November 2014

Volume 17, Issue 1

VOiCE

The

The Student Run Newspaper of RKYHS

New Engineering Classes Enrich Curriculum

Kushners new STEM classes provide students with a fresh perspective on science learning

inside this issue

History Cuts

page 2

HOK: Mr.Levy

page 4
Jewish Questions
By Sam Shersher

Everything is made in China
these days. Soon, everything will be
designed in China. Why so? Maybe
foreigners are taking over industries
because we, Americans, and specifically Jewish Americans, dont have
enough interest in science. In comes
CIJE, the Center for Initiatives in
Jewish Education, to save the day. In
the past few years, CIJE has sponsored many STEM programs, including ours, in its mission of educating a
generation for innovation.

What are the benefits of
STEM programs? According to Rabbi
Mintz, the head of the STEM program,
STEM is a very important development in science education in general,
where schools are moving towards
less of a rote memorization of science

and were accepted to the Waksman

Student Scholars program. Dr. Stein
thinks that the program thats been
developed will serve the students in
very substantial ways, not just those
who go in science and engineering,
by helping them learn skills in critical and innovative thinking. These
courses are really courses in learning how to figure things out, rather
than telling students what they should
memorize. And its fun for me and the
students.
What do the students think
about Dr. Steins classes? Zach Israeli
17 declares that, scientific engineering is an unbelievable class that has a

guage departmant, is dismayed by the

students leaving her classes to enroll
in STEM. For her, Losing students
in their sophomore year is hard some
of you I might not see again, and some
of you only take one year of Spanish.
So it is sad, and I think that we should
try to accommodate the language if
we can. Seora Masuelli is currently
petitioning to create an online Spanish course that even STEM students
would be able to take.
The new STEM program takes
a novel approach to learning. Even
the class syllabus states ,This course
is not like any other you have taken
most of the work will be hands-on.

page 5
The Leftovers

page 7
Winter Sports Overview

STEM is a very important development in science education... [for] an

understanding of the process of science, especially
including modern technology and modern scientific
breakthroughs.

page 9

-Rabbi Mintz, Science Chair

and more to an understanding of the

process of science, especially including modern technology and modern
scientific breakthroughs.
In the past two years, our
STEM programs, taught by Dr. Stein,
have expanded to include scientific
engineering, bioengineering, and,
most recently, genetic engineering.
From the start, STEM was very successful. Even in the programs first
year, STEM students took first prize
in the Science Olympiad in circuitry

completely different take on learning.

It truly breeds creativity inside your
head and makes you a better learner.
Sam Raab 17, another scientific engineering student, remarks, So far, I
learned about how pillcams and other
systems work. This is just the beginning of the year, so we have only
scratched the surface.
But not everyone views the
STEM program in a positive light.
Seora Massueli, the head of the lan-

Unquestionably, Dr. Steins classes

have had a tremendous impact on our
school. As Rabbi Mintz says, Its
very important to expose our students to this world, because the world
is changing very quickly, and if they
dont start getting exposure to modern technology and modern scientific
methods at a young age, then our students end up behind when they leave
high school.

Waksman Program

page 10

News

November 2014
Volume 17, Issue 1

AP History Cutoffs: A Necessary Evil

The Voice Staff

Jonathan Pedoeem, Editor-in-Chief

Eytan Shamsian, Editor-in-Chief
Dalya Dickstein, Editor-in-Chief
Jacob Stein, Media Editor
Joey Kirsch, Page Editor

Honors History Students Worried About Not Making AP

By Sam Raab

Honors history is an important
class for many sophomores. In order to
take AP history junior year, students are
required to take honors history sophomore
year. At the end of last year, the current
10th graders took a very long and difficult
placement exam in order to get into honors
history and eventually take the AP. However, despite all of the hard work they put
in last year, Mr. Bryant recently informed
them that some of the students would be cut
from the class in the first month based on
their testing scores.

The current size of the class is 29
students, while the largest class Mr. Bryant
has ever taught is 25 students. Too big of
a class cant be taught. Literally, I would
be grading all of the time. Obviously,
grading 29 tests and essays is too large of a
workload for one teacher, especially for one
who teaches many classes.

Mr. Bryant explained, People
have many questions, and with close to thirty kids, it would be like a game of whack a
mole trying to answer all of the questions.
Mr. Bryant must cover a certain amount
of material for the AP, and if there are too
many students, he would simply be unable
to complete all of the necessary material.

Naturally, students were not too
happy about this. Ashley Miller 17 confessed, I feel very scared about being one
of the people to get cut, as well as very
stressed and pressured to do very well on
the quiz and test. Many other students feel
pressured to achieve the average required,
especially in the first month of the semester.

When asked what to do instead of
cutting people from the class, Sam Bernstein 17 said that they should have made
two honors classes just like in English. Have
one English class be fifth period while the
other has history and vice versa for tenth
period. The English department had the

By Ashley Miller

Editors
Effie Auman, News Editor
Eitan Scher, Opinion & Reviews Editor
Joe Berger, Sports Editor
Josh Degen, Sports Editor
Ben Wagner, Science Editor
Lindsey Blenden, Photography Editor
Zach Caplan, Photograph Editor

same problem with having too many kids

in the honors classes. Sam and Ashley propose that, like the English department, the

Too big of a class cant be

taught. Literally, I would be
grading all of the time. People have many questions, and
with close to thirty kids, it
would be like a game of whack
a mole trying to answer all of
the questions.
-Mr. Bryant

history department should have two honors

classes. However, while, it may seem like
a good idea to have two honors classes in
sophomore year, in junior year there can
only be one AP class. Ashley responded
to this problem saying, A placement test at
the end of the year would have to determine
who is in the AP class and who is not.

Rachel Mendelsohn contended
that instead of cutting the class after sopho-

mor year, the school should form a single,

good-sized honors class before sophomore
year begins. Its not fair that people think
that they are going to be put in this class,
to only then find out that they might be cut.
It is the schools job to put kids in the right
class in the first place, instead of making
such a big class.

Rose Ginsberg 17 agrees with Rachel, but does not take issue with cutting
students after the year has begun. I think
it is kind of better [by cutting students] because its better for the people who remain
in the honors class to go on to take the AP,
than to work so hard all year in honors now,
and then not be able to be in the AP class.
Rose doesnt think that having two honors
classes and then having to take a placement
exam at the end of the year is a good idea,
even if it means putting her own spot in the
class in jeopardy.

Whatever the administration decides, everyone agrees that the class size
must be reduced.

Siblings in Kushner

Here at RKYHS, we are
very fortunate to have many pairs of
siblings, which creates for our small
school a family environment. As
I interviewed the younger siblings,
I came across various types of connections between them and their
siblings.

