WHATS IN THIS ISSUE:

Happy Thanks-Chanukah 2

Bad Joke 2

Recipes 3

My Trip to the White House

4

Getting Ready for a Bar Mitzvah

4

Shipwrecked! 5

Volume 2, Issue 2 November 26, 2013

Happy Thanks-Chanukah!

Interviewed by Jacob C. `19, Noah B. `21, and Caleb G. `21– written by Joseph L. `19 On Monday, November 18, we got the oppor-tunity to sit down with Rabbi Wohlberg to talk to him about Chanukah and Thanksgiving. “The next time Chanukah and Thanksgiving will overlap will be over 70,000 years from now,” said Rabbi Wohlberg. Just like he said, Chanukah Cont. on page 2

Life Skills for Sports By Jeremy G. `19 When athletes think of playing sports, they usually think about competition and having fun. What they don’t think of is how sports can help you in life. Playing sports helps you be healthy and fit. You might be running, swimming, swing-ing a baseball/ softball bat and running, run-ning and shooting a basketball, running and kicking a soccer ball, running all over the place and swinging a tennis racket, or react-ing quickly, rushing forwards, backwards or to the side, or diving and bumping a volley-ball. All of these activities build muscle and make your bones strong. They also keep your heart healthy. Sports can keep you in shape and keep you healthy. One life skill you get out of playing sports is teamwork. You pass the ball to make a play that is best for the team; you bump/set the ball to put your team in a good position to win the point. In life, you could be work-ing with a coworker, working as a team, to try to finish a job your boss assigned your coworker and you to do. Cont. on page 2

Holiday Edition!

NEW KID ON THE BLOCK Gabby P. ‘21

I’m a new kid at Beth Tfiloh Middle School. Actually, it’s the first time I’ve ever been at any Beth Tfiloh School – and I love it! I like BT so much. When I wake up in the morning, I can’t wait to get to school! There are a lot of students and class-rooms in the middle school. Each room is different. The fifth grade rooms all have computers in the desks! I REAL-LY like that! BT has so many new things to offer. We have sports and performing arts, and now we even have CAPE. I love all the choices. Middle School is a big adjustment. I have to remember where all my class-rooms are, and I have a lot more classes and only three minutes in between each class! But, this is true for all the 5th graders, not just me! It’s not always easy making new

friends because it’s hard sometimes to know how to start talking to people. But everyone’s so nice that they make me feel welcome and comfortable. My BT teachers let me tell them when I’m having problems. We also have grade advisors that we can talk to about any problem we may have. The teachers at BT are really nice and caring. I love learning at BT. Last but not least, I loved the Block Party.It was a lot of fun! I also love being on the school newspaper and getting to write! I LOVE BT!

Volume 2, Issue 2 Page 2

Another life skill you get out of sports is leadership. You are telling your teammate who to guard; you are giving your team-mate a tip to help him/her get better. In life, you could be giving your coworker a tip on something related to the job; you could be leading a meeting; you could no-tice that your coworkers are struggling with how to do something and show them kindly how to do it. Additionally, sports help you because they improve your mood. Studies show that when you work out, your body pro-duces chemicals that make you happier. Being happy in life can help you view things in a more positive way. When people are in good moods, they usually don’t let little things both-er them. This will make you feel better overall. Finally, a way sports can help you is they help relieve stress. Stress can cause illness because it weakens your immune system. For adults, people who use fewer sick days for their job are more likely to get promotions and raises just because they work more than people who get stressed and get sick because of it. For kids, they may get sick because their immune system gets weaker because they get stressed from schoolwork and miss school. If you play sports and become less stressed, you can help yourself try to stay healthy, and then you can avoid missing school and falling behind in your classes. As you can see, you can get more out of sports than just enjoyment and competi-tion. Sports help you in many ways!

Happy Thanks-Chanukah (Cont.) (cont. from pg. 1) and Thanksgiving will not overlap again for 70,000 years! Can you believe that! We should also consider the biblical history and significance of these very simi-lar events on the same day. During Chanu-kah, we give thanks to Hashem because the Menorah in the Holy Temple remained burning for 8 days when there was only oil for 1 day! On Thanksgiving, the Pilgrims sat down with the Indians to have a feast and give thanks for the food that they had. “We can celebrate Thanksgiving and Cha-nukah at the same time because they are

both about giving thanks,” said Rabbi Wohlberg. Another point that Rabbi Wohlberg made was that the 28th of November is the latest day that Thanksgiving can occur and the earliest day that Chanukah can occur. So what are you going to do at your Thanksgiving feast? Eat turkey and stuff-ing, and then play dreidel? We should all be thankful for both the miracle of Chanu-kah and the first Thanksgiving.

