Volume 32 Issue 3

The Lion’s Tale

Volume 32 Issue 3

CESJDS

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February 17, 2015

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Are the numbers consuming you? page 08 Grade rounding 02 Senior columns 05 prom & grad 10-11 Recruited athletes 13

02

the lion’s tale

school changes

Frustration, disagreement over new rounding policy arielle weinstein reporter The beginning of this school year brought about a number of changes to class schedules. In addition to the minyan move and the combination of clubs with lunch, the administration instituted a new grading policy.

In order to standardize grades for all classes, teachers no longer have the option of automatically rounding grades to whole numbers on PowerSchool.

“We took a hard look over the summer at what other jurisdictions were doing in terms of rounding because we as a school weren’t consistent between classes or teachers or departments as a whole, and we really should ... be as fair as possible and as transparent as possible to the students,” Academic Dean Aileen Goldstein said. “The current policy does not round, so a grading

range would go from 0.0 on one end to a 0.9 on the other end. As long as we are ... using a system that is across the board, that seems to be the best practice that’s out there.”

The administration found that rounding, in addition to causing consistency problems, ultimately skews a student’s true grade.

“That disadvantages everybody, and it definitely doesn’t serve as an honest representation of what’s really going on for the student, for the course and for the parent who’s trying to help their student along,” Goldstein said.

Some students agree with Goldstein. Junior Rana Bickel sees the importance of setting a limit for what can be blurry territory and understands “that the line has to be drawn somewhere.”

Most students, however, are frustrated with the change. Sophomore Alex Missner argued that

rounding grades is in fact beneficial to students.

“I think it’s illogical that they do it that way because grade rounding doesn’t hurt anyone; it only helps them,” Missner said.

“An 89.9 is a B+, even though it’s 0.1 away from a 90. I don’t think that makes sense ... it puts us at a disadvantage.”

The Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) have a different grading scale than CESJDS. In MCPS, an A ranges from a 90 to 100 percent, a B is between an 80 and 89 percent, a C is a 70 through 79 percent, a D is a 60 to a 69 percent, and an E is between a 0 and 59 percent.

This policy, which establishes grading procedures for all Montgomery County middle and high schools,

School announces Junior-Kindergarten program “What ends up happening is we tell them no, [and] they go to another school, but then they don’t come back,” Malkus said. “So we think there’s a need for a program like that.”

The main difference between the Junior-Kindergarten program and Kindergarten will be the level of the academics; the structure will be similar.

“We have a very developmental kindergarten, which means that we are really looking at [the students’] social-emotional growth and then preparing them for reading, writing and math,” Malkus said. “This is an opportunity for kids who would be in preschool where they would not have [such opportunities to expose themselves to] a much richer language environment.”

Freshman Lena Lerner believes that the Junior-Kindergarten program will be a good opportunity for early involvement in the JDS community.

“I went to a preschool

uri schwartz and miriam minsk news editor and reporter On Feb. 5, CESJDS announced its plans to add a Junior-Kindergarten program to its Lower School starting in the fall of 2016.

According to Head of School Mitchel Malkus, the decision was prompted by multiple petitions from JDS parents.

“Every year, we get parents who ask us about having a [Junior-Kindergarten] program, because if you have a child who turns five in September or October, they’ve generally been in preschool for three years already ... but they aren’t old enough to get into kindergarten,” Malkus said.

Another motivation for the creation of the Junior-Kindergarten program is enrollment-based. Malkus explained that there have been many instances in which families have been interested in enrolling their kids in a Junior-Kindergarten at JDS, only to be told there was none.

at a synagogue, so I think a lot of kids who come here probably did something like that, and I think if they are just here then they are already in our community and will acclimate better,” Lerner said.

The administration will most likely hire new teachers to teach the Junior-Kindergarten classes.

The Junior-Kindergarten program is not covered by the school’s accreditation, so the program’s teachers will need to be licensed and will be required to have a certain certification or background to work in the program.

“My sense is since we’re expanding we may need to add more faculty,” Malkus said.

The overall response to the administration’s announcement has been fairly supportive.

“We just announced it [last week] but I have gotten four or five emails of people saying this is fabulous we are excited about it,” Malkus said. “So far, just positive things.”

allows for uniformity throughout the MCPS system. Goldstein hopes to achieve this same consistency by eliminating rounding.

It is important to note, however, that teachers will still have plenty of discretion with students’

points in order to push the grade up. The rounding change will not provide complete uniformity, just more uniformity.

Goldstein believes grades should not be looked at as a definitive evaluation of a student’s progress, but instead as part of a bigger picture.

“What I think is ... most important when something gets graded is the feedback and the comments that the teacher is providing the student, and that should be the basis of an ongoing dialogue,” Goldstein said. “If there was one message I could give about grading, what’s really important is that it’s part of a much broader feedback process and should not ever be seen as the feedback process in itself.”

“

An 89.9 is a B+, even though it’s 0.1 away from a 90. I don’t think that makes sense.. it puts us at a disadvantage.”

• Sophomore alex Missner grades. If a student were on the verge of a grade at the end of a semester or year, and the teacher deemed that student worthy of a higher grade, the teacher would be able to give that student a few extra

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the lion’s tale

paris & new tech

03

Paris attacks shed light on anti-Semitism in Europe miriam minsk reporter On Jan. 7, two Islamic terrorists in Paris attacked “Charlie Hebdo,” a satirical magazine, in response to the magazine’s cartoons that mocked Muhammad. Only two days later, an Islamic terrorist attacked a Jewish kosher market, killing four people.

Anti-Semitism is much more prevalent in Europe than in the United States. In France, it is dangerous to wear Jewish clothing in public, and many synagogues are hidden and guarded. Recently, Jews in France have been attacked and assaulted on the streets.

Although it seems like there has been a sudden spike in anti-Semitic violence, history teacher Eytan Apter pointed out that “anti-Semitism has been on the

rise for a long time.” On a trip to Paris in 1983, former French teacher June Graff was told to be cautious because she was Jewish.

“When I took a group to France, we stayed at the Foyer Israelite which was the dorm attached to the Moshe Sharet School in Paris,” Graff said. “The school was for the Israeli children whose parents were diplomats. We were cautioned at that time that the men should wear baseball caps instead of kippot because having the look of an American was better than [having] the look of a Jewish person.”

Apter, who visited Scotland, Ireland and Vienna a number of years ago, recalled that there was “armed security in Ireland outside the synagogues.”

Freshman Ben Shrock vacationed in Paris over spring break last year and noticed the extra se-

curity precautions taken by French Jews.