When asked about how their
relationships differ from in school
and outside of school and how
their older sibling has been helpful regarding school, the majority
of those interviewed seem to have

and without her I wouldnt know

what to do. Similarly Rachel Mendelson 17 noted: When I see my
brother in school we dont really talk
because I see him at home and it is
unnecessary. Luckily he is older so
he can answer any questions I have
regarding anything I dont understand and thats pretty convenient.
Next, I interviewed Nina Kahn 17
about her relationship with her sister Aviva 15. She replied: We dont
see each other that much in school.
Outside of school we have different
activities that we do and were both
studying and doing work separately. Aviva is really helpful with
schoolwork because she has
been through all the curriculum
a staff. If it were not for him, the paper already.
It is evident that the relationwould not be anywhere near where it is
today. For that reason, we would like to ships that Adi, Rachel and Nina
dedicate this issue to Rabbi Pearlberg have with their older siblings
for his work and dedication over the past have been completely beneficial
years.
regarding school, whether that
may be helping out with work or
Enjoy the paper,
just helping with the adjustment
to a new environment. However
Jonathan Pedoeem, Dalya Dickstein, and
I came across a rather interesting
Eytan Shamsian
relationship when I interviewed
Editors-In-Chief
Ilana Hafner 17 about her relaThe Voice

similar relationships.

First off, I decided to interview a freshman, Adi Smith 17, to
see if his relationship with his sister, Ariana Smith has changed in
the past 2/3 weeks of school. When
I asked him about his relationship
with his sister he responded that
unfortunately I dont have the
chance to see her a lot so we dont
really have a relationship at all but
at home our relationship changes to
the total opposite, we have a loving
and friendly relationship. She has
been a supportive sister throughout
my first weeks in the high school

From The Editor s Desk

We hope everyone has had a
great start to the school year! We are
pleased to present Issue One of The
Voice. This year we plan to improve the
paper as much as we can, and have added
an additional section, the Science section.

On behalf of The Voice staff, we
would like to thank Rabbi Pearlberg for
his fantastic work with the paper. Rabbi
Pearlberg has been a tremendous help to
the paper. He has taught us a tremendous
amount about journalism and running

General Staff
Aaron Dickstein
Alyssa Schnipper
Anna Kaplan
Ariella Shua
Avery Bell
Avi Bendory
Becky Weisberg
Daniel Moradi
David Needle
Doni Schanzer
Estee Wagner
Gabriel Zuckerman
Gideon Rubin
Greg Artman
Jonah Bash
Jordan Shanskalil
Koby Stadtmauer
Nina Kahn
Sam Raab
Sam Shersher
Shep Gerszberg
Yoni Kaynan
Yonatan Raskin
Mrs. Bohs, Advisor

November 2014
Volume 17, Issue 1

This Month In History:

Nazis burned and destroyed Jewish property

in Germany and Austria
on Kristallnacht in 1938

News

The UN granted the

Jewish people a homeland to be established
in Palestine in 1947

Rosa Parks was arrested for refusing to give

up her bus seat to a
white man in 1955

Israeli
Prime
Minister
Yitzhak Rabin was assassinated by a rightwing Israeli in 1994

Krupka Minyan Reborn

Inspirational Womens Tefila Program Under New Leadership

By Alyssa Schnipper

The medieval sage Maimonides
writes that prayer without concentration
is akin to a lifeless body. Tefila is an important part of the day in Jewish culture.
Just like breakfast, it is required every day
and is just as vital as physical nourishment. Every day during Tefila we have the
opportunity to speak with Hashem, and
can thank him for all he has done, ask for
help, and praise him. During this time, we
must have absolute concentration and faith
in Hashem. However, as important as Tefila is, many people do not concentrate or
realize the full meaning behind the words
that they say, almost robotically, every
day.

In the Rae Kushner Yeshiva High
School, a new Tefila group for girls has
begun. This Tefila group, which was previously run by Mrs. Krupka, is currently
run by Ms. Reinstein. Ms. Reinstein is
extremely excited to be running the Tefila
group this year. She has high expectations
for the Tefila group, and she hopes that in
the minyan, girls will learn to appreciate
Tefila and get a deeper understanding of
the words that we say daily.

One of the cardinal goals of the
Tefila group is to make it easier for people
to concentrate on what they are saying. It
makes me think more about what Im say-

ing than the regular Tefila group does, and

I can also go at my own pace. says Becky
Weisberg 18. The fact that each girl is able
to pray at her own pace is especially important because different people can read
at different speeds. When in the regular
minyan, people are constantly rushing
through their Tefila and trying to catch up
to the Chazan. By doing this, they are not
taking time to appreciate and understand
what they are saying, while in the Tefila
group they can take time to say their Tefila
and fully appreciate it.

In this group, girls have the
chance to be Chazanit. The Chazanit leads
everyone in a few specific prayers out-loud
periodically throughout Tefila. However, it
is different from the role of the Chazan in
an ordinary minyan; since the Chazanit is
not constantly davening out-loud quickly,
people do not feel rushed.

The Tefila group currently takes
place in the multipurpose room. In the
multipurpose room there is a board designated for the names of sick people so that
everyone can daven for them. At the end

of davening, girls have the opportunity to

say a short Dvar Torah or story about Tefila, providing girls with greater chances
to participate in the minyan.

During davening, Ms. Reinstein
takes a few minutes to share a Dvar Torah
or lesson that can truly change the way Torah, Tefila, or any other topic is viewed by
the students. This is Ms. Reinsteins first
year teaching at the Rae Kushner Yeshiva
High School, and she has already begun
making differences in the lives of those
who attend her Tefila group with her two
to three minute lessons.

Boys views of this group varies.
Many boys do not feel that it is fair that
the girls have a Tefila group because its
not fair the girls get out of Tefila earlier
than us! One the other hand, one boy explained, If the girls are truly getting more
meaning out of their davening because of
this then it is phenomenal, demonstrating
the differing opinions between boys on the
girls-only Tefila group.

On the whole, the Reinstein minyan seems to be an amazing opportunity
for girls. In this group, girls can learn
about Tefila and Torah and take time to
comprehend and recognize the value of the
words in Tefila, and the minyan has had
positive impact on many of the Kushner
girls.

Peer
Leadership
Updated Initiative Aims to Assist Freshman at Transitioning to the High School
By Aaron Dickstein

tionship with her older brother

Shaz (AKA Shaul Hafner 15).
She replied that My relationship
with my brother is the same both inside and outside of school which is
that he constantly talks to me and I
ignore him. Having an older brother
in our school does not help me in
any way, in fact it worsens my high
school experience. Unfortunatly
for Ilana, having a sibling has not
been helpful in any way, however I
am sure having an older sibling was
somewhat comforting for her in her
past freshman year.

All in all, the different types
of relationship play a key role in the
shaping of our school environment.
Furthermore, The fact that the majority of sibling relationships in our
school are caring and amiable truly
reflects on our warm and comforting society, which may at times be
beneficial even to those without siblings in the High School.

Unlike ninth graders at many
schools, Kushner freshmen do not have to
be frightened, due to the Peer Leadership
program. Ten seniors are participating in
this program and each one is given a few
freshman to mentor and offer assistance
when needed. Mr. Singman, the director of
the program, stated, The goal of the program is to accustom the freshmen to high
school and allow them to go to the seniors
for guidance and help. This year is the
first time that the freshmen are assigned to
a specific senior, as opposed to in previous
years, when freshmen were encouraged
to go to any one of the peer leaders. The
reason for this change, according to Mr.
Singman, is that the freshmen who do not
know many of the seniors will feel more
comfortable approaching their assigned
senior.

All of the seniors who were interviewed expressed positive sentiments
about the program. It shows them that
people actually care about them and are
not going to ignore them, said Effie Auman 15. Some girls have approached me
just to say hi, to receive directions to their
next class, to talk about personal issues,
and just to hang out, added Alex Silver
15. Ben Wagner 15 commented on how
the program could be improved: One of

the things I think the program needs to

emphasize even more than it does is how
easy it is to approach one of us. I know
I would have felt much more comfortable
when I was a freshman if I had known I
had somebody to talk to who has the experience of a senior.

