BT Grandparents Newsletter 0518

news & nachas the beth tfiloh grandparent newsletter Volume I | Issue 3 | April 2018 | Iyyar 5778

Dear Beth Tfiloh Grandparents,

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elcome to our vibrant Beth Tfiloh individuality. It’s being empowered by a medley community! We feel privileged to of opportunities for self-expression and growth, teach and reach your grandchildren from arts to social activism, from athletics to every day. In this newsletter, you will find political action. highlights of our dynamic community from It’s about being prepared for life beyond our students to our teachers.

Beth Tfiloh.

But first, allow us to tell you a bit about what Thank you for visiting—we are so excited to makes Beth Tfiloh so special. Being a student see you in the world we call “BT.” at Beth Tfiloh isn’t just about getting a strong Jewish education. It’s achieving academic excellence in every subject, whether in General dr. zipora schorr or Judaic Studies. It’s learning and living the values we have inherited as Jewish Americans. It’s Director of Education being part of a community of Jews from across the spectrum of religious affiliation who celebrate “Grandchildren are the crown of our elders; the crown of our children is their parents.” what they have in common and cherish their

beth tfiloh lower school wins interdisciplinary project prize

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n early February, Beth Tfiloh Lower School Teacher Mentor and School Counselor Mrs. Elana Weissman and Technology Integration Specialist Mrs. Elissa Hozore received the prestigious Kohelet Award of $36,000 for their leadership and direction behind Beth Tfiloh Lower School’s collaborative Israel Fair project. Beth Tfiloh Lower School students participated in a multi-week and school-wide interdisciplinary learning experience about various landmarks in Israel. Students (k-4th grade) conceived of, developed, and created 15 hands-on exhibits to share their learning with the broader student and family community.

The Kohelet Foundation is an organization that

This year’s Israel Fair will be on display between Thursday, April 19 and Monday, April 30.

Ask your grandchild about his/her experience with the fair and to take you on a tour!

View a virtual tour at bethtfiloh.com/israelfair

aims to strengthen and preserve the Jewish Day School education model for the next generation of leaders by creating and supporting Jewish communal responsibility for day schools annually.

It recognizes six educators across the nation who demonstrate exceptional accomplishment in one of six core elements of progressive Jewish education: interdisciplinary integration, real-world learning, learning environment and differentiated instruction, development of critical and/or creative thinking, and risk taking and failure.

“The process of our Israel Fair—from conception to completion—was a reflection of the incredible creativity and expertise of our teachers alongside

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Student projects from the BT Israel Fair

above: Mrs. Elissa Hozore and Mrs. Elana Weissman

why i support spotlight 2018

“ spotlight is such an important part of the bt community. Not only is it a fun event, but so crucial, as it supports and provides the much-needed financial aid, enabling our children and grandchildren the opportunity to benefit from such an amazing education.”

Ellyn Polakoff Grandparent Ambassador Co-Chair

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beth tfiloh’s makerspace: a new way of learning

nnovation, collaboration and creativity—these are critical 21st century skills that all students need to learn. Thanks to the new Lower School MakerSpace, Beth Tfiloh Lower School students are cultivating these skills in a whole new way.

The MakerSpace is a collaborative learning environment where students and teachers gather together to create, invent, tinker, build, experiment, design, explore and discover using a variety of tools and materials.

“Students using the MakerSpace use design thinking to meet a challenge or solve a problem presented either by the teacher or fellow students connected to what the class is learning,” explains Lower School Assistant Principal Mrs. Susan Yurow. “The students use their ’free thinking’ to figure out how they are

going to solve the presented challenge.”

MakerSpace projects can be used to introduce a new topic, encourage further exploration of a current unit, or as a recap to assess student learning. It is a hands-on learning lab where students use the design process to think through and solve problems using everyday items.

The final step of the design process—communication— encourages students to ask themselves several important questions to further their learning experiences: What worked?

What didn’t? Was the problem solved? What is an important lesson one can learn from this project? What can be improved?

Upon reflection, students revise their projects by incorporating their own ideas and feedback from classmates.

Pictures from several learning experiences in the MakerSpace

bt’s college guidance: the best in town

I n 2018, 75% of BT students were accepted to The University of Maryland, College Park— compared to a 48% national acceptance rate. n BT had the highest acceptance rate of any school in the country at Yale University—66%! n BT seniors were accepted to over 60 colleges and universities around the country n1 00% of BT applicants were accepted at a four-year university or college n BT students were collectively offered $2,189,316 in merit scholarships n

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Eighth Grade Tells Their Families’ Jewish Stories through 3-d Art

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fter months of research and creation, BT’s eighth grade students displayed 3-d depictions of their families’ diverse Jewish histories through the My Family Story Project, co-sponsored by the Jewish Museum of Maryland and The Museum of the Jewish People at Beit Hatfutsot in Israel.

The students began exploring their genealogy and family histories through research and interviews during an identity unit in their history class. They then continued to explore their topics and learn artistic methods in art class where their masterpieces came to life! This meaningful and interdisciplinary project culminated in an exhibit at the Jewish Museum of Maryland on March 8th.

