On Monday, May 12, 2025, seventeen groups of engineers proudly represented Scheck Hillel at CIJE (Center for Initiatives in Jewish Education)’s innovation day. Throughout this school year, members of the 9th and 10th grade classes have been working tirelessly in Ms. Sabrina Ferster’s engineering program, creating and building new, innovative ideas. Students competed against schools across the region, including Posnack, Katz Yeshiva, Donna Klein, and Yeshiva Tiferet, each of whom presented their own amazing projects. We were tasked with coding, building, and marketing these inventions. All inventions were aimed at solving real-world problems.
Once we arrived at Motorola Solutions, the site of the competition, we set up our stations that displayed our websites, boards, and inventions before beginning our presentations to various judges from other schools and engineering programs. During the first round, students had a total of eight minutes to pitch their ideas and answer questions from the judges.
One project from Scheck Hillel included the First Hair Kit by sophomores Jeremy Dejman and Andrea Chocron. Their invention was a smart hairbrush cleaning device that cleaned a person’s hairbrush in under one minute! Another invention worth mentioning was the Baby Alert, created by freshmen Charlotte Pery and Stella Lekach. This smartwatch alarmed parents when their baby’s temperature was too high at night so they would not have to sacrifice precious sleep in exchange for checking on their baby at unnecessary times.
The overall competition lasted three rounds. Four of Sheck Hillel’s teams made it to the second round: the Buckle Buddy, Bracha Box, AeroShift, and Case Care. A panel of judges then came around to each team for ten minutes each for another pitch and Q&A session. However, only one of Scheck Hillel’s teams made it to the final round: the Buckle Buddy, created by 9th graders Ami Kattan, Annie Slomovitz, and Eva Winterman, alongside two other groups from Posnack. We, the creators of the Buckle Buddy, presented in front of a panel of guest judges and members of the competition. Our invention was a baby car seat with built-in audible and visual indicators to alarm parents when their baby was unbuckled or not buckled properly.
After the judges had finally made their decisions, it was announced that the Buckle Buddy had won first place! There were also three other awards distributed to non-winners: Most Innovative, Best Prototype, and Most Market Ready. Scheck Hillel achieved another win with AeroShift, created by freshmen Mijal Furman and Tali Kiblisky, winning Most Market Ready. This invention was a circular air vent controlled by a remote, allowing the vents to rotate 360 degrees and adjust their position to improve air flow and control.
In the end, this competition was a huge success. Students were able to show off the skills they learned over the year and learn about other students’ inventions and innovative ideas.
