Jewish Students Top GA Tech Competition

On April 13, local Jewish students from The Epstein School, Davis Academy and Atlanta Academy topped a list of winners released by the 2022 Georgia Student Technology Competition, an annual student technology contest sponsored by the Georgia Educational Technology Consortium.

More than a thousand students from third through 12th grades competed in categories such as 3D Modeling, Digital Game Design, Mobile Apps and Robotics.

Ella Siegel, a fifth grader at Atlanta Academy, placed first in the Video Production category for fifth and sixth graders.

Atlanta Academy’s Ella Siegel won first place for producing an Olympics newscast in which she played both anchor and reporter.

“My video is a mock news report on the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing,” she explained. “I thought that this was a good idea because at the time of the regional contest, the winter Olympics were about to be happening. I edited this video using the software WeVideo and used a green screen in my basement at home.”

Siegel, who wants to be a software developer when she grows up, is already proficient at using editing software and learning new video production tricks. She became the morning news crew leader at her elementary school and now, at Atlanta Academy, she has continued learning and researching on her own to hone her skills.

Last year, Siegel came in first in the Fulton County regional competition and third in the state competition. This year, she placed first in the GIH regional competition and first in the state. According to her mom, Alyssa, she got started with video production during the pandemic, when her classes went virtual, and hopes “to continue to create movies and videos.”

“We are so proud of her,” Alyssa said, “as she has a real love of video production, editing, film, news, etc. and made it this far.”

Maia Asman, a fifth grader at The Davis Academy, placed first in the Productivity Design category for her project, Disney 3D: The Disney Data Dashboard. She joined Davis students Isaac Schindler, who created a drawing website, and Rahm Regev and Reid Baer, who placed third in the Digital Game Design category for their Roblox Laser Tag game. Second grader Eli Herd came in third place in the Mobile App Development category for an app called Kind Kids.

In an email to the Atlanta Jewish Times, Cristy Milrud, the school’s director of marketing and communications, praised the student winners.

“We are so proud of our Davis Lions’ innovation and ingenuity!” she said.

The Epstein School was represented by Alexis Schulman, who won first place in the Graphic Design category with a project designed with Floor Planner and Adobe Fresco to help coffee shop owners create their spaces, and Binah Leinwand, who placed second in the Mobile Applications category with a music-themed app developed with MAD-Learn.

Emily Heflin, the school’s director of Instructional Technology, congratulated the students on their achievements. “Alexis and Binah, both in fifth grade, started their projects in TILT (Technology Innovation Learning Time), taught by Tali Ben-Senior. Their Technology Passion Projects (TPP) allowed them to explore new technology tools while also developing their ability to problem solve, communicate effectively and express themselves creatively with technology. We are very proud of Alexis and Binah,” she said.

As the state’s reputation for tech innovation grows, companies will be looking to both public and private institutions like Epstein and Davis — the largest Reform Jewish Day School in the country — to nurture the next generation of leaders.

Atlanta Academy
1st place: Ella Siegel, 5th grader in the Video Production category. Project: 2022 Winter Olympics

Davis Academy
1st place: Maia Asman, 6th grader in the Productivity Design category. Project: Disney 3D: The Disney Data Dashboard
2nd place: Isaac Schindler, 5th grader in the Project Programming category. Project: Drawing Website
3rd place: Rahm Regev and Reid Baer, 5th graders in Digital Game Design category. Project: Roblox Laser Tag
3rd place: Eli Herd, 2nd grader in the Mobile App Development category. Project: Kind Kids App

The Epstein School
1st place: Alexis Schulman, 5th grader in the Graphic Design category. Project: Coffee shop designed with Floor Planner and Adobe Fresco to help coffee shop owners create their spaces.

2nd place: Binah Leinwand, 5th grader in the Graphic Design category. Project: a music app developed with MAD-Learn.

For a full list of winners, visit https://www.gastc.org/.

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