by Johanna Ginsberg
NJJN Staff Writer

May 12, 2009

Fourth- and fifth-graders from day schools around the area gathered at Joseph Kushner Hebrew Academy in Livingston on May 6. There, they built bridges out of straws, experimented with mystery liquids, tried their hand at aerodynamics with flying airplanes, and discussed the mechanics of an array of mechanized contraptions.

Welcome to the first New Jersey Science Olympiad for the Jewish day school set. The event is affiliated with a statewide competition that has elementary, middle school, and high school divisions. Winners in the middle and high school divisions go on to compete in a national competition. Standards and materials for all levels are set by the NJSO.

Until this year, day schools that wanted to participate had to find local competitions. That’s what Kushner did last year, under the guidance of Mindy Haller, coordinator of gifted and talented programs and enrichment at the school. “I thought, ‘Wow! It was such a great day, and the kids got so much out of it. Wouldn’t it be great if there was something like this for Jewish day schools at the elementary level, where they don’t have the opportunity to interact with each other across schools? It would be like a day of camp, and kids could have the opportunity to shmooz with other Jewish kids,” she said.

So she invited area schools to join in the Olympiad, and four accepted: the Jewish Educational Center in Elizabeth, Solomon Schechter Day School of Essex and Union in West Orange, Hillel Yeshiva in Ocean, and Yeshivat Noam in Bergenfield. Each put together a team of 15 students. Most of the teams have been meeting after school at least once a week to learn the curriculum and to prepare for the competition.

“A lot of kids are very excited. It sparked a lot of interest,” said Hillel Yeshiva science teacher Louis Krieger.

JEC teacher Joel Javitt said, “I’ve looked for science competitions to participate in; a lot are on Shabbos. So it’s nice to have this opportunity.”

Susan Posner, a lower-school science teacher at Schechter, said preparing for the competition gave her students “the chance to expand their knowledge of science and explore different areas they were not exposed to before.”

On the day of the Olympiad, the kids seemed excited, and a bit nervous. Out on the floor, the competition heated up as pairs of students tried to get their straw bridges to connect and stand. Most had designed their structures in advance, but a few ran into some glitches. Schechter students Harrison Kusnierz and Isaiah Kramer were having trouble with the straws provided. “The ones we practiced with were stronger,” said Harrison. The test came when they finished, and the judge placed erasers on the midsection to see if the bridges would hold. Some withstood one eraser; most flopped with the second. The JKHA team placed first in bridge building, but took third place in the overall competition. Yeshivat Noam took first place, followed by Schechter in second place overall.

Anna Kaplan, a JEC student who competed in the mystery liquids round, said she didn’t think she did very well. “I got a little screwed up — there were different materials from what I practiced with.” Still, she called the Olympiad “a cute idea,” and said, “I thought it would be fun to try it out.”

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