Volume 30 Issue 1

lion’stale

the

charles e. smith jewish day school 11710 hunters lane, rockville, maryland

tuesday, august 27, 2012vol. 30 issue 1

Our minds are still adrift too, but we have landed. Welcome back.

02 • the lion’s tale • news

New teachers post about themselves

Kate ArmstrongDepartment: EnglishHometown: Fairfax, Va.Individual to meet: Charlotte BronteMost exotic job: Painted street curbs

Andrew Goldman

Department: MathHometown: Rockville, Md.Favorite Food: Steak (rare) Individuals to meet: Otto van Bismarck and Augustus, who was “just awesome.”

Rachel Bergstein*Department: Jewish HistoryHometown: Allentown, Pa.Favorite Olympic sports: Tram-poline, DressageMost exotic job: Kid chauffeur; delivered kids to activities

Aaron BregmanDepartment: Jewish HistoryHometown: Danvers, Mass.Favorite Movie: The Big LebowskiFavorite Olympic sport: Gymnastics because Alexandra Raisman is from Massachusetts.

Jean BryerDepartment: Administrative AssistantHometown: East Brunswick, N.J.Favorite Cartoon characters: Calvin and Hobbes*Individual to meet: Pablo Picasso

Nancy WassnerDepartment: EnglishHometown: Hershey, Pa.Favorite Book: The Great Gats-byFavorite Olympic sport: The “strange and intriguing sport” of curling.

Kelly Grosskurth

Department: ScienceHometown: Dixhills, N.Y.Individual to meet: Abra-ham LincolnFavorite superhero: Batman

Raymond Hodges

Department: ScienceHometown: Louisville, Ky.Favorite Olympic sport: Volley-ballFavorite book: Ender’s Game

William Schatz IIDepartment: ArabicHometown: Lancaster, Pa.Most exotic job: counted money in vault at Her-shey Park

Noam SiennaDepartment: JTTPHometown: TorontoFavorite website: Smit-ten KitchenFavorite cartoon charac-ter: Ysma

Cliff StarkeyDepartment: EnglishHometown: Omaha, Neb.Favorite movie: Peewee’s Big AdventureFavorite book: Fight Club

David Greenspoon

Department: JTTPHometown: Jacksonville, Fla.Most exotic job: Four years as a navy ship electricianFavorite Book: The Little Prince

Dafna TsukronDepartment: HebrewHometown: Yerucham, IsraelFavorite Cartoon: Donald Duck Favorite food: Fresh challah

compiled by Dore Feith, Dina Rabinovitz and Jeremy Kaplan

*At time of print, new admissions Director Rebecca Weisman was not available for an interview. We welcome her to CESJDS.

*Bryer named her cat Hobbes.

*Bergstein’s husband grew up with Miriam Stein’s husband

news • the lion’s tale • 03

Local perspectives on London Olympics 2012• nina simpkins

and adina pollak •reporters

Whether at home, camp or in London, CESJDS students joined the world in the excitement of the Olympic Games.

One exciting moment for the broader Jewish community was gymnast Alexandra Raisman’s gold medal performances in the women’s gymnastics team final and the floor exercise event final. Raisman per-formed her winning floor routine to the tune of “Hava Nagila.

Sophomore Jordan Block watched various Olympic events on TV, including Raisman’s per-formances. He said that he mostly watched events to which he felt a personal connection but also all the others that were broadcast.

“I watched gymnastics because a very close friend of mine’s sister is Aly Raisman,” Block said. “I only watched crew and kayaking because it was on while I was at camp. And as for basketball, I just love watch-ing basketball. I watched the Olym-pics because I love sports and they

are just very interesting and fun to watch.”

While freshman Emma Enig was not able to watch or follow the Olympics this year, she expressed an interest in swimming.

“I would probably have followed the swimming portion because I have many friends who are on swim teams, and it’s just interesting to watch,” she said.

Sopho-more SJ Hy-man attended the games in London. She described the Olympics as a completely different experi-ence when seen in person.

“It’s a much different envi-ronment,” Hy-man said. “You understand in theory that this is an event that

is worldwide, but until you go there and see people from almost every country and [hear] people speaking tons of different languages you don’t really understand how universal the idea of sport is. You can’t really vi-sualize or understand it until you’ve really been there and seen just how many people from everywhere and

every back-ground are there.”

Enig ex-plained that if she had the chance, she would not want to attend or see the Olympics in person.

“I’d prefer to watch it on TV so I could watch the high-lights,” she said.

Hyman felt uncharacteris-tically patriotic when cheering on Team USA.

“I’m not

usually the most patriotic of people, but being there, you get so into it and so patriotic cheering on your country,” she said.

Enig agreed.“I feel a strong connection to

my country and when the U.S. team wins, I’m happy for them,” she said. “However, if they lose, it doesn’t make me feel any less proud of America.”

Block disagreed with Enig. While he still felt proud of Team USA when it performed well, he felt disappointed when the athletes perform poorly.

Freshman Bronya Lechtman supported the U.S. as well as the other winning teams.

“For me, personally, I definitely hope that whenever the U.S. per-forms that they’ll win, but if they don’t I’m still excited for the other team,” Lechtman said. “…In a way I see the Olympics more as an oppor-tunity to bring the world together. I do feel proud whenever the U.S. wins because it’s cool to know that these amazing people come from the same place that you do.”

