces we made. The way we looked at her and heard her, she
felt our confusion. She could see us wondering, How did you not have the
choice, how didn't you have the time, and how couldn't you? Well, during
her childhood, she was surrounded by hatred toward her, her family, and
the entire Jewish community. Being a Jew, having to hide, and worry about
your family and food gave her absolutely no time to think about her future.
For that, she wants us to think and build our future NOW!
Left: Aaron
Yadegari,
Hillel eighth
grader, joins
community
members at
Young Israel
of Bevery
Hills on Yom
Hashoah.
5
Current Events and Community Life
The Hillel Gazette
Israeli Elections Spark Debate in
Hebrew Classes: My Perspective
Liam Abucasis, 6th Grade
On March 17, 2015 there were elections in Israel. The winner of the
elections, Bibi Netanyahu, was elected for the third time and received
more seats in the Knesset. Well, you might be wondering what are
“seats?” Seats in the Knesset are the amount of voting power you
get when the Knesset decides laws for the country. The extra seats
that Netanyahu received were from Naftali Bennett, who left and
therefore new elections started because Bibi Netanyahu did not have
61 seats in the Knesset.
In Hebrew class, Morah Dalia talked to us about all the different
parties in the Knesset. Two of the parties in the Knesset are the right
and left parties. The right party is the party that Bibi Netanyahu is
involved with. Their motto is that we want peace but Israel is ours
and we don't have to give any land. The left party is the party that
Isaac Herzog and Tzipi Livni are involved in. This party just wants
peace and might give away part of Israel, because they only want
peace.
My personal opinion is that Bibi Netanyahu’s win was a miracle,
because if Isaac Herzog and Tzipi Livni were elected, they would
give the Arab party a say in the Knesset and would reason with
the Arabs for land because they just want peace. Although Bibi
Netanyahu is not the greatest prime minister, the land of Israel
is more secure when he is prime minister. Now you are probably
thinking, How would the land of Israel be in trouble, and how can
we keep Israel safe? It is my opinion that Israel would be in trouble if
Isaac Herzog and Tzipi Livni won the election, because they would
make a deal with the Arabs to give Jerusalem to them. Then, slowly,
the Arabs would take over Israel. Not everyone will agree with me,
but this is my opinion.
‫ב"ה‬
6
Community life
‫ב"ה‬
The Hillel Gazette
Holocaust Survivor Generation Program
Holocaust Survivors
Every year, two classes get the opportunity to conduct an activity with Holocaust survivors.
This year, the sixth grade girls were honorably selected to participate. The date this
occurred was February 26, 2015, which is coincidentally my birthday. The event was
organized by Mrs. Zadok. Four survivors came to our class to enjoy the day with us and
make hamentaschen in honor of Purim. We were also given the task of bringing one
important item from our family history. On the day of the event, everyone was very
excited.
I wrote this poem because we had a special
program on February 26 with Holocaust survivors
visiting our class and I wanted to clarify what a
survivor really is with this poem.
Sarah Nachimson, 6th Grade
We were dismissed early from our second period class to set up for the program. Four
tables were set up in one room, and a circle of chairs was set up in the CoLab in the middle
school. Downstairs, a photographer took pictures of everyone with their special objects. My
artifact was a doll from my grandmother's childhood. Then the survivors came upstairs.
We stood up for the survivors when they walked in the door as a sign of respect. When they
walked in, they sat down at different tables with a few students at each table.
All the survivors who came were women who have been involved in this program before.
The lady who sat down with Kayla Cohanfard, Abby Shafa, Michelle Navi, and me was
Dana. We sat down and started to make hamentaschen with chocolate chips, boysenberry
jam, strawberry jam, and dough created by Hillel's resident baker, Lillian Doueck. We
made a few hamentaschen while we were talking.
Eleanor Moheban, 6th Grade
Sacrificing their past
Unity
Respected
Valuable
Israel pride
Very prepared
Once a survivor, always a
survivor
Responsible
Then, Dana started telling us about her Holocaust story. She had gone to school for one
day and then the war started. She was forced to the ghetto. She ran with her mother for
six years. They hid everywhere. Under the stairs, under a building, and anywhere possible.
She was sometimes separated from her mother. The rest of her family was killed in the
Holocaust. Then we asked her if she had any friends her age. She told us she had one
best friend named Lily with curly hair who was really giggly and bubbly. We asked if she
survived and Dana said, "No, she perished, but she is the reason I tell my story. So we will
remember her. So she will never be forgotten."
Then I asked if she liked to draw and she said she loved to draw. Then I pulled out a
pen and paper and she started drawing. The photographer came over and started taking
pictures. She drew a woman. It was really amazing. (Continued on page 7).
Above:
Sixth
grader
Tamar
Shriki
with
Holocaust
survivor
Eva
Brettler.
7
Community life
‫ב"ה‬
The Hillel Gazette
Yom Hazikaron
Shirin Neman and Nicole Klausner, 7th Grade
We always start our assemblies at Hillel with the Jewish and American
national anthems. Today is the day that we recognize the soldiers of
our country who work day and night keeping us safe. We lit a candle to
commemorate them. Then we all stood and had a moment of silence.
Then, Rabbi Bouskila recited the "Acheinu BaShamayim."
We then watched a video that showed pictures of the soldiers in Israel,
how they fought, as well as showed them crying, praying, and smiling. We
saw and picture of us as a school and how we try to connect to our home
(our choir sang in the background). Adam Sheravi lone soldier. Then a
few of the student came up to the stage and listed what a soldiers must
do, responsibility, human life, professionalism, discipline, reliability, and
dedication to mission in pursuit of victory. This year in Hillel we had an
abundance of IDF soldiers come and speak. We also watched a video on
one man serving in the army and was awarded a medal for risking his
life. We also watched another video in which a girl that just got into the
army and she used to be a Bnei Akiva consul or in Los Angeles and she
said how happy she was to serve her country. Rabbi Zadok's grandmother
made a video on her Aliah to Israel and she said that at the age of 93, she
wanted to be with her own people. She said she was a Zionist at heart and
since she was little. The Zionism in her drove her back to her homeland,
Israel.
A former Hillel student shared her experience over a pre-made video.
She does weapons training, and teaches other soldiers to use advanced
tools and weapons, like rocket launchers. She graduated Hillel in 2009
and went to YULA. She then went to seminary and served her time in
the Israeli army. We also had Rabbi Zadok speak on a video about the
soldiers in the Israeli army. He said we should always honor the army and
their risks for Eretz Israel. Another former teacher that taught at Hillel for
8 years spoke about our homeland and our future in Eretz Israel. We have
to always recognize and support the soldiers in the army who dedicate
their time and effort fighting for our country and making us strong, and
remember that we will all one day all join together in the land of Israel,
our homeland.
Left: Eighth grader
Mia Fishbein reads
one of the values in the
IDF's "Monument of
values," symbolized at
the Yom Hazikaron
assembly as building
blocks.
Yom Haatzmaut 2015
Shawn Partovi, 8th Grade
On Yom Ha'atzmaut, the whole school came together to the yard to celebrate the 67th
birthday of Medinat Yisrael. First, we sat in a square shape around the yard and watched
the 8th grade girls perform their flag dance. Next, we all got balloons and let them go
in honor of the day. After, we all danced in the yard with miniature flags. We also went
around the block waving our flags with pride.
Later, the middle school and 5th grade went on a trip to the Brandeis-Bardin campus.
When we got there, we went to the main room and watched a few videos on Tza'hal.
After that, we were introduced to our teams and were told which ones we were going to
be on. Students we either on Golani (green) or Tzanfanim (red). When each student in
each grade got their teams, we split off into different activities. The activities were: Israeli
trivia game show, potato sack racing, soccer, rock climbing, arts and crafts to create a
song and banners, and a ropes course. When each team finished their last activities, all
the groups of each team came together to be taught the group cheer. When we finished
learning the cheer, all the students went to the semi-circle bonfire. Each group for each
team came to the front to introduce their group flag and song. After, each team came
to front to introduce their team song. We then said mincha. Finally, we ate a delicious
barbeque cooked by Jeff Remer and Rabbi Broner. The next day at the Hillel Voice, the
winning team was announced. They received points for sportsmanship and teamwork, as
well as morals and mission accomplished. Congratulations to Golani!
8
Community life
‫ב"ה‬
The Hillel Gazette
Grandparents and Special Friends Day
Rena Harkham, 6th Grade
On March 13, 2015, Hillel hosted Grandparents and Special Friends Day. First,
we watched a video of the 1948 United Nations confirmation of Israel’s statehood,
which gave Israel their permanent rights to become a state. After the video was over,
some of the grandparents shared their opinions on the video and their memories
of Israel. Ariella Khakshooy's grandmother stood up and said, “Every time I go
to Israel I feel like the country is my mother, and every time I go I cry.” She also
said that she tries her hardest to visit every year, because that is where she and her
daughters permanently made a living off of nothing, and it was a miracle they did.
The next grandparent, Sarah Nachimson’s grandfather, said that he remembers
sitting at the Shabbat table on Friday nights and talking about how Israel became
a state. He said that he remembers clearly the day Israel was named a permanent
state.
After, the kids and grandparents went to the atrium briefly to snack on delicious food
and the grandparents drank cappuccinos. When the eating time was over, all of the
kids from 3rd-8th grade went to the upper gym along with their grandparents and
special friends. While the assembly was getting started we were singing songs like
Shabbat shalom, Avraham Avinu, and vezakeni.
Above: Ariella Khakshooy and her grandmother, ____ name,
share a special moment during the discussion of Israel's statehood
on Grandparents and Special Friends Day.
After the songs ended, Rabbi Tsaidi and Rabbi Sufrin made a conversation
about Israel and the Sabbath. When the assembly was coming to an end and the
conversation was over, we sang more songs and said goodbye to the grandparents
and special friends we cherished.
Overall, Grandparents and Special Friends Day is a day that we all look forward to
and we try and cherish every moment of it because some grandparents or special
friends fly from another city or state, or they travel from far and we don't see them
that often. That is why Grandparents and Special Friends Day is amazing in every
way.
Above: A group of eighth grade girls joins arms with
Morah Zippi Klein during the special Shabbat assembly on
Grandparents and Special Friends Day.
Holocaust Generations
Program, continued from p. 6
Next, we went into the room with chairs set up in a circle to share
our objects. Rabbi Surfin, Hillel’s head of school, walked in to
listen. I shared my doll and said that it was from my grandma
when she was a little girl and my great grandfather had gotten it
for her. Then Dana shared a soup ladle that was the only thing
that she still has from before the Holocaust. Next, another woman
shared a teapot. She said her father had traded it for food, and
the man felt guilty that he had it because he saw the ghetto burn
down so he gave it to a museum in Israel and they had exhibited
it. This survivor said that the museum thought that her family had
perished in the Holocaust. Then, this family contacted the museum
saying that they were alive, so the teapot got mailed to her.
Another survivor told us that her father put her on the police's doorstep and gave her a fake name and said, “Save her in the name of Christ," so
she would not be sent away. She was raised to be a nun. When the war was over, her father rode around Poland for six months on a bicycle to find
her. When he found her, it was the first time she knew she was Jewish. They are making a movie about it.
Some people in our class bought in really interesting objects. Liel Moyal brought in a book her grandfather wrote. He helped smuggle Jews to
safety at night and after the war, he was one of the most wanted men, so he ran to Israel. She showed us her name in the book. Two girls brought
their parents’ head coverings from Iran. Sara Ratner-Stauber brought a five-page article about her great grandparents, who dug bomb shelters
with their bare hands.
After we finished sharing our objects, we ate the baked hamentaschen. They tasted really good. There were so many cookies that they gave out
extra at a meeting of the teachers later in the day. Everyone got at least one. The event was really fun and meaningful.
During English class later in the day, we talked about the experience. Our teacher, Ms. Rudin, connected the event to the next novel we would
read, which is called The Giver by Lois Lowry. She said that memories are really important. We have to revive the memories and keep them alive.
And that is what we did that day. Then, a girl in my class mentioned a memorial in the center of a town in Germany. At the memorial, there is a
gigantic cube for every ten thousand people who died in the Holocaust.
The experience was very important. We are the last generation who will meet Holocaust survivors. When we grow up and get married, we will tell
our children about this experience. It was a very important event that we will remember our whole lives.
