Shevuon, April 27, 2012

Last Wednesday, Gann held its very first Day of Dialogue, a switch from

the traditional Day of Silence. The day was run by Open House, Gann’s Gay-Straight Alliance, and was led by seniors Abraham Kirby-Galen and Ayelet Pinno-lis. Their goals include making the student body more aware of the issues revolving around sexuality and the LGBQT com-munity as well as making Gann a safer community – goals which programs like the Day of Dia-logue help to achieve.

The switch from the Day of Silence to the Day of Dialogue was partly in response to student feedback. Many people were asking why we were fighting silence with silence, so Open House turned the focus of the day to speech instead. Also, some students didn’t want to re-main silent even if they support-ed gay rights. Pinnolis explains, “We picked a method that could include everyone who wanted to participate.” The switch was a success, with the program “cre-ating poignant and meaningful new dialogue,” as Coach Sue Johnson put it, for students and faculty alike.

Formally, the Day of Dia-logue programming was similar to that of the Day of Silence, but rather than focusing on Jewish or political issues relating to gay rights (as was the case in years past), the program concentrated

on personal experiences. Also, people were asked to hold dis-cussions in classes and among peers throughout the day, both within and outside of the formal programming.

Sophomore Jacob Shannon, who spoke at the assembly, re-marks, “As Gann’s only openly gay person, I feel a moral need to improve the coming out process for other students…I am giving back to the community what the community gave me – an ally

who helped me out.” Shoshanah Zaritt, Director of Junior & Se-nior Programs, who spoke about her experience as a parent, adds, “I hope that students will also see that I am another adult in the Gann community with whom they can talk.” Speaking at this year’s Day of Dialogue program also affected Zaritt personally: “It has actually created a bit of dialogue for all of us [in my family]. We are…actually gain-ing additional strength and un-derstanding among ourselves.” Rabbi Baker, Coach Johnson and Noam Sienna, a guest speaker from Brandeis Univer-sity, also spoke at the assembly

last Wednesday.Pinnolis says, “I am very

happy we decided to make the switch to the Day of Dialogue. I heard from many that this pro-gram was much more appealing and successful.” Shannon elabo-rates, “I always had problems with a Day of Silence. I never participated because I thought that silence brought awareness but not answers. I think a Day of Dialogue is better because people who have questions…can find answers.”

The day’s success is despite the fact that most of the country observes a Day of Silence. Ac-cording to the Day of Silence website, it is an event that “addresses the problem of anti-LGBT behavior by illustrating the silencing effect of bully-ing and harassment on LGBT students and those perceived to be LGBT.” However, while the Day of Silence can be effec-tive at a large school, Pinnolis explains that when “the goal of the programming is to raise is-sues that should be discussed, it makes it much more difficult for the silence to be effective.” She adds, “For the most part I think Gann is on a level where we do not have to be greatly concerned about explicit bullying, teasing or language against gay stu-dents, but rather we can fine tune our awareness of more subtle language and behavior that can feel hurtful.”

R.A.B.B.I. Round TwoGann Academy’s Robotics Team competes this week at the World Championships in St. Louis.

Celtic SpiritBoston Celtics players and fans gear up for an exciting postseason filled with hope and opportu-nity.

Friday, April 27th, 2012 • ה׳ באייר ,תשע״ב • Shabbat: 7:22 - 8:26 • Volume 15, Issue 2

Dialogue Replaces Traditional Day of SilenceBy Annika GompersSpotlight

Page 2 Page 5

In Here• Robotics team

R.A.B.B.I. travels to St. Louis to defend its title at the World Champion-ship tournament.

• Students organize school-wide ceremony to honor the fallen Israeli soldiers and citizens on Yom HaZikaron.

• Student body and staff celebrate Yom Ha’atzmaut with festive barbeque.

Out There• Newt Gingrich officially

drops out of presidential race and endorses Mitt Romney.

• KONY 2012’s “Cover the Night,” turns out smaller than originally hoped.

• Boston Bruins are elimi-nated from the Stanley Cup Playoffs in a nail-biting Game 7.