Many freshmen have already
become friends with their peer leaders,
which makes it easier for them to approach
their peer leader for help. Also, most of the
freshmen class are pleased that there is always someone to turn to without having
to involve faculty. The seniors are able to
relate to me much better than the faculty
could and I feel more comfortable confiding in them, said Rebecca Cohn 18.

Many others have stated that if any problem arises they will likely turn to their
peer leader for advice because the peer
leaders know what the freshmen have gone
through, as they are almost finished with
high school themselves. I think the Peer
Leadership program is a great way to help
the incoming freshmen adjust to the high
school. Knowing that theres someone to
go to with questions is comforting, enthused Lauren Karger 18. Many freshmen
are excited to become friendly with the seniors; others are pleased that the seniors
are no longer the big bad upperclassmen.
Because I am a freshman, usually the
older kids would look down on me, but the
peer leaders are helping us out instead,

stated Judah Ullman 18.

While almost all the opinions
were positive, some past participants were
not as enthusiastic. An anonymous sophomore said, The peer leadership program
[last year] wasnt so effective because the
peer leaders were talking to us because
they had to, and that did not help build
relationships. Joe Amster 17 stated, I
think that the peer leaders should make
a better effort to talk and help out their
freshmen because most freshmen, especially new ones, might not feel entirely
comfortable approaching a senior. Many
others felt that the program has room to
improve. It would have been more helpful if wed had more programming with
[the peer leaders], declared a sophomore.

It seems possible that because of
the change to specific peer leaders, some
of these concerns will be mitigated. While
most people who were interviewed said
that they had never approached their peer
leaders, the ones who did were very energetic and excited about the program. This
bodes well for all the freshmen who plan
on confiding in their peer leaders.

The Voice has learned that Mr.
Singman has a host of activities planned
for this year, though the seniors would not
divulge all the details. We are looking forward to finding out more!

News

November 2014
Volume 17, Issue 1

Humans of Kushner: Mr. Levy

room.
In a few years from now do you
still see yourself in Kushner?
Everybody has to do whats best for
them but I hope everything will go
well and I hope that I will be here for
as long as I can.
What college did you attend?
Queens college.
Is there a certain reason you chose
to teach tanach?
The truth is I am actually a licensed
social studies teacher for grades
7-12 and I have taught social studies, I have a masters in special ed., I
have taught middle school Language
Arts, and I taught Judaic studies for
2 years as well, so Im pretty much
comfortable teaching any one of
those subjects.

By Yoni Kaynan
What brought you to work at Kushner?
I was looking for an opportunity to be
in charge of student activities.
Why did you choose to be in charge

of student activities?
Ive been teaching for 5 years now
and I really wanted to do additional
programming for students outside of
the classroom and as student activity director I have the unique opportunity of planning student activities
that take place outside of the class-

Is this area new to you?

Yes I dont know anything about NJ
at all.
Do you like it here?
I do, Im actually from Long Island
which is also a suburb of New York
so its the same kind of lifestyle, and
right now Im living in Springfield
but I have no clue where anything is

ways. I mean there is no team for JV, he

stated. There would only be one line that
would be decent. Other teams have three
lines.

Effie Auman 15 agreed with
this, but also alluded to another benefit
of having the younger players on varsity.
For the rest of them its beneficial for
themselves because they are getting better, he said.

The younger students had many
different opinions about the combined
team. When asked if he was upset, Sam
Roth 17, who is playing Varsity Hockey
this year, stated Im upset because we
lost some of our players who left to go
play basketball or are just not playing and
it will greatly affect our team. It will hurt
our goaltending because our goalie will
not have a year to establish himself in a
high school league. However, he did then
continue to say, I think the good part to
just having varsity is that we are one team
and the kids who would currently be on
JV this year are learning to play in a varsity league with bigger, faster and stronger
players.

Another student who decided to
stay on the team is Eli Slonim. He was not
upset at all about the combination of the
JV and Varsity teams.

Well the JV team would probably have not been that good because we
wouldve had a very small team, he said.
And also since Im on varsity Im happier because we have a larger team and we
have more strength and skill and there is

SEE JV Hockey Page 9

By Joe Berger


With the start of a new school
year comes the beginning of the winter sports seasons, including varsity
hockey. Tryouts have already taken
place, and the team is looking as competitive as it has in past years. Under
the leadership of captains Ilan Slonim
15 and Louis Reiz 15 and Coach
Paul Reiz, the team is looking to improve upon the success that they had
last year, going 8-6 and making the
playoffs.

Unfortunately, for a variety
of reasons, the school was not able
to form a Junior Varsity Team. Although this may be a lost opportunity
for many freshmen and sophomores,
it is very beneficial to many others
involved. Captain Ilan Slonim 15
stated when asked about last years
Varsity team compared to that of this
year we didnt have the sophomores,
they add a lot of depth to our team.

Opinion

Your Questions Answered?

What to do with our burning Jewish Questions

yet, Im still learning about the highways, kosher restaurants here, and
of course chocolate works.
How do you plan on running student council this year?
I would say that the best way stuco
could accomplish things is if we
work together, and listen to each
others ideas. I will do my best to
make their ideas become a reality,
and stuco will also probably have to
help me with some ideas that I come
up with.
Whats your best fashion advice
for students at RKYHS?
This is really for the guys only, but
your belt should always match your
shoes.
What do you enjoy doing outside
of school?
Right now I dont do much because
my wife and I just moved into our
new house, were expecting a child,
so were doing a lot of prep, but usually outside of school I like to play
basketball, football, guitar and piano.
Have a favorite sports team?
Kushner Cobras of course! Go Cobras!

Junior Varsity Hockey Boys Hockey Preview

By Jonah Bash


Many of Kushners students
were intrigued to find out that this year
Kushner would not be fielding a boys JV
hockey team.

Its a combination of reasons;
not one particular reason, said Rabbi
Kirsch.

Were trying to boost our focus
on varsity hockey in our school. A lot of
times we have situations in which our varsity team will play other schools and we
show up with a much smaller team than
those of the other schools and our players
get worn out and tired and a lot of times
our games are decided because of that
factor, Rabbi Kirsch elaborated.

He added that: By having one
team, the coach feels very strongly that
we could eliminate or reduce that issue
by increasing the size of the varsity team
up so we can have more players to work
with.

Some students from last years
team decided not to play this year. The
athletics department anticipated this:

We knew going into the season
that it would cause kids, specifically tenth
graders, to react like this. And, rightfully
so, Rabbi Kirsch mentioned. He stated
that we are trying to look at the hockey
program as a whole.

There were many different reactions from the student body. The seniors
on the hockey team, who will be the leaders of this years team, were optimistic
about having a combined team.

Ilan Slonim 15 explained that
the JV team would not be successful any-

November 2014
Volume 17, Issue 1

Although they cannot have their own

team, there seems to be no doubt of
their capabilities to contribute to the
varsity team. Additionally, the extra
year or two is likely to prove advantageous towards building up the team
for future years.

