Spring 2024: Bulletin

RYE COUNTRY DAY SCHOOL

2023-2024

BOARD OF TRUSTEES

Leigh Geller President

Patty Perez Vice President

Tom Davidson

Treasurer

Ben Moss ’93

Secretary

Andrew Adams

Rebecca Brown

Sarah Dodds-Brown ’91

Tyler Dickson

Amy Fisch

Eric Geveda

Alison Hinds-Pearl

Blanca Hirani

Jennifer Kherani

David Kurd

Tina Mathias

Blair Endresen Metrailler ’96

Rosa Perkins

Elizabeth Shah-Hosseini

David Thomas ’04

Susheel Torgalkar

Andrew Wallach

Jinghua Yan

Nicole Jackson Fanjul ’02

Alumni Board President

Rebecca Brown

Parents Association President

TRUSTEES EMERITI

Edward B. Dunn

Frederick A. Klingenstein♦

Michael C. Murr

Carmen Ribera-Thain ’75

Edgar Wachenheim III

Kim Wachenheim Wagman ’84

♦ Deceased

ALUMNI EXECUTIVE BOARD

Nicole Jackson Fanjul ’02 President

Thomas Alston ’05

Doug Behrman ’04

Joshua Bennett ’06

Melanie Baevsky Besvinick ’07

Ellen Sluder Cohen ’95

Jonathan C. Goldstein ’99

Grant S. Johnson ’10

Andrew S. Nathanson ’09

Robin Quittell Ponticelli ’94

Sarah Strong ’12

Daniel I. Wallance ’00

EX OFFICIO: HONORARY FACULTY

Gil A. Castagna, Jr.

EX OFFICIO: ALUMNI TRUSTEES

Sarah Dodds-Brown ’91

Blair Endresen Metrailler ’96

Ben Moss ’93

David Thomas ’04

EX OFFICIO: MEMBERS

Randall Dunn Head of School

Lynette Gioffre Director of Advancement

Melissa Mahoney Wirth ’97 Manager of Alumni Relations

CREDITS

On the Cover: Into the Woods, 2024 Upper School Musical, photo by Dana Maxson Photography Editor: Dania Abu-Shaheen

Alumni Content Editor: Melissa Mahoney Wirth ’97

Photography: RCDS staff photographers, Bruce Gilbert Photography, and Dana Maxson Photography Design: Rose Creative Group

FOLLOW US!

RYE COUNTRY DAY SCHOOL  ryecountryday @ryecountryday

ATHLETICS

HEAD of SCHOOL

Dear RCDS Community,

As we wrap up the 2023-24 school year at RCDS, I am moved to share how honored I am to lead this exceptional community. Our school-wide theme was kindness, and I was consistently inspired by the ways our students, families, faculty, staff, and alumni demonstrated this venerable quality.

Excellence is our Rye Country Day hallmark, and the way we realize it in a kind, thoughtful manner represents our heart as a community. This is what sets us apart; what makes our contributions to the landscape of leaders unparalleled. If you are engaged with a Rye Country Day student or graduate in conversation, you’ll notice quickly that they are measured, reasoned, knowledgeable, and respectful. And they are always kind. As an educator, I can say confidently that nothing is more important in our world today.

This past year in particular, our community experienced great losses. Our hearts were broken by the untimely deaths of third grader Billy Smeal and current and alumni parent Greg Boester. We also ached as our world reeled from tragic loss of life around the globe. Through all of this, we banded together and relied on our RCDS kindness in order to grieve and grow together. It can be said that the measure of community is in how it faces difficulty. We faced unthinkable pain as one supportive family, willing to cry together, to learn together, and to hold each other. Thank you, RCDS, for your incredible heart. I am so proud of you.

In this issue of the Bulletin, you will read stories about and from our students, educators, and graduates. You will be reminded of this community’s excellence and kindness, and our shared belief in the power of education to transform lives and uplift communities.

Our work together as a dedicated school community is important, and I look forward to every minute. Thank you for your partnership!

Yours,

Randall Dunn Head of School

NEW TRUSTEES

In July 2024, RCDS will welcome the following new trustees

❶ Lynelle Chang will serve as the next President of the RCDS Parents Association. Previously, she served as the PA’s Vice President of Events, a Lower School Division Coordinator, a Grade 3 liaison, and a host family. She was also a member of the RCDS DEI Advisory Committee. Ms. Chang started her career at JPMorgan Chase and worked as a marketing professional at a number of financial institutions. She received her B.S. and M.S.Ed. from Fordham University. She lives in Tarrytown with her husband, Mike, and their three children, Mikaela (Class of 2030), Gabriella (Class of 2034), and Kaiden (Class of 2037).

➋ Jackie Emmet graduated from Cornell University with a B.A. in Government and has an M.B.A. from Columbia Business School. Ms. Emmet previously worked for Andersen Consulting (now Accenture) and for Citibank. Currently, Ms. Emmet serves as the Treasurer of the Larchmont Mamaroneck Community Counseling Center, a member of the Cornell University College of Arts & Sciences Advisory Council, and a trustee on the Board of the Carver Center. At Rye Country Day, she is currently the Treasurer of the 2024 Benefit and has been actively involved in the PA in other capacities. She is also on the Steering Committee for the Larchmont Mamaroneck Hunger Task Force. Ms. Emmet lives in Larchmont with her husband Richard. They have three children, Robert, Elizabeth, and Christopher (Class of 2025).

➌ Eric Lane ’92 joined Tiger Global Management in July 2021 as President and Chief Operating Officer. Prior to joining the firm, Mr. Lane worked at Goldman Sachs for 25 years, most recently in the role of Global Co-Head of the Asset Management Division, and previously as Global Co-Head of the Consumer and Investment Management. Mr. Lane received a B.S. in Economics from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. He and his wife, Sarah, live in Purchase with their three daughters, Phoebe (Class of 2025), Willow (incoming Class of 2028) and Eden, who currently attends the Windward School.

➍ Michael O’Mary is a Managing Director of D. E. Shaw & Co., L.P. and manages the firm’s Fundamental Equities investment unit. Michael joined the D. E. Shaw group in a full-time capacity in 2007. Prior to joining D. E. Shaw, Mr. O’Mary served as a Corporate Affairs Manager at Citizens Financial Group, Inc. Before that, he was a Special Assistant to President Lawrence Summers of Harvard University and, prior to that, a business manager at Project Place, a non-profit social service agency in Boston. From 1997 to 1998, Mr. O’Mary was a researcher in the White House Office of First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton. In addition, he has served on two national political campaigns for the U.S. presidency, including in 2000 as a senior advance team leader for Vice President Al Gore’s general election campaign, and from 2003 to 2004, as national trip director for Governor Howard Dean’s primary campaign. Mr. O’Mary earned his A.B. in economics, cum laude, from Harvard University and his J.D., cum laude, from Harvard Law School. Mr. O’Mary and his wife, Jessica, have four children, three of whom—Annalise (Class of 2028), Adrienne (Class of 2032), and Jack (Class of 2037)—attend Rye Country Day School.

➎ Vicki Tung is Global Head of Recruiting at Goldman Sachs. She is responsible for the firm’s global recruitment strategy, including campus, experienced hire, executive search, diversity, and skillset recruiting. Ms. Tung is also a member of Goldman’s Human Capital Management Leadership Group. Previously, she held various recruiting leadership positions, including serving as Global Head of Campus and Early Careers Recruiting. Prior to that, she was Head of Recruiting for the Global Investment Research and Securities divisions, and Head of Campus Recruiting for the Investment Banking Division. Ms. Tung joined Goldman Sachs as an analyst in 2000 in London and relocated to New York in 2003. She was named Managing Director in 2019. Ms. Tung earned a B.A. in Government and International Relations from Boston University in 2000. She and her husband, Tom Stokes, live in Rye with their two daughters, Madeleine (Class of 2028) and Lauren (Class of 2030).

PRINCIPAL PERSPECTIVES

■ LOWER SCHOOL

Kindness

Fostering a healthy emotional climate is paramount to developing the intrinsic behaviors associated with building a strong character, developing a moral compass, and encouraging behaviors associated with kindness. Learning to be kind is a skill that needs to be practiced, and this year has been a wonderful opportunity to embrace this always-important topic. As parents and educators modeling and guiding children every day, it is imperative that we model, explicitly teach, and reflect upon self-awareness and empathy because children often take their cues from others. At school, our teachers model techniques to foster kindness through everyday interactions, and they practice and reflect on these interactions together with the students. A particular focus for our teachers has been encouraging kind and compassionate behavior through exploring ways that one’s actions (or non-actions) impact others. Underpinning all of our kindness work is helping students to develop the critical skill of listening to others. It is powerful to watch our Lower Schoolers actively listen by looking at the speaker—be it a peer or an adult—and acknowledging what they heard. Then with an appreciation for what they learned, our Lower Schoolers share their response. The result is thoughtful and community-oriented kindness, which was especially celebrated this year as our theme but ever-present in our values and school ethos through all of the years.

■ MIDDLE SCHOOL

Like last year’s theme of teamwork, kindness did not need the distinction of “school-wide theme” to step into the forefront of our attention. Thankfully it is already rooted in so much of what we do in our daily school life, as it is a necessary ingredient in the healthy social and emotional development of adolescents. Being friendly, generous, and considerate and showing goodwill towards others are seemingly natural reactions of our students. In addition to our community’s inherent kindness, programming in Advisory and Seek continues to provide opportunities for students to think about the perspectives of others and become more self-reflective about their own actions, ideas, and impact on the people around them. Group work in classes gives teachers and students additional moments to focus on the importance of treating others with kindness and grace. And our extracurriculars, like our Service Learning groups, showcase the goodwill that comes in abundance from our students. All this said, however, it is really in the thousand small moments of each day where this year’s theme of kindness has truly shone and always shines.

Quick to smile and say hello, fast with a helping hand for a classmate or teacher, and generous with thank you’s and compliments, our Middle School students infuse each day with kind acts to friends, peers, faculty and staff, and guests. This year’s theme was present before 2023-24, and it will surely stick around beyond the end of the school year!

■ UPPER SCHOOL

This year’s theme of kindness could be found in both the quieter, smaller corners of campus and in our marquee programming. Like our theme of teamwork last year, kindness is a core community value, and one that has been wonderfully modeled by our senior class since they assumed responsibility for leading the Upper School—and the school community broadly—back in August. Whether making a point to say hello in passing to faculty and younger students or fully embracing their leadership posts across the spectrum of extracurriculars, our seniors set the standard for kindness in our community this year. Of course, service and selflessness are greatly valued and inform our daily work in the Upper School, and they are naturally interwoven with the true meaning of kindness. To that end, it would be hard to overlook the remarkable efforts of our Upper School students and employees not just during our weekly community gatherings, but also in their work spearheading seemingly endless initiatives (fundraisers; clothing, shoe and household essentials drives; blood drives; awareness campaigns; and so much more)—not to mention their work as Community Engagement Fellows; SET, SiSTEM, and SCOPE participants; and Peer Leaders. Like the theme of kindness, the impact of our students’ efforts in so many moments and arenas is a constant RCDS hallmark that will endure for years to come.

Ms. Stedman

Dr. Sotirhos

Mr. Quagliaroli

CONGRATULATIONS TO RYE COUNTRY DAY’S OUTSTANDING

Class of 2024

Throughout your RCDS careers, you have impressed, inspired, and invigorated us. We are proud of your many accomplishments and contributions to our community. Welcome to the alumni family!

CONGRATULATIONS ALSO

to the Class of 2028 on your Middle School graduation. We look forward to following and celebrating your achievements in the Upper School.

to our Fourth Graders on the occasion of your moving-up. We can’t wait to watch and applaud your Middle School adventures.

JUNIOR SEMINAR

Jeff Bates, Director of College Counseling

One of the major tenets of our work in the Office of College Counseling is the idea that the college process provides an exceptional opportunity for RCDS students to learn about themselves and to grow as individuals during a formative part of their lives.

For the last 15 years, RCDS juniors have been immersed in a holistic, evolving curriculum guided by the statement above. The Junior Seminar program is designed to provide students with the practical skills they need to submit technically excellent applications. Equally important, the Junior Seminar program encourages students to think about their current interests and goals—and what these might mean for their futures, during their next four years in college and beyond.

At the beginning of the school year, all eleventh-grade students are assigned to a small group, and that group then spends the remainder of the year in a seminar-based class. The earliest portion of the Junior Seminar course is taught by a group of exceptional educators that includes the Grade 11 Deans, the US Assistant Principal, the Director of Counseling, and the Director of Public Purpose.

The first part of the curriculum focuses on self-assessment and self-knowledge via conversations about strengths, interests, goals, hesitations, and hopes.

In November, the college counselors take over the course and the focus shifts to the college process. Some of the topics covered by the college counselors include:

 Getting organized and starting the college exploration process

 Understanding the component parts of the application and their importance

 Practicing the skills that support communicating effectively as an applicant

 Creating a formal resume

 Exploring and articulating goals and aspirations as part of the college application process

 Learning what makes an effective personal statement (college essay), one that conveys ideas and feelings in order to help admissions officers gain insight into the whole student as a college applicant

Juniors also create a “college locker” and begin stockpiling written work for later use when submitting their applications. The kind of writing that students need to undertake for the application process is quite different from the style usually practiced in high school, so each class period begins with a writing exercise designed to practice a more self-reflective, personal, and narrative-based writing style.

Junior Seminar classes are also an excellent opportunity for the college counselors to get to know students in the classroom setting, providing invaluable insights into how students think and act in the classroom.

After their work in Junior Seminar, students end the year with confident awareness, and they head into summer ready to tackle the college process with a well-honed skill set. This preparation facilitates a smooth transition to senior year and ensures that the college process for each student is navigable and personally fulfilling and enriching.

IN THEIR WORDS

Students reflect on Junior Seminar

“We worked on so many things that may have been hard to do in the moment, but became so useful later in the process.”

“Mock interviews were a perfect example of something we did in Junior Seminar that I used later in applying to college.”

“It made me think deeply about storytelling and figure out how I wanted to present myself later in the process.”

