Logan Stokols, a seventh-grader from Kadima Hebrew Academy, took first place in mammalian biology at the State Science Fair at Los Angeles’ California Science Center in May. His project, “Does Pupil Size Affect Peripheral Vision?” moved to the state level after he received two honors at the 55th Annual Los Angeles County Science Fair, held April 20-22. There he won the second-place medal in animal physiology and a special award for scientific excellence from the Greater Los Angeles Teachers of Science Association.
Abby Leven, a Kadima sixth-grader, won an award at the County Fair in the chemistry category, and went on to the state level.
Kadima alumni Miriam Glicksberg and her brother Jonathan Glicksberg, who now attend El Camino High School, both placed in the State Science Fair and will go on to the national level.
Kadima students have won awards at the County Science Fair for the last six years, since the West Hills day school began a new science program based on teaching the entire scientific process, from formulating a hypothesis to testing and presenting one’s findings. For the past three years, Kadima students have gone on to compete at the state level.
For information on Kadima call, (818) 346-0849, or visit www.kadimaacademy.org.
For information on the County Science Fair contact (562) 922-6896 or visit www.lacoe.edu/science.
Music to His Ears
Fourteen-year-old Jordan Goldstein, a ninth-grader at Milken Community High School, took first place in the Bureau of Jewish Education’s (BJE) third annual TeenSong! Contest for his Psalm 96 score. Goldstein composed the music, played keyboard, electric bass, guitar and drums, and used his computer to combine them for “Sing a New Song.” BJE is planning to present Goldstein’s song for use in music curricula. The honor came with a $100 savings bond, but Goldstein decided to donate the money back to BJE to use for Jewish music education.
Second prize in TeenSong!, open to eight-12th graders, went to Molly Williams, an eighth-grader at Heschel Day School. Third place went to Yael Aranoff, an 11th-grader at Milken Community High School.
For information on the contest, call (323) 761-8635 or visit www.bjela.org.
L.A. High School Scholars Go to Washington
Los Angeles residents Shlomo Eisenberg and Ben Greenfield attended the American Israel Public Affairs Committee Policy Conference in Washington last month as part of their participation in the Orthodox Union’s Sen. Joseph Lieberman Scholars Program.
Two of five Lieberman scholars nationwide, Eisenberg and Greenfield, both seniors at YULA, monitor issues in Congress, initiate programs of community interest, and attend educational programs and seminars. The goal of the program is to educate and cultivate leaders of the Jewish community and American society for the decades ahead.
Information and application material for the Lieberman Scholars Program can be found online at www.ncsy.org.
Grant for Day School Web Set Up
Twenty Jewish day schools will have a chance to sharpen their technological edge with a grant that hooks them up to PlanitJewish.com, a nonprofit organization committed to creating Web-based interactive calendars, personalized e-mail notifications and online access to homework assignments and other vital information. The San Francisco-based Levine-Lent Family Foundation is subsidizing the start-up cost and maintenance for a year, valued at around $2,800 per school. After the first year schools who wish to continue will be required to pay $100-$300 a month for maintenance.
PlanitJewish hooks up to the school’s existing Website, and parents can enter their child’s grade and areas of interest and receive personalized notifications. The site can also hold assignments and information for teachers, and allow for online registration for events and activities.
Grant applications are due June 15.
For information and application, contact Howard Brown at (650) 286-4303, e-mail howard@planitjewish.com, or visit www.planitjewish.com.
Words for the Wise
Fifth graders at Yeshivat Yavneh earned a Writing Achievement Award from Creative Communications, a national writing organization that sponsors essay and poetry contests. Eighteen essays submitted by Yavneh students were selected to be published in the 2005 anthology of student work, entitled “What is Important to Me.”
For information on Yavneh call (323) 931-5808. For information on Creative Communications go to www.poeticpower.com.
Ready, Set, Grow
Beth Hillel Day School, a 10-year-old Reform day school in Valley Village, received two grants to help the school increase enrollment and build its program.
The Partnership for Excellence in Jewish Education’s Challenge Grant for Day School Growth will partner Beth Hillel with an experienced consultant. Dr. Bruce Powell, head of school at the New Community Jewish High School in West Hills, will serve as a coach to the school, helping Beth Hillel implement new creative programs and strategies.
Beth Hillel also received a grant from the Bureau of Jewish Education of Greater Los Angeles to expand its Hebrew-language immersion program.
For information about Temple Beth Hillel Day School, call (818) 763-9148, or e-mail sisaacson@tbhla.org.
Judaism for Babies
Taking off on the Mozart and Einstein for Babies craze, Mercer Island residents Rob and Lisi Wolf founded OyBaby, which combines colorful imagery of Jewish objects, children, puppets and nature with familiar Hebrew music. Since its launch in November 2003, OyBaby has sold 5,000 DVDs, CDs and videos and is planning to come out with OyBaby 2 this fall.
For more information, visit www.oybaby.com.
