The Lion's Tale - Vol. 40, Issue 3

04 06

Honoring the extraordinary: Distinguished alumni and faculty were recognized at the annual Head of School Circle Celebration

Helping create a home away from home: Parents start assistance project supporting new immigrants

A for equity: Teachers experiment with new grading systems to cut down on bias

— opinion —

Editorial: Rising antisemetic violence: Taking action against school shootings and Jewish hatred

Good eats on the street: Although mainly used during the peak of COVID-19, outdoor eateries should stay

Pro/Con: Should marijuana be legal in Maryland?

features 20 21 22

Kehillah on campus: Alumni continue connecting to judaism in college at Hillel

Let’s go defense: Mock trial allows students to learn about court system

A tough act to follow: The behind the scenes of “Hello Dolly”

Don’t waste it, taste it: A look into the efforts the school is making to decrease food waste

sports 24 25 26

Going to new heights: How a senior uses his talents on the slopes to help others

Run it back: Alumni watch their children play the sports they played at JDS

Kicking it up a notch: Former student plays on the Israel U19 soccer team

Dear Readers,

This issue marks the seniors’ last print issue of the Lion’s Tale as we prepare for our final month of high school. While we are heartbroken to be leaving the paper, we are more than confident in our junior and sophomore editors and reporters to carry on our legacy on the Lion’s Tale.

When we became co-editors a year ago, we foolishly thought we were prepared to take on this task. Although former Editors-in-Chief Eva Bard and Mischa Trainor made it seem easy, we quickly realized the process takes a lot more work and time than we expected. Between late production nights, design meetings and daily article editing, we barely had time for anything. Even so, we still maintained a fun atmosphere, with rousing debates in the Pub Hub during production nights, ordering Starbucks to the wrong location and so many deep dives. We credit our staff for making our past year as Editors-in-Chief so enjoyable.

We are so proud of all the work we have accomplished in the past year and throughout our time on the paper. We’ve revamped the Lion’s Tale website, diversified the design of our print issues and continued producing informative articles for the community.

Senior Columns: Seniors reflect on their high school experience

Inside the Issue in-depth 16

Tougher together: Exploring the support systems of families grappling with cancer

It takes teamwork: The JDS 007 License to Cure team raises money for cancer research

Comfortably cold: Tips on how to stay warm during the winter sports season

While we didn’t manage to reach all of our goals as Editors-in-Chief, we are proud of what we did accomplish and the hard work it took to get there. But, none of it could’ve been done without our amazing staff adviser, Ms. Nassau. No matter what time of the day, week or year, she was always available to chat, copy-edit, give suggestions for design and bring food to production. We are forever grateful for the work she puts in every single day to make the Lion’s Tale the paper it is.

“Wakanda Forever” wows: “Black Panther” sequel is an incredible tribute to T’Challah’s life

Cuz I “Love, Lizzo”: Bio-pic shows compelling journey of popular female artist

Winter wonderland: Top 5 recommendations for cold-weather activities

As we put in our two weeks notice, we want to leave our editors with one last piece of wisdom: “Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and take a look around once in a while you might miss it” - Ferris Bueller & your 2022-2023 Execs.

Sincerely,

The Lion’s Tale Staff

Editors-in-Chief

Daniela Abrams & Eitan Malkus Managing Editors, Copy Harry Davidson & Matan Silverberg

In-Depth Editor

Zara Ducker News Editors

Adin Halbfinger & Ella Waldman Opinion Editors

Ellie Fischman & Jonah Beinart Features Editors

Lena Nadaner & Ari Werbin-Gradel Sports Editors

Kaylah Goldrich & Aaron Waldman

Arts and Entertainment Editors

Ella Kotok & Lilli Libowitz Editorial Cartoonist

Taylor Polonsky Illustrator

Libby Hurwitz Reporters

Kaelyn Rashti, Ellie Levine, Cati Werbin-Gradel, Yaeli Greenblum, Stella Muzin, Simon Albert, Sasha Karasik, Sam Berns, Max Schwartz, Matthew Steindecker, Lily Rulnick, Julia Rich, Jessica Rosenberg, Jared Schreiber, Gigi Gordon, Elliot Bramson, Ari Kittrie, Ari Blumenthal, Aliza Bellas, Alana Udell Staff Adviser

Jessica Nassau Adviser Emerita Susan Zuckerman

Editorial and Ethics Policy

If Harry Davidson was a teacher at JDS, he would teach a third grade english class

Lena Nadaner is a gold medalist in moves and the fields in figure skating

As the student newspaper of the Charles E. Smith Jewish Day School, The Lion’s Tale is a public forum for student opinion and expression. All content is determined by students. Its purpose is to inform the CESJDS community and to express the views of its staff and readers. The staff has made every effort to ensure the accuracy and objectivity of its news.

Signed columns reflect the opinion of the writer; staff editorials reflect the opinion of the majority of The Lion’s Tale editorial board. The Lion’s Tale staff

welcomes letters to the editor and guest columns, all of which must be signed. The staff reserves the right to refuse any material and may edit letters or columns for length, clarity, libel, obscenity and/or disruptiveness. All other contents copyright of The Lion’s Tale. All rights reserved.

Submissions may be emailed to jdslionstale@gmail.com, mailed to The Lion’s Tale or brought to room 320.

The Lion’s Tale is funded by The Simon Hirshman Endowment for the Upper School Newspaper and The Kut-

tner-Levenson Endowment for the Upper School Cultural Arts and Student Publications, and community advertisements. The Lion’s Tale reserves the right to refuse advertisement for any reason.

The staff will adhere to the ethics policies of The Society of Professional Journalists and the National Scholastic Press Association. The adviser will be held to the Journalism Education Association’s Adviser Code of Ethics.

Adin Halbfinger is the president of a club that is followed on Instagram by Dictionary.com

Cover photo illustration created by Libby Hurwitz

Honoring the extraordinary

Distinguished alumni and faculty recognized at the annual Head of School Circle Celebration

Ella Waldman News Editor

Emily Bobrow (‘94)

Bobrow currently writes a weekly column called Weekend Confidential for the Wall Street Journal where she highlights the work of noteworthy individuals.

“It’s great, it’s so much fun,” Bobrow said. “I love getting the chance to talk to completely different people, athletes, scientists, writers, performers, and getting a sense of how they became who they are and figuring out how to tell their story.”

However, Bobrow didn’t always envision a career in journalism. During high school and for a large part of college she planned a future in public policy. Although she felt passionately about the cause, she also felt dissatisfaction with the political process. She then wrote an op-ed on welfare reform for Student Life: Washington University in St. Louis’s student newspaper.

“It just never occurred to me that you could actually make a difference that way…[A]ll of these peo-

ple, people who I didn’t know, read it and thought it was interesting, and it was just kind of thrilling,” Bobrow said. “I realized you could engage with the same issues that I cared about…but more broadly and try to communicate the value of and the stakes, to a broader audience, to get more people engaged or concerned or involved.”

Based on the positive response, Bobrow joined the school’s paper, which affirmed her interest in journalism. After graduation, she moved to London and worked for a small local newspaper, before moving to New York and freelancing. Eventually, she secured a job for The Economist, writing for a variety of sections in several different locations, including London and Washington D.C. After 15 years with The Economist, she decided to settle down in New York to focus on freelance writing. Bobrow was hired by the Wall Street Journal last Bobrow cites the

Jake Mintz (‘13)

Mintz’s journalism career began in December of his senior year, when he used the extra time he had after submitting his college applications to start a baseball website with friend and former classmate Jordan Shusterman. They grew their website and Twitter account over the course of a year and even started a podcast together.

Halfway through college, MLB reached out and offered them a summer opportunity to road trip from Washington, D.C. to San Diego and back, watching and writing about a baseball game each day. The trip helped grow their following and right out of college, MLB hired Mintz for a permanent position. After two and a half years with MLB, he

left for two years to do a podcast for The Ringer, before hosting a show on MLB Network for a year. In 2021 he began writing for Fox Sports. He also hosts a podcast for SiriusXM.

Similarly to Bobrow, Mintz did at one point envision a career in politics, but his passion for sports never wavered and with encouragement from his parents, he knew he was interested in a career in sports journalism early on.

“I just loved baseball…so many kids like sports, obviously, but I just never got sick of that, and I was interested in it in a way that adults were interested in their jobs,” Mintz said. “It’s just such a small percentage of people who get to make baseball or sports their day-to-day lives,

“I was around special like-minded people that would have not just an impact on 15-year-old me, but an impact on 27-year-old me,”

impact that JDS had on her life educationally and holistically.

“The education that you get at JDS, it’s not just about passing your tests, it’s not just about writing good papers, it’s clearly about graduating as a good, well-rounded human,” Bobrow said. I do feel like JDS does a good job of not just raising people who can read and write, but also creating mensches.”

that you never expect it to happen.” Mintz’s career has taken off, but he still appreciates the influence JDS has had on him. He explained that staff like history teacher Mark Buckley, Dean of Experiential, Leadership and Service Learning Tori Ball and Director of Arts Education Dr. David Solomon all had significant impacts on his education and experience at JDS, and that the relationships he built at JDS will last him a lifetime.

“It means something that, at least for me and my experience, JDS has created an environment where I was around special like-minded people that would have not just an impact on 15-year-old me, but an impact on 27-year-old me,” Mintz said.

Bobrow with sisters Amanda Katz (‘96) and Diana Medoff (‘99). Photo by Philip Bobrow

Fun Fact: Emily Bobrow is a staff reporter for the Wall Street Journal

- Jake Mintz

The annual Head of School Circle Celebration thanks donors who have made significant contributions and acknowledges distinguished alumni and teachers. Each year, three important members of the JDS community are honored and chosen to speak at the event. Traditionally, three alumni are nominated by the Alumni Advisory Board, but this year a change was made to nominate two alumni, and one long-time (20+ years of service), current or former faculty member. The 2022 honorees were journalist Emily Bobrow ‘94, sports writer and podcaster Jake Mintz ‘13, and middle school science teacher Nick Miller. The event was held on Nov. 29 at the Upper School.

Science Teacher Nick Miller

full-time that Tuesday. Although the job placement was last-minute, Miller has built connections and grown with the community during his many years of teaching at JDS.

“I liked the community. I think we’re very welcoming,” Miller said. “I like that our parents are interested in their kids learning, and that culture is really alive here. It’s important to study that communities are important, religion is important, whether you’re secular or not, and I liked all that.”

Throughout his many years at JDS, Miller has served many roles and taught hundreds of students. Yet his dedication and commitment to his job is unwavering. He has influenced so many lives through his teachings and prepared countless students for successful careers.