9
‫ב"ה‬
Community Life
The Hillel Gazette
Spotlight on: Pre-1!
Eleanor Moheban, 6th Grade
Ms. Better’s and Ms. Dalmia’s Pre-1st class has contributed some of their
time to sharing what kind of material they are learning and how. While
interviewing the class and their teachers, I learned that Ms. Better and
Ms. Dalmia teach their students the material that needs to be learned in
a fun and entertaining way, and that they are able to interact with the
students while teaching.
Hands-on learning is a technique they use to make learning more
exciting. By being able to touch and feel different materials that have to
do with what the students are learning, students are more interested! For
instance, the Pre-1st students made green goo while they were learning
about colors. In addition, Ms. Better’s and Ms. Dalmia’s class does lots
of exciting art projects and activities. For example, they traced their
names and added colored tissue paper to the letters of their names as they
were learning to spell. During the fall, Ms. Better and Ms. Dalmia did a
program where every day, the students would do a different activity that
has to do with fall. For instance, they did a project on parts of an apple
during which they colored and labeled all the different parts of an apple.
Another project they did in the fall was a project with leaves: the students
went out and gathered leaves, glued them on paper, and decorated them.
Something I really enjoyed about their class was that the students were so
eager and enthusiastic to tell me about everything! Most of the students
in the class were able to write their names for me, and some of them were Above: A picture collage, created by Eleanor Moheban,
capable of answering some addition, subtraction and even multiplication showcasing Pre-1's learning experiences.
questions. I gave them the problems from their math book. The students
were also able to pronounce some words from a small book and spell
lots of different words, which surprised me. The Pre-1st class was really
adorable, sweet and eager to share what they were learning, and I am
eager to share that with you.
A Peek into...Morah Elana's Kindergarten Class
Avital Sarir, 8th Grade
I started Hillel in kindergarten, and I was in Morah Elana's class. I remember that class like it
was yesterday: all my friends that I'm still friends with now, the fun activities and projects we
did, and most of all, the warmth and happiness of being in that class. I am now an eighth grader
at Hillel, and I write for the Hillel newspaper. Morah Elana asked me to interview her class.
The moment I walked into her classroom, all of the memories of her class rushed back to me. I
saw all those little kids playing and thought to myself, "Wow! I can't believe that was really me
not that long ago!?" When I walked into her class, Morah Elana looked at me with the warmest
smile, hugged me just like she always did, and told me that once someone is her student, they are
always part of the family.
Above: Ava Azose pretends to be Queen Esther in
the palace we created in dramatic play for Purim.
Morah Elana told me about what her class was doing during their unit, and some of her students
also talked to me and showed me what they were doing in her class. In March in Morah Elana’s
class, the students learned about sound and related this learning to Purim! The class made
groggers by putting beads and gems in water bottles for Purim. The way they related this to
sound was whether or not their grogger made more sound or less sound, and then asking, How
would that work, for the grogger to make more or less noise? Once each student hypothesized
the answer to this question, each one figured out that the less beads or gems they but in the
bottle, the more sound the grogger made. When one of the students was showing me his grogger,
I realized I still have my grogger that I made in Morah Elana’s class!
The students also learned the four mitzvot of Purim and decorated the whole class to represent
the Purim story. Morah Elana also taught her class how sound is made, and she taught them
that sound is vibration. They learned that when your vocal cords move, it makes sound so the
the students got to feel their vocal cords when they were moving. That’s also when they figured
out that these same vibrations happened when they talked, because they were using their vocal
cords when they talked. Then, Morah Elana had the students think of something in their heads
and feel their vocal cords at the same time. By doing this exercise, the students realized that just
because they think about something in their head that’s mean, does not mean they have to say
it out loud, so they are also learning to be mindful of others. Being mindful of others is also very
relatable to the Purim story, because it’s all about people being nice to each other. This unit
teaches students a lot because these are characteristics - such as being mindful of others - that
people carry with them throughout life.
Above: Joey Jahan is very proud of his 'rashan"
(noise maker) for Purim.
‫ב"ה‬
10
Media, Science and Technology
The Hillel Gazette
Augmented Reality at Hillel and Beyond
Liam Abucasis, 6th Grade
Imagine you’re in Mr. Irons’s class and he is teaching you about the heart. He can show you how the heart works - how the heart
brings in oxygen and releases carbon dioxide. He can also show you how the blood flows through the heart. Guess what he is using?
Augmented Reality.
Do you know what Augmented Reality is? Augmented Reality is a four-dimensional experience. I spoke with Rabbi Swigard, who
has experience with Augmented Reality. He told me that Augmented Reality could help both the world and the community of Hillel.
The way it is going to help the children of Hillel would have been unimaginable to think of a few years ago. For example, in Rabbi
Swigard’s class, he is teaching his 8th grade class the topic of the mishkan, and because of augmented reality, he can show his class how
the Jews lived, how they compromised, and how they put it all together. He also said that Augmented Reality can affect the way we
live - it can have an impact on movies, movie posters, transportation, building, companies, and the economy, and such. For instance,
take movie posters: you will be able to put trailers or cut scenes directly onto the poster and experience them. This will make you more
interested in the movie.
One of the companies that creates and uses augmented reality is DAQRI. The 6th grade students of Harkham Hillel Hebrew Academy
were lucky enough to meet two of the main people that create Augmented Reality and use Augmented Reality for pretty much
everything. Their names are Brad Wiad and Drew Minock. They explained that Augmented Reality is something that's different than
other technology items, because other technology doesn’t allow you to “hold” things in your hand like Augmented Reality does. They
also showed us different apps and techniques to use Augmented Reality.
To create Augmented Reality, you need a tablet, such as an iPad (i iPad2, preferably). Then you need specific apps like DAQRI,
Aurasma, Enchantium, Anatomy 4D. You hold one iPad over the second iPad. For instance, if you are using the app Anatomy 4D, the
heart of the body pops up on the iPad for you to learn. The ways you can learn from it are many: if your are learning about the human
heart, you can see where the bold flows through the heart, where the air comes through, and where the air exits - all in motion! If you
are wondering what is the difference between a picture of the heart and Augmented Reality of a heart, it’s this: Augmented Reality
shows how the blood moves through the heart. It also shows what a heart looks like in a plain, clean way. Also, your teacher can teach
you how the heart works and how the blood flows through the heart or how the blood comes in the heart and how the blood leaves the
heart.
You must be thinking: why do we care about Augmented Reality? Well, the reason that you should care about Augmented Reality is
because it will change the way we see the world. Also, Augmented Reality will change the learning at Hillel and the way the teacher
teaches the student.
Microsoft HoloLens: Your Life in 3D
Etai Shachar, 6th Grade
Imagine your life in 3D! Now, technology has finally moved out
from your pocket and into glasses! The Microsoft HoloLens is a pair
of "glasses" that turn your ordinary world way better. For example,
wearing the glasses, you can look on your fridge and see the weather in
four dimensions.
Let me start by saying what a hologram is. A hologram is a moving 3D
projection. It is an awesome three-dimensional experience and can be
used in every aspect of our lives: work, home, entertainment, movies,
Skype and more. First, you put in the HoloLens glasses and turn them
on. If you want to play Minecraft anywhere, instead of seeing the game
on your device, you can now play it in 3D in your living room table!!!
The HoloLens can be used for daily life. Instead of looking at your
smartphone to see the weather, now you can see it In 3D - now that's
awesome.
It's not magic, its better: it's augmented reality! When you buy
something on Amazon, like clothes, and you don't know if they will
actually fit, now with Microsoft HoloLens you can see exactly what the
actual full size will look like.
Right now, Microsoft HoloLens is the world’s most holographic
computing platform, and it is enabled for windows 10.0.
This new MacBook is awesome but not yet perfect. One con about this
MacBook is that if you are a video producer, video maker, or you have
anything to do with video, you are out of luck. The new MacBook is
not good for working with big movie files those are the only cons so far.
As much as Hillel loves MacBooks, Hillel iPads serve a better purpose
for students at Hillel. First, they are better in size to carry. Second, they
are better and less complicated for younger students. Thank you for
reading about the new MacBook.
The New MacBook
Etai Shachar, 6th Grade
Are your sick of the old heavy white MacBook? Well there is some news:
the all new MacBook comes in three colors! It comes in Space gray, gold
and white. Secondly, the MacBook went down in size, 34% to be exact.
34% might not seem like a lot, but it's a lot. On top of that, generally a
lot of people have charging problems with their computers. This new
MacBook features 9 hours of battery standby.
I spoke with Rabbi Michael Cohen, who told me a lot about the new
MacBook. Some more pros are that the new MacBook also features a
great screen resolution, an anti-heating bottom, and force touch. The old
MacBooks used to heat up to a very high temperature, but with the new
MacBook, it has a system to prevent heat and other complications like
that. A great thing that Apple has made for this and future MacBooks is
ForceTouch, for computer artists. ForceTouch is a program that senses
wherever your finger goes and draws. Using the old MacBook, you had to
push down on the trackpad really hard to draw and often times you would
mess up. To sum up, the new MacBook has a lot of good features like
ForceTouch, anti-heating, and screen resolution. (Continued at left).
11
‫ב"ה‬
The Hillel Gazette
Annual Science-Torah Fair
Shmuel Kligman, 6th Grade
What do genetically modified vegetables, self-watering herbs, and compost have
in common? Well, they all made appearances at the Science/Torah Fair this
year. This is an annual event where middle-school students pick topics, research
the information behind their topic, conduct an experiment, and create a poster
board describing their experiment.
There is also another aspect at the fair, and that is the Torah aspect. Due to the
fact that this year is the Shemittah year, all assignments were about rain, fruits,
plants, or vegetables. 7th and 8th graders took a topic related to their project
and added it to their poster board. 6th graders worked in groups to create
projects based on their topics.
They selected their topics in their Halacha class and were given information
about their topic. Then, they wrote a report on the information. The next step
was to make a plan of what they wanted their final project to look like. Finally,
they were given time to see their plan come to life in their own hands.
Above: Eighth grader Rebecca Rabbanian showcases
her Science/Torah fair project to elementary school
students.
Science/Torah Fair
Reports
Annually, our school hosts a Science/Torah fair for grades 6-8.
This year’s theme was shemita, the year we leave the land to
rest. For the Torah portion, grades 7-8 were required to write a
short essay on their poster board about the connection between
their experiments and shemita year.
Sixth grade was required to make a project on components
of shemita year with a few peers. For the science portion, the
students had to conduct an experiment, compose a report and a
write-up, and display their write-up on a board.
"It was different for the Torah Fair this year, because this year we needed to
make it about Shemittah, rather than just selecting any question," says 8th
grader Yosef Talasazan, who was doing his project on whether caffeine affects
the way plants grow. "We needed to do whatever our teacher told us to do for
the questions." I also asked Yosef about whether he knows if different grades
have worked together. "From what I've known, all the grades worked alone for
the last two years," he says.
The younger grades have some big shoes to fill, as they saw the projects that
middle school worked on. "They came over to me and I asked them if they
wanted to know about my project, and they touched the things I brought and
it was interesting for them and for me," says Yosef. However, not only did the
younger grades see the middle school projects, but the parents could see the
hard work their children put into this event. Yosef also said, "I needed to explain
my project differently to the parents rather than the kids. I had to use a different
vocabulary." The younger grades have seen the expectations of the teachers for
the Science/Torah Fair, and are probably excited to get started in a few years.
For the science aspect, the teachers set deadlines for the students for when
different components were due. It was scheduled down to the last day of the
Science/Torah Fair, and was quite orderly.
Next year, the 5th graders will become 6th graders, and we will see new projects
at the Science/Torah fair in the 2015-2016 year. However, we will also say
good-bye to the 8th graders, whose projects have been showcased for three
years.
Fertilized plants: What is the effect
that fertilizer has on our food and
environment?
Purpose:
I chose this experiment because it went with the theme of
shmita year. Also, in an issue of National Geographic, there
was a featured article about the excessive amount of nitrogen in
our fertilizer and how it was causing algae to grow and ruining
beautiful reefs in the ocean. I wanted to test this scientific fact
in an interesting and educational experiment. In addition, I was
interested to learn the significance of fertilizer for producing
crops.
