Meanwhile, Molly Lopkin ’20 won two silver keys and two honorable mentions for four of her poetry pieces, including one titled 鈥淓xodus 32:6, 2019鈥� which was inspired by Robert Frost鈥檚 鈥淭he Road Less Taken鈥� and the story of the golden calf and is about resisting peer pressure. In the art category, Hannah Finkelshteyn ’20 won a gold key for a work titled 鈥淎nxious.鈥� The piece will be displayed alongside the other gold key winning art at the Montclair Art Museum from February 15 to March 22.

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Earlier in the semester, Dr. Feldblum鈥檚 students read Lisa Genova鈥檚 novel 鈥淪till Alice,鈥� about a family struggling with the effects of the matriarch鈥檚 dementia. Rabbi Blau joined in the classroom discussion of the novel, which included a comparative analysis of similar challenges faced by the talmudic sage Rav Ashi in the Gemara. In a series of stories about Rav Ashi, he confronts the challenges of kibbud av v鈥檈m when his mother鈥檚 condition deteriorates.

Last week, Dr. Feldblum joined Rabbi Blau鈥檚 Gemara class in their discussion of Aggadata, the narrative portions of the Talmud that feature hundreds if not thousands of instructive, colorful and fascinating stories. Dr. Feldblum discussed with the class the role that stories play in our lives, leading to a deeper understanding of the importance of Aggadata, both religiously as well as culturally. The class read an article about how scientific studies have shown that reading stories increases empathy; the class discussed why that might be, and how reading leads to a layered understanding of the human experience. The class came away with a deeper understanding of how, while the Gemara is a legal document, it also contains a deep understanding of the multifaceted nature of human life.

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Juniors in Rabbi Daniel Rosen鈥檚 AP Rhetoric class honed their skills as invested members of the community by submitting op-eds and letters to the editor at various newspapers this year. The many pieces our students got published touched on a variety of issues – including topics specific to the Modern Orthodox community or Bergen County, as well as those relevant to the entire United States and beyond. The pieces appeared in

Some students focused on their future foray into post-secondary education. Nina Tepler wrote about on campus, while Batsheva Ohayon and Julia Sohn and addressed the challenge of choosing a college where not only , but where organizations exist to foster .

Other students focused on various aspects of the high school experience. Nava Markovich argued that high school , while Molly Nelson recounted a with Habitat for Humanity. Andy Katz reported favorably on a at the High School of Economics and Finance. and focused on the relationship of young people today with the State of Israel and Israel education.

Students also addressed issues facing the wider Jewish and general communities. Bailey Hartman wrote about , while Jonathan Safier argued strongly against the banning of shechita (ritual Jewish slaughter of meat) or .

Shmuel (Jeremy) Boss wrote about the significance of a , while Seela Langer analyzed two other pieces about mass shootings and school lockdown drills, Eliana Suldan argued for why one should adopt a pet, rather than buy one from a breeder, and in another piece addressed the Gaza/Israel border crisis (The Northern Valley Suburbanite, May 24 and 26, 2018). Meanwhile, Ethan Langer (The Bergen Record, May 26, 2018) and Rebecca Aduculesi (Northern Valley Suburbanite, June 7, 2018) focused on school bus safety and the aftermath of a tragic Paramus school bus crash in May 2018 (individual links unavailable).

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鈥淢y parents even had me march with them in Newark, New Jersey on a peace march after the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. and the subsequent race riots in Newark,鈥� she recounted. 鈥淚 will never forget that larger-than-life experience.鈥�

Frey saw an opportunity to tie Black History Month to her ninth grade English class鈥� unit on 鈥淭he Secret Life of Bees鈥� by Sue Monk Kidd, a coming-of-age novel set in the 1960s American South. 鈥淪ince hands-on learning learning is my area of expertise and passion, I asked the 91影视 administration if I could start a Black History Month at 91影视 by featuring Civil Rights projects created by my ninth grade students.鈥� Frey assigned students in-depth topics that focused on the Civil Rights Movement, and their projects are currently displayed in the school鈥檚 main hallway for the duration of the month.