“Junior Seminar helped me realize that it’s never too late to make changes to how I approach what I am doing in high school.”

Highlights from Rye Country Day

NEW TO RCDS IN JULY 2024

PEN VINEYARD

MIDDLE SCHOOL

PRINCIPAL

In March, Rye Country Day School announced Pen Vineyard as the next Middle School Principal.

Mr. Vineyard, who is currently Head of Middle School at The Boys’ Latin School of Maryland, will begin his tenure at RCDS in July.

Mr. Vineyard is a seasoned middle school expert who has shaped curriculum and organized professional development around relational learning, executive functioning, student leadership, and social-emotional learning. He has also partnered with families to develop parent education programming and strengthen the crucial home-school collaboration of the middle school years. Having worked in both K-9 and K-12 schools, Mr. Vineyard understands the importance of student transitions from lower to middle school, from middle to upper school, and from upper school to college. He is proud to be a middle school educator and leader because he understands the impact and potential of the middle years as the fulcrum of a student’s pre-college academic journey.

Mr. Vineyard is a graduate of Dartmouth College—he received his B.A. in music and graduated in three years with cum laude honors. He earned his M.A. in Private School Leadership from the Klingenstein Center at Teachers College, Columbia University. He also holds certification to teach Spanish in Connecticut Public Schools. Mr. Vineyard is multilingual, fluent in English and Spanish and proficient in French. He looks forward to joining the RCDS community with his wife, Anna, their one-year-old, Maya, and their Italian Greyhound, Pintxo.

For RCDS news and updates, visit ryecountryday.org/news

CARRIE BURKE DIRECTOR OF DIVERSITY, EQUITY AND INCLUSION

In April, Rye Country Day announced Carrie Burke as the next Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. Ms. Burke, who is currently DEI Director at Buffalo Seminary, will begin her tenure at RCDS in July.

Ms. Burke brings to RCDS a wealth of experience in teaching, school leadership, international study, and service. At Buffalo Seminary, an independent day and boarding high school for girls, Ms. Burke is responsible for all aspects of the school’s comprehensive DEI program.

Ms. Burke is currently a candidate for a Doctor of Education degree at the University at Buffalo. She also holds an M.A. in educational theatre from NYU and a B.F.A. in acting from Syracuse University. She is the recipient of a NYSAIS Emerging Leaders Fellowship (2023-2025) and a member of the NYSAIS Diversity Committee. In 2022, she earned a Diversity and Inclusion certificate from Cornell University. In 2015, she received the Innovative Cultural Advocacy Fellowship from the Caribbean Cultural Center For The African Diaspora Institute and advocated for culturally diverse representation in the arts, education, and public policy.

Ms. Burke’s exposure to a variety of academic institutions (public, charter, and independent schools) gives her a broad understanding of diversity to ensure that all identities within a school community feel affirmed and supported by the DEI office. Ms. Burke brings a comprehensive background in combating racism, antisemitism, Islamophobia, AAPI hate, ableism, ageism, LGBTQ+ discrimination, sexism, classism, and all other forms of prejudice and hate. Her passion for listening in order to form real connection within schools is palpable and inspiring, and she is especially eager to bring this ethos to Rye Country Day’s efforts around diversity and belonging.

VALENTINE’S DAY AT RCDS: LOVING LEARNING

Blind Date With A Book

The RCDS English Department and Library continued their annual tradition of “Blind Date With A Book”. Students selected from wrapped, gently-used books adorned with short, intriguing descriptions—a fun way to nurture love of reading!

Pen Pals

Ms. Rosenzweig’s Spanish class created cards to send to eighth-grade students at the Oak House School in Barcelona, Spain. The pen pal exchange program is a wonderful way for students to practice their Spanish writing skills, while forming connections with peers in Spain.

Reading Buddies

Fourth graders visited their Lower School buddies in Kindergarten to read together and make special Valentine’s Day bracelets.

KIDS HEART CHALLENGE

In February, the P.E. Department hosted the annual “Kids Heart Challenge” in collaboration with the American Heart Association. Throughout the week, students in Pre-K through Grade 6 learned what makes hearts healthy (exercise, nutrition, sleep, hydration, and kindness) and the importance of daily exercise. In the culminating Kids Heart Challenge Day in their P.E. classes, the heart-healthy fun featured a series of stations, including basketball games, hula hoop challenges, dancing, jump rope, fitness challenges, scooter races, knockout, and many more!

GRADE 6 STUDIES MUSLIM EMPIRES

Students in Mr. Coupe’s sixth-grade social studies classes learned about the Muslim empires, studying the Rashidun Caliphate before moving onto the Umayyads and Abbasids. The sixth graders began by looking at a map depicting the expansion of the Muslim empires through the Middle East. In pairs and in larger class group discussions, the students answered the prompts of “I notice…” and “I wonder…” as they considered the empires’ histories.

2024 GREEN SCREEN: THE BOX TRUCK FILM

The 2024 Green Screen event featured The Box Truck Film: Building a Reuseful Home, a documentary about how two individuals transformed a 17-foot moving truck into a full-time 98-square foot home and mobile reuse education center. The Box Truck even visited campus. This annual event promoting sustainability and environmental awareness is supported by the PA Sustainability Committee. The 2024 Green Screen was led by Co-Chairs Emily Dorin P’26, P’31 and Marlyse Haward P’25, P’30 and the Rye Sustainability Committee.

BLACK HISTORY MONTH AT RCDS

In February, RCDS celebrated Black History Month with a variety of activities.

WILDCATS AROUND THE WORLD PANELS

School of the Holy Child students joined RCDS Upper Schoolers as panelists to share the history and culture of their countries of heritage, including Haiti, Barbados, Jamaica, and Nigeria. Another panel titled The African Diaspora and RCDS Families featured a conversation with Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Ali Morgan and his daughter, Ava Morgan ’27, and Math Department Chair Dr. Tia Gueye and her daughter, Mali Gueye ’27.

CELEBRATING BLACK EXCELLENCE

At Upper School Community Forum, four students presented about notable American Black figures in history, sports, activism, aviation, literature, art, and STEM. The Students of Color Club also hosted its annual Black History Month meeting with Lower and Middle School students of color in the UPLIFT mentoring program.

MS & LS LEARNING

Middle School students engaged with works from Black scientists, artists, and poets, including Lonnie Johnson and Mary Elliot Hill, the AfriCOBRA art collective, and Langston Hughes. At Lower School Community Meeting in the beginning of February, students learned about Black History Month. Later in February, UPLIFT participants asked their peers what they learned during the month.

NATIVE AMERICAN HERITAGE MONTH

In November, Rye Country Day honored the rich ancestry and traditions of Native Americans. Students read about and reflected on the history of the indigenous peoples of North America. During MS and US Community Meetings, students also learned about the four major federally-recognized tribes that inhabited and cultivated the land surrounding Rye.

LUNAR NEW YEAR CELEBRATIONS

RCDS joyfully ushered in the Year of the Dragon, which began on February 10.

SHARING TRADITIONS

In Lower School Community Meeting, students shared favorite parts about the holiday as well as their family traditions and customs.

TEACHING CALLIGRAPHY

Students from Grades 6, 7, and 8 in Dr. Huang’s Chinese language class visited the fourth-grade art room to teach calligraphy (spelling Lunar New Year) and paint dragons using traditional Chinese brush style.

US COMMUNITY CELEBRATION

Upper School students brought Lunar New Year to life with a vibrant showcase of cultural heritage, including a Lion Dance, a QiPao fashion display, a Nunchaku demonstration, the popular ’Subject 3’ dance, an ensemble performance (piano, clarinet, viola, and drum), and a traditional dragon dance. The AAPI club hosted a dragon raffle, an exchange of kindness notes, dragon-themed origami sessions, and lantern crafting workshops. Parent volunteers generously distributed red envelopes and Lunar New Year treats.

SHAKESPEARE ON THE SOUND VISITS GRADE 7

To augment their study of William Shakespeare’s comedy Twelfth Night, seventh graders had a visit from educators from Shakespeare on the Sound, a non-profit in Rowayton, CT, that puts on professional productions and offers educational programming about the works of Shakespeare. Throughout the day, the seventh graders discussed the complexities of the play’s plot and analyzed the motivations of each character. They also participated in dramatic exercises to represent themes in the soliloquies of Twelfth Night.

PRE-K PALEONTOLOGISTS

Pre-K teachers designed a special unit for students to further explore their enthusiastic interest for dinosaurs. First, the class learned about the work of paleontologists and the study of dinosaur fossils. They even searched for rocks and dug for fossils with a chisel and brush. Then, each student selected a dinosaur to research and the class participated in a group activity where they created four dinosaurs (Pterodactyl, Triceratops, Stegosaurus, and Velociraptor) out of recycled materials.

VISUALIZING WORLD HISTORY IN GRADES 9 AND 10

Upper School students in the World History I and II courses studied Abrahamic faiths and World War I respectively. Ninth graders in World History I discussed the connections between Abrahamic faiths, while the tenth graders in World History II debated the extent to which World War I was a modern war. To organize their interpretations of these conceptual questions, the Upper Schoolers created hand-drawn texts and images that conveyed their responses visually.

CONNEXION! FRENCH VIRTUAL EXCHANGE

The RCDS Modern Languages Department is developing a partnership with a French school in Aix-en-Provence. The goal is to facilitate cross-cultural travel exchanges for students, as well as collaboration between the two school communities.

As part of the budding partnership, Anika Kini ’25, Isa Pierry ’25, and Lizzy Yepes ’25 participated in a virtual exchange with peers in Aix-en-Provence. They discussed their experiences traveling to the US/Mexico border with RCDS’s Borderplex travel program during the summer of 2023. Anika, Isa, and Lizzy shared how the journey deepened their understanding of international relations, immigration, and politics.

The French students and teachers contributed their insights drawing on their understanding of immigration based on their own experiences in Europe, as well as their studies of American history.

HONORING THE LEGACY OF DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR.

Centered around the theme of peace, divisional assemblies celebrating MLK, Jr. featured musical pieces, poems in multiple languages (including American Sign Language, Mandarin, and Turkish), and discussions about Dr. King’s life, his message, and his prominent role in the Civil Rights Movement. Upper and Middle Schoolers heard from Santa Clara County Poet Laureate Tshaka Campbell, who read several original poems, some which featured musical accompaniment by the Upper School Orchestra and music faculty members. Lower Schoolers sang Give Light and Peace Like A River led by LS Music Teacher Maddie Franklin. Middle Schoolers sang One Day accompanied by MS Music Teacher Melissa Liebowitz. The WildScats treated the Upper School to a moving performance of Imagine.

MLK DAY OF SOCIAL IMPACT

At the annual Day of Social Impact at Building One Community (B1C) in Stamford, CT, students and their families spent the Saturday of MLK, Jr. weekend assembling winter care packages and creating greeting cards for B1C clients who recently immigrated to the United States. They also decorated the care package bags with inspiring MLK, Jr. quotes translated into English, Spanish, and Haitian Creole.

STRONG VISITING ARTISTS PROGRAM CONCERT SERIES

On January 9, RCDS was thrilled to welcome the Paul Taylor Dance Company’s Outreach Ensemble as part of the Strong Visiting Artists Program. Paul Taylor was a dancer and choreographer who is credited with shaping the future of American modern dance. His celebrated choreography is noted for its signature athleticism.

Students in each division enjoyed special modern dance performances by the renowned ensemble, including a period piece set during World War II, a duet, and a high-energy finale.

In addition, teaching artist Annmaria Mazzini, a former member of the Paul Taylor Dance Company, taught a masterclass on campus for RCDS’s Cedar Street Dance Company. With percussion by Jakub Walay, Ms. Mazzini’s class focused on the Taylor Technique, a modern dance form developed by Paul Taylor in 1954.

Special thanks to Roger and Nancy Strong P’12 and their daughter, Sarah Strong ’12, for these meaningful arts education experiences.

CONGRATULATIONS!

Alyssa Chu ’25, Ethan Schales ’25, Veeraj Shah ’25, Shawn Wei ’26, and Melody W. ’28 excelled on the American Mathematics Competition (AMC) 10/12 exams and qualified for the American Invitational Mathematics Examination (AIME) for high-scorers.

Alyssa Chu ’25 - AMC 12A and AMC 12B

• Highest score at school for both exams

• AIME qualifier for both exams

• Certificate of distinction for AMC 12A

Ethan Schales ’25 - AMC 12A

• Among top three scores at school

• AIME qualifier

Veeraj Shah ’25 - AMC 12A

• Among top three scores at school

• AIME qualifier

Shawn Wei ’26 - AMC 10B

• Highest score at school

• AIME qualifier

Melody W. ’28 - AMC 10A

• Highest score at school

• Certificate of achievement for AMC 10A

• AIME qualifier

• Certificate of distinction

• Honor Roll distinction

After placing eleventh in North America in the 2023 Advantage Testing Foundation/Jane Street Math Prize for Girls Contest, Alyssa Chu ’25 was also 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. Alyssa was just one of 41 students from across the country who qualified for the Olympiad.

In January, Melody W. ’28 was victorious in two math competitions in the Northeast. At Mathcounts Westchester-Putnam Chapter Competition in Ardsley, Melody 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. At the Exeter Math Club Competition in New Hampshire, as captain of the Westchester Area Math Circle Blue team, Melody led her team to a thirdplace finish in the guts round and a fourth-place finish in the team round among. Melody also placed tenth in the accuracy round and seventeenth overall.

Leo Roth ’25 joined and won Aula Future’s Design Spring for the Biomaterials for Post-Petroleum Future. Leo’s winning project was developed in his independent study with Makerspace Director Kevin Farrant.

Aula Future is a design organization whose curricula focus on relevant themes like biodesign, technology, and entrepreneurship. Their programs, which include design challenges like the sprint Leo won, teach how to develop meaningful innovative projects using bio, circular, speculative, and regenerative design principles.

Leo’s biodesign presentation, Polynation, was among pitches by college students and entrepreneurs. Addressing the problem of pollinator decline and a lack of urban green spaces, Leo proposed the PolyFlower, a sustainable synthetic flower created from a biodegradable algae-based biopolymer, alongside C-pollen, an artificial pollen made of citrus food waste.

