ALUMNI E-NEWS #1 • OCTOBER 2013
Welcome to our first-ever alumni e-newsletter, which is one of the new ways we’re helping our alumni stay in touch with RSS and with one another. Our aim is to make this monthly email one of the bright and sparkly spots in your inbox. We hope you love it! RSS ALUMNI ARE AWESOME (Like, Really Awesome) Fans of hit ABC series “Scandal” might recognize this room, and we’re sure it won’t be long before all of TV Land recognizes Tess Leibowitz (Class of 2004, pictured), who’s currently working in the writer’s room at “Scandal” while making her way up the TV ladder in Los Angeles. We recently chatted with Tess about her exciting job and what she learned way back when at RSS. Read the full interview here. Be on the lookout for future alumni interviews that will cover life in Botswana with the Peace Corps and advice on becoming a garden-growing entrepreneur. Our alumni are so cool! LET’S TOTALLY HANG OUT IN PERSON (or, Upcoming Events) Thursday, October 24, 21+ alumni: Post-Collegiate Alumni Happy Hour Join us for free drinks and free snacks at Traffic East, 986 2nd Avenue between 52nd and 53rd, 6 to 8 p.m. RSVP to bpalmer@rssnyc.org. Monday, November 25, Class of 2013: High School Night Members of the Class of 2013 are invited to RSS to represent their new schools at our annual 8th Grade High School Night. Details forthcoming. Friday, December 20, all alumni: Middle School Talent Show! This year, we’re inviting RSS graduates back to school at 1 p.m. to join the audience for this spectacular annual tradition. And you get to sit in the bleachers. RSVPs required to Mr. Palmer at bpalmer@rssnyc.org. (If you have school that day, we do not give you permission to skip class! #duh) Early Winter 2013, ongoing, all alumni: Tête-à-tête with Mr. Palmer Here’s your chance to hear Mr. Palmer’s three-minute schpiel on life at RSS and let him ask you six pertinent and fascinating questions about expanding the alumni program. This chat can take place via email, phone, Skype, and/or in person somewhere excellent in or near Manhattan. If interested, email Mr. Palmer.
READ THIS, LISTEN TO THAT Here at RSS we have awesome teachers with impeccable taste, so every now and then we’ll ask them for recommendations for you. This month, we asked Mr. Dempsey for his three favorite albums of 2013 thus far (go figure - he gave us five!), and we asked Ms. Drabkin to name three books she thinks all human beings should read before they turn 25. Let us know if you dive into any of their recommendations and what you think when you do! 1. Kurt Vile - Wakin’ On a Pretty Daze: Seamlessly melding folk and psychedelia, the songs are spacious and self-aware. 2. Phosphorescent – Muchacho: A beautifully crafted album, which displays the diversity of Matthew Houck’s songwriting talents. 3. Kanye West – Yeezus: Lyrically, his most vitriolic album yet. The production is experimental and representative of his general outlook; he doesn’t care what anyone else has to say. 4. Hospital Ships - Destruction in Yr Soul: Hospital Ships takes influence from post-rock giants like Sigur Ros and Explosions in the Sky to create songs that are grand in their scope and elegant in their execution. 5. Chance the Rapper - Acid Rap: The 19-year old rapper from the south side of Chicago covers weighty topics without being heavy handed and always keeps a fresh perspective. Amazing that he is still just a teenager. First, I’d recommend a collection of short stories: What We Talk About When We Talk About Love by Raymond Carver. Then I would recommend two novels: Carry Me Down by M.J. Hyland and Native Son by Richard Wright. All three of these books tackle the challenge, and gift, of what it means to be an introspective person. Although the settings and conflicts are different, the characters in these texts refuse to conform to what is expected of them even if it means accepting doubt and uncertainty in life. ALSO WE’VE BEEN BUSY Check out our Facebook page and our new Instagram account, two other lively ways for you to stay connected to one another and to life at RSS.
Make sure we have your latest contact info via our new website, too. If you’re in college, we want your college address so we can mail you a gift! (Seriously. We’re really good at gifts.) ~~~ We are eagerly planning in-person events for all of our alumni and welcome ideas, feedback, inspiration, pithy emails, smiley faces, links to interesting parts of the Internet, and general howdies, so don’t be shy: email Mr. Palmer at bpalmer@rssnyc.org. He looks forward to hearing from you. ~~~ And last but certainly not least, if you’d like to donate to help RSS stay awesome and continue to bring you awesome alumni goodness, here’s where to do that. ~~~ We look forward to hearing from and seeing all of you soon!
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Rodeph Sholom School Office of Development Bryant Palmer Director of Alumni Relations 646.438.8657 www.rodephsholomschool.org