Miller’s JDS career began in 1985 as a Latin substitute teacher for two years, while also teaching part-time at several other schools in the area. Then, a few days before the start of the next school year, the administration needed to quickly fill an unexpected vacancy. Miller was informed of the vacancy on a Thursday, interviewed for the job on Sunday and then began teaching science

In addition to the community, Miller explained that he appreciates the values and network that JDS fosters. He described the importance of the shared values of family, religion and community that JDS cultivates and expressed admiration at the connection that JDS alumni have built to maintain relationships and provide support beyond graduation.

“I love teaching science. And I love to teach people how to study. I really think it’s important to know different study techniques,” Miller said. “That’s one of the most rewarding things is that people can optimize their abilities by learning how to study, and how to think, and how to write, and how to speak. That optimization, I really liked that aspect of my job.”

Miller returns one of several skulls from his collection in his classroom. Photo by Ella Waldman.

Photo 1: Mintz at Yankee Stadium for the 2022 season opening day. Photo by Lindsey Adler. Photo 2: Mintz and Shusterman interviewing two-time MLB All Star Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Photo by Marly Rivera. Photo 3: Mintz and Shusterman at a January 2020 baseball event in the Bahamas. Photo by Mintz.

Fun Fact: Nick Miller has been a teacher at JDS for 38 years

Helping create a home away from home

Adin Halbfinger News Editor

The new Migrants Assistance Partnership, created by three CESJDS parents, works to increase assistance of migrants from the local community. Since their launch in Sept. they have organized events to put together toiletry kits and backpacks and trained volunteers to assist at a respite center for migrants.

The partnership was created in response to the recent rise in immigration from the southern border. Many southern states are struggling to handle the influx of migrants and are bussing migrants to cities like Washington, D.C. So many migrants have arrived in D.C, the Washington Post even called it “an unofficial border town.”

Deborah Appelbaum, mother of eighth-grader Jonah Mitre, along with Judy Liss, mother of freshman Ian Liss and Bob Polin, father of sophomore Allison Polin wanted to do something to help the new migrants in DC.

Appelbaum began volunteering with asylum seekers a few years ago. Appelbaum realized that migrants in D.C. often lacked basic necessities. While she knew that many stepped up admirably to help new migrants, she believed that more could be done.

“I believe that our community must do more, immediately, to meet this growing humanitarian crisis, as there are hundreds of newcomers with great needs who are bused here every week,” Appelbaum said.

The partnership began with Congregation Beth El in Bethesda but has expanded recently, as a few more synagogues and a church are interested in joining. Appelbaum believes that JDS Whatsapp groups have played a key role in growing the new organization.

“I put out the first notice [on the JDS grade parents Whatsapp group] about the backpack [drive], and five days later, people spent $2,000. That fast,” Appelbaum said. “It was inspiring to see that then 20 people from our group volunteered to pack those backpacks on four days notice.”

Volunteers put together backpacks for migrant students of all ages. For younger children, volunteers added crayons, storybooks and toys. For parents, they packed bags containing necessary items like smartphones.

Eighth-grader Henry Brenner, a student volunteer at the backpack drive, finds service like this to be very important.

“I think the more people that are willing and able to help that do, the better. There are so many people that are able to help and say they are willing to help, but don’t do anything,” Brenner said. “I think if you say those things then you should back up your words and actually help.”

The Migrants Assistance Partnership is pursuing closer collaboration with JDS. Appelbaum has been in touch with Dean of Experiential, Leadership and Service

Learning Tori Ball, a member of the Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Justice Committee.

“Having direct exposure to a migrant community and getting to learn more about the challenges they’re facing, and the things that help them get back on their feet is a good service experience for the students, and a good experience in terms of learning about diverse needs within our community,” Ball said.

The Migrants Assistance Partnership offers a large array of volunteer opportunities with SAMU First Response and the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society (HIAS).

One opportunity open to students is to volunteer to help to serve meals and assist children at the SAMU respite center. Parents and students above 18 can also volunteer with HIAS to help migrants write resumes, improve their English and more.

People interested in getting involved can email debbyappelbaum@gmail.com.

“I like the idea of more direct service opportunities that are not just opportunities for service to the [migrant] community, but are opportunities to learn more about the community and get a better sense for what’s going on globally,” Ball said. “To understand that there are people who might need to leave their homes, and also to see, what does it look like for the globe to do good things for those people.”

Photo by Deborah Appelbaum

Eighth graders Jonah Mitre, Micah Harkavy and Micah Brickman organize backpacks for recent immigrants during a November backpack drive.

A for equity

Teachers experiment with new grading approach to cut down on bias

Matthew Steindecker Reporter

This year, the high school administration is experimenting with a new form of assessing students called equity grading. High School Principal Dr. Lisa Vardi and Academic Dean Aileen Goldstein, are tasking teachers to slowly implement the new approach.

The old approach encouraged students to value completion assignments and busy work to boost their grade. However, Vardi says that this discourages students from learning the actual material and makes them worry solely about grades. The new approach attempts to remove this emphasis on points and ensure that students are scored in a way that accurately reflects their abilities.

“It is an approach to grading that is designed to increase transparency, to remove bias and to give much more core feedback to students about where they are in their development and progress of learning at any given time,” Goldstein said.

JDS based the equity grading shift on the work of Joe Feldman, the author of “Grading for Equity” and founder of the Crescendo Education Group. Goldstein and Vardi have attended some of Feldman’s workshops and brought his team in to teach JDS faculty over the summer and during the Nov. 7 professional day.

In an interview with the Harvard Graduate School of Education, Feldman said that the process of averaging students’ homework, quiz and test scores across an entire semester punishes those without the privileges of summer enrichment experiences, tutoring or having stronger teachers in previous years.

According to Feldman, more equitable grading practice puts more weight on students’ final mastery of content. In the book, Feldman argues that students should be graded on their knowledge of a topic, not their ability to complete mundane assignments.

While not every department is making the same changes, teachers are collaborating within departments. Many have begun by slowly

removing grades for completion assignments to place more weight on knowledge of actual material. However, the administration has given faculty flexibility, so changes vary from between departments.

“What I really liked about the professional day was we had a chance to talk with the administrators but also with different departments,” math teacher Robbie Shorr said. “So I felt very supported… There’s a lot of flexibility, each teacher is given the chance to experiment and figure out what’s best for their classes and their material and their students.”

The biggest change across all departments is that each semester is equally weighted (45% for classes with finals and 10% for the final) for a student’s final grade, no matter how many points are actually scored in each semester.

English teacher Melissa Fisanich has implemented formative assignments, which carry no weight grade-wise. Fisanich leaves extensive feedback to help students prepare for summative assessments at the end of each unit. Fisanich grants the opportunity to redo summative assignments to help emphasize learning the material over the grade.

“I think the biggest difference is that students feel less stressed,” Fisanich said.

Some students were caught off guard by the changes in their classes. Junior Gaby Goldberg believes the administration should give students more information about the new equity grading program.

“Every time a teacher explains it, they give an empty platitude about ‘equity’ and provide no tangible [details] to the students, which has more or less left us in the dark about the grading system,” Goldberg said.

As teachers experiment with equity grading, students will be forced to adapt to change. While the goal of equity grading is to better represent how students learn, Goldberg believes that taking away simple assignments and putting more pressure on tests is damaging to students.

“Every single student has taken

a test in which they could’ve gotten a better grade, but maybe didn’t do as well as they could’ve,” Goldberg said. “Taking away completion assignments… puts more pressure on students and increases the chances their final grade doesn’t accurately reflect how much they know.”

To compensate for the loss of completion points, Vardi, who also teaches an English class, supports giving students second chances on summative assessments, something Feldman emphasizes.

“[A redo policy] motivates students to take risks,” Vardi said. “It motivates students to be more creative. It motivates students to take a look deeply at their work and say: how can I improve it?”

Implementing a new system is not a quick process; Goldstein said it is a multi-year experiment, which requires patience. She understands that some students are pessimistic about the change but she believes that in the end, most will see this policy as beneficial.

“We see this as a multi-year process to figure out what is best for students and what maximizes the learning,” Goldstein said.

“Taking away completion assignments … increases the chances their final grade doesn’t accurately reflect how much they know.”

-Junior Gaby Goldberg

The administration uses the groundwork laid out by author Joe Feldman in his book, “Grading for Equity” to create their equitable grading system.

Taking action against school shootings and Jewish hatred

We’ve all seen it in the news. Kanye West shares tweets about going “deathcon 3 on the Jews,” NBA player Kyrie Irving shares an antisemitic film with his followers, and white supremacists hang a banner over a Los Angeles freeway stating “Kanye is right.” However, these incidents are not limited to the media; it is these media posts that encourage thousands of others to act upon antisemitic tropes.

Antisemitic hate crimes have reached an all time high this past year. The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) reported that antisemetic incidents reached a total of 2,717 cases of assault, harassment and vandalism in 2021. And that’s only the reported cases.

Antisemitism isn’t the only crisis on our radar. As of Oct. 31, there have been 46 school shootings in the U.S. This is the most to occur in a single year since the news organization Education Week began tracking school shootings in 2018.

These two trends make us feel especially vulnerable as Jewish day school students.

As a Jewish day school and tight knit community, we have a responsibility to not only fight back against these antisemitic tropes but

to ensure that these remarks and incidents do not become dangerous for our community.

Security and Transportation Manager Shay HaLevi explains the importance of staying vigilant and looking out for threats because of the increased danger that comes with attending a Jewish school.

“Being in a [school] shooting is kind of like getting hit by a lightning strike,” HaLevi said. “But, being in a Jewish school is kind of like running in an open field with an antenna. It’s not likely that you will get hit by lightning but it just puts another target on our backs.”

HaLevi met with all teachers this past month to share ways to identify potential threats, tips on how to keep the school as safe as possible and even ways to stay safe at home.

He says that the two most important tips on how to stay safe in school are monitoring your surroundings for suspicious behavior and reporting any activity that seems out of the ordinary to an administrator or security guard.

In addition, HaLevi emphasizes the importance of our security personnel and police presence around the building. He says that even having one police officer stationed

BY THE NUMBERS 1330%

increase in mass shooting from 19661975 to 2011-2020 25.1% mass shootings occur at schools 3590 mass shooting victims since 1966

outside can both deter threats and reduce response time to seconds.

Despite the verbal threats we receive and the hypervigilance HaLevi encourages, we must not let potential attacks subvert our lives. If we did so, it would mean that the hatred would succeed in preventing Jews from flourishing.

“... We’re not going to let other people dictate the way we live our lives. We can’t do that. But, we need to understand the responsibility that [going to a Jewish school] comes with,” HaLevi said.

Source: Rockefeller Institute of Government

good eats on the street

Although mainly used during the peak of COVID-19, outdoor eateries should stay

would get rid of the vibrant space within the area.

The outdoor seating in Bethesda is unique because you do not have to get food from a specific restaurant in order to eat there.

Julia Rich Reporter

At the peak of COVID-19, I was disappointed that I could not eat indoors at restaurants with my friends and family. However, the restrictions on indoor dining opened a new door to outdoor streeteries. The development of outdoor dining has had a great impact on the restaurant community and created a more enjoyable dining experience for many.