November B`nei Mitzvahs

Jacob C. `19 Joshua C. `19 Joseph L. `19 Zachary V. `19 Evyatar S. `19

Bad Joke! Q: Why did the foot leave the town of shoes? A: Because he felt that he didn’t fit in! This joke was brought to you by Max G. `20

Thanksgivikah Word Scramble Unscramble the words bellow, then use the letters that are circled to solve the riddle at the bottom. The first 5 people to hand this in to Mr. Stevens will get a snack shack coupon. Good luck!

This puzzle is brought to you by Joseph L. `19

Volume 2 , Issue 2 Page 3

Recipes for Thanksgiving and Chanukah

Scrumptious Sugar Cookies (Hanukkah) By Gabi D. `21 and Sarah S. `21

Preparation Time: 5 to 10 minutes

Cooking Time: 10 to 15 minutes

Servings: 12 to 20 large cookies

Ingredients: 8 ounces (2 sticks) butter, softened 1 1/3 cups sugar 2 large eggs ½ teaspoon vanilla extract 3 ¾ cups flour 1 tablespoon baking powder 1 teaspoon salt 1. Heat oven to 350 degrees F 2. Grease 2 cookie sheets 3. Mix butter and sugar in a bowl

(using an electric mixer set on medium speed), then add the eggs and vanilla extract.

4. Sift together flour, baking powder and salt. Add to butter mix and blend with mixer set on low

speed until well combined. (Tip: sift together dry ingredients on a large piece of wax paper, then fold paper into a funnel to easily transfer mixture into bowl.)

5. Roll dough on a lightly floured surface until it is ¼ inch thick. Use cookie cutters to create shapes. Arrange cookies 1 inch apart on cookie sheets; bake for 10-15 minutes or until lightly golden.

6. Let cookies sit on sheets for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

** To make chocolate sugar cookies, replace ½ cup of the flour with ½ cup of cocoa powder.

Pumpkin Choco-late Chip Muffins Ingredients:

¾ cup white sugar ¼ cup vegetable oil 2 eggs ¾ cups canned pumpkin

¼ cup water 1 ½ cups of all-purpose flour ¾ teaspoon baking powder ½ teaspoon baking soda 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon ¼ teaspoon salt ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg ½ cup chocolate chips

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Grease and flour muffin pan or use paper liners. 2. Mix sugar, oil, eggs. Add pumpkin and water. In a separate bowl mix together the flour, baking soda, bak-ing powder, spices and salt. Add wet mixture and stir in chocolate chips. 3. Fill muffin cups 2/3 full with bat-ter. Bake in preheated oven for 20-25 minutes.

Thanksgiving Pan-cakes

By Alyssa F. `21

Every year in November we celebrate Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving is a time when many families follow traditions. Some families have the tradition to watch football. Other families have the tradition to go to the movies. Al-so, some families have the tradition to sit on the couch and watch the pa-rade. While these are all special tradi-tions, my family has a different tradi-tion. We make pancakes. The pan-cakes are colored and have a special

design. In this article, I will give you step by step directions on how to make the pancakes. You will need:

A few ketchup and mustard squeeze bottles, a spatula, pancake mix, food coloring, and a pan and stove/griddle. Step 1- Heat up your stove/griddle. (If you used a stove, once it is done heating up you can put the pan on it) Step 2- Mix up the pancake mix in separate bowls. Step 3- Put a different color of food coloring in every bowl of mix and stir. Step 4- Pour the colorful batters into

the squeeze bottles. Step 5- Draw any design in the pan/on the griddle (If you are doing letters or numbers, draw it back-wards) FILL IN THOROUGHLY! Step 6- flip it over with your spatula.

Step 7- Make as many as you want then eat. ENJOY!!

Volume 2, Issue 2 Page 4

My Trip to the White House

By: Gabrielle G. `19 You have probably heard of the White House. You have also probably wondered “What is it like inside?” I had the amazing opportunity to take a tour of the West Wing of the White House. The West Wing is the official workplace of the president. It in-cludes many different office spaces, from the Oval Office to the Cabinet Room. On the first floor of the West Wing, you can find the Navy Mess. This is the dining hall that is run by the Navy where senior officials eat. It is about the size of one of the classrooms you would find in the fifth grade hallway. It just looks like a fancy restaurant. Decorating the hallway walls are an in-teresting variety of pictures of the President and his wife the First Lady, Michelle Obama. You can find pictures of their two dogs lying in the grass, and a photo of the president making a duck face with an Olym-pic gymnast. All of these photos were taken to document Obama’s term in office and are switched every few weeks. After seeing the Navy Mess, we climbed some stairs to get to the up-per floor. Be-fore visiting any of the of-fice spaces, we went outside to the Rose Gar-den. They did-n’t let us go very far into it, but we could walk on the walkway right next to it. What stood out for me the most of course were the beautiful rose bushes. We next saw the Cabinet Room. This is the room where the President meets with the Cabinet secretaries, members of Con-gress, the National Security Council and foreign Heads of State. The President sits in the center of the table, across from the Vice President, Joe Biden. Don’t you think it would be cool to have your own room that was named after you? If Presidents Theodore and Franklin Roose-velt were still alive, they would most likely