Sept. 11 is a day of remembrance. For the past 11 years, CESJDS has held assemblies to remember and honor the nearly 3,000 people killed on Sept. 11, 2001. It has been one year since the opening of the Sept. 11 Memorial in New York City. This year, the assembly will focus on the heroes of the day, but it will also focus on how America bounced back in the immediate aftermath.

Director of Jewish Life Miriam Stein formed a student committee to prepare the ceremony at the end of last year. The commit-tee will continue planning through the first week of school.

The committee aims to capture the na-tion’s emotions directly after the attacks and convey them to the student body. The sense of American solidarity at the time has not been replicated since. The whole country gathered to support the victims’ families. American flags were displayed in storefronts, in yards and on buildings. Many could not believe that such a devastating attack could occur so close to home.

“Our incoming seventh-graders were barely alive in 2001,” Stein said. “Part of what we want to do is educate people on what hap-pened and part of what we want to do is also have a sense of the national tragedy.”

Incoming science teacher Kelly Gross-kurth, who grew up in New York City, said an

annual memorial ceremony has been held at her former school since the attacks.

“We had art projects that revolved around Sept. 11 and we always have memorials be-cause within my school there were parents that passed away during Sept. 11,” Grosskurth said.

The committee thinks it is important for the students – particularly those in the mid-dle school – to understand those emotions. It thinks that, as members of this American gen-eration, it is necessary to understand Amer-ica’s response to the Sept. 11 attacks. Stein highlighted the importance of ensuring that everyone remembers both the terrorist attacks and Americans’ resulting solidarity.

• allie wiener •reporter

Sept. 11 ceremony aspires to honor, educateCommittee concentrates on students too young to remember attacks

WENLOCK, ONE of the two Olympic mascots, entertains pedestrians along the banks of the River Thames, while St. Paul’s Cathedral stands across the river in the background. London Olympics 2012’s theme was “Inspire a gener-ation.”

photo provided by SJ Hyman

*Bryer named her cat Hobbes.

04 • the lion’s tale • chadashot

We all enjoy spending our summers differently. Some of us go to the beach, others spend their time

on their sofas, watching marathons of their favorite TV shows, and others go to summer camps.

Four of the most import-ant days of my summer were spent at American-Israeli Public Affairs Committee’s (AIPAC) Saban Leadership Seminar. Guest speakers ranging from presidents of think tanks to professors to a bipartisan group of mem-

bers of Congress spoke on a variety of issues. Each year, CESJDS sends one student

to Saban, and I was lucky enough to get our spot this year.

One of the main themes of the conference was that although it doesn’t seem like we students can do much to change our government, it turns out that we underesti-mate the influence we have.

The various members of Congress pointed out to everyone in attendance that students can, will and do make a difference in policy-making all the time. Members of Congress like Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.) told us how her con-stituents lobby her about the issues which concern them, and that she takes their concerns into consideration when casting her votes on

their behalf.All the talk about youth

involvement was terrific, but the most important lesson I learned at Saban was that despite living in a hy-per-partisan political envi-ronment that shows no signs of improving, there will al-ways be areas of consensus, and one of the most import-ant areas of bipartisanship is in support for Israel.

One of the biggest recent accomplishments the speak-ers pointed to was the latest round of sanctions targeting the Iranian regime. Some of the most significant advo-cates of these sanctions were students like you and me.

Speakers stressed that Israeli citizens face the same threats we do as Americans.

The most timely example of this is Syria, as it was an-nounced shortly before Sa-ban started that the Syrian regime was in the process of moving stockpiles of chemi-cal weapons.

Both the United States and Israel are threatened by the prospect of a nuclear Iran. At the AIPAC Policy Conference in March 2012, Israeli Prime Minister Ben-jamin Netanyahu pointed out how his people live in “the shadow of annihilation” each day with Iranian nucle-ar threats, and emphasized that Iran is no friend of the U.S.”

But situations like that are why AIPAC exists: to lobby on Israel’s behalf in a world stacked against it.

I s r a e l : AIPAC’S Saban conference promotes, bipartisan American-Israeli relations

When students head off to overnight camp, many find themselves experienc-ing Jewish atmospheres dif-ferent from those at home.

Freshman Bronya Lecht-man attends the unaffiliated Camp Saginaw, although “everyone who goes there is Jewish.”

“They have Friday night services, where we light the candles and say the bless-ings ... and then after that we just sing camp songs,” Lechtman said.

The camp itself does not keep kosher, though Lecht-man’s household does. Aside

from this, Lechtman does not feel that she is “much more observant than at camp.”

Unlike some who go to camp to enrich their Jewish heritage, Lechtman does not feel it necessary to engage in Jewish activities during the summer.

“I guess I get enough of a Jewish fix from school, so it’s definitely nice to see oth-er things,” Lechtman said.

At the Zionist camp Tel Yehudah, Naomi Solkowitz attended services both on Friday night and Saturday morning. In addition, camp-ers engage in all sorts of activities related to Judaism.

“Every other day we do an activity associated with prayer that our counselors plan for us,” Solkowitz said.

Solkowitz feels that she is more observant at camp than she is at home, but also that it was not difficult to adjust to the slightly differ-ent lifestyle.

“On Shabbat at camp I don’t use any technology and we don’t turn on lights or anything to respect the people that want to observe Shabbat,” Solkowitz said.

