Chanukah is here! Jews all around the world are lighting their chanukiah and frying their latkes. In Spanish class we have been learning about Latin American Chanukah traditions such as eating sufganiot with guava jelly and latkes with dulce de leche. We also learned to sing the popular Ladino tune Ocho Kandelikas Para Mi (Eight Candles For Me). We watched Youtube clips of the chanukiah lighting ceremony in Boca Stadium in Argentina and we read the story of the Macabees in Spanish.

Chanukah isn’t the only celebration we have been learning about! The quinceañera, which is very similar to the celebration of a Bar/Bat Mitzvah is a ceremony marking a 15-year old girl’s transition from childhood to adulthood in many Hispanic countries. Students learned about some of the traditions at a quinceañer: the vals (waltz) performed by the quinceañera and her court, the last doll the quinceañera brings to her party symbolizing the end of her childhood and the padrinos (godparents or close relatives) who present the quinceañera with a present. The quinceañera celebration is a time during which a young girl begins to think about her future. Spanish students studied the future tense and created a poster which illustrated what they want to do in the future.

Feliz Januka
~Rebecca Weinstein
Spanish Instructor

Students in physics are pictured here firing their trebuchet’s into army of plastic soldiers. This is a continuation in their study of projectile motion and the culminating activity for their first trimester in physics. Next they will be studying forces and their application to objects in motion.

If you’re interested in doing your own building or learning more about the art of siege warfare there are a lot of trebuchet and catapult shows and competitions today.

Two of my favorite sites for pumpkin throwing and competition are: http://science.discovery.com/tv/punkin-chunkin/ and http://punkinchunkin.com/

Hurling pumpkins after Halloween is just good recycling!

~Dean Whitfield
Mathematics & Science Chair

Understanding the Atom

Here at Cardin, our chemistry students are exploring how the idea of the atom has changed over time. Aside from learning about protons, neutrons, and electrons, we have been learning about the important scientists that contributed to our modern understanding of the atom. Ancient Greek philosopher Democritus believed that all matter was composed of tiny blocks called “atomos” which were indivisible. Although he was on the right track, most people didn’t believe it! It wasn’t until John Dalton developed the basis for modern atomic theory, that people believed that matter was made of atoms. Now the challenge was to create a model of the atom. Niels Bohr, Erwin Schrodinger, and Werner Heisenberg all contributed to our understanding of atomic models. With a lot of experiments and a lot of complicated math (see below) we finally had an idea of what the atom looks like! At the Solvay Conference in 1927, the great minds of chemistry and physics came together to develop a model of the atom. The result is basis for modern quantum physics and chemistry. The picture below is from the Solvay conference. You can see some familiar names and faces, including Marie Curie and Albert Einstein.

~Ms. Sloane
Science Instructor

Laboring on Labor Law

Since 2004, Cardin students have travelled near (Crystal City, Washington, DC), far (Boston) and farther (Denver, Toronto) to participate in the annual Moot Beit Din Shabbat and Competition. I have had the pleasure of coaching each year’s team, helping it navigate common and not so common Jewish texts and sources to solve a thorny legal issue from a Jewish perspective. Past cases have dealt with the right to remarry after one’s spouse has presumably died in a natural disaster but whose body cannot be located, operating a beer brewery over Passover, and the right to back out of a promise to donate marrow when that donation would almost certainly save the recipient’s life. Each year has been a rewarding experience for the students, but the year in which our team took top honors (the case dealt with copyright issues) was especially sweet. This year’s case deals with labor law – the right of workers to organize, to strike or threaten to strike, their right to collectively bargain for wages and other benefits. As we all know, these are timely topics. The NBA season hangs in the balance even as I write this, and an Ohio union recently won a battle to maintain its right to collective bargaining in the face of state action to take it away.

The sheer amount of research and writing required, on top of the other demands on our students, always made for a very harried and anxious Moot Beit Din team. To help alleviate that somewhat, we decided to make the Moot Beit Din part of the Judaic Studies curriculum. It’s primary goal is to make the preparation of both the written brief and the oral argument more manageable. But, because it is part of the curriculum, the students also acquire a better view of the development of Jewish law, become more familiar with the background of the texts and those who authored them, and overall, can better appreciate the complexity and the scope of Jewish law.

The Moot Beit Din team looks forward to a year of wonderful Judaic learning. Perhaps we will taste the sweetness of victory, again, as well.

Rabbi Yaakov Chaitovsky is on the Judaics faculty and has coached the Moot Beit Din since his arrival in 2004.

Reading Multiple Books

I just had a flashback to an image of the end table beside my grandfather’s reading chair. He loved to read paperback mysteries and westerns (they used to call these books “oaters,” because they had horses in them and horses like to eat oats). He would always read about ten books at a time, and would stack them in a small tower, each book face down, spine split and open to mark his current page. My preference was to stay with one book at a time, and read it all the way through. I was amazed that my grandfather could read so many novels at once, and still manage to keep track of all the characters and plots.

Maybe he had the right idea. As students, we take several subjects at a time. Our English and history and math and science textbooks could be stacked the same way, at least metaphorically, as we go through different subjects according to the day’s schedule. If we watch any television shows with repeating characters, the experience can be similar to switching among different books after we’ve read a chapter (unless we rent the DVD of a show’s entire season and watch it all in a marathon).

With the new eBook reading devices, I’m surprised to realize I’ve switched to reading several books at the same time. The electronic device saves the place where I last read (just like my grandfather’s technique, but without damaging a book’s spine). I might be reading a horror story, a mystery, and a comedic self-help book, and I can switch among them according to my interest or mood. It’s a different approach to my “pleasure reading” time, but I like it because it ensures that I’m never bored.

And if I get really interested in a specific book, I can always switch back to my old one-at-a-time strategy until I finish!

--Dr. Norman Prentiss
Instructor, English Department Chair

Math at Cardin

All algebra and geometry classes have successfully completed the first two units of their respective courses. Algebra 1 is currently working on solving equations and solving related word problems by writing equations. Algebra 2 is beginning the unit on relations, functions and graphs. After an introduction to relations and functions, the chapter will focus on linear functions. The Geometry class has begun a unit on parallel and perpendicular lines. Soon, they will study the special types of angle pairs that are formed by two coplanar lines and a transversal. The math classes are all off to a great start, with students working hard to master the material.

~Michelle Greenbaum
Math Instructor

A Unique Experience

The most exciting new experience for me this year is being able to teach the 11th grade U.S. Literature class in conjunction with the U.S. History class. When two disciplines work so well together, it’s very exciting to be able to teach both! Though we pride ourselves on integration throughout the curriculum, doing it within two classes that one teacher is teaching can be a unique experience. While learning events that occurred and how people handled them over the course of history, we refer to texts from English class that are expressions of those feelings and events. Understanding the historical context of writings as well as their literary devices and styles has truly enhanced the learning within each of these classes and I’m excited to see how it continues over the course of the entire year!

