LION April 2015 Nissan-Iyar 5775
Curriculum Model Essay
College Tips for Campus Visits
Community Alumnus on TEDx Stage
Juda and Maria Diener Lower School | Samuel and Henrietta Scheck Middle School | Ben Lipson Upper School
LION’S SHARE Welcome to Lion’s Share: Scheck Hillel Community School’s Grade 6-12 bulletin covering news about curriculum, college counseling and our community. Connect with the names, faces and initiatives that make Scheck Hillel a college preparatory school that develops global citizens with enduring Jewish identity and values. For more school information, please visit eHillel.org.
Curriculum
Student Essay Selected as Model of Excellence
Last year, along with nearly half a million students across the nation, Ilana Seidl (Grade 12) sat for the 2014 AP English Language and Composition test. She had prepared for the exam all year in her AP class taught by Upper School English teacher Gerry Cirulnick, and earned an outstanding 5 out of 5 possible points and college credit. Adding to this achievement, the College Board selected one of Ilana’s essays as a model of effective writing, which means that Ilana’s work has been consulted nationwide by students, teachers and evaluators as the standard for superior performance and a marker of excellence in the essay portion of the exam. Ilana attributes her success to the intensive practice done in class and to reading 16th and 17th century English authors and their modern counterparts. “Every day in class, I learned more and more of what was expected of me to do well on the test,” Ilana added. Scheck Hillel is proud of Ilana’s high level of attainment and the effort invested to become “one in a half-million!”
Rigor, Relevance & Relationships: The Three R’s of the Judaic Studies Program
Academic rigor, contemporary relevance and relationships of trust are the hallmarks of Scheck Hillel’s Judaic Studies Program. According to program head Rabbi Joshua Spodek, the “Three R’s” link Judaic content, development of higher-order thinking skills and experiential learning with caring relationships between teachers and students. Indeed, learning takes place in an environment that invites expression of diverse views, stimulates critical thinking and encourages selfexamination.
Ilana’s full essay, along with the glowing College Board analysis, is available at eHillel.org/ModelEssay.
Two cases in point: In his Grade 10 Jewish Thought class, Rabbi Dovid Kirzner ties together rabbinic literature, Plato’s Allegory of the Cave and the 1999 film The Matrix to spark analysis regarding historical interpretations of Hashem’s primacy. Our students are better able to analyze and apply complex ancient ideas using references that are familiar and contemporary.
AP Courses Offered at Scheck Hillel: American Government, Biology, Calculus AB, Calculus BC, Chemistry, Comparative Government, English Language and Composition, English Literature and Composition, European History, Human Geography, Physics B, Psychology, US History, 2-D Art. New For Next Year: Computer Science, Drawing, World History.
In Rabbi Elie Ganz’s Grade 11 Jewish Ethics class, students find meaning in an environment where comments are welcomed, respected and often challenged with humor, textual evidence and warmth. All students are assessed through exams, projects and class engagement. The “Three R’s” of Judaic teaching promote intellectual and spiritual habits that become enduring gifts for our youth.
College
Making the Most of Campus Visits
Finding the right college fit for each individual student is the main priority of Scheck Hillel’s Office of College Counseling. To this end, our college planning process includes campus visits; most recently, Grade 11 students traveled to schools across Florida to gain insights into higher education options and opportunities in our state. Head of School, Dr. Ezra Levy, and Associate Director of College Counseling, Dana Ponsky, accompanied our students on the trip. Dana Ponsky offers some recommendations for making the most of your future campus visits: •
Make sure to set up official appointments with university admissions offices prior to your visit. If you are in Grades 9 or 10, and visiting with an older sibling or family member, you should register nonetheless. Admissions offices - especially at private schools - value demonstrated interest, and tours are an easy way to show that.
•
Bring someone with you. A companion might ask questions or notice things you may have missed.
•
Give yourself a chance not just to take a tour, but also to walk around campus on your own. Ask yourself, “Do I see myself here?” Attend a class in your field of interest if the option is available.
•
Visit the school’s career center and speak to a counselor about how they help students find internships and career/ job opportunities, as well as which companies recruit at the school.
•
Eat at the dining hall. Find out if they offer options that are important to you, such as kosher or vegetarian meals.
•
Visit the student center. Do you like the “vibe”? Do you see evidence of student activities, clubs, events and themes that interest you? Do students seem approachable?
•
Take notes and photos! It is helpful to organize information for easy reference later on, especially when the time comes to write supplemental essays.
For more tips on making the most of your campus visits, please write to ponsky@eHillel.org.
Community
Aaron Pludwinski ‘13 Takes the TEDx Stage Aaron Pludwinski is a doer. As a sophomore at the University of Maryland, he has already cofounded a campus organization (Connecting Terps), started a business (Kanvasroom LLC), matriculated to the “Public Leadership” scholars program and is majoring in finance in the Robert H. Smith School of Business. And then there’s TEDx. Aaron was one of two students—and the youngest at 19—to take the TEDxUMaryland stage. TEDx is a speaker’s platform for innovators with “fearless ideas” and part of the renowned TED Talks group. Aaron shared ground rules for taking ideas from “Thought to Action”, such as embracing mistakes, finding a “cheerleader” and setting project goals and timelines. Aaron credits
Scheck Hillel for supplying the multiple leadership opportunities, such as student government, Shabbatonim, counselor training and fundraising-platforms he used to hone his leadership skills. In fact, Aaron used a video of his Scheck Hillel commencement speech to apply to TEDx. We wish Aaron continued success in all his endeavors on and off campus! To view Aaron’s TEDx speech, visit eHillel.org/ TEDx. Aaron’s advice to Scheck Hillel students: “Pick one thing you are passionate about and then dedicate yourself to being the best in the industry.” Favorite book: The Alchemist, by Paulo Coelho
Share with us! Please email your comments, questions and ideas for future editions of Lion’s Share to news@eHillel.org.