Eighth-grader Avital Krifcher attended Moshava sleepaway camp. Moshava identifies with the Mod-ern-Orthodox denomina-tion, as does Krifcher. Like

Tel Yehudah, Moshava runs Jewish ac-tivities that promote an appreciation for Israel.

At Mosha-va campers must wear modest clothes such as skirts or shorts down to the knee and shirts cover-ing the shoulders. These restrictions challenged Krifcher at first.

“My first year it was really hard getting into [the customs], but it kept getting easier,” Krifcher said.

Like the dress code, Krifcher took time to adjust to the amount of prayer that

the camp required. Howev-er, she eventually grew ac-customed to the daily prayer services.

“I became more excited to pray … it was easier be-cause it was a camp thing to do,” Krifcher said.

Bringing camp home

Something we can all agree on

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• haley lerner •chadashot editor

art by Annie Schtevie

• matthew foldi •

chadashot editor

chadashot • the lion’s tale • 05

• stu krantz •copy editor

What’s new at CESJDS

Spending summer in service

“On the SOS [Children’s Villages] trip we did a lot to help out the Jewish communities in Hun-gary, Romania, and the Ukraine. This included a lot of cleaning of cem-eteries and synagogues, since most of the cities in these countries have very small Jewish populations

because of what occurred during the Holocaust, so while there are many Jewish cemeteries there is no one to really take care of them.”

Sydney Greene ‘14

“I spent the summer as a Bronfman Scholar in Israel. It was the best experience I’ve ever had in my entire life. The goal is get people from very different Jewish back-grounds to talk about how they identify … and to talk about [things like] like accepting people who aren’t halachically Jewish …. I’ve always had a ... connection to the Land of Israel, but, I think this trip taught me about how people connect to Israel … in a non-political way.”

Avichai Ozur Bass ‘13

Eric Sayag‘14

“This summer I went on a BBYO summer program called ‘Kallah.’ We explored our Jewish identity through classes, programs, and prayer. Many Rabbis, educators, and even comedians came to talk to us about Judaism while having a great time. We had so much fun and learned a lot more about ourselves and others.”

CESJDS students strengthen connections to Judaism over summer break

photo provided by Sydney Greene

photo provided by Avichai Ozur Bass

photo provided by Eric Sayag

As with every year, there are many changes at CESJDS this year, and nat-urally some of those pertain to the area of Jewish life.

Among the most sig-nificant developments is the introduction of the Kehilah program. Every Monday and Thursday for 12 minutes after the second block, students will gather in mixed grade groups of six to 10 with a teacher to go over announcements, discuss issues in the world and make new friends.

“It’s going to be another way for students to build relationships and commu-nity,” Director of Jewish Life Miriam Stein said. “If you’re in Tefilah minyan then you know those kids but there’s no program and there’s no opportunity to interact with each other. I hope it will break kids out of their shell. If you’re a quiet kid, a teacher might not pick up if you need a lit-tle extra [help]. If you’re in a small group then it’s one more person looking out for you,” Stein said.

Stein stressed that the program was not conceived with the singular focus of making students more

outgoing.“It’s so everybody has

touch points with other students and teachers,” she said.

The Kehillah groups will begin on Aug 30, the first Thursday of the school year.

• • •Stein detailed the set

of Jewish values that the school will be stressing: achraiut, responsibility, derech eretz, courtesy and kavod, respect.

“It ties in with Bring Your Own Device since there’s more expensive par-aphernalia and we need to be more respectful,” Stein said. “We’re not building a new culture of these things, we want to reinforce them. We want to be deliberate in reinforcing these values.”

• • • The minyan program

will remain largely the same. One change is the es-tablishment of two separate Chavurah minyan sections, one led by Stein and the other by math teacher Wil-liam Kaplan.

• • •The yoga minyan will be

led by physical education teacher Carolyn Holmes.

• • •Kabbalat Shabbat and

Rosh Chodesh assemblies

will continue. However the Kabbalat Shabbat ceremo-ny, which was held every Friday at the end of the school day last year, will now be held after minyan on Friday morning.

“We did it to help with the schedule,” Stein said. “[Now] we don’t have to be concerned kids may miss their buses. It will help with attendance and respect. A lot of people were bothered by the disrespect.”

• • •All seventh-graders will

receive a special present when they begin the school year. Each student will get a JDS kippah in their bag. Stein also had some advice for them about the atmo-sphere at JDS.

“JDS is an environment that supports questioning and respects different prac-tices,” Stein said.

• • •There are two new JTTP

teachers, Noam Sienna and Rabbi David Greenspoon, and two new Jewish Histo-ry teachers, Aaron Bregman and Rachel Bergstein. In addition, eight new general studies teachers join the JDS faculty.

Changes include assemblies, facul-ty, minyanim and new programming:

06 • the lion’s tale • in–depth

The Year to ComePreparing for the challenges of the new year

New Responsibilities

For high school students, getting older means learning how to drive, entering senior year and graduating. These transitions, among others, are de-fining moments in the process of growing up and journeying from childhood to adult-hood.

Some students believe that the feeling of growing up comes from having more re-sponsibility. Although

gaining responsibility is a typical part of getting older, many believe the knowledge that their actions have a significant effect on others is a sign of maturity.

“The difference with driving and other household responsi-bilities is that driving can have big repercus-sions, of even life and death,” sophomore Maya Bornstein said.

Bornstein also felt people can attain a sense of maturity when they accomplish tasks

they once believed were only for adults.

