Volume 34 Issue 6

LT the lion’s tale

The Lion’s Tale

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Volume 34 Issue 6

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May 24, 2017

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CESJDS

all in good time

Learning accommodations attempt to level the academic playing field (pg. 06-07)

Middle school principal hired, pg. 03

Freshman's adventure photography, pg. 08

Spring sports recap, pg. 11

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News Briefs May 29-June 1 Memorial Day and Shavuot School will be closed on May 29 for Memorial Day and May 30 through June 1 for Shavuot.

Students will return to school on Friday, June 2.

June 7 Spring Concert Middle and high school students will showcase their musical talents at the annual Spring Concert in the theater.

June 7 Sports banquet Spring athletes and their coaches will celebrate the recently completed spring season with a dinner in the cafeteria. Team coaches will give awards to athletes based on sportsmanship and athletic ability.

June 8 and June 15 Last days of classes The high school has its final classes on Thursday, June 8 and the middle school ends the 2016-2017 academic year on Thursday, June 15.

June 12-16 High school finals Finals for English, history, science and math will be held in the mornings on Monday through Thursday with a makeup day on Friday.

compiled by amelia davidson and sara sporkin

For breaking news and school coverage, check out lionstale.org or scan the code below.

Connection that lasts

CESJDS bolsters alumni outreach

aliza rabinovitz contributing editor Now in its 51st year, CESJDS has over 3,000 alumni spread out across the world. This growing network of graduates is continuously engaged through frequent communication and events.

There were two recent alumni events. On May 7, West Coast alumni and their families were invited to a meet-up on a beach in Santa Monica, Calif. On May 11, D.C. area alumni participated in a networking happy hour at a local restaurant. According to Associate Director of Alumni Relations Wendi Kaplan, these alumni events are opportunities for graduates to reconnect with old friends and are also assets to the school and its community.

Spring alumni events tend to tie into fundraising for the Ma’ayan fundraising campaign. Fall alumni events include the Head of School event, a thank you event where three alumni are also honored, and the Thanksgiving meet-and-greet, where alumni meet with each other and visit the Upper School campus and teachers.

Kaplan said that events such as the one on Thanksgiving are essential for alumni to keep their connection with JDS. “We hear from a lot of alumni who can’t believe that we’re still doing certain things that we did long ago when they were here, but then they also find interesting things like the iLab, that’s brand new, and things like that, that have changed so much from the time that they were there,” Kaplan said.

While many alumni events take place locally, some occur in cities from New York to San Francisco.

While there may not be an event in each major city every year, the school attempts to hold events around the U.S. as much as possible.

In addition to events, there are two alumni updates that go out every other month: the Alumni Spotlight and It’s Wednesday, an alumni newsletter. The spotlight features an alumnus who has gone on to do

ed to the area,’” Kaplan said.

Alumna Dina Epstein (‘97) is a co-chair of the alumni advisory board. Epstein said that the focus of the board has been thinking of ways for alumni to engage with each other and with the larger JDS community.

One of these programs was a joint reunion that combined multiple graduating classes. According to Epstein, reunions had been something alumni had done on their own with no involvement from the school.

The Mega Reunion Schmooze-a-Palooza, on the other hand, “Going to alumni events [is] a connected alumni of good way to see people and stay various classes with each other and made involved in the community.” them “feel like a part of the larger JDS com-alumna haley cohen ('12) munity,” Epstein said.

“We made it a much broader, more interesting work, and the newsletter inclusive event, so that it didn’t just highlights announcements such as feel like you were catching up with children and marriages, upcoming your old friends from high school, events and pictures of past events. but that you were reconnecting with The alumni network has in- JDS,” Epstein said. creased in recent years. There is now Alumna Haley Cohen (‘12) atan alumni advisory board of fifteen tended the reunion, which took people, made up of alumni from var- place in February, with some of her ious graduating years. This board JDS friends. Cohen said that one of acts as ambassadors for the school the reasons they decided to go was and attempts to connect various because they wanted to reconnect alumni. There are also chairs in each to people with whom they had not of the major cities across the country stayed in touch since high school who try to help alumni who might be and find out about everyone's curmoving to that area. rent lives.

“If you went to UCLA and gradAside from the alumni from her uate and stay in the area, we have year, Cohen found it a nice surprise co-chairs reach out to you as a way to have the chance to see and socialto say ‘welcome, we’re part of JDS, ize with some of her former teachwe’ve been living here for so long, ers. She also liked that the reunion we can try and help you get acclimat- combined multiple graduating class-

es so she could meet people from other years.

As an alumna of the school, it is important for Cohen to stay involved with JDS. “I think it was such a big part of my life for 12 years, and especially now that I've just recently graduated college, it’s important to me to stay connected with my peers and the people I grew up with,” Cohen said.

“So, by going to alumni events, it’s a really good way to see people and to stay involved in the community.”

According to Epstein, the goal of the alumni board is to remind alumni about this community and what is so “amazing” about JDS. She described how one new member of the board was convinced after only a few meetings to enroll his kids at JDS because he was reconnected with the school and the school’s mission.

From the school’s perspective, alumni act as school ambassadors, potential parents and community members who can support the school in its endeavors or provide out-of-school connections to current students. Epstein feels that alumni who have benefited from their Jewish educations have the duty to invest in the school and grant the same opportunities to future generations.

For Epstein, involved alumni should also “take the gift they received at JDS and [pay] them forward.”

“Alumni span the globe and number in the thousands and are a really valuable resource for the school but also a really valuable resource for each other,” Epstein said.

3,000+ alumni 40 graduated classes photo courtesy of wendi kaplan Alumni browse old yearbooks at the Upper School campus at a February reunion.

Middle school principal appointed amelia davidson news editor Following a multi-step search process, CESJDS announced that Eliana Lipsky will be the next middle school principal. The appointment came on April 25, three months after Rebecca Weisman, the current middle school principal, announced that she would leave the school after the 2016-2017 school year.

Lipsky is currently spending the year in Israel, and will officially begin her job as principal on July 17, when she returns to the United States.

“I am absolutely thrilled to join the CESJDS community. I have heard such wonderful things about CESJDS and the community for many years now and am honored that CESJDS would entrust such an important job to me,” Lipsky said in an email.

Lipsky grew up attending a Jewish day school in Houston, and since

then has worked in Jewish education in cities across the U.S. She taught Judaic studies for a year in Phoenix and then worked as a teacher at a Jewish middle school in Boston for five years. While in Boston she also served as mentor for new teachers, which laid the foundation for her future career as a teaching coach.

