Lion's Tale Volume 43, Issue 1

DEAR READERS, NEWS

Welcome back! After our eventful summers, we have been busy in the Pub Hub with our fabulous staff and adviser, Ms. Nassau. However, given our passion and love for this publication, we felt compelled to spice this letter up. We will be sending our message through poetry, instead of boring, ole prose:

In this new school year, We are kicking into high gear. Armed with pretzels, chex mix and Cheez-Its galore, Working hard on an edition we all adore.

For our in-depth we face, Activism all over the place. With students, professors and advocates sharing their piece, Shedding light on social media making the issue increase.

We call this one the “new” edition, New teachers, new coaches, new laws, new final exam mission.

There is the pledge of allegiance, update on Israel and the county fair, Plenty of exciting and interesting material we swear.

Our new website, just published online, We hope you think it is more than divine. We cannot wait for the new season of the Lion’s Tale, Join our journey, together we’ll set sail.

Welcome back to school, we hope you enjoy every page of this wonderful, action-packed edition.

Sincerely,

Editors-in-Chief

04 New finals policy New classes join exam list

05 Israel update Community spend summer amid tension

06 Coming soon this fall

Logging off

Get comfortable with boredom

Sinking standards

Grade inflation is bad for learning

The internet perpetuates doom

A tradition worth standing for JDS should recite the Pledge of Allegiance

12 #ACTIVISM

From protests to likes, advocacy is taking new forms in the modern day

16 Lions around the world

Where students traveled this summer

17 Butterfly bill

New law indicates disabilities on ID

18 Mind the gap (year)

Options for graduates to study in Israel

Tuning in

Guide to finding the best podcasts

Sweet treat

Max’s Best Ice Cream is a must-visit

Fair Flare

Annual MoCo Agricultural Fair

Changing positions

Meet the new fall coaches

Hiit the gym

Best workout classes in the D.C. area

All in, all summer

Students play basketball at programs

Clockwise from top left: Photos from Reyut Wasserstein, used with permission; Vivi Ducker, LT; Lindsey Shapiro, LT; Philip Margolius, used with permission; Amalia Netter, used with permission.

Sadaf Zadeh and Vivi Ducker went on a boat on the Potomac River.

THE LION’S TALE STAFF

Editors-in-Chief

Vivi Ducker & Eliana Wolf

Managing Editor, Copy

Maiya Blumenthal

Tali Loeffler and Maiya Blumenthal visited the Wharf waterfront.

Managing Editor, Web

Sophie Schwartz

In-Depth Editor

Sadaf Zadeh

News Editors

Eliana Abrams & Penelope Terl Features Editors

Jordana Dauber & Anna Polon

Opinion Editors

David Federowicz & Lindsey Shapiro

Arts and Entertainment Editors

Leora Blumenthal & Jonah Mellen

Sports Editors

Tali Loeffler & Mia Forseter

Reporters

Leora Blumenthal and David Federowicz went to Camp Ramah in New England.

Ephraim Blair, Zoe Cohen, Jackson Gill, Kira Koplow, Sophia Leinwand, Eli Loeffler, Lena Lourenco, Dalya Lurie, Liat Netter, Gila Safra, Adam Salomon, Isaiah Segal-Geetter, Aviv Stein, Lior Zucker

Staff Adviser

Jessica Nassau Adviser Emerita

Susan Zuckerman

THE BEST OF lionstale.org NEWS

First week of school gallery

Lindsey Shapiro, Opinion Editor

OPINION

Druze double standard

Sadaf Zadeh, In-Depth Editor

A&E

Cookie craze

Dalya Lurie, Reporter

As the student newspaper of the Charles E. Smith Jewish Day School, The Lion’s Tale (LT) 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 LT editorial board. The LT staff welcomes letters to the editor and guest

SPORTS

Fall tryouts video

Anna Polon, Features Editor

FEATURES

How screens affect vision

Liat Netter, Reporter

EDITORIAL AND ETHICS POLICY

columns, 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. All other contents copyright of LT. All rights reserved. Submissions may be emailed to jdslionstale@gmail.com, mailed to LT or brought to room 320.

LT magazine and website 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.

AI is not permitted for any generation of content or brainstorming, including but not limited to the following: writing articles or headlines, spread designs, photography, letter to the editor, audio or video. The only AI usage permitted by LT is for the purpose of transcribing interviews.

The staff will adhere to the ethics of The Society of Professional Journalists and National Scholastic Press Association. The adviser will be held to the Journalism Education Association’s Adviser Code of Ethics.

Mia Forseter and Anna Polon were both in Providence.

Photo fromViviDucker,LT .

Photo fromTaliLoeffler

Photofrom

NEW FINALS POLICY

After the last day of first semester, the senior alcove at CESJDS usually roars with excitement as seniors celebrate the end of their classes, marking the final stretch toward Siyyum and graduation. This year, though, the celebration may be a bit short-lived.

The administration is introducing final exams for seniors in Contemporary Literature, 21st Century American Identities and science classes in addition to the pre-existing math final. In addition to senior finals, students taking second and third-level science courses will have finals. All finals will continue to count for 10% of students’ final grades.

“We have two major goals for exams,” Assistant Principal Aileen Goldstein said. “One goal is to synthesize material that’s been learned over a long period of time; we define that currently as a semester…The other goal is to prepare [students] for college. And if the students who are next going to college are the seniors, why is it that they have only one exam? And why is that exam only in math?”

The seniors’ schedule between the end of classes and graduation will differ from past years. Previously, there have been different versions of senior seminars; however, that period will now be dedicated to final exams. The seminars will be held at different times throughout the first semester. According to Goldstein, administrators believed this approach would make better use of time and enhance learning.

Senior Jonathan Gordon anticipates that the senior thrill may feel different with the added pressure of several major tests.

“Senior year, it should feel like so much of a big milestone,” Gordon said. “I love to see the seniors moshing, they’re done with everything. And, with one or two finals, that’s still possible … But if you’re dealing now with four or five or even six, for some people, finals, that’s a real buzzkill.”

This change won’t just affect seniors. Goldstein explained that the decision to add second and third-level science courses was due to alumni feedback that expressed a lack of preparedness in math and science courses in which grades come primarily from tests. This led the administration to believe they are doing a disservice to students by not having exams for all science levels. However, some students believe this will diminish the experience of participating in higher-level courses.

“Higher level courses, Genetics III, Physics III, where the students have been learning [the subject] for a while, and this is really just learning for the sake of learning, a final takes away from the spirit of that, and a final puts unnecessary stress on the students who are just trying to learn extra physics because they are motivated to,” Gordon said. “It pushes people away from these amazing classes because now they are worried about taking another final.”

This impacted Gordon personally, as he considered taking a second science course but chose not to, already committed to two

math courses and is not interested in taking six finals. He said that senior year is already stressful due to college work and expecting students to take six finals is unrealistic, even for college students who typically take three to five classes.

The policy also increases the workload for some teachers. For example, Science Department Chair and physics teacher Ray Hodges will have to prepare five finals annually instead of one. However, he said he is not incredibly worried. According to Hodges, giving more finals at the end of the year won’t be hard since he won’t also be teaching, but giving more senior finals might be difficult as he will also be teaching non-senior classes at the same time.

Despite concerns, Gordon appreciates the opportunity to take finals because they mirror college exams and offer students a chance to improve their grades. Goldstein echoed this sentiment, emphasizing the importance of putting students first.

“One of the big questions we ask is what’s best for students. There’s always a balance between the academic load, which feels really heavy, and wellness, and wanting to achieve these other academic goals,” Goldstein said.

Gila Safra Reporter

ISRAEL UPDATE

Ephraim Blair Reporter

Many JDS students, alumni and faculty members visit Israel every summer. This summer, their trips coincided with escalating conflict in the Middle East and deepening internal divisions within Israel.

As the 2024-25 school year wrapped up, war broke out between Israel and Iran on June 13. Israel launched “Operation Rising Lion,” targeting Iran’s nuclear and military capabilities. According to the Associated Press, these attacks were retaliation for Iranian strikes on various Israeli cities in April 2024.

In early June, Onward, a popular program among JDS alumni, sent a group of rising college juniors to Israel for internships. A week and a half in, participants, including alumnus Eitan Malkus (‘23), were awakened by air raid sirens at their Tel Aviv apartment building early Friday morning, June 13.

“This was the first time that we went to the bomb shelter, so no one really knew what was happening, and we didn’t know how long we were going to have to stay there,” Malkus said.

As Iranian retaliatory strikes targeted major Israeli cities, Onward transported participants away from Tel Aviv to Eilat. Six days later, over a thousand foreign college students participating in Onward and Birthright programs were transported by cruise ship from Ashdod, Israel, to Cyprus.

While the group was en route to Cyprus, America bombed three Iranian nuclear sites–Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan–on June 21.

Lions in Israel

Mach Hach

Junior Tara Hain at Benei Akiva summer tour of Israel for rising juniors Onward

Almuna Zara Ducker (‘23) at Summer Israeli internship program

Girls Israel Volunteer Experience

Sophomore Lyla Silberg on GIVE, a five week all-girl NCSY volunteer program

Students and alumni spend summer in Israel amid tension in the Middle East

This led to an eventual ceasefire,according to the Department of Defense. Eventually, several Onward students, including Malkus, restarted their internships mid-July.

On July 8, junior Lyla Silberg arrived in Israel for a five-week program called Girls Israel Volunteer Experience (GIVE) sponsored by the National Conference of Synagogue Youth (NCSY).

While in Israel, Silberg visited sites related to the Oct. 7 attacks and met with Rachel Goldberg-Polin, whose son, Hersh, was abducted by Hamas on Oct. 7 and killed in Gaza after 11 months of captivity.

“It was very crazy because obviously we talked about it [Oct. 7] a lot in school, and we learned a lot about what’s happening [in] Israel, but it was very hard to connect with it because it’s so far across the world,” Silberg said. “But going there to the sites and seeing what really happened and seeing cars that were burned and families that were affected was really meaningful.”