~Amy Fink
History Instructor/Student Support Services Coordinator

"לא קל להיות יהודי, ולא קל ללמוד עברית. אבל מי אמר שאי אפשר לגוון ולהפוך את השיעורים לשיעורים "כייפים" עם צחוקים, בלי לחץ, לקחת את אוצר המילים שלמדנו, את הדקדוק ולחבר הכל ביחד, ליצור שיחה סביב נושא מסויים, ולהציג את השיחה בפני הכיתה? כך עשינו בשיעורי העברית כאשר למדנו את שם הפועל. חלקתי את הכיתה לשתי קבוצות. חורף וקיץ. כיתה זו לומדת חוברת # 2 "ממזג האוויר למצב רוח" שתי הקבוצות הכינו "ויכוח איזו עונה טובה יותר ומדוע? כאשר כל עונה היתה צריכה להשתמש בכמה שיותר שמות פועל.

פעילות נוספת לא שיגרתית היתה אכילה במסעדה. התלמידים "הלכו לאכול" במסעדה, והיה עליהם להזמין אוכל ושתייה, המלצרים שאלו מה הם רוצים לאכול, התלמידים שאלו שאלות בשם הפועל, גם בפעילות זו התלמידים "נכנסו" לתפקידים באופן טבעי לחלוטין!

התלמידים היו כל כך עסוקים ונלהבים בפעיליות הלא שיגרתיות שהם לא שמו לב שהם בעצם מדברים עברית! המילים יצאו ללא מעצורים, שם הפועל נקנה בצורה טבעית והשימוש בו כבר שגור בפי התלמידים.

~Morah Zohara Chaban

Civics is coming to Cardin!

This year our 10th grade Modern Western Civilization course will include a trimester study of pathways to American citizenship. The goal is for students to gain insights to understanding American citizenship and their role in impacting our democratic system. Developing a more profound understanding of and appreciation for the fundamental principles and values of a free society is another theme for this grading period.

The following are major units of study:
• How have the values and principles embodied in the Constitution shaped American institutions and practices?
• What rights does the Bill of Rights protect?
• What is the importance of civic engagement to American constitutional democracy?

We expect all students to pass a basic citizenship exam that would be required of all perspective citizens to the United States. This twelve week course will provide the foundation to develop proactive citizens who understand how to get involved to generate change in a democracy. I look forward to teaching this course and observing changes in civic understanding and responsibility in our students.

Bob Cantor
Social Studies Chair

A Great Moment at Cardin

This week particularly, I am so proud to be a part of this community! After studying the history and consequences of 9/11, the students (assisted by our talented faculty) put together a presentation to commemorate that terrible day. It was so moving I was brought almost to tears at several points. Groups presented through the media of ritual, art, music, video, slides, creative writing, and then ended with a note of hope regarding possible paths to healing through gemillut hasadim. Having been at this school since its inception, I can say it was truly one of the great moments of Cardin. Kudos to all involved!

~Leslie Smith Rosen
Dean of General Studies

Learning and Growing at Cardin

In March I chose to take a different path than most teens for the summer. I chose to travel to Poland and Israel. I have gone to Camp Ramah in Palmer for 8 summers and this was the final summer to be a "camper". From March until June I studied the Holocaust. I read Night, watched Shindler’s List, and read assorted readings about Poland and the Holocaust. The day finally came that I left. My family and I drove to New York and met the group there, and I was then on my way. After a six hour layover in Austria I was finally in Poland. There was no time to waste; we went straight to our first site. It was a cemetery in Warsaw. The first thing we were told when we entered was to not be sad. This wasn’t a sad cemetery like all the other ones that we had ever visited. This cemetery had survived the Holocaust. A lot of stones were still there and there was a wall made of all the stones that had been destroyed. This wall was made to honor the memory of the people whose graves had been destroyed. After that we stayed our first night in Warsaw. We stayed in Warsaw for 2 days, then Lublin for 1, and Krakow for Shabbat. One of the most memorable sites that we visited was the Rema Shul and his grave. As my tour guide, Moshe Gold, told us about this, a light bulb went off in my head. I had learned about Rabbi Moshe Isserles in school the year before. It was ingrained in my head who he was and why he was important. When my tour guide asked my group if anyone knew who he was, I knew. I felt proud that I was among people who had been going to day school their whole lives and I knew something that everyone else’s schools didn’t cover. Through the whole Poland trip this happened to me. I was very knowledgeable about the sites that we went to because of my time at Cardin. I was very grateful for this and I look forward to another great year of learning and growing as a student at Cardin.

Adina Golob
Class of 2012

A Little Latin Lesson

As the Latin saying goes tempus fugit (time flies), especially during the summer and here we are starting another school year. I remember, as a student, feeling the excitement and anticipation of what is to come, while setting up my new notebooks and folders for each class to start the year with a tabula rasa (clean slate), so to speak. Today, I see that same eagerness in my son, who started fourth grade this week, again tempus fugit. As we sat down to cover his new textbooks after the second day of school or rather to stretch on the “booksocks” (I am not sure exactly when book covers went from paper to strategically designed pillow cases) and he was showing me the table of contents, talking about the topics discussed and flipping through the pages, I was reminded of how early Latin becomes part of our everyday experience and yet most of us never know. Of course, we all know some Latin, it’s at the root of roughly 55-60% of the words that we use. While no one has to know Latin to learn the meaning of vocabulary words (there are dictionaries for that), it certainly gives you a greater appreciation and understanding of our language and makes it much easier. However, while we were looking through the science text, it wasn’t the words that I was noticing; it was the abbreviations and notes at the ends of sections, which I was coincidentally teaching the next day. So I pointed to the “e.g.” after an explanation of external stimulus and said, “You know that’s Latin.” We talked about it for a few minutes, I gave the meaning, which I’m sure he promptly forgot, and we went back to our sock stretching. The next day, I handed a list of six or seven common text abbreviations to my new Latin students and one said, “Hey, now I actually know what that means.” So, here is a little Latin lesson so that you will not just glance over the “ect..” or “i.e” in your textbook, cookbook, or how-to guide but will, “actually know what that means.”

N.B. (nota bene) – “Note well,” pay special attention to something.

e.g. (exempli gratiâ) – “for the sake of example,” indicates an example is given.

i.e. (id est) – “that is,” clarification, indicates the specifics

etc. (et cetera) – “And the rest of the things,” the continuation of a list

a.m. (ante meridiem) – “before midday,” morning

p.m (post meridiem) – “after midday,” afternoon

Enjoy and have a great rest of the year.

~Maureen Beabout

Blessings after Hurricane Irene

As part of Cardin’s Leadership Training Seminar, the students divided into groups and brainstormed ideas on how to connect our liturgy to their experience of Hurricane Irene. Hurricane Irene helped Miles Greenspoon read and say our traditional blessings in a new way.

Miles writes:
As everyone knows, we on the East Coast have just experienced what is a very traumatic natural disaster: Hurricane Irene. Lives have been lost; buildings and homes have been destroyed; towns have been flooded. It was a huge struggle for me to write this prayer because it is hard for me to find solace in knowing that an ever-merciful God can also wreak such havoc on our nation. However, I have created a prayer that I think is pertinent not only to the destruction we have encountered recently, but pertinent to our everyday lives as well:

Praised are You, Lord our God, who is the true judge and the master of creation. Only You have the power to bestow and revoke life, leaving us humble as You fill our world with Your mysteries and blessings. May we find ourselves in awe of your might, as we pray for Your mercy and compassion.