The HRC works for LGBTQ equal rights. Credit: Kevin Nix

Shevuon Hatichon שבועון התיכון

continued on page 6

Upcoming Events:

5/1 Advisor Lunch5/2 Freshman Community Service5/3 Student Leadership Summit5/4 Step-Up Day

Shevuon hatichon, Friday aPril 27th, 2012 • ה׳ באייר ,תשע״ב • Shabbat: 7:22 - 8:26 • Volume 15, Issue 2 Page 2

This week, one of Gann’s robotics teams, Robots and Brain Bots, Inc., traveled to St. Louis to participate in the FIRST Robotics World Championships for the second con-secutive year. In its first year of existence last year, the team competed in the World Championships, and R.A.B.B.I. took home the prestigious Inspire Award. This award, the highest award achievable, was in rec-ognition of the teams “achievements in robot design, creativity, innovation, team performance, outreach and enthusiasm,” according to the FIRST Robotics Website. After receiving high marks in all categories and serving as an “inspiration” to others around the world, R.A.B.B.I. will return to St. Louis this year to defend its title.

The competition format changes every year. This year’s competition will require competing against other teams to place “racquet balls into crates and then [stack] the crates.” Teams will compete in multiple matches in which they will be placed into a random alliance with another team. The two teams will unite and compete against a different alliance, and the points scored in one alliance will be added to the individual score of each team in the alliance. Extra points will be scored by placing heavier balls into the crates or by lifting stacks of crates higher than 10.5 inches off of the

ground. This year, R.A.B.B.I. has taken the height requirement to another level. Ac-cording to team co-founder and Hardware Engineer Sam Rosenstein, the team has built a “thirteen foot high scissor lift,” a mechanism that lifts crates high into the air in addition to stacking them one on top of another. This design has the team hoping to score key bonus points for height. Ac-

cording to Rosenstein, this year’s robot has been designed with a “more mechanical” approach instead of a “software” based one. This new approach involved shed-ding computerized functions for new me-chanical systems that improve the machine. However, despite the significant improve-ments made, last year’s robot was no toy.

It is now showcased at an exhibit in Logan International Airport’s Terminal A, along with robots from professional manufac-tures such as iRobot, VGO and Artaic.

Reaching the world championships this year has involved strong dedication on the team members’ part to produce a competent robot. According to team co-founder and Computer Aided Design Director Aaron Jaeger, the team has been working on the robot “until the last second,” trying to make the robot ready to compete. The team has run into some difficulties along the way in making the robot work. However, Outreach Director Ben Potel is pleased to say that the robot is “working better now.” While both Jaeger and Potel admit that they are “ner-vous” and that there are some components of the robot that “haven’t been tested” yet, the team has time “to test the robot before the matches start” in St. Louis. Despite the last minute preparations, Jaeger is “excit-ed,” and Potel is “confident” going into the competition. According to Science Enrich-ment Coordinator Steven Dubin, this year’s robot is “very high-functioning,” and its creation has involved hours of hard work. With such a “talented, dedicated group of students,” there is much hope that the team will be successful in this year’s Robotics World Championships.

R.A.B.B.I. Returns: Gann’s Robotics Team Competes at World ChampionshipsBy Gil ProppSpotlight

Credit: Jerry Jaeger

Robots and Brain Bots, Inc., Gann Academy’s robotics team.

continued on page 3

Israel Loves Iran?By Aaron DvorkinIsrael

On March 19, a graphic designer from Tel Aviv named Ronny Edry started the Facebook group “Israel-Loves-Iran” with his wife Michal. They are attempting to reach out to Iranians and others around

the world with a peaceful, optimistic mes-sage concerning Israel’s conflict with Iran. The group started off posting pictures of Israelis with captions that said “Iranians, we will never bomb your country. We love you.” Once the group started gaining more followers, they made a video of Israelis in

Tel Aviv continuing the peaceful message, stating, “To the Iranian people...for there to be a war between us, first we must be afraid of each other, we must hate. I’m not afraid of you, I don’t hate you...I see sometimes here, on the TV, an Iranian. He is talking about war. I’m sure he does not represent all the people of Iran.”

As of Thursday night, the group had 63,293 likes on Facebook and has been featured in The New York Times, The Washington Post, on ABC news and in various other media outlets. Perhaps the most notable attention garnered from this group has come from Iranians. Many Irani-

ans have posted comments and pictures of themselves on the page, expressing grati-tude for the peaceful message.