On July 10, Jewish History Department Chair Rachel Bergstein was also in Israel. Bergstein has traveled with her family to Israel almost every summer for five years, renting an apartment in Jerusalem. The Israel-Iran War delayed her trip but did not force her to cancel it.

Bergstein noticed several differences in Israeli society since the attacks on Oct. 7 and the subsequent war in Gaza. She noted that in Israel, a lot of people are struggling with mental health and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Major Events of Summer 2025

June 13

Israel launches “Operation Rising Lion” with major air and drone strikes on Iranian military and nuclear sites.

June 23

Iran fires missiles at a U.S. airbase in Qatar. A ceasefire is announced.

“There have been a few suicides among returning soldiers, and there have been a few prominent suicides in the last few months,” Bergstein said. “That has sort of been a wake-up call for the country.”

Other changes Bergstein noticed was that with many soldiers and reservists in Gaza, stores and businesses were being managed by teenagers. Additionally, many foreign tourists, especially Americans, have avoided visiting because of everything going on. For example, Bergstein was supposed to attend a conference with High School Principal Lisa Vardi that was canceled.

Bergstein also said that the Israeli press and public were beginning to talk more about the humanitarian situation in Gaza, as several countries, including France and the United Kingdom, have stated that they will recognize a Palestinian state if there is not a ceasefire in Gaza, according to the BBC.

Towards the end of his time in Israel, Malkus witnessed demonstrations for and against Netanyahu’s plans to occupy the Gaza Strip. Despite the internal division, Malkus said Israelis manage to coalesce around their shared hope for the hostages to return and the war to end.

“People come from such different backgrounds and have such different opinions, but the magic of Israel is that people will and can come together if the situation presents itself,” Malkus said.

July 7

Israel launched aerial attacks on Houthi territory in Yemen.

August 7

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announces plan to occupy all of Gaza. Information from Times of Israel

Lion’s

COMING SOON THIS FALL

New teachers joining the high school this upcoming school year

Julie Rosenthal, Athletic Trainer

After completing their master’s in athletic training from George Mason University and working as an athletic trainer at Fallston High School, Julie Rosenthal is joining JDS faculty as an athletic trainer. They are looking forward to working with students not only through injury recovery, but also while teaching the Kinesiology and Emergency Care and Sports Safety courses.

Outside of sports medicine, Rosenthal is a competitive ballroom dancer. They consider themself to be crafty and enjoys bringing arts and hands-on work into the classroom.

“I’m excited to be part of a real Jewish environment,” Rosenthal said. “I’ve never really been able to work in a Jewish environment where everyone around me is kind of similar to me, which is really awesome. And I’m excited to be in a school [with] this really strong sports medicine program, like I did in high school.”

Mia Forseter SportsEditor Liat Netter Reporter

Josh Rauguth, Assistant Director of College Counseling

Josh Rauguth is the latest addition to the college counseling department at JDS, after working in college counseling in Virginia, Florida and Indiana. Rauguth particularly enjoys guiding students through the college process in order to set them up for success later on in life.

“I just like helping [students] navigate the whole next step,” Rauguth said. “... I think it’s really important to educate [them], not only on what day one of college is going to look like, but on what you should be doing there, what you shouldn’t be doing there.”

Outside of college counseling, Rauguth teaches percussion at the University of Maryland School of Music and works with the marching band program there. He enjoys watching college sports and has a golden retriever named Gus. Rauguth is most looking forward to getting to know the students and learning about the culture at JDS.

Elise Resnick, Ninth and Tenth Grade Guidance Counselor

Joining JDS as the ninth and tenth grade counselor, Elise Resnick is excited to continue her work in counseling after spending the last four years working in mental health therapy in public schools. Resnick also taught at the University of Maryland, worked with middle and elementary school students and in private practice.

As a therapist, Resnick enjoys hearing people’s stories and wants to help students when they need it. She looks forward to helping students enjoy their high school years, which she knows can be a high pressure time.

“I want to be able to support [students] when things are rough, help [them] get coping skills as needed, connect with resources as needed, whatever it is to help when you hit the rough patches, but also to keep things in a really positive and fun space,” Resnick said.

Rebecca Drucker, Spanish Teacher

Following her work as a teaching fellow at the Holton-Arms School in Bethesda, Rebecca Drucker is coming to JDS as the middle and high school Spanish teacher. Drucker graduated from Wesleyan University with a degree in Romance languages, and has since completed multiple teaching fellowships. In her free time, Drucker enjoys journaling and knitting. Drucker began studying Spanish in middle school and especially loved the experience of learning about a foreign culture in its native language. She speaks English, Spanish and Italian.

“[Learning languages] just adds so much flexibility to your mind,” Drucker said. “... It can be tough at times, but in the end, it helps you improve in all of your languages. It expands your vocabulary like tri-fold, and there’s just something so exciting and empowering about that.”

Photo courtesy of Josh Rauguth.

Photo courtesy of Julie Rosenthal.

Photo by Mia Forseter, LT.

Photo by Mia Forseter, LT.

John-Michael d’Haviland, Vocal Music Teacher and Theatrical Music Director

New addition to the JDS music department, is John-Michael d’Haviland. Returning to the DMV from Atlanta, where he taught at the Pebblebrook High School, d’Haviland is looking forward to helping students progress in their musical abilities.

“The one of the things I love most about it is the discovery of being able to meet students and meet artists wherever, whether they’re high school or not, being able to teach them and be able to show them something and watch the progression, watch them make the discovery of, ‘Oh, hey, look, I can do that,’” d’Haviland said.

d’Haviland’s has taught from the middle school level to the professional level, including vocal music, acapella and theater.

Outside of teaching, d’Haviland likes to perform. He says one of his most memorable performances was at the Kennedy Center Honors tribute for Tina Turner when he performed in a back up choir directly after Beyonce, standing four feet away from her.

Aviya Betker, High School Hebrew Teacher

Aviya Betker is entering JDS as a high school Hebrew teacher. Betker is originally from Jerusalem, and at her past teaching job there she taught two small cohorts of students with learning disabilities. Her work there focused on guiding them through their high school experience.

Following her work in Israel, she moved to the United States and took a short break in which she worked as a company office manager. Since moving to Maryland, she was hired at JDS and is excited to begin teaching again.

“What I like about teaching is probably the students,” Betker said. “Because, if not, [I] wouldn’t do it. I think the relationships are a big thing of what we do. We all try to have an impact, and I think that as people more than as teachers. But as people, we can actually do it, and schools are the best way to meet [students].”

In her free time, Betker enjoys playing sports and planning trips for her family, which includes her spouse and their three young children.

Vickie Garner, Director of College Counseling

With 25 years of college counseling experience, Vickie Garner is joining JDS as Director of College Counseling. Garner began working as a college counselor at Sandy Spring Friends School in 2001 and has since gained experience at other independent schools. Earlier in her career, Garner worked as a theater teacher and an admissions director. Garner will also be an 11th grade adviser. According to Garner, the warmth and energy of the students and staff, which she experienced during the interviewing process, drew her to JDS.

“My first moments were as people were coming out of ZK [Zman Kodesh], and I was like, ‘Wow, this energy is so contagious,’” Garner said. “And so that’s what really drew me. The caring, contagious and positive energy that I sensed from the kids.”

Garner hopes to become involved with the arts and theater program at JDS and is excited to be back in the Maryland, where her family and four year old granddaughter live.

Jeremy Shine, High School Jewish History and Israel Studies Teacher

The Jewish history department’s newest addition is Jeremy Shine, coming to JDS after working for the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (AJJDC) and multiple Jewish day schools in California, including Milken Community School and Shalhevet High School. In his work with the AJJDC, Shine helped Jewish communities in the former Soviet Union reestablish themselves.

Shine is originally from London. He made aliyah and, after serving in the IDF, received a bachelors degree in International Relations and Russian studies.

As a Jewish history teacher, Shine is excited to begin working at JDS because its identity is rooted in Jewish history.

“I think the Jewish stories and Jewish historical stories are fascinating and compelling,” Shine said. “And it’s about seeing myself in those stories, and hopefully students can see themselves in those stories.”

Photo courtesy of Vickie Garner.

Photo by Eliana Wolf, LT.

Photo by Mia Forseter, LT.

Photo by Mia Forseter, LT.

- opinionLOGGING OFF

Albert Einstein, while daydreaming about cows and an electric fence, conceived the theory of relativity. On a delayed train ride from Manchester to London, J.K. Rowling came up with the storyline for Harry Potter. Tired of hand-solving math equations, Konrad Zuse built the basis of the first programmable computer to do it for him.

All these innovations originated from a common beginning: mind-wandering.

With unlimited access to the internet, extracurricular activities and an eight-hour school or work day, our lives are crafted to avoid boredom. However, the very thing we avoid most is what modern life requires: time for the mind to wander, to foster creativity, reflection, happiness and improved work performance, according to Greater Good Magazine.

Why do we avoid such a beneficial pastime? According to Assistant Professor of Government at Hillsdale College David Azerrad, the vastness of the internet plays a large role in our discomfort with boredom and influences our behaviors in boring environments.

“There is more content on Netflix, more music on Spotify, more free books on Kindle than any human being could read in 10 lifetimes,” Azerrad said. “... And everything is free, instant and

WAYS TO FOSTER MIND WANDERING

People should more comfortable with boredom

at your fingertips. Therefore, as soon as you have to wait in line at the pharmacy, wait for a friend at a restaurant, wait in line for ice cream, be on a plane waiting for your flight to take off, what does everyone do? They take out their phones.”

This tendency to be constantly entertained by technology takes away the value of entertainment, leading to a more intense cycle of boredom and impatience.

“When everything is instantly available all the time, it devalues our appreciation of it,” Azerrad said. “Imagine the treat it must have been to go to the movies when there was no television ... Imagine how exciting that was for kids, compared to where you just sit down and go on Netflix.”

However, the internet isn’t the only thing to blame. According to The Medium, humans seek stimulation in any way. This stimulation doesn’t just come from technology. Activities like reading, spending time with friends and family and playing games all replace boredom as well.