Most recently, Lipsky worked as a consultant for an organization that serves around 15 Jewish schools in Chicago. While consulting in Chicago, Lipsky also received a doctorate in education. Her thesis focused on Jewish education, specifically how to balance the voices of students with text in Judaic classes.

Lipsky finished her doctorate in 2015, and spent the 2016-2017 year in Israel with her family. It was there that she applied for a job with JDS. In addition to having friends who had attended JDS and had “amazing things to say about it,” Lipsky said

that she was attracted to the position due to the current plans with the middle school.

“People in my life had been talking about it as a school that was definitely at the forefront of Jewish education and doing right by students and teachers and faculty, so that was the first thing [that I liked about the school],” Lipsky said. “The most attractive thing about the school was that the way the middle school is headed and the path it’s taking is exactly the path that I’ve done a lot of work on in my past as a teacher and as a teacher coach.”

Head of School Mitchel Malkus said that Lipsky stood out in every stage of the search process. According to Malkus, Lipsky’s background fits the school's needs.

“She is a fabulous educator and has a very strong background in education,” Malkus said. “She is maybe even a more progressive educator

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In Boston, Lipsky taught both general (history) and Judaic (Tanakh) classes and helped run her school's "Facing History and Ourselves" program, a curriculum also used by the JDS middle school.

Lipsky taught seminars on individualizathan we tion, classroom management and how are at the to best assess students, among other school, but topics. that is the direction in which the middle school has been moving, so we Lipsky has published felt that she would be articles in both Jewish a good fit to bring us to and non-Jewish education where we hope to be.” journals.

Seventh-grader Hannah Davis hopes that having a new principal will bring more changes Lipsky is the middle school. married to “I’m excited that there’s going Chaim Kirby to be a new principal because I want and has four to see the changes that they’re going children. to make to the middle school,” Davis said. “I hope to see changes with the schedule and getting to know the rest of the middle school better.”

"I think she’s going to challenge Malkus echoed Davis' optimism us as a school to make sure that what and said that he appreciated the di- we’re doing reflects our conception rection in which Lipsky could take of what a middle school should be,” the middle school.

Malkus said.

Despite MCPS change, administration stands pat on finals policy addie bard copy editor After Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) decided to end finals for the 2016-17 school year, questions arose within the CESJDS community regarding the future of finals.

The county chose to get rid of finals in order to maximize instructional time, former school board president Patricia O’Neill told The Washington Post. According to O’Neill, both parents and teachers had concerns that finals took away from valuable class time.

High School Principal Marc Lindner was aware of MCPS’ decision, and after discussing it with Dean of Students Roslyn Landy and Academic Dean Aileen Goldstein, decided that JDS should keep finals at the end of the year.

Regardless of what the county decided, Lindner values final exams because he believes students need to be able to process and learn lots of material and then display their

knowledge during the exam.

Unlike Lindner, sophomore Dana Fishkin believes finals do not truly show students’ understanding of a course.

“I get that it is only the second semester work, but that is a lot to recall in the same week,” Fishkin said.

“We already did this, we already took a test on it, and that grade is reflective of what we know.”

While Fishkin is critical of the exams, Landy agrees with Lindner on the value of keeping finals. Landy said that part of high school education is preparation for college, and she believes that finals are an effective method of doing so.

“It is important for high school students to learn to sit for a long exam and to learn how to pull together a semester’s worth of material,” Landy said. “If you do not learn that in high school, you will be at a huge disadvantage in college.”

Landy acknowledged the stress and difficulties surrounding finals, but believes that JDS’ method of final exams is designed to set students up

for success.

“I know that finals are stressful for high school students and I hate to see kids under stress, but unfortunately, stress is part of life, and final exams are part of high school life,” Landy said. “We try to help students prepare for exams and help alleviate some of the stress.”

mester takes up too many days.

Similar to Landy, math teacher Tori Ball sees the importance of finals because of their ability to bring different material from throughout the semester together. As a math teacher, a final exam is the only way Ball feels she can assess that information cumulatively. Though they work for Ball’s class, she acknowledges their "We already did this, we already took a imperfections. test on it, and that grade is reflective of “I think what we know." we do a good job at JDS - sophomore dana fishkin of trying to play to different people’s strengths Instead of having one final exam and giving people different ways of at the end of the year on all material showing what they know. I think it is or two large exams throughout the unfortunate that the way that manyear, JDS only has one with mate- ifests itself at the end of the year is rial from January to the end of the just final exams,” Ball said. “For some year. This split is to maximize class students, I think [studying for finals] time, as taking a full week out of the is a really frustrating experience and school year to take finals each se- I wish they had a few more options

in that regard.”

Nevertheless, Ball believes that finals are “objectively good” and they produce many educational benefits to students.

Junior Ariana Bennaim also thinks finals are important and finds them a good way for the teachers to assess the students knowledge of the material. To Bennaim, since JDS teachers are the ones making finals, final exams accurately demonstrate of knowledge.

Fishkin is unconvinced that finals are the best way to demonstrate her knowledge and prepare her for the future. She believes that the expected amount of preparation is “excessive and unfair” and will not benefit her in the long run.

“I don’t think that without finals I would be less prepared for college, I think that when the time comes you need to prepare yourself,” Fishkin said. “While we are in high school that is unnecessary and we are not ready for that level of intensity.”

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lion’s tale know suicide's signs editors-in-chief ari feuer, rina torchinsky managing editor, copy isaac silber design editor caroline weinstein copy editor addie bard news editors amelia davidson, sara sporkin opinion editor gabe krantz in-depth editor aliza rabinovitz features editors emily cohen, kate sosland sports editors devira friedman, jessie lehman style editors ilan cohen, shira godin multimedia editor lily daroff editorial cartoonists beyla bass, ben shrock reporters sabrina bramson, izzy friedland, danny ingber, ilana kaplan, ben savarick staff adviser jessica nassau adviser emerita susan zuckerman Cover cutouts were created by ayelette halbfinger Editorial and Ethics Policy As the student newspaper of the Charles E. Smith Jewish Day School, The Lion’s Tale is a public 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 staff of The Lion's Tale 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 jdslionstale@gmail.com or mailed to The Lion’s Tale at 11710 Hunters Lane, Rockville, Md., 20852.

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 advertisements.

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. The adviser will be held to the Journalism Education Association’s Adviser Code of Ethics. The Lion’s Tale belongs to the National Scholastic Press Association and the Columbia Scholastic Press Association.

The Lion’s Tale prints 800 copies of every issue, which are distributed to students and staff at the Upper Campus. PDFs of the paper are available at issuu.com/lionstale. The Lion’s Tale website is lionstale.org. All contents copyright of The Lions’ Tale. All rights reserved.