Some have questioned the
teams ability to compete this coming
year due to the departure of the class
of 2014, including last years Yeshiva
league leader in goals, Eli Schwartz
14. However, the team is very excited
about rising difference makers, such
as starting goaltender, Jack Reiz 16.
Although the Junior Varsity team of
two years ago, largely consisting of
the same players as this years varsity, was not quite able to reach the
playoffs, captain Louis Reiz 15 is
not concerned. He stated Our team
wasnt as developed as we are now
as we matured over course of high

SEE Hockey Page 9

By Jordan Shanskalil

Have you ever had a burning
question in class that hasnt been answered? I know that it often happens to
me, especially in Judaic studies classes.
I was in my 11th and 12th grade Talmud
class and we were starting to veer off the
topic at hand. I asked a question (just a
general Judaism question) and the teacher told me that we had to get back on
topic but my question can be answered
at a later time. This has happened to me
personally many times throughout high
school and it is extremely frustrating. It
would not be fair for me to say that it
happened every single time, but overall
I have lost or forgotten many questions
that one would think that I, a teenager
in a religious atmosphere, was supposed
to (and encouraged to) ask. Sometimes
Judaic teachers will have a question day
on Friday. This is a great thing to look
forward to throughout the week and is
usually successful in answering some
students questions. Is it enough though?
That, I am not sure. There is a lot going
on in our young brains and if you get fifteen to twenty of us in a room, the questions we could ask would be infinite. It
is impossible to find an answer to all of
them in the short time that we occasionally have an Ask the Rabbi period,
but getting an explanation or answer to
these questions could seriously help us

By David Needle

with our religious growth. Possible solution? Discussion class.

Could it be a Judaic Studies
elective? A replacement for the second
period of Gemarah that some students
have? A designated day or two a week?
Something in the vein of SEED? I dont
know for sure, but we could figure out a
solution. What makes Kushner so great
is the atmosphere that it creates, one
where most students are comfortable
just asking a faculty member a question,
whether it be on religion, life in general, or just class. These include Why
is wearing a kippah more enforced than
wearing tzitit? Oren Mendelow 16,
Why cant girls wear pants? (anonymous Sophomore),What is the difference between a greater power beyond
this world and the G-d that we read
about in the torah? (anonymous Junior), and Why does G-d punish people
and how does He decide what punishments they get? Becca Cohn 18.

These are just a few examples
of our student bodys questions that
I found only on the way to sixth period. This list would only grow if I had
asked more kids with more time on their
hands. These are questions that could be
discussed and debated over for hours on
end so why can there not be a time slot
for them to be asked and hopefully explained?

It is not just me who thinks a

Discussion Class is a good idea. According to a survey, the student body

tends to agree with the idea. 67% said
yes, 33% said no

At this point, all that is left is
support from the school, which already has implemented Ask the Rabbi
learning during lunch once a week. It is
a great time for anyone who has these
questions and wants to get some extra
credit to ask questions. It could be used
as a sort of a trial run to see how many
of the people who voted in the survey
would actually support a solely studentquestion based learning time.

The success of the Ask the
Rabbi learning or a Discussion Class
would depend on the input and outlook
of the students. They would need to be
committed; if the students do not take it
seriously it would be ineffective as time
meant for learning and growth. But the
benefits could be better than any class
we have right now.

Kushner is a school known to
be flexible with class choices, learning opportunities, and clubs. However,
these changes are only made possible
when the student body expresses interest certain area. So if something that
you are interested in is not available at
school, tell a faculty member. You can
be like Samuel Shersher 17, who founded our swim team. Go do for yourselves
and for Kushner as a whole.

Art and Computers

School is back
with a bunch
of new teachers but disappointingly, not
with too many
new classes.
Here, at Rae
Kushner

Yeshiva High school, ninth and tenth grade students are

expected to go through another year of computers and
art. In computers we are using outdated technology, and
art, while fun in elementary school does not really seem
relevant to our future education. Art class in particular
has become quite a burden on the students since it is no
longer the fun and creative class it was in lower school.

Now, it is focussed on following the teachers instructions so that we can make a certain style of art. There is
still an art elective for those interested in further pursuing their art education; why force students not interested
in learning art to spend even more time with it? If it is
because the New Jersey state curriculum requires some
sort of creative class in all schools, then lets turn it into a
different type of art. For example, many students (myself
included) would love a graphic design class.
I would also like to highlight some of the issues
with the way our Computers class is currently
structured. We are being taught how
to use Microsoft Office 2009 and
Microsoft Powerpoint 2010 which
are old now but will be even more
outdated by the time we graduate.
Teenagers today already have a good
understanding of how to use these simple programs, so why not start teaching more
advanced computer skills? The hypothetical graphic
design class could even replace both Computers and Art,
freeing up space in schedules for another class.

Ultimately, it is not the students decision: It
comes down to the administration and the teachers.
Hopefully, they will think about what can be done to balance what students need as an education with what they
would pursue as their own interests.

5
Selena Gomez Tweets

Gomez asks followers to Pray for Gaza

By Becky Weisberg

In our generation, it is very easy for
people to jump to conclusions before knowing an entire story. With the newspapers emboldened headlines screaming at us, and the
internet full of pictures and articles trying to
influence our views, its hard not to believe
what you read. In light of this, we have to
keep in mind that every news article, social
media post, TV broadcast, and almost every
other form of widespread communication can
be tilted toward the opinion of the author or
reporter. Unfortunately, our generation seems
to often forget this fact, and very rarely do we
research the other side of the conflict before
we draw conclusions.

For instance, when 22-year-old singer
and actress Selena Gomez posted a picture
sympathetic to Hamas on the social media app
Instagram eight weeks ago, she had only heard
half of the story. With Hamas using social media as one of its most valued weapons, she had
been exposed to the tragic numbers of innocent lives that were taken by Israelis, and she
wanted to do something about it.

ITS ABOUT HUMANITY, read
her picture, PRAY FOR GAZA. Underneath
the photo, a caption read: Please pray for
those families and babies today. Please always
remember whats important in life. Its not
any of this. We are here to help, inspire and
love. Be that change. #wearethenextgeneration Gomez was referring to the people killed
in Gaza, which of course is a horrible tragedy. I suggest we all pray for those innocent
lives as well. But what she didnt mention was
that Gaza is bringing their own terror upon
themselves, using residential areas as missile
launches so they could hide behind their civillians.

Even though I think that her opinion
is wrong, ninth grader Alyssa Schnipper said,
its her right. (She has) freedom of speech.
Schnipper is one hundred percent correct. But
all those less educated than our school in this
middle-eastern conflict will not see this as
Gomezs opinion, rather they will see this as
her expressing a fact.

Gomez has over fourteen million followers on Instagram, which means she has the
power to influence 14 million people with a
tap of a button. Many will now think of Israel
as attacking innocent families and babies.
They will not think of the countless missiles
Gaza terrorizes Israel with on a daily basis,
the bus bombings, the human shields, or any
of the other atrocities Gaza commits.

Since Gomez is such a famous musician and artist, I think that she should be wary
of what she posts. The power to influence millions of people should not be taken lightly.

I feel that her meaning behind the post
was well intentioned, but the execution was
poor. She only talks about praying for the innocent people of Gaza, but she doesnt mention that Hamas is causing all these innocent
deaths by provoking Israel with their countless
missile attacks. Therefore, people might think
that she is implying that Israel is accountable
for all these innocent lives that were lost. Of
course, shes not praying for Hamas, but the
post doesnt exactly address the fact that what
theyre doing is wrong.

