KEHILLAH JEWISH HIGH SCHOOL! DECEMBER 16, 2011

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Kehillah’s Top 10 Fashion Trends

1. Toms2. Frye Boots3. Kehillah Yoga Pants4. Scarves5. Belts6. Rings7. Riding Boots8. V-Necks9. Uggs10. Sweaters

Our RamblingsKJHS’s First Student Paper Kehi!ah students are proud to share their journalistic endeavor.

Shalom, and welcome to Kehillah’s first edition of The Ramblings. This newspaper is written by the students in Journalism class.

We have been painstakingly working to construct a newspaper with words of wisdom and fine news coverage.

This year introduces Kehillah’s first journalism program, and we are excited to be a part of it. Rachel Cohen, freshman, says of her experience, “I never thought I would like to write newspaper articles, but it turned out to be much more

interesting than I thought it would be.”

Over the first part of the year students in this class have learned how to produce the yearbook and the newspaper.

Presently, half of Journalism is working to produce the newspaper, and the other half is working diligently to produce the yearbook. At the end of the third quarter, the tasks will be reversed.

We, the writers of this newspaper, sincerely hope you enjoy the hard work we have put into it.

KEHILLAH JEWISH HIGH SCHOOL! DECEMBER 16, 2011

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STUDENT GOVERNMENT: 2011-2012

This year’s Student Government (SG) is comprised of ten diligent and hardworking students who have dedicated a great chunk of their time this year to serve as liaisons between the students and the administration.

 To improve communication, this year’s student government puts thought into every detail of what they plan and taking a creative approach to everything. By taking a creative approach on everything they do, they are able to make spirit days and coming to school a fun and exciting experience.

Senior and Student Body President Raquel Korman has been working tremendously to headway the goals of this year’s SG, which endeavors to accomplish a great deal during that duration of this school year. As SG works with the student body and the administration to serve as a roadway for the one another, SG takes their responsibilities very seriously in order to increase school spirit and pride. Korman enjoys, “feeling like you can make a difference.” Being president is a big responsibility and it has taught her a lot about communication and looking out for others.

All members of SG have contributed to this year’s plans for homecoming. Sofie Van Creveld (junior class president) says they are able to do this because “we are really able to work together and since we’re really productive, we can get more things done.” It is agreed upon by all student government members that they are really good at communicating during meetings. This lets them give the students what they want out of the school year.

Student Government members have meetings one Sunday a month to ensure they meet deadlines. SG does a great deal of behind-the-scenes work to make the students more spirited. The creativity of this year’s group shines through the means of communication they pursue: posters, the Facebook group, power points, and Rambot. They have planned many things for this years school year, things that have never been done before at Kehillah, our anticipation is heightening.

BIRTH CONTROL IN MODERN DAY SOCIETY

QUOTE OF THE WEEKIf your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.

~ John Quincy Adams

Believe it or not, the most common uses of birth control pills do not live up to to its literal name.

The study Beyond Birth Control: The Overlooked Benefits of Oral Contraceptive Pills by Rachel K. Jones of the Guttmacher Institute found that 58% of all pill users rely on the pill for purposes other than pregnancy prevention. This means that only 42% use the pill exclusively for contraceptive reasons.

Studies show that the most common non-contraceptive uses of birth control pills are cramp relief, menstrual regulation, treatment of acne, and treatment of endometriosis.

During the teenage years, it is most common to have irregular periods and menstruation-related side effects. The study revealed that 82% of teenagers use birth control for non-contraceptive purposes. On the other hand, 54% of women aged 20 years and older use the pill for non-contraceptive reasons. This means that teenagers use the pill for non-contraceptive purposes more often than adults.

Although the use of hormonal contraceptives is largely a private matter, it is important to remember that there are a variety of reasons that young women have for using them.

KEHILLAH JEWISH HIGH SCHOOL! DECEMBER 16, 2011

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THIS YEAR’S WINTER FASHIONStyle is an iconic sense of expression. Comfort is

chic and this year is all about comfort. Winter fashion of ‘11-’12 is all about the sweaters, scarves, layers, boots, and a great sense of repetition from past eras, particularly the 90s.