“We went to a Seder at a Chabad [and] we had to be led through a hallway and then through a courtyard to the synagogue,” Shrock said.

This past summer, sophomore Aaron Weiss went on a Summer of Service program to Greece, where he also witnessed anti-Semitism.

“When we were walking on the street one of the kids in our trip looked back and she saw a woman and she spat in the ground at us,” Weiss said. “Also, we were walking around with our kippot on and a woman told us that we probably shouldn’t be wearing our kippot around there and ... a girl on our trip had a Magen David bag and she told her not to wear it.”

The students on the trip took off their kippot out of fear, but the

soldier and rabbi who accompanied them continued to wear them proudly.

Though there have been many acts of anti-Semitism throughout Europe, the recent kosher market attack in Paris received the most publicity, possibly because it happened so soon after the Charlie Hebdo shooting. Additionally, its location and details made it uniquely terrifying.

“I think that the country is getting downright angry at the Muslims for causing so much dissention and bad behavior,” Graff said. “The prior attacks were awful to us, but did not serve to wake anyone from their complacency. This was really bad. It was also an attack on everyone who worked in the market.

Some of those people were actually Muslims who got along well with the Jews. The neighborhood ‘Porte

de Vincennes’ [where the attack occurred] is a very mixed area where everyone prides themselves on how well they get along. This was therefore a major shock to all.”

Sophomore Jared Bauman pointed out that it is important to support Jews in all countries.

“Across the world, someone who lives in America is an American, [and] someone who lives in France is French,” Bauman said.

“But no matter where you live, everyone who is Jewish is still Jewish and they are still related in some way, so in that sense we have an indirect — or, in some ways, a very direct — relationship with people that do live in France and all around the world that are Jewish.”

Teachers demo new tablet choices yonatan greenberg copy editor Hanukkah is coming early to CESJDS. With the warranty on the teachers’ tablets set to expire, the

technology department is preparing to buy new tablets for all teachers.

Director of Instructional Technology Ginger Thornton has ordered three tablets – the Microsoft Surface Pro 3, the Lenovo Yoga and the Le-

Math teacher Billy Kaplan experiments with the Lenovo Yoga computer.

novo Helix – for teachers to demo.

A handful of randomly selected teachers will have an opportunity to use each one, after which they will report their experiences with them to Thornton. Thornton hopes to have the new tablets by June so that all teachers can take them home over the summer and be comfortable with them by next September.

One of the most attractive features of the proposed tablets is their flexibility.

The Surface Pro 3 and the Helix have a detachable keyboard, and the screen of the Yoga can flip backwards, which would allow teachers to use their tablet function more photo by dahlia lehman

easily and be more mobile with them.

English teacher Katherine Brandwood is one of the teachers trying out the new tablets. She expressed ambivalence towards the Helix, which she brought home over the weekend.

“It’s really light; our current computers are bricks,” Brandwood said.“But I thought the screen was a little small and I’m not sure I’m wild about the detachable screens.”

Like Brandwood, math teacher Billy Kaplan was excited about the lightness of the new tablets.

However, when he used the Yoga, it was very awkward for him to hold the tablet when the keyboard was folded over the screen. Additionally, the back end of the styluses on the demoed tablets cannot be used to erase, as they could on the Fujitsus, which can be inconvenient for teachers who use tablets to write notes.

“The math teachers in us are disappointed,” Kaplan said.

Many of the other issues that Brandwood and Kaplan experienced are likely to shrink once they

and the school get used to the new tablets. For example, the tablets they tried have not been set up to work in the school, and Kaplan and Brandwood had trouble connecting to the Wi-Fi as a result.

Thornton was very pleased with the current Fujitsu tablets, which the school bought three years ago, but the warranty will be up soon, and the computers are old enough that it now makes most sense to simply replace them.

“You don’t renew a warranty on a computer like that,” Thornton said. “Generally, the life cycle of a computer is three or four years.”

The school will continue to use the current tablets in computer labs and science classrooms, but the school will no longer repair them when they break.

“You know what happens with computers: the battery kind of dies to the point of which it’s not really cost effective to put new batteries in,” Thornton said.

04

the lion’s tale

editorial the

lion’s tale

Staff editorial

editors editors-in-chief

jeremy kaplan, nina simpkins managing editor, copy

dina rabinovitz

A need for total uniformity

managing editors, design

malka himelhoch, david kulp managing editor, web

matt litman copy

cole cooper, yonatan greenberg news

uri schwartz, jonah shrock & mark reichel chadashot

mijal altmann, margalit zimand & michael berkowitz features

emma hofman, alysse weinberg & hannah nechin entertainment

sj hyman, shira ungar & hannah wexler in depth

maddie dworkin, carol silber & josh paretzky sports

evan kravitz, brian schonfeld & gaby pilarski multimedia

yosi vogel graphics

The administration’s decision to cease rounding grades has been met with much frustration from the students. Given the amount of pressure students receive from school, parents, and themselves, their frustration at their 89.9 percents being counted as B pluses comes as no surprise.

The Lion’s Tale acknowledges the administration’s reasoning for this policy change. The previous policy, which allowed teachers to choose whether to round certainly creates a lack of uniformity. In fact, we agree that the school’s top priority should be to enforce uniformity, but we believe their goal should be to enforce it within both the school and the overall D.C. area schools.

But since teachers still have the opportunity to bump up students’ grades at the end of the quarter,

students’ grades will not be fully uniform. Consequently,, for those courses taught by multiple teachers, the grade disparities will only get wider as only some teachers choose to boost students’ grades and others do not.

The reality is that some students end quarters on the brink of a higher grade, and if only some teachers will bring that grade up, the goal of uniformity will remain unattained. By rounding all grades —rather than simply giving teachers the option to round — students’ grades might not be the most precise, but they would at least be that way across the board.

This change would also promote uniformity with area schools.

Regardless of what arguments may be made to cease rounding within JDS, the reality is that the vast ma-

jority of D.C. area schools do round grades, and CESJDS should stay consistent with their policies. Even if colleges know to acknowledge the difference, the same cannot be said of the numerous internships and summer programs to which students apply. To an NIH employee, a Montgomery County Public School (MCPS) student with a GPA higher than that of his JDS competitor is not someone who has had the benefits of a rounding system, but someone who is simply better qualified.

In order to make JDS students as competitive as possible for those opportunities, JDS should strive to keep its rounding policies as similar as possible to those of MCPS. Perhaps if the administration were very intent that grade rounding is detrimental and harmful, it could

meet with leaders of local schools to discuss a coordinated rounding change. Acting unilaterally, however, only disadvantages JDS students.