Gomez should have researched her
cause before she tried to help the world. Joan
Rivers expressed this when she said, (she)
see(s) pictures of (dead) children and (she)
go(es) crazy, meaning Gomez is supportive of
Gaza because of all the horrific pictures they
post online. This is why I believe that the Internet Generation has to be extremely careful when dealing with online posts. We have
to know the difference between fact, opinion,
and flat-out false information. We have to remember theres always another side to the story.

Opinion

November 2014
Volume 17, Issue 1

November 2014
Volume 17, Issue 1

New Nine Day Residency Policy is Unjust

By Shep Gerszberg

As most of Rae Kushner Yeshiva High School knows, this year our
school has implemented a new rule called
the residency requirement. This rule was
implemented to ensure that students do
not miss too many classes. It states that
students are allowed to miss a total of
nine periods of each class each semester,
including periods missed due to school
sanctioned events as well as days missed
due to illness. If a student goes over
these nine allotted periods, their grades
are penalized in that respective class.
This rule is obscene and unfair to the
students. It attempts to help ensure that
we get a quality education by forcing us
to go to classes using the fear of grade
penalizations. However, this is a contrarian thought process as there is more to
an education than just classes. The fear
of going over the residency requirement
scares students off from going to many
extracurricular activities-a notion been
echoed throughout most of the student
body. Zach Israeli, 16 has said that The
school prides itself on its extra curricular
activities. It always encourages students
to take as much advantage of these opportunities as possible. With this residency rule, its impossible to take advantage of the amount that we would like.
One of the major pulls of Kushner and
one of the reasons I chose to attend high
school here is the many extracurricular
activities and out of class opportunities
that the school offers and encourages
students to participate in. This new rule
totally goes against that idea which is
the core of what Kushner is. Education
is not just classes, it is experience. It is
broadening your horizons to learn new
and interesting things. Extracurricular
activities are integral to this part of education. This rule so desperately tries to
make the classes themselves a priority,
but it comes at the expense of these extracurricular activities which are just as
valuable.

Another major issue of this resi-

dency rule is that it ends up punishing

students for something out of their control: their health. Everyone gets sick; its
a fact of life. Now, if a student is feeling sick they will not want to do the
safe thing and stay home out of fear of
missing one day against the residency
requirement. This is ridiculous! Its putting the ill students well-being at risk as
well as others; all in the name of helping
the students learn. When an illness starts

Rabbi Rubin has said

that the school understands
that there are issues with the
current system.

to spread around the school, no one will

be learning at all. Its an oxymoron!

Rabbi Rubin has said that the
school understands that there are issues
with the current system. They are aware
of the mixed messages that this rule is
sending and they are trying to fix it. Rabbi Rubin said that while in his opinion
the nine days of absence is a high bar and
that the grade reduction is minimal, they
do not want to see students less involved

in the school. For that reason the school

is looking to make changes to this policy
in regard to school sanctioned programs.

One possibility would be that
school sanctioned programs would only
considered half of a period against the
requirement, giving students a total of
eighteen periods of school sanctioned
activities instead of just nine. As Rabbi
Rubin said, This is a case where you try
to make a correction to a problem and
end up making a bigger problem.

However even this is not received with total cheers and applause.
Some students question drastic action
being taken to solve this supposed problem. Many still do not agree with this
new school policy even with this hypothetical period rule for school-sanctioned events,. Jacob Mendelson 15 has
said, I see the new residency rules as
a way to prevent students from cutting
class and school. As such, there is no
reason for extracurricular activities run
by the school to count towards residency,
even if it only counts for half a day. This
merely discourages students from taking advantage of the many activities and

opportunities the school offers. One

student who requested to remain anonymous has said, A student is responsible
for getting good grades. If they miss
class and they can still pull off good
grades, then that should be okay. But if
they are missing class and they arent
getting good grades then thats where
there is a problem. It would only make
sense to give the rule to the students who
are missing classes and getting worse
grades because of it. This raises a good
point. The school is essentially dealing
out collective punishment. They are limiting the ability of all students to participate school activities to try to counteract
a problem that is a non-issue for many
students.

Most students doubt that this
rule will even be effective in preventing students from cutting class. A poll
by the newspaper shows that nearly three
quarters of the students believe that this
residency program will not help with the
cutting problem and I agree. If a student
does not care about the penalties received
from cutting class as is, why would they
care about this new residency requirement and the punishments for violating
it? Not only is this new rule unjust it may
also be ineffective.

The student body has spoken;
another poll revealed that a whopping
90 percent of Kushner students think
that this new rule is unjust. It is a consensus among the student body that this
rule is a major detriment to the ability
of students to participate in school activities. While the school has proven that
it is willing to amend the terms of the
residency requirement, the action it is
planning to take is not enough. It is not
right for students to be penalized in any
way for participating in school activities
even if you get one hundred periods, let
alone eighteen. The school must find a
new way to make sure students stay in
class without detracting from the many
extracurricular activities that make our
school so great.

Unrestrict Judaic Electives

By Ariella Shua

For a lot of underclassmen, getting electives is
something that they look forward to throughout their freshman and sophomore year. Electives at Kushner only become
available when students reach junior year, and most students
love having the option of choosing a class that really interests
them. Most students get two electives as a junior and three
as a senior. They get one as a senior, and two secular electives, and one Judaic elective. Notice that I said most. Not
all students get these options. Though the secular electives
are available to every junior and senior, the Judaic elective is
available only to students who are not in the honors class for
Talmud.

Whether or not this is a fair rule has been hotly debated since Judaic electives became available last year. In
fact, The Voice ran an article on it just last year. The overwhelming opinion, as shown in last years article and from
what Ive heard during casual discussions on the topic, is that
it is unfair to not give honors students the opportunity for the
class. Some students argue that honors students are generally
given more advantages for special learning opportunities and
that it is only fair to offer the elective class to everyone except for them. Personally, I dont agree. I have always been
curious about topics such as women and Judaism and how
Judaism deals with science. Those are two areas that I would

love to learn more about, and they conveniently are Judaic

elective options. Unfortunately for me, I dont get the opportunity to learn about either one of these things, because I
wasnt given a Judaic elective. I do understand that Talmud
study, which is the class I have instead of a Judaic elective, is
very important in the schools eyes- and it is also important
to me. I understand that Talmud is necessary in truly learning Torah the way it should be learned. But personally, learning Talmud just doesnt interest me as much as some of the
elective learning options do. And it isnt as though by having
an elective I would stop learning Talmud altogether. There is
room in the day for both a Judaic elective and a Talmud class:
just look at the majority of the upperclassmen schedules!

So why isnt a Judaic elective an option for those
who are in honors Talmud? In all truth, we dont have a definite answer. No one ever told the honors students why they
have no elective, and to my knowledge, no one told non- honors students why it is okay for them to have half as much
Talmud learning as some students have. It seems to me that
the school believes that honors students would benefit more
from having more Talmud and other students would benefit
more from having a bit less. But this is speculation, since it
has never really been communicated to us why Judaic electives are the way they are.

