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THE SOUTHERN ISRAELITE November 7, 1986 Page 15 Young Writers’ Annual selects three Academy students’ poetry by Robin Maginsky TSI contributing writer Leah Margolis, Andy Travis and Sarah Levinson, students at the Hebrew Academy of Atlanta, have received recognition for their creative writing abilities duringthe 1985-1986 school year. McDougaL Littel & Company, publishers of school texts, in cluded the three children’s works in the just-published Young Wri ters’ Annual. The selections were among 149 chosen from 4,000 entries submitted to the nation wide contest. The publishers based their selections on content, quality of writing, creative ex pression and grammatical skills. Lean’s entry, a poem titled “Rain,” appeared among the third-grade selections. Andy’s poem, “Danny,” was among the entries by second graders, while Sara’s poem, “Taffy Pull,” was among the fourth-grade selec tions. The fact that the three children are the only ones from Georgia and from a Jewish day school makes them unique. Madeline Urkin, special re sources teacher at the Hebrew Academy, said she felt the pieces were selected because they were Jewish teachers to confer Nov. 23 “Jewish Education: In Search of Excellence-In the Image of G- d” is the theme of the sixth annual citywide Teachers’ Con ference and Education Fair to be held Sunday, Nov. 23, from 8:45 a.m.-2:45 p.m. at Congregation B’nai Torah. The conference, sponsored by the Atlanta Bureau of Jewish Education Inc., will be attended by approximately 300 Atlanta educators and lay leaders. In addition, teachers from sur rounding communities in Geor gia and nearby states will attend. The program will include Torah study workshops and general and Judaic teaching methodology workshops presented by leading scholars, educators and profes sionals from the Atlanta area. The workshops will be geared to classroom teachers of Sunday schools, day schools and after noon schools, administrators and persons concerned with Jewish education. The featured presenter will be Joel Lurie Grishaver, chairper son of Torah Aura Productions and vice chairperson of CAJE. Grishaver, one of the foremost teacher trainers in the United States, will deliver a major ad dress on “Reinventing The Jew ish School: Landmarks Of A New Era Of Excellence,” and will conduct two methodology work shops. This year’s Education Fair, a successful experiment at last year’s conference, will feature Judaic arts and crafts demonstrations, the Jewish Teachers’ Exchange “PX,” a book sale, a media review and a display of award-winning books. For further information, call Elaine Gruenhut, teacher train ing coordinator, or Frances Goodman, assistant conference coordinator, at the Bureau, 873- 1248. good examples of what the pub lishers try to teach at each grade level. In her classes, she emphasizes creativity, she added. “We brainstorm a lot; talk about words, how they’re put together, the flow of the lan guage. We bring in feelings, emo tions that the words create—all the senses,” she said. Technical aspects, such as grammar, are taught within the context of how they are being used so that the students will internalize such basic English skills more easily, Mrs. Urkin said. She believes that the Hebrew Academy, under the direc tion of Dr. Ephraim Frankel, fosters this creativity by treating each child as an individual. “Most of the kids come from homes where education is impor tant. They are expressive, verbal. The trick is to get them to not feel uptight about writing it down,” she explained. “The movitator is that when you meet with success and feel good about it, you want to repeat it. Positive reinforcement works.” This is Mrs. Ur ken’s philosophy of education and she indicated that the philosophy is common throughout the teaching staff. The young writers are good examples of how Mrs. Urken teaches. Ten-year-old Sarah has been writing about food lately, because, “I can think of a lot of words that go together. I thought taffy was a real good subject: all this stretching and pulling and stickiness.” She also writes on her own, the result of a teacher who made her class do so every day, she said. Writing has now become a hobby. Sarah lives in Dunwoody with her parents, Judee and Sherwin Levinson. Leah also is 10 years old. She says her parents, Aviva and Joel Margolis of Stone Mountain, want her “to be an author when 1 grow up. I want to be a teacher.” When she becomes “stuck” while writ ing, she goes to Mrs. Urken, who “tells me a better way to write it, and that gives me new ideas.” Andy is 8 years old. The son of Lynne and Bill Travis of Decatur, he said he is eager to enter the contest this year. Andy summed up the child ren’s reactions to being in a na tionally published book: “It made me feel good.” °e>V • Visual Merchandising • Seasonal Displays »Inspired Show Windows THE CONSULTANTS A TOTAL RETAIL CONCEPT CO. 256-5839 Don’t be a Turkey this Thanksgiving! Let Sheer’s Simply Delicious prepare your Kosher Thanksgiving Dinner under strict Rabbinical Supervision. MENU Roast Turkey (10 to 12 lb. Average) $3.75 lb. Giblet Cognac Sauce $5.00 qt. Corn Squash Souffle $4.95 lb. Carrot & Raisin Souffle with Pecans. .$4.95 lb. Corn Bread Dressing $4.95 lb. Order must be picked up at the kitchen entrance of Congregation Bnai Torah. 700 Mt. Vernon Highway on Wednesday, November 26th between 2:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m — WE ARE NOW ACCEPTING ORDERS — Call Allan and Ernie at 233-3313 Please note that we cannot accept any orders alter Friday, November 14th, 1986 Budding writers Leah Margolis, Sarah Levinson and Andy Travis. * Reading Dfycleaning!Professional ° ^ ° Joe Ms Your Fabric Care E«| O We invite you to come visit our new location and see why for 50 years ° Joe May Valet has earned the trust and reputation as Atlanta’s leading dryclean- ing professional. TocoHillsShoppingCenter J 633-3121 FREEDOM FROM APARTHEID CONCERT with The College Choirs Of Clark-Morehouse—Morris Brown—Spelman and with Cantor Isaac Goodfriend and the Shirim Chorale 8:00 p.m. Wednesday, November 19,1986 at The Temple 1589 Peachtree Road, Atlanta Tickets: *5 per person From: NCLI-Histadrut Suite 272, Prado North Building 5600 Roswell Road, N E„ Atlanta, CA 30342 Phone Reservations: 255-0938 in support of courses in Organization and communication Techniques for Black South Africans at the Afro-Asian institute in Israel.