The resolution up for debate read: “The federal government should substantially raise funding and/or regulation in public primary and/or secondary education.” Within this broader topic, each team researched a narrower subtopic, on which to base an affirmative argument. Each team also argued against the resolution, finding ways to negate another team’s affirmative argument on the spot. “You have no idea what they’re going to talk about and you need to come up with a counter-argument knowing nothing about that particular topic,” said Davis. “It’s also challenging to debate about public school, which we’re not as familiar with.”

“It’s especially hard to debate against something you believe in,” added Knoll.

For their affirmative argument, Davis and Knoll concentrated on nutritional education, arguing that a licensed nutritionist should conduct school assemblies and educational programs several times per year. (“We’ve seen a lot of childhood illnesses that are nutrition-related,” explained Davis.) For their negative argument they needed to poke holes in another team’s argument favoring mandatory mental health awareness training for classroom educators.

While Knoll said she has always been interested in debate, Davis joined the team this year.

“I love thinking on my feet, and I’ve always enjoyed class discussions and sharing my opinion with other people,” explained Knoll.

Davis discovered how much she enjoyed debate when she was trying out for the team. “I wanted to be part of an academic team, and debate seemed interesting to me,” she said. “I enjoyed the process of trying out, including all the research, and realized this is something I really want to do. It gives you a platform to speak about your passion.”

Both sophomores, the winning match was Knoll’s third debate and Davis’s second.

�鶹���� history department member Dr. Ilan Fuchs serves as the debate team’s coach. “To win a debate there are two elements,” said Fuchs, noting that Davis and Knoll won their debate by a wide margin. “You need good logic, but you also need good form. In this case, our team had good logic and form, and they also found the difficulties in the logic and form of the other team.”

Davis and Knoll said they sharpened their argumentation skills by implementing Dr. Fuchs’s debating and public speaking tips—which Knoll described as “important skills that go far beyond debate”—as well as learning from previous mistakes, which helped them construct a more airtight argument this time around.

They were both thrilled to bring their plaque home to �鶹����. Additionally, the two students each credited the other for her hard work, and noted how their individual strengths overlap and complement each other—Knoll pointed out Davis’ fantastic research skills, while Davis spoke of Knoll’s excellent speaking skills and quick thinking. “I’m just so lucky to have Shaina as my debate partner,” said Knoll. To which Davis immediately responded about Ilana, “Me too!”

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The mission was part of NJ NCSY’s commitment to sending high school students to areas across the United States that have been devastated by natural disasters, as well as those areas with little in the way of Jewish life. Students are charged with helping reinvigorate the communities they visit with tangible action, divrei Torah, and showing what observant Jews who are engaged with the greater world look like.

�鶹���� students participated in two pre-trip training sessions; the first, taught by Rabbi Dovid Bashevkin, Director of Education for NCSY, focused on best practices for participating and succeeding in the Jewish community, and the second session focused on improving public speaking skills.

The students, who were accompanied on their trip by �鶹���� power couple Rabbi Ariel and Mrs. Shira Auman (a member of the Talmud department and a graphic designer and student adviser, respectively), got off to an interesting start when their Thursday afternoon flight was delayed until the next, very early, morning, but they made it to Omaha safely and with plenty of time to get to work. They worked with Habitat for Humanity to completely gut a condemned home, smashing walls and windows, pulling up floorboards and clearing out garbage as they wore masks and other protective gear against possible asbestos. ��They ran children’s programming at the local non-denominational Jewish school and, for Shabbat, students pretty much got to run the entire show.

They created a beautiful themed community-wide dinner celebrating the seven days of creation, with each table decorated to represent a different day, and held the famous Friday night “�鶹���� tisch.” They also ran the adult education programming, giving divrei Torah and leading discussion on subjects such as tikkun olam.

“It was amazing to watch students transform over the course of their time in Omaha,” said Mrs. Auman. “I saw students who, during the training, were terrified to get up and speak even just in front of their peers, but by the time the trip came to an end, they had stepped up, emerged from their comfort zone and spoke powerfully in front of Omaha’s entire Jewish community.”

