2024 Excellence Magazine

Members of Rye Country Day School’s Class of 2024 are attending the following

Colleges and Universities

Amherst College

Barnard College

Bates College

Berklee College of Music

Boston College (2)

Boston University (2)

Bowdoin College (2)

Brandeis University (2)

Brown University (2)

Bucknell University (3)

California Institute of the Arts

Clemson University

Colby College (2)

Colgate University (4)

Columbia University (2)

Cornell University (7)

Dartmouth College (2)

Duke University (3)

Earlham College

École Polytechnique

Emory University (2)

Franklin and Marshall College

Georgetown University

Georgia Institute of Technology

Harvard College (2)

Haverford College

Hobart William & Smith Colleges

Johns Hopkins University (2)

Lehigh University

Lehman College, CUNY

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Middlebury College

New York University (2)

Northeastern University (4)

Northwestern University (5)

Oxford College of Emory

University

Princeton University (2)

Santa Clara University

Skidmore College

Southern Methodist University (4)

Stanford University

Trinity-Pawling School

Tufts University (2)

Tulane University (2)

University of Chicago (2)

University of Miami

University of Michigan (2)

University of Pennsylvania (2)

University of Rochester (2)

University of St. Andrews

University of Wisconsin (3)

Vanderbilt University (3)

Wake Forest University (3)

Washington University in St. Louis

Wellesley College

Wesleyan University

Williams College (3)

Yale University

Celebrating our graduates!

Rye Country Day School recognized students in the twelfth, eighth, and fourth grades during three festive graduations. Read about these milestone events on page 2.

The Rye Country Day Class of 2024 was recognized during the School’s 155th Graduation Exercises on Thursday, June 6, 2024.

The ceremony, which was held at Rye Country Day School in the Scott A. Nelson Athletic Center, featured remarks from Student Body President David Colin ’24, Senior Class President Sameer Hirani ’24, Head of School Randall Dunn, and Upper School Principal Peter Quagliaroli. The Upper School Concert Choir and the WildScats a capella group also gave moving musical performances. The graduation address was delivered by John Gulla, Executive Director of the Edward E. Ford Foundation.

In his address, Mr. Gulla reflected on his extensive experience serving others as a former independent school head and as the current leader of E. E. Ford, a 66-year-old foundation whose mission is to improve secondary education by supporting U.S. independent schools and encouraging promising practices. He said to the graduates, “You are entering a larger world that will also benefit from your service in whatever way you choose to bestow it. I urge you to extend and expand Not for Self, but for Service, to your lives in as central and meaningful a way as you can.” Mr. Gulla concluded his remarks with six words he has shared with students and educators over the years: “Believe in yourselves, care about others.”

Head of School Randall Dunn congratulated the Class of 2024, noting that its members are some of “the kindest and most capable leaders our world has ever seen.” He thanked the outstanding scholars for their leadership and contributions to the Rye Country Day community and highlighted their potential as skilled critical thinkers and engaged community members and citizens. Mr. Dunn emphasized one parting wish for the graduates, stating, “I wish for you to, despite all obstacles, remain curious about and fascinated by everything and everyone you encounter. This sense of wanting to know more without any assumptions or predetermination is what will set you apart as thinkers.” He continued, “It will distinguish you as individuals who are not afraid to be the first to try, not afraid to be the first to ask, not afraid to be the first to listen, not afraid to try and fail, and not afraid to succeed.”

Mr. Dunn closed his heartfelt remarks with an expression of pride and encouragement. “The outstanding institutions of higher education for which you are bound need you. They need your academic excellence, your commitment to service, your community values, and your kindness. Go forth. They are lucky to have you. Class of 2024, your teachers and I will always be cheering you on every step of the way. And remember, Rye Country Day is always going to be your home.”

Twelfth graders, their families, and Upper School faculty and staff gathered for the Senior BBQ on June 4.

Peter Quagliaroli

At the Blue & Gold Dinner on May 29, the Class of 2024 was officially welcomed into the RCDS Alumni Association.

David Colin

Sameer Hirani

John Gulla

Randall Dunn

Senior WildScats

UPPER SCHOOL GRADUATION CONGRATULATIONS TO THE CLASS OF 2024!

MIDDLE SCHOOL GRADUATION

On Wednesday, June 5, RCDS honored the eighth-grade Class of 2028 at the Middle School Graduation. The ceremony featured remarks from Interim Middle School Principal Betsy Stedman, Head of School Randall Dunn, and Class Speakers Christopher Estill ’28 and Abigail Smith ’28. Incoming Student Body President Emily Cheigh ’25 welcomed the class to the RCDS Upper School, and the Grades 7 and 8 Singers sang Alan Menken’s and David Zippel’s “Go The Distance.”

Congratulations to our newest Upper Schoolers!

Emily Cheigh ’25

Abigail Smith ’28 and Christopher Estill ’28

GRADE 4 MOVING-UP CEREMONY

On Tuesday, June 4, our fourth graders were honored at the Moving-Up Ceremony. Speakers included Lower School Principal Dr. Stacey Sotirhos, Head of School Randall Dunn, and Interim Middle School Principal Betsy Stedman. Mr. Dunn continued his tradition of writing an original poem, mentioning each student by name.

It was wonderful to celebrate this enthusiastic group of learners. We look forward to their Middle School achievements next year as fifth graders.

Randall Dunn

Stacey Sotirhos

2024 PRIZE DAY

At the annual Prize Day Ceremony on Monday, June 3, RCDS students were recognized for their exceptional work and achievements during the school year. Congratulations, Wildcats, on your hard work and dedication in 2023-24.

UPPER SCHOOL AWARDS

ALUMNI PRIZE

The School’s highest honor, awarded to seniors who have made the most outstanding contribution to the life of the School.

Grace Allen ’24

David Colin ’24

HEAD OF SCHOOL'S PRIZE

Given to students who model leadership, courage, or academic excellence.

Jack de Haan ’24

Sofía Castañeda ’24

Alexa Kim ’24

PARENTS ASSOCIATION PRIZE

Awarded in recognition of exemplary personal growth and service to others.

Sameer Hirani ’24

Cole Denson ’24

Isabel Tiburcio ’24

JAMES P. GODFREY ’95 AWARD

Presented to students who have performed significant service on behalf of others.

Isa Pierry ’25

Rosie Isiyel ’25

CHRISTINE NELSON ’80 AWARD

Presented to tenth graders in recognition of outstanding citizenship.

Lincoln Feng ’26

Selena Zhang ’26

MARY ANN REICHHARDT MEMORIAL AWARD

In memory of the School’s former Director of College Counseling. Given to a senior for a combination of outstanding academics and contributions to the School.

Cleo Saltz ’24

GRETCHEN PULVERMANN ’30

SCHOLARSHIP AWARD

Given to an accomplished senior who will study performing arts in college.

Seneca Song ’24

WILL MCCURDY ’05 AWARD

Presented in recognition of courage, character, and commitment.

Rhodes Boester ’24

Heather Daum ’24

Space Pace ’24

SENIOR DEANS’ AWARD

Awarded to seniors who have made an outstanding contribution to their class and to the School during their senior year.

Brynn Coady ’24

Madison Haft-Abromovitch ’24

Cate Tucker ’24

CLASS OF 2008 AWARD

Given to ninth graders who have had the most positive influence in and outside of the classroom, noting their enthusiasm and dedication to school work and extracurricular activities.

Caroline Stronski ’27

Amaya Yokuty ’27

DENNIS PARKER ’73 PRIZE

Given to a senior who has made the school community more inclusive by celebrating diversity, raising awareness about issues of equity and social justice, and inspiring others to recognize the humanity of all people.

Jane Saltz ’24

STEAM AWARD

Presented to seniors who actively promote and inspire collaboration and display passion for design and creativity within the STEAM initiative.

Neil Noronha ’24

Caroline Snell ’24

SUSTAINABILITY AWARD

Awarded to students who best exemplify the School’s sustainability initiative by seeking an understanding of the world around us, creating an atmosphere of environmental awareness, and promoting responsible stewardship of our planet.

Elizabeth Hawkey ’24

LOWER HUDSON COUNCIL OF SCHOOL SUPERINTENDENTS AWARD

Given by the Lower Hudson Council of School Superintendents to two seniors for high academic achievement.

Connor Davidson ’24

Katia Ohmacht ’24

THE GLEN ROBERTSON AWARD (for Faculty)

Lauris Khan

Upper School Math Teacher

Awards continued on page 10

ALUMNI PRIZE RECIPIENTS

By Lori Ferguson

The Alumni Prize is the School’s highest honor, and it is awarded to seniors who have made the most outstanding contribution to the life of the School.

When it comes to getting something done, Grace Allen ’24 is all in. Whether in the classroom or on the fields, this RCDS lifer has a sense of drive that’s unstoppable. “My mom says I have grit and determination,” says Grace with a chuckle.

A student at Rye Country Day since Pre-K, she is widely praised for her love of learning and commitment to community. “Grace is the epitome of what we want an RCDS student to be,” observes Director of College Counseling Jeffrey Bates. “She looks to others first and leads by example rather than dictate.”

When it comes to superlatives, David Colin ’24 elicits many. A Wildcat since Kindergarten, he is recognized for his leadership, creativity, and collaborative nature and praised as a “consummate scholar across the entire curriculum,” by RCDS College Counselors.

A three-sport varsity athlete—she played field hockey in the fall, ice hockey in the winter, and lacrosse in the spring and year-round with her club team—Grace is recognized as a natural leader on and off the field. In addition to representing Rye Country Day as an athlete and serving as captain of all three sports her senior year, she also contributed to the RCDS community as a Peer Leader, a Girls’ Peer Mentor, and a SET tutor. Grace represented the School as an Admissions Student Leader as well. “I really enjoy connecting with a lot of different people, in the hallways, in classrooms, and especially in sports,” she modestly avers. “I like to have fun, but I am also driven to succeed.”

She admits to enjoying the challenges that leadership offers. “I like to take charge. I feel like I have the confidence to make sure that things are happening when they need to, and I like the pressure of being in a leadership position…it makes me perform better.”

Grace is a leader outside the classroom walls as well. When confronted with the reality of food insecurity in the local community, she volunteered with the Larchmont-Mamaroneck Hunger Task Force, planting her own backyard garden and donating dozens of pounds of fresh vegetables to feed local families.

In the fall she will matriculate at Vanderbilt University with a tentative plan to major in biology or psychology. “I’m drawn to STEM subjects; I like learning how things work and why things happen,” she observes. She is unsure where her interests will lead, but is excited to explore.

Whatever road she decides to travel, Grace insists she will return to visit RCDS often. “I love the School and I’m very happy to have had it be the place where I grew up,” she enthuses. “I know everyone says it, but the community here is amazing; I really do think that the friends I’ve made here are some of the best people in my life.”

She is both humbled and grateful to be an Alumni Prize recipient. “It’s such an honor and surprise to receive this recognition from the School. Rye Country Day builds character,” she concludes. “I’ve learned who I am as a person and how to stay true to myself. I’m so grateful for my time here.”

At RCDS, David excelled in math and science courses, and he had a special passion for the humanities, particularly history. “It’s the subject that most ties into my future,” he observes. “For example, I loved learning about the Enlightenment in my European history class, looking at the ways that people at the time used logic to explain the world and try to redesign it from the ground up. I’m interested in finding ways to impact my community positively and make society better, so knowing what’s been done in the past is important.”

Solidifying connections to both past and present in service of the greater good is a theme that runs throughout David’s time at RCDS. Lauded as a natural leader, he is always looking for ways to help others and enrich his community. It’s an instinct he attributes to his mother. “My mom is very big on kindness and places a big emphasis on thinking of others first,” he explains.

As an Upper School student, David leaned into doing his part to improve the community, serving as class president in Grades 9-11 and as Student Body President his senior year. His accomplishments include restarting the School’s long dormant competitive debate team and advocating for a host of popular, student-focused campus improvements. “As a leader, I believe it’s important to understand and appreciate others’ opinions and needs as well as articulate your own. Such understanding helps to forward the overall mission.”

On receiving the Alumni Prize, David shares, “I was elated and very honored and proud that I was deemed deserving. I had not considered how contributing to the School might culminate in an award—I was confident in the positivity of the various things I’ve done during my time at RCDS, but this felt like validation.”

This fall he enters Duke University as a public policy major. “I want to amplify whatever went right in high school. I’m interested in delving further into how the world works and how it can be improved. My dream job at the moment is working in a ’Think & Do Tank,’ a place that not only allows me to conduct extensive research on important problems but also implement solutions,” he says.

David is especially grateful for the variety of interests and experiences he was able to pursue at school. “At RCDS, I discovered that some of the best learning happens individually, outside the classroom,” he continues. “As students, we were given a great deal of agency. I believe that when you are given such a powerful gift, you must figure out how to wield it productively. RCDS is extremely good at entrusting students with liberty,” he concludes. “I love thinking about ideas and then using them to solve a problem, and in the future, that’s what I hope to do.”

HEAD OF SCHOOL’S PRIZE RECIPIENTS

By Lori Ferguson

The Head of School’s Prize is given to students who model leadership, courage, or academic excellence.

When it comes to connecting classroom learning with real-world solutions, Sofía Castañeda ’24 has a special knack. Widely recognized as a formidable intellect, she has also been lauded as “a beacon of hope and a catalyst for change, a leader, and an unwavering advocate for her community.”

Since her arrival at Rye Country Day in the sixth grade, Sofia consistently distinguished herself among her peers and across the curriculum, earning plaudits for accomplishments that range from extraordinary success in a rigorous post-AP Honors English Seminar to completion of an AP Calculus AB course her junior year.

Sofia’s efforts outside the classroom are equally noteworthy. The proud daughter of a Peruvian immigrant, she has worked tirelessly to promote justice and strengthen Rye Country Day’s community, creating The Hispanic Latinx Cultural Club and serving in leadership roles with the Public Purpose Student Leadership Board, RCDS Uplift Program, Girls’ Peer Mentoring, and the Adult Saturday Enrichment Tutorial English as a Second Language Program. She believes deeply that people should be aware of, rather than ashamed of, their privileges and use them to serve the greater good.

“Meaningful involvement with underserved communities is very important to me,” Sofia explains, reflecting on her RCDS Community Engagement Project with Kids Helping Kids to facilitate a writing course and competition to support the education of their students. “Having the opportunity to lead programs rather than be served by them is huge. I got lucky; I got to go to private school and get this education, and now I want to give back.”

Sofia has also demonstrated her prowess as a burgeoning scientist, conducting important research aimed at improving care for indigenous people through student internships at the world-renowned biotechnology firm Regeneron’s Genetics Center. “I’m very interested in the ways that DEI and public purpose work intersect with genetics,” she notes.

In the fall, Sofia will matriculate at Emory University with a long-range plan to major in neuroscience or public health and then enroll in medical school and perhaps specialize in psychiatry. “My mom is a therapist who helps recent arrivals to this country deal with family trauma and mental health issues,” she explains. “I can imagine working alongside her. I want to do whatever I can to help people in need.”

