Over the summer, the top-level turf field was overhauled. The finished product is incredible! Go, Wildcats!
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Top-Level Turf Fields Completed
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RCDS Welcomes New Faculty and Staff to Campus
RCDS kicked off the official start to the 2018-19 school year by welcoming new faculty and staff members to campus for meetings and training sessions. We are excited and honored to have such an impressive cohort joining the RCDS community. Please read their bios below, and when you see them on campus be sure to give them a warm welcome to RCDS!
 | Baptiste A. Bataille, Upper School French: Baptiste comes to RCDS from teaching French, serving as a housemaster, and coaching basketball and soccer at the Lawrenceville School. He has also taught at the Taft School and Le Rosey School in Switzerland. A native of France, Baptiste played basketball professionally for Entendard de Brest. He is a cum laude graduate of Northeastern University, where he captained the mens' varsity basketball team, and he earned a M.S.Ed. from the University of Pennsylvania. |
 | Lauren Behar, Lower School Art: Lauren holds a M.S.Ed. in Education with certification in Visual Arts and Literacy from Bank Street College of Education and a B.A. in Fine Arts from Washington University in St. Louis. A CHOICE Art educator and member of the National Art Education Association, Lauren comes to RCDS from Parkside School, a K-5 school for students with language-based learning differences. |
 | Sydney Berkman, Lower School Assistant Teacher: Sydney is a graduate of the School of Education at Syracuse University, where she earned a B.S. in Inclusive Elementary and Special Education. |
 | Liam Cahill, Assistant in the College Counseling Office: Liam worked as a senior fellow in the Fairfield University Admissions Office and graduated from Fairfield with a B.S. in Accounting and a minor in Theatre in May 2018. |
 | Andrea E. Catalano, Lower School Assistant Teacher: Andrea received a B.S. in Elementary Education in May 2018 from the University of Scranton. She has been a third-grade student teacher in Mayfield Elementary School in Mayfield, Penn. |
 | William Richard Colombo, Middle School Humanities: Will earned a B.A. in Government from Franklin and Marshall College and a M.S. in Education with a concentration in Middle Childhood and Adolescent Social Studies from Long Island University. Will has been teaching and coaching at his alma mater, the Stanwich School, since 2013. |
| Julia E. Giordano, Extended Day Assistant: Julia is a 2017 graduate of Elon University, where she earned her B.S. in Exercise Science. She spent the last year as an English Language teacher (PreK-2) in Thailand and has begun graduate work in speech pathology. Julia has been a teacher's aide at Milton School, as well as a speech pathology intern at Eagle Hill School. |
 | Jessica Hauben, Third Grade Lead Teacher: Jessica is returning this year to RCDS, where she taught fourth grade for one year and art for six from 2001-2008. Jessica most recently served as an art and language arts faculty member at The Windward School in White Plains. Jessica earned a B.A. in Studio Art from the University of Vermont and a M.S.Ed. in Elementary Education from Lesley University in Cambridge, Mass. |
 | Kate Henerey, Middle School Drama: Kate has been teaching drama in the Chicago Public Schools since 2010 and received a B.A. in Theatre and Communications from the University of Missouri and a M.A. in Theatre Education from the University of Northern Colorado. Kate also earned teaching certification through National-Louis University and the Chicago Teaching Fellows. Kate has worked in Theatre Management at the Jacob's Pillow Festival, at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, and at the Shakespeare Theatre Company in Washington, D.C. |
 | Rebecca Paz Hidalgo, Lower School Assistant Teacher: Rebecca is a 2014 graduate of Iona College, where she earned a B.A. in Mass Communications with a focus in Public Relations. She has been a co-teacher in the Toddler Group at the Children's Corner Learning Center in White Plains, following her experiences at TutorTime in Pleasantville and at the Children's Playhouse in Yonkers. |
 | Kristin Kassay, First Grade Lead Teacher: Kristin comes to RCDS from the Marymount School in New York, where she has taught second grade since 2011. Last summer she was a co-head teacher in their coeducational STEAM Camp. Kristin earned a B.S. in Economics-Finance from Bentley College, graduating magna cum laude, and received her M.S.Ed. in Teaching/Childhood Education from Fordham University. |