Suicide is the second leading cause of death for people ages 10-24 according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Each day in our nation, an average of over 5,240 people grades 7-12 attempt suicide.

Much of the time, though suicide tragically seems unprovoked and without warning.

One way to attribute this disconnect is that oftentimes, teens who need help do not know where to seek it or do not feel comfortable reaching out. As they keep to themselves, these teens internalize their problems, which only increases risk of self-harm.

In order to solve the bigger issue at hand, we must work to fix this piece of the puzzle. Luckily, at our school, we are a close knit community, which can help us prevent suicide.

No matter whether you are a student, guidance counselor, teacher or administrator, we all need to make ourselves an option for those who need a confidante. If we cannot act in a way that conveys this willingness to listen, we will never be able to solve the suicide and depression problem that not only plagues

students in our community.

As students, a large chunk of this burden is on us to carry as these are our classmates and friends and in order to adequately help those that need it, we need to step up.

It is reasonable to expect that a student would rather talk to a friend about a problem than a guidance counselor. As friends, we must open ourselves to important conversations.

Along these lines, as part of this responsibility, we must all pay attention to warning signs and look out for those around us. The American Academy of Pediatrics lists the following as common warning signs of depression: withdrawal from friends and family members, trouble in romantic relationships, difficulty getting along with others and changes in the quality of schoolwork or lower grades.

These type of warning signs are things we are able to see and detect on a daily basis as friends and as peers. Guidance counselors, who we often turn to in times where we need help, do not see students every day the way peers, teachers and parents do.

cartoon by ben shrock

Most of the time these warning signs are not hidden. According to the Jason Foundation, an organization that works to prevent youth suicide, four out of five teens who attempt suicide have given clear warning signs.

In many cases, the signs are way too obvious for it to be acceptable for us not to notice. Even if we do not notice, it is imperative that we are all options to talk to and to

help should someone be in need.

While there is no one correct way to prevent suicide, making changes to the way we act, whether it be being more inclusive or just paying more attention to those around us, is a crucial step.

-The Lion’s Tale

There are better ways to learn than technology

ethan chanin guest columnist Teenagers spend almost ten hours a day in front of a screen and chances are, you are not an exception. Technology in class is not just distracting, but is detrimental to students' social skills. Although many teachers have made efforts to incorporate technology, specifically computers, into their curricula, we should stay away from technology in school.

First, technology is distracting. The purpose of school is to broaden one’s horizons and stay engaged in interesting subjects.

Technology acts as a huge barrier to education.

A recent study at the University of Nebraska found shocking evidence about computers in college classrooms. The study found that 20% of class time was being used up by unrelated subjects on digital devices. This percentage has increased exponentially over the past decade.

It may be sensible to say that students must show some self-restraint, but the reality is they are not. Not only are computers distracting, but they can be quite damaging to the mental health of students, if used excessively.

UCLA researchers looked at two groups of students and their technology usage. One group was sent to a camp without electronics while the other group of students stayed at their normal schools with normal technological consumption. After five days, each student was presented with 50 faces. They were challenged to identify each face with emotion.

The students at the electronic-free camp scored much higher than

those who stayed at their normal schools.

In essence, this study found that electronics are counterproductive to a child’s developing brain and his or her social skills.

Jewish Text teacher Reuvane Slater enforces a no-computer policy in most of his classes because of the tremendous distracting factor computers bring to the table.

“If you put the world in front of a person and expect them to listen to the discussion that’s going on, there’s a good chance that they’re gonna be distracted,” Slater said.

Slater said that when he first came to JDS and there was less technology, he saw more faceto-face interaction. He said that computers make students more closed off.

“I’ve definitely seen within students over the years, changes in terms of carrying on longer discussions,” Slater said. “Nowadays I think it’s a littler harder for kids to stay focused as long as they used

to be able to.”

Educators today are concerned with bringing their classrooms up to speed with the increasingly modernizing and technologically advanced world.

Schools often feel pressured to keep up with the constantly evolving mainstream ways of teaching that require the use of technology. This way of thinking is counterproductive to a meaningful classroom environment.

Ultimately, school serves two purposes: to educate and to provide a conducive environment for students to engage in real life with one another, building relationships and social skills they will need for their future careers. I encourage you to challenge your teachers and push them to find innovative ways for your class to interact with each other in real time. Next time you are forced to sit down in front of a screen for an hour, ask yourself, “Is this the best way for me to learn?”

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Since 1947, U.S. presidents have been subject to term limits.

The debate has now shifted to the local level.

Should local politicians have term limits?

Yes, there should be term limits No

Term limits bring new perspective jesse edberg guest columnist The past couple of years have seen an unprecedented wave of anti-establishment populism sweep through the nation.

The 2016 election sent these populist ripples through the nation, most locally in the “yes” vote on the Montgomery County referendum to impose a three consecutive term limit on county council members and executives.

There are many reasons why it was right and just to impose term limits on the Montgomery County Council. The U.S. came to a similar realization in 1951 when it ratified the 22nd Amendment outlawing presidents for serving more than two terms. Even before 1951, only serving two terms as president was an unwritten rule broken only once.

Many opponents of term limits for congressional offices argue that legislative bodies are a very different platform for an otherwise justified principle. The principle at hand, in this situation, being that the abuses of power and corruption that come without term limits should be avoided at all costs, even through removing officers from government, based on time in that office.

Term limits are especially important at the local level. Local government was designed to be managed by the community instead of distant career politicians. Life-long politicians serve as a block that keeps out potential local leadership along with new ideas. This is the case when establishments

are formed in local government, where long-serving bureaucrats can form relationships with other bureaucrats, lobbyists and corporations. This establishment, elitist culture makes it hard for new leaders and ideas to intrude on their party. With term limits, there will be a more rapid circulation of local leaders that want to get involved in local politics with new ideas and solutions.

Even at the local level, establishment politicians can let their power go towards themselves instead of their constituents.

George Leventhal, the most senior member of the county council, used his power and influence as an established political force to attack possible 2018 council executive candidate and political outsider David Trone based on unsubstantiated and unproven claims of pay-for-play. Trone fired back against the career politician stating that Leventhal has a history of using his political power to create false claims in order to hurt political opponents.

Term limits in county council can only help new ideas and fresh leaders make their way into Rockville to lead Montgomery County into the future instead of its current state of safe complacency. They will build an environment for progress instead of the uncompetitive cesspool of leadership that exists today. This is already happening as longtime politicians such as Roger Berliner, Nancy Floreen, Marc Elrich and George Leventhal will all be unable to run for another term next election. This freeing of one-third of the council seats will open a door to new ideas and fresh perspectives as well as close the door on corruption and career politics.