鈥淚 wanted students to know that there were so many people, in addition to MLK and Rosa Parks, who were instrumental in making a difference in racial equality,鈥� said Frey. Some of the projects on display include: Jim Crow laws, the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People), Martin Luther King Jr., Jews and the Civil Rights movement, Voting Rights, black rights today; the Civil Rights Act and civil disobedience during the Civil Rights era.

Jack Shulman, a student in Frey鈥檚 class, completed his project on Mahatma Gandhi鈥檚 influence on the Civil Rights Movement. 鈥淚 didn鈥檛 know who Gandhi was before, and now I know that he was vital [in influencing] Martin Luther King Jr.鈥檚 decisions and what King did,鈥� said Shulman,

鈥淚 am thrilled with the projects that my students created for the Black History Month exhibit,鈥� Frey said. 鈥淭hey worked hard and learned so much more than just facts. I鈥檓 very proud of them and their creativity too! We hope to make this an annual event here at 91影视 and that students, staff and faculty will take the time to look at and read each project on display.鈥�

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Courtesy of Mrs. Meryl Feldblum, English Department Chair

Over the course of the first semester, English students at 91影视 had the opportunity to explore a number of classic literary works through creative projects and presentations.

One of the novels studied by the ninth grade, was J. D. Salinger鈥榮听The Catcher in the Rye. For this unit,听Ms. Luisa Frey鈥檚 9B English class embraced their artistic side in a project relating to Holden Caulfield, the notorious protagonist of The Catcher in the Rye. 听This multidisciplinary project involved a number of visits to the art room, under the direction of Mrs. Winslow. 听

In addition to a written portion of the project, students worked in groups to create a life-sized representation of Holden Caulfield. 听After tracing a body outline, they then had to draw symbolic images to represent various parts of Holden鈥檚 body. 听For example, Holden carried a lot of proverbial weight on his shoulders due to the death of his brother and his expulsion from prep school. 听Thus, one group drew bricks on his shoulders to symbolically represent the burdens he carried. 听Another group depicted the lack of love in Holden鈥檚 life by symbolically drawing his heart with a big hole in it. 听Once the visual part was completed, each group gave a short presentation in which they explained the symbolic representations of each part of Holden鈥檚 mind and body.

In Dr. Anne Berkman鈥檚 class,听students got to explore a new side of Holden Caulfield through the medium of dramatic performance. Rabbi Neil Fleischmann visited the classroom in the character of Holden Caulfield, with Holden鈥檚 hat, coat, and disaffected air as his only props. Rabbi Fleischmann answered students’ questions about the novel in character, as well as discussed his personal ideas about the book and how it continues to speak to him.听

Meanwhile, in Mrs. Feldblum鈥檚 11A class, one unit project focused on the famous, and infamous, author Edgar Allen Poe. 听The project asked the students to identify Poe鈥檚 distinctive style and then research the lingering messages of Poe鈥檚 work.

The unit began as a whole class reading of Poe鈥檚 famous short story 鈥淎 Tell Tale Heart.鈥� 听After this whole class reading, students broke into groups to begin their 鈥淧oe Projects.鈥� 听The first step of the project asked students to choose a poem and a short story written by Poe. 听Students were then required to write a short piece explaining a common theme or element of the two chosen works. 听

The Poe assignment then asked students to take a step outside of the literature. The juniors wrote an op-ed piece discussing the impact media and entertainment have on our perceptions of the mentally ill. 听This assignment required students to think critically about the messages they consume and the impact it has on their perceptions. 听One group made the connection between this topic and their summer reading novel, One Flew Over the Cuckoo鈥檚 Nest. Another group discussed the controversial series Thirteen Reasons Why. 听Through their writing, students drew connections between the intentional and unintentional messages we receive from current events, media, and literature. 听

This project will be one of many that help the students connect the literature to the world around them. 听

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Many of our students enjoy writing both for class and in our extracurricular Creative Writing Club, just one of the many ways in which our student can pursue their passions.