 | Deborah Koto Katz, Upper School English: Following her graduation from Wellesley College with a B.S. double major in English and Jewish Studies, magna cum laude, Debby was an English teacher with the Japan Exchange and Teaching Program (JET) and began her graduate studies at Brown University teaching and eventually earning both a M.A. and a Ph.D. in English. Debby comes to RCDS from Georgetown Day School, where she has been faculty advisor to the yearbook and developed curriculum for both English 9 and 11 and been interim chair of English. She also has taught as an adjunct professor at City College of New York. |
 | Alexandra F. Kerker, Lower School Learning Specialist: Alexandra earned a M.S. in Special Education from Bank Street College of Education and a B.S. from Skidmore College, where she studied both Education and Psychology. She comes to RCDS from the Stephen Gaynor School, where she has been teaching since 2008. |
 | Juliana Kennedy Killip, Middle School Fellow in Mathematics: Juliana graduated with a B.S. in Mathematics from Fairfield University and has been the assistant to the director of the RCDS Extended Day Program this past year while beginning her graduate work in Education at Manhattanville. |
 | Jonathan D. Leef, Interim Principal of the Upper School: Jon is returning to RCDS, where he had served as assistant principal and dean of students, as well as head coach of the varsity football and softball teams. A graduate of Bucknell University with a major in Mathematics and a minor in Philosophy, Jon received a M.A. in Mathematics Education at Teachers College, Columbia University. Most recently Jon has been the assistant headmaster at the Pingry School, following four years as upper school director there. Prior to his tenure at RCDS, Jon was chair of the Math Department at Hackley School. |
 | Heather Hopwood Lentini, Kindergarten Lead Teacher: Heather received a B.S. in Education Theatre from New York University (Honors Scholar) and a M.A.T. from Manhattanville College. She has been a lead teacher at Leman Manhattan Preparatory School since 2008. |
 | Diana Liso, Second Grade Assistant Teacher: Diana graduated from Iona College with a degree in Mass Communication in 2013, and for the past five years she has been working in the financial world. Diana has now chosen to enter the field of education and pursue her graduate degree in elementary education/special education. |
 | Sebastian Mineo, Upper School Mathematics: Sebastian comes to RCDS having served as department chair and teacher of mathematics at The Stanwich School. He earned a B.A. in Environmental Studies from Hobart College and a M.S. in Mathematics from Fairfield University. Sebastian has taught calculus at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and he has prepared students for calculus (IB and AP) as well as multi-variable calculus. |
 | Vanessa Odenbach, Senior Marketing and Communications Manager: Vanessa joins RCDS officially after having worked on a freelance basis for both the development and communications offices over the last several months. Vanessa previously worked in marketing/communications at King School and Starwood Hotels and Resorts. At RCDS, she will be helping primarily with online communications and marketing, including social media management, e-communications, graphic design, and website updates. |
 | Maegen Rose, Middle School Librarian: Maegen comes to RCDS having served as a librarian at the Collegiate School in New York and at St. Patrick's Episcopal Day School in Washington, D.C. She holds a B.A. from Pitzer College in Gender and Feminist Studies and Black Studies, a M.A. in Social Service Administration from the University of Chicago, and a M.A. in Library and Information Science from Dominican University in Illinois. |
 | Katie Sandling '11, Upper School Science: Katie graduated from Stanford with a B.S. in Management and Engineering. She has been a teaching fellow in science in both the Middle and Upper Schools for the last two years, following one year assistant-teaching engineering and coaching at RCDS. She is in the process of completing a M.S.Ed. at Teachers College, Columbia University. |