This season is all about stocking up on the newest trends of our generation, while for our parents, it’s a blast from the past. Thrift stores are now popular places to hunt for clothing, just like any store which seems to have the “newest” trends for this winter. When sophomore Shy Adelman was asked where she shops, she said, “ I shop mostly from my grandmas closet, a thrift store by my house, Urban Outfitters and American Apparel.” As the fashion scene turns more retro and vintage, teens are starting to flock more towards stores which follow these quotas. All the while, our parents become more and more nostalgic because they see the common themes which are being recycled.

As fashion is continuous, it is inevitable that we will one day see future generations wearing the clothing of today which is styled after the clothing of a generation ago. We can surmise that the clothing of today will soon become the clothing of tomorrow.

Cancer. To some people this word is a death sentence and to others it is the disease that has killed thousands of people. The American Cancer Society predicts that approximately 571,950 people will die from cancer in the coming year. This disease can be seen as a rapidly spreading plague.

Unfortunately, the research done to help prevent is minimal, until recently. An Israeli company called Vaxil Bio Therapeutics created a vaccine which could cure certain types of cancer.

Cancer is a group of diseases which result in uncontrolled growth and spread of abnormal cells. The causes of cancer are usually connected to a combination of external and internal factors such as tobacco, chemicals, radiation, hormones, immune conditions, and mutations.

People treat cancer with chemotherapy, radiation and

surgery, among other things. While these treatments do get rid of the cancer, they can have terrible side effects. Some side effects are pain, fatigue, nausea, infection and hair loss.

The new vaccine developed by Vaxil has the potential to save thousands of people. In addition, if this vaccine passes testing, then cancer treatment has to potential to be less painful and dangerous. Right now, the vaccine is still in the basic stages of testing at Haddasah Hospital in Jerusalem.

“The vaccine is currently being tested against a blood cancer called multiple Myeloma. However, Vaxil's scientific breakthrough is based on a drug platform, VaxHit, which can be tailored to treat not only 90 percent of cancers, but also diseases such as tuberculosis,” (Israel Ministry of Current Affairs).

Dr. Lior Carmon, an Israeli doctor, founded the company Vaxil

Bio Therapeutics in 2006. This company has creating huge leaps in the world of science by making new vaccines to help cure cancer.

Their vaccines destroy cancer by training the T-cells, cells that protect the body by killing diseased cells, to destroy cells with a molecule called MUC1. This molecule is only found in cancer cells, not healthy cells. The T-cells will not attack any cells without this specific part, so there are no side effects to this treatment.

Nate Jacobi, a freshman, acknowledges that this new technology will help, “I think any advance in medicine can turn into something that will save lives down the road.”

With the future of this vaccine still very up in the air, most scientists know not to get their hopes up, yet scientists agree that these vaccines could be the “cure” that cancer so desperately needs.  

ISRAELI’S MAKE NEW BREAKTHROUGH IN CANCER TECHNOLOGY

KEHILLAH JEWISH HIGH SCHOOL! DECEMBER 16, 2011

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SCHOOL STRESS Due to the colossal amount of Facebook statuses

posted monthly, it is easy to say that from a young age, children look at “older kids” and they automatically crave the time when they can grow up, wear the older kids’ clothes, eat the older kids’ foods, go to high school, and experience freedom.

But the younger kids who range from preschool to middle school do not know that the “older kids” are nostalgic for the perks and advantages of being young. The older kids crave the nap times, coloring homework--or even no homework at all--and the stress-free childhood lifestyle. This is true for junior, EJ Weiss. She explains that junior year is “catastrophic.” When Weiss was young, all she wanted was to grow up and wear cool clothes, the clothes not from Limited Too and the children’s section but from Forever 21 the juniors’ section at Nordstrom. Weiss couldn’t wait to go to high school; however, now she believes that school simply “dictates her life.”

