By Zeke Miller, DRS Student Editor In Chief

Last Thursday, DRS was unanimously recommended to be accredited by the Middle States Association of Secondary Schools by an independent committee made up of fourteen administrators from schools all over the east coast. The culmination of an eighteen month process of self improvement, the recommendation all but guarantees accreditation in the spring. The committee, chaired by Mr. Ira Miller, Dean of the Ramaz Upper School, sat in on classes and met with students in order to validate the self- assessment completed by the school.

The visit started off on Monday November 7th at 5pm when the members got their first look at the school. They then joined DRS administrators, teachers, students and parents in a gala dinner in the cafeteria. After opening remarks by Rabbi Kaminetsky, Mr. Feldman, and Mr. Miller, a short video about the school was shown. Produced by Juniors Jason Hagler and Baruch Schein, the video highlighted the mission of the school. Afterwards they were all presented with DRS Sports Bags.

Over the next two days the committee conducted meetings with the student body, as well as parents and teachers to get a better sense of the school. Finally, on Thursday afternoon, the results were released. The committee unanimously recommended DRS for accreditation.

None of this would have been possible with out the hard work of the administrators, specifically, Mr. Rahr who spearheaded the Middle States Accreditation process. Also the students and parents who were a part of the different committees that met over the past year to self-assess the school are deserving of mention, for their willingness to give up time and to put a lot of effort in, to make this enormous achievement possible.

By Zeke Miller, DRS Student Editor In Chief

On October 9th and 10th, in the middle of Aseret Yemei Teshuva the DRS boys once again ran their annual Tzedaka day. This year the boys were collecting for the residents of Gush Katif that were forcibly removed from their homes and neighborhoods this past summer. Under the leadership of 11th grader Joey Kramer and Chesed Coordinator Rabbi Eli Brazil the boys raised over $2000 for Tzedaka.

But the project did not end there. It continued at the DRS Simchat Beis Hashoeva in Eretz Yisrael over Succot. This annual event brings together all the DRS alumni who are currently learning in various Yeshivot for the year and all the families that were in Israel for Yom Tov. Singing, dancing, and Divrei Torah and a chance to come together to see old classmates was the theme of this event. At this occasion, Mr. David Morris, the Founder and Chairman of Lmaan Achai, accepted the check on behalf of the residents of Gush Katif. He remarked, “It’s incredible to see students in America, the boys from DRS Yeshivah, care for their brethren in Israel who are going through hardship. It’s truly remarkable.” Over 100 boys and 25 families took part in the event, which was a huge success.

Jason Strauss, 11th grade

The most familiar concept in DRS is Achdut, which is emphasized from the first day of high school. DRS lacks cliques and age barriers, allowing students from all grades and backgrounds to work together. Besides being the most anticipated activity, the event of the year that proves this the most is the Shabbaton. Taking place in the Swan Lake Resort in upstate New York, the DRS Student Government, headed by President Aryeh Schlusselberg, student activity heads Rabbi Dov Emerson and Rabbi Eli Brazil, and other involved students made this the best weekend getaway for DRS ever by far.

Friday morning after arrival, unpacking, and lunch, came “Shiur Olympics”, including the school favorites of football and “Wolleyball”. For the first time this year, Water Polo was introduced as an official Shiur Olympics sport, and it was enjoyed by all who participated. Later, Rabbi Susman of Shalsheles fame brought in Shabbat with a bang and great tunes when he led the school in Kabbalat Shabbat and M’aariv. After a few shiurim and a great shabbat meal, nearly a dozen different “tisches” continued late into the night including singing and chulent.

“Appreciating Your Judaism” was the theme of the weekend, and the message was on target. To that end, the yeshiva invited two very special guest speakers. The first was most well known in his previous career, as a star offensive lineman for the Green Bay Packers and Dallas Cowboys. Mr. Alan Veingrad, who won a Super Bowl with the 1993 Cowboys, shared how his experiences helped him become a B’aal Teshuva by using the work ethics he learned from coaches and teammates and applying them to religious life. The students were fascinated with his inspiring life story, and enjoyed trying on his Super Bowl ring. In addition, DRS was proud to host Mr. Charles Harary, Esq., who spoke to the sophomore and junior classes about taking advantage of religious opportunities. At Seuda Shelishit, Shabbat was coming to an end but the singing and Torah continued full throttle with inspirational words by Menahel Rabbi Yisroel Kaminetsky.