| Barbara Sarullo, Associate Director of College Counseling: Barbara will be in the College Counseling Office this fall filling a temporary position as associate director of College Counseling while Susan Davidson is out on leave. She joins the college counseling team with a wealth of experience working with college-bound students and their families. A former director of guidance at Scarsdale High School and director of college counseling at Solomon Schechter School of Westchester, Barbara has advised and supported thousands of students over the course of her career. Since her retirement from Solomon Schechter, she has worked independently as a counselor for students and families. Barbara earned a B.A. in Psychology from SUNY Stony Brook and an M.S. in Guidance and Counseling from Hofstra University. |
 | Gail Sestito, Makerspace Coordinator: Gail earned a B.S. in Biology from Iona College and a M.A.T. in Science Education, cum laude, from Manhattanville College. Since 2002, she has been a middle-school science teacher at Greenwich Academy, where she has also been co-director of Robotics, the Geological Education Experience coordinator, and the site director for the School's Summer STEAM Camp. Prior to her work at Greenwich Academy, Gail taught upper school science at Sacred Heart Academy. |
 | Victoria Simmonds, Coach; Marketing & Communications Assistant: Returning to RCDS for her third year, Victoria joined Rye Country Day as Head Coach to the Girls Varsity Squash team. She grew up in Bournemouth, England and is an accomplished, world ranked professional squash player who relocated to Rye, New York while playing on the Women's Professional Squash tour. In 2017, Victoria expanded her coaching to Varsity Field Hockey and JV Tennis. With over 10 years of work experience in media and marketing, this year, Victoria now joins the Marketing and Communications department, while continuing her existing coaching roles. |
 | Lewis Rucker, Purchasing Agent: Lewis earned a B. S. in Business Administration from SUNY Cobleskill, graduating magna cum laude. After almost five years in the purchasing department at Barnard College, he brings the knowledge and customer service needed to assist the RCDS community. He is also a Certified Purchasing Professional, certified be the American Purchasing Society. |
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Allan Houston '19 Named in lohud Super 11
Rising senior Allan Houston was named one of Journal News/lohud sports 21st annual Super 11, an award identifying the area's top football talent. Congratulations, Allan!
Allan was named first-team all-New England and team MVP as a junior. He has committed to Brown University.
Read the full article and watch a video interview here: https://www.lohud.com/story/sports/high-school/lohud-varsity-insider/2018/08/29/lohud-2018-super-11-rye-country-school-allan-houston-iii/1116131002/
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Public Purpose in Action: The 2018 E.E. Ford Community Engagement Fellows
This summer, the RCDS Edward E. Ford Foundation Community Engagement Fellowship Program ran for its third year. The program awards summer fellowships to RCDS Upper School students, enabling them to develop and implement innovative, sustainable projects that address the needs of a community partner. The program offers meaningful summer service opportunities for students and cultivates ongoing partnerships between RCDS and local community organizations.
The 2018 cohort of fellows included 12 Upper School students working in partnership with 10 community organizations across Westchester and Fairfield counties, including Fresh Youth Initiatives, Backyard Sports, The Nathaniel Witherell*, Carver Center*, The Cottage School (Pleasantville, NY), Boys and Girls Club*, Port Chester WestCOP, Save the Sound, Building One Community*, and Our New Way Garden.
Each of the fellows developed an original project or expanded a program from a previous fellow. Examples included developing innovative math enrichment programs for underprivileged youth using music and real-life applications; installing and introducing a gaga pit program; improving the infrastructure of a community garden; instructing residents at a senior center how to use technology; creating a middle school summer coding program; improving communication between administrators and volunteers by developing a new online portal; collecting and analyzing water samples from the Long Island Sound; and developing performing arts programs at local summer camps. Over the course of their projects, the students gained empathy and leadership skills while deepening their connections to their communities.
*Organizations that partnered with E.E. Ford Foundation Community Engagement Fellowship program in 2017/2016.
The students will present their projects at the E.E. Ford Community Engagement Fellows Symposium on Tuesday, October 2, at 6 p.m. in Memorial Hall & the Pinkham Garden Lounge.