The school seems to believe that the system they
have benefits all of their students, with honors students tak-

ing on more difficult Talmud and the other students getting

a different type of learning opportunity with a very different style. Since I imagine the school only wants all of its
students to succeed, this answer does make sense. But then
we have the problem of whether this is what students consider to be most beneficial to them. Should students in nonhonors classes lose the opportunity to have Talmud twice a
day if they really enjoy it? And should students in honors
classes not be given an opportunity to broaden their learning horizons to something completely new which they may
be very interested in? The fact that many students have expressed displeasure at the way Judaic electives are being run
right now seems to suggest that a change would be good. The
change I propose would be to have a Judaic elective available
for all students, whether they are in honors classes or not.
The Judaic elective would meet two or three times a week.
For the other classes in a week, the honors kids would have
a second period of Talmud and the non- honors kids would
have a Mishna period, which is what 9th and 10th graders
who arent in honors have. This way, everyone would get an
elective class that they really have an interest in, but the extra
Talmud study, for the most part, remains. And perhaps this
change would serve to benefit all students, in the eyes of both
those teaching and those learning.

Entertainment

The Leftovers

Enders Game
Orson Scott Cards captivating sci-fi tale

By Avery Bell

TV is plagued by simple and
extremely predictable TV shows. The
Leftovers defies the normal television
standards and blows everything you
know about cable TV into thin air. In
the matter of a second, two percent of
the worlds population disappears without a trace. Civilization is stunned; 180
million people have disappeared off the
face of the earth and nobody can offer a
single answer as to what happened. The
show takes place in the fictional town of
Mapleton, NY and follows Police Chief
Kevin Garvey as he tries to find his way
through the strange world that everyone
now inhabits. While this is a global phenomenon, we only get to see the situation
from the people of Mapleton. The show
takes a decidedly dark tone, delving into
the depression, anxiety and misery the
leftovers of the world face. While the
idea of following men and women attempting to rebuild their lives turns
some people off, it also gives a broader
appeal. While these men and woman are
dealing with significantly different problems than ours, it is extremely easy to relate to these characters because we have
all been in their shoes.

One of my huge pet peeves regarding TV shows is the music. If a
show has poor music score (selection),
then it takes away from the potential of
the show. The Leftovers does not disappoint. The creator of the Leftovers,
Damien Lindelof, was also the Executive
Producer on Lost, a show known for its
phenomenal music. It is very evident that
Lindelof brought his experience over to
the Leftovers and was able to craft an
amazing show. The music enhances the
shows atmosphere and brings the viewer
into the mind of the character.

Not only is the music stunning,
but also the performance of the actors is
absolutely phenomenal. Justin Theroux
does a superb job as police chief Kevin
Garvey. While his previous endeavors
were more towards the writing and producing , he is perfectly suited for acting
in a lead role. The way he expresses his
emotions is masterful; at every single
turn of the show you feel exactly what
Theroux is feeling. Throughout the
show he struggles to deal with his teen-

age daughter Jill, portrayed by Margaret

Qualley. On most TV shows everyone
hates the teenage characters because of
the way they end up disrupting the plot
line and essentially becoming a burden
on the show. Qualley does a superb job
at defying the norm. The way she is able
to portray a confused, depressed
and
suicidal
teenager is incredible and it makes the audience feel
for this poor troubled soul. So bravo to
you Miss Qualley. Another great actress
on the series is Carrie Coon (Nora Durst
on the show). Those unfamiliar with
the theater world will never have heard
of her. At the beginning of the show,
she did not do an excellent job with her
performance. At points, she tested my
faith and I would wonder why she was
even there. As the season moved on, she
turned into an amazing performer and
became a very intriguing character. She
loses her entire family to the unexplainable event and as the season progressed
the audience started to truly understand
how devastating her loss was. At one
point, she completely breaks down and
at that the moment the viewer instantly
empathized her pain, grief and misery.

The Good:
Great acting, music and cinematography.
Each individual storyline is relatable and
leaves you on the edge of your chair.
The Bad:
Slow paced in the beginning which
turned off some viewers. Did not elaborate enough on the calamity that struck
the world.
The Bottom Line:
The Leftovers first season was riveting
and had you questioning your own sanity. While the show definitely did not
grab everyones attention, the viewers it
did grab were in for one heck of a ride. It
shows much promise and Im excited to
see what roller coaster ride it takes me
on in season two.
When/Where:
Sunday nights on HBO at 10 p.m.

By Gabe Zuckerman

In Enders Game by Orson
Scott Card, an alien species commonly known as the Bugers,
has been making attempts to invade Earth, with the humans just
barely being able to fight them
off. Now, in preparation for the
third invasion, the brightest kids
from all over the world have been
transported to Battle School, a
training facility on a space station
where children train to become
commanders and generals in the
forthcoming fight. Ender Wiggin
is the best of the best at the school
and is humanitys last hope in the
perilous fight to defeat the Buggers.

I absolutely loved Cards
Enders Game. When I first saw it
on the schools Summer Reading
List, I was a little put off. I had not
been a fan Summer Reading due
to the fact that I never really liked
any of the books assigned in the
past. Enders Game was completely different. It was such a captivating tale that one night I stayed up
until about 2:00 am, unable to put
it down. Reading it was like no
other Summer Reading book that
I had ever encountered. The book
was very intense and extremely
complex. There are many plot
points that all appear completely
insignificant until they all come
together in the end. Every so often, Card takes us down to Earth
to catch up with Enders siblings.
The side plot of Enders siblings
Peter and Valentine attempting to
take over the world at the ages of
10 and 12 really completes the rest
of the book.

Another reason that I love
Enders Game was because it is

so different from the standard

science-fiction novels out today.
This is because kids are at the center of everything in Enders Game
as opposed to adults. The characters of Enders Game are extremely well written by Card, allowing
the reader to really get a sense for
how Ender and the other children
think. It highlights a common issue of how adults constantly underestimate childrens intellect.

I did have some minor
grievances with the novel. One issue in particular was that the supposedly best children selected
to go to the Battle School all appear normal. You do not really get
the sense that they are any better
than the rest.

Still, the minor issues that
I had with Enders Game did not
change my thoughts on it. Overall
I loved the book and would highly recommend it. If you do like
Enders Game then I highly suggest the sequel, Speaker for the
Dead.
The Good:
Interesting characters that make
the reader question the minds of
children today.
The Bad:
As mentioned above, the entire
premise of the Battle School was
that every child was brilliant,
but many seemed very ordinary.
The Bottom Line:
Amazing and completely different
from anything that is currently out
there today.