In high school, where students’ stress levels increase exponentially from year to year, their levels of responsibility do too. Weiss believes that her stress level primarily comes from school; it’s come to the point where it limits her sleep hours. It becomes an ongoing struggle to juggle school work and social

life. But Kehillah students, including Weiss, are slowly and surely mastering these skills.

As the first quarter of the new school year comes to an end, Kehillah students seem to be getting the hang of balancing the extracurriculars and sports activities they take pride in. Students participate in activities such as basketball, performing arts, swimming and internships, to name a few. It’s a hard task managing coming back to school, with all the extra stress and the work that comes along with it. Most students find the beginning of the school year stressful but as the school year progresses the added effort will prove to be worthwhile.

As the stress the level for the seniors has just hit its peak high while completing and filling out college applications, the up and coming year for the juniors is a greatly anticipated stressful year. Due to the stress of junior year as well as the upcoming Israel class trip, many students feel swamped. Now that the sophomore class holds one year of high school under their belts, this year they will encounter a great amount of learning and bonding. And as the freshmen take on their first year of high school, a journey which has taken them nine years to get to, the long anticipated high school experience is about to be underway.

October 27th, 5:36 A.M.: Berkeley citizens are awakened to their houses shaking. Just six hours earlier, a 4.8 magnitude earthquake hit the Reno/Truckee area. Both of these earthquakes could be felt at least eighty miles around their epicenters. Smaller aftershocks hit the surrounding area within the next couple of days.

No large scale damage was done and no deaths were reported due to the earthquakes. This was to be expected as these earthquakes were on the smaller side and did not shake the Berkeley area too badly, as the quake did not exceed 4.0.

Earthquakes are a common occurrence in California; hundreds of earthquakes occur in California daily. The majority of these earthquakes have a smaller magnitude than 2.0. BUT In the past two weeks, Northern California has suffered from three earthquakes with a magnitude greater than 3.0.

Many citizens in the larger Bay Area have felt these past few earthquakes. Mrs. Lackland, an English teacher at Kehillah, felt one of the Berkeley earthquakes. “It was enough to wake you up but it wasn’t destructive,” remarked Mrs. Lackland in retrospect. She also stated that nothing fell or

shifted. To her it felt like a very large truck was driving by her house.

These past earthquakes in Berkeley have been caused by the unrest and tension in the Hayward Fault. When a fault is under a lot of stress, earthquakes are caused to try and relieve some of the built up pressure.

RECENT EARTHQUAKES IN THE BAY AREA

KEHILLAH JEWISH HIGH SCHOOL! DECEMBER 16, 2011

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TEXTING AND DRIVING AT KEHILLAHImagine driving home from Kehillah and being

stopped at a red light. A familiar sound occurs, and it turns out a new text message is waiting to be checked. Many of us would be tempted to answer the text, while others would disregard the message and continue to go about their drives.

Seventeen magazine and AAA partnered up to look into the statistics of teenagers texting while behind the wheel. This nationwide survey revealed that of 1,000 teens, 46% have text messaged while driving. Those 46% who have participated in texting while driving have suffered, or will suffer, the consequences whether they realize it or not. Cody Leviloff (Senior) says, “I tried it once on the freeway and I nearly ended up killing myself ”.

Michelle Matvey, junior, says, “I text at stoplights because sometimes I need to answer an urgent message, and the car is not in motion so I am not in any danger”. Little does Michelle and a number of Kehillah students know the effects of texting behind the wheel.

The University of Utah held a research study to examine the effects of text messaging while driving. The results were jaw dropping. Compared with the single-task (driving-only) drive, when drivers used cell phones their reactions were 18% slower and they took 17% longer to recover the speed that was lost following braking during their texting time.

The study by the Texas Transportation Institute at Texas A&M University revealed that reaction times behind the wheel with no texting were

between 1 and 2 seconds; reaction times while texting were at least 3 to 4 seconds, the new study said. This means that while texting, less attention was focused on driving, so the people reacted to situations at a slower pace. For instance, a person who is stopped at a red light reacts to the green light slower than a person who is stopped while texting.