Sofia admits she was surprised to receive the Head of School’s prize. “I was humbled to be recognized in this way; there are so many talented kids at Rye Country Day.” Reflecting on her time at the School, she recognizes its significance for her personally. “I don’t have a legacy of college graduates in my family, so I’ve done everything I can to take advantage of the opportunities that have been given to me. It’s wonderful to have my efforts recognized, but my work is not done. I have the privilege of an education and the opportunity to give back to my community, so that’s what I must do.”

While flying to Italy for his postgraduation trip, Jack de Haan ’24 grabbed a textbook and taught himself intermediate Italian. “I wasn’t fluent when I landed, but I could hold basic conversations, and when I didn’t know the word in Italian, I just tried the Spanish or French equivalent,” he explains. “It worked out pretty well.” Jack also speaks Spanish, French, and German. “I took on the challenge of teaching myself French and German during COVID, and then I was lucky enough to take Honors Intensive French my senior year,” he says. He also excelled in Honors Latin.

In addition to his prowess with languages, Jack was equally renowned for his accomplishments in science and mathematics at RCDS, including mastering several twelfth-grade AP and honors courses as an eleventh grader. “I enjoy math and languages because I like finding patterns and connecting things that I know,” he says. And that delight in connection extends beyond himself. A member of the RCDS community since eighth grade, Jack emerged as a community leader and respected mentor, helping younger students with language study as an Oral Proficiency Intern and guiding rising students as a Peer Leader. He also served as head of both of these programs, training other OPIs and PLs.

Also a leader outside the classroom, Jack realized great success in running. In addition to serving as a three-season captain for Cross Country and Indoor and Outdoor Track, he won the steeplechase in 2023 and 2024, medaled in the Indoor Track NYSAIS Championship for the 3200m, medaled at the Cross Country NYSAIS Championship, and was invited to the NY State Federation Championships the past three seasons and the last outdoor season. And Jack is musically gifted, too. One of just two double bass players at the School, he led the RCDS Orchestra’s string bass section and served as co-leader of the entire orchestra.

Asked about receiving the Head of School’s prize, Jack says, “I was honored. It represents the culmination of the things I’ve done. To know that I have had a positive impact on this community is incredibly gratifying. I really enjoy connecting with people; I’m extremely interested in how people think and interact with each other, and the connections I’ve established here are special. Rye Country Day is a warm community where I’ve been able to be myself and be accepted for who I am.”

Jack will matriculate at Brown University this fall and plans to study cognitive science. “It’s a blend of computer science, linguistics, behavioral science and more,” he says. “I think it’s a great field for me—it will hone my fluency for interpersonal interaction and problem solving.” In reflection, Jack shares, “I was extremely shy when I arrived at RCDS, but I’ve become much more extroverted.” He believes the source of this personal growth is the variety of experiences Rye Country Day offers. “I attribute that shift to the things I’ve been able to do. I’ve been thrust into the spotlight, which has forced me to develop a fearlessly authentic sense of self. I know who I am, what I can do, and what I can be, and I owe that to the connections that RCDS has empowered me to make.”

A STEM star with a love of languages and a dedication to dance, Alexa Kim ’24 has been described as a gifted student who is “a ‘powerhouse in physics,’ a ‘superstar’ in honors biology, and a ‘brilliant programmer’ in AP Computer Science.” She characterizes her efforts more modestly. “I enjoy hands-on learning. I’m a very practical person and I love solving problems,” she says with a smile.

A Rye Country Day student since fourth grade, Alexa has embraced her educational experience with gusto. A standout in STEM courses as well as in English, Spanish, and the humanities, she leaves Rye Country Day with an impressive transcript that includes four post-AP courses, six AP courses, and nine Honors level courses.

Alexa has been equally industrious outside the classroom walls. A strong advocate for STEM education—particularly among girls—she was active in the Society of Women Engineers and the STEM Alliance of Mamaroneck-Larchmont and served as President of the Women in Science Club.

Alexa has also sought out ways to apply her knowledge in the real world. During a summer internship at ADAPT Community Network, she worked with the technology team to create assistive devices that aid people with disabilities. “I’m interested in studying mechanical engineering in college and the internship really opened my eyes to what I could do with such a degree in the real world,” she enthuses.

Her creativity is not confined to the classroom or lab. An avid dancer since age three in a host of genres from ballet and tap to contemporary jazz, Alexa recently began applying her skills to choreography as well. “Dance is very different from STEM—it’s an important outlet for me and a different way to cultivate my creative side,” she explains.

While her selection as a Head of School’s Prize winner seems natural, Alexa expressed surprise at the honor. “It was wonderful to be recognized for my efforts. There are so many talented students at Rye Country Day. Everyone is smart and committed to this community.”

It is these RCDS peers and the community they have forged that Alexa will remember fondly and cherish when she begins college in the fall at Duke University. And she is committed to carry the lessons of RCDS with her into the future. “Rye Country Day has taught me the importance of forming strong bonds,” she notes. “The collaborative, close-knit culture here is amazing. It’s an incredibly rigorous environment, yet people are always eager to help and support one another. Everyone is trying to lift each other up. I want to carry that attitude forward.”

PRIZE DAY

Continued from page 6

UPPER SCHOOL AWARDS

DEPARTMENT

AWARDS ART

LELIA CARTER BIRRELL ’68 AWARD

Presented to the student with outstanding achievements in the visual arts.

Ellen Chen ’24

ATHLETICS

FAA SCHOLAR-ATHLETE

Jack de Haan ’24

THE RICHARD LE MAIRE ’63 AWARD

Presented to the senior boy who has contributed most to the School’s athletic program.

Cole Denson ’24

THE MARY BORTON TROPHY

Presented to the senior girl who has contributed most to the School’s athletic program.

Cleo Saltz ’24

SCOTT A. NELSON SCHOLAR-ATHLETE AWARD

Recognizes senior student-athletes whose passion for athletics, combined with their commitment to academics, strengthens their team, their class, and the entire RCDS community.

Grace Allen ’24

Brynn Coady ’24

CLASSICS

CLASSICS AWARD

Izzy Romita ’24

LATIN AWARD

Liz Kavanagh ’24

COMPUTER SCIENCE

COMPUTER SCIENCE AWARD

Jaymin Ding ’25

Katia Ohmacht ’24

DRAMA & DANCE

V. JANET LOTT SPIRIT OF THE THEATRE AWARD

Given to students who have contributed most onstage to the School’s drama program.

Ryan D’Ambrosio ’24

GLEN ROBERTSON MEMORIAL AWARD

Given to students who have contributed most backstage to the School’s drama program.

Francesca Ricciarini ’24

DANCE AWARD

Presented to students who have contributed most to the School’s dance program.

Seneca Song ’24

ENGLISH

SOPHOMORE ENGLISH AWARD

Alexa Chua ’26

SENIOR ENGLISH AWARD

Donna Zhang ’24

CREATIVE WRITING AWARD

Zoe Roth ’25

HUMANITIES

JOSHUA BENNETT ’06 HUMANITIES AWARD

Alec Davis ’24

Sarah Rivas ’24

CORNELIUS TACITUS PRIZE

Presented to juniors who have excelled in the study of humanities.

Isa Pierry ’25

Nico Stefanoni ’25

MATHEMATICS

JUNIOR MATHEMATICS AWARD

Alyssa Chu ’25

SENIOR MATHEMATICS AWARD

Maximilian Garcia-Tunon ’24

ROBERT REESER MEMORIAL AWARD

Awarded to the senior who has displayed a growing interest and talent in math over the years.

Rebecca Simensky ’24

MODERN LANGUAGES

CHINESE AWARD

Connor Rusch ’25

FRENCH AWARD

Mina Kim ’24

SPANISH AWARD

Aaden Johnson ’24

MODERN LANGUAGES AWARD

Val Umanzor ’24

MUSIC

CHORAL AWARD

Francesca Ricciarini ’24

JOHN PHILIP SOUSA AWARD

Jun Sherry ’24

MUSIC AWARD

Ayush Maini ’24

ORCHESTRA AWARD

Mina Kim ’24

NATURAL SCIENCES

SENIOR SCIENCE AWARD

Jonah Gurion ’24

Piper Migden ’24

BOOK AWARDS

BROWN UNIVERSITY

Leo Roth ’25

DARTMOUTH COLLEGE

Ana Petricone ’25

HARVARD COLLEGE

Leah Steyn ’25

THE PRINCETON UNIVERSITY

Dana Balin ’25

THE UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA

Anika Kini ’25

YALE UNIVERSITY

Alyssa Chu ’25

ADVANCED PLACEMENT SCHOLARS

186 Rye Country Day students were recognized by the College Board’s 2024 Advanced Placement Program for their outstanding achievement on the college-level Advanced Placement Exams.

105 AP SCHOLARS WITH DISTINCTION

Students who received an average score of at least 3.5 on all AP Exams taken, and scores of 3 or higher on five or more of these exams.

Rahul Arora ’25

Arjun Arora ’26

Adam Badillo ’24

Dana Balin ’25

Anika Bhat ’25

Ellie Block ’25

Rhodes Boester ’24

Sebastian Briano ’24

Penelope Brody ’24

Katherine Burdick ’24

Sofía Castañeda ’24

Ellen Chen ’24

Alyssa Chu ’25

Alexander Cohen ’24

David S. Colin ’24

Christopher Coquillette ’24

Edward Coristine ’24

Benjamin Cousin ’24

Ryan D’Ambrosio ’24

Zachary D’Amico ’25

Connor Davidson ’24

Alexander Davis ’24

Jack de Haan ’24

Frederic Denson ’24

Jaymin Ding ’25

Willow Edwards ’25

William Fallon ’24

Ronald Feng ’24

Maria Flores ’25

Henry Fogel ’25

Celine Fong ’24

Anna Franzino ’24

Maximilian Garcia-Tunon ’24

Amelie Goacher ’25

Joaquin Gonzalez ’25

Shaurya Grover ’25

Jonah Gurion ’24

Elizabeth Hackett ’24

Sameer Hirani ’24

Theodore Holtman ’24

Kathryn Hooper ’24

Ariel Israel ’25

Blake James ’25

Aaden Johnson ’24

Eli Kerlan ’24

David Kern ’25

Aegus Kim ’24

Alexa Kim ’24

Mina Kim ’24

Anika Kini ’25

Colin Kinsey ’24

Samuel Kobi ’24

Julia Kroin ’25

Colin Lauri ’25

Francisco Luz ’25

Ayush Maini ’24

Christopher Mathias ’25

Stella Maymin ’24

Aidan McIntosh ’24

Harrison Millan ’26

James Murphy ’25

Neil Noronha ’24

Ambika Nott ’25

Katia Ohmacht ’24

Elizabeth Owens ’24

Michael Pace ’24

Inacio Pekarovic ’24

Danielle Penn ’24

Jared Perlmutter ’24

Anna Pickette ’24

Isabela Pierry ’25

Sarah Rivas ’24

Alexander Rivas ’25

Isabella Romita ’24

Leo Roth ’25

Connor Rusch ’25

Jude Sadler ’25

Sam Sah-Nixon ’25

Jane Saltz ’24

Colette Sawyer ’25

Ethan Schales ’25

Romi Schreiber ’24

Angad Sethi ’24

Veeraj Shah ’25

Jun Sherry ’24

Lily Smith ’25

Caroline Snell ’24

Sydney Snell ’24

James Song ’25

Alexander Stempel ’25

Leah Steyn ’25

Valerie Umanzor ’24

Youchang Wang ’24

Ewan Ward ’24

Qian Wei ’26

Apolline Weinstein ’24

Jonathan Wolf ’25

Casey Wu ’24

Ethan Xiao ’24

Elizabeth Yepes ’25

Claire Yu ’25

Derek Zaeske ’24

Donna Zhang ’24

Jordan Zhao ’24

Jefferson Zhou ’24

39 AP SCHOLARS WITH HONOR

Students who received an averagescoreofatleast3.25 on all AP Exams taken, and scoresof3orhigheronfour or more of these exams.

Grace Allen ’24

Melanie Asness ’25

Davis Clarke ’25

Brynn Coady ’24

Sydney Cohn ’25

Alexa Daddi-Melino ’25

Rhys de Haan ’25

Rebecca Dubrow ’25

Iris Gu ’25

Tyler Hatstadt ’26

Allegra Hine ’25

Rosie Isiyel ’25

Blake Jachman ’25

Matthew Jachman ’25

Isabella Jolicoeur ’25

Caroline Kelly ’24

James Kolodner ’25

Evie Krummenoehl ’25

Samantha Lee ’25

Lucius Liu ’26

Sophia Lynch ’25

Tara McIntosh ’25

Piper Migden ’24

Sebastian Nogueira ’25

Michael Pedone ’25

Ana Petricone ’25

Arav Ramaswamy ’26

Francesca Ricciarini ’24

Cleo Saltz ’24

Emma Silberstein ’25

Nicholas Smith ’25

Luke Stronski ’25

Justin Suquilanda ’25

Olivia Thomas ’24

Isabel Tiburcio ’24

Catherine Tucker ’24

Arnav Vyas ’25

Robert Wang ’25

Christopher Yepes ’25

42

AP SCHOLARS

Students who received scores of 3 or higher on three or more AP Exams.

Chaaranath Badrinath ’26

Raihan Bhuiya ’25

Reese Bommer ’24

Eleanor Brown ’25

Ray Cao ’26

Emily Cheigh ’25

Theodore Cooper ’25

Heather Daum ’24

Christopher Emmet ’25

Lara Erim ’25

Ziyi Feng ’26

Taeko Fueno ’25

Dylan Garbutt ’24

Susanna Geller ’25

Esaias Gonzalez ’25

Joshua Greene ’25

Julia Heintz ’25

Ava Herzog ’24

Shea Hollwedel ’25

Sebastian Huet ’24

Elizabeth Kavanagh ’24

Natalia Kochut ’24

Varun Kolluri ’24

Xindi Liu ’26

Broderick Mackey ’25

Aedan Pearl ’25

Brian Pennington ’24

Massimo Piccinini ’24

Jason Ren ’26

Steven Ren ’26

Ethan Roque ’24

Zoe Roth ’25

Gabriela Schlumberger ’25

Eve Shurslep ’25

Lauren Slovin ’25

Luca A. Strazzini ’24

Daisy E. Stuart ’24

Charles Testa ’24

Mara Visentin ’25

Ainslie Whitman ’25

Sydney Winter ’25

Keira Zheng ’25

These lists reflect the College Board’s AP Scholar reporting as of August 20, 2024.

MATHEMATICS

NEW YORK MATH LEAGUE CONTEST

Over one million students from the United States and Canada participate in Math League Contests each year. Every contest has questions from different areas of mathematics. The goal is to encourage student interest and confidence in mathematics through solving worthwhile problems. Many students first develop an interest in mathematics through problemsolving activities such as these contests.

TOP SCORERS AT RCDS

GRADE 8

1st – Nikolas R. ’30

2nd – Oliver J. ’30

3rd – Jeremy C. ’29, Jade Z. ’29

GRADE 7

1st – Deven Y. ’29

2nd – David K. ’29

3rd – Louis P. ’29, Ethan Z. ’30

GRADE 6

1st – Ethan W. ’30

2nd – Conrad C. ’30, Zayd K. ’30, Miles Y. ’30

GRADE 5

1st – Ellen Y. ’31

2nd – Alexander J. ’31, Matthew G. ’31, Lucius B. ’31, Charles L. ’31

MATH OLYMPIAD

Last year nearly 170,000 students from 6,000 teams worldwide participated in the Math Olympiad. All 50 states and about 30 other countries were represented.