Cardin Students Create Video About Body Image

In conjunction with ifIknew.org and NEW LENS, students were asked to create a video that would spread awareness of an issue facing teens today. Cardin students focused on body image. Please view the final product at:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q96jAe6bCh4

Practical Applications for Trigonometry

Geometry students have recently completed a unit on Right Triangles. They were introduced to the three basic trigonometric functions of sine, cosine, and tangent. Trigonometry means “triangle measurement” and was derived from the ancient Greek language. The ancient Greeks and Hindus used trigonometry as a tool for astronomy. The ancient Greeks used trigonometry to record the location of stars. Muslims used trigonometry and the stars to navigate across the Arabian Desert to Mecca. In the 19th century, The Great Trigonometric Survey of India was done to map out the country and to measure the height of Mount Everest. In 1852, the survey measured the height of Mount Everest to be 29,002 feet, which is close to the height of 29,035 feet measured in 1999. Trigonometry is not only used today in navigation, building and engineering; but also to study the structure of DNA.

~Michelle Greenbaum
Math Instructor

News From the Art Room

Mr. Whitfield’s physics students visited the art room this week for their annual “paint and pendulum” project. They hung ketchup bottles filled with neon paint from the ceiling and placed black paper underneath. By swinging the bottles the students watched life-sized spirograph paintings being created. This is always a highlight of the year for the physics students.

~Elaine Brandes
Art Instructor

Be Quiet So The Fire Won't Hear Us

Many high school students feel invincible. I guess that’s why some of our students take our monthly fire drill nonchalantly. They don’t realize the importance of these drills. Some students even consider them free time. My first year as the director of the Religious School at Chizuk Amuno Congregation, I took on the job of explaining to the entire school the rules and procedures of the fire drill. I took this job seriously. I had, after all, fire on my side, and life and death. The elementary school kids were gathered in the hallway, sitting on the floor as I spoke to them. When there is a fire drill, exit your classrooms in a single file, without talking, and you will go out of the building through that door down the hall to the left. A boy raised his hand, “But Rabbi, what if there is a fire at that door?” "Good question,” I said, “if there is a fire at that door everyone will walk slowly through the door at the other end of the hall.” “But Rabbi, what if there is a fire at that end too?” That would be highly unlikely, but if there is a fire at both doors, everyone will probably be asked to go out a window. “Cool!” shouted several of the boys. “I hope that happens!” Every year without fail, the same exact thing happened. Me, the rabbi, with fire and life and death on my side, could not compete with the fun of climbing out a window.
When I begin to take myself too seriously, I can always count on a kid to bring me back to earth. And having taught kids for so long, I can even do it myself.

As I walked to the parking lot during today’s fire drill, I saw the Early Childhood kids covering their ears. I overheard one child say to his friend, “Be quiet so the fire won’t hear us,” and I started to laugh.

~Rabbi Stuart Seltzer
Dean of Judaic Studies

Kudos to Our Town Cast and Crew

Well it’s back to school after a refreshing break for Pesach (and a busy one for me personally – I got married!), but I am still on a high from what was accomplished the week before Passover – the performances of OUR TOWN. The kids were great – both cast and crew! It’s truly amazing to me how a small school can come together and put on a full-scale production of one of the great plays of the American theatre. More than 65% of our student body was involved in some way – and the rest enjoyed it during at least one performance – some came for two or three! The message is so vital – to live life to the fullest and appreciate it as much as possible (in the words of the character Emily: “do any human beings realize life while they live it – every, every day?”). This is a philosophy that is timeless and timely. And we had such fun doing it, and were so proud of the results of our hard work! Congratulations to everyone involved in OUR TOWN, and thanks to the staff and parents for being so supportive of this major enterprise.

~Leslie Smith Rosen
Dean of General Studies

College Fairs

As I stood on the perimeter of the 25th Annual AIMS College Fair, I enjoyed watching the students, parents, and college representatives interact. Hundreds of 11th graders filled the lobby and conference rooms of the Crown Plaza Hotel on April 12th hoping to meet representative from over 300 institutions. College fairs are typically juniors’ first foray into the college admissions process. Fairs are a chance for students (and parents) to gather a lot of information in a short period of time. While potentially intimidating, college fairs can be a wonderful way for students to begin narrowing down their college lists and create a plan for their applications.

As I watched students gleefully schlep bags filled with college brochures, I also saw the looks of anxiety on the parents’ faces. Many parents stood with me on the perimeter as their children braved the crowds to ask questions ranging from dining hall options and study abroad. At some level, the college fair made this process real for many parents. My advice to parents – enjoy this time with your children. Stand on the proverbial perimeter to a certain degree. Let you children take the lead in the college application process, but be their scaffolding to support them and help them synthesize the vast amount of information they will receive in a short period of time.

~Hallie M. Schein
Director of College Counseling

The Jewish History of Spain

Recently we reviewed a brief history of Jews in Spain. Today, Christianity is the main religion associated with Spanish-speaking countries. This perception is due to the fact that typically the study of Spanish history begins in 1492. In examining the history before that time period, we learned that Spain was part of a Caliphate for hundreds of years and had large Muslim and Jewish populations. During those years, this diverse, multi-ethnic country produced a rich culture. Contributions in science, math, philosophy, architecture, etc. were incorporated from each of the ethnic groups within the society as a whole.

Unfortunately this relatively balanced state of affairs changed with the arrival of militant Christianity. These issues are explored in the DVD by Humanities and Sciences, entitled Acts of Faith, Jewish Civilization in Spain recently purchased by our school.

~Senora Rosemarie Steinberg
Spanish Instructor

The play's the thing (Hamlet, Act 2, Scene 2)

The week before the Cardin school’s production becomes a time in which everyone is focused on the upcoming show. How can it be otherwise when more than 65% of the students are involved? Tonight’s opening performance of Our Town, the first of three performances, is the culmination of weeks of preparation under the talented leadership of Leslie Smith Rosen.

Thornton Wilder’s classic play, Our Town, is one of the most produced and best loved plays of the 20th century. Wilder’s portrayal of everyday life at the turn of the 20th century allows the audience to see the ordinary while pushing it to look for the extraordinary. How many of us can’t relate to a hurried breakfast as we move on to the next task in our day? How often do you take the time to have a meaningful conversation with those in your community? Do you even know your neighbors? Audiences often watch Our Town with a nostalgic longing for a simpler life – before the internet, texting and social media – when neighbors were friends and people carried on conversations face to face.

Cardin is similar to Grover’s Corners in that we know each other and are a genuine community. We are very privileged to be involved in a school in which students and faculty are a community, and where we have meaningful dialogues in and out of the classroom.

Please join us as we perform Our Town, April 11th and 12th, at 7:30 pm in the Louis and Henrietta Blaustein Auditorium at Temple Oheb Shalom.

~Barbie Prince
Head of School

The Eruv and Sale of Chametz- What do they have in common?

Recently, Jon Stewart’s The Daily Show ran a story about the “eruv controversy” currently brewing in the tony village of West Hampton, Long Island. You can watch the video clip here: http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/wed-march-23-2011/the-thin-jew-line. As many might know, the eruv makes it easier for traditional Jews to keep Shabbat. Shabbat laws prohibit certain activities, like carrying keys or tallitot, or pushing baby strollers, in public areas, unless there is an eruv. While the details of eruv are fairly complex, the principle behind it is straightforward. The eruv is a specially constructed boundary that transforms a public thoroughfare into a private one. It is largely invisible and often utilizes existing telephone poles and lines as well as overhead power lines to complete its enclosure. While one cannot do those above activities along with many others in a public area, one may do them in a private area. The laws of eruv can be found in the Talmud in a tractate named, appropriately, Eruvin (the plural of eruv). If you live in Baltimore you probably know that it has an eruv, as do many other cities in which traditional Jews live.