While these results are shocking, a large number of states have responded to these results by creating text messaging bans. California’s ban, for instance, states, “Minors are prohibited from using wireless phones while driving — with or without hands-free accessories”. Rabbi Greenberg says, “I think that texting and driving is irresponsible, it’s dangerous, and it puts the drivers and others at an enormous risk”.

Many Kehillah students admitted to texting and driving, however many do not engage in the activity. Braden Katzman (Junior) says, “I don’t text and drive because my dad makes me turn my phone on airplane mode and now I am just used to it”. Alisa Rotfeld (Junior) also says, “I don’t text and drive because I would rather not die.”

Unfortunately, seismologists agree that these few shakes were not enough to relieve the tension that has been accumulating in this fault line the past few years.

This newspaper also mentioned that Luke Thomas, the owner of quakeprediction.com, has been sending tweets every thirty minutes predicting that an earthquake with a magnitude of more than 6.0 will hit the Berkeley area within the days following the other two. His posts have gone viral: they have been retweeted by hundreds of people in Berkeley area who are worried about the possibility of another earthquake.

None of these rumors have been confirmed by U.S. National Geological Society. Until the USGN confirms them, these reports are just superstitions. According to a Berkeley Newsletter, The Berkeley Patch, “Earthquakes come in clusters like this about 5 percent of the time in this part of the state.” This is meant to calm citizens in the Berkeley area, as earthquakes are quite common in California.

The past few earthquakes in California could be written off as a common occurrence, or they could be seen as a sign for a future earthquakes. Still, some Berkeley citizens have been preparing for possible earthquakes in the future, as the shadow of another large earthquake hangs over the heads of Berkeley citizens.  

KEHILLAH JEWISH HIGH SCHOOL! DECEMBER 16, 2011

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A MIDSUMMER’S NIGHTS DREAM

It was Wednesday, November 9th, opening night of the play.The actors in A Midsummer’s Nights Dream were waiting impatiently as they had been practicing for this moment for the past month and a half. As the clock ticked closer and closer to 7:30, the time of the first performance was coming, anticipation was building inside of each actor, like a ticking time bomb waiting to explode.

A Midsummer’s Nights Dream is the classic Shakespearean story of unrequited love and fairy magic, which changes the way characters in the play feel about each other. Mr. Gunn took this classic play and adapted it to take place in a high school. His hilarious adaptation is a comedy about four high school students, Demetrius, Helena, Hermia and Lysander, who are stuck in an interlocking tale of love which is changed by the fairy king Oberon and his assistant mischievous Puck.

At first, Lysander and Hermia are in love, while Demetrius, pursued by Helena, pines away for Hermia. Next, Oberon the fairy king has Puck use a special flower to make the men fall in love with the first person they see. Afterward, Lysander and Demetrius fall in love with Helena due to the magical flower, and Helena scorns both of them, believing that they are mocking her. Once again, Puck has to use the flower to change everyone’s emotions. In the end, Demetrius and Helena are in love and Lysander and Hermia are in love.

Maddie Bennet, a sophomore, played the role of Helena. Helena is a geeky, clumsy high school student in love with

Demetrius. Maddie has been in two other Kehillah plays, depicting Roo in Winnie the Pooh and Pozzo in Waiting for Godot.

Jacob Kaplan-Lipkin, a freshman, played Demetrius. Demetrius is the dorky high-schooler in love with Hermia, and then Helena. He was excited to having a large role in his first high school play. “I haven’t been in that many plays before but I love to act, so I’m excited to get this opportunity,” explained Jacob.

The students who acted in the play have put lots of effort and hard work into it. For example, Hanna Oberman, a freshmen, joined the play just four days before opening night. She remarked, “It was stressful to have to memorize a ton of new lines right before the play started. I had to walk around with my script for three days straight.” Hanna was not the only one cramming for opening night.