Many of the comments from Iranians were sent privately to the group’s creator, who then reposted the messages on the page without a name so that the Iranians wouldn’t get in trouble with the Iranian government. Similarly, many of the Irani-ans who posted pictures of themselves cov-ered their faces. One of the posts sent by an Iranian man named Harid reads, “Anybody can’t boycott someone else...we have our own place in the world...maybe you don’t believe it, but when I read your simple and

Credit: Alicia Zolondick


Recently, there has been a notable baby boom among the teachers of Gann Academy. Within the past few months, Mr. Fries, Mr. Neudel and Ms. Newman have all welcomed new additions to their fami-lies. Ms. Newman is currently on maternity leave, and following the births of each of their children, both Mr. Fries and Mr. Neudel opted to take a few weeks of paid paternity leave. While many of us have heard of maternity leave, a common insti-tution in most workplaces, paternity leave is an unheard of and surprising practice for many people. According to a 2006 study by the Institute for Women’s Policy Research, paid paternity leave is only offered by 50% of companies, and of those 50%, 35% offer only 1-2 weeks of leave. Although these percentages are slowly increasing, national averages still lag behind what is offered at Gann. Mr. Fries remarks, “In some indus-tries, even where paternity leave is offered, there is an unspoken rule that taking it could damage career prospects.”

Gann’s policy of giving each teacher six weeks paid leave and six weeks unpaid leave, which allows for the possibility of extended parental leave, reflects the degree of importance placed upon family values at the school. As Mr. Fries elaborates, “I see it as…a reflection of Gann valuing family life. I don’t think anyone strongly believes

in fathers being uninvolved. It’s just that some fathers and families and workplaces prioritize other things over father-family time.”

Junior Michael Zanger-Tishler feels that “a man’s role in a child’s life is just as important as a woman’s,” while fresh-man Ben Bryer asserts, “If I had a child, I

would definitely take time off to help out my spouse.” Adds freshman Mitali Desai, “It’s good for the father to build a relation-ship with his kid.” Though depriving us of our beloved teachers for a few weeks, the practice of paternity leave is obviously popular among Gann students. Multiple family values are strengthened through this policy, and thus students feel that the compromise is a just one.

In addition, the teachers who took pa-ternity leave voiced their appreciation for the generous policy and the many benefits it provided for them and their families. Mr. Neudel, whose son Coby was born just a few weeks ago, listed some of the oppor-tunities Gann’s stance on paternity leave gave to him: “[I was able to] bond more deeply with my wife, bond with Coby, not be stressed about work, be able to focus on learning how to care for a newborn baby, help my wife recover from the process and truly enjoy the first part of Coby’s life [with my] family.”

This policy is a prime example of Gann’s devotion to family values. Hopefully, it will continue to be an accepted and encouraged institution in the school as well as across the country. In the European Union, two weeks of paid paternity leave are federally mandated and required from all places of work, as reported by the UK magazine The Independent. As Dr. Marshak, who is ex-pecting a child and planning to take leave, remarks, “I do think that the US could learn a little from our friends across the pond [in Europe]. Raising healthy, happy and well-adjusted children isn’t easy, and making it easier for working parents to also raise children at the same time is in all of our interests.”

Pondering Paternity: Gann’s Progressive PolicyBy Rachel ButlerStudent Lounge

Mr. Fries’ desk while he was on paternity leaveCredit: Brittany Gellerman

Israel Loves Iran? continued from page 2

nice words, the tears gathered in my eyes. We’re ancient friends.”

Edry has responded to the group’s popu-larity with confidence about the future. He said that his goal is to raise a million dollars for the group so that he can “buy media: billboards, major magazines, TV ads and finally Times Square screens...we want ev-erybody to understand that there will be no war,” as reported by The New York Times.

The group has surprised many because of the sharp contrast between Edry’s mes-sage and the hawkish rhetoric that the Is-raeli government and Jewish organizations such as AIPAC have been using recently regarding the conflict with Iran. In a speech

at the AIPAC policy conference earlier this year, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu compared Iran to Nazi Germany and Israel to a ghetto. The statements were deemed to be war rhetoric and drew criticism from many in Israel and around the world.