RCDS students, families, faculty, friends, and community partners are invited. Please RSVP here if you would like to attend.
2018 Community Engagement Fellows
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Patricia Bautista '19Community Partner: Fresh Youth Initiatives (Washington Heights, NY) Fresh Youth Initiatives work with low-income, immigrant, and first-generation youth living or attending school in Washington Heights/Inwood. Their principal goals are to assist children and teens to flourish in school; navigate transitions; get on track for college and career; and give back to the community with compassion and care. To assist in serving this community, Patricia created an interactive math enrichment program for 3rd-5th graders centered around the fundamentals of algebra and geometry. Through her program, students learned real-life applications of the skills by creating posters, making 3-D models, and playing interactive games. Faculty Mentor: Ofelia Marquez |
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Chris Connor '20Community Partner: Backyard Sports (White Plains, NY) Backyard Sports, a community team sports program based in Westchester County, helps develop and sharpen athletic skills in boys and girls ages 3-18. For his project, Chris helped install a gaga pit and encouraged children, including those with cognitive and social challenges, to participate and play. Working in conjunction with Backyard Sports, Chris also implemented and supervised a gaga program at the Thomas H. Slater Center. Through his project, Chris was able to introduce an new athletic game to the community that is inclusive of all abilities. Faculty Mentor: Iain Pollock |
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Joey Farrell '19
Community Partner: The Nathaniel Witherell (Greenwich, CT) The Nathaniel Witherell is a short-term rehab and skilled nursing care center that is owned and operated as a nonprofit by the Town of Greenwich. As a 2017 fellow, Joey introduced residents to iPads, providing them with the physical technology, tech support and logistical coordination to connect residents with their loved ones. This year, Joey expanded the program by providing additional iPads to the community and teaching structured group classes how to use the technology for entertainment as well as to connect with family and friends. Faculty Mentor: Sarah Land |
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Katie Farrell '21Community Partner: Carver Center (Port Chester, NY) The Port Chester Carver Center has been serving the community's children and families since 1943. Carver's mission is to build brighter futures by serving, educating, and empowering families in the community. As part of Carver's summer camp program, Katie extended the world of computer science to the children of the Port Chester community by creating a middle school coding program. By introducing the students to the principles of Arduinos and Scratch they were able to create games and animations as well as program speakers and motors. Faculty Mentor: Emily Bennett |
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Nathalie Felton '19Community Partner: The Cottage School (Pleasantville, NY) Pleasantville Cottage School, a part of the JCCA, is a residential treatment program for emotionally troubled boys and girls, ages 7-16. The organization helps abused, neglected and traumatized children heal physically and emotionally through compassionate, quality care. Nathalie created an online portal to facilitate communication between administrators and volunteers at The Cottage School to ensure that volunteers' time is used for the greatest possible benefit. In September, over 600 volunteers will begin using the portal to communicate with program administrators. Faculty Mentor: Sarah Land |
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Eesha Narain '21Community Partner: Boys and Girls Club (Mount Vernon, NY) The Boys & Girls Club of Mount Vernon is a youth development organization offering a variety of programs designed to help children learn and grow while having fun. As a 2016 fellow, Faith Hardy introduced a performing arts component to the Boys and Girls Club Summer camp. This summer, Eesha continued the work of Faith by incorporating a drama program into the daily summer camp for students ages 7-13. The skills learned in the drama classes culminated in a performance for friends and family at the end of the summer. Faculty Mentor: Jac-que Robinson |
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William Shabecoff '19
Community Partner: WestCOP (Port Chester, NY) The Westchester Community Opportunity Program or WestCOP, works to mobilize and efficiently manage resources through partnerships and collaborations to help the low-income and at-risk populations in the Hudson Valley region to achieve greater self-sufficiency. To support the Port Chester Head Start early childhood program, William incorporated music into an enrichment program with the goal of lowering the achievement gap and instilling a life-long love for learning math. Faculty Mentor: Iain Pollock
