The Phoenix 2014-2015 Issue 5

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INSIDE: Murder in Argentina - Vending Machine Popularity - Merle’s Mad Libs

A Student Publication of the Yeshivah of Flatbush Joel Braverman High School • Issue 5 • 2015 / 5775

YOF Juniors Leave Room for Improvement on PSAT, PACT Joey Cohen, 4-HR Junior year lies in the shadow of two words that strike fear into the eyes of 11th graders nationwide: standardized testing. This terror has divided itself into a “pick your poison” type of situation: SAT or ACT. Luckily, Flatbush offers preparation opportunities for both tests, the PSAT and PACT. The tests are administered to sophomores and juniors, but the junior year score is a more accurate predictor of performance on the real test, because as Yosef Cohen (’15), with a 1510 composite SAT score, puts it: “Once you become a junior, you realize that it’s crunch time. Time to crack down.” With that in mind, The Phoenix staff did some junior year prep test analysis. On the PSAT, our juniors scored in the 60th percentile (according to the Selection Index Percentile, a statistic that compares the percentiles of our students vs. the rest of the juniors who took the exam). This means that, on average, the 11th graders at Yeshivah of Flatbush

scored better on the test than 60 percent of all 11th graders nationwide. Nine Flatbush juniors scored in the top 10 percent of the nation. On the PACT, no such statistic is offered, as individual scores are the only numbers provided. The mean composite score of our juniors was 19.07; the maximum composite score on the exam is 36. Although the ACT does not offer percentiles, our research indicates that a composite score of 19 on the practice exam is approximately average nationally. This would suggest that, as a group, Flatbush juniors performed better on the PSAT than they did on the PACT. It is important to note, however, that this was our juniors’ first exposure to ACTstyle testing, especially their comprehensive science section. “Don’t allow yourself to get down after one poor attempt at a standardized test,” an administrator said. “The important thing is to come back stronger and more prepared than ever.”

Raymond Braha (’15), an incoming freshman to The Johns Hopkins University, received a 32 on his ACT, and offers one piece of advice to standardized test takers: practice makes perfect. 72% of seniors who have taken a standardized test say the biggest difference between the two tests is time. The SAT consists of shorter sections, ranging from 20 to 35 minutes, while the ACT has sections that last as long as an hour. Obviously, the different tests suit different test-takers. Despite myths that there is a limit to how many times either test can be taken, most colleges allow you to choose the scores you wish to send in. Therefore, it is theoretically possible for students to take either test for as many times as they wish until they’re satisfied. Making the time to answer practice questions is essential in surviving the standardized testing tidal wave. So, juniors, just keep practicing. The storm will pass.

Despite Hiccups, Fingerprint-Based Attendance Draws Praise Mimi Lazerowitz, 2-HR On Friday, January 30, a new attendance policy was introduced and implemented in the Yeshivah of Flatbush Joel Braverman High School. In order to sign in, students entering the building must scan their fingerprints using one of the multiple computers found in the lobby. Seniors have been using this method for a while and have acted as a trial run for the rest of the school. Most of the seniors described their experiences with the new system as cool and exciting, while very few students felt that it was an inconvenience. Senior Rebecca Zami said, “I think the new system is a very clever way to prevent students from bending certain rules. It also just makes attendance easier. Perhaps we can finally save some paper and get rid of the various attendance sheets in the morning. Often my fingerprints weren’t picked up, but that’s bound to happen—you will always experience technical difficulties with any device.”

This type of positive feedback gave the administration the reassurance it needed, and therefore the program was able to start for the juniors, sophomores, and freshmen immediately following winter break. Assistant Principal Rabbi Beyda explained that a major reason that this new program came about is due to problems with the previous attendance system that can be resolved by using the fingerprint system. By law a school must keep accurate records of when students enter the building. Under the old method, attendance was taken during second period and counted for the whole day. This was problematic because if a student was in the office, on a trip, or speaking to a teacher during second period, that student would be marked absent for the entire day. Because of the inaccuracy with this system, faculty members including Mr. Galpert and Rabbi Levy walked around the building every day in order

to find out whether or not a student was actually absent. This was not very productive and the administration realized that the attendance system needed to be upgraded. The administrative staff decided that the most effective way to take attendance would be to use a point-of-entry system. A point-of-entry, or POE, system makes sure that a student is marked present in school immediately when he or she walks into the building. It is a way to get the most accurate student attendance records in the most efficient way possible. After coming up with a few ideas such as fingerprint scanning, card scanning, and facial recognition, it was decided that fingerprinting would be the most effective method. Fingerprinting wouldn’t require students to carry around a card, which could possibly be lost or faked, and it would also be much less expensive than a facial recognition system. Other schools Cont’d on page 6

New Teacher Spotlight: Ms. Benzakein Jane Zakay, 2-R Ms. Debra Benzakein knew she wanted to be a math teacher ever since she was in the ninth grade. When she started to see that some of her friends were struggling in math, she offered to tutor them. Soon she saw that she was able to help them bring their grades up. That’s when she realized that she was destined to teach math. Ms. Benzakein, who teaches calculus at Flatbush, grew up in Staten Island and graduated from Queens College, where she was in a four-year math teaching program. She developed close friendships with many students who were in her teaching program, and she still keeps in touch with them. But college was not all about work; while Ms. Benzakein was in college she took a memorable trip with her older sister to England, Scotland, and Ireland. Ms. Benzakein lives in Staten Island with her husband and young daughter. Her daughter, Naama, is 14 months old and really cute! Currently, the hardest thing for Ms. Benzakein is the fact that she has a long day at work that does not end when she gets home. After work she goes straight home to take care of her daughter and make dinner for her family, after which she must prepare for the next day’s classes. In addition, she often stays up late at night to grade or plan tests. This gives her barely enough time to pursue some of her favorite hobbies, such as running. She also has limited time to relax, so she likes to make up for that on the weekends. |1


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The Phoenix 2014-2015 Issue 5 by YOFHS - Issuu