�鶹���� students visited New Orleans earlier this year with NJ NCSY, and, later this year, will visit Detroit to help rebuild the area and the Jewish community of Windsor, Canada, which often struggles to get a minyan for Shabbat and eagerly anticipates visits from Jewish students to enliven the area with Jewish energy.

Rabbi Ethan Katz, Director of NJ NCSY, recounts his particular pride in accompanying and observing this mission to Omaha. “Even though the students’ flight got canceled and they had to get ready at 4 a.m. the next morning for a new flight, I never saw anyone complain,” said Rabbi Katz. “I was beyond impressed by their attitude and motivation the entire time. When we had a stopover in Chicago, we davened shacharit in the airport and everybody participated willingly and beautifully. Both instances were indicative of everyone’s can-do, positive attitude throughout the course of the entire mission.”

The students’ reports after the trip verified Rabbi Katz’s impression. “I really enjoyed spending Shabbos with Omaha’s wonderful Jewish community,” said Hannah Levine ’18. “I loved being able to enhance their Shabbos and bring joy to everyone’s faces, and it also made me better appreciate how many Jews there are in my own neighborhood.”

“The teens were given a unique����opportunity to take charge of most of the Shabbat programming, which they pulled off beautifully,” said Avital Moss, Director of Special Projects for NJ NCSY. “The Omaha community was so appreciative to see what strong observant Judaism from New Jersey looks like, and �鶹���� can be very proud of its students.”

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“A lot of us take Israel for granted,” said Dr. Book, “and it’s difficult for us to have hakarat hatov, gratitude, when we simply expect something.”

Dr. Book told students about visiting Auschwitz this past year as a tour guide for a group from The Shoah Foundation, a group which included film director Steven Spielberg and survivors of Auschwitz. There, they encountered a group of IDF soldiers also exploring the grounds, one of the largest Jewish graveyards in the world.�� Dr. Book asked them to join him in singing Hatikvah, Israel’s national anthem, and the photo of this experience, which he displayed to students, was remarkable for its implications. As Dr. Book explained: “We live in amazing times. Jews might always be hunted, but now that we have Israel, and an army to protect it, we can now defend ourselves. We can take charge of our own destiny, and that is only because we have a country to call our own.”

Despite the fact that Jews can now defend themselves from those who wish to do them harm, Dr. Book gave several examples of how the media prints inflammatory headlines, lacking any context, so that Israel is painted as the antagonist in the Middle East. “This past week alone, there are now 13 new Jewish orphans, some of them who have seen their parents murdered before their eyes,” explained Dr. Book. “The world keeps painting a different picture with misleading headlines, however, preferring that Jews don’t fight back when they are attacked.”

In this vein, Dr. Book told students about Elan Bielski, the grandson of Alexander “Zus” Bielski, one of the Bielski brothers who banded together to save over 1,000 Jews from the Holocaust. Inspired by his family’s example of protecting the Jewish people, Elan became a lone soldier in the IDF in 2011. �鶹���� is honored to count dozens of alumni who have also made the difficult yet courageous choice to translate their Zionism into tangible action by becoming lone soldiers in Israel.

“We should be proud that we can defend ourselves from harm now,” said Dr. Book. “It might be difficult to be a Jew, but it is not a burden. It is a privilege.”

In the year ahead, Dr. Book will be teaching juniors and a special elective for seniors on the Arab-Israel conflict, equipping students with history and context and empowering them to serve as articulate advocates for Israel on college campuses and in general society. A foremost expert in Zionist education, Dr. Book will be utilizing a textbook he authored, “For the Sake of Zion: A Curriculum of Israel Education (JAFI: 2016), in the classroom. He is planning a series of lectures, trips and programs for all students to supplement their Israel education.

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Rabbi David Goldfischer, Assistant Principal, introduced the program, held each year during the Aseret Yemai Teshuva, with a thought from Rabbi Yehuda Amital, ��›�, the former Rosh Yeshiva of Yeshivat Har Etzion. “The secret of getting close to God,” explained Rabbi Goldfischer, “is getting close to your true self.” A short video accompanied his message, featuring the pivotal scene from Disney’s The Lion King where Simba realizes that he must stop running from his responsibilities and become who he was always meant to be. Blinkoff took the stage next, continuing the Disney theme, and started by telling students the origins of his professional path. “I always loved to draw, and when I saw the movie E.T., it made such a huge impression on me that I knew I wanted to be a director one day,” he said. “Eventually, after seeing The Little Mermaid, I decided I wanted to be a Disney animator—but I had no clue how to get there.”

