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