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Shalhevet news online: When we know it, you'll know it

The Boiling Point

Shalhevet news online: When we know it, you'll know it

The Boiling Point

Shalhevet news online: When we know it, you'll know it

The Boiling Point

Jacob Joseph Lefkowitz Brooks

Jacob Joseph Lefkowitz Brooks, Editor-In-Chief Emeritus

Jacob Joseph Lefkowitz Brooks was editor-in-chief during the 2019-20 school year and is now a student at the University of Toronto.

All content by Jacob Joseph Lefkowitz Brooks
ELECTED: Rabbi Lieberman is the first person elected by the faculty and staff to represent them in a Just Community position in at least 10 years.

Rabbi Lieberman elected faculty representative to new Judicial Review Subcommittee

Judaic Studies teacher Rabbi Abraham Liberman was elected to be the first faculty member on the new Judicial Review Subcommittee...

REVIVED: An original of the preamble to the Just Community constitution, signed by students and staff in 2002, dominated the second-floor hallway Thursday, day 39 of distance learning due to the coronavirus pandemic. Proponents said changes would bring the constitution into line with what school is like now, and also help more proposals be enacted.

CONSTITUTION OVERHAUL IS APPROVED, 149 – 20

UPDATED MAY 16: After a year of discussion, deliberation, meetings and last-minute revisions, members of the Just Community voted...

BALLOT: Online voting on a multi-part amendment to the Just Community constitution is open from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m. today.

Voting has opened, Constitution must earn majority in at least three grades to pass

By Jacob Joseph Lefkowitz Brooks, Editor-in-Chief
May 14, 2020

Today’s vote on the amended Just Community constitution will have to pass with a two-thirds majority, and also three of four...

WINNER: A virtual poster for Kate Orlanski, newly elected Agenda chair, included her campaign motto -- “Bottom up” -- in Aramaic. The phrase itaruta dilatata refers to effort coming upward from the ground.

In historically uncontested election, vice-chair and secretary winners make news

By Jacob Joseph Lefkowitz Brooks, Editor-in-Chief
May 7, 2020

Sophomore Jack Sanders was elected vice chair of Agenda and sophomore Liad Machmali was elected SAC Vice Chair in this year’s...

FOUNDER: "You can’t delegate liking the school, you either like it or don’t," said Dr. Jerry Friedman, who along with his wife Jean Friedman co-founded Shalhevet. "And it’s the staff up on top together with the students that create that atmosphere. There has to be that mutual trust and that mutual respect." A full transcript his interview with the Boiling Point appears at the bottom of this story.

Dr. Jerry Friedman and the roots of Shalhevet democracy

By Jacob Joseph Lefkowitz Brooks, Editor-in-Chief
May 5, 2020

For Dr. Jerry Friedman and his wife, Jean, it all began at their daughter’s graduation from Harvard University. That day, Dr....

LIVE: A Zoom meeting this evening is considering a new constitution, proposed by seniors David Edwards, Sabrina Jahan and Evan Rubel.

Zoom Town Hall will debate proposed new constitution tonight

By Jacob Joseph Lefkowitz Brooks, Editor-in-Chief
May 5, 2020

The Just Community tonight will hear a proposed replacement of the 2002 constitution with a new, longer document which aims to...

TREASURED: On Yom Hashoah -- Holocaust Remembrance Day -- 40 students and teachers posted pictures of family heirlooms on Schoology, along with the reasons they were cherished. All  can be seen and read at the bottom of this page.

Zoom assembly sparks daylong outpouring of family stories, inspiration for Yom Hashoah

By Jacob Joseph Lefkowitz Brooks, Editor-in-Chief
April 23, 2020

[TO VIEW ALL ARTIFACTS PICTURED ABOVE, CLICK HERE.] What seemed like a limitation ended up being a new way to connect to Jewish...

UNCERTAIN: A sign at Canfield Elementary School in Beverlywood was an ironic reminder on Tuesday, when state School Superintendent Tony Thurmond announced all state public schools would remain closed through the end of the 2019-20 year.

Shalhevet to delay decision on reopening in-person school until after Pesach, Rabbi Segal says

Shalhevet officials will defer a decision on whether to reopen on-campus school this year until after Passover,  Head of...