Hypothesis:
I think that there is going to be more growth in the fertilized
plants because fertilizer cause plants to grow quickly and
produce more. I also hypothesize that there will be more
nitrogen in the fertilized plants because fertilizer contains
an excessive amount of nitrogen. There will probably be all
sprouted plants in the fertilized peas because they will have
more of a boost.Only a few unfertilized peas will sprout because
they are not given any growth boosters.
Materials:
Soil, fish fertilizer, egg cartons, peas, water, Nitrogen Soil tester
kit, iPad , ruler, pots, desk, window [for sun].
Written observations:
Day 3
The seeds in fertilized soil
have sprouted.
The seeds in unfertilized
soil have not yet sprouted.
Most of the fertilized peas
have sprouted except four
seeds.
Day 5
Only two plants with
fertilizer have sprouted.
All of the fertilized peas
have sprouted but one
and they are extremely
tall.
Nitrogen testing:
There is a lot of nitrogen
in the fertilized soil, but
not much nitrogen is in
the unfertilized soil.
Methods:
1) Plant twenty-four peas in egg cartons, twelve with
fertilizer and twelve without fertilizer.
2) Water the peas every five days with two cups of
water.
3) Every week measure pea plants height in
centimeters.
4) Takes pictures of pea plants with iPad every other
day to see how many have sprouted.
5) Measure nitrogen level in both fertilized and
unfertilized soils with soil tester kit.
6) Compare growth of fertilized plants to growth of
non-fertilized plants.
Variables:
Independent variable -I only added fertilizer to
certain plants.
Dependent variable - The plants with fertilizer grew
taller and contained more nitrogen. The unfertilized
plants barely sprouted and the soil was low in
nitrogen.
Controlled variable- there was an even amount of
seeds placed in fertilized and unfertilized soil. The
plants all got the same amount of water. Also, they
were all exposed to the same temperature and light
(room temperature and near window).
For Conclusions, see next page.
‫ב"ה‬
12
The Hillel Gazette
Science/Torah Fair Fertilized Plants Report, continued from p. 11
Conclusion:
I have learned a great deal from this experiment. My hypothesis that the fertilized peas would grow more was correct because fertilizer increased
plant growth. Also, my hypothesis that the fertilized soil would contain more nitrogen was correct because when I tested for nitrogen the fertilized
soil had a sufficient amount of nitrogen. But my hypothesis that all fertilized peas would sprout was incorrect because there was an error with one
fertilized pea and it did not sprout. Do not stress over everything or it will become much harder, because when I was stressed about the science
fair it was hard, but when I was relaxed about the science fair it became much easier. Fertilizer has so many negative effects on our ecosystem. It
clogs up our water and poisons aqua life. But it also has many positive effects. It makes plants grow up to two times as fast, and much stronger. In
conclusion, this experiment was quite a learning experience.
Acid Rain & How it Affects Building Materials
Shlomo Bookstein, 6th Grade
Purpose:
I wanted to see how much damage acid rain might do to buildings and their materials. I am very concerned about the environment and the
damage to the trees and plants, but we are also part of the environment as well. If acid rain damages the buildings we live in and we can see
it, maybe people will work harder to stop air pollution.
Hypothesis:
I thought that the metals were going to be not affected and that the porous materials were going to be the most affected by the acid. I thought
that metal was strong and people use a lot of metal in building things to last. The porous items like wood seemed likely to breakdown because
they are softer and more acid can get inside.
Materials:
All the materials are in glass mason jars with metal rings. I chose glass jars because they can hold pressure and do not corrode in contact with
vinegar. Seeing through the glass lets me see the items in the vinegar and if the vinegar changes. I used regular vegetable vinegar of 5% acid.
This was listed on EPA.org as being the same acidity as acid rain. It was not expensive and it is easy to find and it is the closest thing I have
that is safe to be an acidic environment.
I tested different materials: Terracotta roof tile, regular patio brick, sidewalk cement, slate paving stone, treated lumber, brass hinge,
aluminum curtain hook, polished counter-top granite, lathe screw, sinker nail, phosphate covered screw, glass tile.
Methods:
I first weighed and took pictures of all of the materials. I put a piece or an identical item to the ones tested aside for the control item. Then I
put each one in a glass jar with a label. I left the materials outside in my yard in partial shade so it would be in a better testing environment. I
waited three days. I looked at the item in the jar to see if I could notice any change in the item or the vinegar (color, clarity of the vinegar or
pieces of the item coming off). I again weighed each item. I threw out the old vinegar because we wanted full strength vinegar each time. I
took pictures several times throughout the testing to show when there were changes.
Variables:
Independent variable = I tested different building materials: Metal, stone/brick, wood.
Dependent variable = Corrosion of the items or the breakdown because of the acid.
Controlled variable = I left the items outside to be like they would be in real acid rain environment and they were always in a 5% acid vinegar
solution.
Conclusion:
Overall, the metals were most affected by the acid, losing up to 50% of their mass. Metal
also reacted most visibly to the acid, producing carbonation, the vinegar became cloudy
when metals were in it and it made a terrible smell. The metal lost its mass through
corrosion. The exception was the stainless steel hook; it lost no mass but became covered
in white sediment, made the liquid cloudy and made the vinegar stink! The terracotta
tile and brick lost more mass total than the metal, but not as large a percentage of their
total mass. The brick and terracotta pieces crumbled and lost their mass through erosion
leaving grainy pieces on the bottom of the jars every time I changed the vinegar. What did
you learn from doing the experiment? Was your hypothesis correct? Why/why not?
I learned that I was wrong in my hypothesis. A better test for what materials to use in
building in an area with acid rain might be to see if the material reacts with acid, and not
to see how strong it it is or if it is softer (on Moh’s scale) or “tougher”. Also if I were to
do it again I would spray the materials with vinegar and not immerse them. I think if the
items were allowed to interact with air, the changes would be different. The air might mix
with the acid to make more breakdown.
Above: Sabrina Jahan, a seventh grader, showcases
her Science/Torah Fair project to elementary school
students.
‫ב"ה‬
13
ArTs, HumAnITIes And culTure
Model UN
Yonah Berenson, 7th Grade
THe HIllel gAZeTTe
sprIng 2015 AVIV 5775
Right: The Hillel Model
UN team poses with their
countries outside the YULA
Model UN event.
For several years, Hillel middle-schoolers have participated in a Model United Nations
event hosted by YULA. Participants are given a country and a current world crisis
(one which would be discussed in the real United Nations, such as the conflict in Syria),
and they must research their countries' positions on the issue. After a month or so of
preparation, 16 Hillel students, led by eighth grade history teacher, Mrs. Ilana Zadok,
participated in the fourth YULA Model United Nations (YULAMUN). Mrs. Zadok led
all practices and also facilitated self-motivated research at home, though Schoology.
We were introduced to the Model UN program at a Hillel Voice earlier this year. Many
eager future-competitors decided to join, and attended the first practice soon after we
returned from winter break. Mrs. Zadok told us that certain teams she has led in the past
attended because "their best friend wanted to do it," as she put it, but she told us that
we "are all here for the right reasons." She also said that she was confident we would all As the members of the Security Council focusing on
Ukraine were about to vote on a resolution, one of the
research the necessary material.
two Secretaries-General burst into the room. "Crisis,
crisis!" she yelled. Similar proceedings occurred in the
The participants also received much-needed assistance from a YULA sophomore and
member of their Yeshiva University Model UN team. Amira Felsenthal is also a former other committees. The crises ranged from realistic, such
as obscene torture methods being used on imprisoned
Hillel student and Hillel YULAMUN team member. Amira joined the Model UN's
ISIS terrorists, to absurd, such as Gummy Bear pollution!
Schoology course and answered students’ questions. She also usually posted a "Daily
The delegates quickly wrote up new resolutions, and
Tip" in which she addressed one of the most-asked questions posed by team members.
voted on them. Afterward, the conversation returned to
In Mrs. Zadok's own words, "Amira went above and beyond to ensure that the Hillel
the original topic.
students were properly prepared."
The YULAMUN conference took place on March 15, 2015, at the YULA Boys' School,
with Hillel, Maimonides, and Emek students participating. It started at 10:00 a.m., when
members got authentic placards with their countries' names on them, a notebook, and
other accessories provided by YULA. At about 10:30, they entered the Beit Midrash
for the opening ceremonies. Dr. Soifer, principal of General Studies and coach of the
Model UN team at YULA, informed students of their committees' respective locations.
Then each committee focused on one issue. The topics were: the conflict in Ukraine,
the conflict in Syria, the UN Environment Programme, and the UN Children's Fund
(UNICEF).
After a full day of Model UN, everyone returned to the
Beit Midrash for the closing ceremonies and awards
presentations. Two awards were presented for each
committee: Best Delegate and Honorable Mention.
After the conference, all delegates exited the room, all
feeling very accomplished. As Mrs. Zadok later wrote
on Schoology, "Award or no award, you all pushed
yourselves and rose to the challenge before you."
Everyone realized this, and truly took it to heart.
Soon after the Model UN conference, Mrs. Zadok held
a debrief in her room during recess. Mr. Ablin, General
Studies principal, and Ms. Pack, seventh and eighth
grade English teacher, also attended. Students talked
about their experiences at YULAMUN. When asked
what was their favorite part of the day, student gave
various responses. Some said the crisis and caucuses
(when delegates have permission to go around the room
After two hours of debating and persuading, all of the YULAMUN delegates filed
and persuade others to join their alliance). Rebecca
in to the Beit Midrash for a second time to hear a lecture from Mr. Gregory Zlotin,
Wizman, an eighth grader, said she really enjoyed her
YULA history teacher, titled "The Crisis in Ukraine." Mr. Zlotin presented his unique
perspective of the Ukrainian-Russian conflict, providing all listeners with an intrinsically committee's icebreaker, during which delegates were
interesting keynote address, but the talk especially appealed to those whose topic was the informally asked something about themselves. Jonathan
Krombach, another eighth grader, said his favorite
conflict in Ukraine.
experience was the speech by Mr. Zlotin. Students were
"Lunchtime is work-time!" Mrs. Zadok had told her team before the conference. And it also asked what they felt was challenging, and how they
"stepped out of their comfort zone." Many of them said
was. Delegates quickly grabbed their lunches, but did not sit down. The entire student
that despite having prepared speeches, the conversation
lounge was abuzz with conversation, with each delegate convincing the other why he
or she should sign the other's resolution. After lunch and mincha, everyone returned to took unexpected turns, and their speeches became
irrelevant. Sabrina Jahan, a seventh grader, said it was
their committees and resumed proceedings.
hard for her to go up against the whole room and stand
up for what her country believed in.
Others said public speaking in general
was hard. Celine Basiratmand, also
in seventh grade, said next time she
would try to overcome this obstacle by
practicing beforehand in front of her
family and friends.
Once in their committee rooms, some students immediately embraced the atmosphere,
which was very formal, as in the real United Nations, while others were very nervous,
and some even admitted that they were literally shaking at the beginning. But soon,
all the participants were speaking with confidence and fluency. They began making
alliances with like-thinking nations. Not after long, certain participants were taking the
lead, and began drafting resolutions to solve their issues.
All in all, the Hillel YULAMUN
team members had a great time at
the conference. As stated by Eitan
Ulitzky, a sixth grader, on Schoology,
"YULAMUN is the best!!! I want to go
next year and eighth grade too!" Mrs.
Zadok also stressed that the conference
was not only fun for the participants,
but also great preparation for the "real
world."
14
Features
‫ב"ה‬
The Hillel Gazette
Students in Grades 3-8 Love Writing Mystery Stories!
Faculty advisor: Dr. Elizabeth K. Glass
Jonathan Kellerman Author Visit
Inspires Mystery Writers
Yaelle Shaye, 5th Grade
Above: Fifth grade students work on their mystery stories as part of Dr.
Elizabeth Glass's program.
Mystery Story Beginning (Untitled)
Jonathan Krombach, Shawn Partovi, and Daniel
Suriel, 8th Grade, and Uri Cohavy, Shmuel
Kligman, Shlomo Bookstein, and Joey Blumofe,
6th Grade
Hillel had the honor of having Dr. Kellerman, a renowned mystery
author, address the students and their parents on April 28. He spoke
about many things, including how he had always enjoyed writing when
he was young and how he had not, in fact, started out as a novelist, but
as a psychologist. His talk will help me greatly in the process of writing
my mystery story. Dr. Kellerman inspired and encouraged me with his
talk and I will be sure to use his advice and to remember to always push
forward and work hard.
