This past Tuesday night, the junior grade and their parents convened in Furst Hall for the college guidance department's annual College Night. Following words of welcome from Mr. Sragow detailing the college application process, Rabbi Kahn spoke about the importance of this decision in the lives of the juniors. The juniors then heard from Mr. Jonathan Schwab, YU's Associate Director of University Housing about "Why and How to Write a Killer Essay." Mr. Schwab spoke of the importance of a captivating first few sentences to pull the reader in, as well as other techniques in a college application essay. The juniors were then given time to walk around with their parents visiting the booths set up by numerous colleges and universities. Yeshiva University and Princeton University were among the most popular tables. Even Tel Aviv University ran a booth! Throughout the night, Rabbi Brownstein and Mr. Sragow fielded questions from the inquisitive juniors about applying to and choosing a college. The juniors very much enjoyed College Night as they begin to prepare for their college applications and their college decisions.

Twelve MTA students boarded the bus after davening on Tuesday for Model Congress and, incredibly, nine returned with awards! The successful day started off with a keynote speech by a New York congressman, Bruce Blakeman. He presented to all the "representatives" on the topic of encouraging the future generation to learn and participate in politics. Invigorated and inspired, the students headed off to their respective committee sessions.

Yeshiva League Model Congress, a competition hosted by HAFTR High School, is a model congress competition where students from various yeshiva high schools learn the basics of being a congressman/woman. Students were split up into 15 committees, all of which are actually represented on Capitol Hill. Students were required to author, and attempt to pass, a bill within the topic of their committee. Students were required to present their bill, and were encouraged to support or condemn other students' bills, by speaking publicly in front of their committee, giving them the opportunity to hone their public speaking skills.

After a full day that was  informative and exciting, the the program concludes with closing ceremonies and award presentations. Each committee chair, a HAFTR senior, and in some cases a junior, was given the job of awarding three of the best delegates from their committee. First place delegate, in each committee, was to receive a gavel and the title "Best Delegate." Second and third place delegates received a certificate and an honorable mention. As each committee chair called up the best delegates and honorable mentions, MTA was clearly ubiquitous. Out of the 15 committees, MTA students went up to receive an award 9 times. Yosef Lemel ('17), Yisroel Chaim Sabel ('17), Dovid Schwartz ('17), Akiva Cooper ('18), Chaim Weinstein ('18), and Yonatan Chudnoff ('19) all received honorable mentions. Ben Zion Zuckier ('17), Zeve Kornwasser ('18) and Meir Uretsky ('18) received "Best Delegate" awards.

On the bus ride home, after making the traditional MTA Model Congress 7/11 run, students enjoyed their slurpees and victories all the way back to school. Next year's captains, Meir Uretsky and Zeve Kornwasser, were announced.

This past Tuesday, March 7th, the MTA Mock Trial team competed against Validus Academy in their second match, this time acting as the defense. This year's case is regarding a claim of malicious prosecution by someone who was wrongfully put in jail, claiming that the detective involved conducted a poor investigation and acted improperly. The defense had to protect the detective from these accusations, showing that the investigation was standard and that the detective had good reason to believe he had found the perpetrator. Benjy Bral ('18), Benny Mermel ('19), and David Tanner ('18) acted as the defense lawyers, while Rafi Felder ('17), Moshe Inger ('20), and Aharon Goldstein ('19) stepped into their roles as witnesses. A tense trial followed, with opening statements, direct and cross examinations of the witnesses, objections and responses, submission of evidence, and closing statements. The ruling: An encouraging victory for MTA, much appreciated after the loss on a tie which the team experienced last week. We thank our coach, Noah Pollack, and hope for more wins as we advance further!

On Wednesday night, the varsity basketball MTA Lions traveled to Brooklyn to take on the YDE Thunder in the Yeshiva League Quarterfinals. The game started with both teams coming out cold and the game remained scoreless through the first four minutes. However, after Eli Gruenberg ('17) and Aryeh Halpert ('17) turned up the heat, the Lions took control. At the half the Lions were winning 33-14. YDE came out of the locker room strong going on a 5-0 run to start the 3rd. But the Lions bounced back and went up 20 and kept it there all game, finishing with a score of 53-32, behind strong play from Zachary Fish ('17) and Yehuda Colton ('17). Aryeh Halpert, Meir Jacoby ('17), and Eli Gruenberg led the team with 8 points each.

This past Wednesday, the sophomores in Honors College went to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The students boarded the busses at 10:45 excited to see much of the art that they have been learning about in history class this year.

When getting to the museum, the students were split into two groups. The first half of the trip was a guided tour. One group went to see art from the time of the Renaissance. They learned about what the paintings depicted, what they represented, and what techniques the artists used that were common during the Renaissance and unique to each artist. They got the chance to try drawing what they saw in each painting. In addition, they compared and contrasted several famous paintings, enhancing their knowledge on Renaissance art.