While these activities are often beneficial, they should not take the place of time to allow one’s mind to wander.

Instead, low-concentration activities are a better outlet to let the mind roam free. Cleaning, cooking and walking are all exam-

ples of activities that many people choose to do while watching TV or listening to music. However, these tasks should also sometimes be completed in silence to foster mental wandering.

Other larger lifestyle changes that encourage time to let the mind drift include allotting a tech-free day, like Shabbat for observant Jews, or downloading apps that limit phone usage, such as One Sec or RescueTime.

We are not minimizing the importance of the sports, homework, TV shows and time with friends. However, it is crucial to incorporate time into daily life for mind-wandering.

As Azerrad said, “I think we would all be better off in the West if we were a little bit more bored.”

For the next three times in a car, turn down the music and commit to a silent drive. Tomorrow, upon waking up, stand for thirty seconds and set an intention for the day. Devote 10 minutes each day to walking around the block, just thinking.

- The Lion’s Tale

Illustration by Leah Fagin

SINKING STANDARDS

Grade inflation is detrimental to students’ learning

At the beginning of junior year, I had a conversation with a friend who told me that he had trouble maintaining a GPA similar to his peers. He fell behind, not due to a lack of effort, but because he thought he didn’t “play the system” to maximize his GPA.

Throughout high school, many people, including myself, have picked more advanced classes in an attempt to boost their GPA. This conversation indicates a larger problem with grade inflation, a phenomenon described by Merriam-Webster as “a rise in the average grade assigned to students” for similar levels of academic achievement.

At JDS, many students cherry-pick easier Honors electives and Judaic classes to boost their GPA. This is incredibly damaging, as the weighted GPA discourages effort, and is indicative of a larger culture of grade inflation.

In 2023, the ACT tracked high school grades nationally between 2010 and 2022 and found a dramatic increase in English grades from roughly 80% to roughly 85%, and an increase in math grades from roughly 76% to roughly 84%.

This increase in grades has been gradual over time. According to the James G. Martin Center, in 1962 only 13% of grades were at an A- or higher, yet by 2012, 42% of grades were A level.

In 2022 alone, 89% of students nationwide earned an A or B in math, English, history and science according to the national Assessment of Educational Progress. Despite this increase, they

saw a steady decline in average academic proficiency on national tests in these fields. This shows that the rise in grades did not necessarily correlate with an increase in academic achievement.

This movement of grade inflation has been driven by excessive pressure from students, with 44% of teachers saying that students often ask for better grades than they were given, and 80% of teachers reporting caving to this request at least once. This has resulted in school environments that often prioritize a uniform picture of success rather than actual learning.

This is partially motivated by growing competitiveness among colleges, with students wanting better grades so they can get into more competitive colleges.

The increasing presence of grade inflation encourages students to focus on grades rather than education and learning. The students strive for higher grades rather than knowledge, shifting the value of education and leaving students less prepared for college.

This atmosphere has hurt many high achievers, with a study from Southeast University showing that grade inflation can often result in grade compression. Grade compression is when higher grades are awarded for average performance, punishing students who try hard, as they receive the same grades as more average students.

The same study also found that grade inflation can mislead students regarding their own academic capabilities, with students often overestimating their own academic abilities, which could damage their potential in college and beyond.

According to the Pew Research Center, 38% of college students who start a degree program do not finish within six years or less, which hurts them financially as many have taken

THEN

13% of students had a B+ average in 1962 26% of students’ grades exceeded a B+ by 1985 29% of math grades were As in 2010

NOW

45% of students had an A average in 2013 50% of students’ grades exceeded a B+ in 2020

89% of students received an A or B in math in 2022

Information from

out money to pay for college. Students who drop out of college are less likely to get make livable wages and repay loans.

Research from the ACT found that while more than half of students believed they were prepared for college, a third of students failed to meet basic benchmarks on tests. The study notes that grade inflation contributes to this as inflated GPAs misleads student to believe they achieved mastery.

This culture of grade inflation also poses issues in the already treacherous college admissions process, with many colleges struggling to differentiate high performing students from ones with simply inflated GPAs. Administrators at Kalamazoo College have had difficulties dealing with admissions in cases involving schools where the vast majority of students have 4.0 GPAs. This atmosphere of grade inflation goes hand in hand with the immense pressure many high school students face to uphold their grades. According to Harvard University, 50% of students feel immense pressure to perform to unrealistic expectations, a standard perpetuated by grade inflation. This standard has been found to result in sleep deprivation, anxiety and burnout.

Many, including representatives in the Texas state legislature, have proposed measures such as “honest transcripts” to curb grade inflation; these methods would require schools to list the average grade for a given class alongside a student’s grade in context, showing the true merit of a grade at each school.

My friend wasn’t wrong. There is a system to be played for a high GPA, a system that rewards higher grades over learning and devalues true merit. Until we start truly valuing learning and being honest in our grading practices, cheating and mediocrity will continue to rise.

Jonah Mellen Arts and Entertainment Editor

the James G. Martin Center and Education Week.

- opinion -

DON’T TAKE THE BAIT

The internet convinces people that the world is falling apart

Spend five minutes online and it’s easy to believe society is collapsing. War, climate catastrophe, political chaos— scroll far enough and it starts to feel like we’re spiraling into some apocalyptic disaster. But by many meaningful measures, the world is actually improving.

This isn’t just blind optimism; it’s backed by hard data. In “Enlightenment Now,” cognitive psychologist Steven Pinker argues that humanity has made unprecedented progress over the past couple hundred years. Life expectancy, literacy, health and safety are all improving.

According to Our World in Data, in 1900, the average person could expect to live just 32 years. Today, it’s over 70. Two decades ago, nearly one in five children worldwide were in the labor force; that number has since dropped by almost half. In the late 1980s, more than a third of humanity lived in extreme poverty. By 2013, that share had fallen to 11%.

These aren’t small wins; they’re seismic shifts. Yet none of this makes for a flashy headline, and that’s exactly the problem.

“Maternal Death Down 43%” doesn’t receive the same attention that “The World is on the Brink of Collapse” does. That discrepancy between reality and perception matters because what we believe about the world shapes how we engage with it.

If people believe things are worse than they really are, they become cynical. They lose trust in

institutions. They disengage from politics and fall for extremist narratives. Worse, they may give up on trying to fix real problems altogether, because they no longer believe progress is possible. Bad news spreads faster than good news. Outrage fuels engagement. Fear spreads faster than facts. According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), this happens in part because of a built-in “negativity bias” in human psychology. Human brains have evolved to pay more attention to threats and calamities rather than to neutral or positive information, since spotting danger quickly was once key to survival. Platforms like X, YouTube and TikTok capitalize on this negativity bias in order to maximize engagement. As a result, the most sensational, upsetting and extreme stories dominate viewers’ feeds. Social platforms make money by keeping viewers online, and nothing holds attention better than fear and anxiety. So the algorithms feed our negativity bias back to us, amplifying the most startling, upsetting and extreme stories. This is not because the narratives are truly representative of the world, but because they are clickable. This creates a feedback loop: the more we consume bad news, the more platforms feed it to us, which makes us more convinced that things are terrible. It isn’t a conspiracy, it’s an algorithm. Traditional news and media outlets are not innocent of exploitation either. The old journalism adage, “if it bleeds, it leads” still rings true. News outlets are businesses and tragedy sells. The more views and interactions a story receives, the more money the company makes. The plane crashes are reported, not the millions of safe landings. The few thousand bad events that

Positive News Outlets

make headlines overpower the billions of good ones that don’t. No one clicks or reads on “billions of people had a decent Tuesday,” and that skews our collective reception of reality.

This isn’t to say the world is perfect. War, inequality and geopolitical instability are all real and urgent issues. But we need to be able to hold two thoughts at once: things are getting better and there is still work to do.

We need to be more skeptical and cautious of what the internet shows us. Not every bad headline is a sign of collapse. Not every viral video represents a trend. The world is big and complicated, but it’s not all going to shambles. Media intake should be treated like a diet, where balance is valued. Constantly consuming catastrophe distorts our view of reality. Seek out sources that report not just what’s going wrong, but what’s going well. Follow organizations that track human progress, not just human tragedy. Read beyond the headlines. Question whether the latest viral crisis is representative or just another blip amplified by algorithms. But still be aware of the real tragedies in the world.

Outlets like The Good News Network, Positive News and The Optimist Daily share stories of achievement, innovation and kindness. Reports from the United Nations and global progress trackers can place headlines in long-term context. Read beyond the headlines. Question whether the latest viral crisis is representative or just another blip amplified by algorithms. And remember to share the good news with friends and family along with the bad. Yes, the world has problems. But it also has progress. Let’s not let the internet and media convince us otherwise.

Eliana Abrams News Editor

A TRADITION WORTH STANDING FOR

JDS should recite the Pledge of Allegiance daily

Ephraim Blair Reporter

I have moved around the country, attending private and public schools, where we recited the Pledge proudly, hand over heart, every school day. As a new student at JDS last year, it struck me that we did not recite the Pledge of Allegiance. Being a military child and, more importantly, a proud American, I see that America, and JDS, need the Pledge’s spirit of patriotism now more than ever.

America is a country founded upon the greatest ideals known to man: liberty, the rule of law and government by the people. The United States was built around one central idea, set out in our Declaration of Independence, “that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights,” that no government could take away.

Although America has often fallen short of these eternal truths, many have sacrificed their lives to fight for them. Our great nation freed millions from bondage, pioneered unprecedented advancements in science and industry and preserved liberty through free institutions and a free economy.

Yet, national pride in the United States is on the decline among most demographics,

PLEDGE

TIMELINE

1892

Francis Bellamy writes the Pledge

1923 National Flag Conference creates Flag Code

1942 Congress adopts the Pledge during WWII

especially younger Americans. According to a Gallup poll, only 58% of millennials and 41% of members of Gen Z are “extremely or very proud” to be American, which are historic lows for any American generation.