Dr. Kellerman told us about his childhood. He said that he attended
Harkham Hillel Hebrew Academy. He also went to UCLA. While he was
growing up he knew that being a novelist wasn't a very dependable job,
and, in truth, it isn't. Instead he got a PhD in psychology.
As I looked down at my guitar and started tuning the strings, I saw the reflection
of someone on the instrument’s polished body. A person, arm outstretched, was
holding a mandolin case above my head, ready to strike me. As I continued to
look, I saw mountains, and then I woke up. Let me introduce myself. My name is
Spartacus Octavius Jerome, III. I am an acoustic guitar teacher.
I don’t usually get nightmares like this; it really shook me up. But, I still had a job
to go to. On the way to work, I saw a flyer for a music competition. The reward
for winning was $500,000. As I saw the flyer I thought to myself, “I can always
use extra money for my investments.” I took down the flyer and stuffed it into my
back pocket and almost forgot about it. Almost.
Right:
Jonathan
Kellerman
speaks
with the
3rd-8th
graders in
the library
about his
career,
and offers
writing
advice
to young
writers.
As I was teaching guitar to one of my long-standing students, his mother
suddenly said, “My child is doing really well at the guitar, I’d like to give you
something as a way of expressing my appreciation. Do you need any extra
money?”
He spoke about how he writes crime novels, but that all authors
have their own style of writing. he emphasized that we shouldn't
“Actually, I need some money for a new guitar. I plan on entering a music
base our stories on what critics say. In fact, Dr. Kellerman
contest and my odds of winning would be increased if I had a new one because doesn't pay attention to the reviews. He told us that it is okay to
this one is pretty beat up.” I replied.
have different styles of writing and that we should write what we
enjoy. He also said how he had tried to "write what he knew" and
The next day, while I was doing laundry, I spotted the flyer in my back pocket. I he wrote a psychology book and guitar book.
called the number, wanting to find out more information. We started out having
a chat but then I said, “Let’s get down to business. About this musical contest,
This visit was meaningful to me because I got to hear a person
may I enter?”
speak who had first hand experienced the process of writing. His
talk taught me many things that will be tremendously helpful to
The man replied, “I am sorry, but this isn’t the theatre you want. This is Bob
me during my own process of writing.
Fickelstein. I can give you the theatre’s number because there was a typo on the
flyer. Lots of incorrect calls, you know.”
Titles are a very special topic and they came up in one of the
questions. Dr. Kellerman told us that a title and a cover is an
Spartacus said, “Thanks for your help” and the man on the line said, “No
advertisement for your book. You have to make it special and
problem…Spartacus.”
unique so that a reader will pick your book out of the many,
-many others on the shelves. (Continued on next page).
The Heist
Gabriella Gomperts, 4th Grade
Chapter 1.
Scarlet Barnes woke up at exactly 7:47. She liked to remember what time she woke up. She felt it was nice to know what time her day started and
what time it ended. It completed her day.
She is excited because today is the first day of winter break. No more homework and no more bullies (A.K.A. Hanna Heet!) for a whole week! Most
people think its crazy to wake up so early on a Saturday, but Scarlet wanted to savor every moment of it.
The only problem was that she had no idea what to do.
Scarlet put on her slippers and walked down the stairs of her charming, old New Orleans home. She got to the kitchen, where her dad was watching
the news. Scarlet listened to the newsreader as she poured milk over her cereal. "A priceless portrait of Marie Antoinette was stolen last night from
the New Orleans Museum of Art, also known as N.O.M.A. Detective Neville Glass is on the case. (Continued on p. 17).
15
‫ב"ה‬
Features
The Hillel Gazette
The Worldwide Hack
Isaac Herskovitz, 3rd Grade
1.
11:35, AM June 4, 2012: Osaka, Japan- a man, mid 30s walked into the
shop.
As the door closed, he said “ Hello. I am Shane Abe. I am visiting from
Halifax.”
“Hello”, I said. “I am Sensei Fukuda. What would you like?”
“ I was hired by a man named Benny Stein. He is recruiting you for
something .”
“Ah, yes. The hacking.” I replied. “ I got the e-mail.”
Three days before, Junichiro Fukuda had gotten an email from
Benny. He was “employing” men to help hack governments.
“Well, we are going to visit every country that we hack in person.” Shane told
me.
“OK. It will be risky, but fun. Which country is first?” I asked.
“South Korea. Mr. Stein’s boat is waiting in the Harbor.”
As Junichiro walked towards the yacht, little did he know what was ahead.
2.
June 6 2012, 11:35 pm: In city of Pohang, South Korea Just
unloading cargo in port. - I have met all the crewmembers.
These are my accomplices:
1. Benny Stein: 6”1, Mid 40s. He says he used to live in
Bucharest.
2. Milan Tádic: 5”5, Blue Eyes, British POW. 42
3. Melinda Chirac: 5”9, Green Eyes, Stein’s Girlfriend, 32
4. Jen Tádic: 5”8, Blue Eyes, Milan’s Wife. 40.
June 7, 2012: 12:00 AM. We checked into Appletree Hotel
about 5 minutes ago under Sam Arbor (Benny), Sapphire
Arbor (Melinda), James Diablo (Milan), Shelby Diablo (Jen),
and I am Mike Arbor-Diablo.
The Boy Who Cried, "Burglar!"
Left Roni Shiff,
fourth grade,
created a cover
for her story
"The Wedding
Mystery!" using
BookCreator.
Jonathan Kellerman Visit,
continued from previous page
One of the highlights was when he spoke about his very first days
in writing and how he had to constantly work between psychology
and writing. I will forever remember when he quoted Thomas
Edison and said, "Genius is one percent inspiration, ninety-nine
percent perspiration." Dr. Kellerman explained how he had worked
hard as a psychologist and had started his own practice and then,
after realizing that he could not juggle between the two jobs of
writing and psychology, he switched permanently to being a full
time novelist. He went from working on his stories late at night to
working on them 3, 4, and 5 hours a day. He worked very hard and
didn't quit after 13 or 14 years of not having any books published.
After all of his work, he got 46 books published and 36 were on the
New York Times Bestseller list. I believe that Dr. Kellerman is a
perfect example of Edison's quote and I believe that he is a great
person to look up to as a role model, in both his writing, his hard
work, and his perseverance.
Left: Gal
Cohavy, fourth
grade, created
the cover for
his mystery
story using the
BookCreator
app.
Gideon Gordon, 3rd Grade
Not so long ago, in the 1960s, there was a boy named Alex. Alex was
a weird kid, he wore shorts instead of bellbottom pants and he had
short hair instead of long. Many people bullied him or made fun of
him. He wanted to get back. He wanted to do something about it.
Yesterday his dad gave him $200 as a present and he put it near
the window and went to the bathroom. He heard some noise and
assumed it was a squirrel. He got out of the bathroom and found his
$200 were gone. Alex calls his dad and the cops. About 15 minutes
later the cops and a detective and his dad come. The detective was
20 years old; he was new to the force. Alex tells the detective to check
Sam’s house. He says, “It was most likely Sam. He is a grumpy old
man.
They went to his house and see a 200 dollar bill right on the couch.
That is all we need to see. “Sam, you are under arrest for stealing
$200.”
On the way to the police station, where no one can see, Sam said,
“You know it can’t be me” and he shows them his badge.
The detective says, “How do I know that isn’t fake?”
They go to the police station to see if Sam is a secret agent. Just as
they are about to reach the police department they get a call saying
another crime similar to the other one had just occurred but this time
the victim’s stuff was smashed. There was a note with magazine letters
so you won’t know who wrote it stating,” If you ever want to stop me
you’ll have to pay me $10,000. Leave the $10,000 next to the statue in
the park on Jefferson Boulevard and Washington Drive.”
Back at the police station they find out that Sam really is a secret
agent. They say sorry, take him home and tell him to watch over the
city very carefully.
A day goes by and cops have to pay $10,000 or else the criminal
will steal money from other people and break things. Sam gives the
cops an idea. “We can make our own money that looks real, but our
money will have Abraham Lincoln on $10 bills, Benjamin Franklin on
$1 bills George Washington on $100 bills and Thomas Jefferson on $5
bills.”
They left the money at 10:00 pm near the statue. The burglar takes
the money, looks at it to be sure it isn’t fake, and sees the wrong
people’s faces on the bills.
“Those cops are going to pay!”
The criminal rushed into the richest man’s house and steals $1,000;
he breaks the fancy mirrors and typewriters and throw everything on
the floor.
‫ב"ה‬
16
Features
The Hillel Gazette
VPL and Arutz Hillel, continued from front page
Around Pesach we introduced our first "special" episode. It covered how the Hillel community cleans and prepares for Pesach. VPL interviewed
Mrs. Ciment, visited Pico Glatt Mart, and met up with senior Rabbi of Beth Jacob to talk about information on Mechirat Chametz. Alexis
Newman, the history teacher for 6th and 7th grade, is the faculty advisor for the VPL and Arutz Hillel. Most of the filming takes place in her
classroom under the professional lights and green screen. Mrs. Newman helps the students organize and schedule interviews. She also escorts us
when we need to do filming off-campus. VPL is an extracurricular activity for kids who want to be creative movie makers. In the beginning of the
year, VPL had about 11 students. As students started to see our work, more people joined and continue to do so.
Right now, we have about 20 students working on different segments. We currently
have five executive producers: Ben-Tsion Oliel, Ari Schlacht, Maya Schapira,
Sabrina Jahan and Joey Aynesazan. An executive producer’s role is to take care
of all aspects of the process, including planning, making sure stories are finished,
editing, choosing music, filming and photography.
As part of the VPL team, I had the opportunity to interview Mr. Jason and Mrs.
Lisa Gruenbaum who are the donors for the VPL program. Some of the questions
I was able to ask them were, "What interest you about VPL?" and "Do you have a
favorite episode that we've published?" Jason and Lisa feel that the opportunity for
students to get in front of the camera is important. (Continued on next page).
Robotics, continued from front page
Mr. Irons stated that you have to be confident and when you are doing the
robotics program, and while you do the program, your self-confidence is
building up. A thought that he had about the first year was that even though it
was the first year, it was a big success. Next, we spoke about his opinion on the
robotics being interesting he shared that part of learning the robotics program
is that the students learn about engineering and the students should have a
journal to record all of the programs that the used to program the robot. Lastly,
he said that the robotics program really taught the students about perseverance
and that if you encounter a problem, you will have an easier time solving it.
I thought that it was very interesting to meet Mr. Mauck and see what he thinks
about the robotics program and the elective that he is running. As I started
the interview, I asked him what influenced him to start the robotics program
and he answered that he likes the ability to make it hands on. Going more into
the interview, I asked him how he prepared for the program and if he went
to a workshop to learn about the program. He shared that he had a training
with an instructor from Palm Springs and he said that he is planning to go to
a robotics program this summer. Also, I asked him what he thinks the students
are learning from the program. He said that it helps them with problem solving,
math applications, and teamwork. Lastly, I asked him if he thinks that the
technology of the robotics system helps and why. After asking the question, he
responded that he thinks that it helps because it gives the students the ability to
test their math quickly through trial and error.
I thought that it was really cool to interview Talya Heyman to see what she
thinks about the robotics program. At the beginning of the interview, I started
off by asking her what she made. In response to my question, she said that she
built the basic robot. Also, she mentioned that she spent most of her time on
the programs. Going further into the interview, I asked her what her robot
did. She said that there was a sensor on her robot that was used to pick things
up. Another question that I asked was how she enjoyed the Robotics Program.
She shared that she really enjoys when she works really hard with her group
to make the program and then it actually works. In other words she said that
it's worth doing it. I continued by asking what her experience was when she
did the robotics program. Her response to this question was that she made a
program that wasn't so accurate so the robot made weird moves, fell off the
table, and they had to rebuild it in result of it breaking. Another question that
I asked her was if it was easy or hard. In response to this question, she said that
it wasn't hard all the time or easy all the time, because they did different things
throughout the different classes, it depended on what they were working on. For
the next question, I was trying to get her to think more about the question that I
was asking. I asked her how robotics connects to the world today. Her response
was that the world is changing a lot and robots are used for many different jobs
such as amazon warehouses. Lastly, I asked if the robot worked the way that it
was supposed to work and if it didn't was it frustrating. Her response was that it
wasn't so frustrating because if something was wrong, she always tried to fix it
with her group member until it was right.