Neil Noronha ’24 was named a candidate in the 2024 U.S. Presidential Scholar Program, which recognizes the nation’s most distinguished graduating seniors.

“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 Full coverage of this award will be published in the Fall Excellence Magazine.

An RCDS first grader won the 2024 Connecticut State Chess Championship in the K-1 division. He was the only player in the division to earn a perfect 4-out-of-4 score. Additionally, he tied for 15th place in the 2023 U.S. Chess Federation National K-12 Grade Championships.

RCDS Wins 2024 U.S. Invitational Young Physicists Tournament

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.

The tournament’s hallmarks are “physics fights,” hour-long student-led debates over the quality of each team’s solution to the posed problems. The debates begin with the reporting team giving a ten-minute summary of their research on one of the four official tournament problems, and then they engage in discussion with the opponents—just as members of competing research groups at a conference might discuss a presentation.

“This year’s YPT team was truly collaborative as they pursued full understanding of each problem, both through our own research and by learning about work done by other schools. Our debates at the tournament were some of the most enlightening I’ve seen; at times, our presenters worked in partnership with the competing teams to explain the problems to the jurors. This was the scientific process at its best.”

–Dr. Mary Krasovec, Physics Teacher and YPT Team Coach

The RCDS students in the YPT course spent the year leading up to the tournament collecting data and developing theory around the tournament’s four problems. After their exploration of the published literature and testing in the lab, they had an excellent understanding of the concepts behind each problem (listed below).

After the preliminary rounds of the tournament, the RCDS team was in second place, less than one point behind Woodberry Forest. Strong presentations and thoughtprovoking oppositions in the four final rounds led to the RCDS victory, as the team finished just ahead of Phillips Exeter and Phillips Andover.

“The YPT team performed brilliantly when they presented their work, and they were downright outstanding when they opposed the other teams. Their line of questioning espoused the true spirit of the scientific process. They helped and probed the other team to present their results more clearly, and for that they were praised loudly by many of the jurors.”

–Angelo Bove, Physics Teacher and YPT Team Coach

On January 12, 2024, Ayush Maini ’24, Olivia Thomas ’24, and former classmate Eva Salzman set a new Guinness World Record for fastest time to visit all 25 New York City ferry stops (7 hours, 19 minutes, and 9 seconds). The trio hopes their impressive 60-mile journey will showcase the NYC ferry system as an ecofriendly, comfortable, and affordable mode of transportation that offers the opportunity to reduce car dependency and carbon emissions, alleviate traffic congestion, combat climate change, and enhance quality of life for residents and visitors.

Coaches

Dr. Mary Krasovec

Mr. Craig Burt

Dr. Angelo Bove

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

Ethan F. ’28 (violin), Sara Komaroff ’27, (French horn), Emma Maini ’27 (violin), Raghav R. ’28 (violin), and Melody W. ’28 (flute) were selected to represent RCDS at the Westchester County School Music Association AllCounty Orchestra Festival in March. Students were selected based on their strong scores in last spring’s NYSSMA solo festival.

The Upper School Science Olympiad Club 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. Rankings by discipline:

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.

Jaymin Ding ’25, Samantha Lee ’25, and Alexander Rivas ‘25 participated in the New York All-State Symphonic Band and Orchestra, hosted by the NYS School Music Association. 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, which consists of playing scales, performing a solo piece, and sight reading. Only those who received 99%+ on the audition are considered.

Seventeen members of the Upper School Model UN Club competed in the Ivy League Model United Nations Conference in Philadelphia in January. The RCDS delegation represented Chile in a variety of committees, including the Economics and Financial Affairs Council, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, and the UN Refugee Commission.

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), and Jordan Zhao ’24 (cello) earned places in the Westchester County Area All-State Ensembles. They were selected based on their performances of distinction at the Solo Festival.

Cate Tucker ’24 was the first girl to achieve the rank of Eagle Scout in the entire Greenwich Council. Eagle Scout is the highest rank attainable in Scouts BSA, requiring a total of 21 merit badges and a proven demonstration of Scout spirit, service, and leadership. In addition to being a local first, the honor is personally meaningful for Cate as her great grandfather, grandfather, father, and brother are all Eagle Scouts.

In November, the RCDS Developer’s Club, led by Jaymin Ding ’25 , Katia Ohmacht ’24 , and Jack de Haan ’24 , participated in the inaugural TigerHacks, a local competition developed by the GCDS Computer Science Team. The competition included 14 teams from Fairchester schools, and RCDS entered three teams, one of which took home the number one spot.

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

*Students

ARTS FESTIVAL & INTERNATIONAL FAIR

Thank you to the Parents Association and the many parent, faculty, and student volunteers who came together to make this engaging event a success!

The annual Arts Festival & International Fair took place on February 24 and brought together the RCDS community to celebrate arts and traditions from around the world. With leadership from the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion; Art Department; and Parents Association; the event welcomed hundreds of students, families, employees, and friends for a festive afternoon.

A highlight of the event is the potluck lunch coordinated by the Parents Association. Delicious dishes representing the cooking traditions of the countries and heritages of RCDS families were donated by RCDS parents/guardians. Attendees were treated to wonderful music and dance performances by students, parents, faculty, and guest artists. Members of the RCDS Art Department and Upper School students also led community art projects, including kite making, tape art, paintbrush people, trash art, face painting, and blocks.

RCDS performers:

Jordanne Alexander ’24 (vocal solo)

Eda Buyuk ’27 and Bella Wise ’25 (piano and vocal duet)

Dana DaCosta ’26 (vocal solo)

Ximena Garcia ’27 and Xindi Liu ’26 (dance duet)

Isabella Jolicoeur ’25 (dance solo)

Samantha Lee ’25 (viola solo)

Katia Ohmacht ’24 and Cate Tucker ’24 (dance duet)

Justin Suquilanda ’25 and Private Music Lesson Coordinator John Ragusa (unusual instruments jam)

A duet from a third grader and Claire Steinberg P’33 (cello duet)

Visiting performers:

The Connecticut Chinese Education Association Dance Company performed South of Colorful Clouds, a peacock dance from southwestern China, and the jam band Walrus covered beloved Beatles hits.

On Monday, April 22, Rye Country Day’s Sustainability Program hosted the annual, campus-wide Earth Day Fair.

CELEBRATING OUR PLANET THROUGH LEARNING AND COMMUNITY.

The event was jam-packed with activities and opportunities to learn about and show appreciation for our beautiful planet.

PARACHUTE & EARTH GAMES

On the fields during P.E., students participated in Earth games (like Team Earth Ball), parachute activities, and Capture the Flag.

BOOK NOOK WITH MR. DUNN

Head of School Randall Dunn joined Lower Schoolers on the Adirondack chairs to read a variety of stories about the planet and what we can do to take care of it.

EARTH DAY FAIR

Upper School clubs and classes organized engaging activity tables for Lower and Middle Schoolers, including Earth Day trivia, planting, face painting, a photo booth, and more.

Special thanks to our guests Our New Way Garden and Rye Nature Center. RCDS alumna Amy Benerofe ’84 from Our New Way Garden brought seedlings for students to plant, and Rye Nature Center brought a variety of wildlife artifacts.

CHALK ART

Students participated in a school-wide chalk mural, organized by the RCDS Art Department, on the walkways around campus.

CLOTHING SWAP

Clothing swap tables were set up in front of the Athletic Center and in the foyer of the Cohen Center to promote sustainability by repurposing gently-used clothing.

ANIMAL SHOW

Students enjoyed an exciting and educational reptile show, which included an alligator, a snapping turtle, and a ball python! Thank you to Mark Perpetua of Reptile Encounters for a fantastic presentation.

BASH THE TRASH

In the PAC, Bash the Trash performed in an entertaining display of science, music, and environmental awareness. Additionally, the WildScats wowed their peers with performances including Can You Feel The Love Tonight? from The Lion King.

FILM SCREENING

Wild Hope, a series of short films highlighting changemakers who are restoring our planet, was also screened in the Black Box Theater.

EAST CAMPUS NATURE WALK

Across Boston Post Road, Nicole Zazzarino, US Science Lab Technician, led an informative nature walk on RCDS’s East Campus, pointing out the various species of native trees and plants on the property.

COMMUNITY EDUCATION

2023-24 was full of exciting opportunities to gain knowledge and exchange ideas! Thank you to our guest speakers!

CONVERSATIONS WITH THE HEAD:

SOCIAL IMPACT

In November, Head of School Randall Dunn welcomed Netflix Vice President of Public Policy Dean Garfield to campus as part of the Conversations with the Head event series. Current parents and guardians joined the two leaders for a thoughtprovoking discussion about the position that young people are in as recipients of the most information at the most rapid pace in history— and the ways that information providers, from schools to streaming networks, can put social impact first.

Mr. Garfield and Mr. Dunn agreed that the deluge of information to which young people are subjected can represent either a daunting and risk-heavy reality or an exciting opportunity to teach them about the potential of the future and the impact of their choices. They also shared their views on ways to encourage youth to discover their passions and pursue paths that realize those passions and serve the greater good.

“Dean’s insight on cultivating a commitment to social impact in our youth is valuable. I am grateful he visited with me and Rye Country Day parents and guardians to consider the topic! As young people continue to receive a great deal of information from a staggering number of sources, nurturing self-aware critical thinkers, who are active community members, is paramount. Indeed, this is at the heart of what we do at RCDS. Thinkers who strengthen these faculties are able to process any amount of information and ground their actions in greater impact.”

– Randall Dunn, Head of School

MENTAL HEALTH SPEAKER SERIES

The RCDS Counseling Team’s Mental Health Speaker Series welcomed outside professionals to discuss important topics pertaining to student mental health and well-being.

Upper School: Exploring the Relationship Between Learning and Emotion

On November 14, Ben Lovett, Ph.D. joined RCDS via Zoom to share his findings from his research on cognition, test anxiety, and psychological assessment. He offered tips on how families and schools can help students learn effectively.

Dr. Lovett is a licensed psychologist who specializes in test and academic anxiety. He is also a full-time faculty member at Teachers College, Columbia University, where he teaches courses on psychological assessment and legal/ethical issues in school psychology.

Middle School: Author Event – This Is So Awkward: Modern Puberty Explained

On November 30, RCDS hosted Cara Natterson, M.D., and Vanessa Kroll Bennett ’94, the authors of This Is So Awkward: Modern Puberty Explained. They covered the topics of modern puberty, how anatomy and physiology change during puberty, and the impact of hormones on bodies and brains. They also expanded on the anticipated emotional ups and downs during puberty and provided scripts for having complex conversations with kids.

Cara Natterson, M.D., is a pediatrician and New York Times bestselling author; Vanessa Kroll Bennett ’94 is a puberty educator and writer. Together, they host The Puberty Podcast and run Order of Magnitude, the leading brand dedicated to flipping puberty positive.

Lower School: Helping Children Manage Emotions and Build Resilience

On December 4, Vasco Lopes, Psy.D. led a session to help parents learn how they can help children manage anxiety and build resilience. Dr. Lopes clarified the difference between everyday stress and problematic anxiety in children, why stress/anxiety are normal and necessary, and how common parenting responses can amplify problematic anxiety. He also shared evidence-based tips on how parents can help their children cope with anxiety and improve their self-confidence and independence.

Dr. Lopes is a clinical and school psychologist specializing in treating children with behavioral and emotional dysregulation. Dr. Lopes has extensive experience providing treatment and developing clinical programs for children with challenging psychiatric disorders.

DR. BECKY VISITS RCDS

Home and school came together for a thought-provoking conversation in support of their critical partnership to nurture the growth and development of RCDS students.

On Thursday, April 11, Rye Country Day School hosted a special evening with renowned clinical psychologist and best-selling author Dr. Becky Kennedy. Named the “The Millennial Parenting Whisperer” by TIME Magazine, Dr. Becky is the Founder and CEO of the wildly popular parenting platform Good Inside, as well as the host of a podcast with the same name, and social media parenting guru. Her specialty is in thinking deeply about what’s happening for kids and changing the way parents see and solve everyday challenges at home. Made possible by the generosity of an anonymous Rye Country Day family, the event was coordinated by

the RDCS Counseling Department as part of the School’s steadfast commitment to health and wellness. Head of School Randall Dunn kicked off the evening, emphasizing Rye Country Day’s efforts to center social emotional support and development to ensure that our students thrive at school and beyond. Director of Counseling Dr. Kamauru Johnson and Upper School Counselor Dr. Rachel Levey then took to the stage to moderate the informative and engaging discussion with Dr. Becky.

The evening’s focus was derived from Dr. Becky’s book Good Inside, which was published in 2022 and quickly named a New York Times bestseller.

children that help parents move from uncertainty and self-blame to confidence and sturdy leadership.

Characterized by Dr. Becky’s signature warmth, wit, and humor, the spirited conversation addressed a number of specific scenarios— including boundary setting for parents, tantrums and separation anxiety in deeply feeling kids, managing differing sibling needs, and instilling gratitude in children. In the Q&A session, Dr. Becky stressed the importance of teaching children selfregulation, confidence, and resilience through firm and caring parenting.

Dr. Johnson and Dr. Levey were elated to have Dr. Becky on campus. “This visit

“Many thanks to Dr. Becky for visiting with our community to share her powerful insights. It was an important evening of home-school partnership in our shared work of providing the best support for our students.”

The book lays out Dr. Becky’s philosophy that all children are indeed good inside and that reward/ punishment parenting is more about controlling behavior than addressing emotional needs and raising individuals who will become welladjusted adults. Dr. Becky’s hallmark is providing actionable strategies and new perspectives for raising

– Randall Dunn, Head of School

was a part of our ongoing efforts to bring high-quality programming to our community so we can all work together to support our students,” they shared. Many thanks to Dr. Becky for an enlightening evening full of practical advice on parenting and helpful, fresh perspectives on child development, parent experiences, and family dynamics.

FACULTY SHARE KNOWLEDGE!