“Israel-Loves-Iran” is one of many Jewish and Israeli pro-peace movements that has gained momentum and attention this year for standing up to the rhetoric coming out of the Netanyahu administra-tion. This past summer, an anti-Netanyahu social justice movement held a protest in Tel Aviv that drew around 300,000 people. While the main goal of this demonstration was to criticize the Netanyahu government

over economic issues, many of the protest-ers called for peaceful solutions to some of Israel’s problems, and some of the move-ment’s leaders have expressed discontent with the way the administration has dealt with Iran. Another pro-peace organization called J Street, who also advocates for peaceful resolutions to Israel’s dilemmas, held its largest conference ever this past year, drawing 2,500 people. Large social movements like “Israel-Loves-Iran” may not succeed in convincing the Netanyahu government to change its policies, but their rising popularity indicates that in the fu-ture, more than one opinion will be heard regarding Israel’s policies.


Payphone Maroon 5 ft. Wiz Khalifa Payphone Single

Bonfire ChildishGambino Camp

EverybodyTalks NeonTrees PictureShow

Food For Thought

Credit: Apple Answer to trivia: Adam Marshak and Billy Smoller

4/23 – Evan Crane4/23 – Tyler Crane4/25 – Jeremy Rubin4/26 – Sam Maron

Mother Heifer’s Advice Column

Why is the heifer such a lame school mascot?

Back in the day, when Gann was just a tiny school atop a bank, the Athletic Department decided to make Gann’s mascot the Red Heifer. While you may complain that no mascot is less cool than an animal who was traditionally sacrificed in the time of the temple, you would be surprised. It could be worse, however. Take, for example, “Sammy the Banana Slug” of University of California Santa Cruz or South Carolina’s “Gamecocks.” What could be worse than those names? Plus, the Heifer suit is actually a bull, so it is pretty intimidating. Either way, it could be worse.

In History class...

Michael Z-T:

“I love twitter, hashtag YOLO”

Ms. Serkin gives that

“I’m waiting...” look

Max Fineman:

Hashtag LISTEN TO MS. SERKIN!

Quote of the Week

Teacher Trivia

Which two faculty

members are on

a temple baseball

team called “The

Mensch Warmers”?

Why can’t we tickle ourselves?

What is another word for

thesaurus?

If the speed of light is the

fastest thing known to man, is

the speed of dark the slowest?

Picture of the Week

Solve the Word Puzzle!

Credit: http://www.fun-with-words.com/

Credit: Jeremy Jick

Answer to puzzle: Three Blind Mice (No i’s)


NBA Playoffs: Where Amazing HappensBy Adam YatesIHOT

Tomorrow marks the start of one of the biggest competitions in sports: the NBA playoffs. This year there is plenty of fierce competition, and with all of the playoff teams looking good, anyone could bring home the trophy. The NBA playoffs have three rounds before the coveted NBA Finals, where the best of each conference compete for the famous Larry O’Brien Tro-phy and the title of “champions.” Every basketball fan in the country will be glued to their TV, avidly rooting for their team.

The main question in Massachusetts is: can the hometown Boston Celtics make a run at the Finals? There are plenty of mixed opinions on how far the C’s can go this year, with worries of age and tough op-ponents getting in the way of hoisting the eighteenth banner. However, one thing for certain is that fans are a lot more optimistic now than they were two months ago. The Celtics went into the All-Star break in February with a brutal 15-17 record. Since

then, Boston has picked up its game and has gone 23-10. Excitement has started to brew in Boston, and everyone is wonder-ing, “Can the Big Three manage to raise one more banner in Boston?”

Many believe that this year is the last year for the Big Three (Ray Allen, Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett) to win a champion-ship together, and all of Boston is counting

on them. Boston isn’t the favorite to win this year, but because of their impressive run since the All-Star break, they have suc-cessfully instilled fear in the hearts of their opponents. Philadelphia 76ers coach Doug Collins said Boston has recently “taken it to another level,” and he thinks that they can compete against such elite teams of the Eastern Conference as the Chicago Bulls and Miami Heat. Collins believes that the Celtics “are going to be good” this post-season.

Freshman Ben Bryer is extremely ex-cited for the playoffs and thinks that the Celtics have a chance of making it to at least the Eastern Conference Finals. While Bryer is hopeful for the Celtics to win a championship, he doesn’t think that the team this year can beat the talented Miami Heat. Sophomore Jonny Koralnik agrees with Bryer, and they both predict that the Miami Heat will win the NBA Finals.