I interviewed sixth grader Joey Blumofe about his experience in the robotics
elective. As I started the interview, I asked him what he build and what his
robot did. His response was that he built a robot that can move blocks in any
direction once it was programmed. (Continued on p. 22).
Above: Deborah Littman, a fourth grade teacher at Hillel, is
interviewed by the VPL crew for her segment on an Arutz Hillel
episode.
Robotics,
continued from front page
‫תלמידים‬ ‫ראיינתי‬ ‫אני‬ .‫בטכנולוגיה‬ ‫להתקדם‬ ‫שלנו‬ ‫הספר‬ ‫לבית‬ ‫חשוב‬ ‫זה‬
‫אם‬ ‫היימן‬ ‫טליה‬ ‫התלמידה‬ ‫את‬ ‫שאלתי‬ ,‫לדוגמה‬ .‫חושבים‬ ‫הם‬ ‫מה‬ ‫לבדוק‬
‫קשה‬ ‫או‬ ‫קל‬ ‫היה‬ ‫לא‬ ‫״זה‬ ‫אמרה‬ ‫היא‬ .‫הרובוט‬ ‫את‬ ‫לבנות‬ ‫קשה‬ ‫או‬ ‫קל‬ ‫היה‬
‫ללמוד‬ ‫כדאי‬ ‫לדעתה‬ ‫״‬.‫הכיתות‬ ‫בכל‬ ‫שונים‬ ‫דברים‬ ‫עשינו‬ ‫אנחנו‬ ‫כי‬
‫במדעים‬ ,‫במתמטיקה‬ ‫שלהם‬ ‫בידע‬ ‫משתמשים‬ ‫התלמידים‬ ‫כי‬ ,‫רובוטיקה‬
‫איך‬ ‫מבינים‬ ‫הרובוט‬ ‫את‬ ‫שבונים‬ ‫התלמידים‬ .‫אחרים‬ ‫ובמקצועות‬
.‫חושבים‬ ‫הם‬ ‫שבה‬ ‫הדרך‬ ‫את‬ ‫לשנות‬ ‫עוזרת‬ ‫הטכנולוגיה‬
Above: Seventh grader Jacqueline Englanoff programs her robot for a
robot race against her classmates. (Although her robot did not win the
race, she did program it to sing!).
17
feATures
‫ב"ה‬
THe HIllel gAZeTTe
Mystery Stories, continued
Secrets Within the Chip
Yaelle Shaye, 5th Grade
Inside one of the most secured laboratories in the world a highly skilled scientist was
finishing one of the latest, most advanced pieces of technology ever created. A metal
chip, that acted like a usb, that could install its own security, have fingerprint and facial
recognation, cameras, contain all the pentagons secrets, and could most possibly be any
scientist's highway to fame. Inside the third floor laboratory of the pentagon Victoria Dare
stood hunched over a lab table. She brushed her bangs behind her ear, pushed aside her
shortly cropped, shoulder-length black hair and gingerly placed the thin red wire into the
small 2 ml by 2 ml metal cube, that was attached to the chip. This was very fragile work.
But however fragile it may be it was still amazing technology. Sparks flew as Victoria
connected the rest of the wires. She had done it. Feelings of accomplishment and pride
rushed through her. Excitement filled her body as she turned around and faced Conrad
Maplen, who was just a few ranks higher than her in their work at the pentagon. In other
words, her boss.
"It is done." She said.
"The wires are attached?" Conrad questioned her[“
“Conrad questioned her, his auburn curly hair partly hidden behind his newsboy cap, his
hat making him seem taller then his normal height-5'10".
"Yes."
"Are they secure?"
"Yes."
"The security?"
"Better than on the diagram, Conrad." Victoria grinned while saying this hoping that he
wouldn't catch the happiness in her voice when she said Conrad instead of sir.
"Excuse me?"
"Better than on the diagram sir." Victoria winced as she said it as if it the words were
difficult for her to say.
"Give this to Phineas. If he says it is in need of more security then bring it back to me. If
not then drop it off at the safe." Conrad told her, shifting in his laboratory chair.
Victoria grumbled in frustration as she walked out of the room, on her way to show their
newest creation to the head of the pentagon. Conversations with her boss always ended
this way. And she hated it.
"Oh, and Victoria?" Victoria heard Conrad call from behind the door. Hope fluttered
inside of her like a swarm of butterflies. This could be her big break. One reward from her
boss, one promotion, was all she wanted for completing what
“what was to be one of the greatest technologies of the pentagon. She turned.
"Fetch me a venti soy vanilla latte from the lounge on the way back."
Before he had finished his first words Victoria felt her hope deflating inside of her. The
pack of butterflies had just gotten stopped from flying, from going from flower to flower.
Promotions did not start with, "Fetch me a venti soy vanilla latte." Victoria turned on her
heels and stormed out of the room, angry beyond belief and with no intentions of bringing
him that latte. To be continued...
Arutz Hillel, continued from p. 16
Jason says, "The idea we had when starting this program was to give kids
another way to advance their opportunities using technology." Lisa has a little
bit of experience in video production. She majored in broadcast journalism
at NYU. She also had worked at Good Morning America and Access
Hollywood. Lisa says, "I see the value in it & seen where the world has gone".
She feels lots of children like to see news in a YouTube type format. Jason
and Lisa came up with the idea of "VPL", on an airplane. "We didn't have
wifi on a flight, I'm serious." Jason said. Mr. And Mrs.Gruenbaum feel that
seeing the older kids presenting, and talking about things that are important,
inside and out of their day to day lives is incredibly valuable.
VPL also gives kids an other outlet for their creativity in a way they may
not get usually. Lisa explained, "It's a very different kind of media - it's just
another way to express themselves, which I think is valuable." They thought
that Arutz Hillel would be something a little bit out of the box. The last
question I asked Lisa and Jason was, "Is there anything you want us to add
to our news channel?" They answered "The goal initially was to have a 9
to 11 minute segment, including Isreal news. This can happen as students
get more comfortable with the process, and to expose the students to more."
VPL will hopefully one day achieve that goal. VPL and I would like to thank
the Gruenbaums for their time with the interview, and for their generous
donation. We really appreciate it.
In addition to the new segments on Arutz Hillel, Video Production Lab
also produces and works on other films, including holiday specials. VPL is
a wonderful opportunity for Hillel students to work together to provide our
community provide valuable information while using cutting edge technology.
Above: Lehava Segal's cover, made in Book
Creator, for her mystery story.
Above: Daniel Sentchuk, a fifth grader, designed a cover for
his mystery story titled "Murder After Curfew...".
The Heist, continued from p. 14
He says there's not much evidence, but he promises to get to the
bottom of the case. Now Gary Hale, with the weather. Any rain
tonight Gary?"
Scarlet was so absorbed in the news, she didn't stop pouring the
milk and it was overflowing! She snapped back to reality when she
felt something wet soak through her slipper. She looked down and
she immediately stopped pouring the milk.
"Shoot," she muttered. Her dad heard her and looked over the
counter. He frowned.
"Sorry," she murmured, avoiding her dad’s gaze.
He helped her clean it up while he muttered something about
wasted milk.
But she was smiling. She knew what she was going to be doing
during winter break.
Chapter 2.
It was perfect! Her parents didn't care where she was. She knew
a ton about mysteries. And, Neville Glass was the worst detective
ever! She was going to solve the case! If this plan (which she hadn't
figured out yet) worked, she might even be in the paper! Let's see if
Hanna Heet could top that, she mused as she ate her cereal. To be
continued...
18
Arts, Humanities and Culture
The Hillel Gazette
‫ב"ה‬
Theater Review: Lifeboat
Dana Even, 7th Grade
Three words that describe Lifeboat; thrilling, powerful, amazing. Lifeboat is a play
that was recently shown at the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts.
With several props, two women act out a captivating true story. The tale is centered
on two adventurous teens, Bess Walder and Beth Cummings, in Germany, during
World War II. The 15-year old girls have the opportunity to go to Canada by ship,
and leave the solemn and bitter Nazi-controlled country. They board the craft on
September 14, 1940. Along with many other hopeful children, they have the time
of their lives inside the boat, with games, singing, and unlimited food.
However, four days after boarding, the ship gets torpedoed, causing flames and
chaos to erupt. Crew workers try to assist the children, throwing lifeboats into the
ocean with frightened kids inside. The two girls clung on to dear life in the rough
seas. With not much hope, they force themselves to survive and wait for help.
Continuing to fill the audience with suspense, Bess and Beth see a boat in the
distance, wave and try to capture some attention, but it is all pointless, for the boat
turned around.
The girls are not far from giving up when, after nineteen hours, a helicopter finally
spotted them and their upturned boat. As a result of the bombing, many children
died and only eleven survived, including Bess and Beth. The play concludes by
showing pictures from the actual event.
Above and right:
Photos from the
show Lifeboat,
depicting the
emotion of the
performers.
Lifeboat has an interesting setup as well. The play goes back and forth between
totally different scenes. One second, they are talking about how noisy the girl’s
brother is and a second later, they are clinging on to their lives. The play begins
with mostly showing what types of lives Bess and Beth had, discussing their family,
their interests, and their personality. This clever script captures the attention and
keeps you thinking, “What’s going to happen next?” In addition, even if acting
a tragic event, the show provides some jokes here and there, sometimes even
mocking the unimaginably harsh, and insane lifestyle. Not only is Lifeboat a truly
heartwarming play, but it is also a fun way to teach and create awareness of this
World War II event.
My Experience with Contact Lenses
Tala Moradian, 6th Grade
I remember my first day with contact lenses was the best. It was like looking at the world in a
clearer way without glasses. I went to the doctor’s office, scared but excited, and I just waited
until the doctor called my name. As soon as they called me in, they sent me to this machine.
The machine’s job was to measure my eyes. I was a little scared because the doctor said there
was going to be a little puff of air going into your eyes. When the air went into my eyes, my
eyes felt really good. After the doctor measured my eyes, we went into other measurements
with my glasses. The reason she measured my glasses was to see if my glasses became too
weak. I was so excited to see the world in a clearer way.
After they checked my eyes to see which type of contacts I should have, the doctor told me
to lay back because she was going to put contact lenses in my eyes. I was freaking out! I felt
like she was about to poke my eyes! Of course, I was just overreacting, and she easily put it
into my eyes. I blinked, moved my eyes around, rolled my eyes, it felt different, in a good
way. My parents told me to look around, make sure I was comfortable and it was really
great. It felt great to see without having my glasses. After the doctor talked to me, she told
me someone was going to teach me how to put them in, take them out, and care for them.
Taking the contact lenses put was very hard but putting them in was quite simple and easy.
They told me that if I don't keep the contacts clean, they could effect my eyes in negative
ways.
So they told me to try them out for a few weeks. I had to make sure the contacts were
comfortable and after a few weeks, they were just right. I really did not like the way my
glasses looked on me, so that is why I decided to get them, so no one would have to glasses
on me. I would not really wear the glasses often in public, but when I would talk to my
friends I sometimes wore them. If you really want to try something, I say go for it, even if the
outcome isn't what you were hoping for, it is still worth a try. You can never blame someone
for trying.
19
‫ב"ה‬
The Hillel Gazette
Persuasive Writing in Fifth Grade
Fifth graders engaged in a persuasive writing unit earlier this spring. These are
samples of their writing - get ready to be convinced!
March 9 2015
Dear Mr. Ablin,
Have you ever wondered how much better our school can be? Did you know there's a
43% better score average by only doing one easy thing? Finland used this strategy and is now
educated the best in the world. Hillel should give us more recess because it supports health,
academic achievements, and prevents long term consequences. Hillel must give us more
recess.
One reason you should give us more recess is because it supports our health. First of all it
supports healthy bones and muscles. It also reduces the chances of obesity and other diseases.
Finally, recess reduces depression and anxiety and promotes well being. As you can see
recess will make health better at Hillel.
My second reason that you should give us more recess is for academic reasons. According
to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), students who have more recess
have 43% better scores on tests. Another study proves that they feel 20% safer. A last fact to
support this is that schools that give more recess have 34% less time to transition. If you want
Hillel to have a good academic record, give us more recess.