On motzai Shabbat, the annual Wolleyball tournament produced another nail biting final, while students were also able to enjoy the other sports facilities, and speak personally with Mr. Veingrad. Following the night sports was the Melave Malka. Hamburgers, hot dogs, buffalo wings, music and dancing made the transition from DRS sports to DRS achdut again. After the dancing, all students and faculty members headed to the entertainment of the night. In two other Shabbaton firsts, DRS Senior Ariel Jacob competed against Freshmen Yosef Ginsberg and Meir Kirschner in a break dancing contest, followed by a battle of the bands, as “Full House” and “3 Freshman and a Senior wowed the crowd with their musical expertise. The evening was rounded out by the annual senior video which was widely considered the funniest in years, as well as the video of Friday’s activities by DRS Tech wizards Jason Hagler and Baruch Schein.

While a late night kumsitz is traditional at the DRS Shabbaton, this year, the location was not, as the kumsitz began in the empty outdoor swimming pool and lasted well into the night with great Jewish music and guitar playing by Rabbi Kaminetsky. As the students boarded the busses for home on Sunday, one could just take a look at their tired but happy faces to sense that the Shabbaton had once again been a smashing success, and the hallmark of DRS, the wonderful camaraderie and achdut, was as strong as ever.

By Jeremy Watman, 11th grade

The search for the class of 2010 has begun! This Sunday DRS hosted our tenth annual Open house, welcoming over 110 perspective students and their parents from many schools within the New York metropolitan area. After welcoming speeches from Rabbi Kaminetsky and Mr. Feldman, Parents and students went their separate ways, dividing into eight parental groups and two student groups. Parents got a taste of the hustle and bustle of the DRS schedule as they tried to be on time to their ‘classes,’ where they heard from teachers representing the entire DRS curriculum. The students met with Rabbi Brazil, who discussed the DRS extra curricular schedule, and they heard from faculty members Mr. Abramowitz, Mrs. Hefter, Rabbi Cohen and Rabbi Yudin, who spoke about the general studies and Judaic studies departments, respectively.

Rabbi Emerson put together a very busy and very successful student fair in the gym. What was unique about this fair, which was designed to give the visiting students a small taste of the myriad of DRS activities that are offered throughout the year, was that it was dominated by the DRS students, who took leadership roles in almost every station. After speaking with some of eighth graders, and watching their faces, it was clear that everyone was joining in the fun. There was truly something for everyone. With the DRS band playing in the background, 8th graders tried scoring off of JV Goalie Sammy Schertz, tasted “official DRS Shabbaton chulent” at the student activities station, checked out an impressive video editing display courtesy of the student-run DRS media department, and learned about student activism for Israel in the HPAC corner. As always, Mrs. Sue Weinberg’s famous Cooking Club presentation, where the students made salsa, was a highlight for the visitors and volunteers alike.

Mr. Feldman was very happy with the success of the open house, and he summed up everyone’s feelings when he remarked, “The Open House was awesome. All the students and parents who visited were impressed, and many applications were filled out on the spot.”

DRS had the privilege of hosting the Dean of Yeshiva University's Center for the Jewish Future, Rabbi Kenneth Brander, Rabbi Emeritus of the Boca Raton Synagogue. Rabbi Brander spoke at our annual Father-Son Kinnus Teshuva, to a crowd of over 400 fathers and sons. He spoke about the cloud surrounding the authorship of the "Unetaneh Tokef" prayer, and concluded that the author to whom it is attributed could not have been the author, but was considered the author because he lived the prayer. The message Rabbi Brander drove home during Aseret Yemei Teshuva that what makes a person is not what he talks about, but what he does, his actions, and the life he lives. Rabbi Brander's presentation gave everyone an extra push right before the Yom Hadin.

Reflections from a volunteer.

By Michael Billet, 11th Grade

Once again DRS has commenced a program that allows the students from DRS to learn with and interact with the children from the Kulanu organization. This past Thursday I had the privilege to be part of the yeshiva's ongoing legacy of chesed. Kulanu is a program that attends to children with special needs, which proves to be a great experience as well as a great act of kindness.

An opportunity such as this is considered by many who partake in it to be more than just an act or experience, but a way to give back to the community. Yitzi Diskind, a sophomore at our yeshiva, said it was a "great chesed, and an even greater way to help the community." Elliot Schrier, a junior at the yeshiva, said that "it was one of the most productive chesed opportunities I have ever been apart of, and it was a great way to contribute to the community". I had similar thoughts about Kulanu. I had the honor of learning about the parsha with one of the members of Kulanu and I was much happier than I thought I would be after I did it. The truth is that I really wanted to watch a hockey game that night, but after Kulanu I felt so accomplished, which is a greater feeling than any hockey game could ever have given me.

This chesed opportunity also allows the students at the yeshiva to interact with different kids than they might do on any other day. Junior Jason Strauss told me that "it's a great way to make friends." I couldn't agree more. To sit and talk and really enjoy the time you spend together is really an honor in itself. Jason told me about how much he enjoyed just listening to his friend from Kulanu tell him about school, the shul he davens at, and yes, the TV he watches.

