Volume 51, Issue 3 (November 2017) - The Rampage

The Rampage

The Newspaper of the Ramaz Upper School

New York • Volume 51 • Issue 3 • November 2017 • Cheshvan 5778 • the-rampage.org

Teachers as Students

Josephine Schizer ’20

Several times this year, students may have noticed more teachers in their classes than usual.

A new interdisciplinary program has been put in place for teachers to observe each other's classes.

This program originated in discussions between Ms. Krupka and Dr. Jucovy about professional development. In the past, they had received feedback from teachers that their favorite kind of professional development is learning from each other. “There is so much talent in the building,” said Ms. Krupka, but because teachers are always in their own classes, they don’t have so many chances to experience it. This program, organized and supervised by Dr. Gaylord, aims to formalize a culture of teachers learning from each other.

While Judaic Studies classes and General Studies classes don’t usually mix, with this program, General Studies teachers are observing Judaic Studies classes and vice versa. According to Ms. Krupka, the idea behind this is to “engender conversations between disciplines,” enhancing the school’s “dual curriculum culture.”

“One aspect of this process that excites me is that by observing classes in different disciplines, we can easily arrive at a more inter-

disciplinary approach in the classroom. I am excited about visiting Ms. Abramson's class on Monday, in which the students are making art in response to Emerson, whom I am teaching!” says Ms. Litwack.

The goal is to “de-emphasize content,” says Ms. Krupka. Rather, teachers should focus on other aspects of the class, such as student engagement, usage of the board and technology, asking questions, discipline, engaging students, and the tone of the class. Sometimes it is even easier for teachers to focus on these aspects if they are observing a class in a different subject (or even language!) than they teach.

“I think there is value to observations where the observers are less focused on the details of the lesson's content and can therefore focus instead on the teacher's pedagogical methods,” says Rabbi Frazer, who observed Dr. Gaylord’s English seminar class.

For Mr. Klotz, who observed Rabbi Gober’s Talmud class, “this was totally outside of my purview, [so] I could concentrate on his teaching techniques and methods to the exclusion of the content.” Mr. Perea agreed that “in Judaic Studies classes you get to observe a well guid-

Continued "Peer Dialogue: Professional Development" page 2

RAMJAM: Ramaz Celebrates the Arts Becky Tauber '19

After last year’s success, the Ramaz Upper School held Ram Jam once again—a musical celebration designed to showcase what the performing arts groups have been working on so far in the year. Ram Jam consisted of performances from the school band, dance team, guitar ensem-

the faculty and student body.

Ram Jam originally began last year as a special program to celebrate Chanukah before the holiday began over winter break.

This year, however, as Chanukah falls out in mid-December, the administration decided to make Ram Jam at the end of Novem-

performing arts in the near future, such as High School Musical, the Ramaz annual dinner, and the choir trip to Israel in February.

“Ram Jam is such an amazing opportunity for everyone at Ramaz to showcase all of their artistic talents,” said Ilana Steinmetz ’18, one of the choreographers for the

ble, choir, and chamber choir. All of the teams worked tirelessly on their pieces and cooperated with their faculty advisors to put on this show for the school. With performances such as “At Yaffa” by the chamber choir and “Havana” by the guitar ensemble, Ram Jam this year had a large range of styles that appealed to

ber around Rosh Chodesh Kislev instead. Ram Jam did not have the same theme of Chanukah this year, which gave the students an even larger opportunity to choose the pieces they wanted to share with the school. Ram Jam started the month of Kislev on a high note, and set the tone for a number of events including the

dance team. “The dance that our team performed was completely choreographed by our team itself.

It was so rewarding to be able to show off our own choreography to the entire student body.”

In addition to the Upper School watching this performance, the eighth graders from the middle school joined to watch the

Students and Faculty in Conversation

Sophia Kremer '20 and Harry Shams ’19

The Student Fac- school’s policy of wearing a ulty Administration Com- collared shirt with a sweater mittee (SFAC), which is or tie. Advocates for keeping composed of members of the status quo claimed that the G.O., student class pres- Ramaz’s dress code should idents, grade coordinators remain formal, explaining and other faculty members, that students must repremeets monthly to discuss sent the school in a positive current concerns within the light. Advocates for dressschool and propose ways code reform argued that the to resolve them. After each school should replace its sysmeeting, students and facul- tem. They believe the school ty members volunteer to take shouldn’t deter the inevitable on “follow ups” to make sure any longer – if the student that the changes are made. body refuses to follow pro This month’s meet- tocol, then protocol must ing, held on November 15, change. A potential comprobegan with a discussion mise was reached when Sarah about the school’s dress code. Issever ’18 proposed the creIn recent months, an increas- ation of polo uniforms eming number of male students broidered with Ramaz logos. have failed to abide by the This would allow students

Inside this issue...

Continued "RAMJAM." page 2

to both feel comfortable throughout the day and positively represent the school.

Next, Vice President Sarah Issever ’18 made a statement about cleanliness in the school lounges and classroom, opening up this discussion. At the end of the day, the fourth- and sixth-floor lounges are filled with trash scattered on the floor and the benches, including leftover lunch trays, empty snack bags, and water bottles. Rabbi Pianko displayed photos that had been taken on a recent school day to demonstrate the severity of the mess. The SFAC was extremely upset to see such pictures that show a

lack of respect for school property and an absence of school pride. They believed that students should feel responsible for their keeping their own environment clean. President Richie Hafif ’18 said, “the resolution to this issue is really about changing the mindset of the students. Why would you want to be here all the time surrounded by trash?”

Rabbi Stochel suggested that there needs to be “some sort of social stigma attached to leaving garbage” that will push students to be proactive. “You have to have that inner fortitude to say to a friend, ‘You just left that garbage…put it away, Continued "SFAC" page 2

The Open House and Tours...Nearing the time for eighth graders to make their high schoool decisions pages 3/9 Central Park Trip... Ramaz students take a trip to our backyard (with pictures!) page 6 Is the Scanning System Working?...Harry Shams '19 reviews the new attendance system page 10 Crossword...Solve the Rampage crossword puzzle! page 12

News 2

SFAC

continued from cover

this is our lounge, the place where we relax,’” he said.

SFAC attendees proposed ideas to combat the excessive litter, including creating a slogan or putting basketball backboards on the trash cans in order to encourage students to throw away trash.

The SFAC’s hope is that students as a whole will realize that is their responsibility to clean up the trash that surrounds their environment and the place in which they spend most of their days.

The meeting transitioned to a discussion about the sale of food after school. Richie Haffif ’18 proposed the creation of a position in the GO specifically tasked with supervising the sale of food after school. This chairperson would focus on reducing the prices of after school snacks. They would be responsible for getting the student’s opinion on what types of food should be sold. This would benefit students running to catch a long bus ride or students who have after-school clubs and do not have time to purchase food from outside.

Associate Vice President Becky Tauber ’19 shared that the Food Committee is organizing ways to provide food after school. Rabbi Slomnicki supported her efforts and

Yoni Linder '18

said, “This is something that we as a community need to do…My personal goal is to make to prices reasonable and functional.”

The next discussion centered on the new English Literary Seminar initiative, which has been met with mixed feelings.

Rabbi Stochel explained that this initiative fit in with the idea of this year being an experimental year. He specified that he was initially opposed to the seminar’s proposal, because a part of the appeal of Ramaz is that unlike in some other schools, English and History are not tracked, which ensure that the students take classes with students from other levels and enables “a cross pollination” of the student body.

Hafif commented, “The debate of literary seminar was always steered in the wrong way. It was always about which teacher you had. I personally felt that the level of challenge in the class depended on the curriculum and the year, rather than the teacher.”

Ms. Brachot, the Sophomore Grade Dean, noted that many students have expressed their satisfaction with the program.

There is a wide range of perspectives on the seminar, and at the end of the year, the school will de-

The Rampage

Peer Dialogue: Professional Development

termine whether or not it should be continued.

For the final pitch of the meeting, Paola Mattout ’19 proposed the idea that students should help organize their test schedules with either minimal or complete authority over it. She said that “class presidents should ask the students what's best for them. By them communicating with their grade, they can relieve the stress level of the students.”

She recommended that a monthly survey should be sent out where students have the option to vote on different schedules, similar to the voting system for finals. Elana Shalomoff ’18 responded that “it is very hard to accommodate every student. It is really hard to move an entire test because it then affects everything else that week.”

Naomi Freilich ’18, SFAC Chairperson, suggested having a test-schedule-option poll to incorporate a range of student ideas, while other attendees felt that it would be difficult for students to assess their schedules so far in advance.

The SFAC meeting addressed a variety of issues, and time will tell how they will be resolved and how they will play out in the Ramaz environment.

On Sunday, October 29, Jonathan Beretz ’18, Dayne Katz ’18, Yoni Linder ’18, Darbie Sokolow ’18, and Rabbi Anstandig travelled to the Schusterman Advocacy Institute High School Summit (SAIHSS).

The purpose of the summit was to teach high schoolers from across the United States how to advocate for Israel in their respective schools and universities, and especially at Capitol Hill. It also gave students an opportunity to network in the Capitol and understand the modern political scene. The summit took place in Arlington, VA, and the hotel was a stone’s throw from the Pentagon.

The first two days had two main purposes: to learn how to advocate and lobby in general, and to become educated on the issues that would be discussed. The participants learned how to advocate by talking directly to college students who are active in their Israel advocacy clubs on campus. Training on how to lobby was led by

November 2017/Cheshvan 5778

continued from cover ed discussion,” useful despite the different content.

Teachers are excited to share what they have learned through this new program. “Since the one class that I've observed was an English class in which they discussed a book, it was interesting to see how they had a lively discussion with each student just holding his/her book, without any use of the smartboard or other technology,” says Rabbi Frazer. For Mr. Perea, this was useful for the opposite reason; “I did learn a few things about the usage of the smartboard,” he said.

“Last year, I learned or relearned that with language study, physical actions, like throwing a ball to a classmate, can unify the group and keep tired kids active,” said Ms. Litwack after visiting Ms. Maccabee’s Hebrew class. Many teachers agree that sharing ideas and teaching styles can help them “pick up tips and techniques for one's

own teaching, and observe what works and what doesn't for other teachers,” as Mr. Klotz said. “Sometimes, we get so caught up in our routines that we forget that there could be other means of achieving similar ends. Sometimes, we also aren't cognizant of the ramifications of certain practices we use that a knowledgeable visitor can see,” agreed Ms. Litwack.

Other than the direct benefits in terms of teaching style, these visits “help the various teachers connect with one another and to create a community of learning among the faculty,” says Rabbi Schiowitz. “We are divided into small groups of about 3-4 teachers in each group and everyone in the group visits each other. The groups are mostly comprised of teachers in different departments, and a mix of Judaic and General Studies teachers.” This is a prime opportunity for interdisciplinary learning and communica-

RAMJAM

continued from cover show as well, further bringing the Ramaz community together to celebrate the talented students of the school.