Ultimately, The Lion’s Tale believes that the goal of the school should be to promote uniformity.

And regardless of what the administration’s intentions may have been, the new rounding policy creates a greater and more unfair lack of uniformity, both within and outside of JDS. The best solution, we believe, in order to ensure that students’ grades can be accurately compared with those of their peers, is to institute a mandatory rounding policy.

-The Lion’s Tale

r’ay fodor photo

ariella kulp, dahlia lehman social media

jeremy schooler business

alec schrager, allie wiener

senior reporters

Opinion

A failing grading system

robbie belson, danny waksman

reporters isaac dubrawsky, jonathan foldi, jacob gross, talia horowitz, yonah hyman, ethan kane, miriam minsk, aaron schonfeld, brian shorr, gabi swagel, joel vardon, elizabeth warrick & arielle weinstein

staff adviser claire burke

adviser emerita susan zuckerman The Lion’s Tale Editorial and Ethics Policy As the student newspaper of the Charles E. Smith Jewish Day School, The Lion’s Tale is a forum for student opinion and expression. All content is determined by students. Its purpose is to inform the CESJDS community and to express the views of its staff and readers. The staff has made every effort to ensure the accuracy and objectivity of its news.

Signed columns reflect the opinion of the writer; staff editorials reflect the opinion of the majority of The Lion’s Tale editorial board. The Lion’s Tale staff welcomes letters to the editor and guest columns, all of which must be signed. The staff reserves the right to refuse any material and may edit letters or columns for length, clarity, libel, obscenity and/or disruptiveness.

Submissions may be emailed to jdslionstale@gmail.com, mailed to The Lion’s Tale, or brought to room 328.

The Lion’s Tale is funded by The Simon Hirshman Endowment for the Upper School Newspaper and The Kuttner-Levenson Endowment for the Upper School Cultural Arts and Student Publications, and community advertisement. The Lion’s Tale reserves the right to refuse advertisement for any reason.

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

by yonatan greenberg copy editor With grades recently sealed for the first semester, the administration’s decision to cease rounding grades has provoked intense debate and a general sense of panic among many students.

Who can be immune from the fear that the year will end and that an inopportune assignment will bring a grade down from an A minus to a B plus? Under the new rounding policy, students could reasonably argue that their 89.9 is so close

to a 90 that they might as well be granted the A minus. Hence, the school should round grades.

This argument, however, falls apart upon closer inspection. If the school resumed its rounding policy, the line between grades would merely move, and the previously mentioned argument could still be made about students stranded at, say, an 89.4. The problem, then, is not the location of the cutoff – whether it should .5 or a .0 – but that there is a cutoff in the first place. A student’s GPA, that sacred number that appears on the allimportant high school transcript, is currently calculated simply by students’ letter grades: an A is an A and a B is a B. It should come as no shock, then, that students become borderline hysterical when

a few decimal points could push them over the brink. Ironically, in a system with so little room for nuance, the smallest differences can provoke the greatest stress.

But the flaws go on. Academic Dean Aileen Goldstein claimed that by eliminating rounding, the school’s grading scale will become more consistent. But what is consistent in saying that the difference between an 89 and a 90 is greater than the difference between an 88 and an 89? The math does not add up.

There are plenty of schools that have abandoned the letter grade system, and JDS should eagerly join their noble rank. A grade in a class would simply equal the number of points earned over the number of points available, and

the GPA would be the average of those numbers. No rounding would be necessary and arbitrary lines would be eliminated. Under such a system, the difference between an 88 and and 89 would be just as meaningful as the difference between an 89 and a 90. Seems like pretty solid math. Current students may have difficulty imagining themselves with such a mindset, but that is only because we have been raised in the letter grade system. In time, letter grades’ meaningless distinctions would fall away, leaving us with one fewer stressor to distract us from the learning that is the essence education.

the lion’s tale

opinion

05

Guest column

Those lef t out Prom leads to exclusion

by rabbi reuvane slater jttp teacher Every year, right around Prom time, I get an uncomfortable feeling. Most readers may assume that I am referring to my religious position concerning the mixed dancing and socializing that is associated with the evening’s events. Although this may be true, it is not the issue that I am addressing in this

letter. The heart-wrenching problem that Prom presents to me is the alienation that it brings to some members of the graduating class. Although this number may be minimal, even one is too many. While Prom proposals are being enjoyed by so many, party busses are being student arranged, corsages and dresses are being purchased, and tickets for every couple are being purchased, there are those who have not been asked out, are not sharing in the preProm excitement and may even be thinking of skipping the event entirely. I know this because for a number of years, my wife and I held “Sprom” (Slater’s Prom) at our house for those who “weren’t going to Prom.” We had a handful of wonderful seniors who came over to enjoy themselves as a group.

If even one member of the class feels

left out of their own Prom, then is the whole event worth it? Why should an equal member of the class dread the upcoming event for fear that they will not be asked out by another member of the class and have to go alone? You have all done your share throughout the years to be unified as a class. You supported each other in Zimriyah, school spirit, class trips, grade government, tzedakah projects, food drives and the list goes on and on. Why then, at the final culmination of your high school career, must you pick and choose among yourselves, invariably leaving someone out? No one does this with any intention to hurt someone else but it happens.

Why not eliminate any official dates prior to the Prom and go as a class. Go as a cohesive group. Randomly place yourselves

on buses and travel together in unity. I believe this will put students at ease and eliminate any fear of alienation. Once you arrive at the venue for the Prom, you can associate with whomever you like. I am not trying to limit the enjoyment that you experience at Prom with this suggestion; I just think that it can be done in a way which leaves everyone feeling positive.

After being in JDS for so many years, I have seen and admired so many acts of kindness between students. I am amazed at the level of inclusion that goes on in school on a daily basis. I am proud to be a teacher here and feel privileged to teach so many thoughtful young men and women. Let’s keep pushing ourselves “higher and higher.”

Senior column

The language of computer science by evan kravitz former sports editor There are a couple unwritten rules of senior year: always cut freshmen in the lunch line, take advantage of every opportunity to sleep in, and leave room in your schedule for a free period. Well, I actually broke the last one. Last spring, when registering for courses, I made the decision to enroll in the Computer Science II course. Many of you are probably thinking I just abandoned all hope of having a stress-free senior year.

And judging by the fact that only eight

other brave souls chose to take this class, you are probably correct. What you don’t know is that this course was one of the most formative ones of my JDS career.

