The new date for Race for Cardin Athletics is June 8. The entire school will participate in the event with a start time of 3pm.

REFLECTIONS FROM THE HEAD OF SCHOOL

Text Talk on Parshat Bamidbar
with Shira Glushakow-Smith, ‘11

The book of Bamidbar explains many of the laws of the Tabernacle during the time of wandering in the wilderness.  Parshat Bamidbar begins with God commanding Moses to take a census.  This census is what Shira and I concentrated on when learning this week’s parsha.  So what is so interesting about a census?  After all, Moses just had to count the people, right?  Shira and I quickly learned that it was not so simple.  First, who was counted?  Simply, every male twenty years of age or older was included in the census.  Why these males and why now?  Shira suggested that since the Israelites would be encountering hostile groups along the way to Eretz Israel, it made sense for them to know their own military might.  Ramban added that each member of the Israelite nation merited the attention of Moses and Aaron and this would be an opportunity for each person to be counted “as an individual of personal worth.” (Stone translation) 

What really intrigued me, and once I pointed it out, Shira as well, was the phrase used to tell Moses to take the census, Si’u et rosh, lift up the head. Why not just use the word lispor, which means to count?  Shira saw this as perfectly obvious; each person should stand straight and be uplifted by being a member of the Israelite people.  It could even be interpreted, Shira continued, as defining one’s status.  In other words, if you could lift up your head, you were counted among the people. Shira also suggested that the phrase lift up the head was synecdoche, a figure of speech in which a part is used for the whole; in this case each head represented the person. 

I challenged Shira to look deeper as the same shoresh, root, is used in Bereishit when Joseph is in jail and interpreting the dreams of Pharaoh’s cup bearer and baker. In perek 40 pasuk 13 Joseph tells the cup bearer that “in three days Pharaoh will lift up your head (yisa Paro et roshecha) and will restore you to your post” (Stone translation) and in perek 40 pasuk 19, Joseph tells the baker that “in three days Pharaoh will lift your head (yisa rosh) from you and hang you on a tree” (Stone translation). The comments on the bottom of my Stone chumash state that this final meaning – he will behead you – is the literal meaning. Rashi wrote that the term used in conjunction with the cup bearer’s dream meant that the cup bearer will be counted among Pharaoh’s other servants after he is returned to his job.  So I asked Shira, how do these two uses of the phrase mesh with your interpretation?  Shira, always up to a challenge, proposed that the head, housing the brain, is the part of the body representing conscious thought, thereby lifting the head can be interpreted as choosing to follow the commandments. If one does not, the consequences would be similar to those meted out to Pharaoh’s baker.  What do you think?

On an aside, an interesting phone call came into the office while Shira and I were learning parsha on Tuesday.  We overheard Ms. Linde say, “I don’t want to waste your minutes talking about Greys.”  Shira and I both knew immediately to whom Ms. Linde was speaking!  Either Amy Gartner, ’09 or Alyssa Miller, ’09 called to say hello from Israel.  In all of the years that I have worked in the field of Jewish education, I have never experienced students calling the school office during their Israel trip.  Speaks volumes about the relationship the Cardin students have with our school, doesn’t it? 

JUDAICS.COMMUNICATIONS
Debate Midrash - Right to Choose
The students in Debate Midrash, a minyan elective on Tuesday, debated whether or not a 13 year old boy has the right to choose whether or not to have chemotherapy. Examining issues related to age, health, and minors’ rights, students argued both sides of the child’s case. While a final consensus was not reached, all students agreed that it is a complex issue with many ethical and moral implications. For more about the student see: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/ap_on_he_me/us_med_forced_chemo
Mr. Neft

CLASSES IN ACTION
Spanish V
What if every book you read came out in theatres?  Well, Señorita Frumin’s Spanish V class was just that lucky!!   The class had been diligently working all year on “Ángeles y Demonios” (the sequel to The DaVinci Code by Dan Brown) when much to their surprise, its release in theatres was announced for May 15th.  Imagine their delight when after all that hard work they went as a class to watch the movie before the seniors left for Israel?  I can picture the wheels turning in their heads as they recall all that Spanish and connect it to the Italian in the movie and to the movie itself.  
Señorita Frumin

Honors Western Civilization 10
Students are discussing the situation in Europe between the wars. In order to better understand the effect that runaway hyperinflation had on Germans in the years following World War I, students examined actual examples of hyper-inflated German mark currency brought in by Mr. Hotz. It becomes much easier to understand the meaning of hyperinflation when one confronts banknotes denominated in millions and billions of marks. Students were able to see directly how the currency appeared more worthless as it became more worthless, with the sizes of notes reduced and no printing on the backs. Students also came to understand that when Americans speak of inflation they have never really experienced the kind of hopeless inflationary situation that Germans faced in the years 1921-1923.
Mr. Hotz

BEYOND THE CLASSROOM
Prom ’09 “Evening in the Zen Garden”
On Wednesday, May 13, 38 Cardin students and 6 non-Cardin guests gathered at Martin’s West for the 2009 Junior/Senior Prom, “Evening in the Zen Garden.” At 9:00 pm the students, looking absolutely stunning in their formal attire, arrived and entered the dragon gates of the Wayne Ballroom.  There they dance to music provided DJ Drew Alexander and enjoyed kosher deserts and ice-cream. Songs, chosen in advance by the juniors and seniors, kept the dance floor full.