I know what you’re thinking – it’s just another loophole to help traditionally observant Jews “get around” old fashioned and outmoded restrictions. In the video, the reporter deadpans that eruv comes
“from the Hebrew word meaning loophole”. Lots of people missed it, but the reporter was joking! The fact is, eruv here means boundary and it is not a loophole.

Another tradition erroneously seen as a loophole is the pre Passover “sale of chametz”. The Torah explicitly forbids Jews from eating, owning and deriving benefit from all chametz (leavened) products on Passover. It enjoins us to “remove all chametz from our homes” for the entire holiday. The rabbis, however, recognized that it would be difficult and even wasteful to dispose of all of the chametz products in our possession prior to the festival. This was especially so for those who made their living through the liquor business, for example. With typical rabbinic ingenuity, they arrived at the solution of allowing us to sell the chametz to a gentile for the duration of the holiday.This sale of chametz is a fully legal and actual sale and has become a time-honored tradition. Individual Jews and many food and beverage companies owned by Jews sell their chametz. It is not a loophole. Like eruv, it is a complex procedure with straightforward results, not the least of which is making it easier to observe Jewish law authentically and fully.

Because it is a complicated procedure, it has been customary to allow an experienced rabbi handle the sale itself. Perhaps your synagogue’s rabbi provides this service. But if not, and as a service to the members and friends of the Cardin School family, I am happy to act as your agent for the sale this year. If you would like to have me do this on your behalf, please use the handy form below.

Best wishes for a wonderfully joyous and kosher Pesach!

~Rabbi Yaakov Chaitovsky
Judaics Instructor
________________________________________________________

I _____________________________________ fully empower and permit Rabbi Yaakov Chaitovsky to sell all chametz and chametz products possessed by me, knowingly or unknowingly, as defined by Torah and Rabbinic law, and to lease all places wherein chametz owned may be found. This transaction will be in effect from Monday, April 18, 2011 at 10:00 am and will continue until 9 pm*** on Tuesday, April 26, 2011.

Name:_______________________________________________
Address of all places where your chametz is located: ___________________________________________________________

Interdisciplinary Teaching

As an English teacher, I am always exploring avenues to teach poetry and literature in other disciplines. Well, the senior elective, preparing them for their upcoming Israel trip has given me this opportunity. Last week we had the opportunity to study one of Israel’s most famous poets, Yehuda Amicai. Amicai, considered by many to be Israel’s greatest poet, revels in the land and scenery in his poetry: often, his poems juxtapose the land of Israel with the individual’s struggle. Because of this, many Israeli schoolchildren still read and study his works.

Below I am going to post a few of my favorite Amicai poems. Look for the strong images brought out by his colloquial language. This, I believe, is what makes Amicai a master poet: his blending of images and language to create a masterful portrait of modern Israel.

A Man In His Life
A man doesn't have time in his life
to have time for everything.
He doesn't have seasons enough to have
a season for every purpose. Ecclesiastes
Was wrong about that.

A man needs to love and to hate at the same moment,
to laugh and cry with the same eyes,
with the same hands to throw stones and to gather them,
to make love in war and war in love.
And to hate and forgive and remember and forget,
to arrange and confuse, to eat and to digest
what history
takes years and years to do.

A man doesn't have time.
When he loses he seeks, when he finds
he forgets, when he forgets he loves, when he loves
he begins to forget.

And his soul is seasoned, his soul
is very professional.
Only his body remains forever
an amateur. It tries and it misses,
gets muddled, doesn't learn a thing,
drunk and blind in its pleasures
and its pains.

He will die as figs die in autumn,
Shriveled and full of himself and sweet,
the leaves growing dry on the ground,
the bare branches pointing to the place
where there's time for everything.

An Arab Shepherd Is Searching For His Goat On Mount Zion
An Arab shepherd is searching for his goat on Mount Zion
And on the opposite hill I am searching for my little boy.
An Arab shepherd and a Jewish father
Both in their temporary failure.
Our two voices met above
The Sultan's Pool in the valley between us.
Neither of us wants the boy or the goat
To get caught in the wheels
Of the "Had Gadya" machine.

Afterward we found them among the bushes,
And our voices came back inside us
Laughing and crying.

Searching for a goat or for a child has always been
The beginning of a new religion in these mountains.

Tourists
Visits of condolence is all we get from them.
They squat at the Holocaust Memorial,
They put on grave faces at the Wailing Wall
And they laugh behind heavy curtains
In their hotels.
They have their pictures taken
Together with our famous dead
At Rachel's Tomb and Herzl's Tomb
And on Ammunition Hill.
They weep over our sweet boys
And lust after our tough girls
And hang up their underwear
To dry quickly
In cool, blue bathrooms.

~Joel Neft
English Instructor

Meeting Yosef Begun

This morning we had the honor and privilege of hearing from Yosef Begun. Yosef Begun is well known to anyone who was involved in the Soviet Jewry movement as one of the "fathers" of the Refusenik Movement. In 1971 his request for an emigration visa to Israel was denied and he lost his job. Mr. Begun taught Hebrew and produced and distributed anti-government literature, bringing him under government scrutiny. He was arrested and charged with "social parasitism" because his profession was not recognized by the government. After nearly two years in Siberia, he illegally returned to Moscow, was caught and sent back for a second time. After his release in 1980, he began publishing articles in the Western press about the ordeal and plight of Soviet Jewry. He was arrested for treason in 1982 and sentenced to 12 years in prison. In 1987, a massive public outcry, including an appeal from President Ronald Reagan led to his release. Today, Mr. Begun lives in Jerusalem.

Mr. Begun started his presentation with a special thank you to Shoshana Cardin for her role in inspiring and working with the American Jewish community to fight Soviet oppression and to rescue Soviet Jews. He presented Mrs. Cardin with a drawing from Natan Sharansky's (another Russian Refusenik) book. The drawing was a replica of one that Natan Sharansky found on the wall of his cell during a year in which he was interrogated by the KGB. The drawing was a star of David surrounded by the Hebrew words, "Hazak, hazak v'ematz, Yosef Begun." The words translated mean "strength, strength, and be brave, Yosef Begun." These words were written by Yosef Begun on the cell wall and inspired Mr. Sharansky to stay strong during his year of interrogation and subsequent years of isolation in Soviet prisons.

In addition to telling stories about his time as a Russian Refusenik, Mr. Begun also related several stories about his release, and his life after he was able to leave Russia. One time he traveled to Washington, DC and met with then-President Ronald Reagan. President Reagan handed him a metal bracelet inscribed with the name of a Russian Refusenik on it. These bracelets were worn by many active in the Soviet Jewry movement in the 1970's and 1980's, to help us remember that there were Jews living in Russia that were imprisoned because of their beliefs. President Reagan noted to Mr. Begun that he was thrilled that he no longer had to keep the bracelet since the doors to Soviet Jews were no longer closed. He gave his bracelet to Mr. Begun. Today, Mr. Begun also presented a replica of the bracelet to Mrs. Cardin.

There were other interesting, inspiring, and heart-breaking stories that Mr. Begun shared with us today. It was truely an honor and privilege to meet him!!

We are grateful to Mr. Howard Rosenbloom and Mrs. Shoshana S. Cardin for making Mr. Begun's visit possible.