We live in a time when the American body politic is very divided, where many people base their love of country on their approval of certain political leaders. This is a dangerous precedent for a democratic republic. If citizens do not believe in its founding values, then what makes it worthwhile to preserve?

This is where the Pledge of Allegiance comes in. In 1892, following the Civil War that split America, minister and writer Francis Bellamy sought to solve that problem and wrote a brief, deliberate statement affirming national unity and American values, which today we know as the Pledge of Allegiance.

Soon thereafter, its recitation spread to schools, naturalization ceremonies and Congress, instilling a love of country and respect for the flag, the universal symbol of American values, institutions and ideals.

Unfortunately, the promotion of patriotism and American values at JDS has become a secondary priority in recent years. JDS greatly emphasizes Ahavat Yisrael, love of Israel, as one of our school’s core values. However, JDS should do more to promote love of the United States, Israel’s strongest ally, and, crucially, the home country to nearly all students at the school.

Lower School students begin their day with the Pledge as a tool to educate the students

about it, according to High School Principal and Upper School Campus Head Lisa Vardi. However, Vardi said that starting in JDS middle school, the Pledge has never been recited. Vardi added that this policy is because students no longer need to learn the words. Additionally, recitation every morning can be logistically challenging to incorporate into more rigorous schedules. Nonetheless, the administration is open to further discussing this practice. It is imperative that JDS continues to instill appreciation and dedication to our country among older students because adolescence is a period of growth and learning that prepares students to become good citizens and informed voters.

We have a busy school day, but the Pledge is only 31 words. It can easily be inserted into the schedule during the announcements each morning without causing any disruption or incurring any new cost, as American flags are already in every classroom. Considering the vast sacrifice of those who have fought to preserve our freedoms, the addition of the Pledge is a small but significant act.

We have weathered difficult and divided times before, and we can do so again. Yet, we will cease to be great if we forget our shared values and history. We cannot afford to live as separate nations, incessantly divided along sectional and ideological lines. As President Lincoln said, “A house divided against itself cannot stand.” Therefore, JDS ought to incorporate the Pledge of Allegiance into our daily routine.

Photo from Wikimedia

From protests to likes, advocacy is taking new forms in the modern day

It’s 2017, and senior Leah Fagin is standing in a sea of people, most of whom hold up signs reading “Women’s rights are human rights” and “My body, my choice.” She looks around, amazed at the number of people gathered for The Women’s March on Washington. It was then that she grasped the concept that activism is not just about a group of people holding signs and yelling chants, but rather a means for like-minded people to support each other to bring about change.

Activism is the mobilization of individuals or groups to bring about change. Social and political activism can take many forms. Historically, the most popular forms have been protests, sit-ins and boycotts. A type of activism that has become increasingly popular is protesting through social media. Through posts, likes, stories and comments, activism has become more accessible, with people aiming to create change from the comfort of their home.

To Fagin, activism means taking big strides to create change. She said that taking initiative to raise awareness makes someone

an activist rather than just a passionate person about a cause. In this regard, she does not consider herself an activist, but is increasingly interested in activism specifically for women’s rights. She cited the overturning of Roe v. Wade in June of 2022 as a pivotal moment, making her want to commit to more in-person activism.

This new wave of activism has changed the status quo of American society, according to History Department Chair Carl Atwood. But what does it mean to be an activist in 21st-century society?

History of Activism

The United States has a rich history of young people being involved in activism, according to PBS. The 1968 Vietnam War protests at Columbia University were spearheaded by college students, the Young Women’s Christian Association (YWCA) started the Girl Reserves Program in 1918 to bring female empowerment and the youth-led United We Dream movement that protested anti-immigration policies in 2008 are all examples of this.

“Teenagers and young peo -

“ I really think there’s a lot of peer pressure to post something just to post it, or just to show that you’re talking about something, ” Michelle Waksman, MidAtlantic High School Regional Manager at StandWithUs

ple can often have a bold and new vision of what type of world they want to have, and the incentive to try to make that world a reality,” Atwood said. “Not to paint anyone with a broad brush just solely based on their age, but it’s more likely that an older person might have less motivation to initiate social change because what’s the same benefit as someone younger?”

However, Dean of Students Roz Landy said that in her view, there has been a notable change in the way students engage in Tikkun Olam, or repairing the world. She cited that past alumni have spent 3,000 community service hours at senior living facilities helping the elderly write their ethical wills for their families, created a program to grocery shop for those at an old-aged home and spent time in an inner city shelter helping those living there to create a magazine featuring the work of the people living there.

“While students today fulfill their community service requirement, they do not show the same creativity or initiative,” Landy said. “This is not critical of today’s

Maiya Blumenthal Managing Copy Editor

students. This is more a result of the greater competitive nature of college admissions and students’ focus on college acceptance.”

As the pre-digital age did not give young people the opportunity to use social media as a platform to be an activist, teens and young adults had no other choice but to spend time in-person working for their cause. Gen Z now has the ease to call themselves activists by spending a short amount of time on their cause, simply needing to press a few buttons on social media rather than attending in-person for organizational meetings or rallies.

The United Way of the National Capital Area survey reported that 66% of Gen Z activists advocate online. Similarly, Pew Research Center found that 59% of Americans aged 18-29 get involved with social and political issues on social media compared to 43% of people aged 30-49 and 36% of people over 50 years of age.

In contrast, according to University of Maryland sociology professor Dana Fisher, 25% of protesters are 24 or younger. These protest demographics do not

Tali Loeffler Sports Editor

Eliana Wolf Editor-in-Chief

match up with Gen Z’s increased civic participation on social media. Gen Z is moving more online to rally for causes, leaving in-person protesting by the wayside.

Efficacy of Social Media Activism

While younger generations might be more active online, critics claim the phenomenon is “slacktivism,” an easy but ineffective way to be an activist. However, senior and President of the Political Discussion Club Jonathan Gordon sees online activism as a way to reach a larger audience and find a like-minded community.

“Putting something on Instagram… makes it easier to see, much easier organized,” Gordon said. “It makes activism much more accessible. Back in the day, you had to go out and protest to be an activist, or you had to make a bunch of phone calls to be an activist, or the least you could do is put a sign on your lawn. [Now,] you can sit on your couch all day and be an activist just by posting on your Instagram account.”

Like Gordon, Sophie Moyal, senior and intern with the antisemitism advocacy organization

StandWithUs, sees social media as an effective tool. For Moyal, social media is a means to educate the public on nuanced issues.

Moyal plans to start an Instagram account with other high school interns at StandWithUs to raise awareness and educate the public about antisemitism.

“Instagram is a great place to get awareness,” Moyal said. “If I promote a program I’m doing on my Instagram page, or maybe I promote [the StandWithUs] Instagram page on my story, that is a really useful tool for raising awareness. People can go there to learn and learn the facts.”

Despite Moyal endorsing raising awareness through social media, she said that there are still negative qualities of social media activism. For example, Moyal has seen people getting into arguments in comment sections or spreading misinformation.

Along with this, Lazarus believes that posting for like-minded people on social media can have a negative impact. When individuals only interact with peers with common beliefs, they become less in tune with diverse opinions.

Photo by Sadaf Zadeh, LT.

- in-depthSTUDENT ACTIVISTS @ JDS

SENIOR

ELLIE ROSENTHAL

Founder of College For All, a website designed to support neurodivergent teens preparing for college. Her goal is to help students understand what accommodations to look for, how to evaluate what schools offer and ultimately find the right college fit for them.

CLASS OF 2025

RAFI SIEGEL

As a volunteer for Joe Vogel’s (‘15) congressional campaign, Siegel canvassed door to door for him. Siegel spoke to voters discussing the issues they cared about, and presented an argument for why they should vote for Vogel.

Photo from Rafi Siegel, used with permission.

CLASS OF 2023

ELLA ELIMELECH

Former President of Terps for Israel, Elimelech helped strengthen members connection to Israel through cultural and educational events. In this role, Elimelech, along with other Jewish leaders from Jewish Student Union (JSU) and Mishelanu, served as a voice for the Jewish community.

“On your social media, you’re really, as people say, just in an echo chamber,” Lazarus said. “You’re only talking with people who you largely agree with … and if you’re talking with people you just agree with, it has the effect of just putting up a flag or some symbol that they don’t like, is not going to change anyone’s mind about anything.”

Kaylah Goldrich (‘24), an international Politics major and sophomore at Georgetown University, also has concerns about social activism on social media. Goldrich emphasized the harms of misinformation as it delegitimizes the movement and discredits what they are working towards.

“So much misinformation is spread on social media that it’s hard to know what is and what isn’t true and that can really harm social movements in that people could be spreading lies about what you’re trying to do, or the so

cial movement in general could be based on lies. It just gets so convoluted when you don’t know what’s true and what’s not, and it’s a big problem.”

In addition to misinformation, Goldrich said that political polarization is a pitfall of social media activism. She has seen the way it is easy to get lost in an online echo chamber, with extremist and moderate views now having an equal platform on social media.

On her campus, she has seen how movements have clashed with each other, especially between pro-Israel and pro-Palestine activists. During the allotted time for clubs to have tables around campus, she saw pro-Palestinian and pro-Israel tables next to each other, both aiming to counter the other table’s cause. She said that these tables represented the “extremist culture and just the polarized nature of our society.” She also said that the polarization present in society is largely due to social media creating echo chambers for social and political groups.

Michelle Waksman, Mid-Atlantic High School Regional Manager at StandWithUs, noted that another adverse effect of social media activism is that people can become disconnected from the core goal of creating change. Now

Photo from Ellie Rosenthal, used with permission.

Photo from Ella Elimelech, used with permission.

that anyone can post or repost a story in seconds, there is a higher expectation that everyone should share their social and political beliefs on social media.

“I really think there’s a lot of peer pressure to post something just to post it, or just to show that you’re talking about something, which I think is kind of inauthentic or moving away from the real goal [of] activism,” Waksman said.

Not only do people feel pressure to post on social media as Waksman noted, but Lazarus believes that actions done through social media aren’t as effective as consistent in-person advocacy.