Dr. Berkman, the faculty adviser for the Creative Writing Club, oversaw the last club meeting of the year earlier this week, where students discussed their work and concluded a great year of stimulating writing, collaborative workshopping and feedback, and fun.

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The 10th grade has some students working on a charity project, identifying problems, vetting charities via rubrics and online resources which they research, while others are discussing the position of God and destiny in the world, as prompted by Thorton Wilder’s The Bridge of San Luis Rey.

Mr. Gotlieb is working with his 12AP class to compare presentations of speeches in Hamlet, watching famous versions and arguing the merits of each as they direct their own versions in their minds. Mrs. Wang-Birnbaum’s AP group is keeping up their work on their independent LEADS paper while completing Hamlet and applying Freudian and feminist lenses to the text.

In Mrs. Wang-Birnbaum’s junior classes, students are exploring Civil Disobedience through the works of Thoreau and MLK, creating bridges and looking for rhetorical strategies in their presentations of their thoughts to the public.

In Mrs. Feldblum’s junior class, the students are “mastering” the art of the argument. Each student is required to give a short presentation on any piece of text, be it an advertisement, famous quote, speech or even song.听 The student must analyze the argument (what is the claim 听being made, who is making the claim, who is the audience, 听what tools are utilized to persuade the audience).听 In addition, groups of students have been creating “digital rhetorical folders,” researching and collecting a wide range of texts that address this topic, offering a range of opinions and perspectives.

Mrs. Feldblum’s 听freshmen are completing their “coming of age unit.” 听They have read听The Secret Life of Bees, The Catcher in the Rye,听and听the Book Thief.听 For each novel, the students have written a literary essay addressing theme, character development, or symbolism.听 In addition, in groups the students wrote a blog post describing their Holocaust education and their experiences learning about the Holocaust.

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We have crafted a series of 听designed to keep students from slipping in their close reading skills over the coming months. Readings are aimed at preparing students for the upcoming year and sensitizing them to concepts which will form the backbone of their next year’s English classes. The work will help students catalog concepts and crystallize complex thoughts, helping the teacher assess, from day one, each students’ background and skill set.

We will be making the summer assignments available on the English department section of the website in the upcoming days and encourage you to read through it and secure the texts required, so that your child can get a head start on the summer work build knowledge at a comfortable and efficient pace and beat the late-August crush.

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Dr. Berkman – English

My 听9H2 and 9H3 read Brave New World and immediately after saw and discussed the film, Gattaca. 听Gattaca is set in the not-too-distant future. 听A less-than-perfect man, Vincent Freeman, 听wants to travel to the stars; however, society 听has categorized him as less than suitable given his imperfect genetic make-up. 听He has become one of the underclass of humans that is useful only for menial jobs. To move ahead, Vincent assumes the identity of Jerome Morrow, a perfect genetic specimen who is a paraplegic as a result of a car accident. With professional advice, Vincent learns to deceive DNA and urine sample testing. 听Because a stolen birthright is a major motif in Gattaca, a comparison and contrast paper comparing and contrasting the film to the story of Yaakov and Esav from Chumash was assigned. 听(Not only is the ability to construct a tightly structured comparison and contrast a valuable skill, 听but the ability to apply knowledge of 听Chumash to secular studies in high school and on into college can be an advantageous one.) 听So when my students asked me if I knew that they were currently studying the story of Yaakov and Esev听in their Chumash class: Serendipity

Mrs. Goldfisher – Chumash

Esav cries out to his father immediately after discovering that his brother Yaakov received the blessing that was intended for him and says: ‘Is not he rightly named Yaakov (root 注拽讘) ? for he has supplanted (讜讬注拽讘谞讬) me these two times: he took away my birthright; and, behold, now he hath taken away my blessing.’ (Genesis 37:36)

Is Esav correct? Did Yaakov听trick him twice?