TOP SCORERS AT RCDS

GRADES 5 & 6

1st – Zayd K. ’30

2nd – Matthew G. ’31, Ellen Y. ’31

GRADES 7

1st – Ethan Z. ’30

2nd – Meimei Z. ’30

3rd – Diya B. ’29, Louis P. ’29

GRADES 8

1st – Oliver J. ’30, Nikolas R. ’30

2nd – Jeremy C. ’29

AMERICAN MATH COMPETITIONS

The Mathematical Association of America hosts the annual American Mathematics Competitions (AMC) to identify talent and foster a love of mathematics through friendly competition. The AMC is a series of exams that build problem-solving skills and mathematical knowledge in middle (AMC 8) and high school (AMC 10/12) students.

The American Invitational Mathematics Examination (AIME) is an intermediate examination intended to provide challenge and recognition to high school students in North America who have exceptional mathematical abilities. Students who excel in the American Math Competitions (AMC 10/12) are invited to participate in the AIME.

The United States of America Mathematical Olympiad (USAMO) and the United States of America Junior Mathematical Olympiad (USAJMO) are the third tier of AMC. Participants are invited based on their exceptional performances on the first two exams, the AMC 10/12 (top 2.5%) and AIME (top 3.5%) from an initial group of approximately 300,000 students who sat for the AMC exams in November.

Alyssa Chu ’25 – AMC 12A and AMC 12B

• Student with highest score at school for both exams

• AIME qualifier for both exams

• Certificate of distinction for AMC 12A

• USAMO Qualifier, earned USAMO Honorable Mention

Ethan Schales ’25 – AMC 12A

• Placed in top three scores at school

• AIME qualifier

Veeraj Shah ’25 – AMC 12A

• Placed in top three scores at school

• AIME qualifier

Shawn Wei ’26 – AMC 10B

• Student with highest score at school

• AIME qualifier

Melody Wu ’28 – AMC 10A

• Student with highest score at school

• Certificate of achievement (students in Grade 8 and below who scored 90 or above on the AMC 10)

• AIME qualifier

• Certificate of distinction and Honor roll of distinction

• USAJMO qualifier

Melody Wu ’28 – AMC 8

• First Place — Gold

Nikolas R. ’30 – AMC 8

• Second Place — Silver

Jade Z. ’29 – AMC 8

• Second Place — Silver

OTHER HONORS

JANE STREET MATH PRIZE FOR GIRLS

Alyssa Chu ’25 placed eleventh in North America in the 2023 Advantage Testing Foundation/Jane Street Math Prize for Girls Contest. As a high scorer, Alyssa will be invited to compete in the Math Prize for Girls Olympiad later this year.

The competition, which takes place annually at MIT, challenges about 250 young female mathematicians to compete in a test of mathematical creativity and insight. Students are invited to compete based on their scores on the AMC 12 examination. The Jane Street Math Prize for Girls Contest is considered the largest math prize contest in the world for girls.

MATH PRIZE FOR GIRLS OLYMPIAD

After placing eleventh in North America in the 2023 Advantage Testing Foundation/Jane Street Math Prize for Girls Contest, Alyssa Chu ’25 was invited to compete in the 2023 Math Prize for Girls Olympiad and won a bronze medal.

The Olympiad is a proof-oriented contest that challenges participants to solve four problems in four hours. One of just 41 students from across the country who qualified for the Olympiad, Alyssa scored 10 of 28 points to earn her bronze medal.

EXETER MATH CLUB COMPETITION

At the Exeter Math Club Competition in New Hampshire, as captain of the Westchester Area Math Circle Blue team, Melody Wu ’28 led her team to a third-place finish in the guts round and a fourth-place finish in the team round among. Over 35 teams competed. Melody also placed tenth in the accuracy round and seventeenth overall.

MATHCOUNTS WESTCHESTER-PUTNAM CHAPTER COMPETITION

At Mathcounts Westchester-Putnam Chapter Competition in Ardsley, Melody Wu ’28 won first place as an individual, earning the highest score overall among over 80 participants from 13 schools. She also took second place in the countdown round.

CARNEGIE MELLON WOMEN’S MATHEMATICS COMPETITION

Melody Wu ’28 received an individual award in the Carnegie Mellon Women’s Mathematics Competition (CMWMC) in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. In addition, her team tied for fourth place in the tournament, which is an in-person math contest open to female or non-binary middle and high school students. Participants compete in individual, guts (team), and relay rounds in the topics of algebra, combinatorics, and computer science.

2024 CHINESE AWARDS

Upper School students participated in PHSK, the RCDS Chinese Contest in March. Gold, Silver, Bronze and Honor medals were awarded.

GOLD MEDAL

PHSK1

Cason Dean ’26

Emma Maini ’27**

Irena M. ’30**

Magnus Rasmussen ’27

Gavin R. ’30

PHSK2

Alexa Chua ’26

Zoe Sterling-Dixon ’26**

PHSK5

Qian Wei ’26

SILVER MEDAL

PHSK1

Skyla Perez ’26

PHSK2

Eliana Chorost ’26

Harry Holtman ’26

Juliette Moore ’27

PHSK4

George Zhan ’27

BRONZE MEDAL

PHSK1

Jack Dorin ’26

PHSK3

Julia Kroin ’25

Lauren Slovin ’25

PHSK5

Amy He ’27

HONOR MEDAL

PHSK3

Lizzy Yepes ’25

PHSK4

Jane Saltz ’24

PHSK5

Connor Rusch ’25

Middle School students participated in the 2023-24 CLASS (Chinese Language Association of Secondary & Elementary Schools) National Chinese Essay Contest.

HONORABLE MENTION

Irena M. ’30

Gavin R. ’30

William A. ’29

Teddy Kroin ’28

Charlie MacGuffie ’28

Jack Slovin ’28

George Zhan ’27

In the CLASS 2024 National Poster Contest, which recognizes students’ outstanding linguistic and artistic abilities, the topic of the content was “My Favorite Chinese Character.” Two RCDS students received medals.

SILVER AWARD

Irena M. ’30

BRONZE AWARD

Koji N. ’29

FRENCH AWARDS

Middle and Upper School students participated in Le Grand Concours, the National French Contest, in March. Platinum, Gold, Silver, and Bronze medals are awarded.

GOLD MEDAL

Level 01A

Chloe B. ’29

Katerina B. ’30

Grace F. ’29

Olivia Pi. ’29

Olivia Pr. ’29

Sarah P. ’29

Valentina P. ’29

Level 1A

Julie Chen ’28

Ailey Denson ’28

Christopher Estill ’28

Lilly Kercher ’28

C. C. Liu ’28

Georgina Murphy ’28

Madeleine Stokes ’28

Level 2A

Luke Werwaiss ’27

Jack de Haan ’24

Level 2B

Salvatore Bove ’26

Level 3A

Alyssa Chu ’25

Selena Zhang ’26

Level 4A

Isabela Pierry ’25

Leah Steyn ’25

Felix Caminiti ’25

Level 5AP

Valerie Umanzor ’24

Level 5C

Daphne Panié ’27

SILVER MEDAL

Level 01A

Audrey D. ’29

Jolie R. ’29

Helena P. ’29

Liana V. ’29

Level 1A

Marshall Brown ’28

Emmy Liang ’28

Ariana Quispialaya ’28

Kayla Rosen ’28

Arianna Yu ’28

Level 1B

JP H. ’29

Level 2A

Zara Khemlani ’27

Dana DaCosta ’26

Level 3A

Jason Ren ’26

Level 4A

Davis Clarke ’25

Aaden Johnson ’24

Aegus Kim ’24

Zoe Roth ’25

Leo Roth ’25

Colette Sawyer ’25

Level 5AP

Donna Zhang ’24

BRONZE MEDAL

Level 01A

Claire T. ’29

Level 01A

Charley Kercher ’28

Lilia Schukin ’28

Dillon White ’28

Level 2A

Juliet Tuncer ’27

Jenny Xu ’27

Level 3A

Nina Bortner-Hirszman ’26

Catie Colao ’26

Stella Huber ’26

Ambika Nott ’25

Lydia Sussman ’26

Annabella Yu ’26

Level 4A

Maria Flores ’25

Allie Hine ’25

Samantha Lee ’25

HONORABLE MENTION

Level 01A

George B. ’29

Chloe S. ’29

Level 01B

Lauren V. ’29

Level 1A

Michael Allen ’27

Caitlin Fisch ’28

Cole Haft-Abromovitch ’28

Reagan McKeown ’28

Level 1B

Mayssah El-Khayari ’27

Level 2A

Lincoln Feng ’26

Jacob Fisch ’27

Julia Gallardo ’26

Keaton Greenberg ’27

William Hawkey ’27

Level 3A

Dominique Alvarez ’26

Sahar Harris ’26

Level 4A

Taeko Fueno ’25

Carter Richert ’25

Matthew Schell ’25

Mara Visentin ’25

Christopher Yepes ’25

Level 5AP

Mina Kim ’24

Robert Wang ’25

Level 5C

Eliana Thomas ’26

Tancrede Weinstein ’27

2024 GREEK AWARDS

The 2024 National Greek Exam was taken by over 1,400 students from 145 universities, colleges, and secondary schools in the United Statesand around the world. Three RCDS Upper School students received certificates.

INTERMEDIATE ATTIC

GREEK EXAM

Green — Merit Certificate

Inacio (Naki) Pekarovic ’24

Evie Shurslep ’25

Emma Silberstein ’25

NATIONAL LATIN EXAM

The National Latin Exam (NLE) is administered annually to Latin students across the United States and around the world. The NLE is not meant to be a competition but rather an opportunity for students to receive reinforcement and recognition for their accomplishments in the classroom. This year, 36 Rye Country Day students in Grades 7-12 were named NLE award winners across multiple levels of achievement.

MIDDLE SCHOOL

SUMMA CUM LAUDE Gold Medal Awards

INTRODUCTION TO LATIN

Trip W. ’29

MAXIMA CUM LAUDE Silver Medal Awards

INTRODUCTION TO LATIN

Jack S. ’29

Daphne C. ’29

MAGNA CUM LAUDE Awards

INTRODUCTION TO LATIN

Diya B. ’29

David L. ’29

CUM LAUDE Awards

INTRODUCTION TO LATIN

Clint G. ’29

Ryan C. ’29

Phineas (Finn) M. ’29

SUMMA CUM LAUDE Gold Medal Awards

BEGINNING LATIN EXAM

Melody Wu ’28

Hunter Snell ’28

Alison Gipstein ’28

MAXIMA CUM LAUDE Silver Medal Awards

BEGINNING LATIN EXAM

Henry Hart ’28

MAGNA CUM LAUDE Awards

BEGINNING LATIN EXAM

Connor Krow ’28

Paige Donovan ’28

Lucy Shurslep ’28

CUM LAUDE Awards

BEGINNING LATIN EXAM

Winston Krow ’28

UPPER SCHOOL

SUMMA CUM LAUDE Gold Medal Awards

BEGINNING LATIN EXAM

Felix Mao ’27

MAXIMA CUM LAUDE

Silver Medal Awards

BEGINNING LATIN EXAM

Catherine Colao ’27

Aarush Dey ’27

MAGNA CUM LAUDE Awards

INTERMEDIATE LATIN I

Kevin Neilinger ’27

SUMMA CUM LAUDE Gold Medal Awards

INTERMEDIATE LATIN I

Michael Goneos ’27

MAXIMA CUM LAUDE

Silver Medal Awards

INTERMEDIATE LATIN I Felipe Quintero Ochoa ’27

Maya Maymin ’27

Max Maven Agulay ’27

MAGNA CUM LAUDE Silver Medal Awards

INTERMEDIATE LATIN I

Maya Torgalkar ’27

Peter Valenton ’27

Stephen Pinder ’26

CUM LAUDE Awards

INTERMEDIATE LATIN I Henry Frost ’27

MAXIMA CUM LAUDE Silver Medal Awards

ADVANCED PROSE 1

Ariel Israel ’25

MAGNA CUM LAUDE Awards

ADVANCED PROSE 1

Harrison Moss ’26

Ryan Pauta ’26

CUM LAUDE Awards

ADVANCED PROSE 1 Keira Zheng ’25

MAGNA CUM LAUDE Awards

ADVANCED POETRY 1 Inacio (Naki) Pekarovic ’24

CUM LAUDE Awards

ADVANCED POETRY 1 Anna Franzino ’24

Elizabeth Kavanagh ’24

SPANISH AWARDS

The National Spanish Exam was administered to RCDS students in the Middle and Upper School in the spring.