Entertainment

November 2014
Volume 17, Issue 1

Top Five Shows Im Watching This Fall

By Joey Kirsch

Binge-ability: My own measurement in which I weigh
the amount of time watching
the show would take and the
amount of episodes in the show
against how good the show is
(so a show can be really good
but still get a low score because of the time it would take
to watch)

Girls Varsity Basketball Preview

Gotham

The reason I felt like I was able

to put three superhero shows
in a row is because I know that
Gotham, while based on the
Batman comics, is not a superhero show. Gotham is about
Gotham City before Batman. It
shows the deterioration of the
city and the origin stories of
villains such as Penguin, The
Riddler, and Catwoman. Gotham shows viewers the reason
why Gotham City even needs a
Batman in the first place.
Binge-ability-N/A (new show)

Brooklyn Nine-Nine

Coming off a Golden Globe for

best new comedy and moving
to its new day and time (Sunday at 8:30), Season 2 is set to
be even greater than the last
season.
Binge-ability-7.5/10 (22 epi- The Flash
sodes)
You may think this show is going to be just for comic book
All three NCIS shows fans, but it will not. Fans of the
(NCIS, NCIS: LA, NCIS: New other CW comic show, Arrow,
Orleans)
can tell you firsthand that you
NCIS is still going strong go- dont have to ever have picked
ing into season 12 and Im only up a single comic book to know
expecting it to get better. NCIS: whats going on. Many people
LA ended with a major cliff- who watch this show are not
hanger at the end of its 5th sea- drawn by its comic book orison, and NCIS: New Orleans gins, but because they think
looked extremely promising in its an interesting premise or it
its backdoor pilot in NCIS.
seems cool, or anything along
Binge-ability-3/10 (378 epi- those lines. I urge you, readsodes in total)
ers, to try out this show and see

Although not technically a fall

how your opinion of superhe- show,
roes changes from bad to good. Doctor Who
Fans of Arrow will also be ex- Deserves a shoutout too. Doccited to hear that episode 8 of tor Who is one of my favorite
both The Flash and Arrow are shows ever and Peter Capaldi
planned as crossover episodes. is just killing it as The DocBinge-ability-N/A (new show) tor so far. Im so excited to see
how this season progresses,
especially with a new companArrow
The path of Oliver Queen from ion joining The Doctor in the
survivalist to vigilante/killer to T.A.R.D.I.S. soon.
a hero has been a thrill ride so Binge-ability-2/10 (94 epifar and Im expecting the third sodes in the rebooted series,
804 episodes in total)
season to be the best yet.
Binge-ability-6/10 (46 episodes)

Dystopian Novel by Josin L. McQuein with an fast-paced plot

fore the arrival of the conflict in order to get

through said conflict. This is not the case in
Arclight, as the main character has no apparent

By Josh Degen

After a disappointing 3-7
record last year, the girls varsity basketball team is looking to rebound
and return to their winning ways.
Although the sub par season is in
the past, there are numerous questions that are being raised about
this upcoming season. What are the
expectations going forward? How
will they fare against the rest of the
league? Will we see a new and revamped team this year?

The team seems to be very
optimistic and has high hopes about
the upcoming season. When asked
about the expectations for the season, captain Tal Stern 15 stated:
I see much improvement since the
previous season and we gained many
new valuable players to the team and

I think we have a lot of potential for

this coming season and were off to
a great start. Senior co-captain Arielle Gannon 15 also thinks highly
of the squad and said, I think we
have a better team than last year and
we have a chance of winning more
games. Jessica Lewinter 16 also
believes the team will make an aggressive playoff push and mentioned
When I was a freshman the team
wasnt as good because all the good
sophomores went to varsity. Now
all those sophomores are new additions to what was the junior varsity team two years ago. Jessica also
stated We have a really good coach
this year and all the players on the
team are really good and aggressive
so I think we have a good chance of
making it pretty far.

Tal is also confident about

past and is really thrust into this frightening and dangerous situation, which allows
for a more complete development which
wouldnt be apparent otherwise. Thirdly,
the plot was fast paced from the very first
chapter until the unexpected end. Mcquein
kept throwing different twists that made
the book exciting and kept me wanting to
read more and more. The one downside of
the book that I didnt really appreciate was
the romantic side of it which slightly dampened the main plot. Overall, a very worthwhile read.
The Good:
Original, with devolving characters and is
fast paced.
The Bad:
Side plot lines slightly deterred from the
main story.
The Bottom Line:
If you enjoy reading completely original
dystopian and fast paced books, Josin Mcqueins Arclight is the perfect book for you.
Rating: 3.5/5

the eleventh graders on the team but

believes the core of the team is made
up of the seniors. I think that the juniors are great additions but the seniors will be carrying out the team.
Arielle agrees with Tal about the fact
that the seniors will carry the load
of the team but she emphasized even
more that the juniors are still strong
players.

Despite only finishing 3-7
last year, Arielle believes that this
year the Cobras will not finish as
close to the basement of the league
as last year but she was not overly
cocky about where the team will finish this season. She stated, Were
not the best team in the league but
not the worst either.

This upcoming season the
team will have a lack of height and
true forwards on the team and may
run into major mismatches and trouble with some of the taller teams.
The two captains have two very different approaches on how they can
deal with this disadvantage. Tal believes they can overcome this major challenge :by practice because
practice makes perfect and although
we might be one of the weaker teams
in the league as long as we try and
play our hardest is all that matters.
When also asked about how the Cobras will deal with the lack of height
Arielle responded by saying We got
Tal.

Boys Basketball Preview

By Greg Artman


The JV basketball is looking

Arclight

By Yonatan Raskin


What would you do if you woke up with
no recollection of who you are or where you
came from? To discover that almost the entire
human population has been exterminated by
strange creatures known as the Fade that live
in the complete darkness that is now the rest of
the world and are a threat to the last safe haven,
Arclight, every day? All of this is a reality in
Arclight, by Josin Mcquein.

I really enjoyed Arclight for three reasons. Reason one: I honestly have never read
anything like this before. Most of the plots in
other dystopian books that one usually reads
follows the normal beaten path of an unlikely
hero rising up from their previous struggles in
order to survive, save the world, ect. and frequently ends up with a similar plot to The Hunger Games. In Arclight, instead of following
the usual mantra, the author gives an unusual
perspective, which gives a very nice twist for
the reader. Secondly, the character development
was interesting to follow. As mentioned before,
for most dystopian books you have a main character that uses whatever skills that they had be-

Sports

November 2014
Volume 17, Issue 1

to bounce back after a disappointing

2013-2014 season. The team struggled through a very tough schedule and finished the year 1-9. This
upcoming season the team should
be able to improve upon last years
record and win some more games.
The powerhouse schools like Frisch,
Flatbush, and TABC look to be very
good; however, the overall talent
level of the league has dropped. This
should result in more wins for the
Kushner squad and in them being a
competitive team. One of captains,
Sam Raab 17 spoke very highly of
the teams chances, We have a lot
of potential to do great things. This
confident mindset could help push
the team over the edge. The JV team
will also be partaking in a tourna-

ment in Montreal, Canada, where

hopefully they can be victorious.

The Varsity basketball team
is looking at an uphill battle this
upcoming season. After a terrific
season last year with a post-season

run for the first time since Coach

Jan Sandusky left, this year could
yield different results. The overall
talent level of the team looks to be
subpar, but this doesnt necessarily equal an abysmal season. Since
the expectations are low for the
team there is no added pressure
on the team to perform and this
could lead to some upset victories
against some heavily favored opponents. As Coach Jan Sandusky
put it Who knows, we could surprise some people. The team has
taken on the same mindset into the
season, Jake Jerushamy 16 commented about this mindset, We
will be better than people expect
and surprise the league.

Hockey (cont.)
school. Both captains have stated that they see great
promise in this years team. In fact, they have both
made clear that they have legitimate hopes of going to
the championship, as Ilan Slonim 15 stated In all honesty we have a chance to go to the ship. If we get hot at
the right time and get some luck on our side we could
get there. This team is legitimate. We have a shot, but

it has been made clear that fan support has been a major
issue. Its nice to have parents in the stands, but its so
much more exhilarating when all the players friends
come to support them. So come out and support Kushner Cobras Varsity Hockey Team! It looks like it will be
a team worth cheering for!

