BK Designs & Photography Ateres Star Issue 5 | Page 6

6

The Ateres Yaakov Star

February 2015

A Complete, Comprehensive (Kinda) Year In Review Analysis of MAY
By: Aryeh Horowitz- 12th Grade
The past year has been an
eventful one in Mesivta Ateres Yaakov, from the demolition (finally!!)
of the houses next door, to the laying of the brand new blacktop, and
(almost) the final push to start to
get permission to begin drawing
up the rough draft of the blueprints
for the gym. I know what you’re
thinking. Does everything that
happened this past year have to do
with the gym?
Of course not! This year,
the students donated the Mayflower rescue boat to the L.C.F.D.,
where I hear it makes a beautiful
ceiling decoration piece. In addition, I hear that the fire department
was so grateful that they put in an
offer that instead of recess, we
have a fire drill every other day. It
seems to me that the school accepted. In addition, the school has
a beautiful, fully furnished science
lab. We’ll just see how long it takes
for something major (or at the very
least, every single delicate glass

beaker) to be broken. My guess:
not long.
In just a few short months, the seniors will be leaving, and I have to
say, it seems like just yesterday I
walked through those front doors

on my first day of 9th grade. We
were so small and nervous. But
just for the record, not as small as
the current freshmen. Are they
getting younger AND smaller every year or is it my imagination?
On the extracurricular side
of things, the MAY Eagles are un-

defeated as are the Torah Bowl
AND Mock Trial teams, which
shows that MAY has achieved the
perfect balance for a high school in
that we dominate in brains AND
brawn! As for clubs, how many
schools have a Menahel who
teaches yoga and a senior who
teaches cartoon drawing? MAY has
far more club options than many
schools who stick with the classic
Basketball
or
Freshie-LockerStuffing classes.
All kidding aside, the
school on the whole is doing wonderfully. The students are doing
great, the learning is outstanding,
and the performance in secular
studies are superb (as evidenced
by some of our students being in
approximately the 1,000,000th percentile on PSAT’s and SAT’s). It’s a
pity I’m leaving, because I’d love to
stick around and see what future
years at MAY have in store. One
thing is for sure- whatever it is, it
won’t be boring!

An Interview with Rabbi Tsvi Greenfield By Eli Babad-11 th Grade
In Mesivta Ateres Yaakov,
there are many superb and caring
staff members responsible for the
great programs and opportunities
that the school offers. Rabbi Tsvi
Greenfield, in his new role as Student Activities Coordinator, is directly responsible for many of the
newest programs and ideas and he
has quickly become a student favorite.
Rabbi Greenfield has created several programs that help the
students of MAY reach higher spiritual heights and see our full potential. Rabbi Greenfield is in charge
of the Arista program; a chessed
program which helps the students
contribute to the community, help

others and learn about themselves.
The Arista program has already
raised several thousand dollars for
multiple worthy causes and it has

given many students a chance to
give back to the community and
volunteer their time for chessed.
Rabbi Greenfield also organized the Megillah program;
meant to reward students who finish that Masechta. It has pushed

more students than ever before to
learn more and complete a siyum.
The sense of accomplishment that
students feel at the end of this program is outstanding. This year, he
also began the 24 Program, which
encourages students to learn over
the various Bein Hazmanim vacations and accomplish a lot even
while school is off.
Rabbi Greenfield explained
about his role in the school that, “my
favorite part of being an educator is
the ability to change lives and have a
lasting effect on someone’s life, to
plant the seeds and see them grow.
These programs are designed to do
just that.”