In the first hour, students nominated their choices for prom themed awards including: Best Ninja Moves (Best Dancer), Most Fashionable Kimono (Best Dressed), Zen Master and Mistress, and Emperor and Empress for the evening. During the rest of the night attendees had the opportunity to visit a small Asian styled garden, complete with azaleas and statuary, for photos and added paper fans to their outfits and dance moves. In the final hour, awards (small “good fortune” cats) were presented. We had an all senior group of winners this year including Sophie Solomon taking Most Fashionable Kimono (female) for her authentic kimono, and Jeremy Hiken and Amy Gartner being chosen Emperor and Empress. At the end of the evening the students returned the Pikesville Bowling Alley where CAPTS provided an exciting and safe After-Prom party from 12:30-3:00am. 

Everyone had a wonderful time.  Arigato to the students and faculty who helped make this night possible.
Ms. Beabout

Senior Israel Experience

Twelve seniors, their parents, siblings and grandparents, Rabbi Seltzer, Ms. Fink and I gathered in the Oheb Shalom parking lot on Sunday, May 17 to say l’hitraot. After many hugs and last minute words of wisdom, the group boarded the bus for Newark International Airport, the first leg of their trip to Israel.  Please see the school website www.shoshanascardin.org for updates on their journey. 
Mrs. Prince

National Latin Exam
On the March 5, 2009 six Cardin student joined over 135,000 others from all fifty states and eleven foreign countries in taking the National Latin Exam.  The exam is comprised of questions relating Latin grammar, vocabulary, and translation as well as questions pertaining to Roman cultural material, including history, mythology, and religion. Five of our students received awards, with special recognition going to sophomore Gabe Baraban for earning his second gold medal in as many years, and to senior Mark Rogers for earning his fourth consecutive NLE medal, receiving a silver medal for his work on the Latin IV Poetry exam.  Below is a summary of Cardin award winners: 

Optime, discipuli discipulaeque linguagae Latina

Cardin Hosts 7th graders for The Amazing Race
Last Friday, May 15, we took 42 middle school students from The Day School at Baltimore Hebrew Congregation and Krieger Schechter Middle School on an exciting field trip to the Inner Harbor for Wandering Jews…Against the Clock: The Amazing Race. Chaperoning the trip from Cardin were Mrs. Prince, Coach Minton, Ms. Schein, Ms. Villet, Ms. Fink and Mrs. Greenspoon, and students, Melissa Block, ‘11, Amy Gartner, ‘09, Shira Glushakow-Smith, ‘11, Alyssa Miller, ‘09, Ally Richmond, ‘11, Dennis Rothouse, ‘11, Adina Shanholtz, ‘11, Daniel Solomon, ‘11, and Rubin Waranch, ‘11. Introductions and instructions were given at KSDS and the students were divided into teams, each led by a Cardin student.  The teams were given clues, in rhyming couplets, to various locales around the harbor. Each team had to figure out where the clue was directing them, go to the place, and complete a task. If they completed the task correctly, they were given another clue. The clues and tasks throughout this fun scavenger hunt taught them about the history of Jewish Baltimore.  Some of the places they visited included the Baltimore Visitor’s Center, The Aquarium, The Science Center, and The Jewish Museum of Maryland. After the program, the group headed to David Chu’s China Bistro for lunch. A good time was had by all.

I would like to thank Ms. Fink who created the scavenger hunt and helped with the logistics, and the Cardin students and faculty that participated in the program. This program was funded through a grant from the AVI CHAI Foundation to encourage the continuation of day school education through high school. 

We hope that the 7th graders who participated will consider Cardin for high school. 
Ms. Greenspoon

COMMUNITY EVENTS
On Sunday, June 14th at 3pm the Weinberg Park Heights JCC will be partnering with JCS to show the HBO produced film “Grandpa, Do You Know Who I am?” Narrated by Maria Shriver, this film deals with Alzheimer’s disease and how it affects the whole family, especially the grandchildren. The screening is free and will include a discussion with JCS Senior Care Specialist, Janet Kurland.

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