Koralnik isn’t very optimistic about the

Ray Allen, Paul Pierce, Rajon Rondo and Kevin Garnett (from left) look to shock the NBA world and hang another banner in the rafters of the Garden.

Credit: http://www.celticstitletown.com

continued on page 7

Credit: http://sports.chronicleblogs.com


In the Athletic Department’s mission statement, it states, “Playing sports and exercising give students opportunities to keep their bodies healthy and strong, to learn habits of healthy living.” If we are to learn habits of healthy living, why is it that some of the recreational classes that are not particularly strenuous, are considered “athletics,” such as ping-pong? Why is it that one who plays varsity basketball gets the same amount of athletic credit as one who takes recreational yoga twice a week?

In order to graduate, one must have com-pleted the Athletic Department’s require-ment of two athletic classes or teams every year for four years. Athletic Department head coach Sue Johnson explains, “The Athletic Department graduation require-ment expects students to earn two athletic credits by being active at least two days a week during the academic year in two of three seasons.” This system demands a relatively high level of commitment of Gann students. However, is it really fair for a student who attends yoga class twice a week to earn the same amount of credit as another student who has a long four or five day athletic schedule? These athletes not only give at least double the amount of time to their sport but in doing so also sacrifice valuable free time.

Some students are three season inter-scholastic athletes, while others decide to pick less physically demanding options. When asked if he thought this policy was fair, freshman Joshua Lange answered, “Although it may be frustrating, some of us have different athletic abilities than others, and I don’t think its fair to penal-ize those who don’t want to participate in an interscholastic sport. For instance, do

you think it would be fair to judge which art classes were more artistically difficult and creatively demanding? Some of us have different athletic goals and strengths than others.’ Though many share Lange’s opinion, this policy is often controversial among students.

I, for one, consider myself to be ‘artisti-cally challenged,’ yet I have a passion for team sports. Fellow freshman Gabi Shiner,

a student who doesn’t participate in inter-scholastic sports, stated, “I think it’s great that there are non-competitive athletic of-ferings. As someone who gets exercise in ways other than playing on a sports team and is already busy with extracurricular ac-tivities most of the time, it’s really relieving to have options like ping-pong and yoga that still count as athletic credits.” If the Athletic Department were to begin judging the amount of credit one received based on the difficulty of the class, the entire system would change, perhaps for the better. When asked to comment, Athletic Department head Coach Sue Johnson said, “Gann athletics works to offer something for ev-erybody! While students on sport teams are far more active than the minimum two day

requirement in a given season, it is their choice to do so based on their individual goals and schedules. Their ‘reward’ for par-ticipating, beyond the minimum require-ment, is in the life and fitness experience, as opposed to increased credits.”

Although some people are not interested in competitive sports, I think it is still im-portant to push oneself physically, whether that is in a team setting or not. When asked to comment on the issue at hand, freshman Kineret Grant-Sasson responded, “I think it’s fair that there are athletic classes with different levels of intensity. People have different interests beyond arts and athlet-ics, such as academics, politics, science and music. People participate in other ac-tivities than those offered at Gann, and just because they’re not playing a team sport doesn’t mean they haven’t found another productive way to occupy their time and benefit the school.”

I think that those who spend their pre-cious downtime time pushing themselves physically and wearing a Gann uniform with pride should receive more athletic credit than those who take recreational classes that may or may not be taken seri-ously. Recreational classes meet twice a week while interscholastic teams meet up to five days a week, only two sessions of which occur during school hours. The time investment of practice does not take into account the travel time to and from games and the time spent at weekend practices. Because it may be hard to determine who does and does not take the classes serious-ly, I think that students should receive more credits for those classes meeting outside of school or with a bigger time commitment, even if they are not Gann affiliated.

Athletic Requirements: Giving Credit Where Credit is Due?By Maya SinclairOpinion

Credit: http://students.bowdoin.edu/ping-pong/

Recreational classes at Gann earn the same credits as athletic ones.

Day of Dialogue continued from page 1

Shannon says that overall Gann “is a very supportive environment for [LGBTQ] students to come out. Social justice is the most powerful way to push gay rights, and Gann does social justice very well.” This is in contrast to the attitude of the majority of America, which Shannon describes as

“hostile” to the LGBTQ community and Pinnolis says “has a long way to go” – but she believes that the force for change is in our generation.

