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The Agnon Agenda
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Spring 2011
Issue #3
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WELCOME TO THE MATZAH AND DAFFODIL EDITION OF THE AGNON AGENDA! Read on to learn the answers to some of the world's most urgent questions! - True or false: Not one red cent has been donated to Agnon's funds! (Oh, all right, this isn't even remotely plausible. You weren't fooled for an instant, were you?)
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SUCCESS BY ANY MEASURE!
Read the good news from the Spring Auction in
Auction By the Numbers.
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 AGNON'S HEBREW SPELLING BEE ENRICHES VOCABULARY
Agnon recently held its 5th annual Hebrew Spelling Bee for students in 4th - 8th grade, giving them an opportunity to enrich their Hebrew vocabulary in a fun and motivating way. (No Hebrew-speaking bees were harmed, or even involved, in this activity.) The challenge generat ed much enthusiasm among Agnon students who studied up to 400 Hebrew words, along with their definitions, to compete for exciting prizes.
Agnon parent Anat Nurko introduced the program to Agnon in 2007. It is sponsored by the "Abraham Slomianski Israel Culture Fund" which was established by the Nurko family in memory of Anat's father, who had a close connection to Israel.
The final championship rounds took place during the school's annual Yom HaYeled (Day of the Child) festivities on March 11.
Top prize went to Callie Gordon (5th grade) for the 4th - 5th grade challenge, while Andrew Saks (4th grade) placed second and Dylan Sosnoswsky (4th grade) placed third. Nicole Rzepka (5th grade) received an honorable mention.
Danielle Bieler (7th grade) won the Middle School challenge; Barak Spector (7th grade) placed second and David Buchinsky (6th grade) placed third.
In addition to the Hebrew Spelling Bee, Agnon's Yom HaYeled festival provided fun activities and treats for the entire school, including a clown, music by Rock the House, a festive lunch, face painting, giveaways and raffles, sponsored by the PTA.
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AGNON STUDENTS ALL WIN AT REGIONAL SCIENCE FAIR
Ten Agnon middle school students participated in the 58th annual Northeastern Ohio Science and Engineering Fair (NEOSEF) and all left as winners! After presenting their projects to a team of scientists and engineers, each Agnon student received recognition from the judges - a group of more than 260 area professionals. The following 7th and 8th graders were this year's NEOSEF award recipients: NEOSEF Second Place Winners Red Ribbon, Silver Medal & $25 ● Danielle Buchinsky (8th grade): How do different sodas affect the loss of tooth enamel? ● Mitchell Maly (7th grade): What is the effect of salinity on plant growth? ● Naomi Shapiro (8th grade): What is the effect of the temperature of milk on the viscosity of yogurt?
NEOSEF Third Place Winners White Ribbon & Bronze Medal ● Matthew Baratz (7th grade): What is the effect of salinity on plant growth? ● Jacob Browner (8th grade): Does steel wool rust faster in purified water or saltwater? ● Zachary Reizes (8th grade): How does concentration affect electricity output of an Acetic Acid battery? ● Ariana Starkman (7th grade): What is the effect of sound on walking in a straight line blindfolded? NEOSEF Honorable Mentions Green Ribbon ● Rotem Avisar (7th grade): What is the effect of fertilizer (ppm) on the pH of water? ● Noa Shapiro-Franklin (8th grade): What is the effect of acids and bases on enzyme action? ● Barak Spector (7th grade): Does the acidity level differ in various types of tea? Special NEOSEF Awards ● Danielle Buchinsky (8th grade): CRCST / Irene Heller Award ● Naomi Shapiro (8th grade): William R. Sweet Award for Chemistry ● Ariana Starkman (7th grade): Cleveland Clinic - Childrens Hospital & Department of Biomedical Engineering   
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AGNON HEAD OF SCHOOL TRADES CORNER OFFICE FOR KITCHEN
Head of School Jerry Isaak-Shapiro moved - albeit temporarily - from his corner office into the school kitchen on February 24 to prepare an Asian-inspired meal for students and staff at The Agnon School. His food service responsibilities included menu planning, food purchasing, prepping, cooking, serving and cleaning up, all in the interest of adult education. "My plan is to periodically take on different areas of responsibility in the school. Assuming a position for even one day provides a very different perspective on what it means to prep, cook and serve a meal, or teach a class of four-year olds or manage an office," said Jerry. Future assignments will include a stint as an early childhood teacher, office receptionist and primary grade substitute. "I appreciate the amazing hard work our staff members pour into their jobs every day, and I know that even a one-day sampling of what they do will give me an even great appreciation." |
WELCOME KARIL BIALOSTOSKY
Agnon welcomes Karil Bialostosky as our new Endowment Director and Grants Coordinator. Karil's focus will be endowment growth, identifying potential grant opportunities and developing proposals.
Prior to joining Agnon, Karil served as: Executive Director for MedWorks; a Program Officer at the Mandel Foundation; and Deputy Director at the Cleveland Department of Public Health. She has worked with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and has published extensively.
A University of Texas graduate, Karil holds a B.A. in Biology and a M.S. in Nutrition and Public Health from Columbia University. Born in Mexico City, she grew up in Texas. Karil and her husband, Steven Dettelbach, are Agnon parents and live in Solon with their two children.
