REFLECTIONS FROM THE HEAD OF SCHOOL

The incident of the Golden Calf, recounted in this week's parsha, Ki Tisa, is considered the largest communal error of the Jewish people. However, the Torah tells us that only 0.1% of the community was directly involved.  And yet, the entire Jewish people were held responsible.  This community responsibility, for any error, perplexes many individuals.  Why should the group be held accountable for the error of the few?  Fast forward to this past Wednesday, when the entire Cardin community gathered in the chapel to discuss the ramifications of cheating and plagiarism.  As educators of college-bound students, we feel it is vital to periodically address issues of academic integrity to help guide our students in the right direction.  After the larger meeting was over, students moved into their advisory groups for in-depth conversations on this topic. I am sure that these groups discussed what might influence students to cheat and the consequences that an individual must face when caught cheating.  I wonder if any group struggled with the realization that sometimes an entire class or school can suffer the consequences for the mistakes of only a few students.  Did any group wonder why, in February, we revisited this topic as a school? 

Many upper schools, and certainly a large percentage of colleges and universities, require students to turn in all research papers through websites that utilize plagiarism software to screen the papers.  Why should the entire student body be held accountable for a few deviant behaviors?  Rabbi Shaul Rosenblatt writes that society has the largest influence on individuals.  If society condones cheating, or plagiarism, or making a golden calf, then the individual will continue his/her behavior.  Now, I don't believe that any school encourages cheating.  However, when individuals see that a peer has plagiarized but still receives a good grade, we see what I refer to as the "shampoo effect" – one person tells two friends and they tell two friends, and so on, and so on, and so on – soon, we have a society where people consider a deviant behavior as being acceptable.  This is why it is so important for the entire group to be held accountable for the behaviors of the individual.   If society as a whole cannot reinforce its own values, how can we expect each person to individually embrace them?

Shabbat Shalom,
Barbie Prince

JUDAICS.COMMUNICATIONS
I am reminded of a time, a few years ago, when I was standing on Ben Yehuda Street in Jerusalem, and suddenly, a young boy of ten years old approached me and handed me a card with a piece of candy.  He remained standing there as I read the card.  It read, “Be happy, it’s Adar!”  Thinking that the boy was waiting for a donation, I reached into my pocket to give him a few shekels.

Puzzled, the boy said, “I don’t want any money.  The card and the candy are a gift, just enjoy them and have a happy Adar!”

Now, I realized why he was just standing there; not to get anything in return except the smiles on our faces.

One of my mother’s favorite sayings is “smile and the world will smile back!”

Let me suggest that we celebrate Adar Aleph by waking up every morning with a smile on our faces, knowing that when we walk out the door today smiling, someone will smile back.

You all remember the jingle for double mint gum, “Double your pleasure, double your fun, with Doublemint, Doublemint, chewing gum!” (outside the classroom).  This year is a leap year and we leap for joy because this year has two months of Adar, the month of happiness.  During this period of double Adar, double your pleasure by noticing all the wonderful people in your lives, and don’t forget to greet them with a smile.

As the Adar approaches, smiles increase!

Rabbi Stuart Seltzer
Dean of Judaic Studies

CLASSES IN ACTION
Spanish IV
In an effort to convince the customer why certain foods and beverages should be consumed, Spanish IV students designed an ad poster using the imperative tense.  The students used visual stimuli (pictures), a catchy phrase in the imperative, and several persuasive statements to explain to the customer why the item depicted is good for them.  The artists were: Sam Auerbach ‘09, Amy Gartner ‘09, Jeremy Hiken ‘09, Mollye Lipton ‘10, Daniel Saltzberg ’08, and Zach Wildhorn ‘09.
Judy Frumin

Applied Math
It’s not fair…The expected comment of a teen when discussing why auto insurance premiums are higher for males than females.  After the Applied Math class completed their unit on car buying, we shifted to the topic of insurance and discussed how the Law of Large Numbers is used to estimate risk and set premiums.  Fairness was not an issue when our focus turned to health insurance.  Students realized that those in younger age brackets paid lower health premiums than older adults for the exact same coverage.   As we analyzed several benefit statements to verify calculations of insurance payments, students learned the meaning of terms such as: deductible, co-insurance, co-pay, and out-of-network and illustrated the inverse relationship between premium rates and deductible levels.  Always ready for a lively debate, the students enjoyed arguing the ethical and practical considerations of whether experimental procedures, elective plastic surgery, and genetic testing should be covered by insurance.                
Jan Schein