Dr. Stacey Sotirhos, Lower School Principal, and Dr. Jessica Flaxman, Dean of Faculty & Employees and Director of The Center for Innovative Teaching & Learning, attended the Assistant Heads, Division Heads, and After School Directors NYSAIS Conference in mid-November.

Dr. Sotirhos served on the planning committee for the conference, whose theme was Thriving through Change: Fostering Resilience and Agility in a New Era for Independent School Communities. Both Dr. Sotirhos and Dr. Flaxman contributed their insights to conversations about how schools can support students’ health and wellness both in the classroom and at home.

STANDING AGAINST ANTISEMITISM: WORKSHOPS WITH DR. LAURA SHAW FRANK

Dr. Laura Shaw Frank, Director of the American Jewish Committee’s William Petschek Contemporary Jewish Life Department, visited RCDS in November and December to lead workshops on antisemitism for parents/ guardians, students, and faculty. Her workshops were part of Rye Country Day’s commitment to coming together as a school community to stand against antisemitism and other forms of hate. The sessions covered the history and current state of antisemitism, as well as ways to prevent it. The school-day workshop for students and faculty was hosted by Jewish Community Circle, the Upper School Jewish affinity group.

Libby Jelliffe, Director of Learning Support Services and Middle School Learning Support Specialist; Jamie Radwan, Lower School Learning Specialist; and Dr. Rachel Levey, Upper School Psychologist, teamed up to present at the NYSAIS Support Services Conference in January. They shared Rye Country Day’s work to develop and implement a three-tiered approach to support students across all three divisions.

Four RCDS STEAM faculty Director of STEAM Cathie Bischoff, DEI Teaching Fellow Maximo Pérez, LS Science Teacher Debra Simpson and Science Lab Technician Nicole Zazzarino) participated in the Science Teachers Association of New York State Conference. Ms. Bischoff and Mr. Pérez teamed up to give a presentation on

Makerspace curricula and how to create authentic “Maker Science” projects with or without a designated space.  Ms. Simpson led a presentation about STEAM in elementary grades.

Director of Sustainability Kerry Linderoth and Director of Global Studies Dan Murray presented on RCDS’s Iceland Travel Program at the Global Education Benchmark Group (GEBG) Global Summit on Climate Education at Columbia University’s Teachers College.

Speaking with over 150 educators from the United States, Canada, and abroad, Ms. Linderoth and Mr. Murray shared their experiences traveling with 18 students to Iceland in June 2023 to study the Nordic island’s approach to confronting global warming and climate change. Their presentation shared the opportunities of teaching climate action, as well as the various approaches to this topic beyond the traditional science curriculum.

ROBOTICS HIGHLIGHTS

US HOSTS 21 TEAMS

In January, the Upper School Robotics Team delivered an impressive performance at their second Annual Vex Robotics Competition (VRC), hosting 21 teams from eight schools throughout Westchester, Orange, and Rockland Counties. The competition marked an overall improvement for all three Robotics teams (18693A, 18693B, and 18693C), reflecting the students’ dedication and hard work. All three teams demonstrated skills and teamwork, and Team B earned the Sportsmanship Award, which is given to a team that is courteous, helpful, and respectful to everyone on and off the field.

MS SUCCESS AND LEARNING

Two RCDS Middle School Robotics teams showcased their ingenuity and teamwork at the New York State Championship in March, following a standout performance in the VEX IQ State Qualifier. The championship was the culmination of a successful season marked by strong performances by the Wildcats and three trophies (2nd Place at the VEX IQ Competition; Teamwork Award and Robot Skills Champion Award at the VEX IQ State Qualifier).

STEAM-TASTIC!

CROSS-DIVISIONAL MENTORING

This past winter, Caroline Snell ’24, Leah Steyn ’25, and Apolline Weinstein ’24, three captains of the Upper School Robotics team, began a new mentoring program for Middle School girls interested in STEAM and robotics. Each week, the Upper Schoolers meet with their younger peers to teach them about engineering and programming, plus help them design, build, and code robots to complete tasks for two upcoming robotics competitions. The mentoring program is overseen by Director of STEAM Cathie Bischoff and STEAM Teaching Fellow Liliana Valle.

In December, RCDS students participated in the second annual Lower School STEAM Fest, which also featured the Grades 3-5 Sumobots Tournament against Long Ridge and Hudson Lab schools. With 150+ guests in attendance, there was a wonderful STEAM buzz at the Cohen Center for the Creative Arts and around campus.

RCDS Sumobots is an after-school program for students in Grades 3 - 5 designed to help budding roboticists design, engineer, and program selfdriving vehicles that use motors, sensors, and imagination to create functionally stable and effective robots.

At the Lower School STEAM Fest, activities included snap circuits, slime making, lego building challenges, gardening, math games, making your own lava lamps, pop up cards, and more.

“For the majority of the Middle School girls, this is their first time building and coding a robot, and it’s been inspiring to see how enthusiastically they took on the challenge. Our hope is that the Girls' Robotics Mentoring Program will encourage more girls to explore their interests in robotics, design, and engineering in Middle School and create a partnership between the Middle and Upper School Robotics teams!”

-Caroline Snell ’24 and Leah Steyn ’25, US Robotics Team Captains

LS STEAM Fest offers students numerous opportunities to explore science, technology, engineering, art, and math. The event is a collaboration between the RCDS STEAM Department and Parents Association.

COACH GIL CASTAGNA

On Halloween Day 1979, Coach Gil Castagna stepped onto the Rye Country Day campus as the School’s new Middle School hockey coach and P.E. teacher. “I knew from the moment I arrived that it was going to be a wild ride,” he recalls with a chuckle.

He was not wrong. During his tenure at RCDS, Coach C. coached a host of Middle School and Upper School sports and teams, from baseball, football, ice hockey, and lacrosse to sailing, softball, soccer, and tennis. He also served as a Middle and Upper School Academic Advisor to numerous Rye Country Day students over the course of three decades. In 2012, he was named an Ex-Officio Honorary Faculty member of the Alumni Executive Board, a position he retains. As he steps into retirement 45 years later, he reflects on his tenure with the joy tinged with the wistfulness that farewells bring.

“When I walked onto the Rye Country Day campus all those years ago, I felt it was a place I wanted to stay forever,” Coach C. confesses. The years, he says, have passed happily.

“When you love what you do, it isn’t hard to go to work every day. I’m turning 70, that’s the only reason I’m leaving … otherwise I would stay forever.”

Colleagues, alumni, and students alike agree it is hard to imagine RCDS without Coach C. “It’s my fault he’s been here all these years,” jokes longtime friend and former Boys’ Varsity Hockey and Lacrosse Coach Frank Effinger, who remains at RCDS, coaching Boys’ Middle School Soccer, Hockey, and Lacrosse.

By Lori Ferguson

“Gil and I were doing a hockey camp at the Harvey School when I got a call that Rye Country Day’s hockey coach was leaving, so I recommended Gil for the job.” The two have been fast friends ever since, enjoying breakfast and lunch together every day.

“Gil has added so much to all the things that I’ve done at Rye Country Day—we’ve been so fortunate to be together all these years,” says Coach Effinger. “He cares deeply, is incredibly dedicated to everything he does, and always works to make things as good as they can be. When it comes to the kids and the teams, he’s all in.”

That dedication is reflected in part by the connections that Coach Castagna nurtures with numerous alumni, adds Coach Effinger. “He keeps in touch with over 1,000 alumni, and he remembers everyone’s birthday. He regularly sends out five or six birthday notes a day. I don’t think you could ask for a better member of a school community.”

Assistant Varsity Hockey Coach Rob Striar ’90 agrees wholeheartedly. A former player for Coach C. and now a colleague, Coach Striar knows firsthand the veteran coach’s immeasurable impact. “There aren’t many who can say that they’ve touched the fabric of people’s lives for 40+ years, but Coach C. has. He taught me and many others not only the skills of the game and love of the sport but also the character and composure required to represent the School and ourselves, on and off the ice. Coach Castagna always said, Once a Wildcat, always a Wildcat,” Coach Striar concludes, “and I’ve always said that you can’t spell Wildcat without a C!”

Former RCDS hockey player Charlotte Price ’20, now a senior at Middlebury College, likewise insists that Coach Castagna made an indelible mark on her character. “He’s the best coach I’ve ever had in my life, and I’ve had many,” she observes. “He’s such a caring person. When I didn’t believe in myself, he believed in me and helped me to see that I could play at the next level. He always lifted me up.”

“A season should not be measured by its wins and losses, but instead by how much improvement a team has shown over time.”

Coach Gil Castagna: Once a Wildcat, Always A Wildcat

45 YEARS OF OUTSTANDING COACHING AND MENTORSHIP

Coach C., as he is lovingly nicknamed, has inspired thousands of RCDS students over the years with his signature focus on sportsmanship and teamwork over just winning.

Physical Education

His signature high-energy approach to engaging students of all ages, from Pre-K to Grade 12, has been foundational to the RCDS P.E. program.

Athletics

Coach C. has worked with numerous sports and teams (Middle School: Baseball, Football, Ice Hockey, Lacrosse, Soccer, Softball, and Tennis. Upper School: Football, Ice Hockey, Lacrosse, Sailing, Soccer, and Tennis).

Highlights

He was the Head Coach who led the Girls’ Varsity Ice Hockey team to six consecutive championship titles at the Princeton Day School Tournament.

—Coach C.

He was Assistant Coach of the Boys' Varsity Ice Hockey and Boys' Varsity Lacrosse teams alongside Head Coach Frank Effinger. During those 15 years, the teams were either finalists or champions.

He was Assistant Coach of the 2017 Sailing team that placed 17th in the nation while competing in the National Sailing Championships in Charlestown, SC.

Coach C. has also been a nurturing Middle and Upper School Academic Advisor for over 30 years.

Manager of Alumni Relations Melissa Mahoney Wirth ’97 feels the same about Coach C.’s signature kindness. “Gil has a heart of gold and there is nothing he wouldn’t do for those he cares about. He’s been my coach, my colleague, and most importantly my friend for almost 40 years,” she enthuses. With a knowing smile she continues, “I will miss him tremendously next year, but I am reassured in knowing there’s no way he will be able to ever stay away from his second family here at RCDS!”

Asked how he hopes to be remembered, Gil Castagna is characteristically modest. “I care deeply about every aspect of my work here. If I didn’t care, there’s no way I could have done the job this long.”

“I’ve been incredibly lucky,” he continues. “I’ve taught kids whose parents were also my students. Rye Country Day is a community and I love it. As a school, we’ve always been at the forefront—we have the best in teachers, facilities, staff, and students and we’re constantly building and growing.”

Head of School Randall Dunn fondly recalls meeting Coach C. “It was clear from the start that Gil is connected to the heart of what makes RCDS so special. He embodies the core values and the excellence we are so proud of.” Mr. Dunn is also keenly aware of Coach C.’s genuine commitment to the School’s success. “When I came on board as Head, Gil generously made himself available to me as an RCDS touchstone and guide. He loves the place and the place loves him. We’re going to miss him, but I know he will always be a presence.”

And though Coach Castagna is retiring in June, he confirms he’ll remain close to the RCDS community. “We have eleven grandchildren, all local, so we aren’t going anywhere. My wife, Madelyn, frequently points out that I have trouble remembering our friends’ names but never forget a former student,” he concludes with a smile. “As I have long told alumni and future alumni, Once a Wildcat, always a Wildcat.”

THE PROUDEST WILDCAT

“ A person cannot stay at one school for 45 years unless you absolutely love it. I have worked literally with hundreds of great colleagues over that period of time and have coached hundreds and hundreds of athletes during that time. Although I will be leaving RCDS in June of 2024, it will always be near and dear to my heart. My wife says that I bleed blue and gold. I want those students that have graduated in previous years and those that have yet to do so, to always remember, Once a Wildcat, Always a Wildcat.”

Recognitions

In 2014, Coach C. received the Frank Effinger Award for excellence in coaching. In the spring of 2019, he received a Cohen Award for Excellence in Teaching for his exemplary dedication to the School, his students, and his craft. In 2024, the Girls’ Varsity Hockey team renamed the Coaches Award the Gil Castagna Coaches Award in his honor.

Beloved by Alumni

In 2012, the Alumni Executive Board asked him to join as an Ex-Officio Honorary Faculty member. He continues to hold this position today, and he is an essential partner in the School’s work to engage alumni across the decades. If there is an alumni event happening, you can bet Coach C. is there, and former students are clamoring to give him a high five.

Outside of the School

Gil Castagna has been a lifeguard and pool director for over 54 years. He plans to continue lifeguarding in retirement–a likely pursuit for a born athlete who still starts every day with a 1,000yard swim!

A Family Man

Gil and his wife, Madelyn, have built a beautiful family comprising his son and Madelyn’s four daughters. They are the proud grandparents of eight granddaughters and three grandsons. In retirement, Gil will be spending a great deal of his time at his most treasured coaching job, grandpa “Gilly Pop” as he is lovingly known.

THANK YOU, COACH C.

—Gil Castagna

Coach C. has thoughtfully requested that all gifts made in his honor be directed to the Financial Aid program at RCDS, so that all future Wildcats will have access to Rye Country Day School's unparalleled education. www.ryecountryday.org/facultyhonors

Farewell to Other Retirees

Upper School Math teacher Lauris Khan will retire after 25 years at RCDS at the end of the 2023-24 school year. Lauris Khan joined Rye Country Day in 1999, after having taught math and physics at St. Luke’s School and other independent schools. During her RCDS tenure, Ms. Khan has cemented her reputation as one of the Upper School’s most treasured faculty members, a teacher’s teacher whose love of math and her profession has helped countless students reach great heights and unlock new strengths.

A stalwart of the Upper School division, Ms. Khan has taught a range of courses, from Algebra 1 through BC Calculus and Linear Algebra, and she has been instrumental in the development of much of the mathematics curriculum. Over the years, she has also tutored, taught summer session courses, mentored new faculty members, and advised numerous clubs.

