Issue 1 - Ma'ayanot Yeshiva High School for Girls

More documents

Recommendations

Info

(Continued from page 7) “The Stream“ August 30, 2013/24 Elul 5773 Our Science Research Class Triumps at Gildor Competition from team to team inspecting and grading various aspects of the system. For one judge, the students demonstrated how our system worked, for another, they showed the solar panel powering some of the system, for another, they answered increasingly detailed questions on the technology and science that makes it all work. We also showed Our students demonstrate their successful design and easily field questions from a battery of judges the system to many curious Israeli students, who were very impressed that we traveled all the way from America. We were able to The challenge: To design a system to prevent trains from colliding with cars stalled at intersections and to build a working model which had to detect a car and train, stop the train, remove the car and then allow the train to continue, all done autonomously through sensors and computers. answer questions for the judges in English, though some students flexed their Hebrew skills when speaking with participants from the other Israeli schools. We tied for first place and I was informed that the Ma'ayanot students received a particularly large number of points for demonstrating a deep understanding of the technology involved and for good team work, successfully dividing labor and sharing responsibilities. The winning design: The Ma’ayanot team embedded sensors in the tracks for detection, used electromagnets to stop the train, and installed motorized rubber rollers under the intersection to remove the car. Parts of the system were powered by a solar panel for green energy bonus points! It was a challenging experience to re-build our system in an unfamiliar place and impress the many rounds of judges, but the months of hard work paid off. It is an achievement of which the students and the school should be very proud. The students came out of the competition with a better understanding of the processes of engineering and with confidence to face new challenges in the future. It was a unique and memorable trip. Above, our team meets to be sure that everything is ready 8
“The Stream“ August 30, 2013/24 Elul 5773 Teachers Teaching Teachers Playing Hard in the Summer Sandbox-by Mrs. Leah Herzog, Tanakh Faculty and Israel Guidance For three days in July, Ma’ayanot hosted a new kind of professional development program called The Summer Sandbox. The Sandbox was the brainchild of Mrs. Tikvah Wiener, coordinator of interdisciplinary studies, chairman of the English department at The Frisch School and a founding member of JED- LAB, which is a Facebook group comprised of and open to all the partners in Jewish education engaged in an ongoing, bottom-up effort to improve all kinds of Jewish education. I found out about the Sandbox from Mrs. Weiner, through JEDLAB and through an email that was sent to Ma’ayanot faculty by Mrs. Pam Ennis. This was to be an “un-workshop”: there was no keynote and no workshops to choose from. Instead, we learned together—through discussion and debate, through Skype and through demonstration by experienced practitioners. It was a place to “play hard”—to learn a great deal and to have fun doing it. I was joined in the Sandbox by Mrs. Pam Ennis, Ma’ayanot’s Director of Community Relations, and by Mrs. Becky Katz of our Math Department, and by almost 20 other people from the tri-state area and beyond (as far away as Florida!). Our group was religiously pluralistic, and comprised of people from day schools, supplemental schools, Jewish communal work and philanthropy. Tikvah Wiener, together with Akiva Mattenson and Peninah Warburg, both 2013 graduates of Frisch, organized and largely facilitated the three-day event; nevertheless, with the exception of a few previously-organized sessions, what we learned was left to us. The goal was both amorphous and exiting: at the end of the three days, each of us was to complete a “project” that we would share with the group and, hopefully, with our students or parents or schools or communities. We would choose the project based on our passions and needs. I chose to re-frame and revise the curriculum for the study of Devarim, part of our Grade 12 Bible class. I also worked on ways to integrate more PBL (Project Based Learning) into units I teach in grades 9 and 12. We worked how and where we wanted: in pairs, trios, solo, even at home (as I did for one afternoon). We were able to stay in whatever “configuration” we were in, or to collaborate with other individuals and groups at other times. Ideas and expertise where shared freely and fertilized the soil to grow new perspectives. Lunch was designed to be more “coffeehouse meetup” than just a time to eat. There was paper on the tables so we could sketch or jot ideas down as they came to us. Over three days, in a style that definitely resembled the Beit Midrash, we learned together about the MIT Media Lab’s model of “serendipity by design” and “hard play” and “fail fast to fail forward,” about student-driven and inquiry-based learning, and about project-based learning. We talked about the needs for digital citizenship, and debated the competing models of 21 st Century education. We spent three days deeply engaged in thinking about and working on education. Each of us walked away with something unique and personal, and each of us left with ideas, projects or goals to work on during the upcoming year. It was invigorating and exciting; since teachers are perpetual students, it was a great place to play! To read an article about the “Sandbox” which appeared in the Jewish Standard this summer, click here. Professional Development for our faculty is coordinated by Mrs. Shifra Schapiro of our Tanakh Department and Mrs. Merav Tal-Timen, Ivrit Chair. In addition to arranging monthly “Lunch and Learn” programs for faculty, Mrs. Schapiro and Mrs. Tal-Timen are working with faculty this year to develop opportunities for Professional Learning Communities (PLC). PLC's are interdepartmental, created based on teacher interest, and meant to encourage teacher reflection and experimentation with techniques learned through collaboration with colleagues. 9 (Continued on page 10)
Page 1 and 2: Bringing news to the online communi
Page 3 and 4: (Continued from page 2) “The Stre
Page 5 and 6: “The Stream“ August 30, 2013/24
Page 7: “The Stream“ August 30, 2013/24
Page 15: “The Stream“ August 30, 2013/24

Issue 1 - Ma'ayanot Yeshiva High School for Girls

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?