During COVID-19, dining at restaurants was uncommon because many people did not feel comfortable eating inside, forcing restaurants to discover more outdoor seating options to stay in business. Ten years ago, however, using street space for outdoor seating was illegal in many cities, according to the National Association of Realtors. The circumstances of the pandemic allowed restaurants to explore those outdoor seating spaces more freely.

Many restaurants in Montgomery County opened streeteries over the past couple of years. The Bethesda streetery has become a very popular dining space in Montgomery County. The county closed off the block soon after the start of the pandemic to allow restaurants to expand outdoor seating on Woodmont Ave. between Elm St. and Bethesda Av..

According to patch.com, this year, the Bethesda streetery is now reopening a portion of the road to traffic. This decision is due to local businesses returning and their demand for Woodmont St. to reopen for vehicles. In doing so, Bethesda

If you’re dining with friends, you can each grab food from different places and then sit at the streetery together. Many restaurants forbid people to bring in food from other places, so streeteries accommodate everyone’s dietary preferences while allowing groups to eat together.

Going out to eat and trying new restaurants is one of my favorite things to do. However, during popular meal times, there are often few places to sit because restaurants often fill up fast. Luckily, streeteries have enough space for everyone and are incredibly fun and social places to eat at.

Additionally, restaurants have a lot of room for creativity when building these streeteries, as they can add thematic elements to their decor that they do not have room for in indoor dining.

Whatever form streeteries take, they bring people together for a creative and fun dining experience. Although most of them were initially established to help keep businesses open, I hope they remain intact even after the pandemic.

Benefits to Eating at an Outdoor Eatery

1. A breath of fresh air We spend so much time inside because of school or work, so take a break and eat outside. 2. Social hour

Spending time with friends can have a positive impact on overall mental health.

3. Support local food

Most eateries are local, and giving them business will help them stay open, even after the pandemic.

At a streetery in Crown Plaza, personal bubbles are available for each party.

Photo by Lena Nadaner, LT

PRO should marijuana be legal in maryland?

marijuana can become safe and legal. This means that instances of purchasing laced marijuana will decrease because there will be secure avenues of accessing the drug, including medical dispensaries or other legal retail sources.

dicates negligence and bias within U.S. law enforcement for marijuana-related crime, which accounts for $3.6 billion from the government yearly.

Even though marijuana is currently illegal in Maryland, it is incredibly easy to find. Whether it is legalized or not, there will always be alleyways that reek of weed and teenagers who find access to the drug. Through the legalization of recreational marijuana, Maryland can ensure that adults access marijuana through safe and legal avenues.

According to American Addiction Centers, cannabis bought off the street can be laced with heavy metals, embalming fluids, fungus, bacteria, PCP, heroin, laundry detergent, LSD, methamphetamine, ketamine, fentanyl or cocaine.

In 2023, the Maryland General Assembly will confer to decide the parameters behind purchasing recreational marijuana. The legislation that passed in the midterm elections did not include a framework for the commercial market, but once the General Assembly sets this framework, purchasing

Additionally, legalizing marijuana will help to mitigate the nation’s drug crisis. The FBI’s 2019 crime statistics state that there were 1,067,764 drug abuse violations in the United States that year. Of those arrests, 32.1% were due to marijuana possession. That accounts for more drug-related arrests than any other category of drug crime.

If the research showed marijuana was a significant danger to the population, then it should be prohibited. However, negative effects from marijuana generally occur after sustained long-term use. It is an addictive substance, but so are alcohol and tobacco. Education about marijuana’s effects and what safe use looks like is more important than outright prohibition.

In addition, criminalizing marijuana harms Black communities disproportionately. According to a 2020 report by the American Civil Liberties Union, Black and white people have a nearly equal rate of illegal marijuana use. However, Black people are 3.73 times more likely to be arrested for it. This in-

It is impossible for law enforcement to crack down on all illegal marijuana use. There is simply too much of it, which provides room for selective enforcement. In my eyes, the marijuana crisis is less a crisis of substance abuse within racial communities and more a crisis of inequitable law enforcement.

The harm that the criminalization of marijuana does to Black communities outweighs the negative effects of widespread marijuana use. People will find ways to access marijuana regardless of whether it is legal or not. State-regulated legalization of marijuana, like Maryland’s recent legalization of the drug creates the foundation for, provides a way for people to use marijuana without the threat of it being laced with other substances. This legalization will also offset the $3.6 billion spent nationwide to enforce marijuana restrictions.

Legalizing marijuana is an issue of safety and social justice. I am extremely glad that Maryland voted in favor of this initiative in the midterm elections.

recreational marijuana legalization

“Legalizing marijuana is an issue of safety and social justice.”

Black people are

Sources: ACLU, FBI, MJBizDaily, Healthline

Ellie Fischman Opinion Editor

Elliot Bramson Reporter

During the most recent midterm election, Maryland voters decided to legalize marijuana for recreational use, joining 20 other states and Washington, D.C. Although there are certainly positives to this decision, it will do more harm than good to the population.

Marijuana has many short and long term effects on the human body. According to the Center for Disease Control, after consuming the substance, marijuana impacts a person’s “thinking, attention, memory, coordination, movement and time perception.” When affected by these factors, someone can find themself with blurred senses, which puts themselves and others in danger.

This danger is evident in the increase in car crashes in states after marijuana was legalized. According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, car crashes with injuries rose by 6% and the number of fatal crashes rose by 4% since

legalization.

Also, legalizing marijuana for adults makes the drug more accessible to those under the age of 21 as well. This is especially dangerous because minors are more susceptible to the long term effects of marijuana. According to the CDC, these effects on minors can “alter how the brain builds connections for functions like attention, memory and learning,” and in some cases, these effects can be permanent.

Marijuana usage can also lead to marijuana use disorder and overconsumption, which increases the risk of lung infections or other lung illnesses. Additionally, according to the CDC, the drug is considered by many as a gateway drug to stronger and more hardcore substances like heroin or cocaine.

While marijuana has positive effects as a medicinal drug to cope with pain or other sorts of illnesses, it is still an addictive drug and this fact should not be taken lightly. Those who don’t need it shouldn’t have access to it due to its dangers.

Some make an argument that legalization creates more order and safer distribution, but this is not necessarily the case. Although many states have legalized possession of marijuana, many of those same states have not legalized recreational sales of the drug.

According to the Washington

Post, this has led to problems in Virginia because the legalization of possession has created a higher demand despite the fact that selling the drug is still illegal, leading to a situation where more people sell it in unregulated and dangerous ways.

Unregulated marijuana has a risk of being laced with fentanyl that can be fatal if taken in a high enough dosage.

Another argument made in favor of the drug is that right now, Black people are being arrested for possession at disproportionate rates. However, according to the Washington Post, one year after legalization of possession in Virginia, the numbers are still similar and Black people are still being penalized at a greater rate than the rest of the population. While only making up 20% of the total population in Virginia, Black people account for nearly 60% of all marijuana-related cases. This is a serious issue that must be addressed, but clearly legalization is not the solution.

While a majority of people voted in favor of legalization, I believe that many are overlooking the harmful consequences of marijuana, and legalizing the drug would only exacerbate the dangers that it presents to people nationally.

“While marijuana has positive effects as a medicinal drug to cope with pain or other sorts of illnesses, it is still an addictive drug and this fact should not be taken lightly.”

get comfortable with being uncomfortable

debating in one-on-one cross-fires with my opponent. Through debating and through challenging myself to become a lifeguard, I eventually learned to be comfortable with being uncomfortable.

I spent the majority of junior year training to be a lifeguard on the Rehoboth Beach Patrol. Unfortunately, I didn’t have the necessary strength or athleticism required for the job when I decided to take on this goal. The women on the patrol were primarily collegiate runners and swimmers, and I couldn’t even do 10 push-ups or swim a lap in a racing pool. But I like doing hard things. I joined the debate team freshman year to overcome my fear of public speaking. I experienced comedically strong physical symptoms during my first tournaments, but now, despite my nerves, I look forward to

So I set a goal to out-compete athletes to qualify for the patrol. My alarm blared at 4:50 a.m. every school day so I could exercise in a CrossFit gym where I was often the only woman in a sea of thirty-something men. I spent much of the year in a swimming pool, often training twice a day to pass the timed 500m swim test. My efforts paid off, and this past summer I made it on the patrol as the second youngest of the 60-person squad. Ocean swimming was much tougher than swimming in a pool, and barefoot running on black-top roads and hot sand blistered my feet so badly that some days I couldn’t walk after work.

The hard work and determination manifested themselves in other parts of my life. I began to challenge myself to participate in class more than three times, spoke more confidently during debates, and challenged myself physically.

Before last year, I did not think I had what it took. Whether that be my presence in the advanced STEM classes, or in group discussions with students I thought were much smarter than me, I did not have the confidence needed to succeed. The truth is, most of the time, students aren’t paying attention enough to critique what you’re saying or peek at your grades. Even if they are, why search for validation from others to make you feel smart or worthy? That confidence should come from within.

Looking back, these challenges strengthened my belief in myself and my capabilities. I sat competently and confidently on the lifeguard chair, shared my ideas in class and spoke with pride in debates. The camaraderie and the tenacity required to join this large family outside my childhood bubble forged me into a strong young adult. So, I challenge you, reader, to take a step back this week. Evaluate challenges that make you most uncomfortable and embrace it.

“So, I challenge you, reader, to take a step back this week. Evaluate challenges that make you most uncomfortable and embrace it.”

Daniela Abrams Editor-in-Chief

Photos used with permission of Zara Ducker, Jessica Nassau and Dimensions Yearbook

Disappiontment is an opportunity

COVID-19 pandemic. The summer camp I had gone to for four years had been canceled and my annual family vacation to the beach was in doubt.

disappointment

munications and journalism after high school.

Eitan Malkus Editor-in-Chief

The July morning sun beats down on my back as I sit at my computer, watching the loading circle move at a snail’s pace. When I finally enter the Zoom meeting, the colors of an “All About Me” assignment light up my screen, with the faces of Lion’s Tale adviser Jessica Nassau and former Managing Editor, Copy Rochelle Berman (‘22) on the side of my screen.

That summer was supposed to embody disappointment and sadness, as my entire world had been shattered with the arrival of the

I realize now that I had been too caught up in the letdowns of the summer to realize that I could take lockdown as an opportunity to indulge in other activities I enjoyed. Instead of camp, I was able to take an online Journalism II course. Instead of vacation, I was able to create a challah business with my twin brother.

If I had participated in my normal, annual activities that summer, I wouldn’t have been able to apply for a section editor position on the Lion’s Tale. I wouldn’t have been able to discover my love for writing and design. I wouldn’t have been able to realize my love for baking.

