REFLECTIONS FROM THE HEAD OF SCHOOL
At the conclusion of last week’s parsha, Benjamin was caught with the viceroy’s goblet, prompting the viceroy to declare that he would keep Benjamin as a slave while the rest of the brothers were free to return to their father.  In this week’s parsha, Vayigash, we see that Joseph’s brothers have matured and changed since they sold him into slavery twenty-two years earlier.  Showing compassion and respect for their father, Jacob, who would be devastated to lose another son, Judah comes forward and offers himself as a slave to the viceroy in Benjamin’s stead.  Joseph finally reveals himself to his brothers and sends them home to bring their father to Egypt.  Jacob sadly settles his family in the land of Goshen, for he knows that this is the beginning of many long exiles for the Jewish people.  In this parsha, we also learn the names of Jacob’s descendents and read about the meeting between two great kings, Jacob, a monarch of spirituality, and Pharaoh, a monarch of world power. 

In the beginning of the parsha, when Judah pleads with Joseph to enslave him instead of Benjamin, Judah says, “For how can I go up to my father if the youth is not with me…?” The sages tell us that this has implications far beyond the obvious.  Judah is asking the deeper question of how, when he dies, can he go up to G-d and account for selling Joseph into slavery, especially if Judah does not try to redeem himself by preventing the same type of situation from occurring with his brother Benjamin.  Let’s examine how this relates to our students, children, and to ourselves.  We teach our teens not to act without giving thought to the implications of their actions.  These consequences can impact the present and the future, themselves and others.  As parents and teachers, we must also question the tools we give to our children and students – are we giving them the information and the moral fortitude to carry themselves appropriately in this world and in the world to come?

Shabbat Shalom,
Barbie Prince

LOOKING TO THE FUTURE
On Sunday, Dec. 9, Margie Hoffman was joined by students Beth Zaleon, Shira Glushakow-Smith, and Jeremy Hiken at Baltimore Hebrew Religious School where they met with interested families. Their articulate description of life at Cardin was enthusiastic and hopefully persuasive!

IN THE NEWS
Cardin West Dedicated
On Tuesday, Dec. 11, as part of our festive Hanukkat HaBitanim (the dedication of a small home), we officially dedicated our new modulars.  Students, faculty, and administrators gathered in front of the modulars to celebrate the growth of The Cardin School.  Everyone joined in a blessing, lead by Rabbi Yaakov Chaitovsky, while Science Instructor Dean Whitfield hung the mezuzah at the building’s entrance.  The community then joined together to view a student created Hanukkah mural and to listen to school songs, skits, and cheers that were created and performed by our talented students.

Cardin’s Hanukkah At A Glance

Cardin students Hanukkah Mural Creation
Cardin Hanukkah skit and cheer
8th day school menorah lighting	Trustee members join Cardin students for Friday Hanukkah minyanim
CAPTS Annual Hanukkah Party was held on Sunday, Dec. 9 in the Cardin modulars.  CAPTS would like to thank everyone who helped to organize the festivities, especially Adva Goldberg and Randy Gartner.  Cardin families and faculty joined together for a fun-filled night of food, fellowship, and games.

JUDAICS.COMMUNICATIONS
As our Wednesday speakers’ series on “the process of change” drew to a close, we learned that no single group of people experience change more profoundly and quickly than adolescents.  Our weekly series of programs allowed our students to take a step back and look at something in which they are deeply involved, and will hopefully continue to be involved in for the rest of their lives. 

Our first group of speakers concentrated on turning points in their lives at which they felt they must change to go on as successful human beings.  Jennifer Arndt, who had always identified with Judaism, converted.  Lee Hendler’s desire to be a Jewish philanthropist forced her to face the fact that she wasn’t grounded in her tradition, forcing her to begin a process of intensive Jewish learning.  Barry Lever’s near fatal heart attack made him confront how he was living and the choices he had always made.  Lorinda Belzberg, Randi Pupkin, and Steven Hoffman spoke about whys and wherefores that influenced their changes of careers later in life.  One interesting truth that our school absorbed was how these individuals stepped back from their stories, saw their lives as a whole, and asked themselves the very challenging question:  Where do I want to go from here? Once answered, the final question — how do I get there — was a bit easier to address. 

In the next few weeks, we met individuals who were involved in changing the lives of others:  Mike Mitchell, Director of Habitat for Humanity; Chris Leighton, Founder of the Institute for Christian and Jewish Studies; environmental activist Ricky Gratz; David Shapiro, Vice President of the Center for Jewish Studies; Stuart Sagal, a Big Brother volunteer; and Erin Beser, who lived in India for the year to help the Jewish community.  Their stories involved asking a different set of questions:  What does the world need?  What skill do I have to help to make the world better?  What should I do to bring about change?  They set out to change the world, and in doing so changed themselves as well.
 
At our last speaker session, we me with three teenagers who initiated successful social action projects in their communities:  Elie Kahn, who raised $85,000 for Leukemia research; Zach Weiner, who raised money for needy students at City College to participate in the Model UN; and, Rebecca Weinstein, who participated in the Atima medical mission to help the poor of Honduras. 