This showed the Ramaz eighth graders the performing arts opportunities they will have if they choose Ramaz for high school. “I’m happy they brought [Ram Jam] back for a second year, and I hope they continue to have this program in the coming years,” said Isaac Merkin ’19, member of the band and guitar ensemble.

“I had a great time performing in front of my classmates, and I think the other performers did as well. I hope everyone that was in the audience had as good of a time as we did.”

The students who performed worked extremely hard in such a short period of time, and were met with loud applause and cheering by their fellow students. Following the performances, everyone was happy to see a table of candy and snacks awaiting them in the lobby, ending Ram Jam on a positive note. The program was

met with mostly positive feedback, and the idea of making Ram Jam a yearly Ramaz tradition is definitely a possibility. “My hope is that Ram Jam becomes annualized as these are the type of student experiences that bring joy, energy and Ruach to our school, both for the performers and the audience,” said Rabbi Slomnicki.

With Celebration of the Arts not taking place until June, Ram Jam proved to be a way to display the arts at school without having to wait until the end of the year. “Ram Jam is the best opportunity for students to showcase their talents to students that might not necessarily come to Celebration of the Arts,” said Amanda Koptyev, one of the singers in the choir and chamber choir. “Every team/group works so hard, and to have our friends see and appreciate that is the best feeling.”

For the freshmen, who have never experienced either Celebration of the Arts or last year’s Ram Jam,

Advocacy for Israel

former staffers on Capitol Hill, who knew the ins and outs of convincing specific congresspeople or their aides to side a particular way on a certain issue. AIPAC brought in diplomats and experienced foreign policy experts to educate the students about Israel’s neighbors and regarding basic information about the American political landscape and government.

The last day of the summit was spent on Capitol Hill, lobbying to local representatives. The person representing the Upper East Side of Manhattan was Representative Carolyn Maloney, Democrat of the 12th district of New York. She is a fierce and passionate advocate for Israel, sponsoring and co-sponsoring many bills in Israel’s interests. The students were sent out to lobby to one of her aides about three issues (virtually all of the members were at home that Tuesday). The first issue involved asking for representatives to join a bipartisan effort to repair the JCPOA, more commonly known

tion. “The discussions that happen after the visits are one of the most valuable parts of this program, fostering collegiality and building community while the teachers learn from each other,” agrees Ms. Krupka.

“I love this initiative,” says Ms. Maccabee.

For her, it has been helpful to have other teachers observing her classes because it has required her to “clarify my goals and priorities in my teaching process to myself and my observers.

It is actually [the] beginning of a process that has [the] potential to make my teaching more effective and goal oriented.”

Additionally, Ms. Krupka appreciates that this program could give teachers the tools to help their students succeed in every subject. For teachers to observe how another teacher draws out a shy student that they teach could give them ideas for how to do the same. “I think the most unexpected

as the Iran Deal. This endeavor was necessary due to President Trump’s refusal to recertify that Iran was upholding the deal, which he is congressionally mandated to do every 90 days. The second task on the list had the students thank the representatives for their votes on Hezbollah sanctions, and the third had them encourage the representatives to co-sponsor an anti-BDS bill that is currently working its way through the House of Representatives.

The Ramaz delegation spent the rest of its time touring Washington, DC, beginning with a tour of Capitol Hill by a staffer for House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), which the Ramaz AIPAC student ambassador for Representative Maloney managed to snag through networking. The connection allowed the delegation to gain access to the Speaker’s Balcony, with a breathtaking view of the National Mall. Then, the delegation went to visit the Supreme Court in the hopes of

benefit to me was seeing some of my own students in a different context than Chumash class,” says Rabbi Frazer, “The English class [that I visited] had a mix of students from two different Tanakh classes of mine, as well as students whom I don't teach. I very much enjoyed seeing students who discuss Chumash with me engaged in a discussion of a very different topic with a different classroom dynamic.”

Ryan Sands ’20 believes that the program “is a little weird because I feel as if every kid in the class is trying harder just to impress the teachers watching, so it is not a realistic class.” Maya Hoff ’20 disagrees: “During my art class, two teachers came in and participated in the class with us,” she said. “I thought that that was a very good way for the teachers to see other techniques of teaching.”

the continuation of Ram Jam for this school year was a great way to allow them to be involved and engage in this experience, becoming more comfortable performing for the whole school.

Ram Jam ultimately brought the entire Upper School together to appreciate something to which many of the students at Ramaz dedicated several hours. The idea of Ram Jam— separate performing arts groups collaborating to put on one show for the entire school—is something that is not replicated at many other schools in the area. “I thought it was really cool to see all of the performing arts groups come together,” said Hannah Dubroff ’21, one of the singers who participated in this program. “We [The choir and the band] had rehearsal every week for about an hour and a half and probably have been practicing since the beginning of the year. I really enjoyed being a part of Ram Jam and hope the school will continue it.”

having the privilege to hear oral arguments.

However, this wish was not fulfilled, because the chambers were both full and in session.

After a meal at Char Bar, a trendy restaurant nearby, students caught their final glimpses of the nation’s capital and headed home.

Jonathan Beretz ’18 had a special connection to this event, as his brother-inlaw is a staffer on Capitol Hill. He has been to the AIPAC Policy Conference before and was excited to be able to show his advocacy in person. “Having been given the opportunity to attend both AIPAC Policy Conference and the AIPAC High School Summit with Ramaz truly changed my high school experience,” he said. “I was able to meet and befriend numerous teenagers who not only shared a love for Israel with me but [also] a common goal: to strengthen the Israeli-American relationship. By getting to lobby [to] my local representative, I finally felt that I was given the ability to make the difference I had always wanted to make.”

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Tackling Immigration Policy Suzi Dweck ’19 and Becky Tauber ’19

In honor of election day, Ramaz held an assembly to discuss the issue of immigration in our country and explore two different approaches to the problem.

The assembly helped the student body understand common misconceptions about immigration, and explained different approaches to this very relevant political issue. First, the students were able to express their opinions on immigration by answering a few questions about the topic through voting. After the vote, Dr. Jucovy introduced two professors to elabo-

dent body contribute to the program by voting, Dr. Jucovy asked specific students and teachers to participate in the program and ask follow-up questions on the arguments of both debaters. These students were asked to come up with new and interesting questions for the two immigration experts. “We prepared some ideas we wanted to address, and responded to points the speakers made,” said Abigail Hubner ’18, one of the seniors involved in the questioning. “I think it was very interesting and informative that both

rate on the topic. Professor Krikorian and Professor Schuck, in a debate moderated

by Dr. Jucovy, debated different aspects of immigration policy and what exactly needs to be considered when discussing the topic. The two professors helped to explain many common misconceptions in order to further educate the students on the complicated yet important problem. After the debate, students were asked to vote again on the same questions as in the beginning, in order to see how the speakers had impacted their knowledge and viewpoints on the topic.

Professor Schuck was the more pro-immigration speaker, emphasizing the importance of immigrants in our country and believing that they contribute a vast amount to society. He argues that more immigrants should be allowed into the country and that numerous problems which many believe are linked to immigrants are in fact not.

Professor Krikorian, on the other hand, represented the more anti-immigration point of view. He agrees with some of Schuck’s arguments but ultimately believes that the United States has changed in a way to no longer need or be in a position to support mass immigration, and fewer immigrants are better.

In addition to having the stu-

sides of the debate were represented.”

One of the teachers invited to participate in the program was Mr. Lupinacci. When asked to share his thoughts about the assembly, Mr. Lupinacci explained the reason for his involvement, and what he thought about the program. “Because of my experience volunteering with Syrian refugees, I was invited to participate, along with a handful of seniors,” said Mr. Lupinacci.

“We met beforehand a couple of times and read some background information about the speakers in order to collect our thoughts and share ideas about the various views that we anticipated may be presented. I certainly think that this is an important and timely topic….However, I think we could have done a better job of preparing the students in the audience for what they were about to hear before they came into the assembly. For example, maybe the history teachers could have prepped the students in their classes the day before. By highlighting this issue, and asking the students to respond to survey clicker questions before and after the presentation, the message came across to many of the students that [when] making judgments about these kinds of complicated issues, we should do our research and consider various viewpoints.”

Esti Beck ’19

Imagine having to wake up at 5:30 AM every morning in order to make your bus that picks you up often before the sun is even visible in the sky. Then imagine how it must feel to be told that you will have to start waking up even earlier than you already do in order to make the bus that will now pick you up ten minutes earlier than it previously did. The students on the bus routes from Scarsdale, Five Towns, Queens, Brooklyn, and Riverdale/New Rochelle bus routes underwent this probably jarring experience. After buses repeatedly arrived at school well past the official time of 8:00 AM during the month of November, the administration tried to correct the latenesses by pushing up the starting time.

The issue of latenesses came to the forefront on the day of the PSAT, when the Scarsdale bus arrived at school at 8:50 AM, barely giving the juniors enough time to get to their 9:00 AM tests. Students from other grades who were on that bus were also late to their exams and classes. Although it is unclear whether it was a student or a parent who complained to the school about the loss of davening and class time, the result was the same: all commuters who used the Vallo/Supertrans bus service received an email informing them that their pickup times would be ten minutes earlier than usual. With some students already on the bus around 6:00 AM, the new policy frustrated students.

Furthermore, the change seemingly came out of nowhere for students commuting from closer locations, such as Riverdale, whose buses hadn’t been arriving late

News 3

Open House

Emily Podolsky ’19

This year’s Ramaz open house took place after Shabbat on November 11th. The open house is an annual event where eighthgrade students from many different schools come to learn about Ramaz, and gives the eighth graders a sense of what is unique about Ramaz and the remarkable opportunities the school has to offer. According to Suzi Dweck ’17, “the open house is an amazing night where students come and see what Ramaz is all about. They hear from many current students in Ramaz as well as many teachers.” With over 600 people coming, including eighth-grade students from more than 30 different schools, the main aim of the event is to get these students a n d their families familiarized with Ramaz and the many diverse options and benefits it has to offer, hopefully enabling the prospective students to find things that speak to each of them.

The night began when the prospective students checked in and received their schedules. They then proceeded to the auditorium for an opening assembly. Many of the eighth graders looked scared and overwhelmed, but as the night advanced they seemed to become more comfortable with and excited about Ramaz. The night progressed with a performance by the Ramaz Chamber Choir followed by an opening video and speeches by Rabbi Stochel and two current Ramaz students. Rabbi Stochel spoke about what it means to be a Ramaz student and what Ramaz is all about, fol-

lowed by Emily Stemp ’18 and Zachary Buller ’20. Stemp spoke about the ways Ramaz helped her achieve her goals and success. Meira Weinstock ’17 felt that “these speeches really got the students excited and were a great addition to the open house.”