Blinkoff drew laughs when he spoke about how his devoted mother toured the Walt Disney animation studios with him asking how someone might get a job as a Disney animator, until an employee gently pointed them in the direction of professional art schools from which Disney regularly recruited graduates. Determined to succeed, Blinkoff began his studies at the Columbus College of Art and Design, where, he readily admits, he was the least talented student there. After several failed attempts to land a coveted Disney internship, Blinkoff worked harder on his craft each day until finally, he achieved his dream. “I want to impress that on you again,” he told the students. “I was a really motivated guy without talent who worked really, really hard to achieve his dream job.”

For awhile, it was a dream: Blinkoff worked on such seminal Disney films as Pocahontas, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, and Mulan (murmurs of appreciation could be heard throughout the audience).When the animators didn’t have anything to sketch, they would ride roller-coasters or camp out at Disney hotels. But a trip to Israel with his parents during this time left Blinkoff with a seed of curiosity about his Jewish roots and heritage—a seed that didn’t come to fruition until three years later. “I had everything I ever wanted, but something was missing,” he explained. He decided to enroll in a short yeshiva program in Israel, called Isralite, run by Rabbi Binny Freedman and Rabbi David Aaron.

There, Blinkoff learned of the mezuzah’s role on a doorway to signify a place of transition. He began asking certain questions for the first time. “What am I going out into the world for? What kind of home do I want to create?” he told the students. His Jewish journey had begun in earnest.

Eventually, his questions and search for deeper meaning led Blinkoff to a fully observant lifestyle. Today, Blinkoff works as a director for Disney and says he sees himself as not just a filmmaker anymore, but a Jewish filmmaker. (He often infuses the films he now directs with Jewish symbols, like adding a mezuzah to Piglet’s door in Winnie the Pooh.)

He lives with his wife, Marion, and four children in Los Angeles. Two of his children, Meira and Asher, are involved in voiceover work for major motion pictures. Asher voices a key character in Hotel Transylvania 2, coming out in just a few weeks. “The Hollywood premier is on Shabbos, but to us, it’s not even a question of whether or not to go,” said Blinkoff.

Blinkoff closed his talk with a thought. “It’s not easy to figure out how you’re going to live as a Jew, but it’s really the best kind of work,” he said. If the round of earth-shattering applause he received from students is any kind of indication, his message—amid the cool anecdotes from a veritable Hollywood insider—hit close to home.

“It was pretty cool how he made his dream job come true,” said Michal Karben, a junior, “but it was even cooler to learn that he was able to take the Jewish beliefs that he eventually found and combine it with his dream job. I know people worry about how to pursue certain professional areas given the fact that they are religious Jews, and to see someone who made it work, like Saul Blinkoff, is very inspiring.”

Following his talk, the student body and faculty had an inspiring kumzits and then enjoyed a dessert with �鶹����’s unique spin on a sweet new year: chocolate fondue stations with a selection of fruit and candies.

“�鶹���� is thrilled to have hosted Saul Blinkoff as part of its annual Teshuva Program,” said Rabbi Eli Ciner, �鶹����’s principal. “As we head into Yom Kippur, I am confident that Saul’s message—the importance of seeking one’s place in the world and growing spiritually—will linger in the minds and hearts of our students.”

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Engineering students have had a long productive winter and are deeply engrossed��in their capstone projects. Ideas were researched, proposals presented, parts ordered and explored, and the groundwork for prototypes is now well under way. Our students are growing in knowledge and experience as they write codes, design circuits, build, test, and improve their models:

• Sprouts include a Technological Terrarium that monitors and provides all a plant needs to grow
• Paintbot, an interactive drawing experience
• Exoskeletons designed to help the handicapped
• A Smart Signer that converts sign language into verbal communication
• An En-Forcer-Er helmet that monitors impact on a football player’s skull.