GOLD MEDAL

LEVEL 01

Classroom Experience Category

Amelia A. ’29

Adam C. ’29

Nina K. ’29

Tommy P. ’29

Deven Y. ’29

LEVEL 1

Classroom Experience Category

Andrew Eglit ’28

LEVEL 1

Outside Experience Category

Bianca Arencibia ’28

Sahana B. ’29

Grant Dinger ’28

Zachary Mathias ’28 Alexander Tartaglia ’28

LEVEL 2

Classroom Experience Category

Felix Mao ’27

LEVEL 2

Outside Experience Category

Camila Reyna ’27

LEVEL 3

Classroom Experience Category

Chaaranath Badrinath ’26 Xindi

Liu ’26

Renna Thukral ’26

LEVEL 4

Classroom Experience Category

Ana Petricone ’25

LEVEL 5

Outside Experience Category

Francisco Luz ’25

SILVER MEDAL

LEVEL 01

Classroom Experience Category

Bianca G. ’29

Noah G. ’29

Truth H. ’29

Joseph M. 30

Dylan W. ’29

Emily W. ’29

Makayla W.’29

LEVEL 01

Outside Experience Category

Sofía D. ’29

Camila M. ’29

LEVEL 1

Classroom Experience Category

Henry Axelsson ’28

Spencer Eglit ’28

Ethan Feng ’28

Yasmin Folarin ’28

Alexander Kochut ’28

Raghav Ramji ’28

Marcus Song ’28

Sophia Tang ’28

LEVEL 1

Outside Experience Category

Izzy Bernie ’28

Riley Man ’28

Jack Moss ’28

LEVEL 2

Classroom Experience Category

Ella Schwalbe ’27

Lila Woodruff ’27

Amaya Yokuty ’27

LEVEL 3

Classroom Experience Category

Kayla Erickson ’26

Illaria Liedtke ’27

Arav Ramaswamy ’26

Steven Ren ’26

Alice Rikkers ’26

Alexandra Steyn ’27

Emily Williams ’26

LEVEL 4

Classroom Experience Category

Anika Bhat ’25

Alexa Daddi-Melino ’25

Amelie Goacher ’25

Anika Kini ’25

Matthew Lee ’26

LEVEL 4

Outside Experience Category

Isabela Pierry ’25

LEVEL 4

Bilingual Category

Noah Tabossi Zugman ’26

LEVEL 5

Classroom Experience Category

David Colin ’24

Aaden Johnson ’24

BRONZE MEDAL

LEVEL 01

Classroom Experience Category

Jeremy C. ’29

Enzo F. ’29

Alexander G. ’29

Alicia L. ’29

Maxime M. ’29

Olivia N. ’29

Alp P. ’29

Louis P. ’29

Drew S. ’29

LEVEL 1

Classroom Experience Category

Bruce Guo ’28

Andrew Taubin ’28

Brandon Testa ’28

LEVEL 1

Outside Experience Category

Simran Arora ’28

Grant Dickson ’28

Bruce Jin ’28

Giorgia Martorina ’28

Aarshia Pandey ’28

Hudson Parameswaran ’28

Ethan Pickette ’28

Ben Pierog ’28

Andrew Ripp ’28

LEVEL 2

Classroom Experience Category

Tia Agarwal ’26

May Hakimizadeh ’27

Val He ’27

Zara Khemlani ’27

Sejal Mackey ’27

Marguerite McDonald ’27

Caroline Stronski ’27

LEVEL 2

Outside Experience Category

Sarah Anderson ’27

LEVEL 3

Classroom Experience Category

Alexander Gurion ’26

Maguire Estill ’26

Skyla Perez ’26

Sophia Shen ’26

LEVEL 4

Classroom Experience Category

Rahul Arora ’25

Ellie Block ’25

Blake Jachman ’25

Colin Lauri ’25

Tara McIntosh ’25

HONORABLE MENTION

LEVEL 01

Classroom Experience Category

Luke A. ’29

Tyler C. ’29

Harold E. ’29

Bruno G. ’29

Makenzie K. ’29

Nina K. ’29

Elan S. ’29

Gabriel S. ’29

LEVEL 01

Outside Experience Category

Teegan K. ’29

Jack T. ’29

LEVEL 1

Outside Experience Category

James Christian ’28

Maya Chachra ’28

Sierra Harris ’28

Jake Javitch ’28

Benjamin Katz ’28

Isabella Liu ’28

Abigail Smith ’28

William Schaible ’28

Aanya Upadhyay ’28

LEVEL 2

Classroom Experience Category

Summer Sisitsky ’27

Zachary Wirth ’27

Kaitlyn Wong ’27

LEVEL 2

Outside Experience Category

Sara de la Fuente ’27

Chaim Sciamma ’27

LEVEL 3

Classroom Experience Category

Ray Cao ’26

Andrew Eason ’26

Elana Gershwin ’26

Mia Herz ’26

Yana Thukral ’26

Darren Wong ’26

LEVEL 4

Classroom Experience Category

Emily Cheigh ’25

Julia Heintz ’25

Blake James ’25

Sophia Lynch ’25

Luke Stronski ’25

LEVEL 5

Classroom Experience Category

Ethan Roque ’24

LEVEL 5

Bilingual Category

Sebastian Briano ’24

Joaquin Gonzalez ’25

SCIENCE

REGENERON WESTCHESTER ENGINEERING AND SCIENCE FAIR RECOGNITIONS

In March 2024, a team of Science Research students in Grades 10 to 12 presented their research work at Regeneron’s Westchester Science and Engineering Fair (WESEF). Eight students were recognized with awards for their outstanding projects, the most RCDS has had at the event to date.

The Upper Schoolers’ research projects explored a diverse range of topics spanning biochemistry, health and medicine, astronomy, and more. Students were also mentored by leaders in the field such as IBM, Regeneron, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, and Hospital for Special Surgery.

Regeneron WESEF is a local science fair, affiliated with the Regeneron International Science Fair, that serves budding scientists in Westchester, Putnam, and Sullivan counties of New York State. The fair offers high school students from the region the opportunity to present their research to scientists, business leaders, and the general public. Students prepare professional research posters detailing their projects which, in most cases, have involved complex research conducted under the guidance of a professional scientist in their field of interest.

RCDS Presenters & Award Winners

Dana Balin ’25

Project: Mapping Multi-Dimensional Melanoma Image Data on a Two-Dimensional Plane Mentor: Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center

Anika Bhat ’25

Project: Developing a Maribel Shuttle Phasmid to Introduce Foreign DNA into Mycobacterium M. Smegmatis Award: Innovations in Biological Sciences Research Award

Mentor: Albert Einstein School of Medicine

Dana Balin ’25

Anika Bhat ’25

Sofía Castañeda ’24

Alyssa Chu ’25

Henry Fogel ’25 and Charlie Pearle ’26

Jonah Gurion ’24

Ishana Kumar ’26

Ethan Schales ’25

Jaymin Ding ’25

Leah Steyn ’25

Jefferson Zhou ’24

Sofía Castañeda ’24

Project: Evaluating the Efficacy of Polygenic Risk Score Models Based on Ancestry in a South Asian Population Award: Excellence in Medical Research Award Mentor: Regeneron

Alyssa Chu ’25

Project: Enhancing Quantum Communication: Analyzing the Effectiveness and Security of Multipartite Dense Coding Award: Excellence in Computer Science and Mathematics Award

Jaymin Ding ’25

Project: Classifying Stars by Spectral Type Using Machine Learning Award: Ingenuity in Math, Physics and Astronomy Award Mentor: Dr. Mary Krasovec

Henry Fogel ’25 and Charlie Pearle ’26

Project: The Effects of Neuromuscular Training Delivered via Mobile Application to High School Athletes

Mentor: Hospital of Special Surgery

Jonah Gurion ’24

Project: The CRISPR/Cas9 Mediated Knockin of the ZAP70 Gene for Severe Combined Immunodeficiency Disease

Mentor: Renegeneron

Ishana Kumar ’26

Project: Can Vaccines be a Tool for Maternal Empowerment? Estimating the Impact of Vaccination on Gender Inequality and Medical Debt Award: Innovations in Biological Sciences Research Award Mentor: One Health Trust

Ethan Schales ’25

Project: Analyzing Tropospheric Ozone Dynamics: A Longitudinal Study of Trends in the Northern Hemisphere Award: NOAA Taking the Pulse of the Planet Award

Mentor: CUNY

Leah Steyn ’25

Project: Developing a Lyophilization Platform for Bulk Drug Substance Monoclonal Antibodies to Achieve Ultra High Concentration Drug Products

Award: 1st place in Biochemistry and Using the Arts to Grow the STEM Workforce Award

Mentor: Regeneron

Jefferson Zhou ’24

Project: Discovering Multi-omic Biomarkers for Prostate Cancer Severity with Random Forest and Transformer-based Models Award: 4th Place in Bioinformatics

Mentor: IBM

YPT WINNERS

Rye Country Day School was the winner of the 2024 Young Physicists Tournament (YPT), an annual physics research and debate tournament for high school students. YPT was held on February 3-4 in Raleigh, NC, hosted by Cary Academy and North Carolina State University. The exciting win ties RCDS with Phillips-Exeter, NH, and The Harker School, CA, for most victories in the seventeen-year history of the United States International Young Physicists’ Tournament—each team has won three times.

Inelastic Collisions

Rhodes Boester ’24 (Travel Team)

Davis Clarke ’25 (Travel Team)

Rhys de Haan ’25

David Kern ’25 (Travel Team)

Neil Noronha ’24 (Travel Team)

Samuel Sah-Nixon ’25

James Song ’25

Ewan Ward ’24

Long Jump

Rahul Arora ’25

Ellie Block ’25

Alyssa Chu ’25 (Travel Team)

Ariel Israel ’25

Francisco Luz ’25

Leah Steyn ’25 (Travel Team)

Cooper Tumm ’25

Water Droplet

Chaaranath Badrinath ’26

Jack de Haan ’24 (Travel Team)

Stella Maymin ’24

Piper Migden ’24

Katia Ohmacht ’24

Cate Tucker ’24

Claire Yu ’25

Andrew Zhang ’24 (Travel Team)

Jefferson Zhou ’24 (Travel Team)

Moon Mapping

Dana Balin ’25 (Travel Team)

Jaymin Ding ’25 (Travel Team)

Ronald Feng ’24 (Travel Team)

Iris Gu ’25

Caroline Kelly ’24

Casey Wu ’24 (Travel Team)

Ethan Xiao ’24

SCIENCE

LOWER HUDSON VALLEY SCIENCE OLYMPIAD HONORS

The Upper School Science Olympiad team had an outstanding performance at the Lower Hudson Valley Regional Tournament, securing sixth place out of 45 teams and earning a coveted spot at the state tournament.

The New York State Science Olympiad seeks to engage and challenge students in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (“STEM”) through various levels of team-based, collaborative, and competitive tournaments throughout New York State.

All of the members of the Science Olympiad, which is an Upper School Club, worked diligently this year to surpass their achievements from last year’s tournament. The rankings by discipline are as follows:

Rye Country Team A: Advancing to State (6th place overall)

2nd place: Veeraj Shah ’25 & Dana Balin ’25 (Flight)

2nd place: Dana Balin ’25 & Steven Ren ’26 (Tower)

3rd place: Ethan Xiao ’24, Charles Iwanski ’26 & Dana Balin ’25 (Robot Tour)

3rd place: Dana Balin ’25 & Charles Iwanski ’26 (Robot Tour)

4th place: Charles Iwanski ’26 & Steven Ren ’26 (Write It, Do It)

7th place: Piper Migden ’24 & Jefferson Zhou ’24 (Chem lab)

8th place: Leo Roth ’25 & Henry Fogel ’25 (Forestry)

8th place: Jefferson Zhou ’24 & Ethan Xiao ’24 (Microbe Mission)

9th place: Steven Ren ’26 & Charles Iwanski ’26 (Anatomy & Physiology)

9th place: Jordan Zhao ’24 & Jay Ding ’25 (Astronomy)

9th place: Jason Ren ’26 & Rebecca Dubrow ’25 (Forensics)

9th place: Jefferson Zhou ’24 & Jordan Zhao ’24 (Optics)

9th place Jason Ren ’26 & Piper Migden ’24 (Codebusters)

Rye Country Team B:

1st place: Aiden Wu ’27 & Juliette Moore ’27 (Dynamic Planet)

9th place: Alyssa Chu ’25 (Fermi Questions)

The RCDS Science Olympiad is coached by Upper School faculty members Meaghan O’Brien (science), Michael Hirsch (science), and Reham Islam (computer science).

Many thanks to US Science lab technician Nicole Zazzarino and parent volunteer Josephine Moore for assisting during the event.

PUBLISHED!

In the summer of 2023, Jaymin Ding ’25 teamed up with two co-authors, Pradyota Phaneesh and Abhiram Atluri, at the UT Austin High School Research Academy (HSRA) to write a paper titled The Mass-to-Luminosity Ratio and Its Correlation to the Dark Matter Distribution Across Different Galaxy Types. The paper, which explores dark matter, was recently published in the spring 2024 issue of the Scholarly Review Journal

At HSRA, the three high school scientists delved into their shared interest in researching galaxies and dark matter, learning about astrophysics and designing astronomical simulations. After the summer program concluded, the new friends kept in touch and continued their research guided by Professor Shyamal Mitra from UT Austin.

Dark matter is believed to play a pivotal role in the structure and dynamics of galaxies. Unlike ordinary matter, dark matter does not emit light or energy or interact with electromagnetic forces. Jaymin’s study explored dark matter distribution in galaxies and compared various galaxy types. The data they gathered supports the idea that dark matter becomes more prominent in the outer areas of the galaxy, forming a dark matter halo and exerting gravitational forces on visible matter to influence the structure of the galaxy. The paper’s results imply that dark matter is indeed a significant part of galaxies.

Throughout his junior year, Jaymin worked on an independent study applying machine learning to images of stars in order to determine their distance from Earth, advised by Upper School science teacher Dr. Mary Krasovec. This work earned the Ingenuity in Math, Science and Astronomy Award at the Westchester Science and Engineering (WESEF) science fair. At RCDS, Jaymin also leads a number of clubs, including SWAT (Student Working to Advance Technology), Physics Club, Astronomy Club, and the Science News Club, headed by Dr. Krasovec and Director of STEAM and Upper School science teacher Cathie Bischoff.

GREENLIGHT AWARDS COMPETITION WINNERS

Two Upper School teams tied for second place and one team earned an Honorable Mention Award in the ninth annual 2030 Greenlight Awards. The annual competition of high school environmental projects is hosted in honor of Earth by Bedford 2030, an organization that addresses the urgent issue of climate change through the reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and preservation of natural resources. Since 2015, over 500 students from 15 different Westchester high schools and community groups have been inspired to take action in their communities with support from the Greenlight Award Program.

In the second-place tie, team eco-Touch showcased their speaker-based, artificial intelligence device that educates users about the environment. To use eco-Touch, individuals simply hold down the button and ask a

question. The device then provides a personalized response and initiates conversations about relevant environmental topics. In their presentation, team eco-Touch successfully demonstrated the platform’s capability to provide answers in both English and Spanish.

The other team tied for second place, Waste Wizards, developed a project showcasing the communication and outreach initiatives they developed at RCDS to improve the School’s waste management habits and awareness.

Waste Wizards shared examples of specific programs they have implemented at RCDS, including the All-School Recycling Challenge, the Recycling Knowledge Bean Bag Game, and the annual Green Screen event.

Another RCDS team, Greenlight Recycled Art Show, received an Honorable Mention for their work of turning trash into art. The school-wide trash art installation was recently featured at the Earth Day Fair in the PAC Foyer.

9th Annual Bedford 2030 Greenlight Award Winners

Eco-Touch

Michael Goneos ’27

Illaria Liedtke ’27

Faculty Advisors: Michael Hirsch & Kerry Linderoth

Waste Wizards

Anika Bhat ’25

Leo Roth ’25

Sophia Lynch ’25

Alex Rivas ’25

Faculty Advisor: Kerry Linderoth

Greenlight Recycled Art Show

Johnny Gasparro ’25

Josh Greene ’25

Blake Jachman ’25

Mikey Pedone ’25

Faculty Advisors: Kerry Linderoth & Casey Hallen

NAACP AFRO-ACADEMIC, CULTURAL, TECHNOLOGICAL AND SCIENTIFIC OLYMPICS MEDALISTS

Isabella Jolicoeur ’25 and Eliana Thomas ’26 won medals in the Westchester Region NAACP Afro-Academic, Cultural, Technological and Scientific Olympics (NAACP ACT-SO) Competition. The NAACP ACT-SO Competition encourages the academic and cultural achievements among students of African descent in Grades 9 through 12. Categories include business, humanities, performing and visual arts, and STEM.

Isabella Jolicoeur ’25

Gold, Original Essay

Silver, Short Story Bronze, Dance

Eliana Thomas ’26

Gold, Oratory

Bronze, Original Essay

Having earned Gold medals, Isabella and Eliana went on to Nationals. This is the second consecutive year both students have received NAACP ACT-SO Honors.

MOMA PRESENTER AND TOP 8 FINALIST AT BDC

After winning Aula Future’s Design Spring for the Biomaterials for Post-Petroleum Future, Leo Roth ’25 continued working on the PolyNation project he developed in his independent study with Makerspace Director Kevin Farrant. PolyNation’s mission is to create affordable solutions to rewild our communities through the sustainably biodesigned PolyFlower.