After the opening assembly, the prospective students followed their student guides to classrooms where they had model lessons. Ramaz teachers in many different departments taught these lessons, enabling the eighth graders to explore whatever subject they are interested in or curious about. The parents were able to either join their children or remain in the auditorium for a student panel, where they could ask current Ramaz students any questions they had about the school and what it has to offer.

What made this year’s open house different than in previous years, and from other schools’ open houses, was the talk show that followed in the gym. The show was based on and mimicked The Today Show. Prospective students and their parents joined to watch this presentation put on by Ramaz students.

The presentation demonstrated what it is like to be a Ramaz student, exploring extra curricular life at Ramaz through a different outlet than the usual club fair. The talk show was meant to be a fun and enjoyable way to showcase the many extracurricular and student life options at Ramaz.

Commuters Complain

as consistently as the Five Towns and Scarsdale buses.

“My bus time was pushed twelve minutes earlier,” said Benjamin Klahr ’19, a Riverdale native. “I didn’t really understand why, because we were not frequently arriving late to school, and there had already been plenty of times where we had arrived ten plus minutes early.”

After an outcry, the parents of students on the affected buses received a second email from Rabbi Stochel, calling the commuters an “integral part of our vibrant school community” and apologizing for the “inconvenience” created in trying to resolve the balance between the students’ health and the importance of attending davening. All bus pickups were moved back to their original

times, save those for students in New Jersey and Great Neck, whose schedules were never altered in the first place because of their affiliation with a different bus service.

“There were many parents and students who were not pleased with the earlier pickup times, which led to the administration discussing what is the best way to proceed,” said Rabbi Slomnicki about the initial changes. “We ultimately communicated with families that until we have a solution that can accomplish all our needs in a way that is supportive of our students, we will go back to the original pickup times.”

News 4

The Rampage

November 2017/Cheshvan 5778

A Great Shabbaton: 98¾ Percent Guaranteed

Rebecca Massel ’21 and Efrat Romano ’21

From Friday, November 4, to Saturday, November 5, Ramaz ran the Freshman Shabbaton to give students an opportunity to reach out and meet others in a more relaxed setting, outside the confines of the classroom. Throughout the Shabbaton, the freshmen were not only able to work together as students, but also to be teenagers who can spend time talking and laughing together. Rabbi Slomnicki listed some of his goals for the Shabbaton as “building comradery amongst the grade, experiencing Shabbat together instead of just learning about it, and building school ruach.”

The Shabbaton began early Friday morning with davening at Ramaz.

As freshmen, senior advisers, and teachers arrived in the auditorium with heavy duffle bags, rolling suitcases, and hanging bags, students felt the excitement building. After davening, the grade boarded two buses to begin their weekend away.

After an hour-long drive, the buses arrived at the Bogota Golf Center in New Jersey. This sports center offers golf, mini golf, batting cages and bankshot basketball. Those who did not participate in sports were able to relax and have snacks in the lounge area. Many students felt that beginning the weekend at the Golf Center allowed them to connect with each other through an activity, making it easier to meet kids whom they might not otherwise have befriended. Daniella Norman ’21 described her experience at the golf range and said, “None of us really knew how to golf, so it was a learning experience that we all had together. In the same way, in high school we are all in the same boat—we didn't know what high school would be about, but we are helping each other figure it out.”

The grade then travelled to the Berkeley Oceanfront Hotel in New Jersey.

The freshmen were pleased with the beautiful hotel and were further impressed after hearing from the senior advisers that the Berke-

Samantha Sinensky ’21

Recently, Ramaz has taken steps towards a greener future by initiating a drive for all lulavim and etrogim. Following Sukkot, the Environmental Club and Ms. Benel introduced the drive, which called for community members to contribute their four species for the purpose of tikkun olam, rather than simply discard them. Ramaz students and parents received an email after the chag, asking them to donate their lulavim in order to be composted.

The school worked on this project with an organization called Adamah, which has a Jewish, organic farm in Falls Village, Connecticut. Adamah is involved in agricultural methods such as crop rotating, cover cropping, drip irrigating, constructing habitats for pollinating insects, and especially composting. Adamah composts over 100 pounds of food materials each day, with the specific goal of returning organic material back to the earth.

ley was a major upgrade from the infamous hotel used for the Senior Shabbaton last year.

Pre-Shabbat Ruach, a time of welcoming in the approaching Shabbat, took place an hour before candle-lighting. If a picture is worth a thousand words, this hour filled up a textbook. A sizable number of freshman girls posed for pictures and selfies with old friends and new ones.

At the same time, the senior advisors were taking pictures to have memories of their own Ramaz friendships, many of which had been cultivated on their Freshman Shabbaton. As senior adviser Hanna Sholes ’18 predicted, “Your friends from high school are your friends for life!” After the photo session, the grade sang and danced to upbeat Jewish songs. As the boys’ moshpit heated up, the girls circled round and round. According to Tammy Palagi ’21, the girls’ dancing was “full of ruach and fun, which I have never experienced before.”

After Kabbalat Shabbat and Maariv, Dr. Aharon introduced the weekend with a speech about the annual Shabbaton theme: “Our Many Colors: Dr. Seuss’ Stories.” Rabbi Dov Pianko was the impetus for choosing this theme; he explained, “I am a self-appointed Dr. Seuss historian. I have read every book written

by Dr. Seuss and love his style of writing and messages extrapolated from his works. I think that everyone should be exposed to his wonderful style of writing and get in touch with their inner child.”

The Shabbaton offered three sessions which shared lessons from three different Dr. Seuss stories. The freshmen were randomly split into six groups to facilitate the formation of new friendships. The first session was based on the book Green Eggs and Ham. After reading the book, the group discussed a distate for the unfamiliar and spoke about how at first somebody might not want to meet new friends, but after meeting somebody, that person may

change his or her mind. Groups split up into pairs and discussed all of the different character traits that the individual freshmen have. During another session, the grade read What Was I Scared of? and explored its theme of fearing the unknown. Taylor Roslyn ’21 described this lesson, saying, “The book showed me how high school seems different and scary, but once you get to know it, it's really wonderful and amazing, and you get to make amazing friends.” In the last lesson, students addressed when it is appropriate to be stubborn and to stick to one’s beliefs by exploring the story The Zax. Avigail Dupont ’21 was impressed by the level of discussion and said, “I never thought that the Dr. Seuss stories had a deeper meaning.”

During Friday-night dinner, Freshman Class President Caitlin Levine ’21 gave an eloquent and inspiring speech about being an “Eitan,” or someone brave, just like Avraham Avinu. After dinner and the second session, the grade participated in a lively tisch full of singing and many desserts.

The next morning, on Shabbat, the grade attended davening, followed by a delicious kiddush and the last of the Dr. Seuss sessions. During lunch, Aaron Zanger ’21 gave a spirited dvar torah. In the afternoon, the grade davened a Sephardi Mincha. The Sepharadi students were excited to daven in their traditional style, and Ashkenazim found learning about the Sephardi davening to be very interesting. Jake Slochowsky ’21 thought that “it was great to experience, to participate in both cultures.” The rest of the day was free for the freshmen to stroll on the boardwalk or hang out at the hotel.

The school brought many board games and card games; the game Anomia was a big hit.

As the sun began to set, the group ate seuda shlishit and sang Shabbat zemirot in a big circle. Senior Advisor Brianna Rubinstein ’18 said the best part for her was “coming full circle—seeing the other side of how a Shabbaton works and how little [the freshmen]

are.” After Maariv, the grade returned to the ballroom to find it dark with disco lights.

Daniella Symonds ’21 described the campstyle Havdalah, songs, and dancing as “LIT!”

Once Shabbat concluded, Rabbi Stochel announced the tragic passing of Albert Missry ’15 a”h. This devastating news shook the grade and affected everyone, even if they had not known Albert. A number of freshmen and seniors who had been close with Albert or his family went home after heaing the traumatic announcement.

It took some time for the grade to recompose. The Shabbaton continued with a night activity of bowling. While the mood of the entire grade was dampened, the freshmen tried to enjoy the end of the weekend.

Prior to the Shabbaton, Rabbi Stochel had informed the freshmen during a lunch meeting that the use of alcohol or drugs on the Shabbaton would result in expulsion. With no apparent infractions, the freshmen properly heeded the school’s warning. Mrs. Bernfeld supported these warnings and said, “I think that school events should be a safe, fun event so people can enjoy themselves and not feel pressured to participate in activities which will hurt them physically and have a punitive effect from the school. I think that we have to constantly tell people that [engaging in these activites is] not only going to get them in trouble but also have physical and physiological effects on them.”

Freshman Grade Coordinator Dr. Aharon was pleased with the result of the Shabbaton, and on Saturday night, she posted on Schoology, “We hope that you continue the themes of our Shabbaton by being your true self and treasuring your friendships.” Many freshmen felt that their first ever Ramaz Shabbaton had been an exciting and fun-packed weekend that would function as the beginning of new friendships and a newfound connection between members of the grade.

Lulavim Save The Planet Composting essentially consists of recycling organic matter into the land, and over time, the matter decomposes with the help of microorganisms such as bacteria and fungi. The decomposed matter serves as a natural fertilizer and produces rich soil ideal for farming, which farmers nickname “Black Gold.”

Composting benefits the environment by reducing emissions of greenhouse gases, such as methane, nitrous oxide, ozone and carbon dioxide, which all contribute to global warming.

Composting also enhances environmental health by decreasing soil erosion, which occurs when the Earth’s top layer of soil

gets worn down due to wind and constant running water. The effects of erosion do not allow the soil to store and collect water and other essential nutrients. Composting thus can have a profound effect on environmental stability and sustain-

a b i l i t y .

Many students were excited to donate their lulavim and etrogim for this cause. Adam Vasserman ’21 said, “I feel happy and grateful that my lulav and etrog are making a positive impact on the planet and being disposed of in an eco-friendly and respectable manner.” Emanuel Dicker

’18 added, “It makes me feel great that I'm able to make at least a small change in this giant world.” Other students gave credit to their parents for their contributions to the drive.

Faculty members participated as well. When asked why he thought the lulav drive was so important, Rabbi Dov Pianko said, “I thought it was important to take items which were used for a mitzvah, and to be able to do another mitzvah with them. I admit that my thinking comes from sources in the Torah, Talmud and Shulchan Aruch (Rashi in Bereishit 23:17; Mishna Berura 21:6; Shulchan Aruch HaRav §12), that specifically endorse recycling as a mitzvah. I was happy to do my part.

I hope that programs such as these take root in the way people think about their mitzvah performance.”