“We have had three intense dress rehearsals in the past three days. Two rehearsals were four hours and one was seven hours,” stated Jacob Kaplan-Lipkin. Afterward, the cast would leave practice exhausted, mentally and physically.

The play turned out to a success. According to Hanna Oberman, “It was hard to say some of my lines because of the sheer amount of laughter in the audience.” It appears that some audience members laughed throughout the entire play. In addition, the play was to be considered “hilariously romantic,” as stated by freshmen Ally Weinstock.

KEHILLAH APPAREL CONTESTShow us your Kehillah pride through participating in our first contest. Take a picture of yourself in your

Kehillah swag anywhere in the world. Contest rules: make it appropriate. Please submit your photo to Negin Ehsanipour at nehsanipour@kehillah.org.

Dear MARS

Q: I might have a boring personality. How do I fix this?A: GET OFF FACEBOOK AND STOP TEXTING!! Join clubs, become an active part of the school community. Interact with real humans in real life.

Q: I'm a beautiful girl who his desperately in love with a bookish boy. What do I do?A: DATE HIM NOW!!! You can help him expand his horizons beyond the books.

Q:How can I be the best student I can be?A:Always listen to the teachers. Your teachers are highly intelligent and only want what is best for you. If they assign you a project or a homework assignment, DO IT! The teacher has assigned the aforementioned assignment because it is supposed to teach you a necessary skill.

KEHILLAH JEWISH HIGH SCHOOL! DECEMBER 16, 2011

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Calendar

UPCOMING BASKETBALL FEVERWhen junior Braden Katzman picked up his first

basketball during the 2011 season, a sense of brotherhood once again filled his veins. For the students of Kehillah, basketball is one of the most exciting sports for students to come out and support, especially because of the homecoming game and spirit week. For Katzman and senior Baila Sherbin, this season’s basketball team is going to be a strong one.

Katzman is extremely excited for this years’ season because he believes there is “more motivation among young players” as well as more stimulation and a greater sense of brotherhood. This is Katzman’s eighth year playing basketball, and his third year in his high school career. The basketball team this year is 100% committed, and Katzman thinks this will shown throughout the year’s up and coming season.

Katzman is a huge part of this success of the basketball team because he gives his all to everything he does: school, basketball and football. Katzman says, “I’m very excited with the way we’re working because it can only lead to good things.” As this is his eighth year playing basketball, he does hold a greater sense of leadership on this team which he executes during every practice by encouraging the underclassman and keeping them motivated.

Senior Baila Sherbin has played on the Kehillah girls’ basketball team all throughout high school, and now her career is coming to a close, yet Sherbin believes this team will go out with a bang. She

exclaimed, “Everyone on the team is very committed, and ready to win.” She also says that the level of commitment and how the players are very accepting of each other this season will pay a role in their success this year. Sherbin also agrees that time management is one of the keys to giving 110% to the team. Sherbin shows complete engagement to the girl’s basketball, and hopes to see many fans come out to see them hold victory.

This year, both coaches Marty and Circle have stepped their practices up a notch. Both bring a great sense of pride to the boy’s and girl’s basketball programs, by motivating the players and keeping them stimulated. The coaches emphasize ingraining the fundamentals and tools of success in every practice.As new underclassman join the team with the upperclassmen as their support system their is a greater sense of satisfaction on the Kehillah basketball teams.

Both teams have shown great commitment going into the season through the regularly anticipated motivating practices. The boys’ and girls’ teams are expecting a fun and intense season, hopefully with another CCS appearance. The Kehillah teams look forward to the up and coming season, and through the amount of power both teams have shown this season, its seams like it will be a strong one.  

Past Events:Monday, 12/5: Drink DayTuesday 12/6: Game DayWednesday 12/7: Jewish/ Biblical DayThursday 12/8: Kehillah SwagFriday 12/9: Hogwarts DaySaturday 12/10: Homecoming DanceUpcoming Dates:12/21-28: Hannukah12/19-1/3: Winter Break