“I used to think [driving] made my siblings so grown up because they can drive, and now I get to drive,” Bornstein said.

Others, like senior David Schonfeld, feel mature simply because they are now upper-classmen.

“I feel grown up when I realize that this is my last year of high school, and I’m part of the oldest grade in school,” Schonfeld said.

• dina rabinovitz •asst. in-depth editor

photo by Allie Wiener

photo by Steven Reichel

• dina rabinovitz •asst. in-depth editor

Sophomore Samantha Berman prepares for the trip home

Juniors in Paul Blank’s “Rendering Legal Decisions”

With the completion of summer comes the an-ticipation of a new school year.

Some students are nervous about dealing with the challenges and responsibilities that come with moving up a grade.

Freshman Eli Davis is concerned about the extra effort that he will have to put forth once he enters high school.

“My grades will now matter a lot more, which means I need to put in more work and devote more time to academics,”

Davis said. Other students are

apprehensive about how much time they will have to spend on their school-work.

“I do worry that I might have to drop an extracurricular or sport to handle the increased workload,” junior Joshua Bloch said.

As senior Madison Roll enters her last year at CESJDS, she is worried about the overall result of her hard work.

“I’m nervous that I’m not going to get into my colleges of choice and that applications are going to be really overwhelming,”

Roll said.Many older students

can give guidance about how to deal with the stress of a new grade to those concerned about the com-ing year.

Sophomore Zoe Oren-stein, who found that she did not have to change her work habits ninth grade, offers assurance that freshmen will be able to cope with the high school workload.

“I thought that my previous teachers had helped me prepare well enough so that when I got into ninth grade, I was ready,” Orenstein said. “You should just do what

you have been doing since seventh grade, and you will be fine.”

Senior Yaly Levy offers advice to juniors con-cerned about their work-loads.

“Relax and [do] not let the stress get to you,” Levy said. “Take every-thing step by step and do not put unneces-sary pressure on yourself just do your best. It’s a challenging year with school work, and SATs [and] ACTs, but don’t freak yourself out, that does no

good. Don’t stress yourself about college either.”

Levy also stresses the need for balance.

“If you do your work and stay on top of things you will be fine,” she said. “And balance out your priorities, but make time to relax and breathe and have some fun.”

in–depth • the lion’s tale • 07

“Basically the way to get rest is don’t procrasti-nate. Everyone says ‘of course’, but what happens is you end up having to stay up late to finish. If you get all your work out early you can still mess around until as late as you want, but you can also sleep when you want, which for me led to being well rested. Basically—do your work!!”

—Ben Steren, senior

A year ago, the Class of 2015 entered the new year unlike any previous high school class at CESJDS. They were the first grade in JDS to experience the two leveled Advanced-Enriched College Prep system in core classes. As their second year in the system approaches, older and younger students alike have thoughts about its effects.

Sophomore SJ Hyman was part of the first grade to participate in the Advanced-ECP system. Although she thinks that students tend to romanticize the old system, she believes that the new system poses some problems to student learning at JDS.

“I think it is affecting the learning experience we have at the school, and I think the focus of the administration should be on the learning experience we have while they can control it, because in the long run an enjoyable learn-ing experience will help us the most,” Hyman explained.

Though it will not directly affect him, junior Andrew Siegal opposes the new system because he thinks it will have adverse effects on students that learn in different ways.

“I dislike the system because the advanced class will bunch together two groups of students that learn at differ-ent levels,” Siegal said.

He added that he thought Honors students will either wind up struggling in Advanced classes or not being moti-vated enough in lower-level classes.

“In [E]CP they aren’t going to be pushed hard enough and they will not become as smart as they would have been.” Siegal said. “The real kids that are being short-changed are the kids who would have been in the Honors classes. They will either be pushed too hard, or not hard enough,”

While some older students are unsure about the new system, students who haven’t been in a leveling system before, like seventh-grader Rachel Serfaty, are more excit-ed for the two level system.

“I think that [it’s] a good idea because then people can learn at the level that they need to be learning at,” Serfaty said.

Eighth-grader Sara Hughes thinks that having levels at all is an improvement from the Lower School.

“I like having different class levels, because there may be some people that need extra help, or people get understand the material quicker than others,” Hughes said.

Even though he opposes the new two level system, Siegal appreciates having separate levels.

“Overall, having different levels has really helped me learn here,” Siegal said.

Upperclassmen share their tips for catching zzz’s

• steven reichel •in-depth editor

“I personally never continue doing homework after 10 p.m., so I can get to sleep around 11 p.m. and get at least seven hours of sleep. I find that when I go to sleep later than that I am really cranky and not fun to be around, plus it is really hard for me to focus in my classes.”

— Sydney Greene, junior

Get Your Sleep!

Tracking class levels

photo provided by Sydney Greene

08 • the lion’s tale • opinion

With the hectic schedules and home-work that welcome us back to school, we are also wel-comed with a new pro-

gram that will give us two 12-minute blocks a week that are designated for com-munity building. This time is intended for students to form bonds with each other, facilitate communication among students and relieve the stress that comes with being in the Upper School. The Kehilah program will cover topics ranging from current events to Jewish values to issues in class.

Two years ago, the ad-ministration implemented a Start It Up program, which brought together students in different grades to give advice to one another. The Kehilah program will have more regular meetings than Start It Up did, which will allow students to experi-ment with ways to make the program most effective.