As for future programming, Shannon says, “I really hope that next year, Gann students will be even more enthusiastic

about [the] Day of Dialogue. I saw a lot of participation but also a lot of indifference. If you feel indifferent [about] gay rights, you should...just imagine what it would be like if you were that one in ten.”


WritersBen Bryer ‘15, Rachel Butler ‘14, Harrison Dale ‘15, Aaron Dvorkin ‘13, Annika Gompers ‘14, Daniel Gray ‘14,

Aaron Hunt ‘15, Gabriel Karger ‘13, Jonathan Koralnik ‘14, Joshua Lange ‘15, Sara Newman ‘14, Oshri Olsberg ‘14, Eleora Pasternack ‘14, Jacqueline Pollock ‘13, Rebecca Pritzker ‘13, Gil Propp ‘13, Sarah Salinger ‘15,Abby Schwartz ‘13, Maya Sinclair ‘15, Jacqueline Teperman ‘13, Nicole Teperman ‘14, Adam Yates ‘15

PhotographersBrittany Gellerman, Jeremy Kelleher, Sarah Litwin, Alicia Zolondick

Entertainment PageJosh Chartock, Michael Handler

Editor in Chief Sloane Grinspoon Managing Editor Jonah Kriger Layout Editor Lily CohenAssistant Editors Rachel Brody, Jordana Gardenswartz & Matthew Zackman Copy Editor Maxwell Fineman

Faculty Advisor Shoshanah Zaritt Faculty Consultants Deb Carroll, Matt Conti & Jonah Hassenfeld

Celtics’ chances because of their age and lack of depth. Koralnik thinks that “their bench is not that good,” and they won’t easily get past the second round of the playoffs.

Both Koralnik and Bryer agree that the key to the Celtics’ success this postseason lies in the young talent of Rajon Rondo and Avery Bradley. Said Bryer, “Avery Bradley has the potential to be a great player, and these playoffs will be his chance to prove how great he can be.” Bradley has recently proven his value as a lockdown defender and an unexpectedly explosive offensive player.

Added Koralnik, “When Rondo plays aggressively, the Celtics win.” Many critics agree that if Rondo is playing at his best,

the Celtics could have a chance at a title. One thing that no one seems to be con-

cerned about is the legacy of Paul Pierce, Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett. Their first year together on the Celtics the three won Boston its seventeenth NBA Championship title, and two years later the team returned to the Finals. The 2010 championships re-sulted in a disappointing Game 7 loss to the Lakers. Many believe, however, that those two trips to the Finals have sealed those three names in the Celtics history books. Few disagree that all three are destined for the Hall of Fame.

Sophomore Jeremy Kelleher has one of the most positive outlooks on the Celt-ics’ postseason. He doesn’t even see the Bulls or the Heat as a threat to the Celt-

ics’ chances, and he thinks that the team’s biggest competition will come against the Oklahoma City Thunder. Jeremy’s playoff prediction is that the Celtics will win the NBA finals in seven games over the Thun-der.

While the guessing will soon come to an end, all we can do for now is wait and see what challenges and surprises the playoffs will present. No matter what anyone’s playoff prediction is, every Boston fan is praying for a successful postseason. Let’s keep our fingers crossed that on opening day of the 2012-2013 season, we’ll see banner #18 being hoisted into the rafters of the Garden with the Big Three suited up to add even another trophy to the most victorious franchise in NBA history.

Where Amazing Happens continued from page 5

Appreciating Yom Ha’atzmautBy Rachel Wolfman and Melissa MishkinDvar Torah

We celebrate Israel declaring her inde-pendence in 1948 on Yom Ha’atzmaut. We wear blue and white and raise the flag to full mast to mark the day with pride and joy. Placed in a mix of holidays that are more solemn in nature, commemorating the Holocaust and fallen soldiers, Yom Ha’atzmaut is a day purely dedicated to rejoicing. Each year we are reminded of the sacrifices that have been made to maintain Israel’s sovereignty and freedom. As we shift from solemn remembrance to celebra-

tion, we recall not only the young lives that were lost but also the glory that their sacrifices have accomplished. So as Israel celebrates its 64th birthday, keep in mind the struggles that she has overcome. Smile while reflecting on the victories that were achieved, and raise your voice to show sup-port for Israeli independence. Be proud to be a part of a nation that fights hostility and evil. Let’s celebrate Israel’s independence this year and for many years to come. Happy Birthday, Israel!