Yes No, there should not be term limits

Legislative inexperience hurts localities josh siegel guest columnist In this past election, there was one local vote which gained little attention, but deserves to be talked about a little more. Question B on the ballot for Montgomery County passed. This measure institutes term limits of three terms of four years for the county executive, and for county council members. This is a dramatic measure that will abruptly force four of the nine council members out during the next election cycle.

These will have disastrous effects going down the road.

One issue is a lack of experience among lawmakers. A 2010 Wayne State Study found that there has been a decrease in checks over the executive branch in local areas, such as Montgomery County, that have term limits.

Many of the elected officials did not even know that this was one of their responsibilities upon entering office. It says that this comes from inexperience, coupled with a lack of veteran mentoring. This will wind up increasing corruption, because it gives more power to one person without fear of retribution.

County council member George Leventhal, who will be removed in 2018 due to the term limit law, has concerns over the same issue. In an interview with Bethesda Magazine, he called the move “a dumb, unnecessary protest gesture.”

One of the arguments used by those in

favor of term limits is that instituting term limits will “drain the swamp.” However, this doesn’t apply to term limits. The same Wayne State study in 2010 found that lobbyists and special interests wind up having even more influence with inexperienced legislators at any level, because they rely more on outside sources. Since Michigan instituted term limits for state legislators, there has been a spike in lobbyists and special interests being a source of “importance and guidance” on any bill.

This begs the question: Are advocates of term limits trying to “drain the swamp” and fight for regular, working class people? Or are they working for their own personal gain?

The whole source of this local vote seems to suggest that this has little to do with stopping corruption. The man who got the signatures to put this bill up for vote is a man named Robin Ficker, a wealthy local businessman, a former Maryland House of Delegates member and a political consultant. He has run for local office many times in the last ten years, each without success. Now that term limits have passed, he is suddenly among the front-runners to be elected County Executive in 2018.

How convenient.

People hate their elected officials, yet they are doing nothing about it. If you hate your elected official, then vote them out. Term limits will do little to solve this problem.

There is just as much a chance of your next elected official being as unpopular as your current one. Even without term limits, people have the power to put in elected officials who they like. Currently, we have term limits.

They’re called elections.

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all in good time

sara sporkin contributing editor As students put pens to paper, the clock ticks on. While all students have the same questions in front of them, for some, the exam passes a bit differently.

Students at CESJDS can be granted many types of educational accommodations to adjust their test-taking conditions. Students may be granted extended time on assignments, for example, or teachers may be asked to enlarge diagrams on tests if students have trouble looking at small figures.

In order to get any educational accommodation, students must be given a psychoeducational evaluation administered by a licensed psychologist. This exam includes a cognitive portion that tests IQ and an achievement section that tests skills in math, reading and written expression. In addition, there are more specific tests for students who exhibit signs of an anxiety or attention disorder.

After a student completes their testing regime, Educational Support Services (ESS) Chair Susan Zuckerman receives an evaluative report from the psychologist. She then reviews the report with the student and parents to determine what support would best help the student.

Zuckerman also “demystifies” terms in the report by explaining what each medical term means.

“What I want students to do is look at the learning profile,” Zuckerman said. “Look at their strengths and be happy with them, and look, then, at what their challenges are.”

After meeting with the student, Zuckerman creates a personalized education plan for them, which she has the student’s parents approve and then distributes to the student’s teachers.

Extended time Many students with education plans have extended time on in-class assessments. Some students receive extended time because they have slow processing speed, which can refer to how quickly a person can visually scan information as well as how quickly the brain can interpret that information. Having extended time has nothing to do with the intelligence of the student, Zuckerman said.

Sophomore Noah Kuperberg said that he has heard other students question the placement of students with extended time into certain classes. Kuperberg is in advanced classes and has extended time, an accommodation which he first received in seventh grade. He has experienced firsthand the importance

of having accommodations available, but understands other students’ feelings about it.

“If I didn’t have extended time and someone else was getting extra time on tests, I would also feel bitter about it,” Kuperberg said. “I would not be happy that someone else was getting it, but I think that it’s important that people who need more time, get it. There is a process, so I think it is a fair thing to have.”

pects that a student abuses their accommodation, she will not hesitate to confront the student about it.

“You’re supposed to use it to level the playing field, not to give you an unfair advantage,” Zuckerman said. “Are there ever any abuses? I am sure there are. Is there cheating in the general population? I am sure there is. When I see it, I don’t look the other way, I promise you.”

Structured study hall JDS also works to “level the playing “We try to look at how we can field” by providing a mandatory structured make sure that everybody is getstudy hall to any stuting what they need.” dent with an educational plan. According - ESS learning specialist to ESS learning spebrett kugler cialist Brett Kugler, the structured study hall program is in place to One potential issue with ex- make sure that every student gets tended time is that students may the individualized support that they take advantage of their accommo- need. dations, something of which ZuckerIn a structured study hall, ESS man said she is very conscious. She specialists help students overcome understands, for example, that there difficulties in areas where they can be academic dishonesty issues if struggle. This can include teachstudents study between taking sec- ing students how to self-advocate, tions of a test. To prevent this, many utilize their strengths and develop students come in before school to strategies for improvement. start tests that they will finish later “Fair isn’t everybody getting the that day in class. same thing. Fair is everybody getting Zuckerman said that if she sus- what they need,’” Kugler said. “We

try to look at how we can make sure that everybody is getting what they need.”

Although the number of students in structured study halls varies, the structured study halls tend to be smaller than most regular classes so ESS specialists can focus on individual students.

“We each have different things we need to work on and my job is to help people think about what the problem is, analyze that situation and find a different strategy or a way that works for them in order to make it so that they can solve that problem as well,” Kugler said.

Having a required structured study hall was one of the reasons junior Ayelette Halbfinger decided to not apply for extended time when she transferred to JDS at the beginning of last year.

Halbfinger had acquired extended time at her previous school by bringing in a note from her optometrist that explained how a medical condition with her eyes made it difficult to read and analyze large blocks of text.

When she started at JDS in 2015, Halbfinger was not sure how she would be able to fit a mandatory study hall into her schedule. In addition, she did not feel it was necessary for her to take structured study hall, since the reason she had extended

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Educational accommodations help students with different needs

photo by aliza rabinovitz

time was not related to a learning disability and she did exercises to improve her visual difficulties at home.

Halbfinger still recognizes that the high standard JDS has for giving students accommodations makes sure that students are deserving of their accommodations.

“I think that the structure really works great for kids who need it,” Halbfinger said.