Tenth graders are building 3D printed parts of their own design. We are also planning a field Trip to Konica Minolta’s Corporate Headquarters for a first hand look at the latest in 3D printing.

Lecture Series:

Our Engineering lecture series continues to expose the students to cutting edge developments in this fast growing field. We were privileged to hear from:

– Micah Lemonik, a Principal Software Engineer at Google’s New York City headquarters, where he is an engineering lead in the Google Apps group.�� Micah joined Google in 2005 and worked on many popular products such as Google Docs and Google Drive. He shared with us the fascinating world that is a career at Google.

–��Hadar Cohen, a �鶹���� alum currently a senior at Cooper Union,��where she studies Electrical Engineering. Hadar shared her personal journey to engineering and��her experience at Cooper Union including details on her many engineering projects. She��provided some understanding of what it means to be an engineer and the different fields available to potential engineering students.

– Rabbi Binyamin Zimmerman, visited from the Zomet Institute in Israel. The Zomet Institute is dedicated to seamlessly merging Halachic Judaism with modern life. For over 30 years their researchers and engineers have devised practical Halachic solutions. They consult and develop solutions for The Israeli Ministry of Health, The Ministry of Defense, Ben Gurion Airport, Amigo Mobility, Elite Food, Tnuva Dairies, Israeli Channel 10 Shindler Elevators and more. Zomet’s engineers have developed and implemented technologies that enable products such as metal detectors, security jeeps, elevators, electric wheelchairs and coffee machines to be used on Shabbat. I met Rabbi Zimmerman and heard him speak about Zomet’s mission on my recent trip to Israel with CIJE.�� It is an incredible place. Rabbi Zimmerman exposed our��engineering��students to the ideas and practical challenges behind merging technology and Halacha while viewing��technological advancement from a religious perspective of partnering with God.

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�鶹����’s Girls Who Code Club is germinating. Every Monday we meet after school with a volunteer instructor from GWC, Colleen Stowe, to learn the art of coding. Our girls have designed a computer game, are learning about artificial intelligence and will begin work on a final coding project. We visited Microsoft for a coding session and have a trip planned to Google to meet with female engineers. �鶹���� was approved to continue our club next year and I hope to open the world of coding to a new group of budding coders. The national organization works to inspire, educate, and equip girls with the computing skills to pursue 21st century ��opportunities.

Senior Elective:

Our senior elective, which combines a Halacha study/engineering design project, is blossoming and being piloted by Ronit Langer and Amitai Cohen, who are working with 10th grader, Bracha Getter on a project they call “kosher STEM”. They are busy in the lab this spring bringing it to life. Rav Zimmerman, from Zomet was impressed with our engineering program and graciously agreed to review and share with his engineers the project proposal. Our students are building a prototype for a Shabbat mode for electronic locks.��We received incredibly helpful feedback.�� Rav Zimmerman was so impressed with our lab and our students that he and his team at Zomet welcome the possibility of continued work with our students.

Start Up Nation:

Training students to pursue their entrepreneurial dreams requires training teachers to foster those endeavors.��I was privileged to attend CIJE’s Journey to Start Up Nation in Israel this past February as a mentor and guest lecturer for new teachers to the program. It was incredible. We visited engineering schools, accelerators and met with entrepreneurs. I had the opportunity to meet and speak with some of Israel’s top biomedical and high tech companies including the CEOs of��Biosense-Webster and Johnson & Johnson, who discussed the engineering behind cardiac technologies. The group also met with Shai Melcer, executive director of BioJerusalem, an organization dedicated to promoting the advancement of the biomedical industry in Jerusalem as well as Bob Rosenschein, founder of Answers.com. and Daniel Schreiber, President of Powermat.��“This trip took teachers from the classroom into the field where ideas are conceived, products are developed and promising innovations are financed,” explained Jay Smallwood, CIJE-Tech Specialist.�� “These few days of exposure to such an esteemed group of CEOs, engineers and product developers from biomedical devices to Shabbat-approved technologies will trickle down into the mentorship teachers��provide their CIJE students.”

All engineering students will have the opportunity to attend a student journey to Start up Nation next winter break. Two of our 10^th graders Daniel Koenig and David Lifschitz reported on this year’s journey which included both an exposure to entrepreneurship and workshops at the Technion. Details to follow.