Science classes at JDS often follow the same pattern: you learn some material, have a quiz, learn more material, have a test, then repeat. But computer science was taught more as a language class than as a traditional “science” class. Mr. Smedinghoff devoted much time to teaching us the fundamentals of the programming language Python. Just as how in English, you learn how to combine verbs and nouns to form coherent sentences, in Python, you learn how to combine functions and variables to make operable code. Once you master the mechanics of writing, you are able to form paragraphs, and eventually, full works of poetry and prose. After I learned the syntax of Python and how certain data structures work, I was able to write programs and

eventually accomplish more complicated tasks.

Computer science at JDS has taught me how to approach a difficult problem and devise a solution with little guidance and oversight. I used to be extremely apprehensive at the beginning of the course when working on a large program. However, the hours spent in solitude coding and diagnosing my own problems helped me think clearer. I developed the know-how of approaching a problem and, through tedious and frustrating error-checking, acquired the knowledge of how to effectively code.

I have taken only one year of computer science, yet I have learned a whole new language, top to bottom. Most people here speak English and Hebrew, but I also consider myself a speaker of Python. The keyboard is my pen and Idle (code editor) is my easel as I am now free to execute a wide array of tasks.

The prospect of adding even one more class to your schedule is frightening. Don’t get me wrong, computer science is a lot of work — you have to be up for the challenge.

But if you want to learn an invaluable skill that will allow to you to solve a wide variety of problems (not to mention give you a legup in the job market), I strongly urge you to take computer science. It is nothing like you are used to seeing in science classes (no memorization or tests), but it is well worth it.

The hallmark of my JDS experience has been its emphasis on problem solving as opposed to knowing how to regurgitate information on a test. The computer science program is the epitome of this core value.

My knowledge in Python will pay dividends long after I exit the doors of JDS, and begin to encounter newer, more complex problems.

My hope is that others take every opportunity to capitalize upon the opportunities here. I’m glad I did.

Have an opinion about anything in this edition of The Lion’s Tale?

Find the article on our website, and add your opinion in the comments section. Or visit www.lionstale.org/opinion and submit a letter to the editor.

06

the lion’s tale

senior columns

Senior column

Looking for a place to be

by dina rabinovitz outgoing managing editor, copy High school, it seems, is all about figuring out who you are and who you want to become. I would argue, however, that this is meaningless.

I have gone through a plethora of “beings” at CESJDS. I have decided that I wanted to be an artist, a lawyer, an engineer.

When I began my Lion’s Tale career, I was sure I was going to be a writer. And so I discovered the numerous things I could be on staff, from section editor to managing editor of copy.

Throughout it all, I continued to write, whenever and whatever I could. I wrote eagerly and eloquently (at least I hope). And as I sat through those late nights, polishing my final pieces, I was always reminded of a quote from Mark Zusak’s “The Book Thief”: “I have hated the words and I have loved them, and I hope I have made them right.”

This certainly applies to my experience

on staff. I have hated the words that never seemed to fit into a headline, loved the words that seemed to express my ideas in the most elegant, rhythmic manner, and, more than anything, I have spent hours in the Lion’s Tale office making the words just right.

It is that process of making the words just right that I find most valuable. What I’ll miss most is not being a writer or an editor; I know I’ll have the opportunity to do that wherever I go. What I’ll miss most is the process of learning to be a writer and editor.

We on staff are not professionals. We’re not perfect. We’re students who want to be writers or designers or editors who have bonded together to learn how to do just that.

We have taught each other, built off of each

other’s strengths, debated the best way to write and design, and worked together to be the best we can.

It is that learning that is far more important than being. High school, I believe, is not about figuring out who you are, but rather about figuring out whom you want to help you figure it all out. The Lion’s Tale has taught me how I can be a writer, an editor, a designer, and I would encourage you all to find that place. That’s what I’ll miss most about my time at JDS, and that’s what I’ll be looking for wherever I go – a place not to be, but to thrive.

Senior column

Working for an impact

by jeremy kaplan outgoing editor-in-chief My career as a CESJDS student has been one of varied interests that seem to contradict one another. The nickname on the back of my senior jersey, “Genius Bar,” refers to how ever since first grade, I seem to have always been the one called upon to fix my peers’ computer issues. Yet despite being defined by my peers by my computer

skills, somehow, The Lion’s Tale has defined my own life for the past three years. I have served in a variety of roles, from reporter to assistant web editor to co-web editor-in-chief to, finally, the paper’s co-editor-in-chief. In all of these roles, I have had to balance my continual desire to be an active leader on The Lion’s Tale with the rest of my interests, including computer science, biology research and debate. But whatever my interests might be at any particular moment, I have always called The Lion’s Tale home throughout my high school career for one reason: the impact it makes on the school community.

I remember walking up the ramp at the entrance of the Upper School as a seventh-grader and seeing the then editorsin-chief of The Lion’s Tale wearing suits and standing with stacks of newspapers,

even handing them out to small timid sevies such as myself. I was captivated by front page stories about the school’s budget, the showing of Race to Nowhere and mid-year teacher departures. I recall sitting in front of my locker, reading an editorial taking the administration to task for a recent rash disciplinary action despite the school’s mission statement and thinking to myself, if The Lion’s Tale can impact a powerless seventh grader’s view of the school, it had to have made a much larger impact on the community in general.

Joining The Lion’s Tale has allowed me to be part of that impact. During meetings where The Lion’s Tale staff pitches story or editorial topics, part of my mind always flashes back to my seventh-grade self, who always felt that he was genuinely

learning about the school from The Lion’s Tale. Looking back at the stories The Lion’s Tale has taken on during my time on staff, including an article about real student stories about distracted driving that sparked school-wide discussion and an editorial calling for increased access to humanities electives that changed school polices, I know this impact has been made.

While I am now leaving the student journalism world in pursuit of other interests, I will always consider The Lion’s Tale my high school home. Despite all of the other interests I may have pursued during my JDS career, The Lion’s Tale is the one that let me make a real impact.

Senior column

Appreciating where you are

by matt litman outgoing managing editor, web I just want to come right out and say it: sometimes (or, really, most of the time) high school sucks. There’s just no way around it. There’ll be moments when you feel left out, when you feel alone, when you feel that everyone’s better than you, and when, late at night, probably around 12:30 a.m., you’ll stare at your computer screen with half of

an essay left to write and wonder, “Why am I doing this?” But you can’t really seem to find an answer, and as you let out a tired sigh, you keep trudging along.

This was what a lot of high school was like for me: a frustrating, lonely journey.

Sometimes I felt like I didn’t really belong here at CESJDS, that I didn’t have close friends, and the work, more often than not, pushed me over the edge.

