Reason behind swim coach’s firing surfaces

Oren Minsk and Alex Landy

December 3, 2019

Details have emerged in the expulsion of former CESJDS swimming coach, Mike Karel, from the Bender JCC and his subsequent firing from the school. According to an email sent Tuesday, Nov. 19 by Karel to the team after being banned from the JCC and a later email he sent to The Lion’s Tale, two allegations of misconduct we...

Swim coach replaced after being banned from JCC

Alex Landy and Oren Minsk

November 25, 2019

This past Tuesday, CESJDS announced that swim coach Mike Karel was banned from the Bender JCC of Greater Washington campus and consequently, let go by JDS. The announcement was made by JDS Athletic Director Becky Silberman in an email to swim team members and their parents. The reason for Karel’s ban was not disclos...

Jewish History class welcomes guest speakers

Matthew Rabinowitz, News Editor

November 25, 2019

Seven speakers deeply involved in prominent Jewish organizations have spoken to Jewish history teacher and department chair Aaron Bregman’s Contemporary American Jewish Society class over the past two months.  These speakers included the Executive Director of the Jewish Democratic Council of Am...

Exploring Jewish history: Department creates program to educate teachers at CESJDS, beyond

Rochelle Berman, Reporter

November 21, 2019

The CESJDS Center for Excellence and Engagement is a new project led by the Jewish History Department that was introduced to the faculty on a professional day in August. This endeavor was taken on to help educate faculty at other Jewish day schools and public schools about Jewish history and how to co...

Shir Madness to perform at Kennedy Center

Mischa Trainor, Contributing Editor

November 21, 2019

Shir Madness, CESJDS’ a cappella group, will be performing at the Kennedy Center’s Millennium Stage on Dec. 17 at 6 p.m. The performance was organized by JDS alumna Rebecca Morris (‘16) who is a programming intern at Performing Arts For Everyone (PAFE). The Millennium Stage has a different free perf...

Retake: New policy allows retesting of individual ACT sections

Alex Landy, Editor-in-Chief

November 21, 2019

The American College Testing (ACT) organization announced this past month that it will allow students to retake individual sections on its college admissions test without having to redo the exam entirely. The policy, officially referred to as “ACT Section Retesting” on its website, will go into ef...

Junior State of America Fall Convention in pictures

Sophie Kaplan, Reporter

November 20, 2019

Veterans and visiting day recap

Oren Minsk, Managing Editor, Copy

November 12, 2019

The Upper School had a school-wide assembly following Z’man Kodesh yesterday to commemorate Veterans Day.  At the assembly, freshman Evan Gerstenblith presented a video he put together of photos of U.S. soldiers and presidents taken on Veterans Day. Juniors Danielle Azachi and Jack Weitzner read ...

Ninth Grade Shabbaton Recap

Sophia Miller, Sports Editor

November 5, 2019

Freshman Talia Sporkin: “The Shabbaton was meaningful and special because we were able to share the experience as a grade. I think it really made our grade a stronger community and allowed people to get to know the dynamics of the grade. We bonded over a beautiful Havdalah service and how cold it was! ...

Upper School commemorates Daniel Pearl with music concert

Mark Polin, Gabe Siegel, and Zara Ducker

November 1, 2019

Student musicians performed in two special concerts for Daniel Pearl World Music Day on Oct. 29.  Daniel Pearl World Music Day was created in honor of Daniel Pearl, a journalist for the Wall Street Journal who was killed by al-Qaeda operatives in Pakistan. His death was a tragedy, but his family wanted...

Middle school students view performance from Klezmer band

Maiyan Lyani and Matan Silverberg

October 31, 2019

Klezmer musician Noah Guthman stood in front of a group of students in the Beit Midrash and introduced Klezmer music to an attentive audience. “Have you ever been to a really crazy Jewish wedding where everybody is running around and dancing their heads off,” Guthman asked? “Then you might have ...

Holocaust survivor Irene Hasenberg Butter speaks to both middle, high schools

Eva Bard, Reporter

October 24, 2019

During her visit on October 24, Holocaust survivor and activist Irene Hasenberg Butter taught students the tragic events of the Holocaust and emphasized its relevance in today’s world.  “She is a person who has an incredible story to tell and an incredible message to share with students and wit...