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DINA ROCK MEETS THE PRESIDENT
Agnon 5th and 6th grade teacher Dina Rock met President Obama and has, on her cell phone, the pictures to prove it: Giving her his biggest smile, the President told Rock to keep up the good work. Rock met the President at his policy address at a middle school in Virginia on March 14, where, as Ohio's only representative to the Hope Street Group, she gave the President the group's teacher evaluation recommendations. The recommendations included making student achievement gains a major component of teacher evaluation systems. Hope Street Group, a nonpartisan nonprofit coalition of business, civic and policy leaders dedicated to expanding economic opportunity for Americans. |
AGNON IN THE NEWS
Jewish Holidays Can Be Fun features Agnon 1st grader Margaret Abrams in costume for Purim. Cleveland Jewish News, 3/18/11.
Young Black Belt Likes To Spar profiles taekwondo black belt and Agnon 1st grader Madeline Marks. Cleveland Jewish News, 3/11/11.
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WE'RE KVELLING
Mazel tov to . . .
♦ Sara Shore (Class of 2009) who is now at Heights High and ranked #1 in her class of 571 students. ♦ Shoshi Bieler (Class of 2008), now at Shaker Heights High School, who won first place in the individual documentary category in the National History Day competition for our district. Shoshi will travel to Columbus in April to participate in the state competition. ♦ Nadav Marcus (Class of 2008), now at Shaker Heights High School, who recently founded "Caring for a Cause" -- a non-profit social justice organization that fights homelessness in Cleveland. ♦ Yoni Kirsch (Class of 2007), now at Hawken, who was named a Finalist in the National Merit Scholar competition. ♦ Agnon Class of 2007 graduates Ilana Polster, attending Shaker Heights High School, and Yoni Kirsch, attending Hawken, for being invited to compete in the highly selective U.S. Presidential Scholars Program. Candidates are identified based upon exceptional SAT or ACT scores. ♦ Ariela Alpert (Class of 2002) who is living in Rwanda for a year and working as the International Coordinator for the Agahozo-Shalom Youth Village, a Rwandan boarding school for orphans modeled after an Israeli youth village. Ariela was Jewish Federation of Cleveland's " Face of the Month." ♦ Samantha Rose (Class of 1997), a Plain Dealer guest columnist whose article " No Going Back in Egypt" was featured in February. Samantha now lives in Cleveland Heights and studied in Cairo on U.S. Fulbright and U.S. Department of Education fellowships. She is a graduate of Wellesley College and holds a master's degree in Middle Eastern history from the University of St. Andrews. |
SUMMER BASKETBALL CAMP
With Coach Tamir Goodman
Basketball pro and coach Tamir Goodman presents a world-class basketball camp for Jewish youth of all backgrounds and skill levels.
"Coolanu" Israel Basketball Camp emphasize basketball fundamentals as well as Jewish identity and Israel. Who: Boys & girls entering grades 1 - 9
Where: The Laurel School
When: Mon. Aug. 15 - Fri. Aug. 19, 2011
Time: 9:00 a.m. - 3:30 p.m.
Cost: $300
For general or camp scholarship information, contact: Laura Simon, Director of Admissions (216) 464-4055.
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Nominate an Agnon Teacher!
The Libbie Braverman Award for Teachers
Nominate your child's Judiacs teacher for the Libbie Braverman Award, which recognizes a teacher who has demonstrated dedication and devotion to teaching and has significantly contributed to developing methods or materials to the Jewish education profession. - Any teacher in a Cleveland Jewish school, pre-school through grade 12, is eligible for nomination.
- Nomination must be made by a parent whose child is currently enrolled in the school.
- Parents should submit a one-page letter describing how the nominee has enriched their child's learning through innovative teaching.
- Nominations must be received by 4:00 p.m. on Friday, May 27th.
Send your nomination letter to the Awards Committee of the Jewish Education Center of Cleveland, 2030 S. Taylor Rd., Cleveland Hts., OH 44118. |
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DADS CAMP-IN
By Scott Simon, Agnon Parent and Board Member
Monster-sized tents wedged into classroom doors. Children zigzagging through hallways at break-neck speed in their pajamas. Agnon dads gorging themselves on corned beef and potato salad at midnight.
Yes, It must be the annual Agnon "Dad's Camp In!" This year's February event was the biggest and best ever, with 48 families -- nearly 125 people -- participating.
O.K., so our children probably  ate more snacks and slept less than on any other night of the year. But, what an experience! The essentials were all there: tents in every conceivable nook and cranny; a meaningful Havdalah
service led by Agnon parent Richard Berkowitz; a Toni-pizza-fest in the cafeteria; a late-night movie and hours (and hours) of dodge ball, basketball, soccer and gymnastics plus arts and crafts. New this year: a great basketball clinic with Agnon basketball coach Tamir Goodman and a dance contest for talented Agnon kids who wanted to dance the night away.
Major thanks to the planning committee of Moty Avisar, Jeff Babbush, Jeff Boardman, Israel Borow, Brian Caron, Jeff Dubin, Dan Goetz, Allen Gold, Rick Tannenbaum and Dave Thomas, as well as heroic staff person Steve Karl.
An awesome time was had by all ... and chiropractors around Cleveland are the happiest of all!
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COMMENTS, CORRECTIONS OR FEEDBACK?
Please e-mail Kathy Peskin, Director of Marketing, at The Agnon School.
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