Students have long celebrated Ms. Khan. Upper Schoolers dedicated the yearbook to her twice (2011 and 2017), honored her with the Glen Robertson Award for faculty excellence (2011), and selected her to speak at the Blue & Gold Dinner for seniors (2017).

Ms. Khan takes great pride in being an educator, and students and colleagues at RCDS have been the beneficiaries of her dedication for the past 25 years. In addition to her lasting love of being an RCDS teacher, Ms. Khan is forever a Wildcat as the proud parent of three RCDS graduates, Cyrah ‘03, Nadia ‘05, and Alec ‘09.

Thank you, Ms. Khan, for your contributions to the School and we wish you all the best in retirement!

MAKE A GIFT IN HONOR OF LAURIS KHAN

Ms. Khan has thoughtfully requested that all gifts made in his honor be directed to the Financial Aid program at RCDS, so that all future Wildcats will have access to Rye Country Day School's unparalleled education. www.ryecountryday.org/facultyhonors

Patrick Early will retire at the end of 2023-24 school year, after 17 years of dedicated service to Rye Country Day. Prior to joining RCDS as the first full-time member of the security team, Mr. Early had a distinguished 21-year career with the New York City Police Department as an officer, investigator, detective, operations coordinator, 9/11 first responder, and trainer. After a seasonal role at Rye PD as a bay constable, Mr. Early arrived at RCDS and left an indelible mark on the hearts of our community members.

At his usual post by the Office of Admissions and during arrival and dismissal, Mr. Early is always one to offer a kind smile and good humor. Mr. Early has also studied tai chi and fencing for decades. Since joining RCDS, he has also contributed his fencing talents to the Athletics program as an assistant coach for the Varsity Fencing team.

Thank you, Mr. Early, for your diligent care for our community!

Heather Lentini

Grade 1 Teacher

n What or who inspired you to become a teacher?

I was fortunate to study theater and education as an undergraduate at NYU. My intention initially was to become a drama teacher. For one of my educational theatre fieldwork assignments, I was placed in a Kindergarten classroom and tasked with incorporating drama into their curriculum. I loved it so much and quickly found myself teaching the children not only drama but reading, math, and science, too! The more time I spent in that classroom, the more certain I was that I was meant to be an elementary school teacher. I realized that I wanted to see a child’s learning and development all the way through and was inspired to get my masters degree in elementary education. I’m so thankful for that experience!

n What is your favorite part of teaching first grade?

First grade is a magical year! My favorite part of teaching first grade is supporting students in getting to know themselves as learners. Reflection is a regular and meaningful routine in our classroom. Students set goals for themselves in various curricular areas and then engage in self-reflection throughout our units of study. In assessing themselves as learners, they discover a great deal and take important strides. Student learning is improved when we provide a structure for students to reflect systematically over time on the learning process and to develop the aptitudes, skills, and habits that come from critical reflection.

n Do you have one standout example of KINDNESS from this past year?

Recently, we read aloud a lovely story about inclusion. That very day, we saw children approaching other children at recess that were off by themselves, asking them if they wanted to play together. Throughout the week, I repeatedly saw children include others in their games. We love seeing kindness in action!

n And, first-grade TEAMWORK?

n Tell us about CARES. Those are big concepts for six-year-olds. How do they translate to the classroom?

Cooperation

Assertion

Responsibility

Empathy

Self-Control.

CARES is a set of competencies that represents our social-emotional learning framework in the RCDS Lower School. The social emotional learning that takes place in a first-grade classroom is crucial for developing personal and collective goals, maintaining relationships, and making responsible and caring decisions. In the classroom, this looks like community meetings where students identify how to listen to, respond to, and learn from other students in a discussion. Another example is including student voices in developing our classroom rules and procedures. We also select texts to read aloud to students that illustrate the CARES competencies in action. It is quite inspiring to watch our first graders model CARES competencies. They also observe and celebrate them in others, which builds a wonderful, strong learning community.

The First-Grade Post Office unit is a wonderful example of TEAMWORK. Our first graders work together to build a fully operational post office for the entire Lower School! After learning all about how a post office works and how to mail a letter, first graders work collaboratively with their peers and specialist teachers to operate our Wildcat Post Office. First graders create and organize sorting bins, sell stamps and postcards at our postal store, collect, sort, and deliver hundreds of pieces of mail. This is truly an interdisciplinary project that involves designing stamps in computer class, printing postcards in art, and counting out change at the store. The support from the rest of the Lower School is remarkable as students in other grades eagerly write letters to mail to their friends and teachers. All proceeds from the First-Grade Post Office are donated to charity!

"First grade is a magical year! My favorite part of teaching first grade is supporting students in getting to know themselves as  learners."

Marcia Mignon MS Science Teacher

n What is your favorite unit or scientific concept/strategy to teach?

"I love those first few weeks of school when we explore the question: What is science?"

n What about learning science usually surprises or intrigues Middle Schoolers?

Middle Schoolers love the wind turbine project in which they use the engineering design process to create wind turbines that produce the most electricity and lift the most weights. It’s wonderful when you see their focus shift to collaborating with lab partners in order to build the most efficient wind turbines. They learn there are many ways of achieving these goals, and sometimes, there is more than one right answer to a problem.

Sixth graders especially love the Makerspace science project in which they create amusement park rides that model the structure and function of the different organ systems in the human body. It is amazing to see the fun, creative, and functioning rides they create!

n What inspired you to become a science teacher, and in Middle School specifically?

I had an incredible science teacher in Middle School, Edith Baxter. She was a mature teacher at the time who received a degree in chemistry when few women did. Not only did she love and teach science but somehow made me feel that I could be a scientist as well. I want to pass on that love for science and that can-do spirit!

n What are some key skills you like your students to learn?

The United States is one of the few countries that still uses customary units instead of metric units in everyday life. Scientists everywhere, including the U.S., use the SI or metric system, so it is important for Middle School science students to understand and use metric units. It’s a bit like learning a foreign language. Students eventually begin to think in the language and use it seamlessly whenever the need arises.

n Data is an essential part of scientific study. How is this reinforced in Middle School?

Students are taught to see math as a really useful toolbox for scientists to have. There are different types of tools and you pick the one that best helps you make sense of your observations. Being able to use Google Sheets to transform their data into pictures or graphs is a really powerful tool for the younger Middle Schoolers to use. It helps them see the connections and relationships in their data more readily which creates a lot of aha moments for them, and smiles for me.

n What are some science takeaways that you hope will remain with students throughout their adult lives?

"Be curious, ask questions, and patiently go after the answers. You can do this!"

Baptiste Bataille US

French Teacher

n What inspired you to become a teacher?

My interest in education started in college, where I worked as an academic tutor to my fellow student-athletes. I felt great purpose in guiding them through their courses and helping them achieve their full potential in the classroom. After my undergraduate studies, I pursued a brief but fun professional career playing basketball in France while continuing to develop myself as an educator, working with local schools in the Bretagne areas. A few years later, an opportunity to teach and coach back in the USA while attending graduate school came up, and I decided to pursue this path. I moved to Connecticut where I began my high school teaching career at Taft. Teaching French means the world to me as it provides me the experience to remain deeply connected to my country and culture while having the opportunity to share it abundantly and creatively with my students everyday.

n Why is learning another language important?

There are many cognitive benefits to learning a new language such as improving working memory, problem solving skills, and multitasking. The mental “gymnastics” it takes to switch from one language to another is also a fun challenge. Language is often shared amongst people of the same country or region of the world, so the opportunity to learn a new language helps us extend our reach and surround ourselves with different perspectives and ways of thinking, which to me is one of the most amazing products of language learning. Learning a different language also allows us to gain a greater understanding of our own culture and reflect on it more deeply. Finally, being able to speak more than one language is a terrific asset in the workplace as the world is increasingly global.

n Is learning a language just learning to converse?

I think of our role as language teachers as experience creators. We seek to create appropriate opportunities for our students to use the bit of new language they have acquired to communicate. While a lot of emphasis is put on oral production inside our Upper School language classrooms, learning a new language goes way beyond simply being able to converse. Listening is an important skill for our students to develop as they progressively gain more comfort with the specific sounds and rhythm of a new language. Additionally, students might find great pleasure in discovering renowned authors like Albert Camus or Françoise Sagan, and artists like Manet or Cézanne, along with a sense of pride in being able to access these new perspectives. While someone’s language journey might begin with basic conversation, it quickly extends beyond to encompass elements of art, culture, history, and literature allowing the learner to holistically immerse themselves in the true essence of what defines a language in the first place.

n You have organized a few virtual exchange opportunities for RCDS Upper Schoolers. Tell us about that and the value it brings to students’ experience.

As a student, I recall being most excited about classes that would engage me as a learner through practical, hands-on situations. As a teacher today, I am always thinking about ways to leverage the technological tools I have to engage my students. The opportunity to connect my students to French students in Aix en Provence is a great way to create an immersive environment, build meaningful and authentic connections between high school students from different countries. It also gives me the opportunity to collaborate with educators from France on various projects and learn from their different perspectives. The virtual exchanges taking place between RCDS and La Nativité (K-12 school in Aix-en-Provence) also lay out a solid foundation for the linguistic exchange programs that will take place starting next year. The Modern Language Department is both very excited and hard at work to finalize the details on immersive language exchanges for our Chinese, Spanish, and French students!

n What are some takeaways that you hope will remain with your students throughout their adult lives?

I’d like students to remember that learning a new language is a lot of fun, and that given the proper amount of practice and immersion, it can be a magical process that opens up so many opportunities in life. Not only is being fluent in another language a great asset in the workplace, it also creates opportunities to get to know people from different backgrounds and be exposed to different perspectives. For many students, learning a language can seem difficult, especially in the early years. With diligent practice, students gain more and more confidence in their language abilities. I encourage them to reflect back on their growth, and the steps they took to find some success. Learning a new language should inspire students to have a growth mindset, and believe that they can achieve their goals no matter how difficult they might seem at first.

"Teaching French enables me to remain deeply connected to my country and culture while having the opportunity to share it abundantly and creatively with my students every day."

2023-24 VARSITY WINTER

SPORTS AWARDS

ATHLETICS SPIRIT AWARD:

• Ayush Maini ’24 and Nick Vlasto ’24

BOYS’ BASKETBALL

• FAA Honorable Mention:

Max Garcia-Tunon ’24

• NEPSAC Honorable Mention: Amir Hogans ’26

• Coaches Award: Cole Denson ’24

• John Sabia Wildcat Award: Max Garcia-Tunon ’24

• 2024-25 Captains: Johnny Gasparro ’25, Amir Hogans ’26, Lucius Liu ’26

GIRLS’ BASKETBALL

• NEPSAC Honorable Mention: Claire Jiang ’26

• Coaches Award: Brynn Coady ’24

• Wildcat Award: Anika Bhat ’25

• 2024-25 Captains: Anika Bhat ’25, Sydney Cohn ’25, Claire Jiang ’26

BOYS’ FENCING

• 2023-24 ISFL Champions-Epee

• ISFL All-League:

Ray Cao ’26: First Place, Boys’ Epee, Leon Zhou ’26: Second Place, Boys’ Foil, Jordan Zhao ’24: Third Place, Boys’ Epee, James Song ’25: Fifth Place, Boys’ Foil, David Kern ’25: Sixth Place, Boys’ Epee

• Boys’ Epee: First Place in Tournament and Season

• Boys’ Foil: Second Place in Tournament and Season

• Joe Rue Coaches Award: David Kern ’25

• Maureen Hartman Wildcat Award: Jordan Zhao ’24

• 2024-25 Captains: David Kern ’25, James Song ’25, Leon Zhou ’26

GIRLS’ FENCING

• ISFL All-League: Selena Zhang ’26: Third Place, Girls’ Foil, Ishana Kumar ’26: Fourth Place, Girls’ Foil, Mina Kim ’24: Sixth Place, Girls’ Saber, Eliana Thomas ’26: Sixth Place, Girls’ Foil

• Girls’ Foil: Third Place in Tournament and Season

• Joe Rue Coaches Award: Caroline Snell ’24

• Maureen Hartman Wildcat Award: Mina Kim ’24

• 2024-25 Captains: Anika Kini ’25, Lizzy Yepes ’25, Selena Zhang ’26

BOYS’ ICE HOCKEY

• 2024 FAA Teddy Balkind Memorial Tournament Champions

• FAA All-League First Team: Patrick Leonard ’24

• FAA All-League Second Team: Paul Heintz ’27

• FAA Honorable Mention: Aidan McIntosh ’24

• Maria Effinger Coaches Award: Ewan Ward ’24

• Stahlin Wildcat Award: Patrick Leonard ’24

• 2024-25 Captains: Ari Israel ’25, Aedan Pearl ’25

GIRLS’ ICE HOCKEY

• All-WIHLMA First Team: Freya Collins ’26

• All-WIHLMA Honorable Mention: Julia Heintz ’25

• Harry Rulon-Miller Sportsmanship Award: Kate Keating ’26

• WIHLMA All-Academic First Team: Grace Allen ’24, Ellie Block ’25

• WIHLMA All-Academic Honorable Mention Team: Julia Heintz ’25

• Gil Castagna Coaches Award: Olivia Bongiorni ’26

• Wildcat Award: Julia Heintz ’25

• 2024-25 Captains: Freya Collins ’26, Julia Heintz ’25

BOYS’ SQUASH

• 2024 NYSAIS Champions

• FAA All-League: Henry Fogel ’25, Chris Mathias ’25, Winn Metrailler ’26, Angad Sethi ’24

• FAA Honorable Mention: Turner Wolf ’25

• Coaches Award: Angad Sethi ’24

• Wildcat Award: Winn Metrailler ’26

• 2024-25 Captains: Henry Fogel ’25, James Murphy ’25

GIRLS’ SQUASH

• FAA All-League: AJ Bodenstein ’26, Alexandra Lynch ’27, Georgina M. ’28, Sarah Rivas ’24

• FAA Honorable Mention: Lily Smith ’25

• Coaches Award: Yana Thukral ’26

• Wildcat Award: Sarah Rivas ’24

• 2024-25 Captains: Melanie Asness ’25, Sophia Lynch ’25, Lily Smith ’25

BOYS’ INDOOR TRACK

• 1000m NYSAIS Champion: Marshall B. ’28

• All-State: Marshall B. ’28 (1000m), Jack de Haan ’24 (3200m)