SPREAD: A van belonging to Hatzolah, whose volunteers provide emergency response in Beverlywood, Hancock Park and other Jewish neighborhoods,  was parked on Alta Vista Boulevard yesterday.  The group said local Covid-19 patients had interacted widely before being diagnosed.

YULA student tests positive for coronavirus after Bnei Akiva shabbaton; Rabbi Segal says spread to Shalhevet ‘inevitable’

By Jacob Joseph Lefkowitz Brooks, Editor-in-Chief
March 16, 2020

According to a late Saturday email from Bnei Akiva of Los Angeles, a student at Yeshiva University of LA (YULA) Girls High School...

TIMING: Health department officials who spoke to Shalhevet parents last night said wide coronavirus is inevitable, but measures such as school closures, hand-washing and social distancing could spread out new cases, giving hospitals time to keep up with the need for services.

County health officials tell Shalhevet webinar school closures certain, timing undecided

By Jacob Joseph Lefkowitz Brooks, Editor-in-Chief
March 12, 2020

According to Los Angeles County public health officials who are advising Shalhevet, school will not be closing for now, and any...

CROWD: According AIPAC’s website, more than 18,000 people, including 51 Shalhevet students, attended AIPAC’s annual policy conference in Washington, D.C., last week. Also there were some who had been in contact with a coronavirus patient in New York, and who were quarantined on their return.

Three coronavirus cases in people returning from AIPAC; one is in Los Angeles

Los Angeles County health officials announced today that one person from Los Angeles has tested positive for coronavirus after...

SCREEN: A Google Hangouts window shows IT Director Nick Parsons testing the web application for the online class trial set for Monday. School officials have planned a “preparedness drill” in case school closure is needed because of coronavirus.

Campus to close Monday as trial run for coronavirus shutdown tries out online classes

By Jacob Joseph Lefkowitz Brooks, Editor-in-Chief and Sam Rubanowitz, Senior Editor School on Monday will be held via...

HIGHLIGHT: Attending the annual Red Sarachek Tournament is a big event not only for Shalhevet players but for their fans, many of whom fly to New York for the event.  Above, Firehawk then-captain and MVP Zack Muller leapt over rival YULA players in YU’s Max Stern Athletic Center in 2018.

Sarachek Tournament cancelled as coronavirus outbreak closes YU

UPDATED MARCH 5: Next week’s Red Sarachek Basketball Tournament at Yeshiva University has been cancelled due to fears of the...

CROWDED: Students locked out of classrooms filled hallways during lunch Feb. 28.  Complaints included no place to sit and difficulty concentrating and socializing due to a high noise level in the halls.

Week of locked doors brings clean classrooms, loud hallways

By Jacob Joseph Lefkowitz Brooks, Editor-in-Chief
March 3, 2020

After a week of being asked to close doors during non-class periods, teachers pronounced the anti-vandalism policy instigated...

MESS: Food and garbage continued to be found in classrooms after the Fairness Committee warned it would lead to locked classroom doors. Above, crackers and cereal with milk were left in Room 308 after lunch Feb. 20.

Student body fails probationary period, locked doors to start Tuesday

By Jacob Joseph Lefkowitz Brooks, Editor-in-Chief
February 21, 2020

The Fairness Committee will ask teachers to lock students out of unused classrooms during breakfast, lunch and other non-teaching...

EVENT: The Oscars are hosted this year at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood

LIVE BLOG: The Oscars with Zach Helfand and Jacob Joseph Lefkowitz Brooks

This page is being updated throughout the Oscars awards ceremony by Opinion Editor Zach Helfand and Editor-in-Chief Jacob Joseph...

TOGETHER: These year's Best Picture nominees are (left to right) Little Women, 1917, Ford v Ferrari, Joker, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Parasite, The Irishman, Jojo Rabbit and Marriage Story

The Nine: Short reviews of the 2020 Best Picture nominees

Below are short reviews of all nine movies nominated in the Best Picture category of this year’s Academy Awards, by Boiling...

REVISE: Evan Rubel, Sabrina Jahan and David Edwards shared a light moment at a meeting on proposed updates to the constitution. Considered the start of an ongoing constitutional convention, the meeting took place Dec. 18 in room 304

Second meeting of Constitutional Convention considers whether ‘values of the school’ should be a reason to veto Town Hall proposals

By Jacob Joseph Lefkowitz Brooks, Editor-in-Chief
January 30, 2020

Participants at the second meeting of the school Constitutional Convention Dec. 18 tried to decide the role of the head of school...