During the month of January, students and faculty will launch their own social action committees to effect change in our community.  And, in February, we will devote time on Wednesday mornings to prepare academically, spiritually, physically, and logistically as we make ready to walk in the footsteps of Heschel and King during Interim Week in March.

CLASSES IN ACTION
All Hail Lord and Lady Cardin!
Mark Hotz’s ninth grade Western Civilization class recently completed their nobility project.  Each member of the class was given the task of making themselves a member of 18th Century European nobility.  They each chose a country and a ruler who would grant them a title, the title itself, and the reasons why they merited such a reward.  In addition, they prepared their own Coat of Arms (adhering to 18th Century heraldic rules), which represented their title and new position.  All of this was bound into a proper Patent of Nobility.  As a result, The Cardin School now counts among its students a veritable potpourri of counts, dukes, barons, and baronesses!

The Tortoise and the Hare
Tair Abraham’s Hebrew VI class learned aboutלוקח ת'זמן", “ time in connection with the whole world.  The students approached the study of time by comparing the concept of “slow” and “fast” with a turtle and a rabbit, which were the two metaphors of their book.  Once they finished the book, the students worked with Art Instructor Diane Wittner to create an artistic time piece that most represented the concept of time for each of them as they learned how to perceive time through art.

Child Labor Laws
Bob Cantor’s Western Civilization II students are preparing to conduct a mock hearing replicating the Sadler Commission’s inquiry into child labor practices from the first half of the 19th Century.  Students will review testimony from the time period and make recommendations to British Parliament to determine changes in child labor laws.  They will then review policy changes implemented by the Sadler Commission and compare their suggestions to the reality of the time period.   

In Your Wildest Dreams
Dreams will be the focus of study as Bob Cantor’s AP Psychology and Psychology students will be involved in either a dream journal or a developmental portfolio project.  For the dream journal project, students will record all dream recollections for a ten-day period and will keep a consciousness journal, in which prompts will be given to stimulate streams of consciousness.  Students will then analyze both journals and make interpretations of the connections between the two.  The portfolio project will enable students to analyze their values, influences, and future goals.  When completed, a developmental snapshot of the student will be determined.
 

BEYOND THE CLASSROOM
EXTRA EXTRA – Cardin Basketball Teams Seek YOUR Support
Our basketball teams are in need of financial support to enable them to travel to Houston, Texas this January to compete in the Emery/Weiner Jewish Day School Basketball Tournament.  The tournament will allow our athletes to compete against teams from all over the United States and Canada.  To support this endeavor, please mail in your tax deductible contribution, made payable to The Shoshana S. Cardin School, to 5750 Park Heights Ave., Baltimore, MD 21208, and write “Athletics Department” in the memo line.  Remember, every little bit counts!  Thanks, in advance, for your help!

Vocal Ensemble Performs at JFS Hanukkah Party
Director of Music Paul Carroll and members of The Cardin Vocal Ensemble – Sophie Bass ‘08, Emily Boling ‘10, Daniel Eisenberg ‘08, and Tara Lichtenstein ‘10 – performed for the Jewish Family Services staff at their Hanukkah Party on December 5. The JFS was thrilled to experience the holiday through the universal language of music.  Through the performance of such songs as S’vivon, the Ensemble set the tone for this festive party.

Students “Become the Voices”
On Sunday, Dec. 9, a ceremony was held to celebrate the end of this year’s Becoming the Voices project.  Over the past several months, Cardin students Shachar Binyamin ’10, Jeremy Hiken ’09, Matthew Marcus ’09, and Alyssa Miller ’09, participated in this dynamically influential program, which was facilitated through the Center for Jewish Education and funded by a grant from The Jacob and Hilda Blaustein Fund for the Enrichment of Jewish Education.  Becoming the Voices was created to preserve the first-hand accounts of Holocaust survivors and share them with future generations.  Students worked in partnership with non-Jewish students, actual survivors, professional storytellers, and classroom teachers to learn the art of accurately retelling the harrowing stories of the Holocaust’s brave survivors.

COLLEGE SCENE

• Esther Gunter from the JCC College Center will speak about Financial Aid at the CAPTS meeting on Sunday, Dec. 16 at 11am.  All senior and junior families are encouraged to attend this informative session.
• All seniors should make sure to register for a FAFSA PIN so that they can submit financial aid forms online immediately after Jan. 1, 2008.  For instructions and sample forms, go to www.fafsa.ed.gov.
• Meetings for juniors and their families will begin after winter break.  Please contact Hallie Schein at hschein@shoshanascardin.org to set up a family meeting. 
• This is an exciting time of the year for seniors.  Remember that grades still matter all the way through May!
• Winter break is a great time to search for scholarships.  There are links to great websites on your Family Connections website, including www.scholarships.com.
• The Cardin Class of 2008 will submit over 100 applications this fall!  As decisions begin to arrive, remember that there is no such thing as a “perfect college.”

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