It has become a rite of passage for STEM students at the Yeshiva University High School for Girls (Central): the annual visit to the Dolan DNA Learning Center. Over the past month, Central’s AP Biology course, taught by Science Department Chair and Science Institute Director Mrs. Ruth Fried, and Central’s Forensics class, taught by faculty member Mrs. Shulamith Biderman, visited the Dolan Center to put skills used in their home labs to the test in the outer world. During their first visit, students focused on gel electrophoresis, a technique in which DNA is placed on a gel surface and run through an electrical current to separate the DNA into distinct pieces according to size, granting specific, banded patterns that enable specialists to compare and contrast the DNA of different people. “For molecular biology, this tactic is as crucial to experimental research as the microscope is for general biology,” said Mrs. Fried. “The significance of this lab isn’t just that it’s fun – it gives students the confidence needed to use these tools to continue their work in molecular biology.”

Annual Competition at Touro’s Lander College for Men Builds STEM Skills and Prepares Students for Careers in Science

More than 160 students from 11 yeshiva high schools across New York and New Jersey competed this week in the Jewish Education Program Science Olympiad competition, hosted by Lander College for Men (LCM), Touro University. They spent hours vying for the top spot and at the end of the day, SAR High School finished first, with North Shore Hebrew Academy coming in second, followed by The Frisch School and DRS Yeshiva High School, respectively.

TAL Academy proudly launched the TAL Resource Center with a well-attended lecture given by Dr. Lydia Soifer and Mrs. Brocha Kresch, entitled “Language-Based Learning Disabilities: What This Means for a Child.” Dr. Soifer, Language and Methodology Consultant at TAL Academy, is a language pathologist with over 50 years of experience in clinical and private practice. Dr. Soifer’s engaging presentation and humorous anecdotes kept the audience captivated as she described the experience of a child with language processing challenges both at home and at school.

A group of MTA students in Dr. Potocki’s Podcast elective were given the incredible opportunity to interview former New York Governor George Pataki. Basil Edelstein, Moshe Katz, Elie Husarsky, and Max Fellner-Dublin were recently tasked with creating a podcast story as part of MTA’s new elective program. The students worked diligently for several weeks and eventually secured an interview with former New York Governor George Pataki.