Cro n Prints THE OFFICIAL NEWSPAPER OF IDA CROWN JEWISH ACADEMY SINCE 1992 Ida Crown Jewish Academy


Aliza Grant Features Editor


Everyone dreams of be-


ing in a rock band. It takes three twelve-year old boys sitting in a basement to make it happen. “It was a Shabbos afternoon, and one of us just piped up out of nowhere ‘Hey, we should start a rock band,’” lead guitar player Aaron Bloch said. The original band, Sugar Free Applesauce, a name inspired by a Mott’s Ap- ple Sauce Carton, consisted of Daniel Jacoby on bass, Aaron Bloch as lead singer and guitar- ist, and a friend of the two, Matti Dunietz on drums. “None of us really knew how to play our in- struments before that. Daniel had played cello, so he picked up bass pretty quickly, and Matti was a piano player, so drums weren’t so far off,” Bloch said. “I had never picked up a guitar in my life.” “At first, all we played


was Green Day in Matti’s base- ment,” Jacoby said. “Then we started playing at each other’s bar mitzvahs.”


The band recorded their


first album, “No Sugar Added” featuring one of their first origi- nal songs “Left Behind.” “We released it at my bar-mitzvah,” Bloch said. “It was exciting for us actually putting something we


had made on a CD. We were thir- teen and having a great time.” As the band members


grew older, Nathaniel Borochov was added to the band to play guitar alongside Bloch. The four began playing at various venues. “Our first real show, excluding bar-mitzvahs, was at the Vine- yard” Bloch said. At that first concert, the band played some of its original songs, including “The Punk Song,” “Oh My Oh My,” and “Hopeless Cry.” That concert turned out to be the first of many. Since then, the band has played at various venues, such as Boocoo, Nova HP, and the ambitious Con- gress Theater. “That was a big one for us,” Jacoby said. “It was the first real gig where we thought maybe someone could be watch- ing. We put a lot of hard work into preparing for that show.” At that point, Duni-


etz had left the band because of complicated scheduling and had been replaced by now Junior Benji Shefler. “They showed me a couple of their songs that they had already written,” Shefler said. “They let me have a lot of free- dom in how I wanted to play the them.”


“He fit right in,” Bloch


said. “There is a certain rhythm that band members need in order to play together, and we had it


Back It Up: Dangers of the Parking Lot


David Quintas Staff Writer


For any student at Ida


Crown, getting his or her driver’s license is a milestone. Receiv- ing one’s license represents the culmination of the hours of ear- ly-morning lectures, cautionary videos, and practice sessions with an instructor. Passing the license examination can feel like a tran- sition for students. No longer are they dependent on carpools and benevolent upperclassmen to get around; they are a upperclass- men and can come and go as they please. One of the more exciting moments is driving to school that first, post-license day and waving to one’s friends while entering the parking lot. As gratifying as this moment can be, its important to remember that the dangers of driving do not evaporate once one has left the driver’s education classroom.


One of the more tricky


skills new drivers need to master is moving around in a crowded parking lot. Parking lots can be difficult areas for even the most experienced of drivers, and with about 60 spaces designated for almost 300 students, Ida Crown’s is no exception. Between stu- dents walking to and from their vehicles, cars entering and exit- ing, and the limited space, drivers


attempting to park must be very careful. Drivers must be extra vigilant between 7:55 and 8:15 AM on school days, when an on- slaught of students rushing to get to davening on time, or close to on time, can lead to rushed and tense situations. The same applies for right after school ends when drivers have the extra challenge of maneuvering in the dark. Many Ida Crowners


have personal experience with the problems created in the park- ing lot. According to ICJA’s fi- nancial director, Mr. Michael London, about two to four acci- dents get reported to the admin- istration each year. He was quick to add that this does not take into account the dozens of unreported accidents that students choose to settle among themselves. “I remember last year


when a friend of mine got into an accident with another kid in the parking lot,” junior Zehavya Stadlan recalls. “He was backing up and didn’t see the other guy.” The episode, however, worked out for the best, “Both cars were totally fine, they were both going really slow, but now I try to be ex- tra careful when I back up.” Minor accidents like


these are commonplace, but if drivers are not cautious, their ac- tions can have fatal consequenc-


(continued on page 3) March 2012 Have You Discovered Sound?? with Benji.” “Benji is a tremendous


drummer,” Jacoby said. “The thing that makes him really spe- cial is his energy. It’s not just about his pure talent, but the en- ergy he produces. People come not just to listen to Benji, but to watch him.”


Congress Theater was


the band’s first big show. “That was a lot of work,” Jacoby said. “We really had to hype it up. The thing that was great about that show was that we had a ton of support from our friends. People all across the Academy, from ev- ery grade, came to the show.” The band played one


show at the Vineyard last year, but not much else that year. “That was kind of a break time for us,” Bloch said. “Before senior year, though, we decided we wanted to start cracking down, doing a lot of shows, and really go out with a bang.”


