Pupils return to ‘smart classrooms’

New rooms are equipped with interactive boards, computerized teaching stations and projectors, all networked for access by students.

By MICHAEL OMER-MAN
Children on first day of school 521 (photo credit: Marc Israel Sellem)
Children on first day of school 521
(photo credit: Marc Israel Sellem)
NORTH
Dozens of pupils in Acre returned to school to find “smart classrooms” this year. The project to equip the classrooms with new teaching technologies was a joint project funded by Diaspora Jewry, the Negev and Galilee Development Ministry, the Acre Municipality and the Education Ministry. The new classrooms are equipped with interactive boards in place of chalkboards, as well as computerized teaching stations and projectors, all networked for access by pupils at mobile computer stations. Pupils will be able to digitally raise their hands and ask questions, all integrated into the interactive board on the classroom wall. Acre Mayor Shimon Nakri praised the new project, saying he hopes it will be brought to additional schools. “There is a digital revolution in Acre today, and the use of smart classrooms will allow pupils to expand their learning skills,” the Local website reported.
500 olim celebrate 3 years of ‘northern immigration’
Some 500 new and not-so-new Israelis joined Nefesh B’Nefesh last week in Karmiel’s Hagalil Park to celebrate the three-year anniversary of the organization’s “Go North” program, which encourages and aids North American olim to move to northern Israel. Thus far, over 650 immigrants have moved to northern communities through the program, which was launched in 2009 in cooperation with the Immigrant Absorption Ministry, the Russell Berrie Foundation, the Jewish Agency and the Jewish National Fund.
Dignitaries open school year in the North
Pupils in Migdal Ha’emek’s Nofim School received special guests late last week to mark the first day of the new school year. Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Education Minister Gideon Sa’ar visited first-grade pupils on Thursday, both stressing the importance of reading. Sa’ar read Joseph’s Wonderful Coat to the children and told them that by reading a lot, they can go far in life. The education minister said later in the visit, “We have the best children in the world – there’s no reason that we shouldn’t aspire to [reach] the highest levels ... Investing in education is investing in all of our futures.”
The two officials also met with teachers and parents at a ceremony marking the opening of the school year.
Acre opens new stadium
Thousands of Acre residents took part in the grand opening of the city’s state-of-the-art soccer stadium last week, which Acre Mayor Shimon Nakri called “a historic moment for the city.”
Speaking at the opening ceremony, Nakri said Acre had managed to open “one of the most amazing facilities that exists in the State of Israel, and all because Acre’s residents deserve the very best,” the Local website reported. A number of singers and performing artists also performed at the ceremony.
The NIS 50 million stadium was built as a joint project of the Acre Municipality, the Toto lottery company, Israel Railways, the Transportation Ministry and the Negev and Galilee Development Ministry.
CENTER

Pardess Hanna-Karkur artists open ‘spaces’
Artists in Pardess Hanna-Karkur are planning a new variation of an annual open-house tradition, in which local artists invited the public into their homes to view and buy pieces of art ahead of Rosh Hashana and Passover. This year, instead of taking place in dozens of homes throughout the town, an event called “Moshava Spaces” will be held at seven locations in the community. The various spaces have charitable and community-based themes, including one space named after and dedicated to raising funds for a local boy, Levi Ben-Moshe, who is in need of special medical treatment in the United States. Another space is called, “For Gilad Schalit.”
The two-day event will take place on September 16 and 17 in Pardess Hanna-Karkur.
Rare summer rain stays mainly on the plain
The last day of August saw light rainfall in the country’s coastal plain as well as in the North.
Drizzles and light showers were reported on Mount Meron early in the morning and as far south as Netanya and the Sharon region.
Unseasonably low temperatures during what has been largely considered a mild summer, coupled with a low-pressure channel, caused the rains.
Drizzles were reported in Netanya, Ra’anana, Hadera and Kfar Saba.
This was the second time rain has fallen in Israel this summer, a relatively unusual occurrence.
Bnei Brak couple abandons four children
Police were searching for a married couple from Bnei Brak who fled their home with two of their children on Sunday, abandoning their remaining four children at home. The abandoned children ranged in age from five to 11. The father of the children telephoned his brother on Sunday evening, asking him to take in the children whom he had left behind. The man’s brother subsequently contacted police to file a complaint, Israel Radio reported.
Studies canceled at P-T school over protest
Studies were canceled at the Gordon School in Petah Tikva on the school year’s second day last week. The decision came after a group of parents protested in front of the building because their children were denied registration in the school.
The Petah Tikva Municipality claimed that the parents resorted to violence in their protest and that police were not responsive to their calls to report to the scene. The police rejected that claim, saying they detained five parents suspected of trespassing.
11 pipe bombs discovered near Netanya
Eleven pipe bombs were discovered last week near the Beit Lid junction in the Netanya area.
Police sappers dispatched to the scene successfully neutralized the devices. An investigation into the origin of the bombs was opened.
SOUTH
Martha Stewart gets behind the Dead Sea
Media personality Martha Stewart arrived in Israel last Thursday for a trip funded by the Tourism Ministry, and has been tweeting her way around the country. Stewart’s travel itinerary includes trips to Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, the Galilee, Masada and the Dead Sea. She is expected to support the Dead Sea’s candidacy to win in the international New 7 Wonders of Nature competition. “Don’t get excited. I am on a serious tour of ancient history. No more. No less,” she jokingly posted on Sunday afternoon.
Eilat receives favorable credit rating
The Eilat Municipality announced this week that its credit rating was left at the highest level (Aa3) by the Midrug rating company. The rating comes five years after the city first issued bonds worth NIS 80 million.
Deputy and acting mayor of Eilat Eli Lankri said of the renewed rating: “The keeping of the highest possible rating of our bonds by the Midrug Company shows that the current economic and fiscal management is correct and the best for the city.”
The rating report issued by Midrug noted that the city’s tax receipts rose at an annual average of roughly 2.8 percent between 2004 and 2010, and three percent in 2009-2010. It added that the municipality’s own revenues accounted for 74% of its operating budget in 2010, which it described as an uncharacteristically low level of reliance on government funds, the city said in a press release.
Additionally, the city managed to reduce its budget deficit by 41% in 2009-2010.
South, North boast Israel’s best beaches
Seashores in the South and North came out on top in the latest Environmental Protection Ministry report ranking beaches throughout Israel. Receiving the best possible score of 100 percent was Eilat’s “Papaya” West Beach. Sharing the top ranking with Eilat was Haifa’s Kiryat Haim Beach. Close behind Eilat and Haifa were several beaches in the center of the country, notably Tzuk in Tel Aviv (99%) and Acadia in Herzliya (98%).
The beaches receiving the lowest rankings, among those open to the public, were Shefayim (59%) and Tel Aviv’s Bograshov (67%). The report noted that Bograshov Beach had undergone improvements in recent weeks. Calculated in collaboration with the health and interior ministries, the Environmental Protection Ministry’s rankings are updated every two weeks throughout the summer and are based on the International Blue Flag program.

Ashkelon to receive quality management award
For the second consecutive year, the Ashkelon Municipality was set to receive the Interior Ministry’s quality management award for 2010, it was announced last week. The prize, which will be presented by the interior and finance ministers, is awarded based on, among other criteria: examining financial data, a balanced budget, the scope of general and administrative expenses, proper management, business licensing and its planning and construction committees.