SHOCK: Kobe Bryant and eight other people, including his daughter Gianna, died in a helicopter crash Sunday morning

We can hold two ideas at once

By Jacob Joseph Lefkowitz Brooks, Editor-in-Chief
January 28, 2020

I’ve felt a lot of things over the past few days. I was at first shocked, in complete denial that something could happen to...

2017: Bryant and his wife Vanessa, and daughters Natalia, Gianna and Bianka smiled as his two numbers -- 8 and 24 -- were retired at Staples Center

A comic book supervillain who changed the game

By Jacob Joseph Lefkowitz Brooks, Editor-in-Chief
January 27, 2020

Comic books feature many types of villains. There are the tragic ones, the megalomaniacs, the evil gods. But one group that has...

FUTURE: Ms. Walls implemented August essay-writing workshops and other initiatives to make students more comfortable with the college admissions process.

Aviva Walls leaving, will lead day school in Fairfax, Virginia, next year

By Jacob Joseph Lefkowitz Brooks, Editor-in-Chief
January 15, 2020

Ms. Aviva Walls, Shalhevet’s Dean of Academic Affairs and Director of College Counselling, will be leaving next year to become...

VANDALIZED: Several posters of famous authors and playwrights, including Tennessee Williams, were vandalized in Ms. Nagel's and Ms. Crincoli's rooms.

Fairness Committee may ban students from empty classrooms after teacher files complaint over food mess and poster vandalism

Responding to food left in classrooms after lunch and vandalism against posters, the Fairness Committee is considering a two-week-long...

DIFFERENT: Three decades after Rebecca arrives in the US, her friends and family from different backgrounds gather to light the menorah on the third night of Hanukkah in ‘Eight Nights,’ at the Antaeus Theater last month.

New play explores trauma’s impact across generations and cultures

By Jacob Joseph Lefkowitz Brooks, Editor-in-Chief
January 8, 2020

The Holocaust is arguably the most common subject and setting of Jewish art. Eight Nights, written by Jennifer Maisel and directed...

TIME: Most of us weren't even teenagers when the decade started, but we still felt the changes of the 2010s.

10 stories that shaped the 2010’s

By Jacob Joseph Lefkowitz Brooks, Editor-in-Chief
December 31, 2019

As a disclaimer, I was only eight years old at the onset of the 2010’s and live in America, so there is a degree of bias in...

REVISE: Fairness Co-Chair Evan Rubel, senior Sabrina Jahan and Agenda Chair David Edwards shared a light moment at a meeting on proposed updates to the constitution.  Considered the start of an ongoing constitutional convention, the meeting took place Nov. 20 in room 304.

Move to revise Just Community constitution debates who should decide what’s debatable

By Molly Litvak and Jacob Joseph Lefkowitz Brooks
December 17, 2019

After being talked about by Agenda committees and chair candidates since 2016, a proposed rewriting of Shalhevet’s constitution...

FRIEND: Waititi portrays Jojo’s imaginary version of Adolf Hitler, a father figure to Jojo, whose own father went missing.

Jojo Rabbit: Sparks of love in a world of hate

By Jacob Joseph Lefkowitz Brooks, Editor-in-Chief
December 15, 2019

After sitting through an opening scene featuring at least 10 “Heil Hitler”’s, few would expect a film that evokes uncontrollable...

INTERNATIONAL:Youth protestors crowded downtown Los Angeles Nov. 1 to pressure Gov. Gavin Newsom for more action against climate change.

Greta Thunberg finds local angle on climate change

By Jacob Joseph Lefkowitz Brooks, Editor-in-Chief
December 3, 2019

Thousands of protesters gathered outside of Los Angeles City Hall Nov. 1 heard the leader of the world’s youth climate change...

Princeton Model Congress debaters take 6 awards, including first in novice committee

Princeton Model Congress debaters take 6 awards, including first in novice committee

By Jacob Joseph Lefkowitz Brooks, Editor-in-Chief 
November 24, 2019

Maya Tochner and Rachel Metzger won gavels and a freshman won an honorable mention as Shalhevet’s 20-delegate Model Congress...