That summer, I was able to step out of my disappointment and find a greater purpose for myself. It was the most foundational summer of my high school career, allowing me to see that I wanted to pursue com-

Find time to be social

Harry Davidson Managing Editor, Copy

One of the most challenging aspects of being a high school student is the constant battle with mental health challenges. The high workload comes with unavoidable levels of stress. For me, no workshop or lesson on how to budget time and not procrastinate had an impact, and the stress was going to be there no matter what. However, the times when stress levels felt more manageable were when I was able to take my mind off of school work, and the

best way to accomplish that was by spending time with friends. There were many weekends in the thick of junior year when I felt completely overwhelmed by homework and found my stress levels rising. Naturally, even if my friends were doing something social Saturday night, I would find myself staying home and doing work because I thought that would make me feel more relieved. However, I learned that it did not help my mental health at all. In fact, it did just the opposite. Those nights I spent alone gave me serious FOMO (fear of missing out), and I found it extremely difficult to be productive with that mindset.

Looking back, I can confidently say that even during the busiest weekends, there is enough time to get all your work done and still find a way to be social with friends. Even if that means spending a couple of hours on Sunday doing homework, I believe that it is well worth it to find time to be social. Spend-

As I sit here during production of my last issue of Lion’s Tale, I am thankful that my annual plans were canceled that summer. It allowed me to see that sometimes disappointments aren’t the end of the world. Instead, disappointments create new opportunities.

Even though going through disappointment can be frustrating in the moment, it is important to remember that it doesn’t last forever. So, next time you suffer a disappointment or a challenge, instead of thinking of it as a dead end, think of it as a new opportunity. And who knows, maybe it could lead you to be the next Editor-in-Chief of the Lion’s Tale.

ing time with friends gives us time to clear our minds and be distracted from all the work and pressure. They affect our mental health in a positive way, which is absolutely crucial at this time of our lives.

Being social is also crucial during school days. After sitting through a 55 minute lecture or taking a test, our brains are naturally tired. For me, the best way to recharge my brain was always to relax, which I did by taking a moment to catch up with friends during passing time as opposed to rushing to the next class or spending those five minutes doing work. Again, although sometimes it may not feel like it, there will always be time to finish your work.

Soon, you will graduate and have to leave your closest friends. So take advantage of the limited time you have left together, as it will also benefit your mental health in a crucial way.

“Looking back, I can confidently say that even during the busiest weekends, there is enough time to get all your work done and still find a way to be social with friends.”

“Even though going through

can be frustrating in the moment, it is important to remember that it doesn’t last forever.”

Be a source of support

have supportive adults in their life. We depend on teachers for academic support, guidance counselors or therapists for emotional support and especially parents for all of the above. I would not be where I am today without the support of my parents, but I also would be nowhere near where I am today had I not discovered the power of peer support both externally and internally.

are you” can be to people. Sometimes, acknowledging someone’s presence can make their day.

Matan Silverberg Managing Editor, Copy

Many people say that highschool is the time to discover your true passion. When I entered high school, I felt this enormous sense of pressure to discover that passionto discover that class or activity that would define my high school experience. At an outstanding school like JDS, there were infinite opportunities for me to pursue any of my interests and turn them into passions. But my passion did not end up being an activity or class. I want to tell you about an unexpected discovery I made in high school that has dramatically improved my experience: the power of peer support.

It is paramount that students

being

Zara Ducker In-Depth Editor

“You can teach anyone how to complete a specific task, although you can’t teach anyone to be someone you like and want to be around.” When my professor at a UCLA course this past summer said this, I knew I had what it took to be successful.

I never was the smartest person in the classroom. I had peers who never had to study and would get As; meanwhile, I would spend

Although adult support is critical, there’s something unique about peer support that adults can’t replicate. As kids of the same age, we can relate closely to each other. We understand the pressure we face and the stress of our workload, and we rely on each other to help push through it all. My friends are the first people that I turn to for academic or emotional support, and I try to provide my friends with advice whenever they need it. On sports teams or even on Lion’s Tale, there have always been people who I can turn to for motivation when I feel like giving up. I strive to be a source of support in my immediate circles but also on a broader level in our school community. We underestimate how meaningful a quick “hello” or “how

is the key to success

hours studying and would get a lower grade. For a while, I let this hurt my self-esteem. However, now, I am able to see that it doesn’t matter and that I have more to offer than my grade in a class.

Being personable is the key to success. Being able to strike up a conversation with someone and form a meaningful connection with them is generally more important than being able to solve a certain kind of math problem.

Once you go out and start to apply for colleges and jobs, being personable and showing your unique worth becomes even more important. When looking at an applicant pool of people with the same grades, extracurriculars and achievements, it can be hard for recruiters to tell who will be the best fit. It is crucial that you show you have a unique personality and will add value. It is important to show that you can

However, peer support does not only enable me to help others; I have grown personally as a result of my emphasis on supporting other people, and I would say that supporting others became my most rewarding experience in high school. Through supporting my friends amidst personal issues, I have developed my ability to problem solve, learning to listen without judgment and consider less obvious factors that may be contributing to their problem. Offering someone advice or comforting them during a rough time provides me with a sense of accomplishment, knowing that I helped someone else get through their day.

In any situation you may find yourself, always seek to establish yourself as a person that people can turn to for advice, for encouragement or for the moments where people just need a friend. Every person is capable of supporting others in some way, so why not step into that role and be a source for support. That type of person is irreplaceable.

work well with others and will be a positive and collaborative member of the community.

Your IQ is valuable, but your emotional intelligence will determine your success. People want to work with you more if they like being around you. Don’t be afraid to show you have a big personality because in the end, that is what will differentiate you from others and make you appealing to work with.

“In any situation you may find yourself, always seek to establish yourself as a person that people can turn to for advice...”

personable

“Being able to strike up a conversation with someone and form a meaningful connection with them is generally more important than being able to solve a certain kind of math problem.”

our teachers deserve more love

ella.kotok@cesjds.org. Such a simple switch made a world of difference to me: identification by a name, an identity, and not a meaningless number.; I knew then that my teachers would dedicate themselves to both my learning and wellbeing inside and outside of the classroom.

The teachers here care — and if you dedicate time and effort to building relationships with them, the payout is huge.

JDS, I think not of the content but of the people who taught them. Many teachers here have the unique ability to turn a daunting subject into an area of interest and a strength for so many of their students.

290152. That was my “MCPSID” number during the two years I spent in the Montgomery County Public Schools system. In a massive high school with 2,000 students and 30-person classes, that was how I was identified. My teachers knew my grade in the class, my ID number and occasionally my name, but never my story.

When I came back to CESJDS, I immediately felt a change when I logged out of my old school email address — 290152@mcpsmd.org — and into my new one:

Becoming close with teachers at JDS is easy if you put in the effort. They teachers here are so passionate about their respective subjects and are more than willing and able to delve further into the topics that interest you most. They are very accessible through email and are always eager to find a time outside of class to discuss anything and everything. And, don’t let the thick, heavy wooden doors fool you — each department will greet you with warm, smiling faces when you walk into their offices. Just make sure to knock first!

When I think back to my favorite classes throughout my time at

Our teachers also care about our emotional wellbeing, in addition to our academic progress. Whether it was a joke, a quick note slipped to me asking if I was okay or just a simple smile, the teachers closest to me have always made an effort to check in on me and my mental health.

So, send your favorite teacher an email telling them how much you love their class. Knock on their department door and spark a conversation with them. Participate meaningfully in their class, and work hard to show that you care. Because, to teachers at JDS, you’re more than a number — and if you care, they will too.

“The teachers here care and if you dedicate time and effort to building relationships with them, the payout is huge.”

Ella Kotok Arts and Entertainment Editor

Tougher Together

Exploring the support systems of families battling cancer

Bellas and Gigi Gordon Reporters

Grappling with the experience of cancer in a family is difficult for even adults to grasp. For an elementary-aged Jonah Boles, the experience of his brother’s cancer diagnosis was even more terrifying. For the rest of his life, his childhood memories will not be filled with trips to the toy store but rather with the sound of MRI machines and the sterile walls of hospital bedrooms.

When Boles was four years old, his older brother Jaimin Kammerman, then 11, was diagnosed with Medulloblastoma, a cancerous brain tumor found primarily in children. While Boles’ younger self recognized his parents’ fear when they received the diagnosis, it was

not until years later that he realized the true detrimental effect of this experience.

Although his brother’s illness was rough on the whole family, he remembers that the sense of stability that his parents exuded was critical to making it through the experience.

“They weren’t sad,” Jonah said. “They were always determined. They understood what was going on and what they had to do to help him. It was kind of in a way encouraging. Whenever I saw them, they were calm about it and them being calm and doing the right thing instead of panicking is one of the main reasons my brother is alive today.”

Joyce Kammerman, the mother of senior Tory Boles, Jonah and Jaimin and also a CESJDS substi-

tute teacher, was in disbelief when she heard her son’s diagnosis for the first time.

“Most parents that I’ve spoken with, their first response is, ‘it has to be a mistake. Are you sure? There has to be a mistake.’ And then you go through the process of disbelief and grief,” Joyce said. “Then you start to realize you have got to get your act together in order to figure out what you have to do. I don’t think you ever get to the point of acceptance.”

Joyce understands that not only Jaimin’s life was impacted by the life-changing diagnosis, but her other children’s lives were turned upside down as well. The early lives of Tory and Jonah were filled with memories of hospital waiting rooms and dinners with family members missing from the table.

As the child undergoing the

Aliza

“When we are faced with something as difficult as cancer, we find our inner strength to get through...”

-Program Director Stephanie Stern

experience, Jaimin’s life has forever been impacted. However, at the moment, having cancer was incredibly difficult to grasp.

“I kind of blocked it all out,” Jaimin said. “You know, I was 11, and I was being told ‘you have a 50/50 chance of living.’ It sounds kind of morbid, but it was true.”

Although he is in remission, Jaimin said that cancer still impacts his life today - and is never something to truly leave behind.

“It’s not totally over, it’s never over,” Jaimin said. “I still have to take meds. They are not chemo, but I still have to take meds. My whole body is kind of messed up … if I don’t take this certain medication once a day, something bad will happen.”

While the cancer still affects him physically, Jaimin has taken the help from the organization Hope for Henry to get involved and help others mentally.

Jaimin said that when he was in the most difficult part of his journey at Children’s National Hospital, Hope for Henry provided entertainment in the form of art classes, birthday parties and clowns for emotional support. Jaimin and his mom have taken the opportunity to give back to the organization that made such an impact on Jaimin’s life.

“As a parent who has been through this, I personally feel an obligation to give back and it makes me happy to be able to help other people,” Joyce said.

Medical Support

While patients are undergoing treatment, proper medical support is vital for both their physical and mental health.

Hospitals such as MedSTARWashington Hospital Center have pharmacists, social workers, therapists, gastroenterologists, chemotherapists and oncologists that work together to ensure that each cancer patient gets the appropriate physical and emotional support.