Mr. Elan Margulies, Director of Education at the

Isabella Freedman Jewish Retreat Center, which is associated with Adamah, is also of the opinion that Judaism and environment sustainability should go hand in hand. “At Isabella Freedman, they build a sukkah with local materials, use locally grown food to celebrate the agricultural aspect of the holiday, and focus on the four minim as an agricultural product,” he said. “Composting plays a big part in all the above to create a rich harvest.”

Ramaz’s lulavim were composted along with other materials at Isabella Freedman, where they improved the fertility of the soil. Margulies expressed his gratitude and said, “It is wonderful that Ramaz gave the proper respect to these holy objects. It is beautiful to see the full cycle of plants.”

However, he explained that the Ramaz students should not think that recycling their lulavim is the extent of their ability to help the environment. “There are 1,000 things that we can

do in our own lives—being kind to each other and the world,” Margulies said. “In the future, we are planning on incorporating lulavim into basket weaving to provide another use for this material after Sukkot. It is also important to identify waste products such as containers, [as is] thinking about the welfare and sources of meat.

It is important to get outside and connect with God’s creation: the Earth. Ramaz can also take part in Hazon Seal, an educational branch affiliated with Adamah that provides the opportunity for institutions to become greener and sustain energy. Many institutions want to help the environment, but are unsure where to start. Hazon Seal provides tips and advice on how to make your establishment a greener place.”

Whatever members of the Ramaz community choose to do, there are many ways in which they can help out.

November 2017/Cheshvan 5778

Driving Dangers

Suzi Dweck '19

Because sending a text is so routine in our daily lives, people often don’t associate it with danger. However, when one is doing this from behind a wheel, sending that one message can be extremely hazardous and even life-threatening. Because many of the juniors are beginning to take driver's ed, the school felt that it was essential to educate the class of 2019 about the risks and responsibilities that come with driving. Texting while driving is considered one of the riskiest types of driver distraction. When one takes his or her eye off of the road for even five seconds, he or she becomes over twenty times more likely to get into an accident.

The juniors gathered for an assembly where they watched videos explaining the dangers of texting while driving and heard

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stories of real instances when this terrible habit caused severe and deathly accidents.

Three juniors even came forward to tell a personal story relating to the topic of distracted drivers. Students were speechless and in tears as they listened to the horrific stories.

Danya Jacobs ’19 discussed her experience by saying, “The assembly was not only moving, but I now have such a better understanding of the dangers of texting while driving. The assembly has prompted me to always be extra careful when stepping into any vehicle, because I am now aware of the repercussions and effects it can have on me and those around me.”

Addressing this topic to the students was meant to ensure that as they learn to drive, they will be mindful of driving safely and will not give into the temptation to pick up their cell phones.

Junior Retreat Rescheduled

Natalie Kahn ’19

If you were given the choice between going on junior retreat, a small respite from the incredible stress of junior year, and taking the March SAT, which could potentially permanently alleviate the bucket load of anxiety that comes with standardized test prep, which would you choose? That would have been a decision a significant amount of juniors would have had to make this March. The junior retreat was originally scheduled to take place from Thursday, March 8, to Saturday night, March 10, and the SAT is Sunday, March 11.

While there technically would have been no time conflict, school retreats aren’t the ideal places to rest and prepare for an intense test day. “We went to sleep at three, and they pulled us out of bed by eight,” says Netanel Kamel ’18, who went on the retreat last year. Not only would juniors not be sleeping very much during the retreat, but they would also return late Saturday night, the night before the test. This very same Saturday night juniors return, March 10, is also the night the clocks are moved forward an hour. “We probably got back to Ramaz around eleven at night,” says Hanna Sholes ’18. That would mean getting home no earlier than 11:30 and waking up no later than 7 am, 6 am without the time change, to take the SAT.

“The retreat is one of the best times to connect with people in your grade and take a break from schoolwork. Junior year is the year when people take their SATs, so of all grades, why would the administration choose to make the junior retreat the week of the SAT? Why not senior or sophomore?” asks Jonah Berman ’19.

When originally confronted about the issue, the administration responded that March isn’t generally a time when many juniors take the SAT. “We were aware of the

issue,” says Rabbi Slomnicki, junior Grade Dean, “but we actually encourage kids not to begin taking the SAT till May or June, and we’ve found that in the past, there were barely any juniors taking the test in March.”

“Even if there are only five kids taking it then, it’s still not fair to put those kids in a position to miss out on one of the highlights of junior year,” says Ayelet Monas ’19.

However, the junior class presidents, Isaac Merkin ’19 and Tom Shemia ’19, took the initiative to give the administration hard evidence that there were enough kids planning on taking the test in March to move the retreat. According to a Facebook poll, more than ten juniors said it was likely they would be taking the test in March.

“The administration made a mistake by scheduling the retreat for that weekend,” says Isaac Merkin ’19. “However, they have owned up to it and have been open to changing the date.”

According to class president Tom Shemia ’19, Rabbi Slomnicki met with Rabbi Dov Pianko and Rabbi Sklarin on Friday, November 17, to discuss the potential change.

Changing the retreat was no easy logistical feat, between Purim, Pesach, and President’s Day vacation, but the retreat has officially been moved to February 22-February 24, the week after President’s Weekend. Even though a few days right after a long break isn’t the ideal time to have a retreat, having it then is better than many students having to miss it altogether.

“At least I can take that one stress off my plate, knowing that March is open for me to take the SAT,” says Yonatan Weitzner ’19, “and that I can still enjoy junior retreat, a great time to socialize and retreat from the stress of SATs rather than worry about them.”

Chamber Choir's Busy November

News 5

Sophomore Trip to the UN Hannah Doft ’20

Ever year, on the anniversary of Kristallnacht, the school runs programing in order to educate the students about this event, viewed by many to be a beginning of the Holocaust, and its repercussions.

This year, on November 9th, the sophomore grade was taken to the UN in order to commemorate the day. The program at the UN, “From Desperation to Inspiration,” was specifically focused on the 70th anniversary of the Anne Frank Diary. Students watched a short documentary on the life of Anne Frank and her diary, analyzed quotes from her diary, and then were asked to compare the crisis of the Jews during the Holocaust to the current Syrian refugee crisis. “Overall I thought the trip was a really good experience. The program was interesting, and it was cool to be able to walk through the UN to get to the actual program,” said Cayla Todes ’20. “It was also cool to sit in the official room of the UN.”

During the program, students had the opportunity to try to relive the experience of Anne Frank through her diary and also watched a short documentary about her life. “My favorite part of the whole program was the movie about Anne Frank. It was a really well-done film,” said Beth Kahn ’20.

Analyzing the quotes was more of an interactive experience for the students. A quote from Anne’s diary was read by a student from one of the New York area schools present, and then everyone was asked to think about what the quote was about, the emotions that were being expressed, and what messages one could take from the quote. Quotes that were picked included Anne’s worries about her friends, what she thought what was happening during the war, and her current living situation in hiding. “It was interesting to see how people of all different backgrounds interpreted these quotes by Anne Frank. I did, however, find it a little repetitive after a while, and found that it was not necessarily anything new that what we have not yet learned about the Holocaust in school,” said So-

phia Kremer ’20. “Overall, I do think the program could have been shortened.”

During the last part of the program, students were informed about the current Syrian Refugee crisis and how it relates to the Holocaust. The UN stressed how similar these two situations are. This upset many students. “I did not like the analogy the UN made between the Jews during the time of the Holocaust and the current situation of the Syrian refugees.

Times are different than back then, and the UN seemed pretty biased towards one side,” said a student who chose to remain anonymous. “It is clear that the UN overall is just against Jews. Even walking the halls they had posters hanging about Palestine.”

Students were later asked to use what was talked about during the program and write one thing they would say to a friend or family member if they talk about refugees as “the other,” as different or dangerous, or as “not like us.” “We were once refugees, but times have changed. I am not saying we should not take in refugees from other countries, but we have to be more careful with whom we allow into the country in order to avoid violence. When admitting refugees into the country it should be taken into account past records, and family situations, for example,” said Gabi Potter ’20.

Natalie Trump ’20 disagreed with Potter and said, “Even if people of different ethnicities, genders, or religions seem so different from us, on the inside, the truth is that they are not. All parents share the same dream for their children to live happy lives. It does not matter where they came from, the only difference between us and refugees is that we take all the privileges we were born into for granted, while they work much harder to gain privileges.”

While many students agreed that the program could have been shortened by at least an hour, they enjoyed the opportunity to leave the classroom setting and learn at the UN.

Yoni Linder '18

November has been a busy month for the Chamber Choir, which performed in several concerts over the course of four days, beginning with the Chamber Choir Shabbaton and culminating in Ram Jam. Choir members spent their Shabbaton on the Upper West and East Sides of Manhattan, and they kicked off the weekend at the Jewish Center on the West Side, with a Carlebach-style Kabbalat Shabbat. The shul was hosting dinner for the families in the community, and Chamber Choir performed during the dinner. The choir also debuted one of its new songs, “Odecha,” by Salomone Rossi, a composer from the 1570s.

Choir has always prided itself on having a diverse repertoire of songs and pieces, as evidenced by the choice of this song. Follow-

ing the dinner, Choir went to an Oneg at the house of Avi Solomons ’18, where the students were able to socialize and sing both Ashkenaz and Sephardi tunes for zemirot, followed by the first of many relaxed rehearsals that would take place over Shabbat.

The following morning, Choir sang at Darkhei Noam Synagogue on the West Side. As a partnership minyan, Darkhei Noam is an Orthodox minyan that allows women to lead parts of the service that do not require a minyan, as supported by halachic sources. After Mussaf, the choir performed for the congregation, and it was a very young and energetic crowd, which fed into the excitement of the performance. Following the performance, the choir received a good workout by crossing Central Park

and heading to Elizabeth Newman-Corré’s house for a delicious lunch and fresh-baked vegan chocolate cake. After more rehearsal, Chamber was provided with some free time to play games and to enjoy each other’s company. These moments allowed for a close bond to form between the singers. “I got closer to a lot of people that I enjoy being around,” said singer Cameryn Guetta ’19.

Following their free time, Chamber went to Mincha and seudah shlishit at Kehilath Jeshurun (KJ). The choir enjoyed performing on the East Side with a familiar audience. In departure from previous years, the Shabbaton had no Motzei Shabbat activity due to a full-day rehearsal and concert that would take place the next day.

That Sunday, Chamber performed

at a star-studded concert for the AMIT dinner in Chelsea Piers. It included many talented performers, including Tony-nominated actress Jenn Colella, Michael Lee Brown, who is an understudy for the title role of Dear Evan Hansen, and Blair Goldberg, an actress in Kinky Boots. Chamber sang “You Will Be Found” from Dear Evan Hansen, with solist Michael Lee Brown, and “There’s A Place For Us,” by Carrie Underwood, with soloist Blair Goldberg. Overall, the students really enjoyed making their investments in all of these concerts. Guetta said, “It was all really fun and definitely worth all of the hard work we put in to make all the songs sound perfect. 10 out of 10; would do again!”

