THE RAMBAM RECORD
The eNewsletter of Rambam Mesivta High School
November 24, 2006 / 3 Kislev

RAMBAM CELEBRATES ROSH CHODESH

Rosh Chodesh at Machon HaTorah was a whirlwind of celebration with classroom celebrations and school-wide concerts.

Rabbi Moshe Shur, "The Rockin' Renaissance Rabbi" arrived Rosh Chodesh morning at Rambam and it was around 11 when the floors began to shake. By 11:10, the thunderous sound of boys spilling down the stairs reverberated with the sounds of Rabbi Moshe Shur and his band cranking out the music. Within minutes, students, arm-in-arm with their rebbeim, were caught up in the flow of dancing and singing. The chagiga went into overtime and through lunch and with tremendous ruach and joy, Machon students rang in the new month.

RAMBAM REVIVES ROBOTICS TEAM

Rambam is thrilled to announce the revival of the Robotics Team!

The Rambam Robotics Team was started in 2004 on the initiative of a group of students who were interested in building robots that could compete in national competitions. Designers not only build the robots, but, under specific guidelines, program them to perform a host of tasks such as rescue, sports or respond to external cues and stimuli.

In the past, the Rambam Robotics Team participated in a series of competitions and won first place in the RoboCup Junior Dance and Soccer Competition and went on to win the National Junior RoboCop Competition in MIT. Rambam also represented the United States at the International Robotics Championship Contest in Lisbon, Portugal.

This year's Robotics Team, headed by Captain Shlomo Yosef Simpser, is very excited to be up and running again and is looking forward to competing in the FVC (First Vex Challenge), FLL (First LEGO League for the younger members on the team), FRC (First Robotics Competition), and RoboCup Competitions.

COLLEGE GUIDANCE IN FULL SWING

“ The atmosphere was amazing,” exclaimed Prof. Korman, Rambam’s Director of Student Guidance, who had just returned from Yeshiva University’s College Advisor Seminar. According to Prof. Korman, the seminar was “very informative. The administration was helpful and really wanted to hear our questions and ideas,” she said.
The seminar also gave the attendees, which consisted of guidance counselors from Yeshiva Day Schools across the country, an opportunity to meet and share ideas. “It was fascinating to hear about the concerns and perspectives of other guidance counselors. Seminars such as these can only help to enhance our school's already outstanding track record." Last year Rambam graduates garnered over 1.25 million dollars in merit-based scholarships from top universities.

YU/MACHON HATORAH COMMUINITY BEIT MIDRASH PROGRAM

Even though the week was short, the YU/Machon HaTorah Community Beit Midrash program was at full capacity with Monday and Tuesday night shiurim by Rabbi Gidon Rothstein and Rabbi Joel Jerozalim, respectively. And, since a night of fantastic learning builds up an appetite, Wednesday night was Thursday night with a “Dougie’s and Drush” shiur given by Rabbi Gidon Rothstein, which was followed by the regular Wednesday night alumni shiur by Rosh HaYeshiva, Rabbi Zev Meir Friedman.

STUDENTS COMPETE IN TORAH BOWL

Although Rambam split last week's Torah Bowl competition, students were not disappointed. “Even though we could have done better, it's always great to get together with talmidim from other yeshivot. Just wait, we'll get them next time."

It's Machon vs. Machon and the winner is...Machon!

Saturday night’s Varsity basketball game pitting HAFTR’s Hawks against Rambam’s Ravens was epic indeed. Close from the start, both teams played a tight game with strong, smooth offensive plays by Josh Gelnick and Jason Steinmetz, collectively scoring 23 of HAFTR’s 34 half-time points. On the Rambam side, Eli Shulman, who had a near-dunk at the start of the game, was responsible for 9 of the 26 points at half-time. On the defensive end, Michael Palgon, HAFTR’s junior shooting guard, played an amazing game with a record 5 steals.

With less than a minute on the clock and Rambam behind by 5. Kivi Hershenov scored, but Gelnick sunk two foul shots immediately putting HAFTR ahead for a final score of 64-61.

While the Varsity game went “down to the wire”, HAFTR’s JV basketball team easily defeated their Rambam counterparts.

The teams looked great, but will be looking better than ever next week with the arrival of new basketball uniforms. The new hockey team uniforms, which arrived last week, made their debut at Saturday night’s game when Dr. Josh Gindea presented Rabbi Friedman and Rabbi Eliach with their new, personalized Machon uniforms.