think so. The Roosevelt Room is a room totally dedicated to the two Roosevelt presi-dents. President Theodore Roosevelt fought in the Spanish-American War. His Congres-sional Medal of Honor is featured on the Southeast wall of the room. To the left of the fireplace, Theodore Roosevelt’s Nobel Peace Prize is proudly exhibited. My favorite room was the Oval Office. The Oval Office is the President’s official office. Just like your mother or father may have their office to work in at home, this is where Obama does his work. He also deco-rates it just like your parents might. Behind the famous desk that all the previous presi-dents used, Obama keeps a table with pic-tures of him and his family. The room is obviously in the shape of an oval, which is very cool to look at it. In the center of the office are two white sofas and two blue and yellow striped chairs. The last place on the tour was the Press Briefing Room. This is where President Obama informs news reporters about any-thing that is going on. The limited space in the room only allows a select 49 to come in. At the front of the room is the roped off area where Obama’s speaking podium stands with an American flag and a Presidential flag. In the middle of the room, seven chairs are set up in rows of seven. At the back of the room is an elaborate computer system, which looke like a giant arcade, but without all the games. My tour of the West Wing of the White House was incredible. It is amazing to be able to be on the grounds of the White House instead of standing outside peering through the bars. If you are ever visiting Washington DC, then I would definitely recommend going to Pennsylvania Ave and walking past. Not only is there the White House, but there are different places of sig-nificance in the area, like the US Mint. Don’t forget to keep an eye out for the FBI!

Getting Ready for a Bar/Bat Mitzvah By Olivia L. `21 How hard is it to get ready for a Bar/Bat Mitzvah? I got a chance to sit down and talk with the “Bar Mitzvah Boy”, Jeremy G. ‘19. He told me that his Bar Mitzvah is on December 1st, which is the 4th day of Chanukah. His tutor’s name is Stan Luts-man. Jeremy told me that he thinks his Bar Mitzvah portion is really short. He has already finished his D’var Torah and is practicing it with Mrs.W. Jeremy practices two times a week, but at first he only prac-ticed it once a week. Jeremy is looking forward the most to celebrating with his family and friends after his Bar Mitzvah. He told me that the hard-est part of preparing for his bar mitzvah was writing the speech he will give at the celebration after Shul. There is a lot of preparation for becom-ing a Bar/Bat Mitzvah! Would you like to share your story? Let us know!

Bad Thanksgiving Jokes!

Q: What sound does a turkey's phone make?

A: Wing! Wing!

Josh: Why did the farmer run a steamroller over his potato field on Thanksgiving Day?

Phil: Why? Josh: He wanted to raise mashed potatoes.

  

Volume 2 , Issue 2 Page 5

Shipwrecked A Short Story by Shoshana Z. ‘21

It is now two weeks later. We have just boarded the cruise ship and said hello to our family. We are in our room now. I am talking with my Uncle Max. Steve is being crushed with a hug from Grandma. We have a lot of family members, many of whom are just about twelve years old. And I mean a lot! I have two sisters, Sanni and Sarah. I also have a lot of cousins: Tia, Eliz-abeth, Rachael, Leora, Audrey, Rose, Emi-ly, Jordan, Aidan, Daniel, Josh, Jonathan, Micah, and Sam. As you can see, we have a lot of family members! Let me briefly describe them. I have brown hair cut a little below my shoulders that is in a ponytail most of the time. I love to read and do well in school. Sarah has blonde hair and kind eyes. She is sweet, thoughtful, and a total girly-girl. Tia is also a girly-girl. She has a dark tan and long brown hair that is almost always in a braid. She talks a lot. There is always some-thing coming out of her mouth, whether it is words or food (while she is trying to talk).