Standardized testing When students with educational accommodations start prepping for college applications, they may need accommodations on standardized testing, such as the SAT and ACT. Accommodations include hav-

ing extended time, a larger font on the tests and answer sheets with squares that students put an ‘x’ in instead of bubbles that need to be completed filled in.

Zuckerman deals with two different organizations for the standardized testing accommodations: College Board for the SAT, PSAT and AP tests, and the ACT organization.

According to Zuckerman, the ACT organization requires that students have a long history of using accommodations. College Board, meanwhile, requires at least four school months of using accommodations before a student can be accommodated for a College Board test.

To junior Lena Lerner, extended time in general can be difficult

Common learning disorders include: For more information about these learning disorders and facts on others, go to https://ldaamerica.org/ types-of-learning-disabilities/.

to grapple with for most students, as “all students could benefit” from it, but she feels that this is especially true for standardized testing.

Although it may be difficult for students to obtain extended time on the ACT, Lerner said that giving students extended time on the exam defeats its purpose.

"I think that if you’re giving extra time to certain people, that makes the entire test illegitimate because the entire point of the test is to test your timing," Lerner said.

"It’s not a knowledge based test; it’s a how-well-can-you-take-a-test kind of test."

Sophomore Maya Cohen-Shields was one of the students who qualified for extended time for the PSAT

earlier this year. Cohen-Shields noticed in eighth grade that she was having trouble completing tests in the allotted time. She decided to get tested for learning difficulties at the beginning of ninth grade and was diagnosed with ADHD, which qualified her for extended time.

This year sophomores and juniors took the PSAT and pre-ACT. Cohen-Shields only had extended time for the PSAT, not the pre-ACT. She found that while she had enough time to finish the PSAT, she was only able to complete about two-thirds of each section on the pre-ACT. “[It’s] just interesting because it kind of shows how the extended time that I have is pretty accurate,” Cohen-Shields said. “I wasn’t able

Dyslexia

Dyscalculia

Students can have difficulty reading, comprehending reading or recalling words.

Students switch the order of letters in words. Students with dyslexia may be helped if they use non-memorization-based study techniques, if they type their answers on essays or if they do not take notes in class.

Students can have difficulty conceptualizing numbers, solving math problems, dealing with money or conceptualizing time. Students with dyscalculia may be helped if they draw out problems, use colored pencils to help organize problems or use mnemonic devices to learn how to organize problems.

to finish the pre-ACT, but with the PSAT, for most of it, I felt fine with the amount of time that I had. It was definitely helpful and needed.”

Barbara Cohen, Cohen-Shields mother, said that she and her family approached the school about possible accommodations after Cohen-Shields was tested, and the school helped through the process.

“They definitely did a good job of finding out what type of accommodations she needed and making sure that she was able to get them and working with her and working with me,” Cohen said.

Dysgraphia Students with dysgraphia may have poor handwriting, forget words or letters when writing or have poor spacing. It may be hard for them to write and think at the same time or copy information down.

Students may be helped if they take oral exams, are provided with notes or given graph paper.

features 08

the lion’s tale

Picture perfect: Freshman captures adventures ally knapp guest writer

photos courtesty of joe goldberg Goldberg took the top photograph of an elk in Alberta, Canada. On the bottom, a photo by Goldberg at Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming.

Many people develop a love for amateur photography and share photos of their vacations, hobbies and pets over Instagram. Freshman Joe Goldberg’s photos, however, have the attention not just of his friends and family, but of a larger audience that includes almost 4,000 Instagram followers.

Goldberg posts his photos online, on his website, enters them in photo competitions and sells them.

He also teams up with various companies like Sperry, Keen, Eagle Creek and Swiss Army to publicize their brand in his photos. These companies send Goldberg merchandise in exchange for promoting their brand.

In October, during his vacation in Iceland, Goldberg took photos of Sperry shoes that were sent to him for free. His pictures have been featured on the Sperry Instagram four times and his photos have been on their website twice. Goldberg said that he first approached Sperry by email and asked if the company could send him shoes in exchange for taking pictures of him wearing the shoes on his travels.

“The companies that I work

with are really flexible,” Goldberg said. “They trust me and that I will represent their companies well, so they are really willing to send me things and never ask too many questions.”

Many lifestyle websites and magazines have taken notice of Goldberg. Outdoor Magazine wrote an article about Goldberg referring to him as “The Up-and-Comer.” In the piece, professional photographer Jimmy Chin looked at one of Goldberg's photos and said that the image had "beautiful and strong composition."

Freshman Ryan Bauman is among the many people who admire Goldberg’s work and his partnerships with various companies.

“It really shows that he has a true talent,” Bauman said.

Goldberg first began taking photos when he was 11 years old on a family trip to Costa Rica, when he was able to see the “natural beauty and adventure” that the world has to offer. The trip made him fall in love with the art of photography.

“I love photography because it’s a way I can store memories to show other people and convince others to get outside and explore the amazing world we live in,” Goldberg said.

In the future, Goldberg aspires

to be a professional photographer, being paid to travel the world and take photos. Goldberg plans on going to college but initially wants to take a gap year abroad. He hopes to go to school on the West Coast and dreams of majoring in something photography related.

Goldberg’s mother, Laurie Strongin, is very proud of her son’s photography.

“I think Joe’s photography is absolutely incredible,” Strongin said.

“His passion is contagious. He is so devoted to his craft and he is constantly working on it.”

While Strongin wants her son to learn and pursue his education in college, she also wants him to feel fulfilled, and if photography will bring him that fulfillment, she is interested to see where it takes him in the future.

Strongin said she loves traveling with Goldberg because he brings joy everywhere they travel together.

“He opens my eyes to the beauty of the natural world in a way they hadn’t been open before,” Strongin said, “Going somewhere with Joe is different from going somewhere with anybody else.”

Hungarian school sends educator delegation to Maryland ari feuer editor-in-chief Six teachers and administrators from the Lauder Javne Jewish Community School in Budapest, Hungary visited their partner teachers at CESJDS from March 24 to March 28.

The visit was a reciprocation of a November visit by six JDS teachers to Budapest.

The teacher exchange is part of the Morim Project, which aims to connect American and European Jewish day schools. The program, which takes its name from the Hebrew word for teacher, is run by S.O.S. International, an organization that aims to “enhance and advance excellence in Jewish day schools” throughout the world, CEO Alan Reinitz said.

The Morim Project pairs together an American and European

school. Then the schools’ respective headmasters choose teachers to participate. The program is not just an exchange of educational ideas, but also consists of political activism, community service and cultural education. To this end, the Hungarians visited historical sites around D.C. and met with members of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations.