But there are those few moments that give you some relief from all of that. Those moments that make you laugh with your friends so hard that your stomach starts to ache. Like running around the Washington Monument late at night singing “America The Beautiful,” feeling like you’re the only one there (despite the puzzled looks those French tourists are giving you). Or pretending you’re Israeli at a convention and

convincing everyone you meet there that you have no idea what you’re doing. Or staying up until 3 a.m. playing FIFA 13 with your friend who just scored a go-ahead goal in the 90th minute. Too tired to care, you throw your controller across the room, watch your friend begin to celebrate and start to laugh uncontrollably.

You have to appreciate those moments.

For one reason or another, I didn’t appreciate them enough when they happened. And now that I’m officially done with high school, I long for those moments. I feel like I spent too much time worrying about school work, college and social pressures. And as a result, I feel like I wasted a big chunk of these past four years. The night before my last day of high school, as I was driving home from school, it abruptly occurred to me that I spent the majority of high school being

unhappy. I wish I would’ve just taken some time to be a teenager, to enjoy being a kid.

So what I’m trying to say is, yes, try and do well in school and surround yourself with people who love and care about you.

But also, take some time and just appreciate where you are in your life. You’re a teenager, you’re in high school, the nation’s capital is in your backyard. Go out and explore. Go out and have fun with your friends. Do some crazy (but still safe) things with your friends.

You probably won’t remember what you wrote about for that in-class history essay, but you will definitely remember that time you and your friends got lost in the city and ended up in southeast D.C. Enjoy where you are right now. God knows it goes by so fast.

the lion’s tale

senior columns

08

Senior column

Embrace oppor tunities semester of ninth grade. After that I just joined the paper because everyone else in the class was. It was not because I enjoyed writing; I actually did not. Writing was the hardest thing for me at that time. However, I still wanted to join and I wanted to write.

After I saw my name in the byline, I realized that I was part of a huge project that was not just my own and not just for my own benefit.

It wasn’t until I became a sports editor that I had a real feel for what being a part of the Lion’s Tale meant. There were things that needed to be done and it was up to my co-editors and me to get them done on time.

We had to give up our free time and add more stress to our schedules to make our

by brian schonfeld outgoing sports editor I never wanted to join the Lion’s Tale.

It just happened. I took Journalism I second

section the best, which we did. While in class we want to succeed for good grades, in the Lion’s Tale we want to succeed to produce the highest-quality newspaper for the benefit of the school.

The Lion’s Tale is one of the greatest surprises that high school had to offer me. While I’m not planning on becoming a journalist in the future, I have learned a lot during my time on staff. Before the Lion’s Tale, I never thought about the amount of effort that was needed to publish a newspaper like The New York Times or the Washington Post, and I never thought about the significance of news (I just took it for granted). But I’ll cut to the chase: take

opportunities and make the best of them, because it could end up becoming something more than just any other high school newspaper. Time flies and if you do not take the time to appreciate and enjoy everything you are doing then you will miss out. Life is full of opportunities and it is up to you to make them great.

Senior column

To stress or not to stress, that is the question

by david kulp outgoing managing editor, design Out of the 84 people in my grade who voted on senior yearbook superlatives, 84 voted me for the most stressed. As much as everyone expected me to win that superlative, by no means did I think it would be unanimous. While some seniors campaign for “best looking,” “best dressed,” or “nicest person in the whole wide world,”

you don’t see many people stopping friends in the halls with large signs that say, “Vote me for most stressed!”

The end of high school is a time to question everything: what you’ve done, why you’ve done it, and who was there along the way. As I clench my CESJDS stress ball, I find myself asking: how much stress is too much stress? Was all the stress worth it? Why did I put so much energy into perfecting those assignments? Did I really need to review that assignment again? Probably not. No, definitely not. After coming home exhausted from a long day at school, made even longer by extracurriculars lasting into the early evening, my light literally stayed on, the only one lit in the entire house, throughout the night.

While I won’t remember the grade I got on my math test in December 2013 or April

2014, what I will remember is the people I spent 13 years with learning side-by-side in the classroom and exploring outside of the walls of JDS. I’ll remember winning Zimriyah for three years in a row, the long nights spent in Lion’s Tale production, and singing on stage with Shir Madness. I’ll remember the strong relationships I have fostered with my teachers and administrators.

All of these things, by the way, taking an enormous amount of time and effort. What I realize is that stress acted as a motivating force for me to excel academically and extracurricularly, to push myself, moving me to foster relationships with all different kinds of people. Without stress, I may never have stayed up until 1 a.m. chatting with peers over iChat, FaceTime and Facebook. I may never have worked on a science presentation with a classmate for three straight days over

a weekend and into the school week. And I may never have met with Mr. Blank to write a dvar Torah over lunch or led a Kabbalat Shabbat. Maybe, at the end of the day, my light being on until 1 a.m. might just be who I am.

I am not telling you to stop stressing, to stop working, or to stop doing the things you love. While stress can impact negatively, it also has the ability to prove beneficial, acting like the gas that fuels your light.

Best dressed? Nope. Best looks? No, not that either. Nicest guy? Maybe … my mom thinks so. Most stressed? Yep, I’ll take it.

That’s me. But moving forward, maybe I’ll just experiment with shutting my light off at midnight. Or maybe, I’ll hold on tight to my title as Mr. Most Stressed, because without it, I wouldn’t be David Kulp.

But just as important as helping me pursue an interest in journalism and give a voice to the JDS student body, being on staff helped me cultivate my leadership skills and learn to be a team player. Cliché, I know, but 100 percent true. Lion’s Tale has taught me to own up to my mistakes, lead a staff effectively and be observant and thoughtful.

Although I will carry these skills from Lion’s Tale and into the future, they are not what I will remember most fondly about being on staff. I will remember the friends I made, the nights of production stocked with endless Oreos and the community that embraced me in the whirlwind that is high school. Of all the complications and anxiety

I faced throughout high school, Lion’s Tale remained a constant and supported me just as much with its rich community as its intellectual and academic value.

So now, as I write this in the comfort of room 328, surrounded by the peers I’ve grown to admire and know and the bright pages of inspiration pasted all over the walls, I know that even though I have to leave my position behind, I will always be comfortable coming back here and rejoining the community that made the biggest difference in my high school career.

Senior column

Room 328: my home

by nina simpkins outgoing editor-in-chief It’s Thursday night at 7:37. Room 328 is pulsing with the click of keyboards, the hum of conversation and the backdrop of the

legendary wall of shame. After three years on staff, this room has become my home, the headquarters of one of my greatest passions.