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Nishan Shehadeh '19Community Partner: Save the Sound (Mamaroneck, NY) The mission of Connecticut Fund for the Environment/Save the Sound is to protect and improve the land, air, and water of Connecticut and Long Island Sound. For his project, Nishan collected samples of Long Island Sound water and analyzed them in the Save the Sound laboratory to measure human impact on, and the relative health of, the bays and harbors of Long Island Sound. By using his scientific expertise, he was able to provide useful data to help support initiatives that will improve the environment for current and future generations. Faculty Mentor: Cathie Bischoff
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Claire Slocum '19Community Partner: Carver Center (Port Chester, NY) The Port Chester Carver Center has been serving the community's children and families since 1943. Carver's mission is to build brighter futures by serving, educating, and empowering families in the community. For her project, Claire developed and taught creative movement dance classes, centered around the core principles of Ballet. Children learned to collaborate together creativity through dance improvisation which culminated in a performance at the Carver Center Summer Camp talent show. Faculty Mentor: Ashley Zanon
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Charlotte Townley '19Community Partner: Building One Community (Stamford, CT) Building One Community's purpose is to help immigrants and their families succeed. Their programs include English language instruction, job skills training, personal support services, and more. Charlotte supported children (grades K-5), by developing a summer math program that strengthened existing math skills, introduced new material for their upcoming school year, and fostered an excitement for math. Faculty Mentor: Tia Gueye
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 | Ethan Zeplin/Julian Martelly '19Community Partner: Our New Way Garden (White Plains, NY) Our New Way Garden utilizes gardens to educate the public about locally and naturally grown food and to increase access to healthy organic produce to those who otherwise would not have access to such foods in their communities. Ethan and Julian helped to improve and develop the community garden infrastructure which included creating a wheelchair-accessible raised bed garden. They also increased support of the garden through developing a social media content strategy. Faculty Mentor: Amanda Sackey |
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Welcome to the 2018-19 School Year
While a number of students have been on campus for pre-season and other before school activities, this week we welcome all students to campus for the start of the 2018-19 school year! To all new students, welcome to Rye Country Day! To all returning students, welcome back!
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Elizabeth and Olivia Friedberg '20 Named in lohud Field Hockey Elite 22
Congratulations to juniors Elizabeth and Olivia Friedberg for being selected in the 2018 lohud Field Hockey Elite 22. Here's to another great season! Go Wildcats!
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Opening Week in Photos [Gallery]
There were many smiles this week as students and faculty returned to school and classes. We are so happy to have the Wildcats back on campus. Here's to a fantastic year!
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Upper School Bonds Through Opening Week Activities
Whether they scaled across the treetops, took a walk back in time, or simply tried to keep a red ball from falling to the ground, week one orientation activities helped forge relationships among Upper School students and faculty. Team-based problem-solving challenges, experiential learning workshops, and hands on exploration encouraged students to push themselves both mentally and physically. The result? 9th, 10th and 11th graders ready to officially start the school year - together!
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Good Morning RCDS! Season 3 Episode 1
Season 2 Episode 29
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146 RCDS Students Recognized for AP Scores
One hundred and forty-six Rye Country Day students were recognized by the College Board's 2018 Advanced Placement Program for their outstanding achievement on the college-level Advanced Placement Exams
15 AP National Scholars (having received a grade of "4" or higher on eight or more AP Exams): Clayton Bass '18, James Chen '19, Charles Curnin '18, David Jensen '18, Nicholas Jindal '18, Isabelle Koh '18, Annabelle Liu '18, Connor Marrs '19, Matthew Molinelli '18, Thérèse Mooney '18, P.J. Pujadas '18, Diogo Schaffa '18, Jason Sheppard '18, Charlotte Townley '18, Madeline Zuber '18.
1 AP International Diploma (having received a grade of "3" or higher on five or more AP Exams in three or more subject areas): Maxwell Smith '18.