For Lazarus, the efficacy of an activist movement is determined through long-term impact. While social media can be a tool to raise awareness, Lazarus does not see social media activism as a means to create long-term change.

“Reposting something or changing their status, that’s not going to change a policy; that is amplifying a message,” Lazarus said. “To really change something, you need to be part of a movement that lasts for a long time and builds a big network and organizes, and so you’re not going to get that just by looking a few times online.”

What students are doing now

As high school students navigate developing their own values and gaining independence, many join causes to show their support.

For example, as part of her internship at StandWithUs, Moyal attended an international conference in Los Angeles from Aug. 3-7. At the conference, she interacted with Zionist teens from all over the country, participated in seminars relating to Israel and antisemitism and learned other skills for advocacy like public speaking and crime documentation.

Moyal plans to use the skills and strategies she learned from the conference in her work in the internship this year. She aims to work with StandWithUs to create programs for her community on antisemitism and Zionism.

“I hope for the day I can change even one person’s attitude about Israel, and then make the future better, so that they encourage someone else to love instead of hate, and they [can] encourage

someone else to love instead of hate,” Moyal said. “It’s like a domino effect. And I think that activism, really at the core, is about changing things for the better.”

Gordon also gets involved in activism in order to see change. Gordon mainly advocates for his beliefs on issues through posting online. He posts and reposts news stories, and responds to friends who post misinformation, but he recognizes the importance of being objective on his social media.

“I’ve had a few friends who post stories and I fact check them, and then they take them down, because they don’t even know what they’re reposting,” Gordon said. “They don’t know what’s actually going on. So what I do mostly nowadays is, like, if there’s just something that really speaks to me that it’s not really going to be too controversial, because I’m not trying to get into internet arguments, I’ll repost that.”

How can students get involved?

In an age of misinformation and slacktivism, it can be hard to find real, meaningful ways to get involved in activism. However, there are many accessible and impactful ways to participate in valued causes. Choosing a cause is a logical first step.

After choosing a meaningful cause, the next step is education. Waksman believes that educating oneself is crucial to being a credible activist. While Goldrich spoke about misinformation delegitimizing social causes, Waksman believes that education allows aspiring activists to understand their cause and teach others while combating misinformation.

“Education is really longterm,” Waksman said. “It impacts people. It gives them skills, gives them knowledge. Then they can be learning the skills to teach themselves or teach others. It’s really a longer term impact. There are other forms that people take [that] are a little more flashy, a little more quick, which has its moments for sure. [But] I’m thinking about the change I want to see in our country long term, I think education is the way to make it happen.”

After taking time to educate oneself and beginning to petition

LOCAL PROTESTS

and protest, the next step is to organize around the cause. Recently, organizing over social media has been easier than ever to get people united around a cause. However, organizing is also important for in-person events that galvanize support and allow for networking and building connections. A big component of a successful activist group is strength in numbers. Therefore, an effective activist is one that is good at rallying large numbers of people together for a cause.

Downtown D.C., 2022

STAND WITH ISRAEL PROTEST

2023 AGAINST ROE V. WADE OVERTURN

National Mall,

NO KINGS PROTEST

National Mall, 2025

“[An effective activist is] an organizer of people,” Atwood said. “It’s about organizing groups of people together for a common purpose and pushing for change … the hallmarks of a good social activist [are] the organizing ability, the energy, the vision and the willingness to break established norms.”

There are many other ways that individuals can be activists. One such way is getting in contact with politicians and policy makers. When organizing for policy, Fagin recommends moving from the bottom to the top, starting on the local level and moving up in order to rally smaller communities first. Fagin thinks that this strategy is more impactful for individual communities.

Regardless of how students choose to involve or not involve themselves in activism, Atwood believes it is crucial to remember that Americans are fortunate to have the freedoms of petition, assembly and speech. Despite the changing nature of activism, civic participation is always a sign of a healthy democracy.

“We have the privilege of living in a society that encourages civic participation,” Atwood said. “We are not mindless, oppressed people that have to accept the world as it is given to us. And in our society, we have the opportunity as citizens to be engaged and be impactful members of our community, rather than just going along with what’s there. And I think all of us should find our own ways of being active, engaged citizens, in ways that feel right to ourselves and in ways that we can be proud of.”

Photos from Vivi Ducker, LT.

LIONS AROUND THE WORLD

Where students traveled this summer

Junior Jonah Soffler

Trip: Croatia to visit friends and go to sailing camp

Duration: Three weeks

Highlight: Living on a sailboat

Biggest takeaway: Learning to sail

Best food: Ćevapi

Sophomore Stella Cutler

Trip: Japan and Thailand on a teen tour

Duration: 27 days

Highlight: Meeting new people

Biggest takeaway: “I’m very lucky to live in America.”

Best food: Sushi in Japan

Senior Amalia Netter

Trip: Switzerland with family

Duration: Three weeks

Highlight: Hiking a glacier

Biggest takeaway: It is important to have a moment to slow down and enjoy nature

Best food: Raclette

Senior Maya Greenblum

Trip: Italy with family

Duration: A week

Highlight: Boat ride around Capri and seeing Blue Grotto

Biggest takeaway: “Some Italian food is ironically better the American way.”

Best food: Lemon gelato in a lemon

Senior Simon Bard

Trip: Morocco with family

Duration: A week

Highlight: Getting an authentic hammam (Moroccan massage)

Biggest takeaway: “The people of Morocco live beautiful lives.”

Best food: Tagine

Trip: British Virgin Islands

Duration: Three weeks

Highlight: Scuba diving every day

Biggest takeaway: “Nature has the power to make you feel like you’re in a different reality.”

Best food: Fresh scones

Junior Gillian Krauthamer

^ Photo from Gillian Krauthamer, used with permission.

Photo from Amalia Netter, used with permission.

Photo from Stella Cutler, used with permission.

Photo from Jonah Soffler, used with permission.

^ Photo from Maya Greenblum, used with permission.

^ Photo from Simon Bard, used with permission.

BUTTERFLY BILL

Jackson Gill Reporter

Eric Carpenter-Grantham sits at his kitchen counter, the afternoon light shining through the windows and glistens off three mockup logos he’s poring over. One design is for autism, one is for mental health and one is for hearing loss. None feel right. Discouraged, Eric prays for an idea. When he lifts his head, he sees it: a colorful butterfly magnet stuck to the refrigerator door.

The butterfly would later become the symbol behind Eric’s ID Law. The law states that individuals applying for a driver’s license in Maryland must be given the option to indicate if they have a nonapparent disability. As students at JDS reach the age where they can apply for their driver’s license, some will be able to take advantage of this bill. A butterfly emblem will be subsequently marked on their state-issued ID. The bill passed unanimously in the House of Representatives and Senate and was signed into law by Governor Wes Moore on May 13.

“It meant peace, hope, freedom and change,” Eric said. “That’s how the butterfly became real. And the colors of the wings represented all disabilities. All colors. All people.”

Non-apparent disabilities, such as autism, epilepsy and hearing loss, can interfere with police-civilian interaction and disrupt communication if officers are unaware of disabilities. According to Eric’s mother, Linda Carpenter-Graham, Eric, being a person

What does Eric’s Law include?

New law aims to alert first responders about

hidden disabilities

of color, also faces the potential dangers of racial discrimination.

“This is a bill to save lives for all people,” Linda said. “However, it has been a fact that the experience has been different for people of color when being stopped by law enforcement.”

After the death of George Floyd, Linda advised Eric should he ever be pulled over, to notify the police that he has autism, to provide police with Linda’s contact information and to be careful not to reach for his phone. Eric expressed his concern with these instructions, knowing that they could be challenging for his peers with more diverse disabilities.

“I told my mom, ‘I can do that, but my friends... their autism is different than mine,’” Eric said. “Some of them are lower on the spectrum, some are highly functioning and some have sensory issues. That’s how I thought of Eric’s ID Law.”

Eric set out to enhance the safety and efficiency of police interactions for people with disabilities. He and Linda reached out to Maryland Senator Will Smith as constituents. They met in July 2023, and he was in full support. A draft was made and taken through the state assembly. In just two sessions, Eric’s Law passed through the House and Senate.

There is no additional fee for applicants choosing to disclose their disability, and applicants are not required to present any medical records as proof of their condition. The butterfly notation will be processed in the standard time

for most Motor Vehicle Association (MVA) license issuance, meaning applicants can expect their IDs on time with standard ones.

The legislation is designed to prioritize the privacy of its beneficiaries. Applicants have the option to disclose their disability or not, and if at any point they want the data removed, the MVA is required to comply.

Eric, Linda and Smith worked in tandem with the disability advocacy community for two years to ensure their bill covered all bases.

“Generally, feedback from the disability advocacy community has been overwhelmingly positive,” Smith said. “This is a product that most folks are happy with because it was a very deliberative process.”

The law will take effect on Oct. 1, and starting then, anyone applying for a new driver’s license, renewing an old one or requesting a corrected ID will have access to the notation.

Just as Eric was faced with an idea and took action to make it a reality, he encourages others to take after him by making their goals a reality.

“Believe in yourself,” Eric said. “Believe that you are going to achieve your dream. It might take a long time. It took me two years to get this bill. I didn’t know anything about politics. I’m not a lobbyist. I’m not an elected official. I just woke up one day and said, ‘I have an idea.’ And look what it became. If you have an idea, go and do it. It’s going to change lives.”

THE SYMBOL

After Eric’s ID Law goes into effect, anyone applying for a new driver’s license will have the option to note their nonapparent disability, which will be symbolized on the license with a butterfly.

Anna Polon Features Editor

Sophie Schwartz ManagingEditor,Web

Hevruta MIND THE

While some gap years in Israel are exclusively for non-Israelis, at Shalom Hartman Institute’s Hevruta gap year program, Israelis and non-Israelis learn together. Hevruta is a program based in Jerusalem which focuses on teaching Jewish knowledge and leadership skills. Lena Nadaner (‘24) wanted a gap year program that had a serious learning environment but pluralistic, so she chose Hevruta.

