April 30, 2004
compiled by Sam Jacobson, Jack Kider, Gabriella Ra'anan, and Lisa Snider

Freshman, juniors hear genetics lecture
Professor Sam Rhine, a touring lecturer on genetics, presented a daylong genetics conference for junior genetics classes and select freshmen biology students on March 25.

Rhine has spoken to over 3,750,000 teenagers in the U.S., Canada and Europe. In 1997 he was awarded the Honorary Membership Award by the National Association of Biology Teachers, recognized as the highest honor bestowed upon members of the profession.

The goal of the conference was to have students come away with “a better understanding of developmental genetics,” said science teacher Kimberly Agzigian.

“[Rhine] taught us about the first 56 days of embryonic development,” said junior Dena Kranzberg. “[He] explained all the different things that happened at that stage and all the things that could go wrong.” This topic is one covered in-depth by junior genetics classes.

Freshman Natan Seidel found information from the conference important for life outside of school, from learning subjects like “the reasons behind birth defects and how to prevent them.”

According to Agzigian, the conference was a success, as many parents and students showed a strong interest in the topics covered.

“[Students] had lots of questions that they wanted to ask and a couple contacted Rhine themselves,” she said.

“[I] came away with an appreciation for genetics and perhaps a motivation to go into a genetics-related field of study,” said Kranzberg.

Women celebrate Passover traditions
Over 30 women were taught by student attendees about women as related to Passover traditions at the first annual women’s seder, on March 24.

The source book used at the seder was a compilation of songs and writings submitted by students and compiled by junior Nicola Brodie. These selections linked women with Passover traditions such as the four questions, the seder plate and dayeinu.

The seder, which was the idea of Brodie and Educational Support Services teacher Susan Zuckerman, was meant “not to undermine what’s been in the traditional source book, but rather to enhance it,” Zuckerman said.

“There are incredible stories on the importance of the role of women in the whole Passover story that are often skimmed when looking at traditional books,” she said.

The experience taught how women “can relate the seder and the meaning of Passover to something that we feel so close to home,” said junior Amy Blumberg.

Junior Dinah Finkelstein enjoyed “learning about all the new rituals, like Miriam’s cup and the alternative ten plagues [because] it put a new spin on Passover.”

“We’re all really used to sitting down and hearing about Moses and Aaron and Pharoah, and not Tzipporah and Miriam and all the women that made it happen,” said Finkelstein. “If you sit there, read between the lines, and think about what the story is actually telling you, the women are such an integral part.”
For Zuckerman, the seder was special because those in attendance met as “respectful equals.”

“We were all females, women, around a table, discussing our experiences,” said Zuckerman. “I loved to hear the eighth-graders teaching their teachers.”

Middle School Hellenic society club revived
After difficulties in scheduling, Science Department Chair Nick Miller has revived the 10-year-old Hellenic Society Club.

According to Miller, the purpose of offering this club, which provides students with the ability to read and understand basic classical Greek texts, is to make it easier for them to memorize the vocabulary necessary to grasp the biological concepts taught in seventh-grade biology classes.

“If you know the literal meanings of the words, then you memorize more efficiently and easily,” said Miller, “whereas if you don’t, it’s a lot harder … it’s nonsense syllables, and that’s hard to memorize.”

An example of this pattern is the word “hydrophobic,” meaning water-fearing. It comes from the two Greek words, “hydro,” meaning “water,” and “phobos,” meaning “fear.” If you understand the roots from which this word originates, “then you know that the chemical doesn’t want to be around water,” explained Miller.

Another objective of the Hellenic Society, according to Miller, is to provide students with a basic familiarity with the Greek pillar because “the Greeks originated science as we think of it,” and therefore it is one of the three pillars on which Western societies like ours are based. The second pillar, and the one less influential to Westerners’ thinking, is Latin, added Miller.
Miller explained that students at CES JDS already have the final pillar, Hebrew.

According to Miller, the Talmud is proof that Greek culture has a widespread influence, even in Jewish law.