But when I went there something struck me even more than the satisfaction and friendship that comes out of this chesed - the achdus of Kulanu. Kulanu literally means "all of us", and I cannot think of a more appropriate name for the organization. As each Kulanu member arrived on Thursday night he immediately went over to his Kulanu friends and gave each of them a big hug and a pat on the back. Each member greeted and treated his fellow with the same warmth and achdus or "unity", that he showed the rest. I couldn't help but think about how much we truly could learn from them. One of the pillars of our yeshiva is achdut, and I strive, and I think most of us do to keep that warmth and that brotherhood between us. To the members of Kulanu, to truly be kulanu is second nature.

By Mark Rocklin and Jason Strauss, 11th Grade

The DRS Wildcats all wore number 77 on the back of their helmets as a tribute to Doni Ross and his days of playing for the JV and Varsity the last three years. He is now one of the team’s assistant coaches.

The DRS JV hockey team from two years ago was reunited and in rhythm, including the championship winning Juniors, and their game proved they didn’t skip a beat. The first home game of the 2005-2006 season against the North Shore Hebrew Academy Northstars had great defense and even better offense shown, especially by DRS. In this game, the key to a win was one statistic: shots on goal.

Early in the first period, DRS seniors showed they were there to win. With Daniel Elsant starting in goal, DRS got an early lead thanks to Adam Frohlinger’s first goal of the season. DRS kept pounding, having possession of the puck for most of the period, and team captain Steven Genachowski got all three goals of his hat-trick to make the lead four to nothing in the first twelve minutes. In that time, the Wildcats had twenty shots on goal compared to North Shore’s four, none of which went in. Akiva Gordon did his best to protect the Northstars’ net, but lack of defense and team possession made it hard to keep the puck out.

The second period started and the home team never slowed down. Frohlinger got his second goal of the night, followed by consecutive goals by Jeremy Bari and Baruch Abbitan; Maury Goldsmith, who is new to the team having played basketball last year, scored a goal in his first Wildcats hockey game. Akiva Gordon continued to try his best, with another 24 saves that period, but 28 shots on goal in twelve minutes caused him to be overwhelmed by the fast players of DRS. The NSHA Northstars only had three shots on goal, but one was a goal by Joshua Gordon, the goalie’s brother. The score at this point: 8-1, Wildcats.

It never hurts to tack on a few more insurance points, and Elsant was getting his State Farm. Two goals by Yoni Fein, another by Bari, and the final goal of the game by Yoni Orlofsky made sure the Wildcats would win the game. Sixteen more shots on goal for the Wildcats and six by North Shore made the totals 64 to 13, proving that defense keeps a game close and lack of any challenges a goalie. Elsant never wavered all game with twelve saves. Final score was 12-1, DRS Wildcats.

For DRS Varsity sports, that was just the tip of the iceberg. The hockey team also won at HANC on November 13, 6-0, with two more goals by Maury Goldsmith. On November 15, they pounded Solomon Schachter 14-0, including hat-tricks by Genackowski and Eitan Schreier. The Varsity Basketball team won in Westchester, with Evan Cohen scoring 15 points and Josh Maslow 14. On November 5, they beat HANC with Cohen scoring another 15 points and Yehoshua Joseph scoring 17. Even JV hockey for DRS is doing well, winning against Magen David 3-0.

In hockey, teams need energy, school spirit, and teamwork to win a game. Every year, DRS players go all out to win every game they can, and often have very high winning and scoring percentages. Many of the varsity players tasted winning last year, and are hungry for more.

Our ever-popular Thursday Clubs program began again this week, with 17 clubs being offered this semester. Besides flocking to the always sold out cooking club, and joining the DRS Band, basketball intramurals, and others, many students signed up for our first ever Model U.N. team, which will be competing in the Yeshiva University Model U.N. for yeshiva high schools.

By Yitzi Diskind, 10th Grade

On Wednesday, DRS hosted the first competition of the Torah Bowl season. Led by team captain Yosef Miller and coach Rabbi Willig, the team made a spectacular debut against teams from Rambam, HAFTR, HANC and North Shore. The DRS team went 4-0, all in spectacular wins, with only one match being close in score. The parshiot which were studied by the team were Shemot, Va’eirah and Bo. Captain Yosef Miller summed up the team’s stellar performance in true Yogi Berra style: “we demolishated!”

Assistant Captain Barry Eichenbaum remarked that he thinks “this year’s team has what it takes to make it all the way.” Both Yosef and Barry made critical contributions to the team’s wins, as they answered the most questions correctly. We are confident that this is just the beginning of what will be an outstanding year for the Torah Bowl team!