~Anne Tanhoff Greenspoon
Director of Admissions

Genetics

Cardin’s biology classes are learning about genetics and tracing genetic disorders through pedigrees (like family trees designed to show how a disorder is passed down through generations)

We studied the pedigree of Queen Victoria to study how Hemophilia, a disorder that stops blood clotting after an injury, was passed throughout the royal families of Europe. Hemophilia is a sex linked disorder which is carried on the X chromosome. Because females are XX and males are XY, males are more likely to have the disorder. Females can be carriers although they are phenotypically normal. Carriers can pass on the recessive disorder to their children. Queen Victoria was a carrier of hemophilia. She passed this to her daughters Alice and Beatrice (also carriers) as well as her son Leopold who died from the disorder. Many of her nine children went on to become Kings and Queens of other European countries. By studying this pedigree we can learn how this genetic disorder is part of the royal tradition.

~Alexandra Sloane
Science Instructor

Money Management

It’s that time of year again.
Only three weeks left to go.
No, I’m not talking about Passover, I’m counting down to tax filing day.

Earlier this year, the students in Personal Finance learned how declaring “allowances” on Form W-4 filed with employers, determined how much federal tax was withheld from each of their paychecks. We traced how withholdings flow from paychecks to Form 1040 filed annually, and discussed how filers have a balance due to the government, or get a refund for overpaying taxes.

A survey released this week, commissioned by NEFE, the National Endowment for Financial Education, revealed that 30% of filers intentionally withheld more from their paychecks so they can receive larger refunds when they file their returns. "Conventional advice says receiving a tax refund is like letting the IRS have your money interest-free all year," says Brent Neiser, CFP®, senior director of Strategic Programs and Alliances for NEFE. "But for most people, it makes sense to take a larger refund." Neiser says Americans should base their withholding decisions on how they will behave with their money. "If you’re afraid you’ll waste that extra money each pay period, electing to receive a refund could be a wise strategy—as long as you use the lump sum carefully toward financial goals," says Neiser.

Experts suggest several options for using your tax refund wisely.
• Pay down debt – especially balances on high interest rate credit cards
• Start an emergency fund – unexpected expenses should be anticipated, strive for accumulating six months worth of living expenses in reserve
• Save for the future – take advantage of the tax benefit of contributions to an IRA
• Prepay bills – prepaying a mortgage payment or loan can save you interest in the long run

As with all budgeting tips, the important thing to remember is to make informed decisions about money management. Hopefully, our Cardin seniors have learned that lesson well.

~Jan Schein
CFO, Instructor Personal Finance

Letters to Gilad Shalit's Parents

As all of you know, this is the fifth year that Gilad Shalit has been held captive in Gaza. Last week, people in Israel stood for 5 minutes in silence, one minute for each year.

Gilad’s mother wrote a letter to her son, though she cannot deliver it to him. A copy of the letter was forwarded to me and I shared it with my Hebrew classes. The students wrote letters in conversational Hebrew to Gilad’s parents to let them know that we are thinking of them, and we pray for his return home soon.

I share some of my students' words:

Alex H: “...my class recently read and translated your message to Gilad. It was a heart-wrenching message and I wish you all the luck in the world with getting your son back...”

Dora: “...I can’t begin to describe what must be going on in your life right now. A mother’s heart is the strongest feeling in the world. I am sure there isn’t one second when he isn’t thinking of you...”

Bobby W: “... Although he is not with you, there is a bond between mother and son and father and son that can not be broken, no matter what happened... it is important to remember the good times you have had together and hopefully God will bring him home soon.”

Yeriah R: “...I am sure during the night he is thinking of you, his friends and Israel just like you can not stopping thinking of him and trying to bring him home safely...”

Nora S: “... I have been following the news about your son and I wanted you to know that he is in my prayers. Today in my Hebrew class, my teacher read your speech. I can not even begin to imagine what you must be going through...”

Matt D: “it’s important to have a positive attitude through this hard time. I pray and hope for his return home safely and healthy...”

If any additional students want to write letters to Gilads' parents, please do so and give them to me, I will send them to his parents.

Thank you.

~Morah Zohara Chaban
Instructor of Hebrew

Cartesian Coordinate Plane

The Algebra 1 class is completing their work on the Graphs and Linear Equations unit. They have been graphing linear equations on a rectangular coordinate plane, also referred to as the Cartesian coordinate plane. The word “Cartesian” is named after the French mathematician and philosopher Rene Descartes (1596-1650). He invented the method of visualizing numbers as points on a graph and equations as geometric figures. Descartes succeeded in merging the fields of algebra and geometry to create Coordinate Geometry.

~Michelle Greenbaum
Math Instructor

Taking a Cue from Cal Ripken, Jr.

When I was a little boy, I lived and breathed Orioles baseball. I followed every game I could on the television and radio, I checked the MLB box scores and statistics in the newspaper every day, and I worshipped Brady Anderson, Robby Alomar, Rafael Palmeiro, B.J. Surhoff, and Mike Bordick (even though he couldn’t hit). But there was no one—no one—more heroic to me than Cal Ripken, Jr.

Cal was an All-Star virtually every season he played, a two-time Gold Glove winner and is one of the few MLB players to exceed 3,000 career hits. Still, he is probably most famous for breaking Lou Gehrig’s consecutive games record—Cal started and played in 2,632 consecutive games for the Orioles. He was an insane work horse who did not quit, and for this he earned the nickname Iron Man.

One day, my father told me something about Cal that surprised me—that although he was easily the strongest fielder on the Orioles, he was known for being the first to arrive to fielding practice and the last to leave. Although Cal was the best, he practiced the most. (Incidentally, my father could have been making all this up. Do fathers make up life lessons? Perhaps this is a topic for another post. Suffice it to say that I believed him at the time and still do.)
The idea of godlike Cal Ripken repeatedly drilling a basic baseball movement has shaped the way I view learning. A lot of people—high schoolers, college students, and adults—see learning as a race. It’s not. Masterful knowledge of a subject requires deep, unshakable fundamentals. We acquire those fundamentals only through long, patient experience.

The past two years at Cardin have really driven this point home for me. In them, I’ve become a tremendously stronger mathematician, and I happen to have done this all while teaching subject matter I already knew cold. Rereading, relearning, and expressing mathematical ideas in front of a class for three hours a day has expanded and strengthened my fundamentals immeasurably. This has been true of every class I’ve taught, even areas I considered completely elementary. I’ve been taking ground ball after ground ball for two years, and suddenly I’m a much better shortstop.

Deep mastery of any field is terribly expensive and can only be bought with time. So find something you love and approach it with patience and thoroughness. Read, reread, then come back later and reread some more. If it’s an option, spend a semester in college to revisit the material you learned in your high school AP class—you will be surprised by how much new insight you get out of a new professor, a different book and a fresh look at the subject. Work slowly through your exercises instead of rushing through them like they’re chores. Learn patiently and thoroughly.

Long, patient learning does not offer immediate satisfaction, but it pays off huge over time. So come to practice early, take a million and one ground balls, and leave late. Learn to love taking little steps forward instead of carelessly racing ahead. One day, you’ll wake up surprised at how far you’ve come.