Most of the visitors’ time, though, was spent at JDS. Each visiting teacher was paired with a JDS teacher and sat in on their host’s classes. The visitors taught some lessons and observed others. They also attended subjects that were not their own in order to learn more about education in general, which Reinitz said is a goal of the Morim Project.

“The way to create an enduring understanding of a subject matter is to recognize that it goes beyond your particular subject, and the best way

is to have crossover,” Reinitz said.

Lauder head principal Gábor Horányi enjoyed visiting JDS, and said that it felt “free and open.” He particularly noticed that teachers at JDS effectively use technology in the class. While Lauder does use technology, Horányi said that JDS was “a step ahead.”

Lauder School works hard to make students feel comfortable, Head of Communication Tímea Nyerges said. The day starts off with Boker, which for middle schoolers is prayer but for others is not. In comparison to JDS' 68 minute classes, Lauder has 45 minute class periods and 10 to 15 minute breaks between classes.

“The lessons [at JDS] are 70 minutes long. That’s long,” Nyerges said.

Another key difference between the Lauder School and JDS reflects

the difference between Judaism in Hungary and in the United States. In the United States, Judaism “comes naturally,” Nyerges said. She said that in Hungary, some Jews are not comfortable in their identity. One of Nyerges’ friends did not know she was Jewish until she found family records when one of her grandparents died. Jews who understand their identity, though, are “proud,” Nyerges said.

To keep connecting Jewish schools, the S.O.S. Project is now bringing its second phase to the Lauder-JDS partnership. The Limmud Project is designed to add students to the Morim Project. Each school will now choose students to go with teachers on their visits to their partners next year. While JDS has not yet determined its selection process, freshman Matthew Wieseltier is already interested in seeing

Jewish life thousands of miles from the JDS “bubble.”

“I think it would be a really valuable experience to witness Jewish education done in a completely different environment than ours,” Wieseltier said.

Nyerges was also excited for the student visits and was happy with her visit in the United States. She hopes that students learned about Hungary and Hungarian culture as well as Jewish life in Central and Eastern Europe. Reinitz also had a positive experience.

“From an observational standpoint, based on my visits to all different classes and activities, it appears to me as if the interaction has been extraordinarily positive from an educational, personal and professional point of view,” Reinitz said.

features

the lion’s tale

09

Shabbat is the day of rest, but for some it is a

DAY OF WORK only Sunday to work. Somekhian relies on Saturdays to do homework and believes she would not be able Sophomore Tamar Eisen walks to complete all her work if she only into synagogue every Saturday had Sunday. morning with a sense of relaxation Although JDS’ policy involves knowing she will not have to do any teachers only being allowed to ashomework until the following day. sign one night’s worth of homework Junior Rana Somekhian, however, over the weekend, Somekhian feels spends much of her Saturday sitting that this rule is not implemented. in her bed doing her schoolwork.

Somekhian said her teachers are not Students who identify as shoaccommodating to shomer Shabbat mer Shabbat traditionally students and often give observe the Jewish laws a more extensive workand customs regarding load on weekends, Shabbat which include which can put her sho"As many drawbacks as [not working not working, writing and mer Shabbat peers at a on Shabbat] has, I'm still very using electronics, and disadvantage. appreciative that I have that time to thus, these students do Although Somenot work on homework khian sees a lack of spend with my family and relax." during Shabbat. Accordteacher accommoda-sophmore tamar eisen ing to Academic Dean Aition towards shomer leen Goldstein, teachers Shabbat students, hiscan only give one night’s tory teacher Carl Atworth of homework over wood said that he enthe weekend, which they assume “Academically, I see [not doing sures all of his students have equal will be completed on Sunday. homework on Shabbat] as a disad- opportunities to complete work. He Goldstein trusts the faculty to vantage but I also really value it at follows the school’s policy and only give purposeful work that extends the same time,” Eisen said. “As many assigns what he considers equivato roughly thirty minutes per class. drawbacks as it has, I’m still very lent to one night of homework over The administration shares remind- appreciative that I have that time to the weekend. ers with faculty about workload for spend with my family and relax.”

Atwood has still received conweekends and holidays at the beginThe only times Eisen does cerns from students about not being ning of each school year and period- homework on Shabbat are in chaot- able to complete their homework ically throughout the year. When it ic situations, such as during finals due to Shabbat, but he considers receives a complaint from a student and at the end of the semester. She himself “flexible” and will work with about excessive work, they follow up and her parents make this decision students to make sure they are not at individually with the teacher. only if it will reduce Eisen’s stress. a disadvantage.

“We ask that it be meaningful She still will not write or go on her “Generally if it’s a school sponwork, and not homework for the computer in these extenuating cir- sored overnight trip I’m flexible and sake of giving homework,” Goldstein cumstances, so she prints informa- will grant the student an extra day or said. tion beforehand and reviews it on so to complete the homework,” AtAs a shomer Shabbat Jew, Eisen Shabbat. wood said. “I guess I try to take that said that she can usually complete While junior Rana Somekhian is on a case by case basis.” her weekend workload on Sunday; not shomer Shabbat, she sees a disHe often meets with students however, she finds it to be an over- advantage to those who are and have outside of class to go over their whelming task. Due to other obligaemily cohen and kate sosland features editors

tions such as track practice, Eisen does not have all of Sunday to complete her homework, which causes her to stay up late on Sunday night.

Instead of doing homework, Eisen usually spends her Shabbats leisurely by going to synagogue, spending time with friends, reading and taking naps.

Even though it gets stressful at times, Eisen appreciates spending her Shabbat as a day of rest.

schedule with them and helps them strategize so that they complete the work and turn it in on time. Atwood also recommends that students take an extension pass for larger assignments if necessary.

Sophomore Zev Katz, who is a shomer Shabbat Jew, believes that the weekend workload “definitely comes in phases,” causing some weekends to have minimum work and others to have an overwhelming amount.

Katz is typically observant of all shomer Shabbat customs like walking to synagogue and not using electronics. Approximately once a month, however, he finds himself having to do homework on Shabbat that does not require a computer.

When Katz does not do homework on Shabbat, he appreciates having the day to recover from the chaos of the week.

According to Goldstein, the school sees a lot of benefits for students to have the ability to take a day off. She wants to continue to help students gain skills such as time management. Like Goldstein, Atwood believes being strategic about workload will set students up for success.

“My general sense of the faculty at this school is that we are flexible,” Atwood said. “We try to help encourage students to do their best work but also hold them to high standards of accountability for getting the work done that’s needed to get done.”

Thoughts on weekend workload

“[On Sundays] I find myself just waking up and trying to get as much done as possible and have the rest of the day off.”