Physical care for cancer patients Cancer patients primarily includes chemotherapy treatment. This form of treatment administers medication into the patient’s veins to kill their cancer cells. Radiation is another type of treatment which blasts high energy waves into tumor cells to kill them.

According to the American Cancer Society, all cancer treatments have side effects which vary in duration and severity depending

on the patient. Many side effects of chemotherapy are temporary but side effects such as heart, lung, kidney and reproductive organ damage can last for many years.

“Anytime someone has a change to their life, especially a serious illness, it changes our relationship with ourselves, our bodies, our world, our future, our relationships, and that comes with a lot of repercussions,” attending physician at Medstar Washington Hospital Center Department of Palliative Care, Michal Pottash said.

Additionally, radiation treatment can cause early side effects of fatigue and nausea; radiation sometimes causes permanent heart and lung problems starting a year after the treatment.

According to Deborah Topol, a Washington Hospital Center attending physician in the department of internal medicine, both radiation and chemotherapy can kill normal cells in addition to cancer cells if they aren’t properly monitored.

Along with providing their patients with advanced physical treatment, Washington Hospital Center values emotional support. Each cancer patient can rely on therapists and attending physicians to constantly be by their side.

Potash described hospitals as an “ecosystem” of people communicating with one another in addition to fulfilling their individual roles to help cancer patients.

“Our job is to care for all the ways in which a serious illness can affect someone’s life,” Pottash said.

Aside from patient psychological support, attending physicians have an immense contribution to their emotional well-being, including Pottash. He sees patients in the hospital clinic when they are experiencing challenges along their journey, including some who have reached the end of their lives.

“For the most part, it’s a lot about listening and hearing what people are saying, where they are,” Potash said. “Only then will you know how to help.”

Pottash explained that he gives support by staying present and checking in with the patient to understand what they are ready to hear. He believes it is extremely important to remain communicative with both the patient and their family.

“In caring for a person, it also means caring for the people that

By The Numbers

2-10 years to fully recover from cancer 10-20 average amount of pills a cancer patient takes in a day 60% of patients experience fatigue during and after treatment 10M people die of cancer every year 70% of cancer deaths occur in lowto- middle income countries

care about them,” Pottash said.

“You want to preserve the quality of life for a patient if they survive their cancer. It takes a whole team,” Topol said.

Outside Help

Along with professional medical help, thousands of support groups and organizations work to comfort those affected by cancer.

Hope Connections is a local cancer support group based in Bethesda. This organization holds many support groups for people with all different types of cancer, aiming to provide patients with the opportunity to relate to each other and support each other while grappling with this illness.“Oftentimes family and friends want to be supportive and try to be supportive, but they cheerlead a lot and it’s hard for them to hear when things are difficult or what is difficult,” Program Director Stephanie Stern said. “In the support group, nobody has to worry that they are going to upset someone if they share openly and honestly how they are doing.”

Stern feels that working with Hope Connections is an extremely rewarding experience. She feels that in addition to helping others, working with a support group can help patients look inwards and make new discoveries about themselves during the process of overcoming cancer.

“I think that the human spirit is so strong and we are all stronger than we think we are,” Stern said. “When we are faced with something as difficult as cancer, we find our inner strength to get through even though we could not imagine that we could do this.”

In the Jewish community, rabbis are another form of support. In general, many Jews turn to rabbis to seek spiritual guidance when they feel lost or do not know how to handle a certain situation. For cancer patients, rabbis focus on their spiritual healing through prayer and counseling, a role their doctors cannot fulfill. These meetings are often private and happen when patients are first diagnosed.

“It’s [helping families with cancer] something that people never see. It’s quiet, it’s personal, it is impactful and it’s heartfelt. I think that it is the most important thing that I get to do,” Greg Harris, Senior Rabbi at Congregation Beth El, said.

Information from American Cancer Society

Harris said the most important part of his job is reminding people that they are not defined by their diagnosis; they are always made B’tzelem Elohim - in the image of God.

“Most people that have cancer don’t become cancer. They are full people just like they were before the diagnosis,” Harris said. “Treating them as people with an illness and not transforming them into the illness is important.”

Prayer is another aspect of a rabbi’s job. Harris said that along with speaking with patients, he often prays with them. Patients often turn to prayer as a source for catharsis and hope, even if they do not pray in their everyday lives

“When you have cancer, you learn a lot about yourself, your community and your relationships,” Harris said. “There is a realignment of priorities, and sometimes people find a renewed sense of Judaism and spirituality.”

There are no direct medical benefits to visiting a rabbi for healing because its purpose is for spiritual healing. However, according to the Natural Library of Health, spiritual and physical healing are directly related. The extent of that connection has not yet been deter-

mined, although it is hypothesized that finding a sense of spirituality betters your mental health, which consequently betters your physical health.

“In the mi sheberach we say Refuat Hanefesh, Refuat Haguf [healing of the body and healing of the soul]. It is the doctor’s job to repair the guf (body), and it is the Rabbi’s job to repair the nefesh (soul),” Harris said.

Professional medical help is extremely important, but there are other ways to support a person going through cancer. Joyce works with the organization Hope for Henry to bring a sense of normalcy to child cancer patients in the hospital, who miss out on the staples of childhood such as birthday parties. She feels as though it is important for kids not to miss out on “normal things” a child would do.

“I saw that it was the best experience that we had in all the hospitals we were in and the thing that actually brought joy to our lives,” Joyce said.

Families Facing Outwards

After enduring such a traumatic experience with Jaimin’s cancer journey, the Kammerman-Boles family learned many

life lessons, and they felt especially motivated to give back to the community.

From Tory’s experience of having a sibling living with cancer, they have kept core values to keep with them throughout their life. They wish to share these values with others who have family members with cancer.

“Just keep an open mind and take care of each other, watch out for each other. It gets better. Support each other as much as you can,” Tory said.

Jonah agrees with his sister and appreciates that his family gave back to the community what had supported them through their brother’s journey with cancer. The Kammerman-Boles family often works with Hope for Henry, an organization that brings encouragement to children in hospitals through finding them life specialists, in an effort to give back to the community that helped them.

“Now whenever anybody needs help, my mom’s the first person to say, ‘hey I have been there and done that. Let me do to you what others did for me.’ Really just giving back to the community, and the organizations, and the people that helped them,” Jonah said.

It takes teamwork

JDS 007 License to Cure team raises money for cancer research

Eliana Wolf, Reporter

Dressed to the nines, the CESJDS 007 License to Cure Fundraising Team stood anxiously in the gala ballroom on March 12, along with other Washington, D.C. student campaigns, awaiting the final donations for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. The team was excited to see the fruits of their labor in their quest to help eradicate blood cancers through the Student Visionaries of the Year campaign, after two months of fundraising through outreach and Zoom events.

Last year, juniors Alec Silberg and Matthew Steindecker created a fundraising team of students for the Student Visionaries of the Year Campaign with the focus on making a difference in the lives of current and future cancer patients. Their goal was to raise money for research, policy change, patient education and overall improvement of care for blood cancer patients.

Each member on the team has their own personal connection to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, whether their family member has cancer or a zeal for improving the quality of care for those affected by cancer. For Silberg, the campaign feeds into his passion for medicine and community service.

“I’ve always been interested in medicine,” Silberg said. “I’m interested in curing cancer and I think it’s a great cause.”

Junior Gilli Schisterman also has a personal connection to the cause, with Leukemia being a part of her immediate family. The proximity of the cause is one of the reasons she decided to undertake the role of team leader in the Student Visionaries of the Year campaign.

“Now I think I’m a lot more interested because my dad also has leukemia,” Schisterman said. “So I think it’s a really important cause.”

Since last year, the team has expanded to 19 members. Silberg and Steindecker are passing on their leadership roles to sophomore Stella Muzin and junior Gilli Schister-

man, with Silberg and Steindecker as mentors for the team.

The Student Visionaries of the year campaign runs from Jan. 21 to March 11 and the team is now in preparation season. The winners of the campaign get to appear on Good Morning Washington with an ad on a radio station, and they are called upon to speak with other teams on their successes.

LLS staff advisor Katie Money has returned to work with the team again. The team felt that Money was their biggest support throughout the entire process of fundraising. She meets with the team regularly, strategizing plans for the team and supporting them in any way possible.

Money teaches the team how to fundraise effectively and how to reach out to others to ask for donations. While she starts teaching these skills early in the year, the team isn’t allowed to raise a single dollar until Jan. 21, but they can start preparing for the campaign season earlier.

“We have workshops available in the fall for people to get some extra preparation and hear from past winners and hear from our honor heroes who are students that we honor in our campaign who are blood cancer survivors,” Money said.

Schisterman, Muzin, Silberg and Steindecker are using some of their fundraising strategies from last year to raise the most money possible. Last year, the team had to develop their own fundraising strategies as they were the first group representing JDS. In the end, their fundraising strategies resulted in approximately $93,000 raised.

“Definitely our biggest [fundraisers] were the contact lists and just spreading awareness like posters, and talking about [the campaign at] Kab Shab,” Silberg said. “Also we had an Instagram that helped a lot. Spread things through social media.”

They do this by creating contact lists, gaining corporate sponsorships and planning fundraising

Fast

events. But most important to the leaders is that everyone has an objective for the campaign.

“Every person should have a goal for themselves. But there’s also a goal that we want them to know that [is] you have to actually participate and you have to spend time on this,” Schisterman said.

“It’s not an easy thing to do.”

The team at JDS, and particularly Muzin, is focused on getting corporate sponsorships. The team is reaching out to different companies in the JDS network to see who will match donations to LLS.

JDS students have their sights set on impacting the community in positive ways, with one of those being the LLS Campaign, with an intent to ensure that the fewest number of people suffer through cancer treatment.

“They already have gotten off to such a great start, especially since the team has grown in such an exceptional way,” Money said.

“They have high goals, and I think that their excitement for the campaign is really contagious.”

Photo by Alec Silberg

Matthew Steindecker and Alec Silberg at the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society Student’s Of The Year Gala

Kehillah On Campus Alumni continue connecting to Judaism in college at Hillel

Sophie Schwartz Guest Writer

As Shabbat rolls in, a group of friends at the University of Maryland (UMD) Hillel meet up at a friend’s dorm to eat Shabbat dinner and bring in the spirit of the holiday together. Everyone is talking with one another as their bright, wide smiles illuminate the room.

Many Jewish students worry about being able to maintain a strong Jewish identity in a larger college environment, but Hillel provides them with the space to maintain a connection.

Hillel, a foundation for Jewish campus life, helps college students find a Jewish community and maintain their connection to Judaism in college. Through Hillel, students are able to connect with Jewish students all over campus.

One of many CESJDS alumni who have found a home in their college’s Hillel is Rebecca Weiss (‘20), a very involved member of the Columbia University Hillel.