Credit: http://www.sincerelybrigitte.com


Gann’s Varsity Softball team just took home a crucial and exhilarating victory on their new field. In fact, the win was the inaugural game on the new diamond. The team has started off the season strong, but with only one senior, Briana Levin, on the team, one might wonder who is providing all of the leadership. Leadership is not the only attribute that could be lacking on a team short of seniors. Fortunately, other girls on the team have stepped up and embraced the leadership role even though they are not yet seniors. Freshman Macia Pinkwas states, “The juniors do an amazing job leading us, making us feel welcomed and joking with us. I feel as though it is re-ally anyone who was on the team [before] the rest of us that leads us. We all give our inputs and all try to help each other.”

This season, because there is only one senior on the team, two out of the three captains are juniors. Junior captain Sarah Litwin comments, “Being a captain as a junior comes with a lot of responsibil-

ity; it’s especially hard to follow after last year’s captains.” Fellow junior captain Brittany Gellerman agrees, noting, “There is definitely a different role we, as juniors, play on the team. Having two juniors as

captains as well [as] three other juniors on the team not only defines us as the majority of upperclassmen but also a large portion of the team. We have the responsibility to not only set an example for underclassmen teammates but also encourage and support them.”

Unfortunately, the girls suffered a disap-pointing loss at Brimmer & May. However, after a few practices, the team rallied be-hind its captains to get back on track in their first home game. The girls have enjoyed the brand new field, and the girls perme-ated the field with their positive energy in a hard fought win in the first game on the new field. The Gann squad finished on the right side of an 11-10 nail-biter.

The team is a close-knit, strong group that has already shown a lot of potential. Gellerman comments about the chemistry of the team, saying, “This season was a big transition in terms of players, so entering the season we did not know what to expect. As the season progresses, we become closer and closer because of our common goal to be a successful and cohesive team.” The juniors’ leadership has provided the backbone of the softball team, and it has shown in the progress that has been made already!

Last week, the Boys’ Varsity Lacrosse team played against league rival Waring. The boys ended the game with a 7-5 loss despite having come into the game deter-mined and ready to win. This was an ex-tremely disappointing and devastating loss for the boys on the team, a loss that has fu-eled their anticipation for the rematch in the upcoming week. Since last year’s season, Waring has stood out as one of the toughest teams for the Boys’ Varsity Lacrosse team to beat. Last year, the boys lost two out of the three games they played against them, and Waring took the league title by the end of the season. With such a strong history with this team, everyone is looking forward to the game next week. Junior co-captain Ori Ramon remarked, “[Judging] from the teams we have played so far, [Waring] is the only team that is going to be a challenge to beat.” Gann lacrosse has taken awhile to readjust to life after last year’s seniors

graduated. However, the boys are optimis-tic, and they believe that with a little more time and practice, they will be able to upset Waring in next week’s game. Sophomore

Daniel Gray noted, “We’ve had a tough time adjusting to the new offense because we lost a lot of important seniors last year, and there have been a lot of team changes so far.” On Wednesday of next week, the

Gann boys will have the opportunity to play another game against Waring on the home turf. All the boys are prepared to push themselves hard this week in practice in preparation for the upcoming game. Gray added, “I’m confident that our offense and our plays will definitely pull together be-fore the next game and that the team will be able to work better with one another.” The ambition to win and finally beat Waring is a common feeling throughout the team. Ramon says, “If we beat them by more than two points, we can hopefully win our league. Since we only lost to them 7-5, we can definitely take the title with a home field advantage.” Be sure to come watch and cheer on the Boys Varsity Lacrosse team next week on Wednesday at home as they attempt to finally show off their hard work by beating their biggest rival!

Close to VictoryBy Nikki Teperman

Juniors Stepping Up to the PlateBy Sarah Salinger

MVP of the Week goes to Amos Armony for taking one

for the team.

Junior Missy Kintish steps up to bat.Credit: Frank Litwin

Documents

Shevuon, April 27, 2012