By Yitzi Diskind, DRS ‘08

On Thursday November 17th, the tenth grade went on a very special chessed trip, the annual trip to clean up a cemetery. First we were visited by Rabbi Ezra Berenholz on Monday, who explained how the Hebrew Free Burial Association functions, what its duties are, and some of it history. The Hebrew Free Burial Association owns two cemeteries in Staten Island, and the boys went to the Silver Lake cemetery, closed to new burials because it is full. Once there, the students helped clean up the cemetery from garbage and leaves.

After the meaningful and productive trip to the cemetery, the boys were taken to Queens for lunch. The Hebrew Free Burial Association, established in 1888, is an organization dedicated to granting funerals to people with either no one to give them a funeral, or for people whose relatives are too poor to give them a Jewish funeral. Since 1888, the HFBA has made funerals for over 50,000 Jews, and still buries 400-500 Jews per year. We look forward to next year’s tenth graders doing as great a job as this year’s tenth graders have.

By Yona Saperstein, DRS ‘06

Israel Night at DRS was a huge success. Over 200 seniors and parents came to this event. Representatives from over 16 outstanding yeshivot came to visit DRS to talk about each yeshiva’s goals, educational philosophy, and attitude towards life. Among the yeshivot were Birkat Moshe, Derech HaTalmud, Diaspora Yeshiva, Eretz Hatzvi, Har Etzion, Kerem B’Yavneh, Lev Hatorah, Ner Yaakov, Netiv Aryeh, Ohr Yerushalayim, Reishit Yerushalayim, Shaalvim, Shaarei Mevasseret Tzion, Shvilei Hatorah, Torat Shraga, Yeshivat HaHotel and Yeshivat Yesodei HaTorah. “It’s a bittersweet experience” said Rabbi Kaminetsky in his opening remarks, when talking about how this program means that it is the beginning of the end of the senior grade’s DRS experience – yet the beginning of our moving on to great yeshivot in Eretz Yisrael.

By Yair Saperstein, DRS ‘08

Last Monday, the sophomores learned along with their parents the extremely harmful effects of abusing substances, including alcohol and drugs. Mr. Lou Abrams, the director of YATZKAN (a center established to treat Jewish adolescents grappling with substance abuse problems), spoke about the dangers of substance abuse and the warning signs of usage and addiction. A recovering addict then spoke about his experiences. This was perhaps the most meaningful presentation of the dangers of drug and alcohol abuse. He said that whenever he sat through a program such as this, he always figured it could never happen to him. He wanted to warn us all, parents and students, that it could happen to anyone.

The program continued with the screening of a documentary titled “Dying High,” which chronicled the often tragic scenes in a hospital ER. It described the dangers and real cases of an overdose of drugs, drinking, and driving while intoxicated. The movie had some very graphic scenes of surgeons operating on patients who had almost killed themselves due to substance abuse. The whole program was frightening, but the movie had the most profound impact on the students. Aryeh Sklar, a tenth grade student commented on his reaction to the movie. “It was a very scary but necessary exposure to the dangers of substance abuse.” Parents and students then broke up into separate groups. Parents then heard from Mr. Chaim Brill, CSW, who spoke about parenting in a high risk world, while students met in workshops to discuss their reactions to the program, as well as role play various scenarios that might arise in the context of peer drug use.

By Zeke Miller, DRS ’07, Student Editor In Chief,
and Aryeh Sklar, DRS '08

This month in DRS sports was an exciting one. Yes, DRS hockey and basketball teams are doing great, but something was different. This month, DRS witnessed the founding of an all new sports team, 9 months in the making, the DRS Wrestling Team. The team’s 30 members stem from all different grades. DRS is very fortunate to have Stas (Chaim) Khaitin as the wrestling team coach. Stas, a former Ukrainian and Israeli team wrestler, is the right man for the job. He later became the assistant coach of Central Missouri State University’s wrestling team. "We're going to be champs." Says Stas. "Wrestling is a big commitment, and takes a lot of discipline. It also helps in real life."

Director of Student Activities Rabbi Eli Brazil has been instrumental in the formation of this team and is very happy to see it come to fruition. "Starting the wrestling team took a lot of hard work and planning." said Rabbi Brazil, "Luckily we have Stas Khaitin as the wrestling team coach. It is a pleasure working with him". Currently the team meets twice a week in the Cafeteria where the Coach Stas is whipping them into shape. Though it is a lot of hard work, DRS students remember the most important thing is to have fun. Said one student, "It's a lot of fun. It's a blast."

Also last Wednesday night, the night before thanksgiving, was the DRS Alleycats Opening Night. The DRS Alleycats (a.k.a. the DRS Bowling team), are the defending League Champions. The team is composed of DRS Seniors, and they sure have a blast. We look forward to another great season.

In what has become an exciting DRS annual event, the 8th grade class from Yeshivat Ohr Hachaim in Queens came to visit our Yeshiva for a day of learning, fun, and friendship. Rabbi Emerson’s 9th grade shiur spent the morning with the students, learning with them in the Bet Medrash, giving them a tour of the building, and playing ball in the gym. The visiting students were overwhelmed by the hospitality of the DRS hosts, and were especially delighted to meet with some of the Ohr Hachaim alumni who are currently DRS students.

DRS is pleased to announce that it is entering its third year as a recipient of an AVI CHAI Bookshelf Grant. The AVI CHAI Foundation, a New York- based private foundation dedicated to supporting and encouraging the growing Jewish day school movement, developed AVI CHAI Bookshelf - a three-year, $1.9 million program - in an effort to enhance libraries at Jewish high schools in the United States and Canada. "We are thrilled to have been selected for the AVI CHAI Bookshelf grant. Through this very generous grant, our library will be better equipped to effectively serve both our teachers and students, helping to enrich the curriculum and develop the research skills our students will need for college," said Mrs. Hefter, DRS Librarian and College Guidance Director. According to the guidelines of the grant, at least half of the money must be used toward Judaic materials. DRS is one of 110 high schools participating in the 2005-2006 program.

On Tuesday, November 29th, Daniel Hefter, DRS ’06, presented a paper at the Material Research Society's annual convention in Boston. Daniel discussed his paper, titled “Self-Extinguishing Elvax Nanocomposites,” before members of the Material Research Society at the Exhibition Hall of the Hynes Convention Center. He responded to numerous questions and defended his findings. We are very proud of his impressive achievements!