~Todd Bryant
Math Instructor

In Times of Crisis

Following the accident that involved Nathan Krasnopoler, an ’09 alum, I’ve been thinking a lot about how precious life is. I’ve been so worried about him and hoping for healing and recovery but also concerned about the unexpected events that life throws at us. I’ve been feeling vulnerable, worrying about the idea that such a devastating event could happen to one of my kids, putting myself in Nathan’s parents’ shoes. My heart goes out to them and they are constantly on my mind. The fact that they are handling this tragedy with such bravery and strength is comforting to me. They are masterfully towing the line between being hopeful and realistic.

I’ve also felt comforted by the outpouring of support from the Cardin community, including students, faculty, and all of our families. It’s crises like these that illuminate the care, compassion, and kindness that we share and for me, that helps ease my mind, if even for just the smallest way.

~Jackie Villet
School Counselor

Eggs… Essential for any scientist tool kit

Our Honors Physics class is currently embroiled in an ‘egg drop’ project where they are tasked with building a contraption built of soda straws that can save an egg from a great fall. This project is just one of many amazing opportunities for study using eggs. Here are a few to try at home.

1. Getting a hard boiled egg into a bottle (a wonderful demonstration of vacuum, atmospheric pressure, temperature as it relates to pressure, and kinetic theory of gasses):
http://www.wikihow.com/Get-an-Egg-Into-a-Bottle

2. Dissolving the shell of a raw egg (a wonderful exploration of acid base reactions):

http://www.exploratorium.edu/cooking/eggs/activity-naked.html

3. Examining the interior structures and characteristics of a raw egg (use a flashlight, light table, or window after dissolving the egg above):

http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/media/182/The-structural-components-of-an-egg

Hope you enjoy your egg explorations!

~Cardin Science Department

The Home Stretch

As the weather heats up (at least for today) and February turns to March, we look to the last third of the school year. Next week is interim week, “A Capital Week,” which for many students is the “beginning of the end.” Interim week, a signature program of the Cardin School, takes our students and faculty out of the traditional classroom to learn together for a week of intensive, experiential programs around a specific theme. This year we are exploring our nation’s capital, which is practically in our own backyards. The entire school population will travel to DC to tour governmental facilities, meet with government officials, visit museums and monuments and attend a luncheon at the Israeli embassy. I am sure you will read more about interim week both here and in our school eNewsletter.

Interim week also serves as a renewal week, recharging students and faculty to enthusiastically complete the year. When we return to the classrooms on March 14, we move at lightning speed to the end of the school year. Within what seems like a blink of an eye, we celebrate Purim, Pesach and Shavuot; we remember the Holocaust, reflect on the transition to Medinat Israel, and remember those Israeli soldiers who fell to keep Israel, and those American soldiers who fell to keep us, free. We produce Our Town, acknowledge our athletes at the sports banquet, and celebrate our entire student body at the Awards Ceremony. The junior class travels to look at colleges. The seniors are the busiest, preparing for AP Exams and finals, the prom, their senior Israel experience and graduation.

Come and join us as we complete the final third of the 2011-2012 school year!

~Barbie Prince
Head of School

Literary Reflections

As winter — though it hardly seems apropos to call it that — descends and we enter another spring, I want to take this opportunity to share 2 of my favorite spring poems. Poetry, like the weather, can change our moods, for the better or worse. When we experience a poem, we, like the changing weather, adapt ourselves to it. The first poem was one of Wordsworth’s earlier poems. It blends the light, playful air of spring with the freedom of thought. Read it below, and let me know what images stick out for you

Lines Written in Early Spring William Wordsworth (1798)

I heard a thousand blended notes,
While in a grove I sate reclined,
n that sweet mood when pleasant thoughts Bring sad thoughts to the mind.

To her fair works did Nature link
The human soul that through me ran;
And much it grieved my heart to think
What man has made of man.

Through primrose tufts, in that green bower, The periwinkle trailed its wreaths; And ’tis my faith that every flower Enjoys the air it breathes.

The birds around me hopped and played,
Their thoughts I cannot measure:--
But the least motion which they made
It seemed a thrill of pleasure.

The budding twigs spread out their fan,
To catch the breezy air;
And I must think, do all I can,
That there was pleasure there.

If this belief from heaven be sent,
If such be Nature’s holy plan,
Have I not reason to lament
What man has made of man?

In the second poem that I am going to share, is by Robert Herrick. What strikes me about this poem is the strong images of brooks, blossoms, birds, etc… Each one conjures up a sense of the freedom in spring, of the joyous youth and innocence brought about by the season. What mood does this poem leave you with?

Robert Herrick (1591-1674)
Hesperides (1648)

I sing of brooks, of blossoms, birds, and bowers:
Of April, May, of June, and July flowers.
I sing of Maypoles, Hock-carts, wassails, wakes, Of bridegrooms, brides, and of their bridal cakes.

I hope you enjoy these poems as much as I did; they offer us a glimpse into our upcoming season: spring. May you have a warm winter and a light, playful spring.

~Joel Neft
English Instructor

Class of 2007 Cardin Alumni Get Ready to Move On

As a parent of two Cardin graduates from the Class of 2007, I am frequently asked how the girls are doing. Four years ago, daughters Chelsea and Johanna were looking forward to high school graduation and exuberant about college acceptances. Now they are only three months away from college commencement and exuberant about their future.


Last week Chelsea received an acceptance to the Social, Decision, and Organizational Science doctoral program in the Department of Psychology at the University of Maryland. She will spend the next five years working in the Mind Perception and Morality Lab of Dr. Kurt Gray. Chelsea’s interest in moral judgments and their real world implication may well have been sparked by the integrated curriculum she experienced at Cardin. Who knows how many other students in Mr. Cantor’s AP Psychology course will go on to obtain their PhD? For an idea of what Chelsea will be researching, check out a presentation by Dr. Gray delivered a few months ago at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KgnR3iIjO_c .

Johanna also received an honor last week. The President of Franklin & Marshall College requested that Johanna introduce David Ferriero, a guest speaker invited to address the full campus community. Mr. Ferriero was appointed by President Obama to serve as the Archivist of the United States responsible for overseeing all branches of the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) and the 13 Presidential Libraries. Johanna worked as an intern with the Legislative Center of the NARA last summer, a wonderful experience which motivated her to apply to Masters programs in Public History – a specialized field of history linking archival and library sciences with outreach to the public. When he thanked Johanna for her introduction, Mr. Ferriero commented that NARA would be delighted to welcome Johanna back to work at the Archives. Next month Cardin students will stop at the National Archives as part of their Interim Week activities. Perhaps one of them will be the next Cardin student to be inspired by the power of seeing primary source documents.

As the first Cardin graduates complete their college studies this spring, we are equally proud of them. They made their mark on campuses across the county and will now enter various fields of scholarly work and professions, well equipped to become leaders of tomorrow.

~Jan Schein
CFO, Financial Literacy Instructor

Spanish Celebrations

During the frigid weeks of January, a Spanish class at Cardin was learning about “celebrations”. One of the prevalent customs in the festivities of Spanish cultures is the breaking open of a container filled with candies and toys.  While the custom is believed to have originated in China, in Italy in the 1600’s candies were placed in mud jars and then broken open with a stick. These celebratory customs were brought to the Spanish-speaking world by the Italians and Spaniards and have been adopted into these cultures. Celebrations unite family and friends during joyful times and sad times. The main purpose is for communal support and sharing. So, we can say the candies and gifts in a container which is broken open is a way of sharing. Some children will get exactly what they want, others will leave crying. This is symbolic of the joys and the sadness of life. Both are necessary in our journey.