In June 2024, Leo was named among the top 8 finalists in the Biodesign Challenge (BDC) for his work on the synthetic, biodegradable PolyFlower created from an algae-based biopolymer. Leo was also invited to present at BDC’s two-day Summit on June 13 and 14, which took place at the New School’s Parsons School of Design and the Museum of Modern Art.

BDC works to bridge art, design, and biotech to develop the first generation of professionals who cross disciplines, anticipate promises and pitfalls, and engage the public in dialogue about the broader implications of emerging biotech. The 2024 challenge welcomed students from colleges and universities and just a handful of high schools.

Leo’s PolyFlower feeds bees with C-pollen, an artificial pollen made of citrus food waste, supporting the urban pollinator population. After approximately 6 months, it begins to biodegrade. Using the nutrients from the degraded PolyFlower, native wildflower seeds harvested from local nurseries embedded in the stem begin to germinate. With the cycle complete, rewilding with native flora begins.

Isabella Jolicoeur, pictured left, Eliana Thomas, pictured right.

Photo Courtesy of Shannon Carroll/ Vivid Story

NATIONAL HONORS

Neil Noronha ’24 named United States Presidential Scholar Candidate

At Rye Country Day, Neil Noronha ’24 was an outstanding student who exemplified academic excellence and while possessing a range of diverse interests. Taking an exceptionally demanding curriculum at RCDS, he skillfully surpassed expectations in the most advanced courses including Honors English Seminar, AP Physics C, Multivariable Calculus, and Advanced Topics in Data Structures. His drive to embrace new and advanced academic experiences led him to pursue additional coursework in Columbia University’s Science Honors Program and to create two independent study courses in astrophysics and sustainable engineering. Beyond his academic pursuits, Neil was the Captain of the Upper School Robotics team, a varsity wrestler, a pianist, and a dedicated music mentor at the Stamford Boys and Girls Club. Deeply committed to global social impact, Neil also volunteered in India in the summer of 2023, teaching leadership skills to young students.

“We are all very proud of Neil Noronha. His many achievements and his energetic leadership are inspiring examples of Rye Country Day’s commitment to outstanding scholarship and active citizenship. Congratulations, Neil, on this well-deserved recognition!”

— Randall Dunn, Head of School

Ten RCDS Seniors Named National Merit Semifinalists

Rye Country Day School is proud to announce that 10 seniors were named Semifinalists in the 2024 National Merit Scholarship Program. Across the nation, only one percent of high school students who take the PSAT qualify for this honor. Rhodes Boester, Connor Davidson, Ronald Feng, Max Garcia-Tunon, Ayush Maini, Aidan McIntosh, Neil Noronha, Ethan Xiao, Andrew Zhang, and Jefferson Zhou

Twenty-Five RCDS Seniors Named National Merit Commended Students

Additionally, 25 Rye Country Day School seniors were named Commended Students based on their results. The National Merit Scholarship Program, which celebrates academic achievement in high school students, selects over 16,000 high school seniors from across the country as Semifinalists based on their PSAT/NMSQT (National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test). Approximately 1.5 million high school students enter the program each year. Congratulations to these outstanding students! Grace Allen ’24, Adam Badillo ’24, Sofía Castañeda ’24, Brynn Coady ’24, David Colin ’24, Jack de Haan ’24, Cole Denson ’24, Celine Fong ’24, Jonah Gurion ’24, Teddy Holtman ’24, Aegus Kim ’24, Alexa Kim ’24, Mina Kim ’24, Colin Kinsey ’24, Samuel Kobi ’24, Natalia Kochut ’24, Stella Maymin ’24, Katia Ohmacht ’24, Sarah Rivas ’24, Jane Saltz ’24, Caroline Snell ’24, Sydney Snell ’24, Apolline Weinstein ’24, Casey Wu ’24, Jordan Zhao ’24

Neil Noronha ’24

OTHER RECOGNITIONS

Alex G. ’29 was recognized by the Jewish Family Services (JFS) of Greenwich at their annual spring celebration at the Greenwich Reform Synagogue. Alex, along with a high school student and an undergraduate student, will receive the inaugural Gen Z Future Leader Award for his support of refugee children and their families. Alex has been serving as an ESL buddy to two Congolese refugee children, working on reading aloud, interactive games, and socialization.

Isabela Pierry ’25 was one of twenty winning finalists in the 2024 Storm King Poetry Contest. Her poem “Bis” was selected by the contest’s judges and published poets, Joanna Solfrian and Zoe Ryder White. The Annual Storm King School Poetry Contest recognizes poetry written by secondary students from independent schools in the New York tri-state region and New England area.

On April 15 2024, the Middle States Association, a worldwide leader in accreditation and school improvement, announced that Rye Country Day School is one of 30 schools from across the globe to be named a 2024 Founding School of RAIL, or Responsible AI in Learning. The RAIL founding schools will become the first in the world to earn an endorsement in artificial intelligence (AI) literacy, safety, and ethics.

Designed by the Middle States Association, RAIL is a comprehensive implementation framework for AI in schools and systems. This guided implementation will support schools globally in safely navigating the complexities of AI in education, with strategic planning assistance; access to a growing library of resources, templates, and examples; governance statements and academic policies;

professional development; and more.

On November 11, 2023, the RCDS Developer’s Club participated in the inaugural TigerHacks, a local competition developed by the Greenwich Country Day School Computer Science Team. The competition consisted of eight cookingthemed problems of varying difficulty with a time limit of three hours. The competition included 14 teams from Fairchester schools, with over 40 students in attendance. Rye Country Day entered three teams, one of which took home the number one spot. The winning RCDS team consisting of Jaymin

Ding ’25, Katia Ohmacht ’24, and Xindi Liu ’26 was the only group able to to solve all eight problems. The other two teams placed fifth and seventh.

GCDS TigerHacks 2023 Participants: 1st Place – Jaymin Ding ’25, Katia Ohmacht ’24, Xindi Liu ’26 5th Place – Davis Clarke ’25, Rhys de Haan ’25, Sam Sah-Nixon ’25 7th Place – Charles Iwanski ’26, Xavier Perkins ’26, Arav Ramaswamy ’26

In January of 2024, an RCDS first grader won the 2024 Connecticut State Chess Championship in the KindergartenGrade 1 division. He was the only player in the division to earn a perfect score (4 out of 4). Additionally, in December of 2023, he tied for 15th place in the 2023 US Chess Federation National K-12 Grade Championships.

premier public service organization for carrying out emergency services and disaster relief missions nationwide. The CAP cadet program promotes aviation and related fields through aerospace education and helping shape future leaders. Alongside students stationed at over 500 CAP sites spanning seven time zones, 50 states, and two US territories, Cole and Frank collected scientific data to enhance humanity’s understanding of the sun, ionosphere, and earth’s atmosphere. The focus of the April 8, 2024, data collection effort was to examine the impact of solar eclipses on weather and very high frequency (VHF) radio operations. This data will play a pivotal role in enhancing weather and climate models, enabling more accurate forecasting and aiding engineers in designing radio communication systems resilience against solar storm effects.

On April 8, 2024, Civil Air Patrol (CAP) cadets Cole Haft-Abromovitch ’28 and Frank Zingg ’26 had the opportunity to participate in CAP’s continent-wide project collecting solar eclipse data in partnership with NASA. The Civil Air Patrol is America’s

Claire Yu ’25 is the CEO and Founder of GirlGolf Inc., a nonprofit organization whose mission is to provide girls from underserved communities with an opportunity to learn how to play golf. In March, News12 Connecticut featured Clair’s work organizing the GirlGolf drive at the Cos Cob Library in Greenwich, which collected over 100 new and gently-used golf clubs and 20 bags for middle school girls. At RCDS, Claire is co-captain of RCDS Girls’ Varsity Golf. Last year, she led the team, as a 2023 co-captain, to the NYSAIS Championship title, shooting the lowest score of the championship.

Competency Based Learning

By Lori Ferguson

Creating Lifelong Learners and Leaders through Action and Application

Competency Based Learning

WHAT IS COMPETENCY BASED LEARNING (CBL)?

Think back to your school days. You likely sat in a classroom, listened to a teacher deliver lectures or lessons on a given subject, and then demonstrated your understanding of the material by successfully completing homework, quizzes, and tests. Everyone in the class moved at the same pace and learned in the same way. A tried-and-true approach to teaching, yes, but the best means to educate students in today’s fast-paced, technology driven world?

What if there were another way, a system that was more student-centered—one that prioritized skills over content, provided descriptive feedback as well as grades, and focused on experiences along with discrete lessons? And what if this method of “doing school” measured student learning by their performance on complex tasks as well as time-based assessments? There is: Competency Based Learning (CBL). CBL is a methodology that focuses on developing students’ transferable skills and outfitting them with the knowledge and experience necessary to become lifelong learners, as well as adaptable, capable leaders.

“Competency Based Learning rests on a tripod composed of three pillars: Equity, Agency and Transfer,” explains RCDS Dean of Faculty and Employees Jessica Flaxman. “It’s a student-centered approach to learning built upon the premise that all students can achieve proficiency in a subject (Equity). It engages students in the learning experience by allowing them to determine how they demonstrate their knowledge and skills (Agency). And finally, it encourages students to apply that knowledge and skills to real world situations (Transfer).”

CBL AND RIGOR: A CLEAR CONNECTION

“As a learner, one of the most rigorous things one can do is transfer classroom knowledge to real world situations,” notes Dr. Flaxman. “In order to do this, students must have a mastery of knowledge and skills.” Such mastery is the hallmark of an independent learner—someone who can apply knowledge and skills in a new context. “Some more traditional approaches to education focus on such things as knowing facts, following steps, and reciting the importance of historic events, which may give you breadth of knowledge but not necessarily depth,” Dr. Flaxman explains. “For example, you might know important historic dates, but not necessarily understand their significance.” Competency Based Learning aims to address this disconnect by giving one’s breadth of knowledge more depth. It also helps students better understand how to transfer learning from one setting to another.

Dr. Flaxman is quick to clarify that CBL represents an enhancement of Rye Country Day’s existing—and highly regarded—approach to education rather than a retooling. “There are elements of traditional education that serve RCDS

students very well and that should not shift to CBL,” she says. Instead, Dr. Flaxman explains, Rye Country Day views CBL as a teaching approach that meets the changing needs of today’s post-pandemic students who live in a world that’s teeming with technology and changing constantly. “This teaching methodology is part of a general trend that’s happening across the independent school landscape,” Dr. Flaxman observes. “Judiciously combining a current learning approach with our excellent traditional techniques gives us a unique position of academic strength.”

Colleges appreciate students who can demonstrate an ability to leverage their unique skills across their learning, continues Dr. Flaxman. “Students applying to college need to be able to distinguish themselves, so anything we can do to assist them in developing a clearer voice and demonstrating their expertise is something we’re excited to embrace,” she observes. “Students engaged in CBL often experience deep, personally relevant, and impactful learning that positions them well for college and future work where adaptability, collaboration, creativity, and presentation skills, among others, are essential.”

Rye Country Day’s hallmark of balancing tradition and innovation is also preserved through CBL. “By introducing CBL into appropriate places in our program and developing new units of inquiry, experiences, and even courses, we will amplify our commitment to excellence and student-centered learning by providing students with the knowledge and skills to thrive in any number of real-world situations,” notes Dr. Flaxman. “Rye Country Day has an established record of preparing students for college and it will continue to do so, but the professional landscape is changing and one’s ability to adapt to new circumstances is key. Our students must be able to leverage and direct technology rather than be directed by it.”

Competency Based Learning is also a valuable benefit to teachers and interdisciplinary work. “This learning method invites teachers to collaborate across seemingly disparate disciplines, which by extension teaches students to synthesize information to make important connections. This skill is critical in a globally connected context and highly sought after by colleges and employers,” says Dr. Flaxman. A number of RCDS teachers have been incorporating aspects of CBL into their courses for quite some time, she notes, so this initiative represents a recommitment to—and deepening of the focus on—the learning outcomes articulated in the Portrait of a Graduate: character, knowledge, skills, and citizenship.

Assistant Head of School for Academics Meredith deChabert agrees. “The foundation for CBL at RCDS was laid back in 2018 when we developed our Portrait of a Graduate, which outlines the skills and competencies we want RCDS graduates to master,” she explains. “CBL is a clearer articulation of what students are actually learning today, beyond basic content. Dramatic shifts in technology have made content mastery only one part of the educational equation.”

“Think about the difference between being able to access information (now at our fingertips) and being able to analyze that information, its validity, and how it fits into a larger context. The latter is more sophisticated, more nuanced, more intellectually demanding. That’s RCDS. Our students have intellectual agility, curiosity, agency, and purpose. The CBL framework is very much in line with what we consider excellent teaching and learning, and it is work that many RCDS teachers already have been doing for years.”

— Assistant Head of School for Academics

Dr. Meredith deChabert

Head of School Randall Dunn also believes the timing is right; many other independent schools of Rye Country Day’s caliber started moving toward the CBL pedagogical framework four or five years ago, he observes, and to remain competitive, RCDS must keep pace. “This work is not new at RCDS, but now we need to move forward with a sense of urgency and make sure that the entire community—parents, faculty, and staff—are on board and that our graduates exhibit the competencies that will position them for personal, academic, and professional success,” he says.

“A key pillar in our Portrait of a Graduate is skill development, so this approach to education was already on our radar, but we must commit to fostering this kind of learning environment across the institution, in every classroom, discipline, and unit. CBL is a way of teaching and learning that brings Pre-K through 12 educational practices more in line with preparing our children for their futures. It requires that students engage with the material in a much more proactive way, in a sense becoming more in command of their intellectualism.”

— Head of School Randall Dunn

WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE?

For Upper School English teacher and Grade 9 Dean Tatum Bell, the shift to CBL is as sensible as it is exhilarating . “As an educator, the thing that excites me about teaching is creating lifelong learners, and Competency Based Learning does just that. We’re asking students to transfer their knowledge and skills the way they will in their personal and professional lives, and the challenge is exciting for them.”

To support the School’s embrace of a deeper, more rigorous mode of teaching and learning, Ms. Bell has joined forces with Upper School Science teacher and Grade 9 Dean Jennifer Doran to lead the

Competency Based Learning Professional Learning Cohort (PLC), a group of faculty committed to guiding the School in refining its practices and curriculum design through the lens of CBL.

In many respects, the shift is already well underway, Ms. Bell asserts, echoing Mr. Dunn and Dr. Flaxman. “This has been a real point of pride in our work. The principles of CBL are currently being applied in many of Rye Country Day’s elective and extracurricular programs; it was not a surprise per se given the strength of our program but wonderful to see this best practice affirmed at our school,” she observes. “In areas such as arts, music and drama, the Science Research Program, and the Public Purpose Program, for example, CBL practices have long allowed students to become active and engaged; students have agency and we see very positive results in terms of leadership, confidence, and skill development.”

The goal now is to incorporate CBL skills and experiences into the core curricula of math, science and the liberal arts, Ms. Bell says. The shift will not happen overnight, she concedes, but she is confident of success. “At its core, Rye Country Day is committed to delivering a rigorous education, and we have a history of pushing boundaries to achieve that goal,” observes Ms. Bell. “As faculty, we’re deeply committed to providing our students with the agency to learn and grow and preparing them to transfer their knowledge to real-world situations. And we will do so by meeting best practices in education today.”