My third and final reason why you must give us more recess are the long term
consequences. An example to support this is another study by the CDC, which concludes
that 15.2% of high school students don't play 60 minutes a day, 7 days a week, which is low
considering they have sports teams and P.E. and recess. Another detail to support this is only
20% of 12th graders participate in P.E. My final example to support this is by looking at
these statistics, you can see that exercise declines as young people age. You need to change
kids when they're young - you must help. You talk about what a good Hillel graduate looks
like. If you care about the success of your students after they leaves the walls of Hillel, you
must give us more recess. This is my final reason why you must give us more recess.
I know what you're thinking; the kids are not going to have enough class. However it will
turn out that from a bigger break, kids will actually learn more. By giving kids more recess
it will decrease transition time and you won't lose any class time. It also brings a feeling of
calmness. These are all reasons why there is no downside to giving us more recess.
I think I convinced you that because of health, academic, and long-term reasons, you
must give us more recess. If you agree you should, right here and right now, change our
recess schedule to an extra ten minutes, a five minute addition to each of our fifteen minute
recesses.
Your student,
Jake Wainberg
Dear Mr. Ablin,
A Look Back at
Kindergarten
Rebecca Cohen, 6th Grade
It had been so long since I was in kindergarten that
I had almost forgotten what it was like, until I went
to interview the kids who are in kindergarten now.
I found out a lot about what the kids like, what they
don't like, what exactly they do, and how different it
is from my kindergarten.
I had three questions to ask them in order to fully
understand what they think of kindergarten. The
first one was: what is your favorite thing to do or
learn in kindergarten? Then I asked them: what
is your favorite project to do in kindergarten?
My last question was: what do you not like about
kindergarten?
There are three kindergarten classes. The first one
I went to was the one taught by Morah Diane, who
was my reading teacher in second grade, Morah Ally,
and Morah Tirza. When I walked into the classroom,
I was a little hesitant to meet these children. But
when I saw them happily bouncing around and
talking over each other to answer my questions, I felt
a lot more comfortable.
I asked them my first question about what they
like about kindergarten, and the kids immediately
started answering. They had many opinions, and
everyone was eager to share about their favorite
part of kindergarten. My first answer was "Playing
outside" which was said by Adam Yellin. Then Adelia
Moheban, whose older sister is in my class, said that
she liked "learning to clean up". The next answer,
reading and writing Hebrew, was said first by Josh
Heuman then eagerly seconded by Sasha Mittman,
Noah West, and Olivia Feinblume. Maya Brodt said,
similarly, that she loved to learn and write all of the
Hebrew sounds. Jacob Anynesazan said that he loved
playing with the toys. Chaim Hecht said that he loved
his kindergarten classroom. Noah West said that he
loved playing soccer after school. Lastly, Barry Fox
said that he loved to draw pictures. Then I went on to
my next question. (Continued on p. 20).
Hillel is a great school but there should be some changes. Most schools in
America don't have uniforms and their students can show their personality, And
don't you want your students to be like that? Then maybe the school should
change their uniform policy. I believe the uniform policy should be changed
because students don't get to share their personalities, and uniforms can
negatively affect their learning.
Students come to school with Hillel pride when wearing uniforms. Well,
then maybe students can have Hillel pride and show their personality when not
wearing uniforms. It's important that students should feel unique about what
they are wearing . Students should be able to express their feelings about what
they are wearing. Students should be creative because once they get older, in
their future they will need to be creative. As I have heard, "The most creative
ones are the most successful ones." This is why I think students should show
their personality.
Students come to school mainly to learn and uniforms can easily get in the
way. When students come back from recess hot and sweaty in uniforms, it can
distract their learning.
"Putting an outfit together” is a form of a problem-solving that could translate into school work. It can also affect learning in general. This is why I
think uniforms can affect learning.
Some of my ideas might not connect with you, but you should know how students feel when wearing uniforms. I think students should express their
feelings, because when they are older, they will need to and if they don't do it now, when will they? You might say that students will feel differently,
but in general, kids need to express their character. As you say in the Hillel portrait of a graduate in every classroom, there is a topic called
CHARACTER and it says, "the Hillel Graduate is committed to Zionist ideals and supports the state of Israel." And uniforms can get in the way.
Sincerely,
Leah Sarir
‫ב"ה‬
20
The Hillel Gazette
A Look Back at Kindergarten, continued
An ongoing project that this classroom is working on is a project on life cycles that Morah Diane is doing with them. This was explained to me by
Barry Fox. They take a 3-D model of what they are learning the life cycle of and draw out it's life cycle on a part of it. They first learned the life
cycle of a human. They learned that we go from a baby to a toddler, then to a child, then to a teenager, then to an adult, then to a senior, then we
pass on. Next, after they finished learning about the life cycle of a human, they learned the life cycle of a frog, because the timing was so close to
Pesach. A frog goes from an egg, to a tadpole, learns to hop, grows larger, and continues to hop around the world. After Pesach break, they learned
the life cycle of a butterfly.
The kids on the first classroom were so excited to go to their recess that I only got one answer to my third question, asking about what they don't
like about kindergarten. Adelia Moheban said that she didn't like having to sit down for too long.
I walked out onto the yard with this class so that I could talk to more kids. The next kids that I talked to were from the classroom taught by Morah
Rakefet, Morah Andrea, and Morah Riki.
Before I even asked them what they liked about kindergarten, there was a group of kids clustered around me. When I asked them the first question,
they got into a line in front of me and started talking, one by one. The first person to share their thoughts was Michael Dweck, who said that he
loved to "play with Legos". Immediately, Eriz HaLevi and David Sinai "me, too!"-ed. Eriz HaLevi said that he also likes the bikes that are brought
out during recess. Next came the girls, Hannah Sinai and Zoe Hayoun, who both said that they liked the magnet tiles the best. Lastly, Barron
Weiner said that he loved "Kitchen and outside time and everything else". So I went on to my second question. Jacob Hami said that his favorite
projects were painting and markers. Janie Toiserkani and Sienna Goldman agreed that their favorite project in kindergarten is coloring. And then
the last question came along... What they don't like. Talia Corn thought for a second then answered, "nothing". Aww... Lilly Terzi had a very
different idea. She replied, "Hebrew".
Then I went to the last class, the class that I was in the first year that I came to Hillel, the one that made me think of my classmates as my second
family. This class is taught by Morah Elana, Morah Mehri, and Morah Charlene. I have amazing memories of this class, and playing in all of the
stations on the classroom. Up until this year, the teachers in this class have made personalized photo books for and about each child in the class,
including both me and my little sister, Leah, who is in second grade here at Hillel. These photo books include pictures of the child playing in each
of the Learning Stations. These stations are fun, but they also have a learning purpose. For example, in the center for dramatic play, they learn how
to use their small muscles from putting on dress up clothes, they understand people's roles in society from pretending to be grown-ups, and they
learn to group objects in categories from separating cups and plates at clean-up time.
As I started the last (but definitely not least!) class of my interview, I was taken back to my kindergarten in a very special way. When I asked them
the first question, as with the other classes, they were very excited to reply. Ayala Katz-Bick, whose older sister, Aliza, is in Leah's class, said that
her favorite part of kindergarten is playing in the writing center. Then, Ella Schwartz said that she liked going to all of the different centers and that
her favorite is dramatic play. So I went on to my second question. Gabriella Elkus said that she likes using the markers. Similarly, Justin Dayani
said "Coloring". And..... Last but not least...... What they don't like. If my kindergarten self had been asked this question, I would have answered
"Nothing!" because kindergarten was an amazing experience. But, unfortunately, not everyone feels that way. Julia Lavian said that she didn't like
the writing center and Elan Gaft said that he didn't like working hard. (Don't tell him or anyone else in this grade that it only gets harder!)
Left: (From
left to right)
Kindergarten
students Julia
Lavian, Ella
Schwartz and
Ayala Katz pose
at the bottom
of the slide
during Rebecca
Cohen's
interview on the
yard.
Left: All the
ducks ready
to play Duck
Duck Goose!
Kindergarteners
Nehorai Rashidi
Doust,
Janie Toiserkani,
Jacob Hami,
Lilly Terzi,
David Sinai,
Talia Corn, and
Noam Small relax
on the yard.
‫ב"ה‬
21
The Hillel Gazette
Pre-1 and 7th Grade Join Forces for Reading Buddy Program
Celine Basiratmand and Talya Heyman, 7th Grade
Have you ever had the experience of reading with a 5 or 6-year old? Around
February, the whole seventh grade started reading to the Pre-1 students two days
a week. Every other week, we had a different buddy because they have an A and B
week. The first time we read to the kids was a wonderful experience because we had to
figure out how to make them focused.
Teachers Mrs. Newman, Ms. Pack, Rabbi Swigard, Ms. Dalmia, Ms. Better, Ms.
Marion, and Morah Lauren helped put this program together to help the kids to get
used to learning with other people and make them comfortable. Mrs. Newman, Ms.
Pack, and Rabbi Swigard are the seventh grade advisory teachers and Ms. Dalmia,
Ms. Better, Ms. Marion, and Morah Lauren are the Pre-1 teachers.
Above: 7th grader Ariel Kahen reads with
Pre-1 student Eitan Posy.
At one point, we made games for the Pre-1 students to play, and the games had to do
with their sight words. Some of the sight words are: a, and, I, run, yellow, jump, little,
three. Some games were on the iPads and some weren't. On the iPad people used
Explain Everything, Tinytap and Quizlet, and the other people used a whiteboard
or made a board game. When the Pre-1 teachers asked how their students liked the
buddy program, the students said they enjoyed playing board games that had to do
with their sight words.
The seventh graders definitely enjoyed reading to the Pre-1 students, and the Pre-1 students’ teachers asked them what they thought, to see what
they had to say. One student said, “When I was reading with my buddy, she gave me compliments and I liked that." Another student said, “It's
cool having them as friends."
One of the seventh graders said that it’s nice for the Pre-1 students to know more people in your school and to have older friends - it makes it
more friendly to get to know not just your grade. The students also said that they “liked when seventh graders read books to us." After three weeks
of doing the buddy program in the Pre-1 classrooms, we moved to the library to change the scenery and to have more options of books to read.
On March 25 the seventh graders and Pre-1 students had a little celebration to close off the buddy program. All of the students made bookmarks
for each other. The program helped us to communicate with other ages. The Pre-1 students learned how not to be shy and how to communicate
with older students. As seventh graders, we felt like their friends.
Right: Maya Horosh, Pre-1 student,
reads with seventh graders Maya
Schapira (left) and Emma Mackler
(center).
Above: Seventh grader Talya Heyman and Pre-1 student
Alissa Bernstein read together in the library.
Right: Pre-1
student Noah
Hendeles
and seventh
graders Ethan
Benelyahu
(left) and Jonah
Zelkha (center)
read together
in the library.
22
The Hillel Gazette
Math Olympics:
From Preparation to the Medals
Isaac Herskovitz, 3rd Grade
About a month ago, third grade started a strenuous activity, called
the Math Olympics, which was a competition for third grade only.
It is an annual event in its second year. At the end of the Math
Olympics, there is an award ceremony. There were six categories:
Most Improved, Computation, Problem Solving, Division,
Multiplication and Best Team. For about a month, the six teams
had been long awaiting the moment when medals may (or may
not) be strung over their heads. The Math Olympics consists of
three rounds per category. This long activity has been taking place
in Mrs. Littman and Mrs. Benporat’s class.
Above: Third grade students display their spirit during
the Math Olympics competition.
‫ב"ה‬
Robotics, continued from p. 16
Going more into the interview I asked if he enjoyed the robotics program
and he shared that his favorite part was programming the robots and
building the Legos. As I asked him about his experience, he said that
it was hard and they really had to cooperate and focus on what they
were working on. Going further into the interview, I asked him if he
experience the program as being hard or easy and he said that it depends
on the way that you look at the situation.
Furthermore, I asked him how he thinks robotics connects to the world
today. He shared that when people are doing the robotics program, they
are preparing themselves for the next generation of their lives. Lastly, I
asked him if his robot worked the way it was supposed to and if it didn't,
it was frustrating. He said that it worked but it was very frustrating when
it didn't work.