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Our Annual Engineering and Research Symposium is scheduled for Thursday evening, May 28^th where students will be showcasing their projects and Susan Englehardt will be our keynote speaker

Susan Engelhardt presently serves as Executive Director of the Center for Innovative Ventures of Emerging Technologies (CIVET) at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, where she spearheads the development of programs that help faculty and students bring innovations to the market and develop their skills as innovators, as well as establish pathways for industrial academic partnerships. Susan brings to CIVET over 20 years of experience in engineering, process design, and business relationship management cross-industry at companies such as Bear Stearns, Deloitte Consulting and AT&T Bell Laboratories. Ms. Engelhardt holds a Master of Science degree from Columbia University and a Bachelor of Science degree from Queens College. I look forward to greeting you.

Rifkie Silverman

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In biology, after discussing the laws of inheritance elucidated by Mendel more than 150 years ago, the ��freshman as “Bothead parents” created “Bothead progeny”. ��The age old question of “why are my eyes blue” ��was demonstrated as the traits of the baby Botheads clearly represented a random combination of the genes of the parents. The students in Animal Behavior took a trip this week to the Bronx Zoo.�� After learning about how and why ethologists (scientists that study animal behavior) do their jobs and after practicing these skills with videos and in-class projects, the students were prepared to put their animal research skills to use. Students chose an animal, clearly defined its behaviors (to limit bias!), and created a tally of those behaviors on an ethogram (a table of animal behaviors).��The students will have the opportunity to analyze their data, draw inferences, and present their findings to the class.��In the Science Research class, students are busy analyzing novel gene sequences from a plant species called duckweed. To determine the size of those sequences, the students purified DNA and using gel electrophoresis were able to determine the size of the DNA sequence and the quality of their purified sample. The gels may look like a scene from a CSI episode but actually require mastering some very sophisticated techniques in molecular biology.

Need a bright idea to demonstrate the different categories of chemical reactions? In lab, students were given the opportunity to predict the outcome of certain classes of chemical reactions by examining the products of those reactions. ��Magnesium, produced by a synthesis reaction burns with a startling, bright white flame. When studying the decomposition of hydrogen peroxide��, a glowing splint will burst into flame as oxygen is released. Exploding the hydrogen given off when zinc is dropped into acid also dramatically illustrates single replacement reactions. The goopy precipitate that formed during a double replacement reaction was appreciated as well.

While the laws of physics might seem abstract to most, there is no better tool than a slinky to illustrate some of the major properties of waves. ��The students held a slinky by opposite ends and shook. The slinky’s sinusoidal undulations illustrated the crests and troughs of a transverse wave. As they pushed one end of the slinky and watched��a ripple slide to the other end they were able to witness the compression’s and rarefaction’s of a longitudinal wave. The finer points of waves were studied in the lab in a ripple tank with green water to make the waves more visible. The students observed reflection and diffraction around barriers they set up in the ripple tank.

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These objectives are achieved by using authentic resources including on line print, audio-visual, and traditional print resources such as magazines, newspapers, and short stories.�� There is also a cultural component emphasizing life and values of the native speakers.

Spanish 1

We continue to have lots of fun while learning in Spanish 1!�� Students are building their vocabulary at a rapid pace using engaging techniques such as TPR (Total Physical Response), in which students act out new words by following the teacher’s commands.�� This can sometimes lead to crazy games of ‘Simón dice’.�� It is tremendously rewarding to see how students (with no prior knowledge of the language) are now able to have a basic conversation in Spanish about their daily school routines, likes and dislikes, clothing, and their friends and family.�� Students have enjoyed presenting their projects on what their lives would be like if they lived in a Spanish speaking country. They recently used technology to complete a slide presentation entitled ‘¿Quién soy yo?’ in which they wrote about their personal and physical characteristics, their interests and their families.�� ¡Qué divertido!