CBL IN ACTION

Integration of Competency Based

Learning at RCDS is anticipated to happen intentionally and gradually over the course of the next five years, says Dr. Flaxman. “We envision blending CBL strategies into existing curricula and creating new courses and strategies where appropriate,” she explains. “At its heart, CBL is an investment in student-centered learning and our students’ futures.”

While plans are underway to increase the integration of CBL into the School’s curricula, students are already realizing the benefits of this approach in a number of courses. In Jen Doran and Michael Hirsch’s Upper School biology course, for example, ninth graders create models integrating the four major biology themes they have learned throughout the year. “Building models allows the students to visualize the systems and see how they connect— for instance the way an individual organism connects to the ecosystem, to reproduction, and to evolution,” says Ms. Doran. “And explaining these connections to their peers helps to enhance that understanding.”

Competency Based Learning 

In Ms. Bell’s American Identities English course, which she coteaches with Andrés Cerpa, students demonstrated their mastery of the materials by completing an identity project. “Students could do a photo essay, write and perform a story like those done on NPR’s The Moth Radio Hour, develop a podcast, that sort of thing,” she explains. “One student made a cookbook composed of recipes and stories from both the Jewish and Mexican sides of the family. In short, we challenged students to create an artistic expression of who they are, which gave them an engaging opportunity to hone their ability to parse and articulate complex topics.”

Students in Anna Meechan’s Upper School Math class were offered the opportunity to demonstrate their command of the material through a host of projects including a Math Mistake Memes Project in which they employed the popular social media vehicle to demonstrate their understanding of a mathematical concept. And participants in Holly Hutcheson’s Middle School science class displayed their ability to transfer their newly obtained science skills to new contexts by engaging in end-ofsemester projects focused on engineering and entrepreneurship.

WHAT THE STUDENTS THINK: ENTHUSIASM MEETS EXCELLENCE!

Student responses to CBL have been overwhelmingly positive, shares Ms. Bell. “Students get really excited about these projects. They represent a refreshing departure from the ‘right answer’ model to the most sophisticated critical thinking model. With CBL, students learn to get comfortable with trial and error, take ownership of their learning, and think creatively. Instead of just assigning a grade, we’re emphasizing feedback and encouraging them to learn from it. The sense of agency the students gain will empower them to become lifelong, bold, and independent learners, attributes that will carry them well beyond the college admissions process and into their lives.”

WHY NOW?

“As a teacher, parent, and someone who values education, the CBL approach to education excites me,” enthuses science teacher Jen Doran. “This methodology better prepares students for their future by allowing them to collaborate and co-design their learning experiences with their teachers and each other. It gets them involved in their education by stoking their curiosity and helping them develop skills they will use throughout their lives. It’s a student-centered approach to learning that’s quite powerful.”

For those concerned that CBL represents a move away from Rye Country Day’s notoriously rigorous curriculum, Dean Flaxman offers reassurance. “This CBL initiative is simply another example of RCDS delivering the best possible education to our students in their current moment,” she asserts. “CBL is not a trend, it’s an approach to education that will skill up our students for success. We’re building on an incredibly solid foundation and

we’re doubling down on what distinguishes us. We are being responsive to the world our students are now living in. We are giving our students the best possible education, complete with the cross-disciplinary skills that grow from content knowledge.”

For Assistant Head of School Meredith deChabert, the move to embrace CBL reflects a natural progression of Rye Country Day’s unwavering commitment to delivering a first-rate learning experience. “Excellence has always been a hallmark of the education that RCDS provides. That excellence, however, no longer fits in a box marked ‘traditional education’; it is far more complex, and I’m not really sure that ‘traditional’ education exists anymore, not in the sense that the generations of current parents have experienced it,” she observes. “Rather than thinking of education as a linear progression in a given discipline, we need to think about it as a nexus of many different spirals that overlap and intersect. Affective, behavioral, and cognitive skills are all important, and the big question before us now is how we assess them.”

“One of the many excellent recommendations to come out of our re-accreditation process was to align our curriculum, instruction, and assessment, and a framework like CBL can help us to do that,” Dr. deChabert continues. “Perhaps even more critically, it can help us to balance the traditional and the innovative, those hallmark approaches to excellent education in our mission statement. RCDS has always taken research and best practice and adapted them, over time, for our unique learning context, and the process of incorporating more CBL will be the same. RCDS’s version of CBL will be unique to RCDS, a blend of best practices that we already use and that we can adapt across the divisions in developmentally-appropriate ways. Educators know that learning that is deep and personally relevant is learning that endures. That’s what we want, and CBL helps to get us there.”

Head of School Randall Dunn concurs. “Competency Based Learning teaches students how to live their lives in the most impactful way possible; it gets to the heart of true critical thinking, leadership, and adaptability–essential qualities in our day and age,” he asserts. “It’s education that is contextualized and that readies our students to transition seamlessly into college and then into their professional lives.

For Mr. Dunn, CBL is about keeping RCDS’s mission-level promise of providing students an excellent education that is relevant in their ever-changing world. “As change continues at its rapid pace, developing adaptable leaders who are comfortable applying big concepts to a variety of complex and evolving contexts and technologies is the way schools remain excellent. RCDS has always done that.”

“CBL pulls together all the educational pieces—traditional, innovative, and in between—and offers our students a method to distinguish themselves and be successful in the world. We are incredibly excited to facilitate this type of learning at Rye Country Day, and as always, we are committed to doing it really well.”

— Head of School Randall Dunn

2024 SCHOLASTIC ART & WRITING AWARDS

Over 30 students from Rye Country Day School were honored with Gold Key, Silver Key, and Honorable Mention Designations in this year’s Scholastic Art & Writing Awards. From this group of regional awardees, Ellen Chen ’24, Felix Mao ’27, and Melody Wu ’28 were named National medalists. Known as the nation’s longestrunning, most prestigious recognition program for creative teens in Grades 7 through 12, the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards are judged by luminaries in the visual and literary arts. Congratulations, Wildcats!

JORDANNE ALEXANDER ’24

Honorable Mention

Elijah’s Brother (Short Story)

Silver Key

Whispers of a Wind Gone Past (Short Story)

RAHUL ARORA ’24

Honorable Mention

The Impact of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning in Algorithmic Trading (Critical Essay)

ELEANOR BROWN ’25

Silver Key

Celia (Poetry)

Honorable Mention

A Sermon of Struggle (Personal Essay & Memoir) Who I have become (Personal Essay & Memoir)

ELLEN CHEN ’24

Gold Key

Charity Exhibition (Poster Design)

Childhood Memory (Comic Art)

Dance with Her (Painting)

Forgotten Past (Painting)

Timeless Waters 2 (Portfolio)

National Silver Medal Winner

Dance with Her (Painting)

Silver Key

1984 (Play Poster Design)

Boundaries Broken (Painting)

National Silver Medal Winner

Sunken Memory (Painting)

Unknown Desolation (Painting)

Honorable Mention

Emotional Convergence (Painting)

GMO (Design)

Silent Identity (Painting)

The Unmasked (Painting)

Transcendence beyond the Disconnect (Critical Essay)

DAVIS CLARKE ’25

Silver Key

Cornflowers and a Monarch (Ceramics & Glass)

Honorable Mention

Monet: Art Through the Ages; poem 3: Le Pont Japonais (Poetry)

Monet: Art Through the Ages; poem 4: Nymphéas (Poetry)

Willow Edwards ’25

CELINE FONG ’24

Honorable Mention

In sleep; do you still turn away from America? (Personal Essay & Memoir)

lamentation no. 2 (Poetry)

Painting the Wallpaper Yellow: The Persevering Role of Art on Protest Media (Critical Essay)

AMANDA GUI ’27

Honorable Mention

Spike of Resilience (Personal Essay & Memoir)

JULIA HEINTZ ’25

Silver Key Blooms in Frost (Ceramics & Glass)

ISABELLA JOLICOUER ’25

Honorable Mention

The House In the Woods (Short Story)

ZARA KHEMLANI ’27

Honorable Mention

The Space In Between (Poetry)

Solitude (Photography) Walking through History (Photography)

ILLARIA LIEDTKE ’27

Gold Key

All the Puddles (Poetry)

Silver Key

Chicken Nuggets and American Dreams (Poetry) gluttony (Poetry)

Wheat Erases Our Footprints (Poetry)

Honorable Mention

Goosebumps (Poetry)

C.C. LIU ’28

Silver Key

Happiness (Drawing & Illustration)

FELIX MAO ’27

Gold Key

Trapped (Mixed Media)

Wanna Play, Another Match - (Digital Art)

National Gold Medal Winner Trapped (Mixed Media)

Honorable Mention

Toy Gun, Real Wounds (Painting)

JULIETTE MOORE ’27

Gold Key

Navigating the Crowd (Photography)

Washed Away (Drawing & Illustration)

Silver Key

A Quiet Place (Photography)

Nature’s Balance (Photography)

Life and Death (Painting)

Village Stroll (Painting)

A Late Night (Drawing & Illustration)

Honorable Mention

Where I’m from (Poetry)

Abandoned Workspace (Photography)

A Slow Day (Photography)

Mercato Del Pesce (Photography)

Awakening (Photography)

Morning Hues (Painting)

STEPHEN MULDERRY ’25

Silver Key

Addiction (Flash Fiction)

Fairies Like Sad Things (Science Fiction & Fantasy)

Nothing But Faith (Short Story)

Honorable Mention

Second Chance (Science Fiction & Fantasy)

Ambika Nott ’25

Cracking Moons (Poetry)

DAPHNÉ PANIÉ ’27

Honorable Mention

Signed Gallia (Poetry)

ISABELA PIERRY ’25

Silver Key

Unraveling the Harmonious Paradoxes in “Sula” (Critical Essay)

Honorable Mention

My Faceless Faces (Poetry)

CARTER RICHERT ’25

Honorable Mention

Asian Hate: MLK-Styled Letter (Personal Essay & Memoir)

LEO ROTH ’25

Gold Key

Material Ecologies and Biotech Architectures: Redefining Sustainability for Planetary Health (Critical Essay)

Silver Key

Icarian / I; Carrion (Poetry)

Promised Lands; Invisible Hands; and the Socially Constructed Environment in Under the Feet of Jesus (Critical Essay)

The Highway (Poetry)

The Left Half of a Black Hole (Poetry)

Honorable Mention

Discordant Geographies: A Rhetorical Analysis of The Line Becomes A River by Francisco Cantú (Critical Essay)

Ethan Frome: An Antiquated Arcadia (Critical Essay)

Growing Season (Poetry)

Pay The Bill (Poetry)

Sonnet for the First Robot (Poetry)

ZOE ROTH ’25

Honorable Mention

Elizabeth Bishop’s Incongruity of Memory in Geography III (Critical Essay) One Light Never Stay (Poetry)

JUDE SADLER ’25

Gold Key

Floral Fungi (Ceramics & Glass)

Silver Key

Sgraffito Psychedelia (Ceramics & Glass)

SOPHIA SHEN ’26

Silver Key

A Sweet Goodbye to (Personal Essay & Memoir)

ALEXANDRA STEYN ’27

Silver Key

Antigone: The Contrast between Duty and Morality (Critical Essay)

Freedom of All Speech: Locke vs Rousseau (Critical Essay)

Diary of a Foolish Woman (Flash Fiction)

Ignoring Individual Needs: Machiavelli; Hobbes; and Rousseau (Critical Essay)

The Power of Starlight (Short Story)

Honorable Mention

Burning Bright (Personal Essay & Memoir)

Treacherous Plots (Flash Fiction)

SOPHIA TANG ’28

Gold Key

I had a Cat for Four Days (Personal Essay & Memoir)

ROBERT WANG ’25

Honorable Mention

En garde; prêt-allez! (Personal Essay & Memoir)

QIAN WEI ’26

Gold Key

A dance of resilience (Poetry)

Honorable Mention

The Underestimated Existential Threat of Artificial Intelligence: Unveiling Risks in Employment; Privacy; and Weaponry (Critical Essay)

EMMA W. ’29

Gold Key

The Last Date (Dramatic Script)

Silver Key

Caulfield (Personal Essay & Memoir)

Chapter 5 - Elise - From the Novel “The Woods Undercover Academy”(Novel Writing)

The Plague - My Sister Six Feet Under and the Girl in the Streets (Science Fiction & Fantasy)

Honorable Mention

Little Baby Flora (Poetry)

Salty Air and Elmer’s Glue (Personal Essay & Memoir)

MELODY WU ’28

Gold Key

Technical Barrier (Editorial Cartoon sponsored by the Herb Block Foundation)

National Silver Medal Winner

Technical Barrier (Editorial Cartoon sponsored by the Herb Block Foundation)

Silver Key

Virtruvian Student (Editorial Cartoon sponsored by the Herb Block Foundation)

Honorable Mention

The Tortoise and the Hare (Comic Art)

Home Sweet Home (Editorial Cartoon sponsored by the Herb Block Foundation)

Virtual Reality (Editorial Cartoon sponsored by the Herb Block Foundation)

Hometown Summer (Drawing & Illustration)

Remote Learning (Drawing & Illustration)

JENNY XU ’27

Honorable Mention

Inside the Tapestry (Poetry)

DONNA ZHANG ’24

Silver Key

Enough (Poetry)

Honorable Mention

immortal (Poetry)

Haibun of a Girl (Poetry) Still Life of Orange (Poetry)

KEIRA ZHENG ’25

Gold Key

My Favorite Color (Personal Essay & Memoir)

Silver Key

One Ghost; Two Ghosts; White Ghosts; Yellow Ghosts (Critical Essay)

Honorable Mention

Never A Good War (Critical Essay) -Yellow Was

MUSIC

NEW YORK STATE SCHOOL MUSIC ASSOCIATION HONORS

NYSSMA ALL-STATE SYMPHONIC BAND AND ORCHESTRA

NYSSMA All-State ensembles connect the most accomplished high school musicians from across New York State to play together and work with renowned guest conductors. Students are selected based on their outstanding scores at the NYSSMA Solo Festival in the spring, which consists of playing scales, performing a solo piece, and sight reading. Only students who receive 99% or 100% on the audition are considered for All-State.

All-State Symphonic Band and Orchestra

Jaymin Ding ’25

Samantha Lee ’25

Alexander Rivas ’25

WESTCHESTER COUNTY SCHOOL MUSIC ASSOCIATION HONORS

Five RCDS Musicians were selected to represent RCDS at the Westchester County School Music Association All-County Orchestra Festival in March. Students were selected based on their strong scores in last spring’s NYSSMA solo festival.

WCSMA INTERMEDIATE AREA ALL-STATE ENSEMBLES

Ethan Feng ’28, violin

Sara Komaroff ’27, French horn

Emma Maini ’27, violin

Raghav Ramji ’28, violin

Melody Wu ’28, flute

NYSSMA’s Area All-State band, orchestra, and chorus are open to students in grades ten through twelve. Students are selected for these groups on the basis of their NYSSMA auditions from the preceding school year.