77 AP Scholars with Distinction (having received grades of "3" or higher on five or more AP Exams): Maximilian Bacon '18, Clayton Bass '18, Patricia Bautista '19, Tyler Block '18, William Brody '18, Jane Burdick '18, Richard Burke '18, Thomas Carver '18, Kyle Castagna '18, Alethia Chan '18, James Chen '19, Kyle Christopher '18, Jenna Cohn '18, Sarah Colin '19, Charles Curnin '18, John Curry '18, Sofia Dartnell '18, Daniel de Leon '18, Alonzo Diaz '18, Colin Duncan '18, Matias Esquivel Losada '19, Sophia Giagni '18, Sofia Girvin '18, Niklas Goulet '19, Paul Hadchiti '18, Paulina Harasimowicz '19, Mia Hotsuki '19, David Jensen '18, Nicholas Jindal '18, Harrison Kadish '18, Charles Katz '18, Celeste Kelly '18, Niamh Kernan '18, Troy Kesselmark '18, Marisa Kim '18, Pierce Kim '18, Isabelle Koh '18, Laszlo Kopits '19, Genesee Kortick '18, Neerav Kumar '18, Annabelle Liu '18, Georgia Mandell '19, Connor Marrs '19, William McPhail '19, Alexei Mentzer '18, Max Mindich '19, Matthew Molinelli '18, Thérèse Mooney '18, Anika Narain '18, Chidozie Olewuenyi '18, Mindy Pang '19, Deeshani Patel '18, Olivia Pennington '18, Liam Pope '19, P.J. Pujadas '18, Lucie Rochat '18, Sabrina Sawhney '18, Diogo Schaffa '18, Aaron Serianni '20, William Shabecoff '19, Joshua Shapiro '18, Jason Sheppard '18, Réva Singh '18, Maxwell Smith '18, Jack Sobel '18, Zachary Spilo '18, Christopher Sullivan '18, Shane Tomaino '18, Charlotte Townley '19, Cecilia van Paasschen '19, Nicholas Verni '18, Sarah Walker '18, Sofia Wilmer '18, Kate Yamin '18, Jialin Yang '19, Christopher Ziac '18, Madeline Zuber '18.
27 AP Scholars with Honor (having received grades of "3" or higher on four or more AP Exams): Mitchell Babiarz '19, Martina Cappellano '18, Annie Cooper '19, Nicholas Daetwiler '18, Thomas Delves '18, William Dodge '18, Margaret Dunn '19, William Dunn '18, Gwendolyn Elkin '18, Joseph Farrell '19, Shanti Girande '18, Zoe Goldberg '19, John Golden '18, Faith Hardy '19, Mitchell Katz '19, Warren Kennedy-Nolle '19, Richard Levy '18, Madeline Mandell '19, Reilly McManus '19, Austin Pager '18, Elysia Pil '19, Mariana Sabogal '18, Natalie Sanchez '19, Margaret Sharpe '18, Nishan Shehadeh '19, Samuel Tanenbaum '18, William Waddell '19.
42 AP Scholars (having received grades of "3" or higher on three or more AP Exams): Edward Abrams '18, Zoe Athanason '18, Samuel Berger '18, Jesse Berkowitz '18, Jack Birchenough '18, Jackson Brodwolf '18, William Cousin '19, Conrad Crakes '19, Isabelle D'Ambrosio '18, Michael DiCaprio '18, Alexander Hackett '19, Camila Hirani '19, Samantha Hirschberg '19, Sophia Jindal '19, Isabelle Kim '18, Abhinav Kumar '20, Maxwell Mandell '18, Taddeo Mattia '19, Alexandra Medow '19, Amber Michaca '19, Angelica Michaca '12, John Miller '19, Portia Nelson '18, William O'Meara '19, Nicholas Owens '19, Dylan Pepe '18, Charles Perry '19, Cole Price '18, Caroline Robinson '18, Harrison Roth '19, Charles Rothschild '18, Isaac Sacks '19, Jason Schnall '19, Russell Shapiro '18, Yusra Suliman '19, Nicholas Tallis '19, Nina van Vredenburch '19, Shoshanna Victor '19, Zachary Wiener '18, Sarah Wright '19, Jessica Yaffa '19, Ethan Zeplin '19.