As a timid ninth grader, I was cautious about joining Lion’s Tale. But as soon as I wrote my first article and witnessed my first production, I was captivated. This interest pushed me to invest my time in the paper and learn about the positions I would later apply for. My time as a reporter, section editor (shoutout to News) and executive editor flew by as I became more and more passionate about making the same profound difference in the school community as all the past editors I admired and looked up to so much.

08

the lion’s tale

lions vs. tiger

SHOWING THEIR [TIGER by jonathan foldi reporter To some students, tigers may conjure up pleasant childhood memories of Tigger, Hobbes or Tony the Tiger. But when that tiger turns into a parent, things can get ugly.

The most famous of these “Tiger Parents,” Professor Amy Chua, spoke at CESJDS on Feb. 11. Though Chua visited to to discuss her new book, “The Triple Package,” she is most famous for her previous book, “Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother,” which chronicles her harsh and controversial style of parenting.

Chua’s visit was scheduled by the Parent Teacher Organization through a connection with PTO co-president Lisa Reichmann, who believes that the topic of high-pressure parenting is very relevant to the environment at JDS. “I think her first book really spoke to a lot of parents,” Reichmann said.

According to a poll of 74 Upper School students, when asked to express how much pressure their parents put on them to succeed on a scale of 1-5, 52 percent said either a 4 or a 5. Though the results may not be surprising to some, they highlight the prevalence of parental pressure at JDS. Thankfully, that pressure rarely reaches the same degree of insanity as Chua’s pressure. In “Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mom,” Chua recounts threatening to burn her daughter’s stuffed animals after she failed to perfect a piece of

music.

Junior Sam Solomon, however, says he still feels plenty of pressure from his parents.

“They want me to take really hard courses and get into a really good college,” Solomon said. “And if I don’t, they’ll get really mad.”

In the classroom, Solomon is often frustrated when his teachers’ interpretations of grades do not meet his own.

“The teachers tell you, ‘You’re

to feel the need to take up to nine advanced courses, study for the SAT, play sports and participate in extracurriculars in order to create a well-rounded resume for their college applications.

He worries that students’ attempts to create a promising college application hinder their ability to pursue the subjects they actually want to take.

“They should take courses they’re interested in without

self-imposed pressure, and believes it to be crucial to succeeding in school.

“Not having a lot of parental pressure allows kids to put pressure on themselves,” Heckelman said. “I think that’s sometimes more effective because it’s coming from you.”

Nevertheless, self-imposed pressure can also have negative consequences, most notably the competition it creates among students. According to Heckelman,

“

we need to step back and have the conversation about why are we doing this work. . . . what is the goal of this? what is happening to you both inside and outside of school? and why are you putting this much pressure on yourself in a way that’s maybe not necessary?“ Jewish history teacher aaron bregman

•

doing well, you have a B+,’ but that’s not true, because Stanford Harvard and MIT aren’t seeing a B as a good grade,” Solomon said. “[Teachers] are making students think that they’re getting good grades when in fact they’re not.”

Jewish History teacher Aaron Bregman has noticed that juniors like Solomon tend to focus solely on college when they are in school.

He says that this focus causes them

thinking, ‘College is going to check this,’” Bregman said.

Unlike Bregman, Chua advocates for high-stress parenting, even at the cost of a student’s happiness and social life. She feels that parents should motivate their children to work constantly in order to succeed.

Sophomore Sara Heckelman does not believe that parental pressure is helpful. She prefers

competition often leads students to neglect their own personal achievements, turning school into a showcase of “what you’re better at than someone else.”

Bregman believes that learning for the sake of learning is extremely important, and that the focus that students put on their grades can take away from their ability to fully enjoy the learning experience.

On the seniors’ last day in his

kehillah, many of them told the younger students that they wish they hadn’t stressed out as much about their assignments in high school. Bregman believes that sharing these experiences is very important, as most of the stress students feel is due to exaggerations and myths. One such misconception is that “you’ll cry over” the Arab Israeli Conflict paper, when in reality, that is rarely the case.

“They’re just rumors,” Bregman said. “[Students] assume things without having to look at it on their own.”

Due to his concern, Bregman has made an effort to check in with his students and have frequent conversations with them about stress and pressure. The most recent example of this was on the junior class shabbaton. He and math teacher Andrew Goldman led a discussion in which they shared anecdotes from their personal, academic and professional lives and asked students to reflect on their experiences with stress. In the session, Bregman pointed out that stress does not necessarily end when high school does, as he has experienced plenty of it in his professional career.

“I feel that we need to step back and have the conversation about why are we doing this work, why are we taking this class, what is the goal of this, what is happening to you both inside and outside of school, and why are you putting this much pressure on yourself in

the lion’s tale

Amy Chua’s visit brings questions about pressure on students to succeed

43% of students participate in four or more extra-curricular activites

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wanted to go. the present. She thinks that this “I’m much more relaxed now pressure causes people to lose track having gone through the process,” of their true goals.

Worden said. “I trust that system to “Everything is based off of a work now as I didn’t before.” ladder system, but you’re never Despite going through the actually standing on the step you’re college process successfully, Worden on,” Heckelman said. “You’re acknowledges the distressing asalways looking to the steps above pects of the process. you. Adding to the pressure, there “My daughter said to me, ‘I are people behind you who are tellcould buck the system, but that ing you, ‘Keep going, keep climbing would be foolish, because there’s no up the ladder.’ What if you want to winning in that,’” Worden said. “It’s stay on the step that you’re on?” smart, but it’s sad.”

Heckelman agrees that the college application process has a large role in putting pressure on students, specifically in the On a scale of 1-5, (1 being a little way it pushes and 5 being a lot) how much pressure students to prepare for do your parents put on you to the future and succeed? never focus on

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a way that’s maybe not necessary,” Bregman said.

English teacher Thomas Worden agrees that parents can sometimes put too much pressure on their children, and has seen this anxiety manifest in both students and their parents.

“When I talk to students about placement in English … I’m pretty intent on learning: ‘Is this you, is this what you want, or is this what your parents want?’” Worden said.

Worden finds that when talking to parents, he has to make sure that they take into account what their kids truly desire.

When Worden’s daughter got a C in English her junior year, he “freaked out” because he thought that the grade might keep her from getting into the college she wanted to go to. However, looking back on it, he can see that he overreacted, as his daughter still went where she

09

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lions vs. tiger

On a scale of 1-5, (1 being a little and 5 being a lot) how much pressure does the JDS environment put on you to succeed?

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5

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4 4 Results according to a recent Lion’s Tale survey of 74 Upper School students.