- sophomore jacob cannon

“I usually use Saturdays as a break. It’s not for religious reasons but I use it as a day to take off from school work.”

- sophomore naomi alter

“Even if I wanted to become shomer Shabbat I don’t think I could manage it or even think about becoming shomer Shabbat because I don’t have the time to spare, and I need that time to work.”

-junior noa schisterman compiled by kate sosland

sports 10

the lion’s tale

photos courtesy of cornell university athletic department Left: Eitan Chemerinski makes a layup against Ivy League rival Columbia University. Right: Chemerinski dribbles around a defender during a game against Binghamton University

Where they are now: devira friedman sports editor Alumnus Eitan Chemerinski used to dominate the CESJDS basketball court but now, eight years after graduating, he can be found halfway around the world working for the investment department of a Chinese company located in Beijing.

Chemerinski, a 6 foot 8 inch forward on the Cornell basketball team, first became interested in Chinese culture and language because he learned about Chinese history in his ninth grade World History class.

This interest in Chinese culture and language ultimately led 14-year-old Chemerinski to begin studying Mandarin, a dialect of Chinese.

“Since then, I have been studying Mandarin and it’s been one of my biggest passions,” Chemerinski said.

At Cornell University, Chemerinski majored in applied economics and management and minored in Mandarin while also playing on the team. After graduating in 2013, Chemerinski spent a semester in Beijing to continue his linguistic studies of Mandarin. Chemerinski enjoyed the semester he spent there, and always wished to return for work.

Following three years of work in consulting and banking in New

York City, Chemerinski heard of the opportunity to return to Beijing to work for an investment department of a Chinese company. He took the job and has been living in Beijing for over seven months.

Despite the time difference, Oscar Chemerinski, Eitan’s father, is able to speak with Eitan frequently and visit in person fairly often because of Oscar’s frequent travels to Beijing for work. Even though Eitan lives far away from his family, he is still tight with his family.

“We have a very close relationship," Oscar said. "The time difference is such that since it’s 12 hours, we either talk in the morning his time or the morning our time."

While Oscar has always played a big role in Eitan’s life, he was not responsible for starting Eitan’s basketball career. Oscar is originally from Argentina, so he wanted Eitan to play soccer.

“Fortunately he didn’t listen to me and he decided that basketball was his passion and so he started playing,” Oscar said.

Eitan decided to play basketball because he liked the team aspect of the sport, the challenge and playing with his friends. Eitan stuck with the sport and played throughout middle and high school.

Alumnus Eitan Chemerinski (‘09)'s journey from Rockville to Cornell to China “I have very fond memories of where he was a big fish in a small after school practices and competing pond,” Rose said. with my fellow classmates, teamIn addition to playing at JDS, Eitmates, [and] friends. So it was real- an also played on an Amateur Athletly one of my favorite experiences at ic Union (AAU) team that competed JDS,” Eitan said. during the summer.

In hindsight, Eitan described “That kind of exposed me to the JDS boys basketball program as some outside competition and was popular, competitive, and success- helpful in developing my basketball ful. Eitan never won a PVAC basket- skills,” Eitan said. ball championship, though; in Eitan’s senior year the boys made it all the way to “I have very fond memories the final, but lost to of after school practices and Washington International School by two competing with my fellow points in double overclassmates, teammates and time. friends.”

In addition to the hours that Eitan prac- eitan chemerinski ('09) ticed with the basketball team during the week, former Athletic Director Jeff Rose remembered Eitan Eitan had always hoped to play training in the gym in the off season. basketball in college, but that hope Rose described Eitan as a very well became a reality when Eitan attendrounded kid with a “strong work ed a basketball summer camp at ethic” both as a basketball player as Cornell University. At the end of the well as a student. camp, the Cornell coaches invited Ei“I think [JDS] provided him one tan to return to visit Cornell in order of the highest quality educations you to meet the team and coaches. can get, in addition to giving him “I had a very strong impression the opportunity to compete in the of the school, the basketball proPotomac Valley Athletic Conference gram, and was very eager to be able

to participate on the team with those coaches,” Eitan said.

Another reason that Eitan was interested in going to Cornell was that his older sister, Anat, attended the university and he knew that if he went there they would overlap for two years.

During his freshman year Eitan got limited playing time, but when he became a sophomore, he began to have a bigger role on the team. Eitan’s contributions advanced when he started his junior and senior year.

Eitan averaged 5.9 points per game, and 3.2 rebounds per game in his senior season with Cornell.

Transitioning from playing at JDS to playing at Cornell was a major adjustment for Eitan at first because of the increased level of competition, athleticism and commitment that was required of every player. Training, practices and games at Cornell were very time consuming and a typical week consisted of a combination of six games or practices every week.

Every season they played around 30 games.

“I had a tremendous experience at Cornell and couldn’t be happier with the coursework, the basketball program, and the experience as a whole,” Eitan said.

sports

the lion’s tale

11

After dominant season, Lions fall short in baseball championship

Captains: Junior Ben Shrock; sophomores Eli Soumekhian and Liam Shemesh

Head Coach: Steve Forestieri

VARSITY BASEBALL

Head Coach: Jason Belinke

Tournament: Placed 5th in PVAC championships.

Record: n/a Tournament: Placed 2nd in PVAC championships.

JDS records: Sophomore Zev Katz broke the 1600m record (4:36.7). Junior Daniel Weiss broke the 3200m record (10:06)

JDS baseball team. Landy won two championships in middle school, and helped the Lions reach the championship in 2015 and this year. While the Lions fell short in the championship game to St. Anselm’s this year, next year the team looks promising despite losing many key juniors.

“I think that the team has enough young talent to get back to what we got to and even bring home a banner,” Landy said.

Editor’s Note: The Lion’s Tale recognizes that juniors Daniel Ingber and Isaac Silber mentioned in the article are also members of our staff. Since they were recognized as PVAC all-stars, we deemed it necessary to include them in the article.

They were not, however, involved in the writing or editing of this article .

Record: 10-2 Tournament: Lost to St. Anslems Abbey School in the championship game 3-1 All-stars: Juniors Daniel Ingber, Zach Gordon Matthew Landy, Isaac Silber; freshman Zach Gross­

Head Coach: Brent Davis

Tournament: Lost to Berman Hebrew Academy in the first round of the playoffs 3-0 (2523, 25-13, 27-25)

Record: n/a

VARSITY GOLF

Record: 5-6

tom of the first inning. Two doubles in the bottom of the third gave St. Anselm’s a 2-0 lead. A comeback looked promising when Ingber doubled in a run during the top of the fourth inning, cutting the deficit to 2-1. After giving up a third run on an error, however, the Lion’s began to lose their confidence. The game was ended on sophomore Max Rogal’s groundout to the pitcher, as the Lions fell 3-1.