In the Spanish III class, students created their own craft (a piñata), played a game together (broke it open with a stick to make candies fall out), and gave one another a gift (the gift of sharing the experience together). We talked about the value of family and relationships in the Hispanic cultures and observed that, although there are many variations in how families of other cultures celebrate, the needs and purpose of “celebrations” is the same. Do you ever wonder how our future celebrations will change as the U.S. and Latin America and Spain continue to share each ones’ customs and festivities? For me, it sounds like lots more “fun”.

~Rosemarie Steinberg
Spanish Instructor

Radical Expressions

Algebra 2 students are currently working with radical expressions which use the radical sign. The radical sign for square root was introduced in 1525 by Christoff Rudolff (1499-1545) in his book Die Coss (The Unknown). This was the first German textbook on Algebra. It was one of the earliest printed books to use decimal notation and it also introduced the concept x^0 =1. By the seventeenth century, the radical sign was widely accepted. It is believed that Rudolff used the radical sign because it resembled the lower case “r”, for radix.


Arabic writers used the word “radix” (root) because they thought of a square number growing out of a root or being extracted from a root. Late Medieval writers used the symbol Rx to represent radix. The symbol Rx^2 (for square root) was used in 1484.

~Michelle Greenbaum
Math Instructor

Wellness Day

When you think of what it means to be healthy, what do you think about? Is it the food you eat? Medication you take? The exercise you do?


Last Friday, Cardin students and faculty had the opportunity to explore each of these things during our second annual Wellness Day. From physical fitness testing with trainers from Brick Bodies, to local professionals providing seminars on nutrition, acupuncture, sleep, cravings, and skin care, and then on to fitness classes, we got a taste of it all! Friday was a blast—watching students and teachers hula hoop, participate in Zumba, Yoga, & Core training after a day of learning how to live healthy lifestyles, was incredible. Can’t wait for next year!

~Amy Fink
Coordinator of Student Support Services, History Instructor

Taking Care of Ourselves

In the Shulchan Aruch (a compilation of Jewish law) we read that “it is a positive commandment to be very careful and guard oneself from any life-threatening obstacle as it is said, ‘… take utmost care and watch yourselves scrupulously’ (Deut.4:9)”. It is quite fascinating to me, that the rabbis would include taking care of one’s body as a positive commandment. Hillel is famous for calling his Friday bath a mitzvah, as he perceived it as taking care of the divine image and likeness. In Judaism we do not encourage ascetic behaviors nor do we treat our bodies as the enemy of spirituality, but rather we take care of them.


Today at Cardin we all participate in Wellness Day. Both students and teachers will enjoy various lectures lead by experts in the field (on subjects ranging from acupuncture and dietary choices, to the science of sleep and skin cancer prevention) as well as a number of physical activities. I, personally, look forward to a class in Mixed Martial Arts and a workout to strengthen my body’s core. Students and teachers can also choose a yoga or zumba class, or even try to become a hula hoop king or queen.

This day is not just a “fun day”, which would be very appropriate for Rosh Chodesh Adar, but also a day of learning and living Torah – we are fulfilling the mitzvah of taking care of our health and well being. And because we are taught that ein kemach ein Torah, ein Torah ein kemach – “where there is no physical nourishment there can be no Torah, where there is no Torah, there is no way to acquire physical nourishment," we will also enjoy a salad bar lunch. Put on some comfortable clothes and join us for Cardin Wellness Day!

~Rochel Johanna Czopnik
Judaics Instructor

Call Me An Optimist

It's been a crazy winter, not that I'm complaining about the snow days and delays, but it's starting to get a little ridiculous. Today is Groundhog's Day. An old friend used to say that it was the most optimistic day of the year. We all go around hoping that the little guy will see his shadow, giving us a break on the winter season. And today, he did see it, which for me, brightened an otherwise dismal day in just the smallest way. You see, today I learned that a former classmate of many Cardin students passed away suddenly on Tuesday. It's a devastating event that made me want to hug my own children a little tighter. It's tragedies like these that make you realize how fragile life is. As the school counselor, I met with all of the students who were personally affected. I also contacted each of their parents in an effort to keep the lines of communication open. And in another small way my otherwise dismal day was brightened. I took pause to reflect on how close we are in the Cardin community. How much we care about one another. And how we support each other when needed. Call me an optimist.

~Jackie Villet

School Counselor

Icy Roads and Salt

On a day like today, when the roads are a combination of snow, sleet, and ice, you might get the curious question from so many kids: “Why are the putting salt on the road?”


The answer is: Freezing Point Depression. A common example is the lowering of the freezing point of water (a solvent) when salt is added (solute). The combination of salt and water freezes at a lower temperature than 32 degrees Fahrenheit resulting in a slushy road-way and not a frozen one. A great way to experience this phenomenon with your kids at home is making ice cream in a bag. You’ll use rock salt and ice to get a solution that is below the freezing point of your favorite ice cream ingredients (mine include the whole milk, cream, sugar, and vanilla). Put the ice cream mixture into a sealable sandwich bag, put that in another sealable freezer bag, add ice and salt, close and mix for 20 or so minutes.

The following sites have some great instructions that are easy to follow:

http://crafts.kaboose.com/ice-cream-in-a-bag.html

http://familyfun.go.com/recipes/homemade-ice-cream-in-a-bag-684806/

http://www.ehow.com/how_4879437_ice-cream-bag-minutes.html

~Dean Whitfield
Math and Science Department Chair

הכל התחיל משיר לט"ו בשבט

לפני כשבועיים חשבתי לשתף את חבריי לעבודה בשיר ספר שמתאים לט"ו בשבט. כוונתי הייתה ללמוד אותו מחדש עם חבריי לעבודה. "הקולגות" אהבו מאד את השיר וחשבו שאולי כדאי יהיה לנו ללמד את התלמידים שלנו את השיר.

התהליך החינוכי התחיל "שם". ישבנו חבריי ואני למדנו ונתחנו את השיר. הרעיונות עלו ושצפו אותנו את מוחנו ואת רגשותינו והתאהבנו מחדש. נשאלה השאלה, כיצד נוכל לרגש את התלמידים ולגרום להם להתאהב בשיר וברעיונותיו ...

כעבור שבוע,

חגיגת ט"ו בשבט. שחקנית בקהילה מציגה מונולוג של השיר. סופר ומשורר מהקהילה לימד את הילדים לכתוב שיר חדש תוך שימוש בפורמט שהשיר הקיים מציע. אני שרה את השיר ומורה אחר מלווה אותי בפסנתר.

תלמידים מציגים את שיריהם מול חבריהם בבית ספר.

הכל התחיל משיר אחד קטן אך גדול של , נתן זך, "כי האדם עץ השדה".

אנחנו אנשי חינוך אחראיים ללמד לעניין ולרגש את התלמידים שלנו, להעניק להם חוויה משמעותית שתשמש להם מקפצה לחשיבה גבוהה, ביקורתית ומעמיקה יותר.