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the lion’s tale

a night to remember

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PROM 2015 1 2 3

Senior William Horwitz teaches his classmates how to dougie at Prom. Prom was held at Capitale in Washington, D.C. Junior Bronya Lechtman and senior Drew Hein strut across the dance floor.

Tired after more than two hours of dancing, senior Arianna Tuwiner quenches her thirst with a glass of water from the bar.

4 5 6

Decked out in Prom memorabilia, senior Moses Milchberg points at his date across the crowded dance floor.

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Prom attendees put their hands in the air in celebration as the DJ blasts pop songs.

To find out more about these pictures, see highlights from prom and view an exclusive photo gallery, visit www.lionstale.org.

JTTP teacher Osnat Eldar holds a glow stick as she participates in the evening fun.

Senior Yaira Kalander sings while dancing in a conga line.

photos provided by Freed Photography

the lion’s tale

all geared up

11

Grad 2015 1 2 3

Senior Harry Wandersman delivers his section of the graduation cantata, a translation of a Hebrew prayer.

Walking across the bimah, senior Sophie Kader accepts her diploma and senior gift, a toy gear.

Celebrating the end of his high school career, senior R’ay Fodor hugs Dean of Students Roz Landy after recieving his diploma.

4

The Class of 2015 celebrates the end of its high school career by tossing its caps in the air and cheering.

To find out more about these pictures, see highlights from graduation and view an exclusive quote collection, visit www.lionstale.org

photos provided by Jerry Eisner

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graduates reflect

the lion’s tale

LOOKING BACK Seniors reminisce on their time at JDS What is something that you’ve taken out of your experience here that you hope to carry on in the future?

“The community is always so warm and pleasant, and everyone is so welcoming that I just feel so happy to be here. We’re all a close-knit community and we always know how to help each other and help others, and I really feel like we can take this into the future and live a better life.”

- Harry Wandersman (‘15)

What are you going to miss the most about JDS?

“I am going to miss the fact that I have such a personal relationship with everyone in the grade and many of my teachers, and in college, I just won’t have that.”

- Zoe Orenstein (‘15)

ZOE ORENSTEIN, 18 YEARS OLD What is a value that you believe JDS has instilled in you?

“Respect. It is respect for each other and respect for everyone’s opinion. Which is why when everyone is giving speeches at KabShab they make such a big deal about everyone staying quiet so that everyone can get their ideas out. Just in classes in general, the teachers really emphasize hearing out every side of the argument and listening to both sides and everyone’s opinion.”

- Rachael Schindler (‘15)

Is there any extracurricular that you’ve done at JDS that you really feel has helped you grow as a person?

“The theater program. It has really opened me and brought me out of my shell, because when I came here, I was very quiet and didn’t really know anybody. And so it brought me closer with people in that community and the people who watch it.

- Maxine Elovitz (‘15) compiled by Ariella Kulp and Talia Horwitz

photo by emma hofman

the lion’s tale

recruited athletes

13

Taking it to the next level College sports programs recruit senior athletes naomi cohen-shields reporter Most CESJDS students are accustomed to ranking colleges based on their location, size, academics and social environment.

But for those few who add sports to their criteria, the college process can take on a new face, often starting as early as sophomore year.

Though coaches are typically not allowed to contact prospective students until late in junior year, many athletes need to start the process much earlier in order to advertise themselves and hone their skills.

“It is a lot of putting yourself out there,” senior Ben Lieberman said. “You need to really brag about yourself to coaches. It doesn’t matter how you play if nobody knows about you.”

Lieberman committed to the Muhlenberg golf program in August, and with his application finished by mid-September, he was done with the college process well before many of his classmates.

Senior Samantha Knapp has a similar story: she came into senior year already having already decided on attending Dickinson University to play soccer. However, earlier, during her junior year, Knapp still had plenty of struggles.

“Junior year is very hard on its own,” Knapp said. “With constantly questioning whether you’re good enough and if you can do this, there is just so much pressure to consistently perform well, both academically and in soccer.”

Lieberman felt the increased pressure as well, and as offers came in he pushed himself to practice harder as his dream inched closer to reality.

The recruitment process itself can be exhausting. Prospective players are constantly in contact with college coaches and often need to miss school for a chance to meet teams on recruitment trips.

Senior Sarah Solomon is looking to swim in college but has not yet committed to a school. She views the recruitment trips as a vital part of the

process.

“You really do need to meet the people, “ Solomon said. “At some schools, you really click with the team, and you think, ‘Wow, I would love to go here,’ but at other schools, you find that it’s not really what you were looking for.”

Finding the perfect school becomes increasingly hard for those looking to play sports competitively in college. Lieberman, Knapp and Solomon all need to find a balance between academics and their respective sports.

Despite the pressure, work and time that the process required, all three seniors had no hesitations about playing a sport in college.

“It is a very grueling process, but at the end of the day all that matters is that you are going to be playing the sport that you love ... and it makes everything totally worth it.

Nothing will make me happier than being able to do that,” Knapp said.

The three seniors believe that having a team to fall back on will help them find their place as they adjust to college life.

“When you get there you already have a good group of friends,” Solomon said. “It helps you transition to college.”

Athletic Director Michael Riley similarly has no doubts about the value of college athletics, and encourages students to participate if they can. He believes that “being part of a team and part of unit” holds many lessons for athletes.

Lieberman, Knapp and Solomon all agreed that sports are a part of their identities and have helped shape who they are today.

“I started playing soccer before I can remember … and it’s been the greatest thing in my life,” Knapp said.

“It’s just something that makes me happier than anything in the world … and I don’t feel done yet. I don’t feel like I’ve played as much as I want to in my life.”

Sarah Solomon Undecided > Swimming

“ “ “

AT SOME SCHOOLS, YOU REALLY CLICK WITH THE TEAM AND YOU THINK, ‘WOW. I WOULD LOVE TO GO HERE.’ BUT AT OTHER SCHOOLS YOU FIND THAT IT’S NOT REALLY WHAT YOU WERE LOOKING FOR.”

Benjamin Lieberman Muhlenberg > Golf

THE RECRUITMENT PROCESS IS A LOT OF PUTTING YOURSELF OUT THERE . .

YOU NEED TO REALLY BRAG ABOUT YOURSELF TO COACHES. IT DOESN’T MATTER HOW YOU PLAY IF NOBODY KNOWS ABOUT YOU.”