9
JV Hockey
(cont)

more competition, especially for me.

As one could imagine, the opinions of
the returning team members who are not playing this year are quite different.

Zach Israeli said, At the beginning
I wasnt feeling so strongly about playing but
once I heard there wasnt going to be a JV team
it was a definite no.

And Gabe Maron, one of the goalies
on last years JV squad said, I dont think I
have the time to go to two practices a week and
games if Im not going to get any playing time.

Overall, there is clearly no unanimous
opinion regarding the situation. There is much
disappointment that there is no JV Hockey
Team. However, others view this as a tremendous opportunity. Hopefully, not only this season will be great, but it will prepare our team
for successful years to come.

Tennis Team

By Doni Schanzer

This year, Kushner is bringing on a new
coach for the tennis team after a failure of a

season in 2014. For the 2015 tennis season,

Jeremy Seftel will be coaching both the boys
and girls tennis teams. For everyone on the
tennis team, this is great news. As many students may know, last year the tennis coach left
our team to coach a college team, leaving the
Kushner tennis team with absolutely no coach.
Even though one parent helped out, it was still
difficult to play a sport with no coach. Hopefully, this year the Kushner tennis program
will rebound with a fantastic year.

Last year was a very disappointing
year for both the boys and girls tennis teams.
Our coach left us before the season even started. Additionally, many players were affiliated
with other spring sports, such as soccer and
baseball. Therefore, those players missed crucial matches for the tennis team. One frustrated player, Elana Israeli 16 stated, This
year, with a new coach, we will be starting
this season with a fresh slate. Last year we
(each team) won one match without even having a coach, but with a new coach we will be
making a lot more improvements. Previous
members of the tennis team are looking forward to playing with a new coach.

Coach Seftel stated what his goals
were going to be as the new coach. He said, I
want to get a strong start for the team. As long
as it is fun and competitive, my goals for this
year will be achieved. These goals seem to
focus on both having a good tennis team this
year and building the Kushner tennis program
for the future. For those students considering
joining the tennis team, there are various good
aspects of tennis. Elana Israeli stated tennis
is a really fun sport. Its one of those sports
that you can play for the rest of your life, not
just in high school. Also, coach Seftel said
that tennis teaches you to think for yourself
and helps you on and off the court in many
different ways. For those seeking to join the
tennis team, tennis tryouts will be sometime
in the spring.

This year, Kushner tennis will try to
bounce back from a harsh 2014 season. Hopefully, with the addition of coach Seftel, the tennis team will make major improvements and
grow stronger. They will strive for a fantastic
and incredible season! So if you are thinking
of joining the team, come to the meetings to
meet the coach, just to see what its like. If
not, make sure to spread the word. And most
importantly, make sure to come out and support YOUR Kushner Cobras Tennis Team!

Science

10

November 2014
Volume 17, Issue 1

The Waksman Student Scholars Program

By David Zadok

Over the summer, Alex Lando and I had the privilege of going
to the Waksman Institute at Rutgers
University to complete a summer research project. The program lasted
three weeks during the month of July,
totalling about one hundred hours of
work, both in and out of the lab. The
research project involved analyzing a
type of plant called duckweed, which
is commonly found in ponds throughout New Jersey. Duckweed is unique
because it is a potential biofuel due
to its high starch content, storing up
to 70% starch, as well as its ability to
grow exponentially over a short period
of time. These notable characteristics
make duckweed extremely appealing

to scientists who look to use the plant

as a source for biofuel, however, the
first time genetic analysis of duckweed
is the most distinctive aspect of this
ground breaking research. Doing what
has never been done before, we isolated the DNA from duckweed and found
genes in the plant that were identical to
a number of genes found in the world
around us.

The connection made between
the genes found in the duckweed to
genes found in the human body prompted an in depth exploration and analysis.
The Waksman Institute gave Alex and
me the tools to investigate duckweeds
genetic coding. Over the course of the
next month we performed laboratory
experiments, attended several lectures
and completed many hours of work in

Science Section Introduction

Dear Readers,

It is with both great excitement that The Voice initiates its new Science
Section. RKYHS students and faculty routinely excel in the STEM courses,
such as engineering, coding, environmental science, and genetic engineering.
Now, we will be able to share our ideas and commence a robust dialogue concerning our scientific endeavors.

Consistent with the values of our school, and our Torah and Science
elective, we look forward to exploring the various points of intersection between science and faith. Einstein, speaking in terms that are still relevant today, said, Science without religion is lame, religion without science is blind.

the laboratory. Extracting valid DNA

required pinpoint accuracy, because
numbers used in molecular biology are
extremely small. After extracting the
DNA, we sent it to another lab to have
it sequenced. When it was returned,
we were able to analyze the DNA using a program that showed us how to
properly investigate the DNA found in
duckweed.

Beginning this school year,
a Genetic Engineering class will be
available to both Juniors and Seniors,
giving students an opportunity to participate in the prestigious STEM program in conjunction with the Waksman Institute of Microbiology. Under
the guidance and instruction of Dr.
Steven Stein, students will learn the essentials of molecular biology and con-

tinue to analyze DNA from duckweed.

The class includes hands-on laboratory
work and offers students experience in
the real world of scientific discovery.
The class will conclude with a presentation at Rutgers University where we
will present our findings to professors
at the Waksman Institute as well as the
various other schools participating in
the program. If the experiments performed demonstrate scientific significance, students will have their findings
published and then sent to genetic testing laboratories for further analysis.

This program is unlike any
science program previously offered
to Kushner students. Today, students
have the opportunity to fully immerse
themselves in the world of science and
take in all that it has to offer.

Congratulations Alex!
The Kushner Voice would like to congradulate Alexandra Lando 16 on having her findings from her summer program published. Alex, along with David Zadok,
participated in an intense three-week summer program
in which they biologically analyzed the Duckweed plant
(pictured below). Alex is the first student from Kushner
to have her analysis published!

The Voice looks forward to your contributions of original material,
criticism, reviews and opinions. The future is ours to create. Let us work together to perfect it.
Respectfully,
Benjamin Wagner
Science Section Editor
The Voice

By Anna Kaplan
If you were an
What ice cream
ANIMAL what
flavor do you feel
would you be?!?!?! best represents
YOU?!??!

What would your

LAST MEAL on
earth be?!?!

Chipmunk

Resses Peanut
Butter

Onion Rings

Mr.Bryant

British Short Haired

Cat

Becky Weisberg
18

Dog

Cant eat ice cream

since I had gastric
bypass
Chocolate Chip
Cookie Dough

Jonah Bash 17

Llama

Miriam Weintarub
15

Duck

Lonnie Rubin 18

How many licks

does it take to get
to the CENTER of
a tootsie pop?!!!??

What expression do Cupcake or

you
Brownie?!!!??
OVERUSE!!!!??

50?

Basically

Brownie

Roast Pork Egg

Foo Young

10

Dont eat Treif

Brownie

Pesto Pasta and

Kettle Corn

Ask the Owl!

Oh my G-d

Brownie

Chocolate

Steak

Classic

Cupcake

Mint Chocolate Chip

Baked Ziti and

salmon on the side
with a peanut butter
cookie on the side

A lot

Really

Cupcake