Esav is correct in that there were two separate stories where Yaakov听comes out a winner: the sale of the birthright and the blessing narrative. 听Students in 91影视 studied both these narratives. 听Here is a peek at what we learned about the first story, namely the sale of the birthright:

Students first analyzed the text carefully to develop 贰蝉补惫鈥檚 character and study the various methods of characterization at play in Genesis chapter 25. 听After the textual analysis we asked essential questions to discover whether or not Yaakov听acted unjust. 听First and foremost can a birthright be bought and sold? 听Did Esav desire to be the firstborn with all the responsibility it entailed? Was he willing to wait to reap the benefits of the birthright or did he only appreciate immediate physical gratification? We studied medieval commentators such as Rashi, Rashbam and Chizkuni and evaluated their approaches. 听In addition, we placed the biblical story in its historical context, within the Ancient Near East, and looked to the Nuzi Tablets for historical and legal support. 听If one can argue that Yaakov听purchased the birthright from someone who did not value the birthright and that he paid a fair amount for this honor than certainly Yaakov听cannot be called a trickster.

The narrator has the last word 鈥渁nd Esav despised his birthright (35:34).鈥� 听Esav听might claim he was deceived with the sale of the birthright but we cannot take all his words at face value.

Ben Moskowitz – 91影视 ninth grader

…The stealing of the birthright also gives the viewer a new perspective of Anton鈥檚 character. In the beginning, Esav didn’t care about his birthright and gave it up for lentil soup. However, Anton always cared about his birthright, and he always tried to prove to Vincent that he was the superior brother and deserved the birthright. This gives the viewer the initial reaction that Anton is good. Although Anton 听tries putting Vincent down, he cares and appreciates his birthright. However, later when Yaakov听gets the blessing instead of Esav and when Yaakov听used 贰蝉补惫鈥檚 birthright, only then does Esav听get angry. In fact, he gets so angry he attempts to kill his brother, which is why people who know the story view Esav as such an evil person. When Anton knew that his brother obtained his birthright, he got very angry, and he threatened to make Vincent鈥檚 听deception public and ruin his dreams, which is almost like killing Vincent. By seeing that Anton鈥檚 and 贰蝉补惫鈥檚 reacted in very similar ways when learning that the other person took their birthright shows the viewer how evil Anton was. Anton acts in a very similar way to Esav, while even though Anton probably didn鈥檛 go through with his threat, just making it allowed us to compare him to Esav letting the viewer view him as an evil person. By comparing Anton and Esav, the viewer gains a clearer perspective on Anton鈥檚 character.

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Mrs. Wang-Birnbaum has been focusing on Freud and Feminism in her AP class and is helping students prepare their independent final papers. Her 10^th grade is looking at themes of isolation and otherhood through their Shakespeare reading.

Mr. Gotlieb is comparing the differences between a hand written manuscript of听 “I Saw in Louisiana a Live Oak Growing” and various published versions with his 11^th grade class while Mr. Dunton is having his 9^th graders study Jungian personality types and symbolism in Golding鈥檚 Lord of the Flies. He is also working on Realism with the 11^th grade and the poetry of James Wright with the 12H group.

Rabbi Rosen just completed a unit on the image of Jews in film with the 12^th grade and is working with the 10^th grade on the notion of the independent female character in literature.

Ms. Frey is having her students write about their recent Freezefest experience 鈥� watch for her top papers on her听blog听!

Second semester in Public Speaking is off to a great start.听 Students have spoken about their aspirations for greatness, coping with interesting neighbors, and more. The class has learned the Ten Commandments of Public Speaking, discussed the difference between manuscript, impromptu, and extemporaneous speeches, learned how to make a proper outline and much much more.

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