Samantha Knapp

Dickinson > Soccer

IT IS A VERY GRUELING PROCESS, BUT AT THE END OF THE DAY ALL THAT MATTERS IS THAT YOU ARE GOING TO BE PLAYING THE SPORT THAT YOU LOVE . . AND IT MAKES EVERYTHING TOTALLY WORTH IT.”

photos provided by Freed Photography

14

the lion’s tale

graduates in israel

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Behind two graduates’ decisions to move to Israel dahlia lehman photo editor As her classmates pack their bags for Israel, senior Yaira Kalender does the same. The only difference is the size of her bag.

Instead of spending three months in Israel on the Class of 2015 trip, Kalender is preparing to make aliyah to Israel, partake in an army preparation program and join the Israeli army.

Kalender is one of many Jewish-Americans choosing to make aliyah. In 2013 alone, Israel welcomed approximately 16,884 Jewish immigrants, according to the Jewish Virtual Library website.

While a variety of factors influenced Kalender’s

decision, the most significant was the time she spent in Israel as a child with her Israeli relatives.

“I have a cousin who is my age in Israel, so when we were little kids, we’d talk about how she would go to the army,” Kalender said. “I always just assumed that that’s what I would do, too. I never changed my mind about that.”

Kalender is also drawn to the freedom that she experiences in Israel.

“I always felt more independent in Israel,” Kalender said. “As opposed to here, where I had to depend much more on my parents and friends, [in Israel], I felt more comfortable just walking around.”

Kalender is planning

on beginning her journey by working on a kibbutz and doing mechina, an army preparation program, in order to prepare herself culturally for the army.

Like Kalender, CESJDS alumna Penina Graubart (‘13) chose to temporarily move to Israel. Penina is currently enrolled in a three-year B.A. program at the Interdisciplinary Center Herzliya, an Israeli university.

Although Penina’s choice was partially motivated by the journalism education opportunities at the IDC Herzliya, her love for Israel originated in the JDS community.

“Without JDS I wouldn’t be here. My 11th grade Israel classes … instilled a great passion for Israel and the Jewish

photo provided by creative commons

people within me,” Penina wrote in an email.

Penina’s connection to Israel was further developed during the JDS Israel trip.

“I had been to Israel many times before, but experiencing Israel without my family and taking every opportunity to truly immerse myself into the country gave me a different perspective on the country and my relationship with her,” Penina said.

The families and friends of both Kalender and Penina have been very accepting of their respective decisions to make aliyah.

Penina’s sister, freshman Shira Graubart, supported her sister’s choice to go to college in Israel.

“As she was growing

up, she always had a strong connection to Israel,” Shira said. “My family has always influenced her and encouraged her to follow her dreams and part of that was moving to Israel.”

photo illustration by mijal altmann

the lion’s tale

A high school mystery

15

murder mystery

isaac silber reporter The Feith Beit Midrash is not the typical setting for play practice.

Regardless, three days a week, one can find nine high school students transforming the mundane room into the setting of a murder mystery.

These students will take center stage on March 2 and 3 in the play “The Patient” by Agatha Christie, directed by sophomores Mollie Milchberg and Eli Winkler.

This is only the second time a school play has been directed by students.

Last year, Cole Aronson (‘14) started the trend by directing “12 Angry Men.” In the play, Mrs. Wingfield, a sick woman played by freshman Talia Cohen, falls off a balcony and becomes paralyzed. Since a guard is watching the house and no one comes in or out, they assume the person who pushed her must have been a family member. As Mrs. Wingfield can no longer talk, her doctor and others must try to figure out who pushed her, or if it was an attempted suicide.

The show is half an hour to an hour long, and tickets are free.

Instead of taking place in the theater, the play will be performed in the cardo. At the time of the play, the theater will be set up for the middle school musical. As a result, “The Patient” could have used only a small portion of the stage.

“We decided it wasn’t enough space,” Winkler said.

The school is renting a stage

“

which will be placed in the cardo for the performance, and the art club is helping to make the set for the play.

“The Patient” was not the first choice of either director. However, not enough people auditioned for “Afternoon at Seaside,” also

by Agatha Christie, or “The Rats”

by Gerhart Hauttman, so “The Patient” was chosen for its small, nine-person cast.

Freshman Hana Adler is the stage manager of the play.

Wingfield’s sister, said she likes how laid back practice is.

“If you have an idea, you can share it, and we will most likely do it,” Waldman said.

Waldman did not originally audition for the play because she thought it wasn’t as important as the musicals. Though she still believes this, she has enjoyed being in “The Patient.”

“Everyone’s working together.

It’s not [that] there’s one director and they’re in charge.” Waldman said.

Winkler has been in four musicals at JDS, and the high school play last year, but has no experience directing plays. He said that he consulted with his relatives who do have such experience.

Winkler said there are both positives and negatives to directing instead of acting.

“You get to boss everyone around, at least,” Winkler said.

On the other hand, “You don’t get this becoming another person experience. You are stuck being you.”

Both Adler and Winkler agreed that the hardest part of directing and stage managing is keeping everyone focused and getting people to listen to them.

Ultimately, though, they think directing the play has been worth it. They said that throughout the practices, they learned how hard it can be to be good leaders.

Their leadership, however, is not so absolute.

“It’s gonna be really funny,” Waldman said. “We get to have creative freedom and do what we want to do.”

photos by Jeremy Kaplan and Alysse Weinberg

A look into the student-run production of “The Patient”

Everyone is working together. It’s not that there is one director and they are in charge.”

Sophomore Emma Waldman

•

Adler said that she, Winkler and Milchberg consider themselves the heads of the play.

“We’re the glue,” Adler said.

The heads of the play have to make sure everything gets done on time, ensure that everything runs smoothly, and make decisions such as casting and deciding how the sets should look.

Play practice for the murder mystery is fairly serious, though there are many outbreaks of laughter from the actors. These are usually followed by the directors telling everyone to be quiet.

Six of the nine actors showed up to practice on Wednesday, Feb. 4, with the missing parts being played by the heads of the play. Some actors had their lines memorized, while others used their scripts during practice.

Sophomore Emma Waldman, who plays Emmeline, Mrs.

Junior Mollie Michberg directs junior Yaakov Bellas on how he should read his lines. Bellas plays Dr. Ginsberg in “The Patient.”

Sophomore Emma Waldman (center) gasps in shock as sophomore Annie Grimley and junior Rana Bickel set the scene for rehersal.

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5. What do you do on weekends?

a. Math

4. What is your favorite subject?

a. Happy

3. What adjective would you use to describe yourself?

a. Cook

2. What do you do after school?

a. Sushi

1. What is your favorite food?

the lion’s tale

personality quiz

Which teacher are you most similar to?

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D - Mr. Atwood