Spanish 2

We recently finished a unit on food and art.�� In class we learned the difference between traditional and modern art and focused on two Spanish artists: Pablo Picasso and Diego Velázquez.�� Students worked in groups to complete travel brochures about cities in Spanish-speaking countries they wish to visit.�� They discussed the various points of interest, customs and local Jewish communities. They were also required to explain how one navigates through the airport, the various check-in points, baggage requirements, and security process. Our students’ cooking skills were also showcased as they directed and starred in their own cooking videos.�� We are now finishing up a unit on the media.�� Much of class time is spent discussing current national and international events in the news in Spanish.�� ��In addition, to bring together the theme of media and an amazing week of Shiriyah, students recently completed articles and ‘live’ broadcasts from the hallways of �鶹����.

Spanish 3

We are continuing to cover Latin American authors such as Miguel Unamuno, Eduardo Galeano, and Gabriel García Marquéz whose short stories have led us to explore issues regarding underdevelopment in Latin America.�� Students have been perfecting their writing skills and recently wrote, directed and presented an original play.�� In addition, we have been reviewing old grammatical concepts such as ‘ser’ and ‘estar’ and stem-changing verbs and learning new ones such as the future and conditional tenses.

AP

The Spanish 4 AP class has covered numerous topics this year.�� We started with food during which students wrote, produced and starred in their own cooking shows.�� We moved on to health and medicine where students presented dialogues on different health-related scenarios, read and presented articles on various current health topics in the news, and completed online surveys on health issues such as heart disease.�� Our current topic, ‘La identidad’ has us watching several videos about the life and identity of Latinos in America which has led to discussions on immigration and language.�� In addition, since we normally take time to discuss the Jewish holidays when they come up, this past week we spent part of a class talking about the meaning and rituals of Tu B’Shvat.

Spanish Club

This year saw the inception of our new Spanish Club. We are planning an educational trip to the Hispanic society of NYC and planning fun activities as we explore the varied cultures of the Spanish- speaking world.

French 1

French 1 is enjoying the opportunity to communicate by discussing��days, seasons, time, food, activities, colors and many other major��topics necessary for communication.�� To reinforce numbers, we play��bingo.�� To reinforce classroom directions and parts of the body, students participate in a good game of “Jacques a dit” (Simon says).��Students made power point presentations introducing their families and��friends .�� They described them using newly learned vocabulary

French 2

Students in level two French are continuing to build upon skills��learned in level one.�� ��Students have been involved in many of the��same activities only at a higher level.�� They recently wrote an essay��in the past tense and continue to present original dialogues using the��target language.�� They examine on-line dialogues thus enriching their��ability to learn everyday French.�� Their favorite activity is to learn��French songs and jingles which reinforce the facility of the language.��The class was exceptionally enthusiastic about sending Hannukah
greetings in French.

French 3

As expected, students continue to build on skills learned in previous��levels.�� Many more class conversations about likes, dislikes, daily��activities and future goals.�� We have read some short stories and��continue to review native speaker situations on line.�� We have used a��website which presents news in slow French.�� Students will be working��on presenting “TV commercials” and they are looking forward to writing��their own individual fairy tale using past tense of verbs which they��have just mastered.

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The engineering lab is filled with student teams busy at design.

Ninth graders are designing circuits that integrate sensors with the Arduino micro controller. They have learned to code. They designed automatic Chanukias, Shofar blowing music boxes, button controlled lights, games, pianos, dimmers, alarms and more.

Tenth graders researched and presented the engineering aspects of the biological systems. They designed autonomous robots using ultrasonic distance sensors, motors controlled with h-Bridges, scales using strain gauges and op amps and stopwatches using stepper motors and LCD screens. They investigated gait using physmo software and designed engineering components on Tinkercad for our 3D printer. Their 3D designs are hanging from our windows.