“I think that in the championship game I did struggle but I think our team as a whole struggled. I never want to blame a game on the umpires but I think that they (St. Anselm's) were getting the calls and the calls weren’t being given evenly,” Landy said.

Although Landy’s career came to an end, he has left his mark on the

JDS records: Junior Kaitlin Goodman broke the 200m record (27.47) and 400m record (1:02.61)

Head Coach: Jason Belinke

Head Coach: Patrick Dudash

1st singles: Junior Nachi Drogin 2nd singles: Sophomore Seth Eisenstein 3rd singles: Junior Ethan Jach 1st doubles: Junior Jonas Drogin and sophomore Ethan Missner

BOYS VARSITY VOLLEYBALL

Head Coach: Julie Rabinowitz

BOYS VARSITY TENNIS

Tournament: Placed 3rd in PVAC championships

Tournament: Placed 4th in PVAC championship tournament All-Stars: Sophomore Devira Friedman; eighth-graders Sally Rogal, Sasha Trainor, Jane Trainor and Anna Berger

photos courtesy of Dimensions yearbook

Record: 2-4

Record: 1-1 (2 ties)

GIRLS VARSITY TRACK & FIELD

compiled by jessie lehman

ship run,” Gordon said.

It was not only the upperclassmen who contributed to the team’s success. The starting shortstop, Gross, played a huge roll in his first season on the varsity team, and is expected to make a big impact in years to come. Gross, who consistently hit second, contributed with his unique combination of power and speed.

The Lions ended the regular season with junior night on May 4 with an 11-1 win against the Berman Hebrew Academy Cougars. This win clearly gave the team momentum, as they made it to the conference championship against St. Anselm’s.

The Lions got off to a rough start in the championship, which was played at Shirley Povich Field in Bethesda, when Landy walked in a run with bases loaded in the bot-

BOYS VARSITY TRACK & FIELD

SPRING SPORTS REcap

Head Coach: Andrew Goldman

PVAC Player of the Year junior Matthew Landy’s four-seam fastball slammed against sophomore Jacob Schwartz’s catcher’s mitt for the final strike of Landy’s no-hitter against Washington Christian Academy. A minute later, junior Danny Ingber put the exclamation point on the brilliant pitching performance by dumping a cooler of freezing water on Landy’s head.

Landy’s no-hitter was one of the many highlights of the varsity baseball season. The team finished with an overall record of 10-2 and lost in the PVAC championship 3-1 against St. Anselm’s Abbey School.

The team was led by their five all-stars: juniors and captains Zach

Gordon and Landy, juniors Ingber and Isaac Silber and freshman Zach Gross. Ingber led the team with a regular season .433 batting average and 15 RBIs. The Lions started the season strong with two no-hitters thrown by Landy and Gordon.

Boys varsity baseball coach Steve Forestieri attributed the team’s success to the players' onfield chemistry. Forestieri said that each member on the team had the will and determination to win every single game. This attitude stemmed from the team’s captains, Landy and Gordon. Both captains’ will to play at a higher level rubbed off on the rest of the team.

“This team is definitely a team that can win a championship; we don’t need to see the other teams to know that we can make a champion-

VARSITY SOFTBALL

ben savarick reporter

Record: 1-1-2 Tournament: Placed 4th in PVAC championships 1st seed: Junior Ben Savarick 2nd seed: Junior Ben Arie 3rd seed: Junior Evan Wood 4th seed: Freshman Ari Schlactus 5th seed: Freshman Jordan Schneider

style 12

the lion’s tale

Blast from the past

Administrative assistant travels back in time as a historical reenactor shira godin style editor Guns fire left to right. Medics and soldiers run onto the battlefield, treating the wounded and fighting for their country. Ladies in extravagant dresses dance across the ballroom floor with gentlemen leading their steps.

During her free time, Laura Shaw, the Administrative Assistant for the Middle School, avidly participates in historical reenactments from the battlefield to the dance hall. At the events, which she attends once or twice each month, Shaw lives the life of a person in the time period she is reenacting. This means she must stow away all of her modern devices, sleep in a tent and wear the clothing of her era until she goes to bed at night. Shaw participates in Revolutionary War, Civil War and World War II era reenactments.

“When you stand on a hill and look at the [reenactors] ... it’s absolutely staggering,” Shaw said. “You really think you stepped back in time.”

To take part in a reenactment, a participant must first know the many rules that accompany the

event. For example, if Shaw is doing an impression of a Civil War era lady, she cannot show her neck, wrists or hair in public. The only time when she can show these parts of the body in public is at a ball.

Shaw does not only perform female roles. She has also portrayed male soldiers and has fired real guns loaded with black gun powder during battle reenactments. Although the battle event was very exciting to Shaw, she did sustain burns from the powder.

“It’s fun, but it’s serious,” Shaw said. “You really get an idea of what it was like.”

Other than her job as an administrative assistant, Shaw also creates costumes for the middle school and high school musicals. Shaw makes all of the costumes seen on stage, like her own reenactment outfits, by hand. Director of Arts Education David Solomon is very thankful for all of Shaw’s work creating the costumes.

“Any time a student sees their costume, they’re like, ‘I’ve got to wear that,’” Solomon said. “It’s just this work of art that they get to wear and put on stage.”

When the school shows are

both over, Shaw starts to prepare for reenactment season which begins in the spring. She has joined many different groups that participate in reenactments together. During their meetings, they discuss bylaws and what events they would like to attend. Shaw is currently a part of the 69th New York, 6th New Hampshire, 139th Pennsylvania and 1st Maryland cavalry groups.

Historical reenactments have been a huge component in Shaw’s life since her children were little. Her daughter, Hailey Shaw, loves performing in events with her mom by her side.

“Growing up in a history-loving family, [reenactments] were something that we all had in common,” Hailey said. “It’s always fun.”

Laura’s love for historical reenactments goes further than a personal hobby. She does them to teach her community about history. Spectators at reenactments not only learn about history, but experience it through being figuratively transported to a different era.

“We can’t forget all of the sacrifices made,” Laura said. “I plan to do [reenactments] for as long as I can.

It’s my passion.”

photo courtesy of laura shaw Shaw stands in front of a World War II era plane. For this reenactment, Shaw dressed a a civilian who supported the war effort.

photo courtesy of laura shaw Shaw wears one of her handmade dresses during a reenactment set during the era of the Civil War.

photo courtesy of laura shaw Laura and Hailey Shaw stand side by side at a St. Patrick’s day event in their traditional, handmade, garb in an old Irish style.