In This Issue
	Torah Bowl Triumph! Return to Swan Lake: DRS Holds Annual Shabbaton DRS OPEN HOUSE FILLS THE HOUSE! DRS Wildcats Athletics Update DRS Hosts Debate

Return to Swan Lake: DRS Holds Annual Shabbaton

This past Shabbat, the Yeshiva gathered for an unforgettable weekend of ruach and achdut, at our annual Yeshiva-wide Shabbaton. Almost all of the talmidim, as well as Rabbeim, teachers, and madrichim, descended on the Swan Lake Resort and Hotel for an action packed 3 days. On Friday, each shiur participated in the annual Shiur Olympics, where students, along with their Rabbeim, compete in a variety of sports activities, ranging from basketball and football, to wiffleball, chess, and pool. It was a heated competition, as Rabbi Cohen's shiur entered the final event undefeated. However, during the finals, a no holds barred Yeshiva-wide game of lineup, Rabbi Friedman's students occupied the top two spots. We would like to congratulate both shiurim for tying in this year's Olympics. The theme of the Shabbaton was "The Why's of Judaism," and the students and faculty explored Judaism's position on finding the reasons behind Mitzvot. One of the highlights of Shabbat was a stirring Senior Tish led by Rabbis Kaminetsky, Willig, Storch, and Balsam, as well as Senior Seminar, where Seniors taught groups of Freshman about the theme of the weekend. Finally, everyone enjoyed the fine acting of the Rabbeim in the skit, and the exciting games of Family Feud, won by Rabbi Leibowitz's and R'Storch's shiurim. As has been the custom in recent years, Motzai Shabbat began with two intense tournaments, roller hockey, and wolleyball. Congratulations to the Rabbi Brazil-Yudin team, which beat Rabbis Gralla, Balsam, and Emerson by one point in the championship. The evening concluded with spirited singing and dancing at the Melava Malka, and video productions by Freshman Jason Hagler and G.O. President Natan Farber. All who attended went home exhausted, but full of school spirit. To view a photo gallery of pictures from the Melava Malka, click on the link below! CLICK Here for a Gallery of Pictures from the Shabbaton! »

DRS OPEN HOUSE FILLS THE HOUSE!

DRS hosted two open houses this year to accommodate the tremendous interest from parents and students from as far away as Maryland. More than four hundred people representing 150 families were in attendance at the combined Open Houses. Many staff members were in attendance as well as students and parents from our yeshiva to answer questions and guide groups of prospective students and their parents through our beautiful four- acre complex. Parents heard words of Divrei Torah from one of our senior students followed by an inspiring and informative introduction to our yeshiva by Rabbi Kaminetsky. Mr. Feldman followed with an overall presentation of the general studies curriculum and staff. Parents were able to hear, among other things, about our full time faculty, AP program, science research grants, academic clubs and teams, state of the art computer and science labs, national merit semi-finalist and commended students, AP Scholars, Intel and Siemens-Westinghouse winners, our excellent college guidance department and so much more. Mrs. Hefter, Director of College Guidance, and Rabbi Nisanel Gralla, Director of Special Services also made presentations to those in attendance. While half the parents remained for our widely recognized Rabbeim to introduce themselves and speak to the parents about their Shiurim, the other group of parents were treated to a tour of our campus and short presentations by members of each of our academic and elective departments. Parents had the opportunity to ask questions of staff in diverse subject areas. The parents then returned to the beautiful Beit Medrash and exchanged places with the parents there. Parents also had the opportunity to talk with parents of the yeshiva over their concerns as well as with students currently in attendance. Prospective students were introduced to our club program, sports program, and academic teams. Students had the opportunity to participate in many activities, see our magnificent gym and ask questions of faculty and students here at DRS. A special thank you is extended to Rochel Schlusselberg and Bonnie Schertz, Co-Presidents of our Parent Council and Shiela Shapiro Chairwoman of our Open House committee, who helped organize parent volunteers and the beautiful collation at the end of the program. All the parents and students in attendance were impressed with the warmth expressed by all the members of our Yeshiva family. We look forward to welcoming many of the students in attendance to our Yeshiva in September.

DRS Wildcats Athletics Update

All four DRS Wildcats teams got off to outstanding starts to their new seasons. The Junior Varsity Hockey won its second game defeating Flatbush 6-0, for its second consecutive shutout. Steven Genachowski and Dani Ross had two goals apiece to lead the Wildcat attack. The Varsity Hockey Team bounced back from its opening season loss to Westchester with back-to-back wins. Sunday the tired group of Wildcats fresh off the Shabbaton dominated the J.E.C squad with an impressive 9-1 win. Avner Skoczylas and Aron Lederman led the attack with two goals apiece while Mully Fein got his first career win in net. This past Tuesday the varsity had a very impressive win against HANC. Down 1-0 going into the second period the team scored four goals in the first five minutes and went on to win 7-2. Michael Schertz and Noam Insler led the way with two goals apiece. The Junior Varsity Basketball squad kicked off their season with two consecutive road wins. The team opened the season with an impressive victory at Rambam by the score of 56-26. Judd Lindenfeld led all scorers with 18 points. All the Wildcats scored at least a point in the victory. This past Monday, the JV traveled to Queens to defeat a tough Ezra team. Once again, Judd Lindenfeld led all scorers with 23 points, as the team beat Ezra 77-57. The Varsity began its season in impressive fashion with a road win at Rambam. It looked grim for the team when captain Shaya Hertz went down with a broken arm in the 4th quarter, but the team held on, led by David Leichtung's steady ball handling and 11 points. Injuries were too much for the Wildcats to overcome when they went to MTA without their two leading scorers, as we lost by 15 points. The Basketball teams are all pumped up and expect a big crowd for their home opener this Saturday Night as they take on the always-feisty North Shore Squad.

DRS Hosts Debate

The award-winning DRS Debate Team hosted its Second Annual Debate Tournament this past Wednesday evening. There were nine schools represented. Each school brought eight debaters and up to four observers. The resolution debated was the A.N.W.R. issue involving oil drilling in Alaska. Twenty of our own students acted as moderator timekeepers. Thank you to faculty members Messrs. Abramovitz, Blanshaft, Deutsch and Loewenstein for judging. Additional thanks to DRS parents, Avi and Cindy Schrier, Gary Miller, and Susie Chovev for coming in to judge. Global Studies teacher, Mr. Herb Lowenstein had one thing to say after he finished judging: "AWESOME". Winners included teams from Shulamith, HANC and MTA. A final round of kudos to Debate Captains David Pinn and Yosef Sharbat for doing a GREAT job in organizing this tournament, and to Debate Executives, David Lasher and Noach Lerman for coordinating the event and participating as debaters. Our debaters travel to MTA on Sunday, December 14th to debate a file-sharing resolution.