Robotics is very successful because it engages students. For example,
students really learn how to work together and they learn new things
from each other. As I did some online research, I read about teachers’
opinions on robotics across the nation. One teacher, Sasha Chizhik, says,
"robotics is a constant opportunity to solve problems."in the opinion of
Sasha Chizhik, we learn that it creates a dynamic environment for the
students because they're not just sitting in the classroom being bored with
nothing to do, they are actually learning in a fun way. Another example
that we learn from Ian Chow-Miller is that when he started teaching
robotics to his classroom, his students were very self-motivated and
disciplined. He says, "They want to build, create, and own their work
and they don't want the teacher getting in the way!"
The six team names are: Products, Divisors, Multiplicands, Multipliers, Quotients and Dividends.
I interviewed Rami Melmed, a silver medal winner in the Word Problems category and Abigail Kestenbaum, a contestant in the Division category.
Isaac: What did it feel like to be in the Math Olympics?
Rami Melmed: It felt great to be in the Math Olympics. I love how Hillel has made learning hard facts into a fun competition.
Abigail Kestenbaum: It felt good to be there and to be able to compete.
IH: Did you feel like it was a full-blown competition or just a friendly competition to up your math skills?
RM: I thought it was a full-blown competition, with good sportsmanship all around. It definitely improved my math skills.
AK: I felt like it was a pretty friendly competition. I mean, sure people wanted to win, but it was still pretty nice.
IH: Do you think you gained anything besides being better at math from the Math Olympics?
RM: Yes. I learned how great everyone in the 3rd grade is at math!
AK: Yes. I think everyone gained something but I gained being able to lose or win and not make a big deal of it.
IH: If there could be one thing that you could change in the Math Olympics, what would it be?
RM: If I were in charge,I would change the way that the finalists are selected. Now, the team votes for three finalists and whoever gets the highest
vote is the finalist for that category. I think that there should be more than two qualifying rounds, and finalists should be selected based on test
results. If one person gets the highest score in more than one category she goes to the second round in two categories, then the third round and so
on.
AK: I think there is one way it could change. I think maybe during training, the students should be paired up by how well they know their facts, not
randomly picked
The children who did not make it to the final competition were in either Mrs. Littman’s or Mrs. Benporat’s classroom working on chants, cheers,
and posters for their team.
On March 27, the Lower Gym filled up with parents, students, siblings and anticipation for the awards ceremony. The awards were given out and
then the parents came and brought the children home. The crowd was cheering as the awards were given. I liked the Math Olympics because it
encouraged students who previously did not like math to try a new thing. Next year, I hope everyone likes the Math Olympics as much as I did.
23
‫ב"ה‬
Community Life
The Hillel Gazette
IsraAid Lends a Hand Far and Wide
Hannah Shaye, 7th Grade
IsraAid, a non-government organization, has been helping people overcome extreme disasters and has given vital support for a more sustainable
life. A man named Yotam from Israel, who works at IsraAid, grew up in a Jewish community in L.A. He came to speak to Hillel students to explain
what IsraAid is, and what his story is.
Yotam shared with us that the news he saw during his childhood "was very far from my world." Yotam came and talked to the middle schoolers
about the ways IsraAid provides short-term materials for the survivors of natural disasters. One major message Yotam shared with us was during
the first minutes of the assembly. The projector was not working, and therefore Yotam said,"We have to do what we do when a natural disaster
happens, we improvise!" Yotam shared past experiences and heartwarming stories about children survivors and their families.
Ebola
Ebola is one of the most deadly diseases, and it has killed thousands of people in Africa. IsraAid workers and volunteers risked their lives to help
the people in Africa. Yotam explained that on their trip to Africa, the workers and volunteers of IsraAid met a lady that thought Israelis are awful
and cold-hearted people, but she quickly realized they are amazing. She also saw that Israelis spread the idea of tikkun olam, which is changing the
world in a more positive way.
Japanese Tsunami
When workers and volunteers of IsraAid arrived in Japan to help after the tsunami, Yotam played guitar with a small Japanese girl, and she taught
him Japanese. Speaking and singing with him was the first time this little girl spoke since her mother had died in the tsunami. This shows the love
and support that IsraAid provided to the survivors of the Japanese Tsunami. IsraAid volunteers were able to understand the children because
Israeli children deal with a lot of trauma from terrorist attacks and bombings.
Typhoon in the Philippines
After the typhoon, IsraAid was there to help the victims. One of the questions Yotam asked himself was, "What can I do to help? Where can I
start?" He posed the same question to the middle school students and got many unique answers in return, such as medical support, food, and
housing. Yotam explained that there is no wrong answer to this question, because every possible way to help is equally important.
The Most Important Help
Yotam mentioned that rather than just providing the victims with supplies that they need, IsraAid would teach the survivors important skills such
as, sewing, cooking, building, and more. IsraAid does this because all of this allows the country to really get back on their feet.
Left: A recent photograph from IsraAid's
website shows the relief effort that the Israelibased organization is working towards
in Nepal. Nepal was hit by a devastating
earthquake on April 25, 2015.
Scuba Diving
Dana Even, 7th Grade
During my recent trip to Mexico, I had the amazing opportunity to learn how to scuba dive. When we first booked the activity, I was a little
nervous, but also extremely curious to know what it feels like. So the next morning, me and my dad took the class. In the beginning, we were
given a brief introduction about the sport. Next, we were taught all the pieces of the diving equipment. I thought it was fairly heavy; a full
oxygen tank and a belt that has weights is not that light. Nevertheless, our instructor, Luis, led us to a pool where we would practice several
necessary skills that are needed before diving in the ocean.
To communicate underwater, divers use hand motions, such as “thumbs down.” Contrary to the common negative meaning of this gesture, it
actually means ‘go down’ underwater. Whenever Luis would like to indicate that it’s time to dive deep, he would do this. Also, because of the
constant water pressure, a diver’s ears may feel weird, just like in an airplane. Luis taught us various ways that can relieve the slight pain. If a
diver continues to have a problem and feels that something is wrong with his ear, he points to his ear and makes a ‘so-so’ movement.
Along with these motions came many more. We practiced that in case of an unlikely emergency, when a diver finds himself with no oxygen,
every diver’s BCD, buoyancy control device, contains another regulator that provides the oxygen-free diver with oxygen. A regulator is the
mouthpiece that a diver breathes into. So the diver without oxygen can borrow one of his fellow divers’ extra regulator, thus sharing the
oxygen.
When we were all done practicing in the pool, we came back to the dive shop and had a break before moving on to the serious stuff: diving in
the ocean. I felt comfortable with all the instructions given at the pool, so I figured I’d do alright in the ocean and hoped for the best.
Anyways, time flew, and before I knew it, it was time to get on the boat that would take us to the dive site. The boat sped and crashed into
waves, splashing refreshing cold water from the sides. After several minutes, the boat slowed down, and I knew it was finally the time. We
quickly prepared and placed our oxygen tanks on. (Continued on next page).
24
Community Life
‫ב"ה‬
The Hillel Gazette
Walk Through California
Emunah Garmaise, 4th Grade
The Walk through California began weeks before the day of the program. Each student in fourth grade received a green-colored card, which had
information and one topic to research. I researched mountains. Other examples of topics that were researched were words like erosion, ranch,
reservoir and maybe even something about precipitation. These topics all pertained to California’s geographical and natural history. Every fourthgrader had to memorize his or her part and then research the answer to the question.
The day of the program flew by like the wind. Suddenly, it was here! On the day of the program, everyone came vouchsafed with the knowledge of
the card, and everyone was dressed beautifully in an assortment of different costumes, ranging from cowgirls or cowboys, miners, and prairie girls,
just to name a few.
Many parents came to join the program. The enticing Walk through California program was filled with creative ideas that helped the event run
smoothly, such as “Time-Travel Position.” Another fun idea was when you were participating and the guide noticed, he said, “Go for the gold!”
Fourth graders, if the permission was addressed to them, were allowed to run towards the laminated map of California with lollipops taped to it.
You lifted one lollipop and saw if it had gold painted on the bottom. If not, then you sit down and save your lollipop for later, but if you do us have
gold, then we said, “Eureka!” and earned points for our team.
Anyways, everyone kneeled over when our guide said “Time-Travel Position,” and warped to a different time in history. When each team earned
points, there was a special, unique cheer.
And after each time travel, the guide talked to us about the time in history, which was around 1849 (the gold rush, but our guide took us back in
time to time earlier than that, around the early 1800’s.) When he spoke, he mentioned our words and we ran up to the Expert Chair, and we said
our memorized lines (our green card). During this program, we learned about the missions, presidios, priests, the gold rush, natural happenings
and much more!
The Walk through California was truly a “walk through California.” The program was a herald of information and fun. It was an immense
pleasure to walk through California!
Left: The
fourth grade
girls pose
for a photo
in their
costumes.
Right: Hilly
Nachimson
adds a prop
to the giant
California
map as peers
and parents
observe.
Scuba Diving, continued from p. 23
It’s go time. One by one divers on the boat flipped off the boat. Literally! With one’s
back facing the water, a diver flips himself/herself backwards into the deep blue
ocean. Divers do this because the equipment is heavy and there is not an easier way
to enter the waters. Once we were in the water, Luis motioned the thumbs down sign.
So we deflated our vest little by little, with a button on the BCD, and made our way
down with a rope attached to the boat. As we relieved our ears from water pressure,
we came closer to a sandy bottom.
Once we got to the ground, we started exploring. I spotted all types of fish. Small, big,
skinny, and fat! There were some beautiful fish with mesmerizing colors! One that
I remember in particular, had a really unique, bold shade of aqua with a black and
white stripe in the middle. I will always remember that I saw a school of fish! Tons of
medium-sized silver fish were all cluttered together, swimming happily in the same
direction. One of the highlights of my scuba experience was seeing a manta ray slither
across the smooth, cream-colored sand.
Not only was all this fauna around me, but flora was all around too, because it was a
coral reef. There were magnificent coral structures along with splendid plants.
I truly believe that I learned a lot
from the scuba diving experience,
not only technical diving skills,
but teamwork, and overcoming
obstacles. It may seem scary at
first, but it isn’t at all once you are
familiarized. So if you ever get a
chance, make a thumbs down,
deflate your BCD, and dive to see
the amazing underwater world for
yourself.
Above: Dana Even learns to scuba dive in Mexico.
Above: Dana Even learns to scuba dive in Mexico.
25
‫ב"ה‬
The Hillel Gazette
Creative Writing at Hillel
Students across grade levels explore their creativity in writing, experimenting with various modes
of expression.
A, B, D, C
Emunah Garmaise, 4th Grade
The soft music trilled from the violin. “Good, good,” Mr. Bailey said, stroking his beard
thoughtfully. “Let’s work on A, B, D, C now. Okay?”
“Okay.” Griffin said. She tucked a strand of her strawberry-blonde hair behind her ear.
“Then can we work on my bass guitar?”
“Fine, Griffin. But you know – antique music always pays off,” Mr. Bailey finally relented. “The revolting, screechy sounds of those rock
star instruments – what a waste of culture!”
Griffin shrugged – she wanted to be a rock star someday, and violin definitely did not fit in the category of her talents, which were playing
bass guitar and planting in her backyard.
“Griffin, please stay focused.” Mr. Bailey was saying for the fourth time that afternoon.
“I’m sorry.” Griffin winced, snapping back to attention. She didn’t like to disappoint Mr. Bailey. “I’ll focus from now on.” And true to her
promise, Griffin studiously worked on her violin for the rest of the class, neglecting any dreams of getting to play her bass guitar.
***
“How was your lesson?” her mom asked as soon as she climbed in the car.
“It was good.” Griffin said vaguely. “I am trying to learn A, B, D and C. Mr. Bailey is very patient but I often get sidetracked.”
“Yes, Mr. Bailey did mention that to me last week. What’s on your mind, Griff?” her mom wanted to know.
“I don’t know…I just want to play bass guitar and Mr. Bailey is convinced that violin is predestined for me, which it simply isn’t.” Griffin
explained, fidgeting with her seatbelt.
“Violin?” her mom asked, swerving the car forward. Griffin jumped in her seat. “I remember when I was in a college band, not so long
ago.”
“Really?” Griffin asked. She giggled at the thought of her mom, now a pediatrician, jamming a bass guitar. “What were you called?”