NEIGHBORHOOD:   The new LACMA building, as shown above in an architect's illustration, will be built near two other bold projects -- the Petersen Automotive Museum, seen at bottom right with its zig-zag curves, and the future Academy Museum of Motion Pictures with its giant domed sphere, designed by Renzo Piano and set to open next year two blocks north of school.  LACMA will retain its two newest buildings, located just next to the new Academy building. Fairfax Avenue is at the bottom of the picture.

NEW LACMA: Designing the shape of the future

Just two blocks north and one block east of Shalhevet, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art is about to begin a four-year,...

CHAMPIONS:    The Toronto Raptors celebrated after beating the reigning back-to-back champion Golden State Warriors in the NBA finals last June. It was Toronto’s first NBA title ever, led by Kawhi Leonard, who now will play for Clippers.

For the Clipper who used to be a Raptor, only love

By Jacob Joseph Lefkowitz Brooks, Editor-in-Cheif
November 1, 2019

There were four seconds left on the shot clock in a tied game seven against the Philadelphia 76ers. Kawhi Leonard caught...

ORIGINAL:   About 2,000 protestors filled the streets of downtown Sept. 20, most under 30 and many carrying signs with slogans they’d painted themselves. They marched in hot weather from Pershing Square to City Hall, seen at top right behind palm trees against a blue sky.

Big crowd, small Shalhevet contingent joins worldwide walkout to protest inaction on climate change

By Jacob Joseph Lefkowitz Brooks, Editor-in-Chief
October 4, 2019

  “We’re missing our lessons to teach you one,” read one sign at the Youth Climate March on Sep....

SMOKE: New studies show that vaping is much more dangerous than previously thought. As of Oct. 1, there have been 1,080 hospitalizations of Vaping-Associated Lung Injury and 18 deaths, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta.

LETHAL VAPOR: At least 12 deaths so far from mysterious vaping illness

By Jacob Joseph Lefkowitz Brooks and Sivan Karz
October 3, 2019

BP Graphics by Zev Kupferman There are lots of reasons not to vape.  For one thing, it’s against Shalhevet rules, as Principal...

PROTEST: From left, Shalhevet faculty Rabbi Yitzchak Etshalom, Dr. Jonathan Ravanshenas, Mr. Chris St. Germaine, and Rabbi David Block stood outside a home on Poinsettia Place in Hancock Park to support Lonna Ralbag’s right to a get, or religious Jewish divorce,  Aug. 23. Agunah activist Rabbi Jeremy Stern joined them, at right.

Rabbis, others demonstrate against ‘get refuser’ while he is sitting shiva

By Jacob Joseph Lefkowitz Brooks, Editor-in-Chief
August 29, 2019

Soaked from knee to toe, 40 people stood outside a shiva home on Poinsettia Place Aug. 23 to take a stand against get refusal. Inside,...

Jacob Joseph Lefkowitz Brooks is Community Editor of the Boiling Point.

OPINION – Our college graphic: A dissent

By Jacob Joseph Lefkowitz Brooks, Community Editor
June 18, 2019

Last month, I faced one of my most difficult decisions on the Boiling Point Editorial Board -- one which a year or even a month...

PRIVILEGE: Mr. Eli Shavalian is one of two college counselors at Shalhevet. Only a third of public schools have even one.

No bribes, but Shalhevet students have an edge for college

By Jacob Joseph Lefkowitz Brooks, Community Editor
June 12, 2019

No Shalhevet students were involved in the nationwide college admissions bribery scandal. But merely attending Shalhevet almost...

TRENDY: Like many other students, freshmen Eva Brous-Light and Danielle Finn wear scrunchies, a popular hair accessory from the ‘80s, to school -- and not always in their hair.

[Photo] Bohemian is Back

By Molly Litvak, Outside News Editor
June 6, 2019

TRENDY: Like many other students, freshmen Eva Brous-Light and Danielle Finn wear scrunchies, a popular hair accessory from the...

FIRST: Students in Room 308 this morning heard junior Gilad Spitzer argue against the school election results in the first-ever Fairness case to discuss overturning school election results.

Fairness Committee overturns result of election for next year’s Fairness chairs, committee to have three next year

Shalhevet’s Fairness Committee will have three co-chairs next year, after a Fairness deliberation changed the result of a Just...

THOUGHT: Voters considered how to rank candidates in last Tuesday’s Just Community elections in the gym.  Races with more than two candidates were tallied according to an “instant runoff” system.