Borochov left the band,


and around that time is when Yoni Grey joined the ranks. “Yoni had told us over the summer that he wanted to sing,” Jacoby said. “At first, we needed to figure out how we were going to fit Yoni in, when he was going to sing, and when Aaron would.” “I had always enjoyed


singing, but it was never a big


part of my life until Discover- ing Sound,” Grey said. “I had performed a song by The Fray in my camp talent show the pre- vious summer and that really is what spurred my interest.” At first, Grey sang with the band in practice a few times, and after a recording of the song “Oh My Oh My” with Grey on vocals hit Facebook, it was a done deal. “We were all blown away,” Bloch said.


“The way Yoni sang


that song completely changed it,” Shefler said. “It made it less punk. It was softer, more powerful.” “Having Yoni has really


changed our band,” Bloch said. “He brings a lot of enthusiasm. He’s always coming up with ideas of songs to play, and whenever we need to sell a lot of tickets for a show, we can always count on Yoni to get that done.” The band has gone


through three names in its six- year life span. “It went from Sugar Free Applesauce to White Noise to Discovering Sound,” Ja- coby said.


“At one concert, we


even put out a suggestion box to get some fresh ideas for names,” Bloch said. “We got some pret- ty crazy ideas, but have yet to change this one.”


(continued on page 4)


Seniors Try to Avoid Catching Senioritis


Sophia Weisberg Asst. Features Editor


A well-known epidemic


is known for plaguing the seniors with fatigue, laziness, and the excessive desire to joke around. This “sickness” is often referred to as Senioritis, seems to be tak- ing hold within the second-se- mester senior class. While second semester has only just begun, some students and teachers have already taken note of the ever- growing problem.


have worked so hard to reach. The major issue that seniors now face is their ability to make them- selves want to work as hard as they had. Considering that their second-semester grades will play little effect on their future, many seniors perceive this time as their time to finally relax and breathe while walking the hallways at school. Samantha Hasten, a vic- tim to Senioritis, claimed that for her, “Senioritis began when I was a junior!” Though she may be similar to several seniors, some like Ariana Maeir say that Senior- itis “hasn’t kicked in.” For those with A.P classes, such as Ariana, the stress will be relieved come May when the A.P. tests are over. This year’s new semes-


Shira Lebowitz suffering from an uncur- able case of senioritis. (Photo Credit: Eliana Siegal)


With college applica-


tions now complete, seminary and yeshiva decisions already sent, the seniors of 2012 are be- ginning to see the end of their road of high school, which they


ter schedule means a long sec- ond-semester, which may be both beneficial and detrimental to the senior class as well as their teach- ers. However, according to Eitan Lupovitch, “there has been so much stress over the past months that now I see second semester as my chance to finally relax.” Just how relaxed can the seniors get though? While many have been accepted to colleges, there is a degree of effort, which the seniors must uphold in order to not risk having those acceptances revoked. The students accepted to schools will have to maintain


(continued on page 4) 2828 W Pratt Blvd, Chicago, IL


Brandon Goldberg Wallet Co.


Isaac Bernstein Staff Writer


One day in physics class,


Junior Brandon Goldberg decided to start a new project. He gath- ered many rolls of duct tape and started to play around with them. He then thought of the idea to make wallets out of the duct tape, thus creating the Brandon Gold- berg Wallet Co. With the help of YouTube, Brandon learned how to create these wallets. At first, he started off simply, just hav- ing a pocket for money. But, in the next few days, he started to make extra pockets, making them look like actual wallets. Brandon started to sell these wallets to Ida Crowners, making duct tape wal- lets a new trend. Brandon has sold almost 70 wallets that vary from about 15 different colors. Sophomore Rachel Best said, “They’re simple, convenient, and it’s nice that a friend made them”. Social Worker Rachel Shandalov says “Every high school needs a good entrepreneur. Thank G-d we have Brandon”. Brandon has been searching around the market for new designs and different col- ors. Brandon hopes to have this business running into next year. He is also experimenting in other businesses. Brandon said, “I’m just trying to find something to do that I enjoy, and that other people enjoy”. Brandon has tried many different kinds of wallets. The dif- ferent choices include: blue, red, yellow, black, gold, green, aqua, silver, leopard, tie dye, splatter paint, army pattern, and Hello Kitty. Brandon charges only $5 for the regular color wallets, and $7 for the prints. The most popu- lar style that Brandon makes is the army pattern. Brandon loves to try and make his product the best that he can. Brandon is open to any suggestions as to how and make his product better. “I cater to the people.” Sophomore Jack Strulowitz said to Brandon,


(continued on page 5)


Brandon and his wallets. (Photo Credit:Eliana Segal)


What’s Inside Israel Article --Page 2


Occupy Ida Crown --Page 5


Basketball Rivalries --Page 6


THE CLOWN PRINTS!!!


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