“Our rabbis began to think in Greek philosophical terms and so the Talmud’s full of Greek words,” said Miller.

The club learns Greek vocabulary once every week. The meetings are run as any class would be, but the pace is slower and there are no tests or quizzes so that there is less pressure on the students, said Miller.

In addition to learning the Greek language, the Hellenic Society explores and discusses some aspects of Greece’s culture including architecture, geography and lifestyle.

The “Greek Club,” as it is called by the participants, who are mostly seventh-graders, is well-liked by those involved.

“I like learning another language and it’s just very interesting,” commented seventh-grade member Hannah Seidel.

Seventh-grader Jonah Wacholder says he has “always been interested in the ancient Greeks,” and finds the subject matter of the meetings intriguing “especially as it relates to Greek theology.”

Junior wins Bronfman Youth Fellowship
Junior Nicola Brodie will be traveling to Israel along with 26 other North American young Jews from July 5 to Aug. 11, as part of the Bronfman Youth Fellowship Program.

The program consists of various activities, including meetings with prominent political and literary figures and with Israeli children.

The goal of the activities is to promote pluralism and understanding.

“The fellowship brings together 26 young Jews of such different backgrounds, that if not for the program, they would likely never have met,” explains the mission statement of the program.

“Our mission during the Fellowship summer is to create a cadre of young Jewish leaders who, despite their different backgrounds and ideologies, grow to know each other,” reads the statement.

Previous CES JDS recipients of the fellowship include Chana Solomon-Schwartz (’02), Jacob Stoil (’03) and Joseph Muller (’04).

Sweep at Junior State government elections
by Adam Bradlow

Sophomore Ben Legum and junior Julie Siegel were elected to the two positions in the So- uth Atlantic Region (SAR)of Junior Sta- te of America at its Spring Convention, from April 16 to 18.

Siegel, who ran unopposed for mayor became the second consecutive JDS mayor of SAR, which includes five states and Washington D.C., following Josh Lipsky (‘04).

photo by Julie Brinn Siegel

Newly-elected Vice-Mayor Ben Legum gave awarded speech.

Legum became the first vice-mayor from JDS and will become mayor next March when Siegel steps down to leave after graduation.

Legum and sophomore Ezra Deutsch-Feldman also won best speaker awards based on attendee votes.

Legum won the award during a debate over whether congress should “reauthorize the ban on assault weapons.” Deutsch-Feldman won the award for his arguments against the statement “resolved, Israel should cease construction the security wall along the West Bank [sic].”

Student directors provide support for 'Free to Be You and Me' cast
by Gabriella Ra'anan

With the assistance of two student directors, middle school students performed the musical Free to Be You and Me on March 25 and 28.

According to director Jennifer Timberlake, sophomore student directors Annie Ben-Ami and Emma Price helped with all aspects of rehearsals including warm-ups and choreography.
“[They were] a tremendous support team to have,” she said.

According to seventh-grader Caryn Stark, it was helpful to have student directors who were close to the actors’ ages and yet had more experience than the middle schoolers.

photo by Lily Goldstein

Eighth-grader Kevin Lieberman jumps rope while fellow cast members look on during the middle school production of Free to Be You and Me on March 25. The musical, which promotes youth’s freedom of expression, was directed by Jennifer Timberlake along with two sophomore student directors, Emma Price and Annie Ben-Ami, who found the experience both exciting and fun.

“They knew what I was going through because they were older and they’d also had experience with plays,” said Stark.

“They knew everything that I was feeling and I could really look up to them.”

The musical “was a Cabaret-style show in that it wasn’t like a story line. There wasn’t a definite ending and a definite beginning,” said Ben-Ami.

According to Ben-Ami, the different parts of the play “all had a common thread of talking about breaking out of stereotypes and just becoming the best person you possibly can be.”

Price found this cast to be a particularly enjoyable one to work with because they “had so much character. They were creative, open minded and willing to try new things,” she said.

Timberlake also found a unique appeal in this year’s cast. “My favorite part of this production was the students. Their energy and talent brought the show to life and made every moment exciting,” she said.