All students are also learning about new engineering technology through the technical articles they report on once a month and through our engineering lecture series which includes inventors, entrepreneurs, doctors, patent attorneys, scientists and engineers.��

• Steven Paley, an inventor, entrepreneur, and author of ‘The Art of Invention’ spoke about the creative side of engineering and “design thinking”
• Dr. Michael Stifelman, director of robotic surgery at NYU Langone Medical Center transmitted from the operating room where we watched a live surgery
• As a follow up, Dr. Abraham Knoll showed us how new technology has changed the management of kidney stones and brought some of the actual instruments used in robotic surgery
• Joel Bock, a partner at SNRDentons shared his experience relating to the convergence of science and law and the protection of ideas and inventions
• This week we are hosting David Wolf and Stephen Schneider from SunLight General Capital who will present on solar energy technology and its markets
• Some of our 10th graders were hosted by Evan Sohn on a trip to Rockefeller Universitiy Bio-imaging Center. It is one of the worlds leading facilities for microscopy and scientific imaging. Professors Dr James Hudspeth and Dr Allison North and their doctoral students were eager to share their expertise. Our students marveled at the advances made in bio-imaging as we observed live specimens and embryos through the latest microscopes and imaging stations

Stay tuned. More to come!
We are especially proud of all our engineering elective graduates who have chosen to pursue an engineering education by applying to the top engineering schools in the country.�� Congratulations to our students who got in early: Ronit Langer- MIT, Andrew Levine – Penn Engineering,�� Bezalel Pittinsky- Cooper Union, Tzvi Besser – Columbia Engineering

Our former engineering students are never far from the lab. So many of them come during their free time to work with the current 9th and 10th graders and to see what’s cooking in the 3D printer.

As part of their senior elective, Ronit and Amitai Cohen, are working with 10th grader, Bracha Getter and 9th grader Ray Katz on a project they call “kosher STEM”. They plan to create an electronic key swipe that will use proximity sensors and a circuit that never opens but gets rerouted to the lock when the sensor is within range. This system will avoid the problems of shabbat by using Grama, indirect causation, and Me’niat Haminah, lack of involvement (because you would wear the proximity sensor). They hope to spend time in the lab this spring bringing it to life.

Tsipora Stone, another former engineering student is helping us launch a Girls Who Code Club. Tsipora attended a summer immersion program and is sharing her experience with us. We have been assigned an instructor and will be launching the program next week with twenty of our girls. The national organization works to inspire, educate, and equip girls with the computing skills to pursue 21st century opportunities.����.

Two of our tenth grade engineering students, Daniel Koenig and David Lifschitz, will be attending an entrepreneurial trip to Israel over winter vacation with CIJE, the Center for Initiatives in Jewish Education, supporters of our program. They will experience Start Up Nation first hand and attend workshops at the Technion. I look forward to hearing about their experience and hope to participate with additional students next year. If anyone is interested in an extensive entrepreneurial summer program in Israel see

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�鶹���� Auction:��Rena Farkas ’16

The annual �鶹���� Auction was announced by Toby Moses on December 2nd. The auction, run by the FPA, raises money for FPA programming for the school. ��Parents and students had the option to bid on offers from 27 different categories. The categories included: art, books, camps, clothing, dinning, doctors & dentists, electronics, gourmet items, �鶹���� faculty experiences, handbags, health and fitness, home, jewelry, Judaica, kids, memorabilia, other services, spa & beauty, sports, entertainment and sports tickets, travel & destinations, tutoring, and unique experiences. The bidding was available at .
The bidding ended December 12.

�鶹���� on Fire: Rena Farkas ’16

During 2nd and 3rd period on December 18th, �鶹���� on Fire, �鶹����’s annual student Chanukah celebration, took place in the auditorium and cafeteria. �鶹���� seniors wore black �鶹���� on Fire t-shirts and sat around the stage while other grades sat on the floor, the boys sitting across from the girls. The festivities kicked off with the Menorah Challenge: students on chairs held lanterns and were pushed across the floor. The first team to get eight members to the other side won. Raffle tickets were chosen from the boxes to see who would win a prize and everyone then joined hands to dance. ���鶹���� on Fire ended in the cafeteria where the school was treated to ice cream!

Candle Lighting at Holy Name Hospital:��Max Weisbrot ‘ 16

On Wednesday December 17th, Rabbi Schulman and 10 students went on a trip to visit patients at Holy Name Medical Center. The students, including Sam Finkel, Sarah Baruch, Naomi Manas, Sabrina Kudowitz, Debra Paul, Danielle Auerbacher, Keren Pickholz, Chani Infield and Malki Infield sang Chanukah songs and lit candles on a feed that was shown to the whole hospital.