Open Fairness hearing Friday morning will consider possible change to Fairness Chair election outcome

The Fairness Committee will hold an open hearing this morning to decide whether to change the outcome of this week’s election...

RECOGNITION:   Captian Ari Sassover, representing the UK in the U.N. Human Rights Council, won an honorable mention award.
 Photo Courtesy of Yeshiva University

YUNMUN brings home first awards since team’s revival

By Jacob Joseph Lefkowitz Brooks, Community Editor
March 13, 2019

For the first time since 2011, Shalhevet took home prizes from Yeshiva University's annual Model United Nations debate tournament...

TRIAL:   On January 15, the Fairness Committee held their first open hearing of the year. Viewers were asked to leave for the committee's deliberation. 
 BP Photo by Gilad Spitzer

Fairness leaders search for consistency as role expands

By Jacob Joseph Lefkowitz Brooks, Community Editor
March 5, 2019

Last year, the Fairness Committee wrote and announced a new policy of consequences for students who skip davening.  It involved...

MODELS:   The exhibit uses recreations of important objects from GInsburg's life to illustrate the moments that turned Ginsburg into the icon she is now.
 Photo by Robert Wedemeyer

Not just her initials: Skirball exhibit explains why RBG is ‘notorious’

By Jacob Joseph Lefkowitz Brooks, Community Editor
March 5, 2019

When considering the achievements of history’s greatest social reformers, it’s easy to say that they were simply destined...

 BP Photo Illustration by Gilad Spitzer

The Eight: Short reviews of the 2019 Best Picture nominees

Below are short reviews of all eight movies nominated in the Best Picture category of this year’s Academy Awards. They were...

CLOSE:   Starbucks and Coffee Bean are frequented by Shalhevet students throughout the day. Above, juniors Celine Basiratmand (center) and Maital Hiller drank coffee during breakfast Feb 15.

Citing Student Handbook, Fairness rules admin cannot enforce school rules at Starbucks if student has not checked in to school

By Jacob Joseph Lefkowitz Brooks, Community Editor
February 21, 2019

In the first public Fairness case of the year, a ruling based on a technicality raised but did not clearly answer the question...

PROTECT:   Dean of Student Life Mr. Jonny Ravanshenas and students hid in a locked classroom practicing what to do in case of a shooter . Security officials said Dec. 20 drill would build community ‘muscle memory.’

Second lockdown drill sets agenda for more security improvements

By Jacob Joseph Lefkowitz Brooks, Community Editor
February 17, 2019

Students spent 10 minutes hiding under desks and behind walls, noticing what worked and what didn’t, and generally feeling vulnerable...

Concert breaks new ground for Choirhawks with music written or arranged by students

By Jacob Joseph Lefkowitz Brooks, Community Editor
January 14, 2019

Among the 15 songs performed by the Choirhawks at their annual Chanukah concert last month were two that represented milestones...

FULL:   At the end of December break, nine spots in the redone student lot that did not belong to seniors were assigned to juniors, who moved in Jan. 2.

Last nine spots in school parking lot go to juniors, by lottery

By Jacob Joseph Lefkowitz Brooks, Community Editor
January 10, 2019

Since last Wednesday, Jan. 2, nine juniors have been assigned spots in the recently re-opened Shalhevet student parking lot at...

HISTORY:   Benjamin Ackerman's name appears on the 2004 alumni plaque in the school driveway area. He was arrested on Jan. 2 for stealing millions worth of goods posed as a realtor.

Alumnus arrested in theft of high-end items from celebrities

A Shalhevet alumnus from the class of 2004 has been arrested in a string of burglaries of celebrities, according to the Los Angeles...

PARALLEL:  The first two cars in four years to park in Shalhevet’s student lot tucked themselves in around 7:20 this morning. Officials say the opening of the lot, at the northeast corner of Fairfax and San Vicente, means all seniors will now have spaces, and a few juniors will too.

Old student lot re-opens, most spots still to be filled

By Jacob Joseph Lefkowitz Brooks, Community Editor
December 17, 2018

Long awaited and much delayed, Shalhevet’s old student parking lot finally opened its new gates last Monday, for the first time...

LOCKED:  The student parking lot gate, still locked for now, is scheduled to open next Monday. Six of the 17 spots there will be occupied by seniors who did not win the lottery to park in Tom Bergin's.