One topic that will be covered in the Kehilah meet-ings will be school policies. By discussing school pol-icies in small groups with teachers, it will give us the opportunity to understand the purpose of a policy and suggest changes or improve-ments.

The new Kehilah pro-gram presents the opportu-nity for students to develop meaningful relationships and grow intellectually by discussing important issues of the day with teachers and other students, independent of grades and homework assignments. By creating bonds between students of different ages, our commu-nity will be strengthened.

Along with this strength-ening of our school com-munity, it is my hope that the program will help to lower the level of stress associated with school. With any program or change, in order for it to be successful we must give it a chance to grow. I am excited to see how the school’s initiative to strengthen the school community.

New technology along with a new designlion’s talethe

editorselana schragereditor-in-chief •

shira becker, samantha wienermanaging •

abby birnbaum, aaron boxerman& stu krantz

copy • jacob dorn, ass’t: jeremy kaplan

web • jonathan reem

design •r’ay fodor, annie schtevie

graphic • miriam israel, ass’t: rebecca panitch

photo • jon galitzerbusiness •david kulp

social media •dore feith, jesse zweben

news •matthew foldi, haley lerner

chadashot •alison kraner, yael krifcher

features •eitan snyder

entertainment •steven reichel, ass’t: dina rabinovitz

in depth •ari charnoff, jeremy etelson

& alexander flumsports •

senior reporterscole aronson • reuben cohen

gefen kabik • matthew halpern david solkowitz

reportersrobbie belson • isaac dubrowsky

maddie dworkin • rachel evans

kobi fodor • malka himelhoch

emma hofman • evan kravitz

matt litman • adina pollak

brian schonfeld • alec schrager

nina simpkins • shira ungar

joseph vogel • danny waksman

hannah wexler • allie wiener

photographersari fontheim • symon ginsburg

max greenberg • sam hofman

hannah josovitz • jessica kamjou

evan satinsky

staff adviserclaire burke

adviser emeritasusan zuckerman

The Lion’s Tale Editorial and Ethics Policy

As the student newspaper of the Charles E. Smith Jewish Day School, The Lion’s Tale is a forum for student opinion and expression. All content is

determined by students. Its purpose is to inform the CESJDS community and to express the views of its staff and readers. The staff has made every effort to

ensure the accuracy and objectivity of its news.

Signed columns reflect the opinion of the writer; staff editorials reflect the opinion of the majority of The Lion’s Tale editorial board. The Lion’s Tale staff

welcomes letters to the editor and guest columns, all of which must be signed. The staff reserves the right to refuse any material and may edit letters or

columns for length, clarity, libel, obscenity and/or disruptiveness.

Submissions may be emailed to [email protected], mailed to The Lion’s Tale at 11710 Hunter’s Lane, Rockville, MD, 20852, or brought to room 328.

The Lion’s Tale is funded by The Simon Hirshman Endowment for the Upper School Newspaper and The Kuttner-Levenson Endowment for the Upper

School Cultural Arts and Student Publications, and community advertisement. The Lion’s Tale reserves the right to refuse advertisement for any reason.

The staff will adhere to the ethics policies of The Society of Professional Journalists and the National Scholastic Press Association. The adviser will be

held to the Journalism Education Association’s Adviser Code of Ethics.

Learning to finish excellentlyIf you ever see a gran-ite walker, you’re prob-ably one yourself. They live in the highest reaches of the moun-

tains, in the forgotten spaces in valleys, on the open slabs of sticky rock that wallpaper the wilderness from top to bottom.

Find a green and clear river, and watch as it spits upwards as it attempts to choke the boulders in its path. Follow the flight of the spray, and there they’ll be: a line of them, huge humped backs stacked on top of spindly legs, each one following the other, up and across, a liquid line of bodies, until one by one they disappear over your hori-zon, searching for their own.

For four weeks this sum-mer, I got to be a granite walker. Loaded down under a 30 or 40 pound back-pack, I tripped down trails, next to river and through places that had no signs of previous human passage. I

learned to keep an eye out for ducks, to pick up my feet and to love the taste of iodine.

As a granite walker, I accomplished things. I kept a campfire burn-ing all night. I spent two days by myself, not eating and speaking to anyone. I walked up huge, steep slabs of granite. I descended cliffs. One morning, I hiked four miles, ran five and jumped in a glacial river—all before 8 a.m.

At the end of junior year, I felt as though I had not finished anything. I had turned my assignments in, mostly on time, but I did not feel as though I had truly completed all that I wanted to. I came out of the moun-tains knowing that I had done things. I had finished with excellence.

I know now that I am capable of finishing any-thing that I want to finish. I have promised myself that I will not simply do things this year—I will do them all with excellence. I will finish high school with excellence, and I will be proud of what I have accomplished.

As the media moves toward formats that use modern technology to present news in real time, so does The Lion’s Tale. Even as a high-school publication, it is our responsibility to ride the waves of change as we continue to inform our readership in the most effective ways possible.

We are excited to present our new print format, which you now hold in your hands. As we publish only once a month, the newsmagazine format we have adopted allows us to design more visually attractive spreads while includ-

ing only the most substantive stories. Our new format is closely con-

nected to our revamped website, www.lionstale.org. We promise to upload new material every day to ensure that there is always a reason for you to make a daily visit to our site. Coverage will be presented through stories, pho-tos, opinions and videos. Our website allows us to be more timely than ever, and more environmentally friendly.