Area All-State Ensembles

Jaymin Ding ’25, clarinet

Ronald Feng ’24, cello

Taeko Fueno ’25, violin

Rosie Isiyel ’25, soprano

Samantha Lee ’25, viola

Xindi Liu ’26, clarinet

Alexander Rivas ’25, trumpet

Colette Sawyer ’25, oboe

Vreeland Tuncer ’26, alto

Casey Wu ’24, double bass

Jordan Zhao ’24, cello

Jaymin Ding

Alexander Rivas

Samantha Lee

NYSSMA WESTCHESTER COUNTY AREA ALL-STATE ENSEMBLES

NOTABLE PERFORMANCES & RECOGNITIONS

Sophomore Lucius Liu ’26 ended the 202324 school year with two exciting musical milestones. He received second prize in the senior division of the J.Y. Park Piano Competition in Westport, CT, and performed a full-length solo piano recital on campus as a culmination of his year-long project in Advanced Topics in Music.

The J.Y. Park Piano Competition is hosted by the JUMY Foundation, which promotes the healthy development of younger generations and believes that music and art education are essential to its purpose.

The on-campus recital, which was held on May 23 in the Performing Arts Center auditorium, featured a challenging repertoire that showcased Lucius’s musical range and skillful piano technique. Alongside his piano teacher and his family, Lucius thanked Mary Marcell, RCDS Music Department Chair, for her support throughout the year and her integral role in making the recital happen.

The cast and crew of Rye Country Day School’s Upper School musical, Into the Woods, received six nominations and took an award home in the 2024 Metro Awards:

• Outstanding Performance by a Child Performer: Jolie R. ’29 (Milky White)

• Student Technical Achievement: Julia Kroin ’25 (Stage Manager)

• Outstanding Acting Performance by a Female Identifying Performer: Dominique Alvarez ’26 (Little Red Riding Hood)

• Outstanding Achievement in Graphic Design: Ellen Chen ’24 (Cover Art)

• Outstanding Achievement in Lighting Design: Mr. Jac-que Robinson

• Outstanding Achievement in Scenic Design: Mr. Jac-que Robinson - Winner

The Metro Awards, produced by Nyack’s Helen Hayes Youth Theater, which honor productions across Westchester, Rockland, Putnam, and Bergen Counties, are considered the high school equivalent of the Tony Awards. This year’s program includes 36 categories for 63 schools.

Rye Country Day’s Upper School Fall Play, 1984, received five nominations at the 2024 Eastern Student Artist Guild (ESAG) Awards. The finalists and winners were determined after being evaluated by a panel of adjudicators, including a team of professional actors.

• Best Stage Manager: Space Pace ’24 - winner

• Best Ensemble in a Drama: 1984 - winner

• Best Actor in a Drama: David Colin ’24

• Best Actor in a Drama: Zoe Sterling-Dixon ’26 - winner

• Best Drama Production: 1984 - winner

The Eastern Student Artist Guild is a new program that honors the work by students in non-musical theatrical productions across the Lower Hudson Valley. Zoe Sterling-Dixon ’26 and Upper School Drama teacher Jeff Hogan represented RCDS at the program’s inaugural awards ceremony at Manhattanville University on May 4, 2024. Zoe also performed a monologue from 1984.

Rosie Isiyel ’25 was accepted into the A Cappella Academy, a highly competitive summer camp held at Scripps College in Claremont, CA, where talented young musicians learn and share their love of vocal music. 2024 marks the second summer in a row that Rosie has been accepted into the A Cappella Academy.

In the fall of 2023, Rosie was also selected as a member of the Grammy Award-winning National Children’s Chorus. One of the world’s leading children’s choirs, the chorus provides its unparalleled training to more than 1,000 students, comprising 32 choirs based in the chapter cities of Los Angeles, New York, Washington, D.C., San Francisco, Austin, Dallas, Boston, and Chicago. The chorus transforms the lives of young people, empowering them to effectively lead society toward the ideals of artistic excellence, cultural openness, and social diversity. Rosie is in their top ensemble, Scholars, and the ensemble performs regularly at Carnegie Hall.

RCDS TEAM CHAMPIONSHIPS

FALL 2023

VARSITY FIELD

HOCKEY

NYSAIS Champions

13th overall title!

FALL 2023

VARSITY FOOTBALL

2023 MIFL Champions

WINTER 2023 -24

BOYS’ VARSITY SQUASH 2024 NYSAIS Champions

WINTER 2023-24

BOYS’ VARSITY FENCING

2023-24 ISFL CHAMPIONS - EPEE: Ray Cao ’26, Mats Danger ’27 (not pictured), David Kern ’25, Matthew Lee ’26, Raccan Shah ’27 (not pictured), and Jordan Zhao ’24 (not pictured)

RCDS TEAM CHAMPIONSHIPS

WINTER 2023-24

BOYS’ VARSITY HOCKEY FAA Tournament Champions

SPRING 2024

VARSITY GIRLS’

LACROSSE NYSAIS Champions

SPRING 2024

VARSITY GIRLS’

TRACK & FIELD

FAA Champions

CLASS OF 2024 COLLEGE-BOUND STUDENT ATHLETES

Fourteen members of the Class of 2024 will continue their academic and athletic careers at the collegiate level. The RCDS community is excited to support our Wildcats as they take the next step in their athletic careers.

Pictured from top left:

Reese Bommer ’24, Princeton University, Rowing

Alec Davis ’24, Bowdoin College, Lacrosse

Cole Denson ’24, Duke University, Football

Jonah Gurion ’24, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Soccer

Madison Haft-Abromovitch ’24, Brandeis University, Volleyball

Teddy Holtman ’24, Cornell University, Rowing

Sebastian Huet ’24, Tufts University, Golf

Betsy Owens ’24, Williams College, Rowing

Barrett Pennington ’24, Middlebury College, Football

Cleo Saltz ’24, Earlham College, Cross Country and Track & Field

Romi Schreiber ’24, Wesleyan University, Soccer

Angad Sethi ’24, Bates College, Squash

Trey Stevens ’24, Colby College, Football

Adi Vyas ’24, Wake Forest University, Tennis

ATHLETICS

INDIVIDUAL CHAMPIONS

GIRLS’ TRACK & FIELD - SPRING

FAA Cate Tucker ’24 finished first in the high jump at the FAA Championship.

The 4x400m Relay Team (Maleah Dunkley ’27, Ava Morgan ’27, Kayla Rosen ’28, and Taeko Fueno ’25) placed first at the FAA Championship.

NYSAIS Keira Zheng ’25 finished first in the 400m hurdles at the NYSAIS Championship.

BOYS’ TRACK & FIELD - SPRING

FAA Joaquin Gonzalez ’25 placed first in the long jump at the FAA Championship.

NYSAIS Jack de Haan ’24 finished first in the Steeplechase at the NYSAIS Championship.

FAIRCHESTER ATHLETIC ASSOCIATION SCHOLAR-ATHLETE

Jack de Haan ’24 was named a Fairchester Athletic Association Scholar-Athlete. The FAA Scholar-Athlete Award is presented to seniors who have reached the highest academic standards, while playing a minimum of two varsity sports and earning FAA All-League honors. FAA Scholar-Athletes take the most challenging courses and place in the top 20% of their senior class. Jack polished off a fantastic academic and athletic career with numerous accolades. He was a three-season athlete while excelling during the 2023-24 school year earning the Coaches Award for Indoor Track & Field and the Wildcat award for Outdoor. Jack earned a pair of Varsity letters and was the 2024 Outdoor Track & Field NYSAIS Champion in the Steeplechase which earned him First Team All-State honors. In the 2023-2024 Indoor season he was named to the All-State team in the 3200m and in the 2023 Cross Country season he was FAA All-League First Team and a New York State Federation Qualifier. Jack will continue his academic career at Brown University.

NYS FEDERATION BOYS’ GOLF TOURNAMENT

Nicky Smith ’25 placed second in the NYS Federation Boys’ Golf Tournament with a score of 72, just one stroke behind the leader. He qualified for the state tournament by shooting a score of 72 in the NYSAIS Tournament. It was a fitting end to a stellar junior-year season highlighted by FAA All-League First Team honors, as well as receiving the team’s Wildcat Award.

Cate Tucker ’24

Keira Zheng ’25

Joaquin Gonzalez ’25

Ava Morgan ’27

Jack de Haan ’24

NEW YORK LONG ISLAND INDEPENDENT ACADEMIC ALL-AMERICAN

Grace Allen ’24 was named to the New York Long Island Independent Academic All-American team. Those eligible for the prestigious award are starting juniors or seniors who demonstrate exemplary lacrosse skills and possess a grade point average of higher than 3.7 throughout their high school career. As a senior captain this past season, Grace was a part of the Class of 2024 seniors who earned the 2024 Denise Francella Coaches Award. Grace will continue her academic career at Vanderbilt this fall.

LONG-ISLAND INDEPENDENT ALL-AMERICAN

Maya Torgalkar ’27 was named to the New York Long Island Independent All-American team. Eligibility for the All-American title is reserved for the best players in a region who are All-State or AllLeague honorees, exemplars of superior skills and sportsmanship, and excellent scholars.

2024 NATIONAL FOOTBALL FOUNDATION TEAM OF DISTINCTION

On Tuesday, June 18, Cole Denson ’24 was named to the 2024 National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame (NFF) Team of Distinction for his excellence on the football field, in the classroom, and in the community.

Cole was one of 84 honorees, selected from a national pool of 3,500 eligible candidates. All Team of Distinction members played their final season of high school football during the 2023-24 school year and were deemed the top overall standouts in academics, athletics, and community service in their respective regions. One of just 16 East Region winners, Cole was a Football team captain at RCDS, as well as a first-team all-state recipient, a member of the National Honor Society, and an AP Scholar.

NFF Chairman and former NFL player Archie Manning describes the award as “one of the most prestigious national awards that a high school player can receive”.

TONY SABELLA MEMORIAL SCHOLARSHIP

On Wednesday, June 12, Cole Denson ’24 was recognized as the recipient of the Tony Sabella Memorial Scholarship and one of 33 Athlete-of-the-Week winners from the 2023-24 school year at the 73rd Annual Con Edison Scholastic Sports Awards end-of-year celebration. Con Edison Athlete-of-the-Week winners are selected based on both their excellence on the field and in the classroom by an impartial panel of athletic directors and coaches. Cole was one of four studentathletes to receive a scholarship.

CLASS OF 2024 GOLDEN DOZEN SCHOLAR-ATHLETES

The Westchester Chapter of the National Football Foundation and Hall of Fame announced its 51st annual Golden Dozen picks, an honor reserved for the region’s top high school football student-athletes from the 2023 season. After an outstanding season to end his RCDS football career, RB/DB Cole Denson ’24 was named as one of the 12 standouts to the Class of 2024 Golden Dozen Scholar-Athlete list.

ALL-AMERICAN HONORS IN THE 1-MILE RUN AND 800M RUN

Marshall Brown ’28 was named an All-American in the 1-Mile Run and the 800m Run at the New Balance Indoor Nationals in Boston, MA. In the 1-Mile Run, Marshall finished in sixth place, running a personal best time of 4:33.69. The next day, he competed in the 800m Run, finishing in third place with a personal best time of 2:02.38.

Based on his impressive performance at the New Balance Indoor Nationals, Marshall was invited to Brooks PR Invitational in Seattle, WA on June 12, 2024. Those who are invited have been hand-selected as the fastest 8-20 athletes in each event.

Grace Allen ’24

Maya Torgalkar ’27

Cole Denson ’24

Marshall Brown ’28

SPRING 2024 VARSITY SPORTS AWARDS

On May 28, the Athletic Department hosted the Spring Sports Awards, honoring and celebrating all of our varsity athletes. It was an exciting season for all of our 2024 spring athletic teams with the Wildcats capturing titles in Girls’ Lacrosse (NYSAIS, and Girls’ Track & Field (FAA).

ATHLETICS SPIRIT AWARD

Julia Wallach ’24

BASEBALL

FAA ALL-LEAGUE SECOND TEAM:

Patrick Leonard ’24

FAA HONORABLE MENTION: Brodie Moye ’25

ALL-NEPSAC HONORABLE MENTION: Ollie Smith ’26

COACHES AWARD: Buck Coquillette ’24

WILDCAT AWARD: Patrick Leonard ’24

2025 CAPTAINS: Chris Emmet ’25, Blake James ’25, Brodie Moye ’25

BOYS’ GOLF

FAA ALL-LEAGUE FIRST TEAM: Nicky Smith ’25

FAA ALL-LEAGUE SECOND TEAM: Sebastian Huet ’24

FAA HONORABLE MENTION: Ryan Herman ’24

NYS FEDERATION CHAMPIONSHIP:

Nicky Smith ’25 (2nd Place Finish)

COACHES AWARD: Ryan Herman ’24 and Sebastian Huet ’24

WILDCAT AWARD: Nicky Smith ’25

2025 CAPTAINS: Johnny Gasparro ’25, Nicky Smith ’25

GIRLS’ GOLF

FAA ALL-LEAGUE: Kate Burdick ’24

FAA HONORABLE MENTION: Claire Yu ’25

COACHES AWARD: Melanie Asness ’25

WILDCAT AWARD: Kate Burdick ’24

2025 CAPTAINS: Melanie Asness ’25, Claire Yu ’25

BOYS’ LACROSSE

FAA ALL-LEAGUE FIRST TEAM: Joseph Rafferty ’26

FAA ALL-LEAGUE SECOND TEAM: Nick Vlasto ’24

FAA HONORABLE MENTION: Sameer Hirani ’24

ALL-NEPSAC ALL-LEAGUE: Joseph Rafferty ’26

ALL-NEPSAC HONORABLE MENTION: Nick Vlasto ’24

FRANK EFFINGER AWARD: Ben Cousin ’24

RAY KONOPKA AWARD: Nick Vlasto ’24

2025 CAPTAINS: Blake Jachman ’25, Milin Torgalkar ’26, Turner Wolf ’25

GIRLS’ LACROSSE

NYSAIS CHAMPIONS

ALL-NEPSAC ALL-LEAGUE: Elle Mason ’27, Maya Torgalkar ’27

ALL-NEPSAC HONORABLE MENTION: Bailey Donovan ’27, Clare Keating ’26

DENISE FRANCELLA COACHES AWARD:

Grace Allen ’24, Brynn Coady ’24, Anna Franzino ’24, Elizabeth Hackett ’24, Morgan Harvey ’24, Elizabeth Hawkey ’24

WILDCAT AWARD: Grace Allen ’24

2025 CAPTAINS: Sydney Cohn ’25, Clare Keating ’26

SAILING

COACHES AWARD: Connor Rusch ’25

RYAN B. MAHONEY AWARD: Stella Maymin ’24

2025 CAPTAINS: Josh Greene ’25, Alice Rikkers ’26, Connor Rusch ’25

SOFTBALL

FAA ALL-LEAGUE: Willow Edwards ’25

FAA HONORABLE MENTION: Molly Hart ’27

ALL-NEPSAC HONORABLE MENTION: Elana Gershwin ’26, Isa Pierry ’25

ALL-NEPSAC ALL-LEAGUE: Willow Edwards ’25

WNEPSGSBA ALL-LEAGUE: Willow Edwards ’25

COACHES AWARD: Elana Gershwin ’26

WILDCAT AWARD: Julia Heintz ’25

2025 CAPTAINS: Willow Edwards ’25, Julia Heintz ’25, Isa Pierry ’25

BOYS’ TENNIS

FAA ALL-LEAGUE: Chris Estill ’28 , Ethan Kantor ’27, James Wolff ’27

FAA HONORABLE MENTION: Lincoln Feng ’26

COACHES AWARD: Derek Zaeske ’24

WILDCAT AWARD: Matt Jachman ’25

2025 CAPTAINS: Lincoln Feng ’26, Francisco Luz ’25, Darren Wong ’26

GIRLS’ TENNIS

FAA ALL-LEAGUE: Emily Cheigh ’25, Liz Kavanagh ’24, Dani Penn ’24, Ana Petricone ’25