Refurbished and ‘cured,’ student lot to reopen Monday

By Jacob Joseph Lefkowitz Brooks, Community Editor
December 5, 2018

After longer-than-expected delays, the fence is up, the pavement sealed and the long-awaited student lot will finally be reopened...

WAITING:   The lot’s new asphalt surface will need to ‘cure’ for at least a month before students can park on it.

Student parking lot waits while pavement ‘cures’ behind new fence

By Jacob Joseph Lefkowitz Brooks, Community Editor
November 21, 2018

If you looked at the planned student parking lot during the Steve Glouberman basketball tournament, you might have seen white...

Call for emails to senators starts dispute over politics on Schoology

By Lucy Fried and Jacob Joseph Lefkowitz Brooks
November 13, 2018

Some have called the past two years the most divided time in American history. Last month, that division spilled onto Schoology...

SCHOOL:    The Ilan Ramon Jewish Day School, a K-5 progressive school in Agoura Hills, was in flames Friday afternoon.  News reporters on the scene said separate buildings in the back of the school were still intact at 3:30 pm.

Ilan Ramon Jewish day School burns in Woolsey Fire

An Agoura Hills Jewish day school named after the Israeli astronaut who died in the 2003 explosion of the Space Shuttle Columbia...

SONG: Rabbi David Block led the school in slow shira Oct. 29 as the school gathered on the floor of the gym to remember victims of the synagogue shooting in Pittsburgh.  Earlier, students had lit 11 candles, one for each of the victims.

Psalms and slow singing soften a day of broken hearts after Pittsburgh shooting

By Jacob Joseph Lefkowitz Brooks, Community Editor
November 1, 2018

Everyone had heard about how they died on the news. But on Monday morning, the Shalhevet community took time to appreciate the...

TEEN: Dalya Zeno, second from right, attended a Catholic, all-girls private high school after immigrating from Syria in 2011.

Looking at refugees through a wider lens in ‘Dalya’s Other Country’

By Jacob Joseph Lefkowitz Brooks, Community Editor
October 29, 2018

In 2018, it seems people only are urged to help to others who are in extreme conditions. The word “refugee” evokes images...

TIGHTEN:    Sophomores prayed during an all-school Shacharit in the gym. A new policy sets three levels of consequences for students who ditch.

Fairness imposes penalties for missing davening

By Jacob Joseph Lefkowitz Brooks, Community Editor
October 9, 2018

In response to a greater number of students ditching davening (prayer) last year, the Fairness Committee wrote a stricter policy...

STAR: Mac Miller established a loyal fan base that included Shalhevet students, who stayed with him from his early mixtape days through his transition to darker themes. Miller died last week at the age of 26.

Beloved by many, Jewish rapper will be remembered

By Jacob Joseph Lefkowitz Brooks, Community Editor
September 20, 2018

This story won a Best of SNO award. “Overdosing is just not cool,” said the rapper Mac Miller in 2016, describing...

TEACH:    Mr. Diamond just finished co-writing a book that explains the business of screenwriting.  BP Photo by Jonathan Diamond.

Screenwriter David Diamond brings Hollywood lessons to Shalhevet

By Jacob Joseph Lefkowitz Brooks, Community Editor
September 14, 2018

  While David Diamond is an accomplished screenwriter with credits in big-budget films, he tries to stay humble. One...

Rachel Chu, right, played by Constance Wu, spends most of the movie trying to gain the approval of her boyfriend’s mother Eleanor, left, played by Michelle Yeoh.

Heartfelt and funny, cultures clash in ‘Crazy Rich Asians’

By Jacob Joseph Lefkowitz Brooks, Community Editor
September 13, 2018

This story won a Best of SNO award. Hollywood has seen shake-ups recently of some of its most formulaic film genres when...

 SURFER:  Dr. Keiter has degrees in law and in Eastern Languages and Culture, and believes nature helps people connect to "the big picture." BP photo by Zoey Botnick

A winding path to teaching, with surfing on the side

By Jacob Joseph Lefkowitz Brooks, Community Editor
September 6, 2018

  From philosophy to surfing, Dr. Sheila Keiter is someone who stays true to her roots. “If we don’t know our own...

 OLD:   Used by students until four years ago, the student parking lot is set to undergo renovations including a new fence and shrubbery.  BP photo by Neima Fax.