Beth Tfiloh was one of 60 institutions from 28 countries worldwide participating in the My Family Story Project. Projects created by Beth Tfiloh students Maya T. ’22 and Erela I. ’22, won the local competition.

Maya’s project, 1801 Mosher Street, was selected among 50 other students’ projects worldwide to be displayed at Beit Hatfusot as part of a two day celebration for Israel’s 70th birthday. She won a free trip to Israel as part of the prize.

“The My Family Story project is meaningful to me because it connects me to my great-grandmother,” Maya T. explains. “In her grocery store she received silver dollars as payment.

Now, whenever I lose a tooth, my greatgrandmother gives me a silver dollar from her grocery store. This connects me

to her because whenever I see the silver dollars, it reminds me of her story. I am so happy to be able to know my greatgrandmother and her amazing story.”

Erela I. describes My Family Project as representing her family’s heritage as Jews in Iran during the Iranian Revolution noting, “My parents and grandparents told me the stories of their experiences, including being called names on the streets and being given dirty looks by their teachers.

These experiences shaped who they became and I wouldn’t be who I am without them.”

A select collection of My Family Story Projects will be on display at spotlight, Monday, June 4.

bt alumni: taking the lead

austin rief ’13 is currently a senior at the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business where he studies finance and computer science. Outside of the classroom, Austin is co-founder and coo of Morning Brew, where he runs a daily finance newsletter geared towards millennials. Recently, Austin’s company, Morning Brew, won the start-up competition at Michigan, where he took home a check for $15,000 towards his business.

aviva vogelstein ’05 is an attorney with the Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law. Based in Washington, D.C., the Brandeis Center is a national non-profit organization that combats anti-Semitism in higher education through legal advocacy, research, and public policy work. After graduating from Beth Tfiloh High School in 2005, Aviva spent a year studying at Midreshet Lindenbaum in Jerusalem. She then graduated from the University of Penndalia bauman ’14 is a sylvania in 2010 with a BA in American junior at the University History, magna cum laude, and from of Maryland, College Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law in Park, studying finance 2013. Dedicated to Jewish communal with a minor in art work, Aviva served as Hillel President at history. An active Penn, played an active role in the Jewish participant in extraLaw Students Association at Cardozo, curricular activities like and interned at Shurat HaDin-Israel Law business school clubs, Hillel groups and Center. She served as Notes Editor for alternative break trips, Dalia most recently Cardozo’s Journal of Conflict Resolution, co-chaired the National Hillel Basketball one of the world’s preeminent legal Tournament, the largest Jewish basketball journals of arbitration, negotiation and tournament in America convening mediation. Aviva’s work currently over 1,000 Jewish college students from focuses on combating the resurgence of across the country for a weekend of anti-Semitism on American university sport and community building.

campuses through legal and public policy approaches.

Last year, Aviva won the Daniel Siegel Alumni Award, in memory of Danny ’07.

The award is given to an alum who, in addition to having a strong connection to BT, has also shown leadership in the Jewish community.

After graduating from Beth Tfiloh, corey gold ’14 spent a year and a half learning at Yeshivat Orayta in the Old City of Jerusalem.

He currently attends Harvard University, concentrating his studies in the Comparative Study of Religion in addition to pursuing a secondary field in Computer Science. Corey is the President of Harvard Hillel and also one of the directors at a nearby student-run homeless shelter. In his minimal free time, Corey enjoys hanging out with friends, playing piano, or running by the Charles River.

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beth tfiloh lower school wins interdisciplinary project prize Continued from Page 1 the energy, curiosity, and self-directedness of our students,” Weissman says. “I was privileged to lead the process and to be wowed beyond

any of my expectations as to how much the students learned and how informative and meaningful their exhibits were.”

Sign up for our grandparent news & nachas E-Newsletter by contacting Alisa Rank at (410)413-2350 or arank@btfiloh.org.

Join the Beth Tfiloh Grandparent Ambassador Group!

the bt grandparent ambassadors group is a new initiative for grandparents who wish to participate in volunteer opportunities for the school, plan programming for like-minded grandparents, and gain special access to an “insiders” view of BT. School tours, special events and more will be offered in the 2018/2019 school year.

Please contact Alisa Rank at arank@btfiloh.org or (410)413-2350 for more information.

The kick-off Grandparent Ambassador Group meeting

Marilyn Weisman Grandparent Ambassador Co-Chair

sign up to volunteer!

Ellyn Polakoff Grandparent Ambassador Co-Chair

“ Beth Tfiloh gives my grandchildren, Shelby (4th Grade), and Jack (Kindergarten), the love and support so important to growing children.

With the school’s nurturing, our grandchildren will be the future responsible, educated adults of tomorrow. Beth Tfiloh, in my opinion, is the hidden treasure of Baltimore!” marilyn weisman Grandparent Ambassador Co-Chair 4

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ead to PreSchool students R Serve lunch to Lower School students Assist teachers in the Lower School MakerSpace Be a guest speaker in your area of expertise

Please contact Alisa Rank at arank@btfiloh.org or (410)413-2350 for more information.