Back to shopping without sales tax

Back-to-school time in Georgia means the return of the state’s sales tax holiday, making it cheaper for families and educators to stock up on the clothes and supplies they’ll need the next 10 months.

From July 31 to Aug. 3, you can shop without paying state or local taxes on items ranging from pencils to personal computers, as long as they are for personal use and not for business or resale.

Items exempt from sales tax:

• Shoes and clothing. Items that cost $100 or less each are exempt. Accessories such as handbags, umbrellas, cuff links, handkerchiefs, jewelry, key cases, wallets, watches, watchbands, and ponytail holders and similar hair products are not exempt.

• Computers. A single purchase totaling $1,500 or less for a personal computer and/or accessories is exempt. If the purchase exceeds $1,500, the entire transaction is taxable.

• General school supplies. Pens, paper, scissors, tape, glue, crayons, markers and most other items on your child’s list of general school supplies are exempt, as long as they cost no more than $20 each.

Davis Academy hires new Hebrew and tech directors

The Davis Academy in Sandy Springs has hired Rabbi Micah Lapidus as the director of Judaic and Hebrew studies and Elizabeth Cohen as the director of technology.

Rabbi Lapidus was ordained this spring at Hebrew Union College in Cincinnati. He served as a rabbinic intern at the Joseph Slifka Center for Jewish Life at Yale University in New Haven, Conn., and at Temple Beth-El in San Antonio. He holds a bachelor’s degree from Stanford University.

His wife, Loren Lapidus, is the new assistant rabbi at The Temple in Midtown.

In the new position of director of technology, Cohen will work with faculty and staff to integrate technology throughout the academy’s academic and Jewish studies curriculum.

Focused on the fjords

Riverwood High School students Lexi Markowitz, Sarah May, Anna Strauss, Ellie Wasser and Stephanie Goldstein, along with classmate Hannah Gildar (not pictured), are preparing to represent the United States at an international leadership and entrepreneurship conference in Balenstrand, Norway. From Aug. 1 to 10, the young women will meet with their peers from Denmark and Norway. The six students come from the entrepreneurship and international business classes at the Sandy Springs high school. They are working with teacher Sheri Smith to brainstorm ideas for the conference, which will end just in time for the start of school Aug. 11.