Reopening of old student parking lot delayed, but Tom Bergin’s lot may open sooner

By Jacob Joseph Lefkowitz Brooks, Community Editor
August 28, 2018

Long-awaited access to the old student parking lot will most likely be delayed until after the chagim, school officials announced...

Lisa Gruenbaum leaving

College counselor Lisa Gruenbaum departing to focus on kids

By Jacob Joseph Lefkowitz Brooks, Features Editor
June 8, 2018

Writing a college essay requires self-reflection, and departing college counselor Ms. Lisa Gruenbaum said last week that helping...

Teachers using ‘daf aleph’ give students a chance to check in

Teachers using ‘daf aleph’ give students a chance to check in

By Jacob Joseph Lefkowitz Brooks, Features Editor
May 22, 2018
When reading the Talmud it is easy to notice that the book opens with daph bet, or page two. But rather than a typographical decision, teachers at Shalhevet and elsewhere believe that there is a deeper meaning that can be gained.
 BOTH: At students' request, girls and boys of the class of 2017 took a separate party buses as part the Senior Soiree celebration last year.  This year's class has decided to make the buses coed, among other changes to the school-supported event.

Best of both worlds: seniors will have prom and soiree

By Jacob Joseph Lefkowitz Brooks, Features Editor
May 3, 2018

Senior Soirée, originally an alternative to prom, is a supplement -- at least for now. In a change from the administration’s...

TOGETHER: Students and faculty sang and danced to Matisyahu’s ‘One Day’ in a Koolulam- style performance as part of the Yom Ha’Atzmaut celebration on April 19.

Gathered on the roof, students become a giant choir to celebrate Israeli Independence Day

By Jacob Joseph Lefkowitz Brooks, Features Editor
April 22, 2018

In under an hour on a sunny Yom Ha'atzmaut morning, choir teacher Mrs. Joelle Keene was able to turn an unorganized gathering...

REVIEW: With cast and plot, ‘Black Panther’ leaps over Hollywood barriers

REVIEW: With cast and plot, ‘Black Panther’ leaps over Hollywood barriers

By Jacob Joseph Lefkowitz Brooks, Features Editor
March 5, 2018

The world has seen many superhero movies. Black Panther is much more. The 18th movie in the Marvel Cinematic Universe -- a...

LIVE BLOG: The Oscars with Sadie Toczek and Jacob Joseph Lefkowitz Brooks

LIVE BLOG: The Oscars with Sadie Toczek and Jacob Joseph Lefkowitz Brooks

This page is being updated throughout the Oscars awards ceremony by BP Lifestyles Editor Sadie Toczek and Features Editor...

THE NINE: Short reviews of the 2018 Best Picture nominees

THE NINE: Short reviews of the 2018 Best Picture nominees

  Below are short reviews of all nine movies nominated in the Best Picture category of this year's Academy Awards...

ANGLE: The Vinz is made up of several different quadrate blocks of different materials, interspersed by grated metal sails and pink walls.

TWO BOILING POINTS OF VIEW: The VINZ: Groundbreaking or grotesque?

By Jacob Joseph Lefkowitz Brooks, Arts & Culture Editor
January 31, 2018

  Innovative: The VINZ takes brave architectural steps Frank Gehry, the world-renowned architect and visionary...

CONSERVATIVE: Ben Shapiro was greeted enthusiastically in the Beit Midrash on January 17.

An uncensored Ben Shapiro explains controversial views at first YAF event

By Jacob Joseph Lefkowitz Brooks, Arts and Culture Editor
January 21, 2018

Before a standing-room-only lunchtime crowd in the Beit Midrash, conservative speaker and radio host Ben Shapiro this week defended...

SHARE: Senior and AP Art student Sydney Gross, standing at easel, is the first student ever invited to teach Roen Salem's 10th-grade Composition & Design classes.

Senior AP Art student helps teach Comp and Design class, inspiring sophomores

By Jacob Joseph Lefkowitz Brooks, Arts and Culture Editor
January 13, 2018
Before Sydney Gross starts drawing a face for her class, she asks the students what they have the most trouble with in art.
Color: The Massacre in the Main Temple, by Jean Charlot, 1922. Charlot was one of many artists who Anita Brenner inspired to create powerful Mexican art.

At the Skirball, a writer’s tale is told in art

By Jacob Joseph Lefkowitz Brooks, Arts and Culture Editor
November 1, 2017

Walls of the Skirball Cultural Center are lined with works by 35 of the most important and famous artists in post-revolutionary...