הכל התחיל משיר קטן ובהחלט לא נגמר "שם"

~Beatrice Maimon

Hebrew Instructor

On Snow Days

One of the “benefits” of working at a school is the deliciousness of snow days and delays. As much as anyone loves school (and believe me, teachers at schools like Cardin do!) there’s nothing quite as precious as an extra hour of sleep in the morning, often unexpected, sometimes anticipated. Snow days not only provide a break to the monotony that can so easily characterize the dark days of January and February, they also remind us of our place in the universe – there’s a lot we can control, but certainly not everything. “Weather events” serve as a warning that we humans are limited, and to some extent we must accept this and deal with it. Our attitude can affect our experience: if we think only of the clearing of our cars, we will miss out on the winter wonderland that glistens around us. Something I’ve learned to appreciate in my years at Cardin is how our head of school determines what will be the school’s response: we have time off when we genuinely need it, not as a reflexive reaction to the threat of snow. A week ago, snow was predicted but no more than a dusting appeared – but Baltimore and Howard Counties had decided too early and delayed school for what was essentially a non-happening. In the case of Cardin, we reacted to the actual event and didn’t lose valuable school time. On Wednesday, January 12, 2011, however, we did open two hours late, and the sun dazzling off the snow lit up the many classrooms with large windows.

~Leslie Smith Rosen
Dean of General Studies

Snowy Trivia

As we progress into winter, we are constantly surrounded by rumors of snow. Students everywhere are wearing their pajamas inside out in hopes of having a snow day.

Here are some Snowy Science Facts:
 It’s not true that no 2 snowflakes are alike.
 Snowflakes are composed of crystals—the more crystals, the larger the snow flake.
 There are 6 main types of snowflakes: columns, needles, plates, dendrites, columns with plates, and irregular.
 One year Valdez, Alaska received 260 inches of snow.
 New York State has the snowiest cities in the United States (you can vouch for this if you’ve been to Buffalo).
 To be classified as a blizzard, wind speeds must reach 35 mph and visibility less than a ¼ mile.
 Billions of snowflakes will fall during a single storm.
 The average snowflake falls at 3.1 mph.

~Ms. Alexandra Sloane
Science Instructor

Tu B'Shevat in Israel

חודש שבט הוא החודש האחד עשר אם מתחילים את השנה לפי חודש ניסן שהוא החודש הראשון לפי התורה, והחודש החמישי אם מתחילים את השנה מחודש תשרי שהוא החודש הראשון לפי הלוח היהודי.
המשנה קבעה את ט"ו בשבט כראש השנה לאילנות. מימי התלמוד ועד עתה ט"ו בשבט נקבע כחג.

במשך הזמן, החג קיבל צביון עממי, ומנהג אכילת פירות יבשים מארץ ישראל נשתרש בחג. בישראל תלמידי בתי הספר יוצאים למקומות שונים ונוטעים עצים
.
ט"ו בשבט הוא החג המדגיש את הקשר שלנו לארץ ישראל.
רבים הם הילדים והילדות שהשם שלהם קשור לטבע כמו: טבע, סתיו, שחר,
לעצים כמו: אילן- אילנה, אורן- אורנית, שקד, גפן ועוד...
לפרחים כמו: נופר, שושנה, ורד,
למים כמו: יובל, ירדן, ימית, אביטל,
בגולה נוהגים לתרום כסף לקרן הקיימת לישראל האחראית על נטיעת העצים ביערות ישראל.

~Zohara Chaban
Hebrew Instructor

The Voladores de Papantla

I spent winter break in Mexico city from Dec. 25th until Dec. 31. Mexico D.F.,usually hustling and bustling with traffic and people, quiets down
significantly. Business activities slow down, or close down for Christmas
celebrations. Driving into the city from Metepec,(where I was staying)can
take up to two hours. With so many people out of the city I was able to
reach the center of Mexico D.F. in about half the time. On Thursday, Dec. 30 I visited the Museum of Anthropology. The voladores de papantla were perfoming their ritual ceremony at the park near the Museum of Anthropology. The “voladores” are believed to have originated in pre-colonial central Mexico in a region called Veracruz. It is said that the ritual was an attempt by the native people to please the gods during a period of drought. The “voladores”, or “hombres pajaros”, climb up a 30 foot pole. Tied to the pole, they launch themselves into the air. One dancer remains on top of the pole turning the wheel to which the flyers are attached and slowly releases rope as the “voladores” slowly descend to the ground.

Watching this ritual is a breathtaking experience. There are no safety nets. This was just one of many obvious expressions of the integration of traditional cultures into modern Mexico.

~Rosemarie Steinberg
Spanish Instructor

New Tool to Combat Cyberbullying

Today I read an article about a new program called MouseMail which will provide parents with a new weapon against cyberbullying. MouseMail works by filtering children's emails for inappropriate words and unknown contacts and forwards these messages to a parents' account. The chairman of the board of Safe Communications, Les Ottolenghi, says that the system is "designed to help a parent manage their child's relationship with the Internet and their relationship, in turn, to their child."

While I'm sure many kids would be disappointed by their parents' involvement in their personal life, I'm thrilled to read that programs and others like it exist. I understand that policing an adolescent's emails and texts is an impossible mission for parents, which is where MouseMail would come in handy in helping protect children from dangers that are so foreign to us adults. Bullying has tamped up to stratosphere-ic levels in recent years making the need for systems like this all the more imperative. G-d knows, parenting is hard enough and we could use all of the support we can get!

~Jackie Villet
School Counselor

Personal Finance Students Go Catalog Shopping The "Old Fashioned" Way

If your house is anything like mine, you’re still digging out from under the mountain of catalogs that arrived in December. Although online shopping has taken the lead in off-site buying, those glossy catalogs are still used to grab your attention and entice you to send Aunt Susie a basket of Wolferman’s muffins, or your brother-in-law a snazzy gizmo from Sharper Image. When surveyed, I discovered that all of our seniors had shopped online and paid for their purchases with the click of the mouse, but few had ever had to wrestle with reading the small print on an order form in a catalog and write a check to pay for their purchase. As a culminating activity to our unit on banking, the students in Personal Finance had that opportunity during their last class in December.
Each student received a catalog and a sample checkbook (courtesy of our friends at Susquehanna Bank) and told that they could buy anything in the catalog up to $250. The class was cautioned to be aware of possible sales taxes and shipping fees. Completed order forms and checks were reviewed for accuracy. The class discussed why some vendors must charge sales tax and others have no such legal requirement in Maryland.

With the advent of electronic banking and money management software, this generation of young people may not have to struggle over pencil and paper bank reconciliations, but they do need an understanding of how to monitor their money as it travels through the banking system. Our classroom catalog shopping experience was an enjoyable way to help demonstrate that lesson.

~Jan Schein
CFO, Instructor Personal Finance

Enjoying Winter Break

Winter break is just that- a time for a break. It allows students, faculty and families a time to recharge, reflect, spend time with family, take trips and gear up for the rest of the school year. I know that I needed those 10 days to NOT get up at 5:30 (I was successful 30% of the time!), NOT put on my “school clothes” and NOT have meetings every evening. I also used the time to clean out closets, drawers and cabinets, finish a crafts project that I started this past summer, visit some museums with my son, and catch up on some book and anime series.

An example of how the Cardin students see each other as family is illustrated by how often they made plans to see one other. It began on the Thursday prior to break when I overheard students planning lunches, movies and sleepovers. Throughout break they got together in pairs and groups to see one other. Only at Cardin? Probably not. But, when potential families and students perceive the size of Cardin as a negative, this is a shining example of how it is not!
Happy 2011!

~Barbie Prince
Head of School