News 6

Josephine Schizer '20

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November 2017/Cheshvan 5778

Central Park: Our Backyard

“So fun. Amazing.

Such a good experience,” said Jacob Missry ’20 of the recent “choose your own adventure” trip to Central Park on October 25. Students spent the afternoon in Central Park, en-

thing for everyone to enjoy.”

“When I was a freshman, the G.O. established this trip for the first time, and it was a huge success,” said Tauber. “The school always talks about how Central Park is our

gaging in a variety of activities of their choosing, including art in the park, a bike tour, a history-related scavenger hunt, ice skating, sports, a trip to the zoo, and a Central Park photo safari. That afternoon, seas of blue winter hats with pom-poms and ram decals were seen bobbing throughout the park as students sported the new swag that the G.O. had distributed for the trip.

“We wanted students to take a bit of ownership over this experience,” said Rabbi Dov Pianko, explaining the idea of having electives for the trip. “We have found that when we give students choices, they are happier than [when] being forced to do one thing. Obviously, this is not always possible, but when we can, we will.” G.O. member Becky Tauber ’19 agreed that “the best part about the trip [was that] there [were] so many options; there is some-

backyard, so it's important to get the whole school out there once in a while and be exposed to what the city is really about.

I don't know why the trip didn't happen last year, but it was important to this year's G.O. to make sure it did.”

“We planned it because we think it's important for students (and faculty) to have some time in which they can simply relax and enjoy time together with their friends outside of the building,” added Rabbi Pianko.

“Our school is two blocks from Central Park, so [we’ve] got to make the most of that.”

G.O. member Paola Mattout ’19 saw the trip as “a way for students to interact with each other and get out of the work environment for a little.” Mattout evaluated the trip as a whole and said, “I thought this year’s trip was very successful. I think the students really enjoyed getting out of

Natalie Trump '20

the building and just having a good time with their friends!”

Students seemed to agree with this assessment.

“I liked how we finally got a chance to get out of the building,” said Gabriella Davidson ’20, who chose to visit the zoo. “It was nice just hanging out with my friends, playing football and baseball,” said Judah Wahba ’20 of his sports elective. “It was relaxing.” “I thought it was good to get out of school and have some fun,” said Sam Deutsch ’20, who went ice skating.

For juniors, the excursion was slightly shorter, as they were still taking their PSATs at the beginning of the

a 7th-period lunch. While the trip served as a break from the frequently stressful PSATs, many juniors wished that they could have been given extra time to enjoy themselves.

“I played basketball and I thought it was pretty fun, but the juniors should have been given more time to play after taking the PSAT,” commented Yonatan Weitzner ’19.

Rabbi Pianko would like to have more trips like this one in the future. “We want to take advantage of our location in NYC even more than we have in the past,” he said. “We are always looking for new and creative ideas to enhance the student experience. Tell your

"We want to take advantage of our location in NYC even more than we have in the past...We are always looking for new and creative ideas to enhance the student experience."

-Rabbi Pianko trip. While most students left for the trip after eating lunch 6th period, juniors finished their PSATs during 6th period and left for the park after

G.O. representatives (class presidents or schoolwide) or come over to myself or Rabbi Slomnicki (if you have ideas).”

Ramaz Goes Pink

October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and, like many other schools across the country, Ramaz had a Pink Day to raise money and awareness on Friday, October 27. Earlier that week, the school strongly en-

including tattoos, hats, pins, donuts, necklaces, challot, and bandanas to raise money.

They also distributed Hershey kisses with pink wrappers, and the lobby was decorated with signs and stars.

All of the money

couraged everyone to wear pink clothing and accessories on this day, and many teachers and students did. Throughout the day, students sold breast cancer/pink-themed items

raised was donated to The American Cancer Foundation and to Sharsheret, a support organization for Jewish women with breast cancer and their families. Sharsheret was

founded by Rochelle Shoretz z”l, a sister of three Ramaz alumni, and the Pink Day programs at Ramaz were dedicated to Rochelle’s memory.

Seniors heard from Dr. Nicole Agus, co-founder and former director of the Program for Jewish Genetic Health at Einstein and founder of the website MyJewishGeneticHealth.com. In the spirit of Pink Day, Dr. Agus spoke about the importance of awareness and activism.

In addition to buying all of the pink-themed prizes, many students enjoyed the spirit of Pink Day and the atmosphere that it brought to the school. Josephine Schizer ’20 said that “it’s really nice that the school gives us opportunities to support important causes like this, and Pink Day was a really fun way to do it. It was a great way to raise awareness for such a wide-

spread issue while at the same time bringing a fun vibe to an otherwise regular Friday.”

Not only did students find Pink Day exciting, but it also proved to be very effective in raising money and awareness. Orli Fouzailoff ’18, president of the Chesed Club, said that along with getting so many kids into the spirit of Pink Day, “we also raised over $800, which is crazy.”

Beth Kahn ’20 said “I was actually surprised at how successful Pink Day was. All my friends and I wore pink and bought the fun prizes.

Breast cancer awareness is such an important cause and I think the school really did a good job at putting together a spirited day to raise money and awareness.” Rabbi Dov Pianko agreed that “it was successful and it raised awareness.”

November 2017/Cheshvan 5778

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News 7

Spirit Week Caitlin Levine '21

Ramaz was filled with energy and excitement out” spirit night began at 6:10 with a special program as the G.O. organized another successful annual spirit commemorating Sam Gyenes, a former Ramaz student who tragically passed away while a student at Ramaz. Spirit night was followed by a doubleheader of boys’ basketball as the JV and Varsity squads played

week. From November 14 to November 17, students participated in multiple fun activities and donned their Ramaz-themed clothing. The GO organized themed days, such as “wear a sports jersey day” or “wear Ramaz colors day” in order to provide variety to the week. Exams were rearranged to allow for some schoolwide fun.

It all began on Tuesday, November 14, as students entered the building in full Ramaz gear and joined together for a PM assembly. The assembly included a humorous video featuring a few seniors and teachers and ended with a schoolwide dodgeball game.

After the game, the students were treated to donuts.

On Wednesday, students wore blue and gold and were dismissed at 3:45. To conclude the day, “blue-

games against their crosstown rivals, the Heschel Heat.

There was also a raffle with prizes including the creative “get out of detention free” pass, lunch sponsored by the Varsity Boys Basketball Team captains, and free Ramaz apparel.

As an added treat, refreshments were served, including pizza and ice cream. Attendance at the basketball games of spirit night was the highest it had been this academic year, and the evening was definitely a hit among the students. Max Jankovitz ’21 said, “It

was really great seeing all these people show up to support Ramaz at the basketball games.” Despite a valiant effort on the parts of both Ramaz teams, the varsity team lost while the JV team was victorious.

The following day, Thursday, the spirit continued as students wore sports jerseys to school. After school ended, some attended an energy-filled girls JV basketball game and boys varsity hockey game against North Shore Academy. The week of spirit concluded on Friday, which was “wear a Ramaz baseball hat day.”

Spirit week was a great way to show school pride and infuse the school’s atmosphere with some fun. Cayla Todes ’20 said, “It was a really fun week, and I’m happy that the G.O. organized it the way they did!” Alex Zemmel ’21 agreed, saying that it was fun being able to show school spirit. Students felt that all the activities and dress code recommendations really added to the week. Let's go Ramaz!

Senior Science Speakers Emily Stemp '18 The seniors in the honors science classes strayed from their usual class agenda on two separate days to hear from esteemed Israeli professors Goren Gordon and Alon Wolf about their current research in the field of robotics.

Professor Gordon, who has a PhD in quantum physics and neuroscience, a BA in medicine, and an MBA, was the first to present his research. Gordon currently works at the Curiosity Lab at Tel Aviv University, where he conducts research using robots and analyzes their similarities to the intellectual capacity of human infants.

His goal is to translate his understanding of robots into a deeper understanding of babies and how their learning and curiosity develop. As Gordon said, “In order to truly understand something, you need to be able to build it,” and that is clearly a guiding principle behind his research.

Gordon and his team programmed robots to learn new information by creating digital codes that set “information” equal to “reward.” A robot would attempt to learn as much as possible to acquire information, which it was trained to understand as “reward.” Gordon called this code the “curiosity algorithm,” which he believes is intrinsically present in infants and is the basis from which infants learn and develop. Additionally, Gordon and his team discovered that curiosity is actually conta-

gious. When they placed robots who followed the curiosity algorithm among normally functioning children, the children were likewise inspired to gain knowledge.

Based on the similarity that Gordon discovered in the way robots and infants learn, he plans to use robots to train parents and educators. Child-simulating robots can be extremely useful for parents, for developing better parenting techniques, and for early childhood educational centers, where they can foster curiosity among their living, breathing peers. Gordon and his team are optimistic about the possibilities created by robots that learn.

The second speaker to address the seniors was Professor Alon Wolf, PhD, of the Technion, the Israel Institute of Technology, who was also cofounder of the Medrobotics Corporation. Professor Wolf’s study of robotics is focused on how robots

are used in medical settings and as an aid for search-and-rescue teams. Robots have been revolutionary in ensuring safe and effective surgeries that require precise placement of screws into the spine. If inserted incorrectly, these screws can cause severe damage to the patient, possibly even paralysis. Automatic robots, however, are mathematically programmed to insert the screws in the correct position, eliminating human error and saving the quality of life for thousands of patients.

Professor Wolf’s study of robotics goes beyond the realm of medicine. Wolf and his team created a one-of-a-kind snakelike robot that acts as a critical aid to searchand-rescue teams. This robot has a camera and various sensors attached to its “head,” which it uses as it pushes through debris and small crevices to detect signs of life. Hundreds of lives were saved due to the use of this invention. Many world leaders, includ-

ing President Obama and Bibi Netanyahu, have praised this invention and even held the same robot that Ramaz students were able to hold, allowing them to analyze its complex wiring up close. Many students were inspired and greatly appreciative of this opportunity.

Ms. Brachot, chair of the science department at Ramaz, is responsible for bringing in these speakers. “We chose to have the senior honors science students hear them because we wanted an audience that would all be interested in the subject, and all of these students chose to take honors science when science isn't mandatory,” she said. “In hindsight, had we known they would be such interesting and inspirational talks, we would have had an even larger audience. I'm glad that a large portion of the senior class heard the talks, because many of them might be considering robotics as a major in college, and both talks portrayed various uses of robots today.”

Both speakers were well received by the students. Will Besharim ’18 said, “It amazes me that Professor Gordon and Professor Wolf, who spend most work days pioneering new applications for robotics to better the world, came to speak to highschool seniors about their work. Between the two of them, there was something for everyone, and teachers as well as students seemed astonished on their way out.”