The idea for the visit came from Naomi Manas’s mother who is a nurse at the hospital. She approached Rabbi Schulman about the idea of having students join in on the usual Chanukah festivities. He loved the idea and asked for volunteers in Naomi’s Jewish studies classes. 10 students all quickly volunteered and were, “super excited to go,” according to Rabbi Schulman.

The students were able to meet in person with some patients and were also shown on a video feed for patients who were unable to leave their rooms. They spread some Chanukah cheer to the sick people and gave many people who didn’t have a chance to celebrate Chanukah a happy night to light candles, sing and have a good time.

Kahal Tzedakah Drive:��Amanda Leifer ‘ 16

�鶹���� Students raised money for Kahal during Chanukah this year. Kahal is �鶹����’s student run Tzedakah organization under the faculty guidance of Rabbi Ciner and Rabbi Goldfischer. ��Kahal chooses different charities to donate to during tzedakah drives throughout the year. ��The money from the Chanukah drive will be given to three charities: Emuna, Leket Israel, and Lone Soldier.

Every Hebrew class choose a representative who suggested ways for the class to raise money and collected the money. This year students sold popcorn, sushi, sweatshirts, and held raffles in order to make the most money. The class that raised the most money won a prize. Lisa Appelbaum (15’), and Tammy Billet (15’) class representatives for 12T1 sold long sleeve shirts with hoods and crew neck sweatshirts for $25. Adam Auerbach (17’) sold a card carrying iPhone case with the �鶹���� school’s logo on it.

*Update* �鶹���� students raised $27,500 for these worthwhile charities! Kol Hakavod! Congratulations to class 12R on raising the most funds for our tzedakah drive and class 9R for being the runners-up!

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Chanukah Toy Drive:��Amanda Leifer ‘ 16

Now in its 22nd year, the �鶹���� annual Chanukah toy drive, took place from December 10th to December 18th. Toys were donated to the Bergen County Chanukah Toy drive, an organization which distributes the toys to local hospitals, and homes.

Students received five tickets for any contribution they made. Those tickets could be put into the Chanukah raffle whose winners were announced during the school’s Chanukah program “�鶹���� on Fire.”

This year, a large amount of toys were collected by �鶹���� students. “Hundreds, �鶹����’s most successful year so far” said Rabbi Schulman who runs the drive. The toys were placed in front of Barry’s desk, and during the drive he often found it difficult to get around to his desk because of the surrounding toys.

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While Sophomore’s were preparing for Sophomore Slam in Niagra Falls, news reports out of Buffalo spoke of impassable roads and several feet of snow.�� We were scheduled to leave on Thursday morning and more snow was in the forecast for Friday. Over the course of three hours on Wednesday, our amazing teachers and administrators planned an all new Sophomore Slam packed with activities in (somewhat) warmer Virginia Beach!

The faculty put together an incredible itinerary; from roller skating to go-karting, all activities saw countless amounts of student bonding. ��While creating new friendships and strengthening past ones, we��had the amazing opportunity to connect with one another in an out-of-school environment. This gave us the opportunity to push our social boundaries and create lasting relationships without the pressure of school work or classes.

As Friday came to a close, Shabbos was welcomed with an inspiring Kabbalat Shabbat. The grade transformed into a united front as the trip progressed, displaying this with looped arms and clapping hands. The singing eventually became so loud that the walls shook, the pure ruach reverberating through the hotel. The night continued with more singing, inspiring D’var Torahs, and thoughtful group sessions, during which students were asked to think about their relationships with Hashem, their teachers, and one another.

Shabbos day was equally inspiring as we��davened, learned, and laughed as one. Whether it was an especially meaningful D’var Torah, or walking along the beach, there was never a dull moment. A resounding unity was present every time someone approached a group of new friends, asked a teacher a meaningful question, or linked arms during acheinu.

As Sunday morning rolled around, we davened Vatikin overlooking the ocean and sunrise – a truly perfect ending to the weekend. With the whole grade davening together and marveling at Hashem’s creation, it truly encompassed everything that we had learned in those few days. Even though the trip was not what we had expected, it was better than we could have ever imagined. In the words of a student, “I realized that our grade was no longer simply a grade, but rather, a family”.

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