Jewish Star Schools

Soup kitchen and blessing

The trip for HAFTR’s eighth grade boys began with a chesed activity at the Masbiah Soup kitchen where they packed food packages to be delivered in communities around Brooklyn and Queens.

After lunch, they had the privilege of meeting with the Munkatcher Rebbe who gave each boy an individual beracha. He wished them much beracha and hatzlacha in their graduation year and beyond.

The boys returned to school inspired by their meaningful day.

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HANC students use candies to learn to estimate, tastefully

Fourth Grade students in Mrs. Karen Spitalnik’s math class at HANC’s Samuel & Elizabeth Bass Golding Elementary School, in West Hempstead, were treated to a tasty math lesson about estimation!

The students read the book, “Great Estimations,” by Bruce Goldstone, and learned about different strategies for estimating. Then they were divided into groups and Mrs. Spitalnik gave each group a box of Mike & Ike candies. Before opening the box, each student had to guess how many candies were in the box; then they spilled out half of the box and after counting how many candies spilled out, the students had the opportunity to adjust their estimates, if necessary.

After confirming their estimates, the students counted the rest of the candies to see how many were actually in the box. They then determined if they had over or under estimated.

At that point, Mrs. Spitalnik took out a HUGE Mike and Ike box and asked the students for not only the number of candies in the box, but to explain the strategy they used to estimate.

Some of the children wildly guessed while others tried to see how many small boxes might fit into the large box.

Since over and underestimating candies really worked up their appetite, the students finished the class by enjoying some delicious Mike and Ike candies. It was a wonderfully tasty lesson!

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Rambam’s Jacob Plaut: Siemens Semi-Finalist

Rambam Mesivta is once again proud to congratulate a student who was named a Siemens Semi-Finalist.

Senior Jacob Plaut, competing in the Math, Science and Technology category, under the guidance of Dr. Miriam Rafailovich, earned this coveted honor in a year that saw a record number, 2,440 applicants.

Jacob worked in electro-spinning, a process of making micro-fibers out of polymer solution.

Polymer, dissolved in organic solvent, is loaded into a syringe with a metal needle and the solution is pushed out at 25 to 50 micro-liters per minute. An electrode is attached to the metal needle and another one is attached to an aluminum base one and a half feet away from the needle. This process evaporates the solvent mid-air, leaving nothing but polymer micro-fiber. The micro-fibers were designed as a trap for bedbugs in an effort to prevent future outbreaks and infestations.

The success of his project is, in Jacob’s words, attributed “to all the people who helped make it a success.” He wishes to express his thanks to Dr. Miriam Rafailovich, Timothy Hart, Michael Leibowitz, Dan Rudin, his entire family, Mrs. Imelda Gallagher, and the administration at Rambam.

Jacob joins an impressive list of Rambam students who have won Siemens and Intel recognition.

Following graduation, he plans to study for a year in Israel and then attend an honors college in pursuit of a degree in either engineering or finance.