Features

The Rampage • November 2017

Interview with Dr. Fabio Nironi William Kremer '21

This year Ramaz welcomed Dr. Fabio Nironi back to the Math Department. After leaving for a few years following one year of teaching math at Ramaz, Dr. Nironi has returned to teach both freshman geometry and sophomore algebra.

ecdotes about your high school experience?

A: NO. High school was a five-year-long nightmare; I’d rather not talk about it. I did have a blast though in college and graduate school.

Q: You have had many years of experience in other schools. What are your impressions of Ramaz, and how is it different or similar?

A: I have taught college for years. The major difference that you notice right away coming to Ramaz is the sense of community. Most universities in the US are very competitive environments, and students tend to be very isolated. Ramaz is also a competitive environment, but students seem to support each other.

Q: Where did you receive your doctorate in math, and in what field of math is it?

A: I graduated from SISSA in Trieste (Italy). It’s an international graduate center close to the border with Slo-

Q: Which subject do you find the most interesting to teach, and which do you most enjoy?

A: I come from algebraic geometry, so I always wanted to teach a course in elementary geometry. More specifically, I always wanted to teach a course that mirrored Euclid’s Elements. It is not exactly what I am doing here, but I would say it is close enough.

Q: What is the most unusual question that a student has asked you so far this year?

A: “Do I get points off if I write radiuses?”

The response was: No, but I will silently judge you.

Q: Can you share with us a few interesting an-

Zachary Buller '20

"Social media has played a very major role in reducing the attention span of the average student.

Success in mathematics requires the ability to focus on a single task for a very prolonged time." venia. My major area of expertise is algebraic geometry and, to be even more specific, most of my research was dedicated to moduli spaces of algebraic structures.

Q: What do you think are the most widespread challenges faced by students today?

A: The first challenge that comes to mind is the advent of technology in the classroom. Cell phones and electronic

devices in general are often a huge distraction in the classroom. Even more specifically, I think that social media has played a very major role in reducing the attention span of the average student. Success in mathematics requires the ability to focus on a single task for a very prolonged time.

Q: What is your favorite app?

A: According to my phone it is the ebay app, which I use to purchase cheap, knock-off technology from China.

Q: How do you enjoy spending your time outside of working at Ramaz?

A: At the moment, Robotics is my major hobby, but realistically I spend more time playing video games. I am also a high school student in Second Life.

Q: How does math helps us understand the world outside, and what do you see as the most interesting applications of mathematics in our society today?

A: My first love was physics and not mathematics. I have always been interested in those branches of mathematics that strictly relate to physics. Today, physics uses all the mathematics that is available to us, plus some of the math that has not yet been created. And even biology and neuroscience are absorbing more and more from math. With that being said, I feel like the pc (politically correct) answer would be “artificial intelligence.”

Student-Teacher Conferences

At the end of first quarter, students have the opportunity to have one-on-one conversations with their teachers during the annual student-teacher conferences. While students are encouraged to reach out to their teachers at any point throughout the school year for whatever reason they may have, these conferences constitute the first (and only) time in the year when students are required to meet with their teachers and check in to find out how they are doing. Throughout the day of the conferences, students can be found on a scavenger hunt throughout the building, running from classroom to classroom to try to meet with all of their teachers.

Since the day may often seem frenetic, the importance of the individual meetings is often overlooked. Nevertheless, Mrs. Krupka found that there is something extremely valuable that one can gain from the conferences. “I think that the faceto-face, one-on-one time with every student is really important,” she said. “Even if you think you know where you have to improve or if you’re doing well, and the

Gail Hafif '20

Due to her lifelong passion for sculpting, Michal Rahabi ’20 decided that this year was as good a time as ever to create Sculpting Club. Rahabi began the process of creating this club along with her faculty advisor, Ms. Rabhan, and her goal was “to bring a new aspect of art and sculpting to the school.”

Sculpting Club meets every other Wednesday after school, an arrangement that is designed to make the club more relaxed. Rahabi doesn't want people to feel pressured to have to come, but rather she wants them to come out of their own free wills and their excitement to continue with their projects.

The club’s projects are unique, and Rahabi emphasized the ways in which her version of sculpting is different from the sculpting

teacher just says that to you, just hearing it in person is really important. It helps build the student-teacher relationship.”

Many feel that student-teacher conferences can therefore play a crucial role in developing the relationship that each student has with each of his or her teachers, as it forces a constructive conversation and

"The students and the teachers are on the same team" -Ms. Krupka, Dean of Faculty check-in to ensure that both the student and the teacher are on the same page. If a student is having a problem and has not yet reached out to the teacher for assistance, student-teacher conferences allow the student and the teacher to work together to brainstorm a strategy that can solve the problem.

While some students address any problems they may have, others may simply get ac-

knowledgment, which many students believe to be valuable in and of itself. Natalie Kahn ’19 said, “Regardless of how completely necessary they are, they are a confidence boost for the students in subjects where they excel and a good time to discuss their worries in classes where they aren’t doing so well.”

However, while student teacher conferences are very important for both the teachers and the students, there tend to be some organizational issues in its orchestration. Because there are no sign-up sheets or scheduled meeting times, students are forced to wait on long lines for each of their teachers. This causes the students to wait on line for hours during the day, while they are only meeting with each of their teachers for a few minutes. Some students believe that because everyone is stressed and wants to finish their conferences, the teachers feel that they have to move quickly through every student to help manage the stress, making the meetings with the teachers counterproductive. Many students feel that the atmosphere is a nuisance, including Elizabeth

Newman-Corre ’20, who said, “The lines at student-teacher conferences are incredibly frustrating and create an environment that is not conducive to honest and efficient communication between students and teachers. In fact, the distress caused to the students and their desire to move through conferences quickly causes conferences to be rushed and unhelpful.” Kahn agreed and said, “I can only describe that day as chaos.

Some teachers’ lines can take 45 minutes.

As high schoolers, we should be trusted to organize our own conferences with time slots as is done with parent-teacher conferences. It would be much more efficient.”

Ms. Krupka acknowledged the students’ complaints and said, “I do think that it (student-teacher conferences) can be a bit more organized and I’m happy to experiment a bit with it. However, I do see that 99 percent of students end up seeing all their teachers. I know no one likes to wait, but it’s part of the way it has to work.” As for using a sign-up sheet, she said, “It might be interesting to experiment with a ‘sign up’ a lot of time and effort, which are skills that like we do for parent-teacher conferences.” can even be used in everyday school life.”

However frustrating student-teacher conferences may be for some students, the faculty and many students find them to be very important in strengthening the student-teacher relationship and making sure that any problems students or teachers may have do not go unresolved.

During the schoolwide tefillah on the day of student-teacher conferences, Ms. Krupka said, “The students and the teachers are on the same team,” explaining that it is important that the students and the teachers realize this and understand that constructive conversation and working together as a unit is paramount for success.

Sculpting Club norms. “In my club we sculpt with rocks,” said Rahabi, “and not the normal or assumed way, which is with clay. It teaches students how to understand objects on a 3D scale and how to create their own spin on something as simple as a rock and make it their own.”

Rahabi’s hope is that her club will inspire more individuality and creative license. “I want the students of Ramaz to enhance their artistic creativity on such a different scale from what we normally learn; for example, you learn different skills in sculpting from just your average drawing.” Beyond the creative benefits, Rahabi thinks that her club will encourage better character in the school. “I want to teach patience and end reward,” she said. “Making a sculpture requires

November 2017/Cheshvan 5778

Hannah Doft '20

The-rampage.org

Rethinking the Yearbook?

With the departure of Dr. Joan Warshall, the faculty advisor of the Ramaz yearbook, the question of how the yearbook would run and what changes would be made arose. A new plan for the yearbook was not yet in place at the time of Dr. Warshall’s departure, and the editors and the administration worked together to figure out what the next step would be for the Ramaz yearbook.

After a search for a new faculty advisor for the yearbook, Ms. Abramson was selected for the position. Ms. Abramson has been working with the editors, Naomi Freilich ’18 and Sarah Issever ’18, to improve the yearbook.

This year’s yearbook is not being submitted to the competition it has usually been submitted to. This will eliminate some of the stress of due dates, as well as many restrictions.

Another change to the yearbook is that Issever and Freilich are trying to cut down on the text and articles in the yearbook and instead put in more photographs, sidebars, and mini mags, which they think students will enjoy more. Issever and Freilich both want the yearbook to be more truthful while at the same time being humorous.

Issever and Freilich have also eliminated some of the previous rules of the yearbook. In previous years, only seniors were allowed to contribute to the sidebars and mini mags; now, students in other grades are able

Features 9

Club Spotlight: Coding Club

to help with these as well. This will give each of the grades more of a voice in the yearbook.

Sarah Issever ’18 explained some changes she is excited for in this year’s yearbook, saying, “In many ways, the yearbook is starting to become more like The Rampage. If you told a yearbook-er this a few years ago, they would have had a heart attack. Now, Naomi and I are really happy with that. We cut out the melodramatic satire in the articles and replaced them with real photos from real events. We are aiming now for a book that is a raw, truthful, and genuine, chronology of the school year--but a book that can still be funny at the same time. We don’t have half as much text as the old books, or The Rampage for that matter, but we value the truth and the real memories that come with that. Which is why we want to take this step for the future. Not to mention, the aesthetics of the book now are so dope.... we can really be freed from the rigid layout we used to be tied to. We feel very free in that sense.”

Hopefully, these new changes will pay off, and the yearbook will not be a book that sits on a student's desk and is only opened once. “I am excited to see the outcome for this year’s yearbook. So far, the experience of just being in the club is ten times better than before,” said Aliza Freilich ’20.

Sophia Kremer '20

The Coding Club is a new after-school club that allows mathematically inclined students and those interested in technology to utilize their talents outside of the classroom. The club meets every other Thursday in Room 704, with Mr. Vovsha, the new computer science teacher, as the faculty advisor. At the first meeting, with a turnout of over 30 people, students collectively decided that they would specifically like to learn how to build an app and websites. The Coding Club’s schedule begins with learning Python 3, a basic language that will act as the building blocks for more challenging parts of the curriculum.

To do so, the club uses Codeboard. io, a web-based IDE that teaches programming in the classroom. The club will also take advantage of its large number of members and diversity of skill set to create an advanced group for students that have prior experience and would like to move onto more challenging languages with aid from the professional Mr. Vovsha.

