A Student Publication of the Yeshivah of Flatbush Joel Braverman High School • 1609 Avenue J, Brooklyn, New York • Vol 58, Issue 1 • September 2023 / 5784
Renovations behind schedule, causing Is the new cell phone policy inconvenience and uncertainty By Barbara Salama Junior Editor
Students and teachers alike entered the building this year with high hopes for the new, promised updates to the school and the area around it. Instead, they were met with the same classrooms still closed off, an unusable main gymnasium, varying room temperatures, and the long awaited Starbucks nowhere in sight. While some improvements were completed on time or close to it, such as the new main office, classroom renovations are approximately a month behind schedule, the administration confirmed. Teachers who were relocated out of their classrooms last semester show few signs of returning, and instead most of the faculty continues go-
er than Crawford’s and the Commons,” stated an anonymous senior. One of the most significant issues caused by the delayed construction is the backed up stairwell. With two staircases out of three in the old building having limited access, lines have been forming just to get onto the stairs. Students are forced to either brave the crowded stairs or find another route, which occasionThe gym was not ready until mid-September ally results in getting stuck and having to backtrack. Being late to classes is now ing back and forth to classrooms in Tou- a relatively common occurrence for sturo College, Yeshivah Prep, and outdoor dents and faculty. “It’s difficult to get the class started in tents. Every empty space in school has a timely fashion, and that’s something I been repurposed to accommodate these really miss,” Mr. Rothbort lamented. “I challenges. “There’s no space to be in the get less teaching time because kids are whole school now. The library is now an office and there’s no hangout spots othcontinued on page 3
Students curious, confused about revamped testing system By Bella Shamayeva School News Editor
The administration sent an email to all students with the color coded dates for tests throughout the year but, despite the first test dates scheduled for almost immediately after Sukkot, many Flatbush students are unaware regarding updates made to this year’s new testing system. As the new school year has been well underway, students can’t help but wonder what their exams will look like. When asked what they know about the test schedule this year, a lively group of freshmen answered with confused looks, asking, “What do you mean?” Upperclassmen, on the other hand, remember the past two methods of testing and are curious to see what this year’s testing plan will look like. First, they needed to vent about last year’s attempted “testing weeks.” “It was overwhelming at first when we had two tests a day,” remarked senior Natalie Sasson, “but toward the end of the year we kind of got used to it.” For other students, it was the ending that wasn’t what they hoped it would be. “Although I liked it at the beginning of the year, as we got closer to the end of the year ... it was
In This Issue Opinions: Page 2 D’var Torah: Page 4 Ask Merle: Page 6
just not it,” said junior Nathan Hasson. However, testing weeks had changes that benefited many students who weren’t as successful at representing their knowledge through a traditional written exam. “I liked having project-based assignments more because I got to show my creative side,” Sasson noted. “It was a new way to show my learning without just ‘spit back’ material through a test.” On the teacher’s side of things, some teachers embraced alternative assessments, others struggled to adapt, and many teachers didn’t fully approve of the testing weeks. An anonymous teacher stated that the testing weeks took away many class periods, interrupted learning, and slowed down productivity. According to Ms. Hidary, these were some of the administration’s biggest concerns, which they took into account when crafting this year’s plan. “Before the changes, most students would have about 3 to 4 tests a week, every week,” Ms. Hidary said while explaining the design of last year’s system, “so we tried to concentrate exams to one week so that students weren’t taking tests basically every single day.” As the previous “test week” schedule was a disruption to class progression
and there were very few tests a semester, some students needed additional tests to help balance out their grades. Thus, the administration formulated a new schedule that gives each student a total of 24 tests per semester across all subjects, so that the tests given are more limited and controlled. “Some dates are sprinkled throughout the weeks and others have more tests in a row” Ms. Hidary continued. Another significant reason for shifting to this year’s hybrid test schedule, Ms. Hidary noted, was to accommodate the growing number of students who get extra time for exams. “Over 150 students have extended time during every examination, which leads to students missing their classes” in the old test calendar system from two years ago, Ms. Hidary said. To address this issue, all tests will be followed by a free period, allowing students with extra time to finish their exams without missing their next class. Tests given in January and June will remain as before, as they stick to the finals schedule of back to back tests. Whether a test is cumulative or not is up to each teacher's discretion as usual. The rules for quizzes remain unchanged.
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working?
By Victor Braca Photography Editor
Upon starting class on the first day of school, students were introduced to a cell phone policy that requires them to place their phones in the phone pouches near the door of each classroom at the beginning of each period. With 36 numbered pockets, these pouches have many students wondering why the administration continues to change the school cell phone policy, especially considering that last year’s policy change didn’t seem to make much of a difference in student cell phone usage in school. This year, the administration contends, will be different. While the students view this as a new policy, the administration sees it differently. “‘No phones’ is not a new policy,” Rabbi Beyda argues. “The policy started last year, and our objective was to make it a consistent procedure throughout all classrooms. So by placing pouches on the walls of every classroom, everybody knows that that’s where their phone goes.” In the first two weeks of school, teachers have made it clear that they are taking the policy seriously. Sophomore Rami Harari commented, “Pretty much all of my teachers have been enforcing the phone pouches. As far as the policy itself, I don’t think it’s necessary. In the past, students have just kept their phones on them or in their pockets and it never created a big disruption.” However, some freshmen coming
continued on page 3
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