“I got to accomplish all of my goals inn terms of meeting new people, spending time with my family, seeing the country, volunteering, learning about the country and trying something new,” Nadaner said.

Bar Ilan

Not many Israeli gap year programs offer the opportunity to live on a university campus and take college-level classes, but Israel Experience (Israel XP) at Bar-Ilan University in Ramat Gan does.

Taking Jewish studies, Hebrew and secular studies, students are able to earn college credits which can typically transfer when they continue their studies at university outside of Israel. Itai Topolosky (‘24) decid-

Nadaner said that Hevruta is great for people who want to explore Israel and learn about the country, while doing some Jewish learning. Hevruta spends less time on Jewish texts than many other Israel gap year programs.

Additionally, she said that it was a great way to learn about Israeli society, given that she learned with Israeli counterparts who are a part of the Hevruta Pre-Army program from all different parts of the country with varying levels of religious observance.

“It’s a really good way to learn about [Israelis’] experiences,” Nadaner said, adding that she was able to spend Shabbats at her Israeli peers’ homes.

Nadaner said that her background knowledge of basic Jewish

ed to participate in Israel XP after graduating, and transferred to the University of Maryland. He enjoyed the courses and how close students were able to get with the rabbis, who routinely hosted students at their houses.

In addition to studying, students participate in many other activities, including volunteering and traveling throughout Israel.

Topolosky said he made “friendships to last a lifetime,” and spent this past summer with his friends from Bar Ilan.

“It was one of the best years of my life, and I think everyone

history, the history of modern Israel and the Arab-Israeli conflict from classes at JDS helped her when her classes went in-depth in those topics. Also, the Hebrew grammar and basics she learned at JDS helped her when continuing to learn the language.

According to Nadaner, the program is great for JDS graduates, but there are also many difficulties that come with taking any gap year in Israel.

“I recommend it, but people should know that it is hard to move all the way across the world and be away from your family,” Nadaner said. “Everything is different. Living in Israel for a year is a lot different than visiting.”

should take a gap year,” Topolosky said.

Young Judaea Year Course

Founded in 1956, Young Judaea Year Course is the oldest gap year program in Israel. The nine month program blends internships, academics and community building into a unique experience that other gap year programs don’t offer. As the official gap year of Young Judaea, a pluralistic youth movement, the program welcomes participants from a variety of Jewish backgrounds.

The year is split between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. In Tel Aviv,

students are placed in internships in settings ranging from high-tech companies to non-profit organizations. In Jerusalem, they engage in informal academic studies, study Jewish history and tour the land.

Mid-year, the group chooses from volunteering tracks such as volunteering in Rwanda, exploring Jewish communities in Morocco or serving on IDF bases.

Director of Young Judaea Year Course Ariel Magal says that the program’s uniqueness lies in three

different aspects: the integration of 20 Israeli participants living alongside participants throughout the year, a staff with more than a century of combined experience and the strong sense of community fostered through the whole program as a result of living together.

“We are first and foremost an educational non-profit organization,” Magal said. “At the end of the day, the main goal here is to connect young Jewish people from all around the world.”

Year Course

Bar Ilan

GAP (YEAR)

Yeshiva

There are very few times in life when students can learn purely for learning’s sake, without any grades or assessments. Yeshiva offers an opportunity for students to spend their days immersed in Jewish texts, exploring ideas and deepening their connection to Judaism.

At Yeshiva, students spend a year living in Israel while studying Jewish texts, following a structured schedule centered around Talmud and Torah, combining independent study, communal learning and daily prayer. Some JDS high school graduates choose

Mechina

While many programs for graduates focus mainly on religious studies, others opt for a different kind of experience through the various Mechina programs. These are pre-army leadership programs in Israel that blend a variety of classes covering Jewish identity, Zionism, ethics and leadership with volunteering in underserved communities.

Originally designed for Israelis preparing to enter the Israel

Seminary

Almost every year, at least one JDS student chooses to spend a year in seminary, seeking personal growth and Jewish learning. Seminary is similar to

Different options for graduates to study in Israel

to immerse themselves in Yeshiva programs in Israel.

This year, Zev Mendelson (‘25) and four other boys from the class of 2025 will attend Yeshivat Orayta, located in the Old City of Jerusalem. In the wake of Oct. 7, Mendelson became more connected to his Jewish identity, so he started looking into various Yeshiva programs and eventually landed on Orayta.

“The number one factor for me was the location,” Mendelson said. “I love Jerusalem. I’ve always been obsessed with it and the Old City, so to

be able to live in the Old City for a year, for me, was what was amazing.”

Defense Forces (IDF), Mechinot have increasingly welcomed Americans who are not planning to enlist, but are interested in immersing themselves in Israeli culture and developing value-based leadership skills. These programs prepare participants both physically, through weekly exercises and drills, and mentally, through numerous classes and various guest speakers.

This fall, Shalvah Lazarus (‘25) will be attending Mechinat Beit Yisrael, a pluralistic, co-ed

Yeshiva, as students study Jewish texts and laws (halachot), but it is exclusively for women. Many Orthodox and Modern Orthodox girls choose to attend in order to increase their Jewish education and have the experience of a year in Israel.

This year, Josie Silverberg (‘25) will be attending Midreshet Lindenbaum, a Modern Orthodox Seminary located in Jerusalem. Silverberg wasn’t sure she wanted to go at first, as there are large differences between male and female religious gap year programs, but ultimately she decided it would be a good experience.

“I’ll grow a lot because I’ll really just only be focusing on the internal as opposed to in college [where] there’s a lot of different

program in Jerusalem’s Gilo neighborhood. Lazarus is excited to be at a program that explores Judaism, accepts students from different religious backgrounds and is completely in Hebrew.

“I think that it’s definitely a pretty intense option, but I’m looking forward to being in an environment I’m not used to,” Lazarus said.

factors you have to think about,” Silverberg said.

Students at Lindenbaum and other Seminaries generally regarded as Modern Orthodox engage in intensive Jewish text learning including Gemara, though in the traditional Orthodox world this is traditionally reserved for men’s Yeshivot. Students in both Yeshiva and Seminary also participate in tiyulim (hikes), chesed (volunteering) and are able to get a feel for and explore Israel.

“Lindenbaum just has incredible learning, and it’s a really self-selecting group of girls that are passionate and kind and really just interested in learning from each other, and I want to be in that environment,” Silverberg said.

Photos from Max Schwartz (‘23) and Matan Silverberg (‘23), used with permission.

- arts & entertainment -

TUNING IN

Guide to finding the best podcasts

Penelope Terl News Editor

Whether it be on a long car ride or a day at the pool, podcasts are a great way to pass time and keep the mind engaged by learning something new. Podcasts offer a wide variety of topics to listen to, ranging from true crime stories to lighthearted movie reviews, ensuring there’s something for everyone’s mood and interest. Here are a few favorite podcasts that have never failed to entertain me.

“Call Her Daddy”

Hosted by Alex Cooper, “Call Her Daddy” is one of the most popular female-hosted podcasts on Spotify. Launched in 2018 as a relationship-focused podcast geared towards women, it has since evolved into an interview and discussion-based program featuring guests such as actress Millie Bobby Brown and former Vice President Kamala Harris. Cooper’s interviews focus on guests’ personal lives and career journeys, allowing listeners to gain more insight about the life of their favorite well-known figures.

With an average of 10 million listeners per episode as of June 2024 according to YPulse, the podcast’s reach and influence has grown significantly since its creation. “Call Her Daddy” is a great listen for anyone looking for a relatable and authentic podcast.

“Pop Culture Happy Hour”

For those interested in movies, TV, music and more in the entertainment field, “Pop Culture Happy Hour” is a must-listen. Airing five days a week, this podcast brings together art journalists Linda Holmes, Glen Weldon, Stephen Thompson and Aisha Harris, often joined by a guest, to break down the latest releases in the pop culture world.

Episodes cover everything from reviewing the live-action “How to Train Your Dragon” to

debating the song of the summer. Produced by NPR, this show is perfect for anyone craving an entertainment update.

“SmartLess”

“SmartLess” is known for casual, comedic and authentic conversations between hosts actor Jason Bateman, comedian Sean Hayes and comedian Will Arnett. The premise is simple but effective: each episode has one of the hosts invite a mystery guest whose identity remains unknown to the other two hosts until recording begins.

Guests range from former president Joe Biden to pop star Ariana Grande, leading to improvised and unscripted conversations full of surprising and humorous moments. The unpredictable format helps accomplish the show’s mission to connect “people from all walks of life,” according to Spotify, making the listener feel as if they are sitting in on a conversation between friends rather than listening to celebrities.

“Ted Talks Daily”

For busy people looking to learn more about a wide array of subjects, “TED Talks Daily” offers thought-provoking episodes, often in 18 minutes or less, according to their website. Episodes are presentations by experts in various fields around the globe and are meant to share “ideas worth spreading” in an accessible way.

Episodes cover a wide range of topics from artificial intelligence to weightlifting to environmental conservation, ensuring that there is always a new subject to explore. The variety of speakers helps include new perspectives and ideas. Whether wanting to dive into a new scientific breakthrough or hear a personal story, “Ted Talks Daily” has something for everyone.

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SW EET TREAT

Vivi Ducker Editor-in-Chief

The unique menu of sundaes and milkshakes at Max’s Best Ice Cream make the store special, but the servers who create them make it unforgettable. Max’s, which opened in Bethesda on June 24, is co-owned by national non-profit Best Buddies, an employment program for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

The “upscale, dine-in ice cream shop,” as Max’s website describes, provides jobs for individuals with disabilities and allocates a portion of their proceeds from each customer’s purchase to Best Buddies, furthering the impact of their work.

According to Foodish Ways Restaurant and Travel Blog’s interview with co-owner Cory Alexander, the store “fulfills a lifelong father-son dream to open an ice cream store.” The entire store concept is not only named after but is also inspired by Alexander’s son, Max.