Ayelet Monas ’19, captain of Coding Club, said, “Coding is a crucial skill to learn, because it is becoming the most in-demand skill across industries.” Monas’s statment

has a lot of statistical backing: a job market analytics firm found that there were as many as 7 million job openings in 2015 in occupations that required coding skills. It also found that programming jobs overall are growing 12 percent faster than the market average. Coding skills are a necessity across five different job spectrums: information technology, worker, data analysis, art and design, and science and engineering. David Adler ’19 said, “To many students, Coding Club is very attractive because it allows the students to understand the behind-the-scenes of the mobile devices or laptops that they spend hours of their days on, whether it’s scrolling through their social media feed or playing the latest racing game.”

Students want to be creators, not just consumers, and the future is dependent on new ideas that will attract human interests. New technology is being created every week, and in order to keep up with the momentum of the fast-paced world, one needs to have fundamental skills that can be acquired at the Ramaz Coding Club.

Eighth Grade Tours Sophia Rein '21

Taking tours of different high schools plays a pivotal role in a student’s decision about which school to attend, and for many middle-schoolers it is even a rite of passage. Touring schools allows prospective students to envision themselves in the next steps of their education, and it gives them the opportunity to evaluate their priorities and goals for the future. Recently, Ramaz has taken steps to improve its high school tour experience. What are those changes and how have they changed or improved the experience?

This past November, the Upper School began to administer tours for the eighth-graders of the Ramaz Middle School.

The tours each allow prospective freshmen to observe actual classes and to meet with an advisor from the Upper School in order to discuss the student's transition into high school. Applicants from other schools will begin touring the Upper School in December. Even though these students are generally less familiar with the Upper School than those who come from Ramaz, students from the Ramaz Middle School and outside schools have traditionally received similar tours. The primary difference between the two tours is that some of the non-Ramaz students participate in an interview before the tour takes place, while students from the Middle School are not required to have an interview as part of the application process.

The tours ultimately provide a chance for prospective students to gain an understanding of the Ramaz Upper School and to determine if the school is a good fit for them, while they are also an opportunity for the school to showcase its qualities to its poten-

tial students. As Assistant Director of Admissions Aviva Lieber explains, “The main goal of the visits is to get the eighth graders excited for the high school and [to help them] experience the Upper School firsthand.”

This year, two main aspects of the tours have been redesigned. In past years, the tours for the Ramaz Middle School students would take place throughout January and February, after the non-Ramaz students had finished touring the building in November and December. The schedule was recently modified in order to allow Ramaz Middle School students to visit earlier on in the year. The hope is that this method will grab the attention of more potential incoming freshmen before competing high schools have the opportunities to advertise themselves to the undecided students.

This year’s tour also abandons the previously utilized “buddy system,” which had been the foundation for tours in the past. Prior to this change, each eighth grader had been partnered with an Upper School freshman whom he or she would shadow for the day. This feature had been set in place with the intention of helping the unfamiliar students navigate the foreign halls by keeping a friendly face by their sides. After analyzing the tours, it was concluded that there

was no need to use the buddy system for Ramaz eighth graders, because almost all of the incoming students from the Ramaz Middle School felt comfortable roaming the Upper School independently. Instead, Ramaz eighth-graders now receive individual schedules that they used to make their way around the building. Nevertheless, the students visiting from separate high schools are paired with faculty members of the Upper School to help guide them through their tours.

To determine whether the changes have improved the tour system, it is important to account for competing high schools’ tours and the effects that they might be having on undecided students. Before this year’s changes, the Ramaz Upper School tours had been no different from the tours of the majority of the other high schools that students are visiting.

Most tour schedules continue to include a “buddy system,” a glimpse of real classes taking place throughout the day, and an interactive meeting for eighth graders. At this point in time, the only major difference between these tours and a Ramaz tour is that Ramaz no longer fully utilizes the buddy system.

However, this change might pose a problem.

When the Admissions Office inter-

"Touring schools allows prospective students to envision themselves in the next steps of their education, and it gives them the opportunity to evaluate their priorities and goals for the future."

viewed roughly twenty-five freshmen who had toured other high schools before attending Ramaz, they found that the majority emphasized the comfort that they had found in the buddy system, which they had encountered in all the schools they had visited, including Ramaz. As Jeremy Goodman ’21 explained, “I felt really welcomed in all the schools that set up a buddy system. It was reassuring to have a buddy with me to answer all the questions I had throughout the day.” Based on this informal survey, it seems that the buddy system had actually been a very beneficial aspect of the Ramaz Upper School tours, perhaps one that should not have been eliminated. Nevertheless, it is understandable that freshmen buddies do not exist this year, as tours are scheduled for an earlier period of the year, at which point freshmen are not yet completely adjusted to the Upper School. However, perhaps the system could account for this factor by obtaining the help of confident students from older grades, who might be great candidates to lead the tours. After all, new students can easily relate to and find reassurance in a friendly student, regardless of his or her age.

It is encouraging that Ramaz looks to improve and is taking steps to improve the tours. Moving the tours earlier in the recruiting season may help attract students to Ramaz and improve the quality of the admission pool. The school, however, should consider whether the tours can be improved still further by implementing a buddy system with peers, rather than by allowing students to explore the unfamiliar building alone.

Opinion

The Rampage Ramaz Upper School

Revisiting Ramaz's Attendance System

New York | Volume 51 | Issue IV | November 2017/5778 | the-rampage.org

Editors-in-Chief: Rebecca Araten* Abigail Huebner* Julia Levi* Associate Editor-in-Cheif: Naomi Freilich* Layout Editor: Netanel Kamel* Online Editors: Derek Korf-Korn* Mark Marcus* Faculty Advisor: Dr. Milowitz Contributing Writers: Esti Beck Zachary Buller Maya Chaovat Hannah Doft Suzi Dweck Gail Hafif

Natalie Kahn Sophia Kremer William Kremer Caitlin Levine Yoni Linder Rebecca Massel Emily Podolsky Gabi Potter Sophia Rein Efrat Romano Josephine Schizer Harry Shams Samantha Sinensky Emily Stemp Daniella Symonds Becky Tauber Natalie Trump

Harry Shams '19

At the beginning of the school year, Ramaz decided to reform its attendance policy by installing a mechanical scanning system. The idea of a scanning system was simple: students are required to scan into school by eight, at which point they have five minutes to scan into their morning davening locations.

While the system seemed more or less infallible, many at Ramaz have begun to notice its imperfections.

Historically, Ramaz students have had terrible attendance. While the installation of a scanning system may have seemed like an effective way to increase student punctuality, a growing number of students feel as if the system has failed to do so. Many claim that the system is both ineffective and easy to get around.

One sophomore, who preferred to remain anonymous, said, “Ever since the school created the scan-

Denotes member of the Rampage Editorial Board. *

ning system, I’ve still come late to school everyday. As long as you come after 8:40 and don’t scan in, you won’t get a strike.”

Failing to scan in each morning has already become a problem at Ramaz. Students frequently forget to scan into either

see this precaution as counterintuitive to the scanning system.

Hank Shalom ’19 said, “Before the scanning system, an office-worker would sit in the lobby and make sure everyone signed in on a piece of paper. With the scanning system, an office work-

the building, their davening locations, or both. The failure of students to scan in each morning, however, has not gone unnoticed by the administration. In a recent Schoology post, Rabbi Slomnicki wrote that students “will begin receiving strikes for attendance if [they] do not tap into davening with [their] ID.”

Most mornings, a faculty member is stationed in the lobby and must check to see that each entering student scans in. Many

er sits in the lobby and makes sure everyone scans in. The only thing this system has done is save paper—nothing has changed.”

Additionally, many have found the strikes that come with the scanning system to be ineffective. Students have the opportunity to arrive late nine times per quarter before there is any noticeable effect on their academic lives (such as through probation). And even after a student receives three detentions, the effects of academic

"Excessive lateness is a problem that has plagued Ramaz administrators for years"

probation are quite limited. One student claimed to have received well over nine latenesses last quarter, yet this did not prevent the student’s continued participation in co-curricular activities.

Excessive lateness is a problem that has plagued Ramaz administrators for years. In order to track lateness, the administration used to station an office employee at the door. Generations of students prided themselves on their ability to avoid being marked as late. This year Ramaz tried a new tactic: a mechanical scanning system. Ramaz faculty thought they had finally installed a system that would allow them to both deter and track lateness without any human error. Unfortunately, it seems that Ramaz administrators have once again underestimated the ingenuity and resolve of students to come late yet avoid being marked.

Advice for Underclassmen: SAT Subject Tests

Gabi Potter '20

One big part of transitioning from middle school to high school is entering the world of standardized tests. Recently, whether or not SAT Subject Tests are worth taking and if they really influence a college’s decision to admit a student has been a debated topic. Especially for those who recently began high school and are not yet accustomed to standardized testing, the question of when to begin test-taking and which tests to take can be a difficult one. As someone who decided to take a Subject Test freshman year, I found that The Rampage is the student it was not an easy decision and newspaper of the Ramaz required a lot of effort and time.

Upper School. It is published Between practice tests, on a monthly basis. Letters tutors, and studying, finding time to the editor may be submit- for other things became more difficult, and I found myself needted to rampage@ramaz.org. ing to cut down on some clubs.

Letters must be signed and Freshman year, many students may be edited for space and struggle to develop time manageto conform to Rampage style and format.

The opinions expressed in the Rampage are of the author’s alone, and do not represent the views or opinions of Ramaz, the Rampage, or its Editors.

The Rampage • November 2017

ment skills; in their first year of high school, they must balance their heavier workload and many classes in an environment much more rigorous than most of their middle schools.

To add the work required for a Subject Test to that made it feel impossible to join any clubs. Not finding any time to go to extracurriculars freshman year is part of why I regret taking a subject test last year. I think freshmen don’t realize it at the time, but clubs are a very important part of high school; more of them will try out for dif-

ferent extracurricular activities as sophomores when their understanding of high school expands.

Although it caused some setbacks, there were definitely many positive things that came of taking the test last year as well. For one, it made me a better test taker as I learned how to budget my time and reconsidered the way in which I approach tests. This is a skill that will be very beneficial for the rest of my academic life. Another thing it helped with was my ability to learn things on my own without the help of a teacher. Although some might ar-

gue that having a tutor does not really count as learning things on one’s own, I disagree. Tutoring only reviews the material; to succeed, one basically has to approach the material on his or her own, study and understand it, and eventually memorize it.

My advice to incoming freshmen who are interested in taking a Subject Test is this: if you think you’ll be able to manage it, go for it. It is one of those experiences from which you will learn a lot, and it is worth it. However, once you make the decision to take the test, commit to it and stick with it. And if you don’t succeed, you might as well have dealt with that as a freshman, rather than later as a junior or senior. In the end, you will find that it is an experience that can help prepare you for the rest of high school early on and ahead of everyone else.

Are Keyboards the Key?

Daniella Symonds '21

As computers have become more mainstream over the course of the last few years, not only have they become more prevalent in doctors’ offices, libraries, and science labs, but they have also made their ways into high school classrooms.