“I made most of my Jewish friends through Hillel,” Weiss said. “College can be overwhelming, especially coming from a smaller school like JDS, but having a group of familiar faces or people that you can just see and you’re like, ‘oh, I’ve seen him around Hillel.’ It’s something comforting.”

Hillel programming varies on the school, however, most hold Friday night services and communal Shabbat dinners. Sometimes, services are split to accommodate a plethora of denominations.

Alex Garber (‘17), the Engagement Associate at the UMD Hillel, sees Friday night as a valuable social time for students.

“There’s generally about 30 minutes between services and when dinner starts, in which students just interact and talk,” Garber said.

“That’s when a lot of people either meet new people through mutual connections, or they will catch up with people that they haven’t seen in a while. That’s a really good way for them to connect with different Jews on campus.”

Not all students at Hillel find meaning in the High Holidays and weekly religious services, so Hillel offers other opportunities to be involved in the Jewish community.

“...We had Tashlich but we also had a reverse Tashlich in which we went and cleaned up a local body of water nearby,” Garber said.

“For Yom Kippur, we had services all through [the day] and breakfast and a pre-fast meal, and I believe somewhere around 500 students attended.”

Hillel also attracts people who were not involved in Judaism before college, so universities make

BY THE NUMBERS

sure to offer programs that are suited for everyone, including those who are new to Judaism.

When JDS students start to meet with their college counselors, they fill out a questionnaire asking them about the significance of Jewish life for them. College Guidance Counselor Sue Rexford believes that if students want a strong Jewish community, she encourages them to join Hillel.

“It would seem to me that if you’ve spent most of your education time in a Jewish day school, that Jewish life on the college campus would be important to you in some way or another and many students find that Hillel is a great way to have a place to connect,” Rexford said.

Weiss is one of many students who thinks that joining Hillel has been important to her college experience and her Jewish identity.

“It’s important to understand what Hillel has to offer you because what I get out of Hillel isn’t what everyone’s going to get out of Hillel,” Weiss said. “I’d also recommend exploring what they have to offer so you can figure out how it will best fit what you need and how you want to build community.”

Josie Levine (‘20) co-runs the Mitzvote chapter at the University of Maryland Hillel, which promotes voter education. Photo by Hillel International and Maryland Hillel.

Let’s go defense

Mock Trial allows students to learn about court system

Lena Nadaner Features Editor

“I object!” junior Reyut Wasserstein yells as she defends her client in court, claiming that her client was not involved in a college drug ring selling Adderall. She spent months preparing for this moment, ready to argue on the spot as she knows the case inside and out.

Wasserstein is a member of the CESJDS Mock Trial team, a national program for high schools, colleges and law schools that simulates real trials. JDS competes in the Montgomery County league against other local high schools.

Each year, the team is given a civil or criminal case. Every Wednesday afternoon from November to February, the team gathers to learn the rules of mock trials, dissect and understand the case book and write their roles for the trial.

“[I] learn a lot about the different aspects of the trial, some pretty technical laws and trial procedures, which I thought were really interesting,” senior and team captain Josh Kelner said.

As captain, Kelner leads the team until trials start and helps during the meetings. However, he does not compete.

Beginning in January, the team attends trials at the Montgomery County District Court. This year will be the first year that trials will be held in person since the start of the pandemic in 2020. The trials are run similarly to real trials with a judge and the trial starts with opening statements. Then, lawyers call up witnesses on each side to testify, followed by closing statements.

“Every year, the students blow us away with how smart they are, and how confident they are, and how eager they are to learn,” team adviser Nanci Bramson said. “And they’re really incredibly impressive.”

Bramson and her co-advisor, Rona Kelner, have been leading the team since 2019. They bring their experience as lawyers to the team as they teach about the rules and roles of trials and help team members craft arguments.

“I don’t think we knew what to expect. But we have literally fallen in love with the project of ours. We love working with the kids; we love teaching them about the law,” Bramson said. “I, and I’m sure Rona too, I love feeling like I’m also giving back to JDS … .”

Of the 14 students on the team, six are given witness roles, six are given attorney roles and two are bailiffs. Wasserstein joined the team in ninth grade as a lawyer.

“It’s everything I love at once. You’re telling a story. And you have these characters that you’re trying to say either did something wrong or didn’t do something wrong,” Wasserstein said. “And because I’ve been on defense, every year, I’m defensively born and raised.”

According to Wasserstein, one of the challenges of mock trial is having to think on the spot. This requires her to manage her nerves and memorize all the information in the case book.

Kelner has also learned to be flexible and a quick thinker from his experience on mock trial.

“So it teaches you to adapt and to think on the fly,” Kelner said. “Sometimes [you have] to change your game plan a little if the judge loves to overrule objections or hates to overrule objections.”

Wasserstein enjoys the mock trial community and plans to use the skills she has learned to become a lawyer in the future. To help prepare, she thinks of the mock trials as having real implications.

“It feels like you’re actually helping people not go to jail, even though you aren’t because it’s a pretend game,” Wasserstein said.

Last year, the team made it to the second round of county playoffs. Wasserstein, Bramson and Kelner are excited about the upcoming season and are ready to go to trial.

“I’m very hopeful,” Bramson said. “I believe in this team. I think we could do really well again this year.”

From top to bottom:

1. In rehearsal, the cast practices the “hat shop scene.”

2. Junior Shiri Cohen and senior Zach Singerman played Dolly Levi and Horace Vandergelder, one of the main romantic pairings.

3. Junior Serena Gill played Irene Molly, a hat shop owner.

4. The three main couples of the musical perform “Dancing” to end the show.

Photos by Abby Chesman, Dimensions Yearbook.

A tough act to follow

The behind the scenes of “Hello, Dolly!”

Werbin Reporter

The cast of “Hello, Dolly!’’ steps onto their train station set for their first song, “Call on Dolly.” Nerves and excitement pulse through their bodies as they are finally about to perform a mask-free musical after two years of COVID-19.

This year’s Joan and Marvin Rosenberg High School musical “Hello, Dolly!” was performed on Dec. 8, Dec. 9 and Dec. 11 at the Upper School campus. “Hello, Dolly” was directed by Director of Arts Education Dr. David Solomon and included a cast of 21 high school students, a stage crew of 10 students and an orchestra of eight students.

“Hello, Dolly!” is a musical about a Jewish matchmaker who goes on a wild adventure while arranging a marriage for a millionaire New Yorker. Solomon chose “Hello, Dolly” as this year’s musical because he wanted to bring joy and laughter to the audience after the many challenges students have faced over the past two years.

“‘Hello, Dolly!’ is a classic American musical comedy [and] I don’t know of anyone who disliked this show…it’s a laugh a minute,” Solomon said.

Auditions for the musical took place in early September with students performing a monologue from the show as well as a song of their choice.

“It [auditions] was a really supportive environment, and everyone was standing behind me and were super sweet,” sophomore Abby Chesman said.

After the cast was selected, the

rehearsal process began. Rehearsals took place Mondays through Thursdays from 4-6 p.m., where the cast and crew would work on learning choreography and music, going over lines and later practicing with costumes and props. As the show began to approach, rehearsals became longer and more serious.

Tech week, otherwise known as “hell week” for the stage crew, was a week of running through the entire show every day and fixing up choreography, numbers, costumes and stage directions.

“The performance dates kind of creep up on you…,” stage crew manager Samantha Eidelman said. “But I do enjoy leadership and responsibility, and being stage crew manager allows me to do all that and it’s a productive way for me to use my time that I can actually enjoy.”

The stage crew’s teamwork and productivity is another crucial aspect of putting on a production. According to Eidelman, “Hello, Dolly” is a very “prop-heavy show,” with props such as trays of food, parasols and parade signs, making it crucial for the stage crew to keep all the props organized so that nothing gets broken or lost.

Though the stage crew worked extremely hard on props and set design, they were able to get some extra help from Upper School Facilities Ebert Bracamonte, who built the entire set. Prior to constructing, Solomon sent Bracamonte reference photos and Bracamonte was able to design the set using his own vision. After a three-week process and long hours of work including coming in on the weekends, Bra-

Cati

camonte was able to build the New York skyline set.

“I like working with wood and being creative,” Bracamonte said. “For me, this wasn’t stressful.”

Many of the cast and crew participate in the production, not only because of their passion for acting, but also because they can make friends as well. This includes Chesman, who loves theater but was not in the musical last year. Regretting this, Chesman decided to join “Hello, Dolly!” this year.

“It’s just super fun to bond with people in other grades because I’m not on a sports team, so it gives me that same opportunity to feel like I’m a part of something,” Chesman said. “It’s just a really funny story, and I feel like it’s kind of timeless because it’s all about making new friends and stepping out of your comfort zone and that’s what being in the show is about.”

The many details that go into putting on a production can be exhausting and draining at some points, but the end result keeps the cast and crew working hard and pushing themselves to do the best show they can.

“Putting on a show is a big project. It’s a puzzle where everybody is responsible for their piece, and it all comes together as the opening night comes closer,” Solomon said. “Seeing the students grow in their roles, seeing the various elements of the show come together and seeing the reward in great performances that create memories that will last your life.”

Ella Longman Reporter

It’s 1:45 and the lunch rush has finally subsided. Students have already hurried through the cafeteria lines and scarfed down their lunches. Now, the cafeteria workers are left to seal and freeze all of the leftover food in order to help to reduce waste.

Food waste in the U.S. is an increasing problem, and many institutions now employ food recovery to lessen the issue. Although many schools struggle with food waste, Director of Food Services Mark Glauser said that the amount of waste has decreased tremendously at CESJDS.

“We really don’t have that much waste or a lot less waste than we used to,” Glauser said.

Since the beginning of last year when JDS bought a cryovac machine, (a vacuum sealer that preserves food,)the school has been able to repurpose produce by cooling, freezing and sealing them, Glauser explained.

Though the salad bar food often gets wasted on Fridays, the cafeteria has systems in place to help keep waste minimal from other parts of lunch.

These methods include various spreadsheets recording how much food is made, sold and wasted in both campuses. Each day, all this information is recorded to ensure that the school can make a more accurate amount of food for the next time that meal is prepared.

“Today I had three slices of pizza left over because again, it’s trial and error,” Glauser said.

In the Upper School, the cryovac machines keep food waste at a minimum, but because of their high cost, the school has yet to invest in one for the Lower School campus. Due to food safety concerns, the Lower School can not drive the food back to the Upper School.

However, there are multiple options being explored, and Glauser is looking for a third party to pick up the leftover food from the Lower School.

Outside agencies may be a

source of other, less expensive ideas regarding food waste.

Amy Bachman, the Director of Procurement and Sustainability at DC Central Kitchen, suggested the school look into partnering with Community Food Rescue, a nonprofit that collects food that may have been wasted otherwise. They then partner with food kitchens to help prepare meals for people who cannot provide them for themselves.