My three companions and I ordered three items: the Cookie Monster milkshake ($20), the Towering Chocolate Chip Brownie sundae ($20) and a single scoop of Black Raspberry ice cream ($6).

New ice cream shop in Bethesda is a must-visit

At first glance, $20 for a sundae or milkshake might seem high, but the portions of their dishes are so large that one sundae or milkshake could easily feed three or four people, putting the price at about $5 per person, the same as a single scoop.

The treats themselves were delicious. The Cookie Monster milkshake was rich in flavors such as cookie dough, Oreo and chocolate. The milkshake is topped with an intricate array of chocolaty sweets, whipped cream, more cookie dough and cinnamon sticks.

The next thing we tried was the Towering Chocolate Chip Brownie Sundae, which, while delicious, was an enormous portion. This unique sundae featured two scoops of ice cream, two full cookies, a brownie, cookie dough, whipped cream and a cherry on top. Although it was very sweet, the sundae was delicious and all of the flavors blended perfectly. I would go back to try it again, but I would need to take at least three other people to tackle this sundae with me.

Finally, to try a more affordable option, we ordered a single scoop of Black Raspberry ice cream, which was creamy and

rich in flavor. While the ice cream was good, it is not the product I would recommend trying from Max’s, as it was not nearly as exciting as their other specialty dishes, which make the trip worth it.

Aside from the desserts themselves, Max’s general ambiance was very welcoming. The shop had an employee stationed at the entrance to greet customers and explain how the shop works. My group also appreciated the ample seating, including large booths for bigger parties. Though it was quite crowded on our Friday afternoon visit, they still had seating available and enough people working that there was no line to order. The only wait time was assembling the dishes.

Overall, Max’s Best Ice Cream serves fantastic ice cream alongside a meaningful purpose, and it is worth a trip.

7770 Woodmont Ave Bethesda, MD

Monday-Thursday: 1 p.m.-10 p.m. Friday: 1 p.m.-11 p.m. Saturday: 12 p.m.-11 p.m. Sunday: 12 p.m.-10 p.m.

Photo by Vivi Ducker, LT.

- arts & entertainmentFair

Each summer I look forward to August, when I can finally step onto the Montgomery County Agricultural Fairgrounds in Gaithersburg. My grandparents take my sister and I each year, which is one of the best ways to close out the summer.

This year, the fair took place from Aug. 8-16, and was just as exciting as any other year. Going to the Midway the center for games and rides at the fair seeing the animals, eating delicious food and shopping for handcrafted goods are all exciting things to do at the fair.

The fair is typically very busy, with around 250 thousand attendees annually, according to WJLA News. Going during the daytime when there are many families with young children is optimal because it is much less crowded than at night. During the night the fair is filled with teens and young adults. The fair opens at 10 a.m. daily, and closes at 11 p.m. or 12 a.m., depending on the day. I like to spend around two to three hours at the fair.

The Montgomery County Agricultural Fair was founded in Rockville in 1848 in hopes of giving the newly formed Montgomery County Agricultural

FAIR HISTORY

Society a place to exhibit their agricultural work to the community and to give members the chance to compete to win prizes for their produce, livestock and artwork. Later, the 4-H organization became the host of the fair.

4-H formed in Ohio in 1902 to develop confident young adults who are interested in learning and engaging with their communities. They do this through meetings, agricultural experiences like raising animals and produce and outreach such as the fair. 4-H has spread throughout the country with around six million members.

The current fairgrounds were built by county volunteers in 1949, the fair still relies on volunteers today to care for the farm animals and work information booths. Members of 4-H exhibit their animals and projects, and local craftspeople display live woodcarving and glass-blowing exhibitions.

The fair is always a highlight of my summer, and is a great way to spend a day with friends or family. While it is very busy and expensive, it is worth going to finish off the summer in an energizing way.

FOOD

A highlight of the fair is the food. Walking from one end of the fairgrounds to the other, there are many options from classic fair food, such as funnel cakes, hot dogs and french fries. More unique options can be found, such as street corn from the Corn Guys and crepes.

My favorite things to eat are the cheese arepas from Del Girasol Colombian Bakery.

The warm and cheesy corn patties never disappoint. Girasol also has many other delicious choices such as empanadas and Colombian sodas.

First Rockville county fair held in Rockville Town Square

Original fair ends as site becomes grounds for Richard Montgomery HS.

Modern MoCo fair launches in a barn, run by almost entirely volunteers. 1848

Photos and information from Reed Brothers Dodge History

Lindsey Shapiro OpinionEditor

Chocolate covered strawberries are a snack great option at the fair.

Montgomery County Agricultural Fair is run almost entirely by a staff of volunteers

Flare

RIDES

The Annual MoCo Agricultural Fair came to Gaithersburg from Aug. 8th-16th

In addition to the carnival games, there are many rides such as a ferris wheel, The Mouse Trap, a haunted mansion ride and Pharaoh’s Fury, a pirate ship ride. Each ride costs around five credits, and each credit costs $1. An unlimited pass can be purchased for $25 online or $40 at the fair, with a $2 activation fee at the in-person kiosk and online. While the rides are quite expensive, I think getting the unlimited pass wristband is worth it, because even after five to six rides, it is more cost-effective than buying individual credits.

My favorite ride is the Ferris Wheel, because it provides views of the entire fairground. I enjoy getting to take a break from the chaos of the fairground in a relaxing way, as it is not a fast ride. I also enjoy the hang glider ride, where the rider lies down on their stomach and is lifted into the air and spun in circles. The ride is fastpaced yet secure, and it is exciting to feel as if you are flying.

BARNS

GAMES

One of the most common spots for teens at the fair is the Midway, because it has a variety of classic carnival games. Some of my favorite games are Bottle Up, where a player tries to stand up a glass bottle with string, and a water gun game where players squirt water at a target to win a prize. Each game is a little pricey, with one round costing around $10-20 per person; however, they are fun to play, and players can win prizes such as stuffed animals.

A downside of the games at the fair is that there are not many options to choose from. There are some games like the water gun game and balloon darts that have multiple locations at the fair, so one can only spend so much time at the Midway without getting bored.

In my opinion, the star of the fair is Old MacDonald’s Barn, which is not connected to 4-H, yet houses baby animals along with calves born during the fair. Many of the newborn calves’ mothers were also born at the fair in previous years. I enjoy going to see the goats and unique animals such as a zebu, which is a type of humped cattle, and an African Sulcata tortoise, a large tortoise breed.

The 4-H barns showcase animals that children and teens have worked so hard to raise and train. While it may be smelly, seeing the pigs and goats is always entertaining. Another favorite is the rabbit barn with many adorable bunnies that are available for adoption.

Photos by Lindsey Shapiro, LT

There are two Ferris Wheels at the fair, and they are two of the most popular rides at the fair.

In Balloon Blast, players are given darts to pop balloons with the opportunity to win prizes.

Old MacDonald’s Barn houses many cows who were born at the fair in years prior.

- sports -

CHANGING POSITIONS

Meet the new fall coaches

David Federowicz OpinionEditor

As the school year approaches and JDS prepares for another fall sports season, the athletics department will be welcoming four new coaches for the cross-country, soccer and tennis teams.

Former middle school boys soccer coach Michael Nagy will now be the head coach of the varsity boys soccer team, after varsity boys soccer coach Gadi Vogel (‘18) left. The replacement for Nagy’s former role will be Aaron Berner, Nagy’s assistant coach last year.

Nagy says his coaching philosophy remains unchanged despite working with a new age group.

“Coaching itself is all the same,” Nagy said. “It’s just a matter of the age groups that differ. My expectations are the same, whether it’s coaching five-year-olds or adults: to have fun and develop. ”

Another change to the sports program is the two new co-head coaches for the varsity and junior varsity girls tennis teams: Romi Hodor and Sophia Moore.

Hodor and Moore are friends and have known each other since they were 16. The coaches originally met as roommates at a tennis academy in South Carolina.

-Director of Athletics and varsity girls basketball head coach Becky Silberman “

Once you meet our students, I don’t think people want to leave and they will find success here at JDS.”

Moore played tennis at the collegiate level, spending four years at Loyola University Maryland, but this will be her first year coaching. Hodor played tennis at Colorado College and has coached at a variety of tennis academies. Hodor’s biggest goal is to make an impact on their players on and off the court.

“I think that tennis offers a lot of valuable life lessons that can be applied on and off the court,” Hodor said. “I know I’ve taken a lot of those lessons and applied them to school and jobs and even personal growth. So I think it would be exciting to foster those lessons to young adults and help them navigate a very challenging time in school and life.”

The coaches hope to continue the girls tennis team’s four year winning streak. Hodor plans to look to returning assistant coach Sam Sullivan for advice.

“We really want to get some insight from him and continue to move in that same direction,” Hodor said. “I want to see where the girls are at and always try to get [them] better every day.”

Moore is hoping that the team will maintain a high expectation to win while having team chemistry.

Additionally, JDS welcomed cross-country and basketball coach Spencer Wood to the coaching faculty. Wood will also be the full-time middle school Physical Education teacher and a substitute and study hall teacher.

Wood grew up in D.C. and attended St. John’s College High School, playing on the basketball and cross-country teams. Before working at JDS, Wood worked at National Presbyterian School as a P.E. teacher and coached the fifth and sixth-grade basketball team.

“I cannot wait to meet the guys and girls, get close to them and help them all reach their goals,” Wood said. “Hopefully, I can help them reach their highest potential for their sports.”

In light of the many coaching changes, Director of Athletics and varsity girls basketball head coach Becky Silberman believes that the new mentors will thrive at JDS.

“I think our coaches will see that we really have a good program and they will want to stay from year to year,” Silberman said. “It’s also a testament to the kids we have. Once you meet our students, I don’t think people want to leave and they will find success here at JDS.”

Romi Hodor Sophia Moore Spencer Wood Michael Nagy

Photo by David Federowicz, LT.

Photo used with permission from Michael Nagy.

Photo used with permission from Sophia Moore.

Photo used with permission from Romi Hodor.