Honors Physics
Our Honors Physics class recently completed a lab on calculating the coefficients of kinetic friction of various surfaces (aluminum, paper, wax-paper) using our Vernier lab system to take the data.  Students experimentally determined the acceleration of a moving block using a motion detector and worked backwards, knowing the mass of the block, to calculate the coefficient of friction on an incline.
Dean Whitfield

BEYOND THE CLASSROOM
Interim Week
“In the Footsteps of Heschel and King: A Civil Rights Journey,” Cardin’s interim week program with Western High School, is quickly approaching.  All forms are due back to school by Wednesday, Feb. 27.  Please let Ms. Fink know ASAP if you are interested in transportation back from the airport.

CAPTS Beverage Fundraiser
We now have full kosher certifications on ALL products for the beverage fundraiser!  All certifications are available in the Cardin office.  Please help our school by participating in this important, money raising program.  The deadline for the fundraiser has been extended to Mar. 15, 2008.  If you need additional brochures, please contact Ms. Linde in the office.  Please email Debra Solomon, dsolomon@marylandzoo.org, if you have questions.

COUNSELING CORNER
The Jemicy Professional Outreach Center is offering an Advocacy Day Program titled, "A Bright Future for L.D. Learners."  This program provides valuable information for parents to help L.D. learners understand who they are and how they can plan for a better future.  The event is scheduled for Saturday, Apr. 5 at The Jemicy School, Owings Mills campus.  Please contact me at 410-585-1400 x211 or jvillet@shoshanascardin.org for registration information.
Jackie Villet

COLLEGE SCENE
Summer Enrichment!
Summer is a great time for all students to enrich their educations.  Many colleges and universities offer summer programs that help familiarize students with the college campus while also stimulating their minds. Princeton Review does a great job of reviewing some exceptional programs.  Check out their website http://www.princetonreview.com/college/research/summerprograms/ for the entire article and links to programs.  Additionally, some programs that I recommend checking out are:

Brandeis Genesis Program: http://www.brandeis.edu/genesis
Exploration Summer Programs: http://www.explo.org/
Young Judaea Israel Summer Programs: www.youngjudaea.org
Georgetown University Summer Programs: http://summer.georgetown.edu/08
Maryland Summer Centers for Gifted and Talented Students: www.marylandpublicschools.org/summercenters
Johns Hopkins University Pre-College Summer Programs: http://www.jhu.edu/summer/pre-college/
Hallie Schein

COMMUNITY UPDATE
Chizuk Amuno Congregation Celebrates The Cardin School:
A Shared Community
Save the Date- March 29, 2008
Join us as we celebrate Shabbat at Chizuk Amuno Congregation where Cardin students will be honored in various aspects of the service.  Rabbi Ron Shulman has invited us to celebrate with his congregation as they welcome famed storyteller Joel Ben Izzy.  Mr. Ben Izzy was a guest at school last year and he mesmerized the classes in which he spoke.  You can read more about him at www.storypage.com.  Please plan to be a part of this unique Shabbat experience.

Weinberg Academy’s Chinese Auction
Weinberg Academy’s 9th Annual Chinese Auction will be held on Sunday, Mar. 2 at Beth Tfiloh from  6:30-9:30pm.  Admission price of $15 includes a FREE $18 auction ticket. Children’s admission is $10 (up to age 10).  Eighty-five fabulous prize packages, great door prizes, silent auction, hors d’oeuvres, dessert.  For tickets or general information call:  410-496-4746 x152 or log on to www.weinbergacademy.org.

SUMMER OPPORTUNITIES
The Discovery Hall Program is a four-week (June 1-27), intensive, combined hands-on and classroom program in marine science that is held at the Dauphin Island Sea Lab on Dauphin Island, a barrier island off the coast of Alabama.  Cardin parents Lloyd and Linda Eisenberg, whose daughter participated in this program a few years ago, are happy to answer any questions that interested students and parents may have regarding this summer opportunity.  The program costs $1,850 and applications are due by Apr. 11.  For more information, please log on to http://dhp.disl.org/newsite/highschooolsummer.htm.

Subscribe   Website   Archives