• Coaches Award: Jack de Haan ‘24

• Wildcat Award: Marshall B. ‘28

• 2024-25 Captains: Rahul Arora ’25, Raihan Bhuiya ’25, Esaias Gonzalez ’25, Joaquin Gonzalez ’25

GIRLS’ INDOOR TRACK

• NYSAIS Long Jump Champion: Jocelyn Rice ’27

• 4x200m Relay: NYSAIS Champions: Ailey D. ’28, Jocelyn Rice ’27, Payton R. ’28, Kayla R. ’28

• All-State: Jocelyn Rice ’27 (Long Jump, 55m Dash), Payton R. ’28 (55m Dash), 4x200m Relay Team (Ailey D. ’28, Jocelyn Rice ’27, Payton R. ’28, Kayla R. ’28)

• Coaches Award: 4x200m Relay Team (Ailey D. ’28, Jocelyn Rice ’27, Payton R. ’28, Kayla R. ’28)

• Wildcat Award: Cleo Saltz ’24

• 2024-25 Captains: Mary Grace Eubanks ’25, Keira Zheng ’25

WRESTLING

• FAA All-League: Rhodes Boester ’24

• FAA Honorable Mention: Harry Moss ’26

• PSAA All-League: Rhodes Boester ’24, Joseph Rafferty ’26

• Coaches Award: Harry Moss ’26

• Frank Antonelli Wildcat Award: Rhodes Boester ’24

• 2024-25 Captains: Harry Moss ’26, Joseph Rafferty ’26, Luke Stronski ’25

ADDITIONAL FALL AWARDS

FOOTBALL

• Westchester/Putnam Football All-Star First Team: Cole Denson ’24

• Westchester/Putnam Football All-Star Second Team: Trey Stevens ’24

• Westchester/Putnam Football All-Star Honorable Mention: Patrick Leonard ’24

FIELD HOCKEY

• Westchester/Putnam Field Hockey All-Star Honorable Mention: Natalia Kochut ’24

BOYS’ SOCCER

• NEPSAC All-Star: Jonah Gurion ’24

TEAM CHAMPIONS

Squash

On Friday, February 16, the Boys’ Varsity Squash team won the 2024 NYSAIS Championship, capturing the program’s third consecutive NYSAIS win. The Wildcats defeated Horace Mann, 7-0 in an exciting conclusion to the team’s outstanding tournament performance under the guidance of Director of Squash and Head Coach Elani Landman and Assistant Coaches Gary Solem and Lily Taylor-French. The team had two strong victories to get to the championship

hockey

match, defeating Dalton, 7-0, in the quarterfinals, followed by a 6-1 victory over Trinity in the semifinals. In the championship match, the Wildcats had a dominant showing, winning each game:

#1 Henry Fogel ’25: 3-0 (11-3, 11-7, 11-6)

#2 Angad Sethi ’24: 3-0 (11-4, 11-3, 11-8)

#3 Chris Mathias ’25: 3-0 (11-3, 11-4, 11-6)

#4 Turner Wolf ’25: 3-0, (11-3, 11-4, 11-3)

#5 James Murphy ’25: 3-0 (11-2, 11-0, 11-2)

#6 Dylan Masucci ’25: Win by Default

#7 Miles Wolf ’27: Win by Default

On Saturday, February 24, the Boys’ Varsity Hockey team captured the 2024 FAA Teddy Balkind Memorial Championship, defeating Hamden Hall, 7-1, at SoNo Ice House. It was an exciting conclusion to the team’s strong season under the guidance of first-year Head Coach Steve Forzaglia and Assistant Coaches Anthony Felice, Pete Smith, and

Rob Striar '90. In the semifinal matchup on Thursday, February 22, the Wildcats defeated King School, 4-1, to advance to the finals. In the championship game, the Wildcats got on the board first, with senior captain Patrick Leonard ’24 finding the back of the net on an assist from Jacob Tucznio ’27 for the only goal of the first period. The

Fencing

RCDS Varsity Fencing Boys’ Epee team, consisting of Ray Cao ’26, Mats Danger ’27, David Kern ’25, Matthew Lee ’26, Raccan Shah ’27, and Jordan Zhao ’24, finished the season and tournament undefeated, securing the team’s first-place finish at the tournament and on the season overall.

Wildcats finished the second period up 3-0, and when the final buzzer went off, the team rushed the ice in celebration of their 7-1 victory. The Wildcats were supported by a solid defensive unit in front of the net, with 25 saves from junior goalie Ari Israel ’25 to seal the championship victory.

Game Stats

Paul Heintz ’27: 2 Goals, 2 Assists

Alex T. ’28: 2 Goals, 1 Assist

Patrick Leonard ’24: 1 Goal, 2 Assists

Andrew Zhang ’24: 1 Goal

Richie Morrow ’26: 1 Goal, 1 Assist

Aiden Wu ’27: 1 Assist

Jun Sherry ’24: 1 Assist

Ari Israel ’25: 25 Saves

RECOGNITIONS

The Varsity Wrestling team competed at the 2024 FAA League Tournament on Saturday, January 27, at Brunswick School. After an impressive performance on the day, Rhodes Boester ’24 (pictured left) received FAA All-League honors, and Harry Moss ’26 (pictured right) received FAA Honorable Mention.

As a senior captain, Rhodes finished the tournament with four wins by pin against Greens Farms Academy, Hopkins, Hamden Hall, and Greenwich Country Day, as well as a win in a 2-0 decision against Brunswick. Harry finished with a 3-2 record at the tournament with two wins by pin against Greens Farms Academy and Hamden Hall, as well as a win by forfeit against Greenwich Country Day.

After an impressive 2023-24 season, Paul Heintz ’27 (pictured left) and Patrick Leonard ’24 (pictured right) received 2024 lohud Ice Hockey All-Star Honorable Mention honors. This past season, Paul finished with 48 points on 29 goals and 19 assists, and Patrick finished with 43 points on 12 goals and 31 assists, leading the Wildcats in capturing the 2024 FAA Teddy Balkind Memorial Championship.

Cole Denson ’24 (RB/DB), Trey Stevens ’24 (OL/DE), and Patrick Leonard ’24 (RB/ LB) were named to the New York State Sportswriter Association All-State First, Second, and Sixth Teams, respectively.

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

Drew K. ’31 (pictured right) and Colson M. ’31 (pictured left) were named finalists in the Boys’ 10U Division at the 2024 American Platform Tennis Association Junior National Championships. After an impressive performance at the Championships, the Wildcat duo finished the 2023-24 season ranked No. 1 in the APTA Junior National Rankings. The Championships were held at Canoe Brook Country Club in Summit, NJ on Saturday, March 2, and consisted of 14 clubs in New Jersey, hosting 450 kids from Toronto to Chicago.

AJ Bodenstein ’26 competed in the 2024 U.S. Junior Silver Squash Championships and was awarded Most Improved Player in the GU17 Singles Division.

AJ finished the Championships with a 5-1 record. The Championships were held in Philadelphia, PA, from March 22-24, 2024.

Marshall B. ’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.

Trey Stevens

Patrick Leonard

Cole Denson ACCOMPLISHMENTS BEYOND RCDS

IMPRESSIVE PERFORMANCES!

The Varsity Fencing program had an exciting season under the guidance of Head Coach

Kyle Mitschele and Assistant Coaches Angela Acevedo, Patrick Early, and Joshua Rivera ’15.

At the ISFL Individual Championships, five RCDS students received medals for placing in the top 8 in a weapon.

Ray Cao ’26: Boys’ Epee Champion

Leon Zhou ’26: 2nd Place in Boys’ Foil

Matthew Lee ’26: 7th Place in Boys’ Epee

Eliana Thomas ’26: 3rd Place in Girls’ Foil

Lizzy Yepes ’25: 8th Place in Girls’ Epee

At the Hackley ISFL Invitational Tournament, three RCDS teams and nine individual student-athletes received medals recognizing their top-8 performances for the season.

Boys’ Epee, consisting of Ray Cao ’26, Mats Danger ’27, David Kern ’25 , Matthew Lee ’26, Raccan Shah ’27, and Jordan Zhao ’24 , ended the season undefeated, securing the team’s first-place finish at the tournament and in the season overall.

Boys’ Foil, consisting of Charles Fong ’27, Evan Kern ’27, James Song ’25 , Qian Wei ’26, and Leon Zhou ’26, finished in second place at the tournament, and in the season overall.

Girls’ Foil, consisting of Val He ’27, Ishana Kumar ’26, Izzy Romita ’24 , Caroline Snell ’24 , Eliana Thomas ’26, and Selena Zhang ’26, finished in third place in the tournament, and in the season overall.

Individual awards were presented to the top eight fencers in each weapon, for their record on the season:

Ray Cao ’26, 1st Place in Boys’ Epee

Leon Zhou ’26: 2nd Place in Boys’ Foil

Jordan Zhao ’24: 3rd Place in Boys’ Epee

Selena Zhang ’26: 3rd Place in Girls’ Foil

Ishana Kumar ’26: 4th Place in Girls’ Foil

James Song ’25: 5th Place in Boys’ Foil

David Kern ’25: 6th Place in Boys’ Epee

Mina Kim ’24: 6th Place in Girls’ Saber

Eliana Thomas ’26: 6th Place in Girls’ Foil

Three student-athletes on our Varsity Wrestling team medaled at this year’s NYSAIS Wrestling Tournament:

Harry Moss ’26 finished in fourth place. Rhodes Boester ’24 finished in third place. Oliver S. ’28 finished in fourth place.

The Middle School Wrestling team had a tremendous season under the guidance of Coaches Rich Knazik, Hidalgo Nagashima, Alex Raynor. At the 2024 FAA League Championship, each Wildcat advanced to the final round of the tournament:

• 1st Place: Kenji C. ’29, James G. ’29, Ross K. ’29

• 2nd Place: Bruno G. ’29, Trip W. ’29

• 3rd Place: Gabriel S. ’29

• 4th Place: Trevor F. ’28

Ray Cao Leon Zhou Eliana Thomas

Matthew Lee Lizzy Yepes

Jordan Zhao Ishana Kumar

James Song David Kern

Selena Zhang Mina Kim

The Varsity Indoor Track Team had an impressive performance at the 2024 NYSAIS Championships at The Armory Track in NYC. It was an exciting conclusion to the team’s strong season under the guidance of Head Coaches Madge Anderson and Charles Ogbonna and Assistant Coaches George Lambrecht and Ryan Song.

Marshall B. ’28 (pictured left) finished in first place in the 1000-meter run with a personal best time of 2:40:84. He represented RCDS at the 2024 NYS Federation Championship Meet.

Jocelyn Rice ’27 (pictured above) finished in first place in the long jump with a season’s best jump of 16-01.25 feet, as well as finishing in third place in the 55-meter run with a personal best time of 7.50 seconds. She represented RCDS in the long jump at the 2024 NYS Federation Championship Meet.

Payton R. ’28 (pictured left) finished in second place in the 55-meter run with a personal best time of 7.47 seconds. She represented RCDS at the 2024 NYS Federation Championship Meet.

The Girls’ 4x200 Meter Relay Team, consisting of Ailey D. ’28 (pictured left), Jocelyn Rice ’27, Payton R. ’28, and Kayla R. ’28 (pictured right), finished in first place with a time of 1:48.50. They represented RCDS at the 2024 NYS Federation Championship Meet.

Jack de Haan ’24 (pictured left) finished in third place in the 3200-meter run with a personal best time of 10:11:45.

Eight Varsity Field Hockey players, Grace Allen ’24, Anika Bhat ’25, Anna Franzino ’24, Elizabeth Hackett ’24, Morgan Harvey ’24, Julia Heintz ’25, Allie Hine ’25, and Natalia Kochut ’24, (pictured above from left to right) were named to the National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA) 2023 High School National Academic Squad. The program recognizes high school seniors and juniors who have achieved a cumulative grade-point average of 3.5 or higher through the first semester of the current academic year.

Grace Allen ’24 and Anika Bhat ’25 were also selected as Scholars of Distinction, an honor awarded to students who have achieved a minimum cumulative, unweighted grade-point average of 3.9 out of 4.0 through the semester of the 2023-24 school year.

The Boys’ 4x400 Meter Relay Team, consisting of Esaias Gonzalez ’25 , Joaquin Gonzalez ’25 , Ethan Roque ’24 , and Jack S. ’28, (pictured from left to right) finished in third place with a time of 3:52.74. Joaquin Gonzalez ’25 also finished in fourth place in the triple jump with a jump of 39-08.00

The Boys’ 4x800 Meter Relay Team, consisting of Marshall B. ’28, Jack de Haan ’24 , Esaias Gonzalez ’25 , and Chris Yepes ’25 (pictured right) finished in third place with a time of 8:56.24.

Mary Grace Eubanks ’25 (pictured left) finished in fourth place in the triple jump with a jump of 32-03.00. *Students who are in

Grace Allen ’24 was selected for the NFHCA 2024 High School Impact Senior Team. This prestigious honor recognizes graduating seniors, celebrating their entire high school athletic careers, acknowledging individual achievements both on and off the field, and highlighting distinguished leadership and community service. Selected students met the character criteria of leadership and service, along with athletic criteria, including sports excellence and commendable sportsmanship.

Be A Part of Our Tradition of Excellence!

Every gift to the 2023-24 Annual Giving campaign supports Rye Country Day School’s students, faculty, and programs. Be a part of the RCDS tradition of excellence by supporting the Annual Fund! Make your gift today!

Performing Arts The Power to Reach

2024 Upper School Musical

Into the Woods

The iconic Sondheim musical Into the Woods is revered for its technical complexity, its thematic depth, and its witty tenderness. When the RCDS Drama & Dance and Music Departments teamed up to pull off this hefty production, they knew they would have a strong run. Until it was all in the rearview, however, they could not have fathomed the immensity of the show’s success, and the pride the experience evoked.