“Raindrops on Roses.” Her mom said, a smile lighting up on her face. “We adapted it from The Sound of Music.”
Griffin grinned. She would never forget this one. “That’s funny.” Just then, they pulled up in the driveway. Neatly trimmed roses lined the
driveway and a small, neat garden surrounded their quaint cottage.
“Griffin!” her dad greeted her, wrapping her in a huge bear hug. “How was music lesson?”
“It were great.” Griffin said, now in better spirits. “I guess I’ll have to be patient about the bass guitar, though.”
“That’s okay.” Her dad said with a smile. Griffin followed him into the living room. She had no idea where they were going. “Just be
patient and pursue your dreams.”
Her dad looked dreamy – and his eyes looked as sidetracked as Griffin had felt during her music lessons.
“Your dad and I want to talk to you,” her mom said with a secret smile. She plopped down on the couch. “Don’t worry – it’s a good
thing.”
Griffin’s heart raced nonetheless. What was going on? Was her cute brother Alex okay? “Alex!” Griffin suddenly shouted. “Where’s Alex?”
Maybe something had happened to him! What if….
“Alex is at a friend’s house.” Her dad said, concerned. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.” Griffin muttered. “What’s up?” Since when do one-year-olds have “playdates?”
“I don’t know how to say this,” her mom said.
“What?” Griffin asked, “What’s going on?”
“Um….” Her mom paused. “We’re going to have another a baby. A boy.”
“Another boy?” Griffin exclaimed. For a second, she felt disappointed, but when she looked at her mom,
who was so devoted to her and Alex, she felt a rush of…appreciation.
“Do you want a consolation prize?” her dad asked. “If you feel left out…”
“Nope!” Griffin said with a proud grin. For the only consolation prize she needed right now was her
loving family, and of course, her dreams of becoming a star bass guitarist!
The Bedbug Saloon
Benjamin Sarir, 3rd Grade
“Sing it again,” yelled dirty Dan. Little boy Jackson
age 6 was working at the saloon in Bedbug. Little
Jackson came with his father to the gold fields in
1850. Jackson was 5 years old when he came. His
father got ill and died after six days at the gold fields.
They took Jackson to the court. They decided to take
him to an orphanage. Little Jackson got so dreary and
started to cry. They took him in the wagon.
But Jackson ran away. He ran all the way to Bedbug.
He got scared and cold. It was a dark night so Jackson
went out for shelter. He finally found a crate to sleep
in. After 4 days of singing with no food or water, five
miners dropped in Bedbug for a little game of cards
after striking it rich. Two of the men heard him and
brought the group to listen. They told the owner of
the saloon.
Little Jackson was fanatic about singing and had the
best voice you would ever hear.
While the men were taking him to wagon he was
crying all the way to Bedbug when a group of bandits
snuck up on them and shot all of them except little
Jackson.
He loved it so much he offered him a job. Little
Jackson couldn’t take money so the owner said, “You
work for me and I’ll give you food and shelter.” Little
Jackson was so happy, he sang all day so they gave
him the name Happy Jackson. The saloon made
three times what they were making because people
wanted to hear him. People left all over just to listen,
even some of the miners with very little gold came.
Happy Jackson was so popular the whole world knew
him. He made so much money when he was older.
He became the main singer of a famous band called
THE BEDBUG SALOON.
They took the emergency money and left. Little
Jackson was crying and singing when a farmer was
going to his farm. When he heard little Jackson,
he looked and saw Jackson. He asked what had
happened. He was sorry for the tragedy and took
him home for supper. They gave him a room and
everything he wanted.
26
‫ב"ה‬
The Hillel Gazette
Photo at left: The eighth grade girls
perform the flag dance on the yard
during hillel's annual Yom Haatzmaut
celebration.
Chidon HaTanach
Mitchell Hoenig, 7th Grade
The Chidon Hatanach program is a class that
focuses its study on the in-depth study of three
chosen books of Tanach. Every student enrolled
in the program takes a total of three tests that
are given to over 700 students nationally. After
its completion, students who scored in the top
third among all the students are invited to the
National competition in New York. This year,
the National Bible Contest took place in New
York on May 2, 2015.
Rabbi Sufrin and Rabbi Tsaidi brought the Chidon program to Hillel because as Rabbi Tsaidi
Every year at the end of the three regional tests, said, "It is the best program to help students have a strong knowledge of Tanach." When Rabbi
the regional champions are announced. In all
Sufrin and Rabbi Tsaidi brought Chidon to Hillel, they had some goals. They wanted students
three years of Hillel’s participation, the West
to love learning Tanach and for students to learn Tanach independently. (Continued below).
Coast champion has been a Hillel student.
Penina Waghalter, an 8th grader at Hillel, won
the award for the "West Coast Champion" two
years in a row. This year, she came in 11th place
nationally at the competition in New York!
(Continued at left).
Chidon at Hillel has been going for three years and Rabbi Tsaidi wants it to
continue, "until after the Moshiach comes."
The Chidon program challenges the students' mental capabilities because
they learn one whole chapter of Tanach (in Hebrew) every day. The Chidon
students learn different books every year, but the class is not complete
without the Morah Klein! Morah Klein has been teaching Chidon at Hillel
for three years. She was inspired to teach Chidon because of her students.
Besides the Chidon contest, there is a Chidon video contest with the same
schools. In this video contest, the contestants had to make a video about the
content that they learned. In this video contest, Hillel came in second place.
Above: Sabrina Jahan, Penina Waghalter and Yonah Berenson, members
of Hillel's Chidon HaTanach team (and their supporters), at the regional
competition in New York.
‫ב"ה‬
27 Opinion, Editorial and Reviews
The Hillel Gazette
Book Reviews
The Wish Stealer
Goose Girl
Bracha Garmaise, 4th Grade
"She was born Anidori-Kiladra Talianna Isilee, Crown Princess
of Kildenree, and she did not open her eyes for three days" (Hale 9).
The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale is the first book in a series called
The Books of Bayern. These are the first lines of the book. They
suggest drama, excitement, mystery, and more.
The book is based on a fairy tale of the same name by The
Grimm Brothers.
The Goose Girl begins with Anidori's aunt being the one to
make her open her eyes, three days into her life. This aunt, loved by
Ani (Anidori's nickname) but mistrusted by the king and queen, is
Ani's teacher and constant companion for the first five years of Ani's
life. Unfortunately, the aunt cannot stay and goes to her home, far
away. Later, Ani receives word of her aunt's death.
Her aunt had taught her the story of the languages. When the
earth began, all of nature had a language, and every creature knew
every language. As time went on, the creatures began to forget every
language but their own.
Ani learned the language of the birds from her aunt, and for the
rest of her life she was able to speak to birds.
Later in the book, when Ani is sixteen, her father dies while
riding a horse with Ani one afternoon. Ani’s mother, the queen,
gives a speech to her people after her husband, the king, dies. She
tells them that her oldest son, Calib-Loncris, will take the throne
when she dies. Does anything about that sound wrong? Exactly.
Anidori was the Crown Princess, and was being raised all along for
the throne.
The queen explains to Ani why she said that: she was not
confused. Years before, the prime minister of a country called
Bayern had come to discuss matters with the queen. There had been
unrest between the two countries and they needed to take action.
So, Ani's mother made a deal with the man: when Ani turned
sixteen, she would travel to Bayern and marry the crown prince.
On Ani's journey to Bayern, a huge tragedy happens that sets
the rest of the plot in motion.
But this is only the first hundred pages. Later, there are
murders, betrayals, and so much more.
Readers will love characters like Enna, Finn, Razo, and Geric
and hate characters like Selia and Ungolad.
This book is part of a four-book series. It sets the background
for every other book in the series. After finishing this book, middle
school readers will be begging their parents to let them to get the
next book, Enna Burning, which is about one of Ani's best friends.
Clearly, The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale is a book that all middle
schoolers and almost any other person should read.
Griffin Penshine is a girl who believes in wishes. She wishes that her
mom will have a baby girl. Griffin wishes that her new school will smell
like chocolate chip cookies. When she meets Mariah, an ancient lady at
the antique store, Griffin suddenly finds herself alone with her while her
pregnant mom, Dr. Penshine, browses the store. Mariah gives Griffin an
unexpected gift: a set of valuable Indian Head pennies. The pennies feel
hot in her hand, as she and her mom escape a hurling tornado.
When Griffin is in the basement alone, while her mom grabs flashlights
upstairs, she opens the box of shiny pennies. Inside the velvet lined box,
Griffin finds a note. It explains that Mariah is a wish stealer, someone who
steals people’s wishes after they are thrown in the penny fountain. Only the
wish stealer’s bad wishes will come true. The note mentions that Mariah
had never seen such red hair, the color of red autumn leaves, except on a
very young girl long ago at a hotel. The note also mentions how Mariah
“made people’s wishes into a hair ribbon she bought with the pennies.”
Griffin finds labels on each of the pennies, such as “graceful,” “STOP” and
“pretty.” Griffin Penshine realizes that these labels were people wishes.
Griffin comes home from school to find her mom and dad gone, with a
note saying that they had gone to the hospital because Griffin’s mom is
almost ready to have the baby and that Griffin should go to the neighbor’s
house.
With an ailing grandma in the hospital and her mom having a baby,
things have changed in Griffin’s life. Picking up some things at Grandma
Penshine’s house for her, she finds the same glowing, red ring Mariah had,
but in a calm blue. Griffin asks Grandma Penshine about this ring, and her
grandma says that she had seen Mariah before. She was stealing wishes
and Grandma Penshine, a young girl at that time screamed, “STOP!” and
throws a penny into the fountain. She saw Mariah cool off her hands in the
fountain and stanch some pennies while at it. Griffin finds it hard to believe
that Grandma Penshine, an elderly lady with grayish hair, once had red
hair like Griffin’s.
I highly recommend The Wish Stealer because it is a fast-paced, smart
and fun book. The lesson in The Wish Stealer contains themes about how
valuable family and friends are, and to never give up. Wherever there is
darkness, there is a spark of hope in Griffin's world. I like it most because of
the story that doesn't always end up as a "happily ever after" ending.
It’s up to a spirited redhead, a box of Indian Head Pennies and an
unheralded friend to return the pennies to allow all of Griffin’s and other
people‘s good wishes to come true.
Mindspeak
"Jack’s lips stretched into a tight line. His eyes locked onto mine—stormy blue to what had
to be freaked-out green. 'The secrets end today'"(Sunseri 212). This is a line from one of my
favorite books, Mindspeak by Heather Sunseri. It is the first book in the Mindspeak series.
This book is about Sarah Alexandra Roslin, known by everyone as Lexi Matthews since
she was eleven and her father made her change her known-by name and move to Wellington
Private School. At the time of the book, Lexi is seventeen and living a semi-normal life. She
is on the swim team, she has an amazing roommate named Danielle, and she is introducing a
boy named Jack DeWeese to the school.
Lexi has always known that she is special. Since a young age, she has been able to alter
other people's thoughts. She doesn't do it very often, because it gives her bad headaches and
nosebleeds, but she is able to influence anyone to do what she wants.
But then her life turns upside down.
It starts simply with Jack's father punching Lexi's father in the face after they hadn't seen
each other in over a decade. Then it continues with Jack revealing that he, too, has a unique
power. It only gets crazier and crazier, and the ending takes a very unexpected turn.
Readers will be asking questions like: "Who is Smoking Man?", "Where does Briana fit into
this story?", and the haunting "Who really are Seth and Sandra Whitmeyer?".
This book is an amazing story filled with adventure, science, and unforgettable thoughts. It
is perfect for readers ages 10-110. Just one warning: once you pick up this book, you will not
be able to put it down.
‫ב"ה‬
28
THe lAsT word
Hawk Pride
Tamar Shriki, 6th Grade
THe HIllel gAZeTTe
THe HIllel gAZeTTe Is A
sTudenT-run newspAper.
All sTudenTs Are
encourAged To submIT
ArTIcles, ArTwork And
IdeAs for publIcATIon
In THe gAZeTTe. pleAse
conTAcT
sAmAnTHA pAck,
spAck@HIllelHebrew.
org, regArdIng
submIssIons And
AdVerTIsIng.

Gazette Spring 2015.indd - Harkham Hillel Hebrew Academy

Transcription

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