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Congratulations to 14 RCDS National Merit Semifinalists
RCDS is proud to announce that 14 RCDS seniors were named National Merit Semifinalists! Across the nation, only 1 percent of students who take the PSAT qualify for this honor. Congratulations to the students and to Rye Country Day!
James Chen
Sarah Colin
Matias Esquivel Losada
Joseph Farrell
Alexander R. Hackett
Mia Hotsuki
Georgia A. Mandell
Mindy Pang
Jason Schnall
William Shabecoff
Nishan Shehadeh
Nicholas Tallis
Cecilia van Paasschen
Jialin Yang
The National Merit Scholarship Program, which celebrates academic achievement in high school students, selects 16,000 high school seniors from across the country as semifinalists based on their PSAT scores (a test taken by roughly 1.6 million students each year). For more information, click here.
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Longtime RCDS English teacher Jessica Kaplan Opens Book Store
Congratulations to longtime RCDS English teacher, Jessica Kaplan, on opening a bookstore in Scarsdale. Bronx River Books opened this fall and hopes to become a destination and a haven for readers of all ages, displaying nearly 10,000 different volumes, including contemporary and classic fiction, quality children's and young adult selections, mystery and adventure titles, and books about contemporary affairs, history, science, great lives, practical philosophy, cooking, arts and music, parenting, fitness, local Westchester history and local Westchester activities. For a recent interview with Jessica and her husband, click here.
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RCDS | 150 Community Block Party [Photo Gallery]
It was a beautiful Sunday afternoon for a community-wide block party at RCDS. Over one thousand members of the RCDS community attended the fun and spirited event celebrating the School's 150th. They toured the new Cohen Center for the Creative Arts, danced with the new Willy the Wildcat mascot, and enjoyed the food from several local vendors. Thank you to everyone who attended, and a special thank you to the co-chairs who organized this spectacular event: Blanca Hirani, Loren Dinger and Cindy Roskind.
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Good Morning RCDS! Season 3, Episode 2
Season 2 Episode 29
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Dennis Parker '73 kicks off RCDS | 150 Alumni Speaker Series
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On Tuesday, September 18, Dennis Parker '73 delivered an address to Grades 3-8 in the morning followed by an address to the Upper School. Dennis's connection to the school extends back nearly fifty years, one third of the school's existence, and he remarked on the values that have long served as the foundation of the School, as well as the many ways in which the School has evolved. His story inspired students, who quickly rose to a standing ovation at the conclusion of his remarks.
Dennis Parker is an alumnus, a parent to Zoe Parker '09, a member of the RCDS board of trustees, and the 2001 recipient of the W. Lee Pierson Distinguished Alumni Award, which recognizes an individual whose generosity and service have significantly benefited and strengthened our society. He is the Director of the ACLU National Office's Racial Justice Program (RJP), and formerly served as the Chief of the Civil Rights Bureau of the Office of the New York State Attorney. Mr. Parker also worked for fourteen years at the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund litigating and supervising the litigation of scores of cases involving elementary and secondary education, affirmative action in higher education and equal educational opportunity. He is a graduate of Middlebury College and Harvard Law School.
Thank you to Dennis Parker for returning to campus and inspiring the next generation of Rye Country Day leaders and changemakers to pursue lives in keeping with the school's motto, "Not for Self, but for Service."
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Spirit Day Inspires
Tuesday's rain couldn't dampen the enthusiasm of students, faculty, or staff, as the entire RCDS on-campus community gathered to celebrate the start of the school year – the 150th since the founding of the School in 1869. Wearing RCDS 150 t-shirts, students assembled in the Athletic Center to hear words of welcome from the Headmaster and this year's Student Body President, James Chen '19. Mr. Nelson provided a brief history lesson, explaining that the School's founder, Susan J. Life, coined the School's motto, "Not for Self, but for Service," which continues to guide the School today. James Chen welcomed the students and encouraged them to make the most of their year by using empathy as their guide.