Ten years ago, using a computer in class would have been laughed at, but now we see that it has become the norm. What are the benefits that this technology can provide to a classroom environment?

For most people, typing is a lot faster than writing everything by hand. In that respect, having a computer in class is a huge advantage. As someone who has taken notes by hand and by computer, I can attest that note-taking on computers can be

incredibly productive.

Since high school learning is so heavily focused on classroom information provided by teachers, speedy note-taking on a laptop becomes incredibly handy for many people.

Many studies have indicat-

search a document for a particular word or sentence, which can come in handy in a lot of situations. If you have twenty pages of English notes written by hand and are looking for a specific sentence, it will probably

online folder, you will not need to carry heavy binders and notebooks on your back every day. Mr. Lupinacci, a healthy back enthusiast, supports this idea

"since many teachers teach at a rapid pace and expect students to understand and retain the information, taking handwritten notes is sometimes less efficient." ed that writing things by hand helps you to retain more information than does taking notes on a computer; however, since many teachers teach at a rapid pace and expect students to understand and retain the information, taking handwritten notes is sometimes less efficient.

Note-taking on computers allows you to

take you a while to find what you were looking for. Being able to quickly search an overwhelming amount of text for a sentence or even a specific term is a huge benefit that comes with computers.

Taking notes on a computer can also improve the life of a student by reducing back strain. If all of your notes are in one

and says, “Although I am not sure of the benefits of students using computers in note-taking, computers will substitute for heavier books and binders, which can result in a lighter backpack, and ultimately greater back health.”

Lastly, having online notes will not only save you time and reduce your back strain,

but it will also help the environment. If every student were to use his or her computer to take notes, paper waste would significantly decrease.

As a whole, the advent of computers has brought us to a point at which we can prevent a waste of time, a waste of effort, a waste of physical pain, and a waste of resources. In an environment in which there is no time to lose and everybody must be at the top of their games at all times, this type of help is invaluable.

Arts & Entertainment

Murder on Orient Express: Review Natalie Kahn '19

Considering that the 1974 screen adaptation of Agatha Christie’s mystery masterpiece is a renowned movie that won an Academy Award, the remake, starring Kenneth Branagh as detective Hercule Poirot, has a lot to live up to. Nonetheless, Branagh, who also directed the film, has done a decent job bringing Murder on the Orient Express to the big screen. Decent, however, does not mean excellent.

While the film takes some liberties (Dr. Arbuthnot, for example, is a black American, rather than an uptight Englishman as he is in the book), those didn’t bother me as much as the long, drawn-out beginning. The film opens in—you’ll never guess where—Jerusalem, at the “Wailing Wall” to be precise.

Expecting it to open at the station, this startled me but didn’t get on my nerves until it unfolded into a whole minicase about a rabbi, a priest, and an imam (yes, Poirot mentioned the old joke), which preceded the main mystery of the book.

This scene was cute but seemed unnecessary. It felt as though the movie was simply trying to consume screen time.

Once Poirot arrives in Istanbul, the movie is pretty faithful to the plot. The entrances of several passengers onto the train are depicted with a little too much detail, and one also gets the sense that Mrs. Hubbard is hitting on Poirot, which confused me and was frustratingly never elaborated on through the rest of the movie.

Overall, Branagh does justice to the book. The real issue is that even though the story involves murder, a case where twelve people are stuck on a train the entire time is hardly riveting to watch in the theatre. Most of the movie consists of interviews of each of the passengers, with the occasional, overly brief black and white flashback. My having read the book and thus knowing its resolution only added to the lack of excitement and intensity. My love of the book allowed me

to tolerate the dearth of action, but I can imagine it might be intolerable for someone who has never read the book. The movie could use a bit of sprucing up— maybe the flashbacks could be in greater detail, or the characters’ pasts could be explained a bit more—to grab the viewers’ attention. The movie was pretty true to the book, but in this case, it was too true.

I wanted to see more liberties taken, more details about the crime and the chemistry between the various passengers, and less focus on the tedious details such as Ratchett’s dessert or Princess Dragomiroff’s tea.

Despite the slow-moving, interrogative plot, the star-studded cast is nothing short of excellent. Branagh portrays a spirited Poirot who elicits more than a couple laughs from the audience. Johnny Depp gives the strongest performance of the night as Ratchett, the antagonist-turned-murder-victim, whom he makes easy to hate and hard to trust. Michelle Pfeiffer is amusing as the flirtatious, suspecting Mrs. Hubbard, although she is lacking somewhat in the more emotional, daunting parts of her role.

As the Princess Dragomiroff, Judi Dench, an astounding actress, isn’t really given a chance to display her full capabilities: her part is small, and the bulk of her lines don’t allow for much emoting, even though I’d always like to hear more of Judy Dench.

As a great admirer of Agatha Christie, was I glad I saw this movie? Yes. Would I recommend it to fans of what is likely the most renowned mystery book of all time? Yes. Would I see it again? Probably not. Nor would I recommend it to those who haven’t had the joy of reading the book of the same name, though I can’t imagine many would be anxious to read it after seeing this film. My advice is to stick to the book, and if you must turn to a film, turn to the 1974 classic.

Sports

Gail Hafif '20

The 2017–18 NCAA Division I men's basketball season started on November 10, 2017. The first tournament will be the 2K Sports Classic and the season will end with the Final Four in San Antonio on April 2, 2018. Practices officially began on September 29, 2017.

This was a much awaited season, with many impressive prospects and interesting matchups.

The season began with the impressive 88-81 loss to No. 1 Duke by No. 2 Michigan State.

A win over the No.1 school in the country would have been monumental; Michigan players and fans were then devastated when they lost by seven points. It was Hall of Fame coach Tom Izzo's chance to defeat Duke Hall of Famer Mike Krzyzewski for the second time. Izzo was very disappointed about the outcome of the game and pointed out the flaws of his team, including their “light-weight” rebounding

and “foolish” turnovers that resulted in quick baskets for the opposing team. Izzo used words like “embarrassed” and “disappointed” to describe his reaction to the game. The Spartans might’ve had a chance if not for the established dominance of Grayson Allen. Yet Izzo also acknowledged that there were coaching mistakes in the game.

Despite this loss, however, the Spartans are still one of the teams to look out for this season.

They are already the No. 2 school in the league and they show great promise. Another team to watch out for is the Kansas University Jayhawks. So far they are undefeated, and won their first game against Tennessee State University 92-56.

Recently, there was a

The Rampage • November 2017/5778

Shondra Rhimes Joins Netflix

Maya Chaovat '21

In August, news emerged that Shonda Rhimes, executive producer of Grey's Anatomy, Scandal, and How to Get Away with Murder, would be leaving ABC network. Rhimes, along with Shondaland, a production company created by Rhimes herself, have signed a multi-year contract with Netflix. While talking about this issue, Rhimes said that “Ted (Chief Content Officer of Netflix) provides a clear, fearless space for creators at Netflix. He understood what I was looking for.”

Since Netflix does not have ratings, Rhimes has a chance to be even more creative and work on different types of projects. Rhimes created a TV show lineup on ABC called TGIT, which stands for Thank God It's Thursday. TGIT airs on Thursday nights starting at 8:00 P.M. Grey's Anatomy, Scandal, and How to Get Away with Murder are the shows on the Thursday night lineup. Even though they have received great ratings, they recently suffered some damage.

Scandal is ending soon, and The Catch, a show co-produced by Rhimes, was cancelled. According to some network executives, success is determined by feeding the viewers exactly what they want, which leaves less room for creativity.

Many people have been wondering how this change will affect Rhimes’s current shows that are generally aired on ABC. As of now, Scandal, How to get Away with Murder and Grey's Anatomy will still

be airing on ABC. Rhimes is also doing another project for ABC, a Grey's Anatomy spin-off, that will be airing on ABC and is in preproduction. Grey's Anatomy, one of Rhimes’s biggest hits, was a huge success from the start and is currently on its 14th season. Rhimes created a thrilling and emotional show, with characters who capture its viewers hearts. Although Grey's Anatomy is enjoyed by many, the opinions on a spin-off vary. Talia Halaas ’21 said, “Grey's Anatomy has come so far; a spin off would be an overkill.”

Other students disagree and argue that a spin-off would revive the excitement of Grey's Anatomy. Natalie Trump ’20 said, “The original Grey's Anatomy has been dragging on for so long, so I think it's good that they're going to make a new and different version.”ABC is losing a very influential producer, but Rhimes will hopefully continue to create projects that will be influential around the world.

College Basketball Season Begins

major international scandal concerning three NCAA players. LiAngelo Ball, Jalen Hill, and Cody Riley have been suspended indefinitely from the team while they undergo the university's disciplinary review process. On a recent trip to China, the aforementioned

UCLA freshmen were arrested for shoplifting. President Trump played a major role in returning them to the United States, as they acknowledged in their

public apologies which included thanking everyone who helped them resolve the case. All players have expressed their regret about the decision, but they have to work their way back up again and regain the trust of the team and the athletic department.

There is plenty of fresh talent in the NCAA right now. This includes players like Miles Bridges of the Michigan State Spartans, who has recently rejoined college basketball and is projected to have a very strong season. Another player is Ethan Happ of the Wisconsin Badgers. The 6”10 forward is a major contender and competitor. Another player is Grayson Allen on the Duke Blue Devils. The 6”5 senior plays shooting guard and guard. He was a major contribu-

tor to the Duke win over Michigan State and is a top prospect.

Additionally, Devonte Graham, a 6”2 starting shooting guard on the Kansas University Jayhawks, has unbelievable skill; his playing is one of the reasons the Jayhawks remain undefeated. Lastly, Michael Porter Jr., a player at the University of Missouri, is a huge contender. He was ranked as a top prospect in the class of 2017 and is regarded as a top prospect in the 2018 NBA draft. Despite an injury, he was still drafted top five in an NBA mock draft.

Finally, there is much anticipation for the rest of the season. There are many outstanding teams and players in the NCAA right now and the season has captured the attention of many people, who get more enjoyment and excitement out of watching college basketball than they do from watching the more mechanical NBA.

November 2017/Cheshvan 5778

The-rampage.org

Crossword 12

Crossword Puzzle

Mark Marcus '18

Down: 1. It's good for a laugh 2. Alternative to skim, 1% and 2% 5. Old MacDonald had one 6. Clever Strategy 7. Strips in front of a window?

9. Speed limit abbr.

11. Play station 2 competitor 12. Broadcast 14. Marriage, for one 15. Like many animals that live deep in caves 16. Auto loan inits.

Across: 2. "Man that was a close call!"

3. Asset 4. Muscat's land 6. Keeps from happening 8. Route 10. Grad 11. Look inside?

13. His and _____ 17. Israeli arm 18. Tortoise or hare 20. Clinton's 1996 opponent