Unique in its incredible musical difficulty, Into the Woods, is akin to an olympic feat for even veteran performers. In a school production, the show’s many individual parts translate into a great deal of responsibility–and work–for a large number of student performers. Pair that with the musical’s emotional nuance and poignant exploration of life’s ups and downs, and you’ve got a

Delights and Inspires

production that can either leave the audience changed and tearyeyed or exhausted and confused. Rye Country Day’s cast and crew exceeded the already-high expectations of their teachers, and the audience whose applause roared with amazement, admiration, and pure delight clearly concurred.

The large-scale production, which featured the original orchestration, showcased students’ singing, acting, movement, and staging skills for two nights in the PAC. The cast and crew met the challenge with aplomb. Director Jeff Hogan shared, “Mounting a production of Into the Woods is no easy feat. It is one of the giants of theatre, encompassing a score that moves like a train to symbolize the ticking clock above the characters’ heads.”

ARTS

“This is an entirely through-composed production,” enthused Music Department Chair Mary Marcell. “Every moment is underscored. Our students were remarkable as they navigated the musical complexity.”

The musical classic follows a baker and his wife, who together embark on a quest to reverse a witch’s curse that has left them childless. As the characters venture into the mysterious woods, they encounter well-known fairytale characters and their colliding stories twist unexpectedly. Along the way, all of the characters wrestle with dreams and demons, and come to understand the interconnectedness of the human experience and the profound impact of choice.

To support the character leads in their intersecting narratives, Mr. Hogan created the concept of a pack of wolves in woods, who functioned like a Greek chorus, bearing witness to the fears, joys, and journeys of the characters. Dance Teacher Ingrid Caccia helped the students bring the wolves to life through thoughtful choreography. The interplay between the cast and the wolves–along with meticulous make-up, set-design, and lighting– was theatre at its best–music, drama, and movement all together evoking a range of powerful feelings and thoughts.

“I am so grateful to everyone involved for making this experience so memorable. I am thrilled that our students showed that high school theatre is more than just kids on stage,” said Mr. Hogan. “It is something that has the power to reach and make an impact.”

And of course, he couldn’t be prouder of the 46 students who rehearsed tirelessly through the fall and early winter. “Through their passion, talent, and sense of humanity, our students put on a production that did more than entertain. It provided a powerful reflection that not only answered questions and sparked discussions, but also fostered a sense of community among our audiences. I am so proud of them,” he beamed.

Congratulations to the cast and crew on a fantastic production!

CAST

Child | Pepper B. ’33

Mysterious Man | David Colin ’24

Narrator | Aaden Johnson ’24

Milky White | Jolie R. ’29

Cinderella | Rosie Isiyel ’25

Jack | Nicholas Arakas ’25

Baker | Colin Lauri ’25

Baker's Wife | Vree Tuncer ’26

Cinderella's Stepmother | Bella Wise ’25

Florinda | Haley Millowitz ’27

Lucinda | Eda Buyuk ’27

Jack's Mother | Jordanne Alexander ’24

Little Red Riding Hood |

Dominique Alvarez ’26

Witch | Francesca Ricciarini ’24

Cinderella's Father | Sydney Snell ’24

Cinderella's Mother Tree |

Daisy Stuart ’24

The Wolf | Ryan D’Ambrosio '24

Rapunzel | Lydia Sussman ’26

Rapunzel's Prince | Chaim Sciamma ’27

Granny | Alice Rikkers ’26

Cinderella's Prince | Dylan Garbutt ’24

Steward | Wesley Lichtenstein ’27

Giant's Wife/Wolf in the Woods | Sara de la Fuente ’27

Wolf in the Woods | Molly Hart ’27

Wolf in the Woods | Allie Hine ’25

Wolf in the Woods | Shea Hollwedel ’25

Wolf in the Woods | Xindi Liu ’26

Wolf in the Woods | Dani Penn ’24

Wolf in the Woods | Lillian Pereira ’27

Wolf in the Woods | Skyla Perez ’26

Wolf in the Woods | Ari Rodriguez ’24

Wolf in the Woods | Zoe Roth ’25

Wolf in the Woods | Olivia Sica ’24

CREW

Director | Jeff Hogan

Music Director | Mary Marcell

Choreographer | Ingrid Ciaccia

Production Design | Jac-que Robinson

Costume & Makeup Design | Casey Hallen

Rehearsal Pianist/Assistant | Keith Burton

Assistant Director | Jane Saltz ’24

Assistant Producer | Lily Leand ’27

Dance Captain | Dani Penn ’24

Stage Manager | Olivia Dittman ’25

Stage Manager | Julia Kroin ’25

Makeup Lead | Ellen Chen ’24

Makeup Assistant | Isabella Romita ’24

Stage Crew | Dana DaCosta ’26

Stage Crew | Mayssah El-Khayari ’27

Stage Crew | Charles Fong ’27

Stage Crew | Matthew Lee ’26

Stage Crew | Ava Morgan ’27

Stage Crew | Space Pace ’24

Stage Crew | Dania Suliman ’26

Middle School Musical

Disney’sDescendants:TheMusical was the 2024 Middle School Musical. The show, which is based on the popular Disney Channel Original Movies The Descendants, thoroughly entertained audiences with comedy, adventure, Disney characters, and hit songs from the films! It was a resounding success for the cast and crew after months of hard work and rehearsals.

“Our seventh and eighth graders outdid themselves this year with Disney’s Descendants! It was such a wonderful journey from start to finish. Ms. Ciaccia, Ms. Liebowitz, and I were honored to witness such joy and excitement from our Middle Schoolers.”

– Kate Henerey, Drama & Dance Department Chair & Middle School Drama Teacher

Grades 2-4 Concert and Ice Cream Social

Students in Grades 2, 3, and 4 impressed audiences with a beautiful performance featuring both their vocal and instrumental skills (recorder, ukulele, and percussion). The concert demonstrated the many topics students have been exploring through the music curriculum–and did so in a moving and entertaining way.

"I am so proud of our students. I loved watching them collaborate so beautifully to foster a sense of community through music-making."

– Maddie Franklin, LS Music Teacher

29th Annual Festival Chorus Concert: People Get Ready!

On January 21, the 29th annual Festival Chorus Concert delighted a packed house at Rye Presbyterian Church. 130+ voices sang a beautiful collection of pieces titled People Get Ready in a musical homage to compassion, kindness, and unity.

Directed by Music Department Chair Mary Marcell, the intergenerational choir featured the Upper School Concert Choir, alumni, parents/ guardians, employees, community singers, and a full orchestra.

The concert showcased Jake Runestad’s Into the Light, a sprawling, exquisite piece whose libretto is composed of inspirational quotes that call the listener away from fear and towards love and kindness. The rhythmically vibrant Song for Justice by Kim André Arnesen shared messages of compassion and unity.

Highlighting musical versatility, the choir delivered soulful renditions of Bob Dylan’s The Times They Are A-Changin’ and Curtis Mayfield’s People Get Ready, the show’s closing song, which encouraged the audience to consider the ways they can make a difference in our world. An exciting element of the concert was senior Ayush Maini’s spirited performance as arranger and conductor for Franz Schubert’s Erlkönig.

In a special RCDS moment, the choir debuted the world premiere of Do No Harm, a piece by alumnus Jamie Allen '80 that also reinforces the concert’s message about the power of collectively committing to care for one another.

“ This concert inspires me to think about the power of community and what is possible if we make a collective effort toward a goal of empathy and kindness.”

– Mary Marcell, Music Department Chair

The Upper School 3D Art Show, Designing in Three-Dimensional Space, was a culmination of students working in clay, plaster, found objects, and fashion design in the Ceramics/Sculpture, AP 3D Design, and independent study in sustainable fashion courses. The primary point of focus for all classes was the design element in their creative process.

Visual Arts

CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR TALENTED STUDENT ARTISTS ON THEIR INSPIRING WORKS!

The Upper School 2D Art Show featured work from Grades 9-12 students enrolled in the drawing, painting, honors drawing/painting, AP 2D, digital art, and photography classes.

The US Photography Exhibition featured the work of students in AP Photography, Photo I, Photo II, Photo III, and Advanced Topics in Photography classes.

The annual LS/MS Art Exhibit showcased paintings, drawings, photographs, sculptures, and mixed media projects from Lower and Middle School students.

WinterWildcat Weekend

On January 19–20, Rye Country Day hosted its second annual Winter Wildcat Weekend! The community came out in full force to support our Varsity teams and have fun on the ice at the Family Skating Party.

GREETINGS FROM THE PARENTS ASSOCIATION

Our Year of KINDNESS

In a year that celebrated kindness, RCDS parents and guardians rose to the occasion—showing up to support our community during times of joy and celebration, and in moments of need.

Hundreds of you served as grade liaisons, committee chairs, and event volunteers this year. Many others came out to support our community programming and fundraisers. And more still found everyday ways to help other families feel welcome and find their places on our bustling campus. These visible acts of service demonstrate the Parents Association’s commitment to living our school motto, Not for Self, But for Service.

This spring marks the end of my term as Parents Association President. It has been my privilege to work with so many talented and dedicated individuals over the last several years. I am grateful for the friendships I have formed through this work, and I leave with a profound appreciation for the many people who make Rye Country Day School such a remarkable community.

I wish you and your families a fun, restorative summer break, and I look forward to seeing you on campus in the 2024-25 school year.

Please join me in giving a very warm welcome to our incoming PA President, Lynelle Chang P’30, ’34, ‘37. She has been a valuable member of the PA Executive Board over the last two years, and we are all fortunate that the Parents Association will be in her very capable hands.

Warm regards, Rebecca Brown

Rebecca Brown P’27, P’29, P’32 Parents Association President

Grow With Us Benefit

The RCDS Parents Association’s Grow With Us Benefit was a wonderful night to remember! Parents/guardians, alumni, and employees ushered in spring with Blue & Gold spirit and a shared commitment to supporting Rye Country Day’s growth. The evening also included a moving tribute to Gil Castagna, affectionately known as Coach C., who will retire at the end of the 2023-24 after 45 years of outstanding service to the School.

Taking the podium, Head of School Randall Dunn began with a toast to Coach C. Mr. Dunn shared, “Gil your impact is clear, your legacy is great, and your heart is big and beautiful. Thank you for 45 years, a lifetime, of dedication to your craft of teaching and coaching and to the School. A toast to you, my friend.”

Mr. Dunn then emphasized the importance of home-school partnership and remarked with a smile that, as his first RCDS benefit, the night “lives up to the hype and then some.”

“I often say schools cannot–and should not–do it alone. We need the partnership of our families. It feeds our work and creates a bond of strength–an alignment between home and school–that gives our young people the safety and confidence they need to thrive,” said Mr. Dunn.

As the crowd applauded, he continued that homeschool partnership reminds young people that they are “surrounded by adults who care for them, are there for them, and are teaming up to help them realize their

success. From the perspective of a child–Pre-K, Grade 12 and everything in between–nothing is more important.”

Mr. Dunn concluded his remarks stating, “Our growth is evident in our outstanding students, our excellent programs, and our evolving campus. Rye Country Day is at the dawn of a future that is brighter and more exciting than ever. Because of our partnership. Because of us.”

The Parents Association’s largest fundraiser, the biennial benefit supports financial aid, faculty professional grants, equipment grants, and other PA programs and initiatives that further enhance the educational experience at RCDS. Through silent and live auctions and a special appeal to support financial aid, the event raised over $600,000. More than 500 community members attended, and hundreds more supported from afar.

Recognizing the inspiring community effort that it took to make the evening a success, the Benefit Event Chairs, Rebecca Brown, Lynelle Chang, Meghan Charles, and Jaclyn Shanahan, shared, “Congratulations and heartfelt thanks to the Benefit Committee members for their enthusiastic commitment to RCDS—and their tireless energy in bringing this event to life! Special thanks also to the many RCDS faculty and staff, and our 14 outstanding student greeters and performers, who partnered with the PA to make it a fantastic benefit for our school. This night was an inspiring example of community, teamwork, and excellence.”

Alumni Profile

a Snap

While running down a New York City street some years back, Ryan Davidson saw a person in need asking for food and wanted to help. He realized, however, that without his wallet, he had no meaningful way to do so on the fly. Fast forward a few years when Ryan, pursuing his M.B.A., found himself sitting in a Start-Up Idea Generating Course at The Wharton School. “I remembered my experience in New York and decided to incubate the idea of making the act of donating easier and more personally fulfilling,” he recalls. And with that, the concept for the mobile app Impact Local was born.

“Impact Local seeks to both positively benefit society and disrupt a large, addressable market (almost $500 billion),” says Ryan. “Only 12 percent of donations in the U.S. are done online today and the data shows that younger generations, especially millennials, are already more generous on average than older generations. As younger donors become a larger proportion of all donors in the U.S., we anticipate that a significantly larger amount of donation will be done online or on mobile devices, which means the opportunity for growth over the next ten years could be very significant.”

By Lori Ferguson

Drawing on his education—Ryan holds a bachelor of business administration (B.B.A.) from the University of Michigan’s Stephen M. Ross School of Business in addition to his Wharton M.B.A.—as well as his experience as an hedge fund analyst, Ryan focused on developing an app that made it easy to do good right in one’s own neighborhood with just a few simple clicks. “Impact Local is designed to help people discover nonprofits in their area and then easily aid their missions,” he explains. “We highlight regional charities and provide users with the tools needed to research those organizations and thereby reassure themselves that a donation is well directed.”

Impact Local is all about reducing the barrier between a person’s inspiration to give back and the ability to act on that impulse. Ryan can trace the origins of the idea back to Rye Country Day. “An emphasis on service was instilled in me from a young age at RCDS and was an important factor in my decision to go forward with Impact Local,” he shares, “I wanted to help the small nonprofits that are doing amazing things, but lack the budget or business acumen, to be supported by their local communities.”