So far, the program has only been implemented in colleges, but JDS could potentially look to partner with them, or do something similar on a smaller level.

Additionally, Bachman said that creating a “shared table” could be a good way to minimize food waste.

Shared tables are traditionally used in schools with younger students. If students receive a pre-packaged food item, such as a carton of milk, and later on decide they don’t want it, they can place it on the shared table. Another student can then pick up the discarded food item if they wish for a second serving or it can be returned to the fridge. This solution helps with the issue of students throwing away unopened food, Bachman said.

At the Lower School, Principal Rabbi Matthew Bellas said that he has started looking into other options to reduce food waste, such as composting.

“I’m willing to invest educationally in composting if we can figure out a way to make it happen because of the value to the environment,” Bellas said.

Still, composting may be beyond the scope of the current JDS budget. Bellas said that composting would require a $4,000 investment. But cost aside, composting now provides students with habits that can help improve the environment.

“I think it’s going to be really important for the next generation to be composting,” Bellas said, “To learn how to do it when you’re young, and just make it part of your regular routine increases the likelihood that you’ll make it part of your routine as you get older.”

don’t

waste it, taste it

Going to new

heights

Libowitz Arts and Entertainment Editor

When senior Josh Kelner searched online for opportunities to give back to the community, his eyes lit up when he saw the position of ski instructor at the Special Olympics. An avid skier since age eight, he was excited to put his passion for skiing to use by helping others cultivate that same love for the sport.

The Special Olympics is the world’s largest sports organization for children and adults with special needs. The organization offers a variety of sports such as football, basketball, volleyball and skiing.

With his background knowledge and overwhelming passion for the sport, Josh was a ski instructor from his freshman through junior years. Josh said that the experience taught him valuable lessons about leadership and exposed him to a community outside of his bubble.

“First of all, I never had much interaction with the special needs community so it was eye-opening to connect with them on a personal level, while also helping to train them,” Josh said. “I learned a lot of ways to adjust my communication to be an effective coach, in ways I wouldn’t have in regular life.”

In his volunteering position, Josh worked with teenagers and young adults with special needs to help them train for a state-wide slalom skiing competition that occurs

each year. He taught them the basics of skiing including turning techniques, proper form and the different ways to brake while skiing.

Before the pandemic, Josh commuted to Whitetail Ski Resort in Pennsylvania twice a month to serve as a ski instructor for amateur skiers. He would get to the resort at dawn to set up for the day. Then, the trainers would divide the students into separate groups for warm ups and drills with their instructors by their sides to give them tips to improve their skills.

It wasn’t only Josh who was committed to skiing; his mother Rona Kelner had to drive him to and from Whitetail, which is two hours from their home.

“It was a little bit rough for me because we would have to leave the house at six in the morning to get to Whitetail,” Rona said. “...Even with the early drives, it was worth it because being an instructor influenced Josh positively.”

During the pandemic, the Special Olympics athletes practiced at the ski resort whenever possible. However, when the transmission rate got too high and large gatherings were prohibited, they worked on conditioning off of the slopes.

“The Special Olympics has a competition at the end of the season and I prepared them for that,” Josh said. “Unfortunately, when COVID-19 hit, we could not have the competition, but we still got

BY THE NUMBERS

1-2

times a month

Josh worked with the Special Olympics

8 Hours

Length of each coaching session

1.4M

Special Olympics coaches and volunteers

to practice for it even though we couldn’t compete.”

The ski instructors took the Special Olympics athletes on hikes to maintain strong relationships with them, while also working on dryland training techniques. This was also used as a way to make sure that the athletes stayed active and maintained morale in a tough time.

Rona said she was thrilled that Josh could share his hobby in a meaningful way.

“I was so happy Josh was involved in the Special Olympics because it allowed him to share his love of skiing with people that he normally doesn’t spend time with,” Rona said.

Overall, Josh relished the opportunity to be involved in the Special Olympics and in a greater sense be able to share the sport he’s so passionate about with others.

“It was a really good experience taking a sport that I love so much and teaching it to other people,” Josh said. “I loved helping them grow and enjoy it too. It was a good way to apply what I love and help other people in the process.”

Lilli

Senior Josh Kelner stands at the top of a mountain in Park City, UT. Photo by Rona Kelner.

How a senior uses his talents on

Information from specialolympics.org

Alumni watch their children play sports at alma mater

Mia Forester Guest Writer

During the fall soccer season, alumnus Jonathan Polon (‘92) watched with pride as his eighthgrade daughter stole the ball from a player on CESJDS’s rival team, Melvin J. Berman Hebrew Academy. The fact that his daughter was playing the same sport in the same place he did, only many years later, made the experience all the more meaningful.

Like her father, who not only played soccer, basketball and baseball, but also racked up regular and tournament championships; eighthgrader Anna Polon is an active participant in JDS sports. Though she has played softball since the spring of second grade, she hadn’t played soccer consistently until this year.

“My dad told me how much fun he had playing soccer at JDS and that I should give it a try,” Anna said. “ ...I think it’s cool to know that we’re both doing the same thing, but a [long] time apart.”

Anna and Jonathan’s shared interest in athletics allows them to bond through practicing an activity that they both enjoy, together. Despite the fact that Jonathan does not play on sports teams anymore, he is a devoted supporter of Anna and her younger sister, Sophie’s sports.

“I love seeing the excitement that they get out of it and the memories that they make playing with their friends,” Jonathan said. “ ... The memories I made and the times I got to spend playing with my friends, I wouldn’t trade it, and to see them get the same thing is great.”

The Polon family is far from the only JDS family with a parent that played the same sports as their child. Athletic Director Becky Silberman estimates that there is at least one per sports season. To help alumni and students alike remember their achievements, their banners and trophies are displayed in the hallways and in the gym, dating back to the ’80s.

Among those alumni is Marshall Einhorn (‘94), whose love

for sports is so great that he is the CEO of Maccabi USA. He was the JDS Athlete of the Year in 1992-93, was named PVAC All-Conference in all his sports, won two basketball championships with the JDS team in 1992-1994 and was inducted into the JDS hall of fame. Marshall has two high school children who are three-season athletes at JDS.

Freshman Ari Skolnick-Einhorn attributes his love of sports to his dad.

“[My dad] was the first person I ever played catch with or played basketball with. And I’m always watching sports with him,” Ari said. “… We’ve always been able to connect by playing outside, once or twice a week or just watching sports.”

Ari and his sister, senior Elana Skolnick-Einhorn, both played soccer and basketball this year. Elana played on the varsity softball team last year, and Ari hopes to play for the baseball team this year. Last year, Elana and the rest of the girls varsity soccer team won the division, and during softball season, Elana made the PVAC first team. This past soccer seaon, she made the PVAC second team.

Marshall enjoys cheering his kids on and seeing the latest generation of athletes compete for his alma mater.

“It’s amazing. In some ways, the blink of an eye and your kids all of a sudden are in similar settings. You feel like it wasn’t too long that you were in there,” Marshall said. “But then for that all to take place at JDS is particularly meaningful, and some of their teammates are children of people I went to school with or played with and that adds even more meaning to it. And some of the parents are now grandparents and to see them on the sidelines is great.”

Marshall Einhorn kicks a corner kick. Photo by Dimensions Yearbook (‘93)

Elana Skolnick-Einhorn fends off a Spencerville defender.

Photo by Taylor Polonsky, Dimensions Yearbook.

Kicking it up a notch

Former student plays on the Israel U-19 soccer team

Ari Werbin-Gradel Features Editor

When junior Leah Harrison and her family packed up their Potomac house this past fall and moved to Israel, Harrison had no idea that a month later, she’d be starting for the Under-19 Women’s Israel National Team’s match against Germany.

Harrison moved to Netanya, Israel in October. When she visited Israel last April, she was introduced to a club team called Maccabi Hadera. Impressed by her skills, the coach of Maccabi Hadera referred her to the coach of the Israeli national team. Seven months later, when Harrison and her family arrived at the airport on their way to Israel, her dad got a call from the Maccabi Hadera coach who let her know that the coach of the national team had offered Harrison a spot on the U-19 team.

“In the moment, I didn’t really process it because I was really sad about leaving, Harrison said. “After we arrived in Israel and I was on my way to my first training, it really set in and hit me that I was playing for the Israeli national team.”

Her first tournament for the national team was the day after her first day of school. Harrison joined the team on Nov. 3, stayed in a hotel in Netanya and had practice two times a day for half a week. Then, for a full week, she played in the Union of European Football Associations

Women’s U-19 Tournament in Shefayim, Israel.

“We stayed in the same hotel as the other teams, which were Austria, Ukraine and Germany. The other countries were very good and we didn’t win a game in the tournament, but it was an experience of a lifetime,” Harrison said.

Harrison, the youngest player on the team by nearly two years, was given a chance to be in the starting lineup in the first game of the tournament against Germany.

“I was able to compete and keep up with everybody. My age didn’t affect the way I played against the others…,” Harrison said. “I was really shocked when I found out that I was starting, being the youngest player on the team. But when he announced the starting lineup, I was excited and very happy.”

Although her participation on the national team has been a bright spot, Harrison found it difficult to move away from her friends at CESJDS and rebuild her entire social life in a new country.

“I miss Leah but the new opportunities she is having in Israel are amazing… I was so excited for her because that’s such a cool and unique experience that she really deserves. She’s worked so hard,” senior and former teammate Devorah Freeman said.

Harrison has brought a sense of pride, not only to her family and friends but to the JDS community

“I am so grateful that I was given the opportunity to represent the country of Israel and play the sport I love. It was an unreal experience and something I will never forget.”

-Leah Harrison

as well. She played on the JDS girls varsity soccer team this fall, moving in the middle of the playoffs just after her team won the quarterfinals.

“It shows the talent we had on our team and it shows that we probably would have won the semifinals if she was there…,” Freeman said. “I loved playing with Leah because she was really encouraging and it was also fun to cheer her on when she played and when she scored.”

Athletic Director Becky Silberman is proud of Harrison for taking initiative and being called to play for such a competitive and prestigious team.

“You often find people who take it too seriously and get too hard on themselves and you have people who do it just for fun. I think she recognized the skill of everyone around her and she played to everyone’s assets,” Silberman said. “She was just fun to watch. She always gave one hundred percent.”

Harrison’s next tournament with the U-19 national team isn’t until next April. However, she joined a club team called Maccabi Kishronot Hadera which trains almost every day.

“I am so grateful that I was given the opportunity to represent the country of Israel and play the sport I love,” Harrison said. “It was an unreal experience and something I will never forget.”