This year The Lion’s Tale is redefin-ing what it means to be informed about the JDS community. Now you can read

about occurrences regarding your peers in a way that is entertaining and inter-active. This is a job that goes beyond our staff. It is also up to you to help keep this movement strong. Submit story ideas and photos that you may catch on your smartphone in the heat of the moment. Stop by our new office in room 328, or email us at [email protected]. With your support and involvement we can continue to evolve.

—Shira Becker, Elana Schrager and Samantha Wiener

• samantha wiener •managing

editor

• elana schrager •

editor-in-chief

Building community in bits

features • the lion’s tale • 09

Deciding how to spend your summer means choos-ing anything from academic courses to foreign exchange programs.

Sophomore Aviva Brai-er took advantage of the diverse options available to her, and chose to study genetics and genomics at a scholarship program through the Johns Hopkins Center for Talented Youth (CTY) called the Center Scholars Program (CSP). CSP students attend class-es and programs with CTY participants.

Braier decided on the program based on its con-tent and reputation.

“[I chose CSP because]

it’s ambitious, it’s an oppor-tunity, my sister did it, it looks really good for college, my parents wanted me to do it and I’m interested in bio-medical sciences,”she said.

Junior Diana Bender-Bi-er also chose to spend her summer away from home, traveling to Brazil with Citydance Conservatory of Strathmore on a cultural exchange. The company partnered with Ballet Jo-vem, a Brazilian young adult dance company.

“We had dance class every morning and, after-wards, some days were spent touring and some were spent on the beach,” Bender-Bier said.

In addition to explor-ing Brazil, students in the

program were exposed to the country’s unique dance style.

“In one class they put on a little show for us. They put on costumes and some peo-ple put on stilts, it was all so colorful and bright,” Bend-er-Bier said. “They were just so happy and proud of their culture.”

Bender-Bier selected her program purely for the experience.

“I chose to go to Brazil, because I thought it was a once-in-a-lifetime expe-rience to travel out of the country and connect with other teens and young adults from out of country who shared my passion – dance,” she said.

Despite their initial

apprehensions about the foreign atmospheres, Braier and Bender-Bier both en-joyed enriching summers.

“CSP is easily one of the best experiences of my life,” Braier said. “... CTY in itself is an amazing summer experience, there are crazy traditions and activities in addition to really fun and in-teresting classes. And every single person there is quirky and amazing.”

Bender-Bier liked the cultural exchange because it allowed her to connect with people across the world, without having to speak.

“We survived because we shared a passion for dance – a universal language,” Bender-Bier said.

• dina rabinovitz •asst. in depth editor

Summer of science, summer of danceExploring similarities between different summer programs

art by Annie Schtevie

“The Book of Mormon” brings its zany satire to D.C. — don’t be afraid to laughFF NS V ?e e

It’s official. The Kennedy Center has announced that “The Book of Mor-mon,” the part-satire, part-re-

ligious experience and all-Mormon musical sen-sation is coming to the DC area.

The musical follows Elder Price and Elder Cun-ningham, two Mormon mis-sionaries, as they attempt to convert a Ugandan village to Mormonism. The show, written by Robert Lopez (“Avenue Q”), Trey Parker and Matt Stone (“South

Park”), is hilariously vul-gar and walks the fine line between satire and anti–re-ligious group propaganda. It lead my family to discuss the possibly offensive quality of the jokes about Mormons.

My dad argued that if the show was based on Jews or Muslims, it would be criticized for being too of-fensive. In fact, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints released a statement, saying that “the production may attempt to entertain audiences for an evening, but the Book of Mormon as a volume of scripture will change people’s lives forever by bringing them closer to Christ.”

The Church does not seem to be offended. So

should we, as Jews, be of-fended for them? After all, Jews have been targeted by anti–Semitic propaganda throughout history, both satirically and seriously.

I do not think that anyone should waste their energy being offended by the show. I believe that “The Book of Mormon” is a bril-liant musical that actually supports organized religion, as Lopez tried to explain.

“[The Book of Mormon] is such a load of baloney,” Lopez said about the sacred text in an interview with The New York Times. “But peo-ple believe in it so strongly, and their lives are demon-strably changed for the good by it.”

In the musical, Elder

Cunningham, who has never actually read the Book of Mormon, tries to explain the sacred text to the Ugandans and convince them to con-vert. He adds fanciful new features such as AIDS-cur-ing frogs and Star Wars references, to cover up for his lack of knowledge.

The villagers begin to believe very strongly in this version of Mormonism. Their lives are improved greatly by the religion, even though it strays from Mor-monism’s actual laws. The purpose these villagers find in their lives through the religion is the change for the good that Lopez mentioned in the interview.

“The Book of Mormon” mocks the quirks and eccen-

tricities of organized reli-gion, but also celebrates the empowerment that it gives people when channeled to fuel hope instead of vio-lence. The point of the show is not just to make fun, but also to prove that organized religion is worthwhile as long as it does not influence evil acts.

So go see The Book of Mormon when it comes to the Kennedy Center in August, and don’t feel bad about laughing at the re-ligious jokes. Considering how tense religious conver-sations tend to get in the public sphere, it’s refreshing to see a work of art that comments on religion in a positive and constructive way with humor and wit.

• eitan snyder •

entertainment editor

10 • the lion’s tale • features

Reviewing realities of

Students participate in a variety of activities over the summer. Some choose to do programs at distant locations, while others stay in the area to work a day job. Some do nothing at all. But no matter what they do, their return to school is always nearing, and the nag-ging question remains: How is what I did this summer going to help me at school?