Empathy was also the theme of the activities in which the students engaged after the assembly. In small, mixed-grade groups, students were encouraged to share a narrative with each other. And they also heard an address from the first speaker in this year's 150th Speaker Series, Dennis Parker '73, RCDS alumnus, past parent, and current trustee, who discussed his experiences as a student at Rye Country Day and how they prepared and inspired him in his career path. Mr. Parker is director of the ACLU National Office's Racial Justice Program and formerly served as the chief of the Civil Rights Bureau of the Office of the New York State Attorney. Mr. Parker also worked for 14 years at the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, litigating and supervising the litigation of scores of cases involving elementary and secondary education, affirmative action in higher education and equal educational opportunity.
It was an inspiring day for all involved and a wonderful kick-off to a year of celebration and excitement.
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New Arts Center Opens With Celebration
Last weekend, with much fanfare and celebration, Rye Country Day officially opened The Cohen Center for the Creative Arts. Thanks to an extremely generous gift from the Steven & Alexandra Cohen Foundation, this 23,000 sq.ft., state-of-the-art building now provides spaces for Middle and Upper School art studios, digital photography and videography classrooms, the manual arts workshop, a black box theater, and an awe-inspiring Makerspace that contains seven 3-D printers, a computer-driven lathe, and robotics equipment to enable collaboration and innovation across the disciplines.
At a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Friday night, Headmaster Scott Nelson noted "The Steven & Alexandra Cohen Foundation has provided a truly transformational opportunity to RCDS that will benefit students and faculty for decades to come."
On Sunday, the entire RCDS community came together to celebrate The Cohen Center's opening and to kick off the School's 150th Anniversary at a Block Party in the main circle. Food trucks were busy handing out kid-friendly fare, children danced with Willy the Wildcat to music spun by a DJ, and RCDS 150 beach balls sailed through the sky. Inside The Cohen Center, faculty members proudly showed off their new spaces to all the visitors, as students and families tried their hand at various creative activities and observed the new equipment in action.
Special thanks to the co-chairs who organized these spectacular events: Blanca Hirani, Loren Dinger and Cindy Roskind.
BLOCK PARTY:
COHEN CENTER:
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RCDS Adopts Portrait of a Graduate
Over the course of the 2017-2018 school year, the entire Rye Country Day School community collaborated to develop a set of learning outcomes that tie together the School's mission statement, core values, strategic initiatives, and curricular and co-curricular goals. These outcomes are grouped into four domains - character, knowledge, skills, and citizenship - each of which is then expanded into a list of attributes and habits RCDS students practice. The learning outcomes listed in this portrait are both ambitious and realistic, and they extend across all departments and throughout the RCDS program, Pre-Kindergarten through Grade 12.
The Portrait of a Graduate is rooted in a basic concept: agreement on what we want our students to be able to do is necessary if we are to deliver these expected outcomes to the best of our ability. This Portrait of a Graduate provides a cohesive statement of who we are and what we believe, bringing together our existing values and initiatives as both stemming from and contributing to a central vision.
During their first meeting of the 2018-19 school year, the RCDS Board of Trustees voted to adopt the Rye Country Day School Portrait of a Graduate. While we cannot predict the future, we can be certain that these core skills, understandings, and traits will prove essential for RCDS students on their paths as leaders and changemakers.
View the Portrait of a Graduate website page.
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Good Morning RCDS! Season 3, Episode 3
Season 2 Episode 29
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RCDS Opens The Cohen Center For The Creative Arts
Rye Country Day School is proud to announce the opening of The Cohen Center for the Creative Arts, which brings together the disciplines to inspire new ways of thinking, collaborating, and innovating.
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