Junior Leah Harrison with her team before their game against Germany. Photo courtesy of Harrison.

comfortably cold 1

Tips on how to stay warm during the winter sports season

Kaylah Goldrich SportsEditor

Layer Up 2

Whether you’re playing basketball in your backyard or going for a run around your neighborhood, it is important to wear multiple layers of clothing in the cold weather. At a minimum, you should wear three layers. According to REI, the first layer, or “base layer,” absorbs sweat off your skin. For this layer, wearing a shirt made from moisture-wicking fabric is recommended as this moves sweat from the skin to the fabric’s surface where it can evaporate. The middle layer is important in retaining body heat, and the outer layer shields you from elements such as wind, rain and snow. On a very cold day, I recommend wearing a long sleeve shirt, an athletic hoodie and a jacket to protect yourself.

3

Warm Socks Rock

One of the most overlooked parts of the body when it is cold is the feet. I know that whenever I play sports outside in cold weather, I often forget to protect them. The last thing you want are numb, freezing toes. In order to effectively stay warm, I highly recommend either wearing super thick socks or doubling up on your socks. While it may feel uncomfortable at first, it is especially important to maintain blood flow and mobility in your feet while you exercise. You must also consider the fabric of the socks. Wool socks are moisture-wicking, and therefore highly recommended, while cotton socks will absorb any moisture, thus no longer providing adequate insulation.

Cover Your Head

Your body loses heat when it comes in contact with a cold environment, and according to pediatrician Howard Bennett in The Washington Post, your head is most exposed to the elements during the winter. Wearing a hat, scarf or earmuffs is not only more comfortable, but it also can prevent you from contracting a cold or illness by preserving body heat. “Hats are important to me in the winter because I wear them when I walk my dog to keep me warm, and that helps me appreciate and enjoy the walk more,” junior Hannah Shank said.

4Love Your Gloves

5

It does not matter if you are playing basketball or soccer during the winter, it is still essential to wear gloves. There is nothing worse than jamming a frozen finger or having to unthaw numb hands. Not only do gloves trap and preserve heat, but they also protect your hands against dry skin. While gloves provide more mobility, mittens are actually more efficient in preserving heat, as they do not separate your fingers which allows them to share warmth.

Where to Shop

Acquiring high-quality, affordable winter attire is crucial, and REI is a perfect place for these necessities. Their outdoor winter gear is top of the line in quality and their prices are reasonable. However, if you are just looking for a pair of mittens or wool socks, your local Target or Old Navy has a wide variety of items. TJ Maxx also carries quality athletic gear such as Brooks, Under Armour and Adidas. If you are looking to support a local business, RnJ Sports and Road Runner Sports have a wide range of running gear and sportswear.

“Wakanda forever” wows

Aaron Waldman SportsEditor

Marvel’s newest movie, “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever,” is not one to miss, as it is emotionally poignant yet action-filled at the same time. The movie successfully brings the viewer back to a beloved place, Wakanda, in an effective and unique way. “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” features various cultures and perspectives, giving a strong voice to minority groups.

The fictional African country Wakanda is a special city with a blend of a rich, vibrant culture and world-class technology. In the first “Black Panther” movie, we learn about Wakanda’s prized possession: an indestructible metal called Vibranium. This coveted resource is the trademark of Wakanda, making them a powerful and distinct nation.

In “Wakanda Forever,” there is a global conflict where foreign nations will go to great lengths to attain Vibranium because it has the capacity to change warfare. Simultaneously, personal conflicts arise within the royal family as they struggle with the death of their former king T’Challah, the main character of the original movie.

The Vibranium conflict sets up the antagonistic nation of Talocan, an underwater civilization with roots in Mayan culture. Talocan is unknown to the surface world and

they are one of the largest threats to Wakanda and their supply of Vibranium. However, the personal challenges of Wakanda stem directly from the challenges faced in the real world by the cast and crew in the real world.

In August 2020, the actor who played T’Challah, Chadwick Boseman, passed away from colon cancer. “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” is the perfect tribute to both Boseman’s and T’Challah’s lives. In order to achieve this noble goal, the movie includes clips of the actor in silence, along with a tribute funeral for the character.

The movie succeeded in combining multiple culturally significant ideas into one sitting: a tribute to Boseman’s life, the representation of Latin American cultures with Talocan and the representation of African cultures through Wakanda. The crew were able to accomplish this through amazing costume design, a top-tier soundtrack headlined by Rihanna, top notch visual effects and honor and respect for the cultures represented in the movie.

A major theme presented in the movie is racism in the international community. We see the United Nations (U.N.) look down on Wakanda and not take them seriously because of their negative perceptions of African nations. The more Western nations

BY THE NUMBERS

5

phases of the Marvel Cinematic Universe 5 tribes in Wakanda

1

secret school for Metahumans in “Wakanda Forever” 30 films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe

of the U.N. want Wakanda’s resources, going to great lengths to search for Vibranium even after Wakanda has told them not to. This is reflective of white nations’ superiority complexes that are present in the real world. We see this appear in terms of colonization and imperialism as the U.N. abuses Wakanda for their resources.

Even though the movie was two hours and 41 minutes long, the time was filled well, as it only focused on the necessary components and was not tangential with subplots. “Wakanda Forever” introduced new and exciting characters to the Marvel world, and, most importantly, it resolved the question of who the new “Black Panther” would be with T’Challah gone.

“Wakanda Forever” kept me on my toes the whole time because of incredible character development and plot twists in the nation of Wakanda. While it was not as well done as the original “Black Panther” because the world of Wakanda wasn’t new to us, I still highly recommend watching it.

‘Black Panther’ sequel is an incredible tribute to T’Challah’s life

Photo by Marvel

Information from Imdb

Cuz i “Love, Lizzo”

Biopic shows compelling journey

Ellie Levine Reporter

The new HBO Max documentary “Love, Lizzo” is a biography detailing the monumental events of the singer’s career and personal life. The film pulls you in with heartfelt and heartbreaking moments that show who Lizzo truly is.

The documentary’s title is extremely indicative of what to expect from the film: the entire 90-minute movie feels personal, like receiving a letter from a friend. This connection draws in the viewer, allowing them to feel emotionally attached to Lizzo’s story from the start.

The documentary begins with her childhood in Detroit, detailing what it was like to grow up black and plus-sized. She describes hardships she faced due to her appearance and how she used her passion for music to help her persevere.

Something done well about this film is the way in which it cuts to moments of Lizzo performing on stage in-between flashbacks. This contrasts her hope to become famous when she was young with the success that she has now.

Another powerful moment in the film is when Lizzo opens up about her experience with writer’s block and her insecurities about not being perceived as talented enough to succeed in the music industry. She details the struggle of feeling like she had to create but also feeling like nothing she was making was authentic.

While the combination of voice-overs and videos from the past is not revolutionary, it is done

beautifully. The movie uses this tool carefully, not becoming oversaturated with voice-over moments. This discretion allows for the moments in which they do use voice-overs to be much more powerful.

She also speaks very candidly about her hitting rock bottom when her father died, and how while it was a horrible experience for her, it helped her find her voice.

This is a wonderful example of one of my favorite aspects of this film: that it does not shy away from the hard parts. It sugar-coats nothing, giving the audience a very real and heartfelt understanding of what Lizzo was truly going through.

One beautiful component of this documentary is the way in which Lizzo speaks about learning to love herself, which she expressed in her song “My Skin,” which completely changed her course in the music industry. This song led her to understand herself as a songwriter and gave her confidence that people would listen to her message.

“Love, Lizzo” sets itself apart from other documentaries and biopics because of its transparency and heart. Every person has some aspect of “Love, Lizzo” that they can relate to, which is what makes it truly unique.

Favorite Lizzo Hits:

Sophomore Allison Polin

Sophomore Netanel Bitton Freshman Jennifer Kelner

Photo from Matthew_Wordell_Treefort2017-7256 by Treefort Photo Dept is licensed under CC BY 2.0.

Marvel

“My favorite Lizzo song is ‘Truth Hurts.’”

“My favorite Lizzo song is ‘About Damn Time.’”

“My favorite Lizzo song is ‘Good as Hell.’”

Freshman Nolyn Ziman

“My favorite Lizzo song is ‘Juice.’”

Compiled by Lilli Libowitz

Winter Wonderland

Top 5 local recommendations for cold-weather activities

Stella Muzin Reporter

In the Washington, D.C. metro area, we are lucky to have an array of activities available during winter. While the weather may be unpredictable, there are many winter activities for a variety of conditions: rain, sleet, snow or even the occasional day of sun.

2. Visit a museum

The D.C. area provides us with close proximity to many museums ranging from the National Gallery of Art to the National Air and Space Museum. Some of my favorites include the International Spy Museum and the Natural History Museum because they are both interactive and extremely educational. If you want to avoid the crowds, some hidden gems are the Renwick Gallery and the Heurich House Museum. Visiting museums is one of the best activities to do for fun while staying inside and warm during winter.

1. Ice skating

There are many ice skating rinks around the DMV, including ones in Cabin John, Silver Spring, Georgetown and Washington Harbor. Washington Harbor holds the largest outdoor ice skating rink in D.C, Situated on the Potomac River near Georgetown. This rink has gorgeous lighting, beautiful views and reasonable pricing as it only costs $10 to skate and $7 to rent skates, making it a great place to visit with friends or family.

Photo used with permission of Eric Glantz

Photo used with permission of Layla Mopsick

Photo used with permission of Abby Greenberg

Photo by Ella Kotok, LT

3. The Kennedy Center

Another fun indoor activity is visiting the Kennedy Center. This coming winter, the Kennedy Center will be presenting productions of “Wicked” as well as “A Soldier’s Play,” which were both previously performed on Broadway. While main stage tickets can be pricey, there are free performances Wednesdays through Saturdays at 6 p.m. on the Millennium Stage. There are also free movies on Sundays at 3 p.m. Reserve your free tickets online in advance.

4. Lantern Festival at REACH

While you’re at the Kennedy Center, check out the free Chinese Lantern Festival running from Jan. 27 through Feb. 6. This festival contains over 100 lanterns made of over 10,000 LED lights, creating a stunning light display in the dark winter skies. Not only is this a great opportunity to learn more about Chinese culture, but it is also a beautiful event with stunning photo opportunities and delicious food.

5. Crumbs and Whiskers Cat Cafe

If you enjoy the company of furry friends, visiting Crumbs and Whiskers Cat Cafe is the activity for you. This cafe is located in Georgetown and is open all year round, but it feels especially cozy during the winter. During your 30 to 70 minute appointment to play with cats, you can also order cafe style desserts and coffees. Additionally, visiting the cafe supports a noble cause, as all the cats in the shelter are up for adoption.

Photos by Kaylah Goldrich, LT

Photos by Stella Muzin, LT

Photo used with permission of Eric Glantz

the lion’s tale

Charles E. Smith Jewish Day School 11710 Hunters Lane Rockville, MD 20852

Photo by Ella Kotok, LT

Senior Ella Sheintal spends her snow days sledding with her friends.

Photo used with permission of Jayden Kasheri Spread compiled by Ella Kotok