Junior Jacob Serfaty, who attended the Junior Statesmen of America Summer School at Stanford University, found that the academic program helped to mentally prepare him for the school year.

“The good thing about taking summer school class-es is that it keeps you in a

work rhythm so that you’re not struggling to get back on your feet once you get back to school,” Serfaty said.

Senior Molly Schneider attended the Young Wom-en’s Leadership Institute at Barnard College, where she participated in a num-ber of leadership exercises and classroom sessions and heard from several women who wrote books on femi-nism.

“I think this year I’ll know what’s expected of me in college in terms of papers, reading, giving presenta-tions,” she said.

But, she noted, as im-portant as her senior year of high school is, she did the program mainly looking ahead to college.

“I figured the program would be a great way to

learn about [Barnard], see how I liked it and the other students and learn about a subject I had never studied before: feminism,” Schnei-der said.

Junior Hilary Druckman chose to spend her summer outside of the classroom, working as a counselor at the Outdoor Education company Calleva, where she led mostly water-based activities.

“I ... learned most im-portantly to be happy, even in tough situations,” Druck-man said. “Your attitude completely changes the atmosphere. But if you tell yourself to be happy and energetic, even when you aren’t, soon the whole group is energetic. Obviously in school it’s really easy to have a negative mindset. But if

you can tell yourself that you are having a good time, the whole situation will seem to change.”

Junior Jacob Borenstein spent his summer taking classes to become a firefight-er. He spent many hours in the classroom in order to earn CPR and Hazardous Materials certification, as well as EMT qualification.

“I improved my studying techniques by taking that many classes,” Borenstein said. “I realized that the studying techniques I was taught in school apply to real life also.”

Plus, being a firefighter taught him one skill that is helpful for every high school student.

“I learned how to push through exhaustion,” Boren-stien said.

• stu krantz •copy editor

Once summer begins, students have more time to focus on personal goals.

Eighth-grader Reuben Winston had to wake up ear-ly five days a week to go for a multiple-mile run in order to fulfill his summer goal.

“For running, I just wanted to build up a base for the [cross country] season,” Winston wrote in an email. Though he did not

end up running as much as he had hoped, Winston feels confident that he can reflect on the summer and say that “it was enough.”

Others chose to partici-pate in Jewish social group activities over the summer. Sophomore Rachel Sil-verman attended Chapter Training Leadership Con-vention (CLTC), the BBYO summer camp that teaches its members the skills to be-come better leaders in their hometown chapters.

“Over the summer I was expecting to gain new knowledge about how to be a leader,” Silverman wrote in an email. “I think it panned out pretty well and I gained a lot of new knowl-edge.”

Not all students planned productive summers. Senior Ethan Walfish’s ambition this summer was to rest and enjoy his time off.

“My expectation for the summer was to have a very relaxing summer, [a]

very simple goal,” Walfish wrote in an email. “I think I did achieve my goal for the summer, because it was so simple.”

Walfish believes the complexity of other stu-dents’ goals might make them harder to reach.

“I do think it is practical for other students to achieve … what they set out to do, however they have to be re-alistic about their goals, and remember to just have fun with everything,” he wrote.

• evan kravitz •reporter

Starting school on the right footSUM

MER

sports • the lion’s tale • 11

Nationals draft Max Ungar (‘12)Chooses college over pros

With the No. 1,104 pick in the 37th round of the 2012 Major League Baseball draft, the Washington Na-tionals selected catcher Max Ungar (‘12) from CESJDS. Ungar made school histo-ry, becoming the first JDS athlete to be drafted by a professional sports team.

Prior to the draft, Ungar took part in a workout at the Nationals’ minor league team’s stadium in Hager-stown and took a personal-ity test administered by the Nationals at JDS during a professional day.

In his junior year at JDS, Ungar had a batting av-erage of .545, 13 RBIs, stole eight bases and hit one home run.

When Ungar found out he was going to be draft-ed, he was en route to Den-ison University for college orientation.

“My mom was in the car with me and she told me not to talk on the phone while driving, but I had a good feeling about the 301 area code that popped up on my phone,” Ungar said. “So, I picked it up and heard someone from the Na-tionals say ‘This is the Washington Nationals, we just wanted to let you know that we will be drafting you in about 10 minutes, congratulations.’ I went nuts, my mom went nuts. I started swerving along the road, so we pulled

off to a gas station and called a bunch of people.”

When the news of Un-gar’s achievement reached the JDS community, the enthusiasm was tangible.

“I was very excited for Max and his family and for our coaches,” Athletic Direc-tor Mike Riley said.

Ungar’s choice to at-tend college instead of signing

with the Nationals did not take too much thought.

“I had my mind made up before the draft that I was going to go to college,” Ungar said.

Ungar’s decision was strongly supported by Varsity Baseball head coach Steven Forestieri.

“Max understands the importance of education as well as the opportunity to continue to grow and de-velop as a baseball player,” Forestieri said.

Ungar’s main goals the next four years include winning an NCAA Division III championship, getting re-drafted by a major league team, earning his degree and expanding his website, www.cavemancollege.com.

According to the MLB’s official rules for drafting col-lege athletes, “College play-ers from four-year colleges who have either completed their junior or senior years or are at least 21 years old [are eligible to be drafted].”