FAA HONORABLE MENTION: Kaitlyn Wong ’27

COACHES AWARD: Dani Penn ’24

WILDCAT AWARD: Liz Kavanagh ’24

2025 CAPTAINS: Emily Cheigh ’25, Ana Petricone ’25

BOYS’ TRACK & FIELD

FAA ALL-LEAGUE: Joaquin Gonzalez ’25 (Long Jump Champion, Triple Jump)

FAA HONORABLE MENTION: Amir Hogans ’26 (Shot Put)

NYSAIS CHAMPION: Jack de Haan ’24 (Steeplechase)

FIRST TEAM ALL-STATE: Jack de Haan ’24 (Steeplechase), Dorel Dunkley ’25 (Discus), Joaquin Gonzalez ’25 (Long Jump), Amir Hogans ’26 (Shot Put)

COACHES AWARD: Luca Strazzini ’24

WILDCAT AWARD: Jack de Haan ’24

2025 CAPTAINS: Esaias Gonzalez ’25, Joaquin Gonzalez ’25, Luke Stronski ’25

GIRLS’ TRACK & FIELD

2024 FAA CHAMPIONS

FAA ALL-LEAGUE: Maleah Dunkley ’27, Taeko Fueno ’25, Ava Morgan ’27, Kayla Rosen ’28 (4x400m Relay Team), Mary Grace Eubanks ’25 (Triple Jump), Madison HaftAbromovitch ’24 (Discus), Jocelyn Rice ’27 (Long Jump), Payton Richardson ’28 (200 Meters, 400 Meters), Kayla Rosen ’28 (800 Meters), Cleo Saltz ’24 (3000 Meters), Cate Tucker ’24 (High Jump Champion), Keira Zheng ’25 (100 Meters Hurdles, 300 Meter Hurdles)

FAA HONORABLE MENTION: Sydney Snell ’24

NYSAIS CHAMPION: Keira Zheng ’25 (400m Hurdles)

FIRST TEAM ALL-STATE: Payton Richardson ’28 (200m), Cate Tucker ’24 (High Jump, Long Jump), Keira Zheng ’25 (400m Hurdles)

COACHES AWARD:

Madison Haft-Abromovitch ’24

WILDCAT AWARD: Cleo Saltz ’24

2025 CAPTAINS: Alexa Daddi-Melino ’25, Taeko Fueno ’25 Keira Zheng ’25

FACULTY AWARDS

CELEBRATING OUTSTANDING FACULTY & STAFF CONTRIBUTIONS

FACULTY AND STAFF RECOGNIZED AT ANNUAL EMPLOYEE TEA

Head of School Randall Dunn presented awards and fellowships, as well as honored employees who are retiring and those who are celebrating 20+ years of employment at RCDS. The annual Employee Tea is a longstanding Rye Country Day tradition held at the conclusion of every school year. Faculty and staff come together to reflect on the year and celebrate exceptional individual accomplishments of their fellow colleagues. Outstanding contributions to Rye Country Day are recognized through various awards, fellowships, and recognitions, as well as anniversary and retirement celebrations. Congratulations and deep gratitude to all of our awardees and honorees!

ANNIVERSARIES

20 Years of Service

NICOLE LEATH

Lower School Assistant Principal

BRIAN O’CALLAGHAN

Middle School Assistant Principal, Grades 5 & 6

Dean, & Social Studies Teacher

LIZANNE ROSENZWEIG

Middle School Spanish Teacher

RETIREES

RCDS thanks these employees for their service and wishes them all the best in their next chapters

PATRICK EARLY

Security & Coach, 2007 - 2024 (17 years)

LAURIS KHAN

Upper School Mathematics Teacher, 1999 - 2024 (25 years)

GIL CASTAGNA

Physical Education Teacher & Coach,

1979 - 2024 (45 years)

AWARDS

Seniority Fellowship

Awarded to faculty and staff who have served Rye Country Day for over 10 years are eligible for one of five Seniority Fellowships.

D. D. HUANG

Middle School Mandarin Chinese Teacher

LAURA MUNGAVIN

Upper School Spanish Teacher

MARY KRASOVEC

Upper School Science Teacher

SUSAN PECK

Middle School Mathematics Department Chair & Teacher

HEATHER RUSSELL

Middle School Mathematics Teacher

Will McCurdy Memorial Award

Established in 2015 in memory of Will McCurdy ’05. Given in recognition of outstanding advising in the Upper School.

CLEMMIE EVERETT

Upper School Humanities

Department Chair & Teacher

SEB MINEO

Upper School Mathematics Teacher

Carol Lichtenfeld Memorial Award

Established in 2019 in memory of RCDS Teacher

Carol Lichtenfeld. Given in recognition of outstanding Middle School advising.

ADELE DOMINICUS

Middle School Mathematics Teacher

Lower School Advising Award

Established in 2022 to recognize a Lower School teacher who went above and beyond in support of students.

LYVIA SAGE

Lower School & Middle School French Teacher

Frank Effinger Outstanding Coaching Award

Established in 2013 by Adam Friedlander ’79 in honor of longtime RCDS Coach and Field House Director Frank Effinger. Given in recognition of a member of the RCDS coaching staff for their outstanding service to RCDS.

CHARLES OGBONNA

Physical Education Teacher & Coach

Patrick Early Lauris Khan

Gil Castagna

Brian O’Callaghan Nicole Leath

Lizanne Rosenzweig

Linda Grossman Award

Established in 2010 in honor Linda Grossman, Administrative Assistant to the Head of School. Given in recognition of a staff member for their outstanding service to RCDS.

ARIANA WIMPY

Senior Accountant

ENDOWED CHAIRS

Brockman Lower School Chair

MONIQUE CATERINA

Lower School Kindergarten Teacher (Second Year)

RCDS PA Chair

BAPTISTE BATAILLE

Upper School French Teacher (Final Year)

English Department Chair

ERIN MCDONALD

Middle School Language Arts Teacher (Second Year)

Class of 2006 Chair

KERRY LINDEROTH

Director of Sustainability (Second Year)

Wachenheim Family Chair

CLEMMIE EVERETT

Upper School Humanities Department Chair, Grade 9 Dean (Second Year)

KYLE MITSCHELE

Middle School Social Studies Department Chair (Second Year)

Lower School Chair

JOANNE AVENTURO

Lower School Grade 3 Teacher (Final Year)

Middle School Chair

HEATHER RUSSELL

Middle School Science Teacher (First Year)

RYAN HORTON

Middle School Language Arts Teacher (Second Year)

FACULTY AWARDS

Through yearly Cohen Fellowship for Excellence & Innovation grants, Rye Country Day School actively advances the School’s commitment to pedagogical excellence and continual professional growth for employees. These grants afford Cohen Fellows the opportunity to develop their passion for education and stay current in their individual fields through innovative knowledge acquisition. Through the personal and professional endeavors associated with the receipt of this award, Cohen Fellows help the School to build upon its tradition of excellence through creativity and innovation. RCDS gratefully acknowledges the generosity of The Stephen & Alexandra Cohen Foundation in the establishment of these transformative grants.

COHEN FELLOWSHIP FOR EXCELLENCE & INNOVATION RESEARCH & INNOVATION GRANTS

Each year, proposals are reviewed by a committee of administrators (including the Head of School, Assistant Heads of School, Division Principals, and Director of the Center for Innovative Teaching & Learning) and up to five projects are selected and funded. Faculty and staff who receive Research & Innovation grants have one summer and the following school year to grow their projects from idea to implementation. An essential part of the Research & Innovation Grant program is information sharing with fellow teachers at the School to ensure that the knowledge gained from the projects benefits the entire RCDS community and creates new, exciting opportunities for innovation and collaboration.

Baptiste Bataille – Upper School French Teacher

Sandy Castagna – Lower School Grade 1 Teacher

Giovanni D’Onza – Assistant Athletic Trainer

Jen Devito– Upper School Librarian

Morgan Fuerst – Manager of Admissions and Enrollment Services

Genevieve Gaubron - Accounting Manager

Ted Heintz – Upper School Grade 10 Dean and English Teacher

Ryan Horton – Middle School Language Arts Teacher

Heather Lentini – Lower School Grade 1 Teacher

Kerry Linderoth – Director of Sustainability, Upper & Middle School Science Teacher

Marcia Mignon – Middle School Science Teacher

Caryn Olson – Lower School Grade 4 Teacher

Elvira Rebate – Lower School Spanish Teacher

Lizanne Rosenzweig – Middle School Spanish Teacher

Gail Sestito – Middle School Grades 7 & 8 Dean & Science Teacher

Congratulations to the 2024-25 Research & Innovation Grant recipients!

• Grade 3 Teacher Joanne Aventuro and LS Psychologist Kelly Barker will focus on Strengthening Family/School Partnerships

• Grade 10 Dean and US English Teacher Ted Heintz, US Assistant Principal Jenny Heath, US Humanities Department Chair Clemmie Everett, and Grades 7-8 Dean and MS Math Teacher Matt Rosolen will develop a Middle and Upper School Student Leadership Curriculum;

• MS Learning Specialist Tammy McKenna will create and launch a Digital Grammar Toolkit for MS Students;

• Upper School Mandarin Teacher Joanne Shang, MS/US Photography Teacher Chris Kaye, MS Social Studies Teacher Charlie Friedman, DEI Fellow Maximo Pérez, and Director of Academic Technology Daren Khairule will do a deeper dive into Educating With AI.

Joanne Aventuro Kelly Barker Ted Heintz

Jenny Heath Clemmie Everett Matt Rosolen

Tammy McKenna Joanne Shang Chris Kaye

Charlie Friedman Maximo Pérez Daren Khairule

CONGRATULATIONS

TEACHERS LEARN & SHARE! PROFESSIONAL LEARNING COHORT PROGRAM CELEBRATES INAUGURAL YEAR

The RCDS Center for Innovative Teaching & Learning launched the Professional Learning Cohort (PLC) program during the 2023-24 school year. The employee-led program convened small groups of colleagues across disciplines and departments to follow inquiries and curiosities, share knowledge and expertise, and work collaboratively toward professional goals.

On June 6, to mark the successful first year of the program, various PLC conveners presented their work to colleagues. Below is a sample PLC groups and their pursuits:

• AI in Education: Explored and tested the ways AI can assist teachers in the classroom

• Alternative Assessments: Evaluated the pros/ cons of alternative assessments and collected student/teacher feedback

• Excel and Google Sheets: Collaborated on spreadsheet projects and explored utilizing a range of helpful formulas

• Engineering & Student Apprenticeships: Researched and visited six engineering and student apprenticeship programs across various educational institutions to gather resources and best practices

• Outdoor Classroom and Experiential Education: Conducted audit of RCDS offerings, examined barriers to engagement, and piloted a recess period for sixth grade during flex time

• Sports Psychology Tools and Implementation: Created sports psychology lessons to educate and motivate student-athletes

• Student Choice, Voice, and Cultivating Lifelong Readers with High-Interest Books in the Classroom: Explored ways to increase student engagement and cultivate a reading community, including implementing weekly DEAR (Drop Everything and Read) Day in the Middle School

• Sustainability/ Keeping Us Green: Implemented composting at breakfast, provided plants in classrooms and offices, ran several gear/shoe/clothing drives and swaps, built a recycling center in the Upper School, and educated students about reducing energy use.

ALL ABOUT AI

Upper School Mandarin Chinese Teacher Joanne Shang was invited to present two workshops on the benefits of utilizing artificial intelligence (AI) technology for teaching and learning.

On March 10, Ms. Shang traveled to Honolulu, Hawaii, as the featured speaker of the Chinese Language Education Association of Hawaii’s spring workshop, “How to Leverage AI in Teaching and Learning Chinese.” She shared with fellow educators recommendations on exploring AI in their Chinese teaching, with an overview of current large language model features, including voice interaction. She also provided examples of how AI can function as a digital teaching assistant in creating materials, assessing proficiency, rethinking assessments, and offering personalized help and generating diverse exercises to tutor students.

A couple weeks later on March 23, Ms. Shang led another workshop at the Embassy of the People’s Republic in China in Washington, D.C. for the 2024 Chinese Language Association of Secondary-Elementary Schools (CLASS) CIRCLE Conference. With the theme of “Building Bridges, Breaking Barriers: Addressing the Challenges and Cultivating the Foundation in Chinese Education,” the conference gathered educators, experts, and scholars to provide insights into how Chinese language teaching should develop and move forward in the United States. Ms. Shang lended her knowledge and experience in her presentation, “How to Revolutionize Chinese Teaching & Learning: Practical AI in Action.”

NYC AS GALLERY – LOOK UP!

Art Department Chair Monica Tiulescu participated in an ArtHouse NYC art competition, and two of her paintings depicting birds were selected to be projected at the Big Screen Plaza in midtown Manhattan and ArtHouse NYC’s gallery space in March. Ms. Tiulescu’s bird paintings were made sustainably; the canvases were largely scrap cardboard, and the paints were recovered from

excess paints that were left on palettes after art classes. The projected paintings were part of a series of more than 20 bird paintings.

NORTH AMERICAN OPEN DOUBLES WINNER

On Monday, January 29, RCDS Director of Squash and Head Coach Elani Landman won the 2024 North American Open Doubles with her teammate and sister Lume Landman.

The Landman sisters won the quarterfinals, 3-0, after a first-round bye. In the semifinals, the match was tied 2-2 after four games before the Landman duo won the fifth game, 15-9. The team went on to win the Championship match in a decisive 3-1 victory.

The North American Open Doubles squash tournament has long been among the most prominent squash doubles events in the United States, held annually in Greenwich, CT since 1931.

METRO AWARD WINNER

Rye Country Day’s Director of Performing Arts Spaces and AV Technology Jac-que Robinson won the award for Outstanding Scenic Design at the 2024 Metro Awards for his work in this year’s production of Into the Woods, which was nominated for a total of six Metro Awards this year.

The set, which featured giant, movable stacks of books and trees, was crucial in supporting the overall vision of the show. In addition, the set gave the performers the necessary freedom to move about and interact with the scenery as though it were a cast member. The scale of the set was intentionally oversized to enhance the idea that the fairytale characters came to life out of the books on stage. In addition to his nomination for Best Scenic Design, Mr. Robinson was also nominated for Best Lighting Design.

The Metro Awards, which were held at The Performing Arts Center at Purchase College, recognize the best in high school musicals from across Westchester, Bergen, Rockland, and Putnam counties. Rye Country Day was one of 63 schools that earned nominations for the 2024 Metros.