June 7, 2007
Class Notes: Book burning inspires book fair; Shalhevet scribes score; Rocket scientists among us
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Work on the science fair at Kadima begins over the summer, when students are asked to think about a topic that interests them. With the help of science teacher Mark Yutan, the kids formulate a question and narrow the topic down, then come up with a hypothesis that they then test. They often will follow a single topic from year to year, expanding on their own research.This year, Kadima eighth-grader Laura Levy won honorable mention in cognitive science at the state fair and took first prize in the junior division of the county science fair's behavioral sciences category for her work looking for a neurological connection between reading and the ability to spell. Her work also earned the Naval Science Award from the Office of Naval Research, and she was a finalist for the Sweepstakes award.
Kadima eighth-grader Jenna King won honorable mention at the state fair and placed third at the county fair in the plant biology category for her project that found that larger pumpkins produce more seeds per cubic centimeter than smaller pumpkins. Other Kadima projects that entered the County Science Fair included Ilan Elkabetz's research on the effect of Mentos candies on the spew height of soda; Nathaniel Band's research on the survival rate of earthworms unprotected under sunlight; Yarden Harvey's research on the possibility of creating a visual signal by an audible siren; and Sivan Moshe's research on the dissolution of limestone in carbonated water.
Pressman Academy seventh-grader Adam Lipton took third place in the L.A. County Science Fair in applied chemistry for his experiment in "Factors in Flammability: Fire Safety in the Home."
For more information, visit http://www.kadimaacademy.org, http://www.pressmanacademy.org or www.lacoe.edu/science, or call (562) 401-5486.
Prayers Answered
More then 600 students, representing 78 day schools, religious schools and public schools in five states, participated in a writing contest sponsored by Jews for Judaism, on the theme of "My Prayer for Israel."
Rabbi Zalman Kravitz, Jews for Judaism's education director, presented certificates to the winners at a May 20 award ceremony at The Jewish Community Library of Los Angeles, where the essays, poems and songs were displayed.
Among the winners were Shai Kohavi, a fifth-grader at Kadima Hebrew Academy; Sarah Mandelbaum, an eighth-grader at Yavneh Hebrew Academy; Noa Miriam Gilbert-McNabb, an eighth-grader at Bais Rebbe Junior High; Noah Ickowitz, a 10th-grader at Milken Community High School; Rachel Chaya Feld, a ninth-grader at Bais Chana High School; and Rivkah Schefres, a ninth-grader at YULA girls high school.
To see the winning entries or for more information, visit http://www.jewsforjudaism.org.
Relay Raisers
Twenty-two sixth-graders from Heschel West Day School in Agoura participated in the annual Relay for Life in Agoura Hills on April 28 and 29, raising $4,500 for the American Cancer Society. The students walked for a total of more than 40 hours and performed more than 25 hours of community service during the event.
For more information, visit http://www.heschelwest.com.
Jerusalem Is Gold for Students
Four day-school students were honored by the Religious Zionists of Los Angeles (RZLA) for work they submitted to the organization's contest in honor of Yom Yerushalayim, commemorating the day in 1967 when Jerusalem was brought entirely under Jewish control.
RZLA president Dr. Ernie Agatstein and chairman Steve Berger presented $500 Israel bonds to Shireet Ganchrow, a seventh-grader at Yeshiva Aharon Yaakov Ohr Eliyahu, and to Jennifer Newman, an eighth-grader at Shalhevet Middle School, for their essays on Jerusalem. Emek Hebrew Academy eighth-grader Dalia Frend and Shalhevet 10th-grader Sophie Porter-Zasada also won bonds for their artwork on Jerusalem.
The winners presented their work at RZLA's annual Yom Yerushalayim dinner May 15, attended by more than 500 people -- another 100 of whom had to be turned away at the door.
RZLA, a branch of the World Mizrachi Movement, presented its Boneh Tzion Award to Perla and Ben Mark, Holocaust survivors who met and married in Israel before they moved to Los Angeles in 1955. The Boneh Yerushalayim Memorial Tribute was presented posthumously to Rabbi Simon and Shirley Dolgin, pioneers of the Los Angeles Orthodox community.
For more information on RZLA, call (310) 274-6657.
New Jew Headmaster Gets Top Honor
Bruce Powell, headmaster and founder of New Community Jewish High School in West Hills, was awarded the prestigious Covenant Award, a top honor for Jewish educators in North America. The award from the Covenant Foundation, which was given to three educators, carries a $25,000 purse for the individual and $5,000 for the institution. The foundation recognized Powell as a visionary agent of change who operates with kindness and a strong values base.
Powell founded New Community Jewish High School five years ago with 40 students. Today, the school has 328 students and is widely respected in the Jewish community both for its academic program and for its emphasis on ethics and values.
Before founding New Jew, Powell was the first headmaster at Milken Community High School, and he is credited with transforming the school from a small operation to the major institution it is today. Prior to that, Powell was a founding principal at Yeshiva University of Los Angeles High School, a college-prep yeshiva. He has consulted with or helped to open 16 other community schools across the country, and trains educators to become heads of school through the Day School Leadership Training Institute.
Also granted a Covenant Award was Rabbi Philip Warmflash, executive director of the Jewish Outreach Partnership in Philadelphia, which creates programs that help synagogues welcome previously unaffiliated families. Prior to relocating to Philadelphia, Warmflash was the executive director of the Youth Department at the Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles and principal of Los Angeles Hebrew High School.
For more information visit http://www.covenantfn.org. or http://www.ncjhs.org.
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