Forestieri believes that Ungar will be able to achieve his goal of getting drafted again.

“If playing MLB is a true desire for Max, I have no

doubt that he can make it happen,” Forestieri said. “Having the honor of being drafted could

be a great motiva-tional piece that keeps Max focused

and determined on and off the field during his undergraduate studies.”

• alexander flum •sports editor

Boys varsity basketball team participates in summer league

The CESJDS boys var-sity basketball team ended last season with a disap-pointing early exit from the playoffs, when they lost in the first round. They entered the summer with a feeling of unfinished business.

This summer, the JDS varsity basketball team competed in a league during June and early July. They played in hopes of building skills and teamwork for next year. Despite lacking a com-plete roster for most games, the team finished the sum-mer league with a strong record of 7-3, with key wins against Walt Whitman High School and the Avalon School.

Head Coach David Mc-Cloud looked forward to his team playing against more difficult opponents than they play during the PVAC regular season.

McCloud said that

competing against these non-conference schools was a challenge for his players but thought his team was successful.

“I wanted them to get a feeling for what I was look-ing for in terms for conti-nuity on the offense that we run ... We put a lot of effort into driving to the basket,” McCloud said.

Senior Ethan Walfish is looking forward to leading this year’s team.

“[This season] I’ll be a more vocal leader and I’ll just try to help everyone on the court and get everything organized,” Walfish said.

McCloud is excited to contend for the PVAC Championship this season.

“I’m looking forward to challenge for the PVAC championship,” McCloud said. “I think that we have a lot of talented young players and I’m looking forward to playing Grace Brethren or Covenant Life in the PVAC championship.”

• robbie belson •reporter

Get excited for the launch of “The Lion’s Tale’s” new website!

Friday, August 31@ Kabbalat Shabbat. The next generation of CESJDS news.

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12 • the lion’s tale • sports

Jewish gymnast wins gold while showcasing heritage

Being Jewish at the Olympics took on special meaning at this summer’s London Games after the International Olympic Committee opted not to hold a moment of silence during the opening ceremony for the Israeli athletes killed by Black September terrorists at the 1972 Munich Olympics. While a healthy number of Jewish athletes competed in London, there was one who stood out above the rest.

Eighteen-year-old Jewish gymnast Alexandra Raisman, who came to London largely overshadowed by fellow

teammates Jordyn Wieber and Gabby Douglas, became a worldwide sensation, and especially in the Jewish community after performing her floor routine to the tune of the classic Jewish folk song “Hava Nagila.”

“Hava Nagila” took on an important meaning for the entire U.S. women’s gymnastics team after Raisman’s floor routine clinched the gold medal for the Americans in the team all-around event.

Raisman went on to win another gold in the individual floor competition, as well as a bronze on the balance beam. The medals, which Raisman dedicated to the victims of

the Munich terrorist attack, boosted her international profile so much that Israeli Diaspora Affairs Minister Yuri Edelstein invited Raisman and her family to visit Israel. According to the Jerusalem Post, Raisman accepted the offer by way of a phone call set up by U.S. ambassador to Israel Dan Shapiro.

“I am sure you know that beyond your wonderful personal achievement,” Edelstein wrote to Raisman, according to the Post. “You also brought great pride to millions of Jews in Israel and around the world ... hearing why you chose the song made me realize that the concept of Kol Israel Arevim Zeh Lazeh

[all Jews are responsible for one another] still holds true and that the Jewish people remain united no matter how far apart we may live.”

Raisman noted that although she did not choose “Hava Nagila” expressly because it was the 40th anniversary of the Munich attack, she is proud to be Jewish and wanted to display that at the Olympics. She also said she would have supported a memorial for the victims.

Another Jewish gymnast who earned recognition in London was rhythmic gymnast Julie Zetlin. Zetlin, a Bethesda native placed 21 of 24 competitors.

Other Jewish athletes competing in the wide shadow that Raisman cast in London included swimmer Jason Lezak, who became famous at the 2008 Beijing games after he chased down French swimmer Alain Bernard in the last leg of the men’s 4x100 freestyle relay in what ESPN said “might have been the greatest comeback swim in Olympic history.” Lezak, in what were likely his final Olympics, earned his only medal after swimming the qualifying for the men’s 4x100 freestyle relay and helped team USA qualify for the finals, where they won the silver.

• stu krantz •copy editor

CESJDS at the JCC Maccabi Games 2012art by A

nnie Schtevie

Participant

Rachael SchindlerSport

Girls Dance 16UMedals

Six gold, two silver

Participant Daniel Zuckerman

SportBoys Track and Field 16U

Medals Two gold, one silver, two

bronze

SportGirls Swimming 16U

ParticipantSara Kresloff

MedalsOne silver, two bronze

ParticipantBrian Shorr

SportBoys Basketball 16U

MedalsDid not medal

ParticipantsTalia Gasko

and Emma HofmanSport

Girls Basketball 16UMedals

Each won one silver

The JCC Maccabi Games is an Olympic-style sports competition featuring Jewish teams from different regions of North America. This years Maccabi games were held in Houston, Memphis, Tenn. and Rockland County, N.Y. Many CESJDS students competed as part of Team Greater Washington, based out of the JCC in Rockville, MD. For more coverage of JDS athletes at the JCC Maccabi Games, please visit www.lionstale.org/sports after the launch of the “The Lion’s Tale” website on August 31.

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