OPINION: Understanding 9/11 requires more than facts

OPINION: Understanding 9/11 requires more than facts

By Jacob Joseph Lefkowitz Brooks, Arts & Culture Editor
October 29, 2017
Sept. 11, 2001, was one of the darkest days in US history. Three thousand people's lives came to an end.
In ‘I Am Not Your Negro,’ words of James Baldwin describe the past to illuminate the present

In ‘I Am Not Your Negro,’ words of James Baldwin describe the past to illuminate the present

By Jacob Joseph Lefkowitz Brooks, Arts and Culture Editor
April 13, 2017
I Am Not Your Negro is a documentary film focusing on the views of acclaimed writer James Baldwin, 1924 - 1987, using his treatise, unfinished at his death, titled Remember This House. The book was aimed at explaining the struggles of black Americans using the lives of three of his friends, Martin Luther King, Malcom X and Medgar Evers, three major civil rights activist who were assassinated.
STUDY:  Attorney Joseph Lipner applied the First Amendment to school newspapers in his talk, titled Freedom of the Press in Religious High Schools, in the Beit Midrash of B’nai David-Judea.

Fourth JSPA conference tackles conflict of interest and criticism of news media

During election season last fall, people were putting up signs and stickers, but Mrs. Kathleen Neumeyer did not. As she explained...

SNOW: Cold weather made this different from past Boiling Point trips to CSPA, but the award they received was the same as usual – their fifth consecutive Gold Crown.

Fifth consecutive CSPA Gold Crown for the Boiling Point

By Jacob Joseph Lefkowitz Brooks, Arts & Culture Editor
March 30, 2017

The Boiling Point won its fifth consecutive Gold Crown award from the Columbia Scholastic Press Association  March 17,  at...

SAS Biology teacher and year-old Head of Science Department taught an advanced Chemistry class, which was established mid-year for sophomores.

Science Department chair Ayden Jacob announces he will not return next year

In individualized letters written to  students in his SAS Biology class,  Science department chair Mr. Ayden Jacob  announced...

IMMERSE: Students made posters reflecting values of the Civil Rights era on Martin Luther King, Jr., Day Jan. 16.

OPINION / MLK Holiday: Use the whole day

By Jacob Joseph Lefkowitz Brooks, Arts & Culture Editor
February 6, 2017

Wait, we just had school on a national holiday? This year, Shalhevet commemorated Martin Luther King Day by having a normal school...

EFFORT: Shalhevet's Sammy Ellenhorn leaps over TABC defense in Game 4 Nov. 10. The Firehawks won, 44-42.

Boys finish fifth at Glouberman but regroup to win Milken

By Jacob Joseph Lefkowitz Brooks, Staff Writer
January 21, 2017

Improvement was a main topic for the Firehawks after the Steve Glouberman Tournament last month. Dealt a crushing and unexpected...

ORDERS: Students from all grades lined up in military formation on the rooftop turf Nov. 9, reenacting roles in a South Carolina regiment during the Civil War. The event was brought to the school by history teacher Dr. Keith Harris.

Live on the turf, the Civil War

By Jacob Joseph Lefkowitz Brooks, Arts and Culture Editor
December 8, 2016
With a South Carolina Civil War battle flag waving high above them, rifles stowed on shoulders and intense drumming in the background, Shalhevet students marched in unison across the rooftop turf at lunchtime Nov. 9.
Photo courtesy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yWnWoSYsjaI

‘Denial’ maps a journey through lies on the road to truth

By Jacob Joseph Lefkowitz Brooks, Staff Writer
November 28, 2016
“No holes, no Holocaust,” shout newspaper headlines that historian Deborah Lipstadt reads as she jogs through the streets of London. Reading the specious phrase, she stumbles. It is clear that she grasps how easily a well-phrased opinion can replace history.
GATHERING: Boys in the Just Community League congregated at Alec and Jordan Fields' house for the Fantasy Football draft Sept. 4. They were encouraged to wear their favorite players' jerseys.

‘Sweet Agony’ of Fantasy Football lures students anyway

By Jacob Joseph Lefkowitz Brooks, Staff Writer
October 12, 2016

Competition, anxiety and many lost hours of homework are all hallmarks of Fantasy Football, but it seems students at Shalhevet...

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