Teachers teach, teachers explain, teachers try to give over as much knowledge and as much material as possible.
In truth, a teacher is there only to hand the student keys that unlock the door to the treasure vault of knowledge; the rest is all up to the student.
Most students approach education in the same way they watch movies – sit back, relax and see it unfold. And when the lesson is over so is the student’s involvement in the subject matter. It is understandable in high school; it is tragic in college.
If there’s any learning trait that I wish for our students to acquire as they mature during these years of high school, it is that of learning independence – the ability to take the keys offered by the teachers, to enter the hall of knowledge and make it theirs.
Josh was introduced to Google’s SketchUp program only recently, but he instantly fell in love with it. His progress has been swift, and with each and every model the complexity and detail as well as precision have been improving. Here is a sampling of Josh’s development.
His first model was this city bus:
Inside view:
Then came the house:
The rooftop deck; pool and hot tub in the yard:
View of the kitchen:
Then Josh tried something bigger:
View of the bridge:
View of the airport:
This is the latest addition – a hotel / resort area. This one has tons of detail that can’t really be shown in a regular image. It’s also made to scale and very precise.
The teams of Sinai’s Stock Market Club have great reason to be excited. They won First, Second and Third place in the NationalSMS winter high school stock market challenge. First place received $100 Amazon Gift Card, while the Second and Third places received a $50 and $25 gift cards to Amazon. Out of the hundreds of teams from all over US, Sinai’s teams took all three top prizes. The prizes were given to the teams with highest returns over the the first half of the school year. If only Sinai’s basketball team was as good as its stock traders ;).
Mr. Yisroel Feldstein is the club’s coordinator.
First Place – Ike Boltyansky / Michael Kozak / Mais Gurshumov
Second Place – Val Khanatayev
Third Place – Joey Arazi / Eddie Khanatayev
The stock market competition continues with the Spring challenge. Good Luck guys!
This one is a giant “Duh” type of a study, but it often helps to state the obvious. A survey of many studies by the National Center for Family and Community Connection with Schools of SEDL reports a convincing link between student achievement and parent involvement.
When parents talk to their children about school, expect them to do well, help them plan
for college, and make sure that out-of-school activities are constructive, their children do
better in school. When schools engage families in ways that are linked to improving learning, students make greater gains. When schools build partnerships with families that respond
to their concerns and honor their contributions, they are successful in sustaining connections
that are aimed at improving student achievement. And when families and communities
organize to hold poorly performing schools accountable, studies suggest that school districts
make positive changes in policy, practice, and resources.
The studies point out an additional important factor: the increase in interaction should not just be between parents and students, but also between the school, the teachers and parents. The more we are all involved in the future development of our children, the stronger the signal that their future is truly important and the more we are aware of the many, fine but significant components that play a role in the growth.
Another marking period, another winner. This time the winner of the coveted iPad 2 was Jacob Khovov, 9th grade. Jacob – an avid reader, put in the most effort on increasing his odds of winning the raffle. There are many ways to get tickets for the Sinai’s Extra-Credit iPad Raffle but it is the EXTRA effort that gets the student the tickets. Hopefully, they will learn an important lesson in life: only those that go the extra mile get the reward.
David Storobin – a contender for the State Senate seat vacated by the disgraced former senator Carl Kruger – spoke before an assembly of Sinai Academy students on Friday February 17th. He spoke about how he, when still a high school student, got involved in politics during the early days of Giuliani’s run for Mayor. David relayed the impression that his volunteerism had left upon him: yes, an individual can and does make a difference! He encouraged the students to get involved in their communities, their neighborhoods.
David also discussed some of his key issues – jobs, economy, education. “When adults are struggling to find work” – he said – “teenagers have a much more difficult time at it, as many of the standard student jobs are being filled by grown ups”. He promised to create a palpable job creation initiative if he is elected.
Mr. Storobin was invited to pick the winning ticket for the the Third Marking Period Extra Credit iPad Raffle. The winner of the iPad 2 for the latest marking period was Jacob Khovov.
He also played a game of Ping Pong with Rabbi Katzin.
Another proof that Sinai is more than just a school; it’s more like an extended family. Someone once said: “Happiness shared is happiness doubled; sorrow shared is sorrow halved.” – a mathematical formula that everyone can appreciate.
Teachers teach, teachers explain, teachers try to give over as much knowledge and as much material as possible. 