1: Sophia Moore, 2: Michael Nagy, 3: Romi Hodor, 4: Spencer Wood

HIIT THE GYM

Best workout classes in the D.C. area

As soon as I open social media, my screen lights up with videos of people sweating in hot yoga, pushing themselves in pilates or powering through cycling sessions. From Instagram stories to TikTok videos, it seems everyone is enjoying workout classes. In the D.C. area, there are an array of options to choose from.

CorePower Yoga

While I went to the Rockville location, CorePower Yoga also has other studios in D.C. and Bethesda.

The first week of a CorePower membership is completely free, so new members can determine if they enjoy the studio before committing. Afterwards, an allaccess membership is $189 per month but there are deals for five or 10 classes.

CorePower has many class options, including Yoga Sculpt, a heated combination of yoga, cardio and weights; Hot Power Fusion,

SoulCycle

The next place I tried was SoulCycle in Bethesda. SoulCycle also has two other D.C. locations in D.C.. Unlike CorePower, the first classes at SoulCycle are not free. However, new members can pay $20 for a class instead of the usual $36. Even though SoulCycle only offers cycling classes, there are an array of fun sessions to try out, including “Hot Girl Friday” and “Swiftie Sunday.” The class I chose to go to was “Billie Eilish vs Lorde vs Chappell Roan.”

Pure Barre

a combination of hot and intense yoga; and CorePower Strength X, strength training with no heat.

Yoga Sculpt begins with stretching, followed by traditional yoga poses known as Sun A and Sun B flows. After each exercise, the heat increases until the room reaches 97 degrees Fahrenheit.

The class then shifts to weighted upper and lower body exercises. After using weights, the class integrates cardio, including a mix of jumping jacks, high knees and butt kicks. Next, there

Upon arrival, the SoulCycle employees welcome the cyclists and give them necessities for the class: cycling shoes and water. Inside the room, there are 40 bikes with an instructor’s bike in the center. Each bike has a towel to wipe away sweat. The instructor enters, blasting a song which easily boosts everyone’s energy. At the beginning of the class, there is a warm-up song to adjust to the bike, followed by 25 minutes of songs that match the classes

The final place I tried was Pure Barre in Rockville. Pure Barre also has locations in Bethesda, Silver Spring, D.C. and Potomac. To ensure prospective members enjoy Pure Barre before committing to a membership, the gym has a trial class called Pure Barre Engage. The class is only 30 minutes instead of 50. The classes are a smaller size so that each student is able to learn the barre technique.

In their actual classes, Pure Barre has four different options:

is a sculpt series targeting fullbody strength. After the sculpt series, the class moves into core exercises. The class wraps up with full-body stretches.

CorePower was my favorite class I tried as I felt super fulfilled and proud of myself. But, for anyone who doesn’t like sweating too much, this heated full body workout is not for them.

theme. There is choreography on the bikes, then a five-minute break from pedaling for a lightweight arms circuit. After arms, there is a silent song to reflect on the workout, followed by an energizing song to conclude.

I recommend SoulCycle because of the contagious energy of the class.

Pure Barre Define, Align, Classic and Empower. All of the classes work on different areas of fitness such as cardio, strength, balance and flexibility.

I took the Classic course, their original class that works on strength and definition. The class starts with a warmup, packed with dynamic stretches and light cardio. The next set of exercises targets thighs and seatwork. This is when the class starts using the barre for pulses on exercises that target quads, glutes and

hamstrings. After that, the class shifts to arms where there is an array of weighted exercises targeting shoulders, triceps and biceps. Then comes core, a mix of mat and barre exercises. Though fun, Pure Barre was probably my least favorite because it was more boring than the other two and lacked anything unique.

Photos by Mia Forseter and Dalya Lurie, LT.

Dalya Lurie Reporter

- sports -

ALL IN, ALL SUMMER

Students play basketball at a variety of programs

Tali Loeffler, Eli Loeffler SportsEditor, Reporter

As she watched her friends play each other in a game of basketball, freshman Selina Bricker cheered excitedly, rooting for her color war team to win. Bricker loved attending Ramah Sports Academy in Watsonville, California as it gave her the chance to compete in a Jewish environment while also improving her game.

Instead of traveling or working during summer break, some students choose to focus on practicing and playing the sports they love, including basketball. They spend time honing the necessary skills in order to advance to the next level in their athletic careers.

Across the United States, numerous Jewish sports programs mix athletic training with Jewish practices, allowing players to fulfill both spiritual and athletic desires during their summer.

Bricker spent her summer playing basketball at Ramah Sports Academy, which is a sub-section of Ramah Galim, a Jewish camp in the Conservative Movement. This was Bricker’s first year at Ramah Sports Academy, after deciding her old camp was not the right fit for her.

“I wanted to stay active during the summer,” Bricker said. “And I thought that it was important to do something that I’m interested in, and that’s also physically beneficial. And I think that especially at a camp, it’s important to find people that you have something in common with. So the basketball part, and then the camp aspect helped with that.”

During a typical day at camp, campers play their specialty sport

different sports

90 communities involved 2 host cities: Tucson, Ariz. and Pittsburgh

43 annual Maccabi Games

400 coaches participated

in the morning, either soccer or basketball. In the afternoon, campers participate in traditional camp activities such as swimming, gym and bunk activities with campers in other specialty tracks.

As this was Bricker’s first year, she went into camp a unsure of what to expect. However, she ended up enjoying her experience while improving her skills, and plans to return next summer. Bricker also appreciated the way Judaism was integrated into the camp and the way Israeli culture was valued.

“There was a lot of Hebrew there, which was a pleasant surprise,” Bricker said. “There’s a lot of Israeli education, and there’s a lot of Israeli counselors and campers that come every year.”

Sophomore Theo Pearlman also played basketball this summer, as he participated in the Maccabi Games at the University of Pittsburgh. Pearlman enjoyed meeting players and coaches from around the country.

At the games, Pearlman and his teammates from the Greater Washington area played against teams that represented their Jewish communities across the country. According to Pearlman, the sense of pride that each group had for their hometown contributed to the competitive atmosphere at the Maccabi Games.

“You want to represent your state, your community,” Pearlman said.

Junior Yarden Wilkenfeld planned to participate in the Maccabiah games in Israel. These games happen every four years and are often referred to as the

Jewish Olympics, as Jews of all ages and nationalities come from all over the world come to Israel.

Wilkenfeld made the under 16 (U16) girls basketball team, but the games were canceled due to safety concerns around the conflict between Israel and Iran. While she was not able to attend, she is excited about possibly participating next summer on the U17 team.

“I like the idea of playing in a different environment and with people that I don’t really know, so I can start fresh,” Wilkenfeld said.

“And I like the idea of the connections that I can form through this by making friends with Jewish kids my age, from various Jewish backgrounds, and who are just as enthusiastic about basketball and Judaism as I am.”

While junior Shia Messler didn’t do a formal program, he still found a way to practice by

Photo by Lauren Degener, used with permission.

Photos by (left to right): Steve Trauben, Sandy Poretsky, Josh Dori and Alexandra Mantelmacher, used with permission.

taking advantage of JDS’ alumni pickup games at the Upper School. The alumni pickup games, organized by Director of Athletics and varsity girls basketball head coach Becky Silberman, have taken place during the summer for three years in a row.

“It was always a blast,” Messler said. “It’s really cool to see all the alumni, some people that I haven’t seen in a while, and also some people that I haven’t met yet. It’s also a really great opportunity to get shots up and get better.”

In addition to meeting JDS graduates, Messler appreciated the intense level of play and felt that it allowed him to improve his skills this summer.

According to Bricker, these programs provided players with

the opportunity to foster genuine desires for improvement and skill development. Students felt that it was a great experience and a helpful way to improve as athletes.

“I think it’s important to play basketball over the summer, because basketball is typically a winter sport, and playing in the summer is sort of the halfway mark throughout the year,” Wilkenfeld said. “... It’s a different environment, it’s a nice way to keep up your skills while also playing in a more lighthearted way.”

Senior Josh Dori

the annual Maccabi games.

Top Right: As he jumps in the air, senior Micah Goldrich shoots directly over freshman Jake Forseter in the last alumni pickup game of the summer.

Bottom Center: Senior Jesse Fisher drives in between three defenders to get to the basket during a Maccabi game at the University of Pittsburgh.

Bottom Right: Junior Jordana Dauber sinks a three-pointer as a guest player in the annual Ramah Sports Academy showcase game.

Freshman Sadie Hosid

Top Left: Trying to get the right angle, senior Matty Stillman twists his body to score a layup against the Pittsburgh delegation in

Photo by Tali Loeffler, LT.

Photo by Philip Margolius, used with permission.

Photo by

Noelle Schubert, used with permission.

FALL FASHION FORECAST

A guide to keeping up with the back-to-school trends Sadaf Zadeh In-DepthEditor

BELTS CHUNKY JEWELRY MONOCHROME ADIDAS PRINTS

Although it may seem plain, monochrome outfits have become a popular way to embrace the trending “Clean Girl Aesthetic,” which can be styled on all genders. Wearing matching sets or an outfit consisting of only one color are both great ways to achieve this effortless look.

Adidas shoes have been in and out of style for decades. Now, the iconic three-stripe design is back. Some Adidas shoes that have been in fashion recently are the Adidas Sambas, Adidas Gazelles and Adidas Campus 00s. Adidas shoes come in many different colors and patterns to match perfectly with many outfits.

Once just a functional piece, belts have become a way to instantly make any outfit more chic. Thick leather belts, chain belts and bohemian belts are popular pieces that can be paired with a variety of outfits to spice them up.

Layering jewelry has been popular for years; however, a recent upgrade to this trend has been adding bolder jewelry into the mix. Popular pieces of chunky jewelry include thickhooped earrings, statement necklaces and heavy rings.

Prints can make or break an outfit. Whether it’s a bag, an article of clothing or a pair of shoes, prints can be sported in a number of ways. Some that have been all the rage are polka dots, animal prints and stripes.

Photos by Maiya Blumenthal, LT.