Right now they are doing their nails on a bed while chatting away. Sanni is sort of like me. She has brown hair below her shoulders, a slight tan, and is very tall. She likes art, dancing, and, like me, is very adventurous. She is now work-ing on a drawing on her bed. Elizabeth has black hair a little below her shoulders and perfect bangs on her forehead. She is also a little short. She almost always wears a head-band (usually sparkly). She is a total fash-ionista. She loves to sing and dance. Her dream is to be a star on Broadway. Right now, she is singing a song to my Aunt Tessa. Audrey has dark hair below her shoul-ders and a round face. She is very athletic and is probably the most athletic of the fam-ily. She, for some weird reason, loves to cook. Nothing tastes better than one of her chocolate chip cookies! Rose is also very athletic. She has short black hair and a tan like Tia’s, but not as dark. She loves to run. She is also very smart and is obsessed with rules. She probably has the cleanest school record of all of us. Right now, Audrey and Rose are stretching and chatting in a corner.

Rachael has dirty blonde hair and lots of freckles like me. She likes about everything. She likes art, cooking, sports, school, sing-ing and dancing, and anything else you can think of. She is also very nice, and some-thing about her makes her very easy to like. Everyone likes her, even the boys in the family. I guess some people get all the luck. Right now she is coloring with Sanni on the bed. Emily has short, mousy hair and glass-es and is the tallest in the family. She is even taller than some of our parents. She, like Elizabeth, loves to sing, dance, and act, and is also aiming for Broadway. She is also very smart and loves to read. Right now she is harmonizing the song Elizabeth is singing to Aunt Tessa. Leora has brown, short, curly hair and a few freckles on her face, though not as nearly as many as Rachael and I have. She hates school and likes sports and pranks. Did I mention she likes pranks? She is obsessed with pranks. That makes her a little scary sometimes, but she is still really nice, at least to the girls. Right now she is playing a video game against Jonathan, and she is currently winning. (cont. on p.6)

Editors:

Hailey G `19, Gabrielle G. `19, Jeremy G. `19, Joseph L. `19

Layout by: Joseph L. `19, Mr. Stevens

Reporters:

Emma P. `20 Tobi C. `21 Jacob C. `19 Isabella A. `21 Ronen S. `21 Bailey R. `21 Alyssa F. `21 Shayna L. `21 Sara S. `21 Olivia L. `21 Jeremy G. `19

Grace S. `19 Hailey G. `19 Caleb G.`21 Josh S. `19 Joshua C. `19 Jered C. `21 Joseph L. `19 Gabrielle G. `19 Noah B. `21 Jacob B. `19 Harper G. `21 Aiden P. `21

Our BT World Staff

Volume 2, Issue 2 Page 6

Shipwrecked (cont.)

Now for the boys. Jordan has red hair and is very short. He also has a lot of freckles. He is obsessed with zombies, vampires, ghosts, and stuff like that. Sam has black hair that is not as near-ly as neat as Steve’s, but he also almost always has a stupid grin on his face. He can’t go ten seconds without bursting out laughing. He is pretty much the class clown in the family. Also, he is obsessed with monsters. Right now Sam and Jordan are reading a Goosebumps book on a bed. Josh has black hair almost shoulder length and a round face simi-lar to Audrey’s. Elisabeth is always teasing him about his hair, but he just likes it that way. He is obsessed with his hair. Micah has a sort of square face and red hair like Jordan. His hair is also king of long, but not as long as Josh’s hair. He is also ob-sessed with his hair. Right now, they are waiting their turn to play with the video game. Daniel is a sort of beefy guy with neat, black hair. He loves to exercise and is very strong. Right now, he is lifting weights next to the area where Audrey and Rose are stretch-ing. Jonathan has black, neat hair and a round face like Audrey’s. Actually, though

they don’t like to admit it, they are twins! They look a lot alike. Jonathan doesn’t like school and loves video games. He is a little full of himself and thinks he is al-ways the best. That is kind of why he doesn’t always get good grades on his report card because he thinks he doesn’t need help. But Doug seems to like him and he is pretty good at coming up with last minute plans (that is why he doesn’t fail his assignments). Right now, he is playing the video game, and is almost get-ting the lead. Last but not least is Aidan. He has blonde hair and a round face similar to Jonathan’s and Audrey’s. He likes to run and exer-cise. Right now, he is lifting weights with Dan-iel. Now that you have survived the boring part of this story that de-scribes my family, let’s continue. So after some “I’ve missed you!”s and “My, look how much you’ve grown!”s, it was time for dinner. We or-dered room service and chatted about the school year. When we were all stuffed, we played some games. Then it was time for bed. We talked in bed for a while until my mom turned off the lights. But then we just turned on our flashlights and chatted some more.

Aunt Tessa soon caught us and took away our flash-lights. Eventually we all fell asleep. I slept peacefully that night. I had no idea what was in store for us the next day.

To Be Continued...