Weber Honor Students Use School Project To Pursue Passions

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The Felicia Penzell Weber Jewish Community High School, a Sandy Springs-based high school serving students from all Jewish backgrounds, recently celebrated its inaugural Capstone Sympsium.

Weber’s symposium showcased projects from students who recently completed a year-long interdisciplinary senior honors seminar. During this symposium, the senior honors students presented their academic research and analysis to Weber students, parents, and community members through a variety of innovative workshops.

The Weber School Honors Capstone Seminar is a year-long course where students undertake a project that requires students to pursue a topic for study and research that is rooted in their deepest questions and interests.

With the goal of producing a project that reflects high standards of scholarship and creativity, Capstone students work closely with faculty mentors who provide guidance through the process of planning, research, analysis and presentations. Students defend their project before a panel of teachers and experts for evaluation prior to receiving a diploma with Honors Distinction.

“The Honors Capstone Seminar at Weber presents a unique academic experience and represents the full scope of Weber’s mission,” said Head of School Rabbi Ed Harwitz. “By committing to a process of interdisciplinary study in general and Jewish studies and producing scholarly work rooted in their deepest, personal questions, Capstone students represent the full scope of the mission and vision of The Weber School. During its first year, the Capstone Project also represented a broader initiative to advance interdisciplinary study in Weber’s course electives.”

Capstone Facilitator and Jewish Studies teacher Joey Heyman concurs.

“The Honors Capstone Seminar is a step towards breaking down the false dichotomy of “regular life” and “Jewish life”, by charging students with pursuing a passion project, and researching and evaluating that passion through a variety of lenses, both General and Jewish,” Heyman added. “My goal is for students to see learning in Jewish and General studies as two sides of the same coin – inseparable. I could not be more proud of the accomplishments of this year’s team.”

This year’s Capstone Projects included the following:

• Are Vaccinations Helpful or Harmful? - Samantha Krantz
• Cyclical Suffering: The Social Impact on Eating Disorders - Zachary Rich
• Ancestor Worship in the Ancient Agrarian World - Rachel Jones
• School Sucks: How the Education System in America Hurts Everyone - Zoey Weissman
• Hi, My Name is...and I’m a Cell Phone Addict - Marissa Oves
• Taking Action : A short documentary about local programs for those with special needs - Miriam Goodfriend
• Mysticism in Medieval Literature: The Exploration of Kabbalah in Dante’s Divine Comedy - Ilan Palte
• Horoscope Effects on Modern Culture and Teen Jewish Identity - Becca Nadolne
• Sacrificing Stigma: Incorporating Young Adult Literature into the English Classroom - Sarah Spielberger
• Broken Branches: Unearthing the Barriers Splintering the Israeli-Palestinian Connection - Aviv Rau
• Family Dinner Makes You a Winner - Arielle Berlinsky
• Stem Cells for High School Students - Caroline Frankel
• Navigating the Nuance: A Proposal for Israel Education in a Pluralist Jewish High School - Savannah Williams

Student Sarah Spielberger said the project was “the perfect way to conclude my life at Weber.”

“Through this endeavor, I was able to explore my personal interests, employ skills I acquired throughout high school, and share my passions with the Weber community,” she said. “We were expected to not only think critically, but also to consider how our projects could be meaningful and insightful to Weber and our greater community.”

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Photo credit: Andria Lavine Photography