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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 years 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. Nagels and Ms. Crincolis 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 werent 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 architects 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...

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...

MODELS:   The exhibit uses recreations of important objects from GInsburgs 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...

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...

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...

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