The second group went to see a room that was made to depict the bedroom of King Louis XIV. In fact, some of the furniture, including the chair and desk, was actually owned and used by Louis XIV in the seventeenth century. The students learned about Louis XIV, and about the different pieces of furniture that corresponded to the furniture that was used during the seventeenth century. They also discussed what techniques were used to light up the room, and heat it during the winter. After, they got to see a massive panoramic painting of the Palace of Versailles and its outdoor garden. After the initial tours were completed, each group switched.

It was truly amazing to see the art that was learned in history class come to life. Thank you to Dr. Taylor, Mr. Kulnis, and Mr. Toporovsky for chaperoning the trip, and thank you to the Honors College for giving us a great experience.

Over the past few weeks, MTA was privileged to host four students who came on an exchange program from Yeshivat Makor Chaim to bring ruach, inspiration, and a taste of an Israeli atmosphere to our yeshiva. From decorating our library, to enhancing our Rosh Chodesh davening and developing a connection with every shiur, we are so thankful to have had Yishai, Yonatan, Zvi, and Eitan. This past Tuesday morning, when the time came for them to finally head back home, the talmidim and faculty from various shiurim sang and danced the "Makochnikim" to Rabbi Richter's car where they would eventually be escorted to the airport. In the pouring rain, students danced around the car and delayed as long as possible so that everyone could say their good-byes. It was sad to have to see them go back home! We will all miss them immensely and we wish them hatzlacha in all of their endeavors. V'shavu Banim L'gvulam!!

Last Shabbos, MTA students enjoyed a special Shabbaton in Monsey as part of MTA's special community programming initiative. Over the course of the year, shabbatons have been held in a variety of MTA communities; local students have the opportuntinty to welcome other MTA students as guests and all the boys enjoy Shabbos together.

On Friday night, after a mincha by Yochanon Zupnik ('19) and a Kabbalos Shabbos/Maariv by DJ Wartelsky ('20), about 40 boys enjoyed a special dinner together, along with Rabbi Schiller and Shuey Jacoby, in the Kehillas Bais Yehuda (KBY) social hall. After the seuda, the boys had the opportunity to hear a special halacha shiur from Rabbi Schiller followed by a grand tisch with even more food and candy.

The members of KBY, which was the centerpoint of the Shabbaton, had the opportunity to hear a drashsa from Rabbi Schiller during Shabbos morning davening. The boys reconvened at KBY for mincha, followig which they enjoyed a Shalosh Seudos with the shul, and once again with Rabbi Schiller. Special thanks to the Kahan, Borgen, and Teichman families for helping with the Shabbaton, and to Rabbi Green and Elie Hirt for coordinating, and to Rabbi Schiller and Shuey for attending.

On Monday, March 6th, the MTA Lions opened their season with a home match against the SAR Sting. It was the Lions' first match of their eight game season, against the team who had just gone to the championships the previous year. Going into the game, SAR had never lost to MTA since the creation of the soccer league. On top of that, the Lions were missing their projected starter Hudy Weiss ('19), key contributor Ariel Dubizh ('17), and fifth man Benjy Bral ('18) was playing through a high ankle sprain. Be that as it may, MTA started the game strong and ended the first quarter with a 3-1 lead, but a quick run by SAR had tied the game 5-5 at the half. Even so, MTA felt good. They had won time of possession and had limited SAR's shots. They came out of the half confident in their ability to seal the deal, yet SAR came in with a fire that wasn't seen in the first half. Feinburg, SAR's star player, scored three goals from the kickoff, and, at one point, the Sting were up 8-6. However, the Lions then started to score. They went on a 5-0 run, including 3 goals in five minutes, to seal their historic victory. It was a badly needed win for a team that hopes to win the title this year. Mark Giahn ('17), Daniel Libesman ('18), Ariel Feuerstein ('17), Zach Stein ('17), and Nachi Piltz ('18) all scored. The Lions are now 1-0 on the season, with their next match on Monday, March 13, at Ramaz.

On Monday night, the JV Lions played the HAFTR Hawks in the Yeshiva League quarterfinals. HAFTR came out playing a man to man defense, which was able to slow down the MTA offense. Isiah Anderson ('19) kept MTA in the game with outstanding effort on both sides of the court. However, HAFTR nonetheless led at the half by 9 points. In a tightly contested second half, HAFTR was able to withstand any run made by MTA. Eitan Pfeiffer ('19) and Eitan Warburg ('19) played with great tenacity and were able to keep fighting to close the lead to 7 points, but were ultimately unable to produce a win;HAFTR edged out the Lions 60-52. It was a great season, which was highlighted with the win at the Rubinstein Tournament, and the team looks forward to next season!