Ryan launched Impact Local in New York City in January of 2023 with 15 nonprofits. Today the platform includes approximately 40 organizations that can accept donations directly through the app and another one thousand that require users to take one additional step to donate by going to the organization’s website. Nonprofits are not charged a sign-up or monthly fee to join the platform nor are they required to sign a contract. Instead Impact Local charges a platform fee which represents a small percentage of each donation made directly through the app. And in 90 percent of cases, donors opt to cover that fee on behalf of the charity. “This means that nonprofits don’t have to pay for our services until they start seeing donations flow through to them,” notes Ryan.

Asked what charities users might find on Impact Local, Ryan says the range in philanthropic focus is broad, from cooking (Careers for Culinary Arts Program) and veteran advocacy (The Bob Woodruff Foundation) to music (Save the Music Foundation) and HIV/AIDS activism (Treatment Action Group). “When it comes to charities, we’re pretty agnostic,” he observes. “Our outreach targets small to mid-size organizations who don’t have as much local recognition as they want or need. We accept all credible 501c3 organizations–if they’re serving the greater good, we want to serve them.”

Given the popular response to Impact Local in New York, Ryan is optimistic that the app will realize similar success in other metropolitan areas. He is eager to pursue growth but insists such expansion must be thoughtful. “We have plans to expand to other large cities—for example Boston, Philadelphia or Los Angeles—but we must try different markets to see where our product fits best. To realize success, we need an active donor base that’s interested in giving in this way, so we are working to cultivate that ecosystem.”

Recognizing and facilitating people’s desire to give back is a critical lesson he learned during his time at Rye Country Day, notes Ryan. “RCDS does a great job of helping you think about service,” he observes. “I started at the School in the fourth grade and even at that age our teachers were pointing out the importance of giving back.” Impact Local brings that awareness full circle.

“Rye Country day was the start of my journey,” concludes Ryan. “The School set me up for success by giving me a strong educational foundation, excellent time management skills, exposure to a wide range of interests and ideas, and a terrific community of friends. Those tools have allowed me to pursue my interests and pay it forward; I am forever grateful.”

RYAN DAVIDSON ’11 Making Service

Class News & Notes

1965

Nancy Brookfield Burke ’65 attended the RCDS on the Road Spring Training baseball game in West Palm Beach in March.

1967

Governor Ned Lamont of Connecticut has appointed Gaffney Feskoe ’67 to the Board of Directors of the Connecticut Port Authority.

1969

Ann Haralambie ’69 was recently interviewed by Literary Titan about her book Not Nicolson, an award-winning story about family, adoption, heritage, and identity.

1973

Journalist Gordon Witkin ’73 wrote an op-ed piece published in The New York Times.

Patty Friedman ’73 reports, “I am retired and living with my husband, Blair Levin, and a dog and cat. All three kids are married and we have three delightful grandchildren. We travel a great deal and have a house in the Adirondacks. I am active in local politics and volunteer with hospice and environmental agencies. Life is good and we are very grateful!”

1974

50th REUNION

Anne Webber ’74 had a great time with friends watching the New York Mets play the Washington Nationals at the RCDS on the Road event in West Palm Beach. Anne is hoping to make it to Reunion this coming fall.

1975

A number of individuals connected to the City of Rye—staff, elected officials, PR people, and others—are among the annual Westchester 100 list published by City & State, a media organization that covers New York’s local and state politics and policy. Congratulations to Steve Otis ’75 who was named as one of the people who make this millionperson county thrive.

1980

On January 21, the 29th annual Festival Chorus Concert delighted a packed house at Rye Presbyterian Church. 100+ voices sang a beautiful collection of pieces titled People Get Ready in a musical homage to compassion, kindness, and unity. In a special RCDS moment, the choir debuted the world premiere of Do No Harm, a piece by alumnus Jamie Allen ’80 that also reinforced the concert’s message about the power of collectively committing to care for one another.

1983

Real estate broker Alison Newton ’83 was featured in the Palm Beach Daily News

1984

40th REUNION

Brent Forester ’84 was featured in a fireside chat on Rippl where he discussed how we broaden capability across disciplines to create a dementia-capable healthcare system and how we prepare to wrap care around new drugs as they become available. Brent was inducted into the RCDS Hall of Fame in October 2023, receiving the W. Lee Pierson Distinguished Alumni Award.

1985

Richard Eckrich ’85 writes, “After three years in Dakar, we are moving to Cairo. We enjoyed living in Senegal and look forward to our move to Egypt. I will continue to invest in Africa-focused companies, with Cairo as our new home.”

1986/1987

Alum and New York actress Hilary Greer ’87 dropped by City’s Backyard, a podcast hosted by Matt Zako ’86, to chat about acting, auditioning, and her role on Law & Order, which aired last May.

1988

Charles Fields ’88 joined the Child Mind Institute as the Chief of Staff.

1989

35th REUNION

George Stein ’89 recently started a nonprofit lacrosse program called LA Lacrosse, a free lacrosse program for boys and girls ages 10-12 based in California. Learn more about the program at www.lalacrosse.org.

1991

Jonathan Levine ’91 was selected as the next Dean of the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Veterinary Medicine.

Stay connected to RCDS!

1993

The Atlanta Business League named Sheltering Arms President & CEO Blythe Keeler Robinson ’93 one of the 100 Most Influential Black Women of Atlanta. Her impeccable leadership and unwavering commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion make her a true trailblazer.

1994

30th REUNION

Vanessa Kroll Bennett ’94 and co-author Cara Natterson, MD, published their book This Is So Awkward: Modern Puberty Explained in October, 2023. Together, they host The Puberty Podcast and run Order of Magnitude, the leading brand dedicated to flipping puberty positive. Vanessa was most recently inducted into the RCDS Alumni Hall of Fame in October 2023 in the Academic/ Professional Category.

Donna Powell Owusu-Ansah ’94 was installed as the first female Pastor at First Baptist Church of Englewood. Friend and RCDS alumna Nicole Granston ’96 was there to support Donna at her installation.

• Send class notes to alumnirelations@ryecountryday.org • Join the alumni Facebook group: facebook.com/groups/rcdsalumni • Visit the alumni website: ryecountryday.org/alumni

Class News

& Notes

1996

After serving as a director at large for 1.5 years, Nicole Granston ’96 was appointed Vice President of Temple University’s Fox School of Business Alumni Association.

Dr. Jennifer Tafe ’96 was hired as the new Director of Mass Audubon’s Museum

1997

Melissa Mahoney Wirth ’97 and Rene Lumley-Hall ’96 reconnected at the RCDS on the Road event in West Palm Beach.

Russell Dritz ’97 wrote the song “Lightning in a Mason Jar” with Brandon Davis and Schmitty Music! Russell’s proceeds from this song went to charities including the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network, JDRF, and LLS Light The Night in honor of those who have inspired and supported his songwriting.

2000

Raines Feldman Littrell announced that three of their attorneys, including Rebecca Avrutin Foley ’00, were selected to the 2023 New York Metro Super Lawyers list. Each year, no more than five percent of the lawyers in the state are selected by the research team at Super Lawyers to receive this honor.

LEAVING A LEGACY

2001

Conor Hartman’s ’01 company Circ was chosen as a finalist for the 2023 Earthshot Prize and was featured on CBS News in early November as part of the “Protecting the Planet” series.

2002

Katie Hunt ’02 is the co-founder & CEO of Oh Norman!, a pet care brand creating well-made, ecofriendly, and ethically sourced products for pets everywhere. Katie is also the co-founder of Everywhere Ventures (The Fund) and SHOWFIELDS, and she has worked with brands like Warby Parker and Hinge. She and her husband, Gregg Pichler, welcomed their first child, daughter Riley Lawrence Hunt, on 1/17/24.

their work on behalf of their clients and communities.”

J.B. Weber ’02 was hired as Senior Associate Athletics Director at Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire. He leaves a very successful period as Senior Associate Athletics Director at the College of Charleston in Charleston, SC.

2003

The Susan J. Life Society recognizes and honors the generosity of those who have made provisions for the School in their wills or estate plans.

For more information on ways to combine planning for the future and support of Rye Country Day School, please contact Julie McCrory ’03, Manager of Stewardship and Engagement, at (914) 925-4526 or julie_mccrory@ryecountryday.org

In July, Alumni Executive Board President, Nicole Jackson Fanjul ’02 was named to Bloomberg Law’s “They’ve Got Next: The 40 Under 40” list for her achievements as a young attorney “who took the reins on key client matters early in their careers, earning the confidence of more senior attorneys at their organizations, and raising the bar in

Samantha Black ’03 is the Manager of Field Publicity & Events at Warner Bros. Pictures. This year, she had the privilege of working on one of her favorite films of her career, BARBIE! Her work included overseeing domestic promotions/ publicity, assisting with talent appearances, screening for press, and planning/executing the world premiere. She also took the lead on the Barbie activations in the Washington, DC, and New York City pride parades.

Casey Keeler ’03 shares, “I am incredibly thankful for the opportunity to be a showgirl and tap dance as Virtue, one of Reno’s Angels in the Blue Hill Troupe’s blockbuster hit Anything Goes that ran in November of 2023.”

2005

Charlie Razook ’05 writes, “Turns out clean skincare can be effective!” His face care company, JackFir, was recognized for a number of awards, including Men’s Health Outdoor Award, CNN Underscored Editor’s Pick, and AskMen Grooming Award

As part of Centerbridge Partners, L.P.’s annual service week, Thomas Alston ’05 led a Shark-Tankinspired pitch delivery workshop

of American Bird Art.

with rising eighth and ninth graders attending the Prep for Prep Entrepreneurship Camp. Thomas has been a consistent champion of Prep for Prep and has helped provide early access to opportunities for students as an alumnus and member of the Prep for Prep Associates Council.

2006

Dan Lust ’06, writes, “We are tremendously excited to announce that our sports speaker series has been picked up by TeamWork Online! Thanks to this new partnership we will reach a new extended audience of Sports Professionals and Job Seekers.” Dan has also been recognized by On3 Sports as one of the 50 leading college sports voices in the nation as part of its 2023 “State of College Sports.”

Joshua Bennett ’06, Distinguished Chair of the Humanities and professor in MIT Literature, received an Innovation in Education grant from MIT for his work “Minor notes: teaching the archival arts.”

2007

Daryl Berke ’07 and his wife welcomed their daughter, Jane Ellis Berke.

Rachel Schoenau Doneger ’07 and her husband, Adam, celebrated the birth of their son Dean Alexander Doneger, on September 13, 2023.

2008

Sam Rosenfeld ’08 and his wife, Chloe, were elected to the Town of Greenwich's 230-member legislative body last year and participated in their first meeting on January 16, 2024.

Marissa Heller Keery ’08 and her husband, Barton Keery, celebrated the birth of their son, George.

2010

Isabel Beshar ’10 and Mike Glover were married in August 2023.

2011

Amanda Shulman ’11 was a finalist for the James Beard awards as Best Emerging Chef, a chef who displays exceptional talent, character, and leadership ability, and who is likely to make a significant impact in years to come, while contributing positively to their broader community.

2023 Alumni Hall of Fame inductee

Paige Mandy ’11 and Griff Lee were married in September 2023.

2013

Annie Grayer ’13 was featured in this year’s Forbes 30 under 30. Annie is a Capitol Hill reporter at CNN who has contributed nearly 200 stories and produced dozens of scoops in this year alone, including covering breaking news on the Congressional investigation into the January 6 insurrection. Prior to joining the Capitol Hill Team, Annie covered the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on election integrity and education. She was also a video producer and covered the 2020 presidential election, including Senator Bernie Sanders’ campaign. After graduating from RCDS, Annie attended Middlebury College, where she studied English and American Literature and Political Science.

2014

Theo Humphrey ’14 clinched his first professional gold win at the Arkansas Open!

Michael Bermingham ’06 and Sophia Schwatka ’06 welcomed a baby girl, Grace, born on December 20, 2023.

Robi Hager ’06 is both co-directing and performing in tick, tick… BOOM! a semi-autobiographical rock musical by Jonathan Larson, the Pulitzer Prize and Tony Awardwinning creator of the worldwide phenomenon Rent

Taylor Washington ’11 was nominated as a finalist for the 2023 MLS Year-End-Awards honoring the league’s top performers during the regular season. Taylor was nominated for the Audi Goals Drive Progress Impact Award for his community led initiatives.

Paul Fanto ’11 and Kelly Backes were married in September. Paul and Kelly met in graduate school at Yale, from which the both have their PhDs in Physics.

2015

Joshua Noel Rivera ’15 completed his Master of Arts in Sociology of Education at New York University in May 2023 and is currently working as the Assistant Director of DEI at Rye Country Day School.

2016

Charlotte Boehning ’16 won the U.S.A. James Dyson Award and was named in the International Top 20 for her invention. She plans to use the prize to make the Gutsy Port-a revolutionary medical port that enables bag-free moments for ostomates a reality for the 14 million ostomates worldwide.

2019

5th REUNION

Upper School English teacher and Grade 10 Dean, Ted Heintz attended the University of Virginia v. William & Mary baseball game over spring break where Owen Coady ’19 and Kevin Francella ’23 played against each other. Owen is a pitcher for UVA. Kevin is SS/3B for W&M.

2020

Amanda Bortner-Hirszman ’20 writes, “I am honored to be recognized as one of the top 3 Campus Ambassadors across the country for Gift of Life, the international stem cell and bone marrow registry. This is such an amazing organization that I have had the privilege of working with these past 4 years, and I’m looking forward to another exciting semester ahead!”

Wesleyan attacker Laura Baine ’20 was named to the USA Lacrosse Division III Preseason All-American Honorable Mention team.

Shane Regan ’20, a junior on Wesleyan University’s men’s basketball team, was named the NESCAC Player of the Week on December 11, 2023.

2022

Jack Merrill ’22, a member of the Stanford University Men’s Water Polo Team, has been selected to the USA Men’s Junior National Water Polo Team. The team competed in the World Aquatics Men’s U20 Water Polo Championships 2023 in Bucharest, Romania.

2023

US English Teacher Ted Heintz attended the UVA v. William & Mary baseball game over Spring Break where Owen Coady ’19 and Kevin Francella ’23 played against each other. Owen is a pitcher for UVA. Kevin is SS/3B for W&M.

Photo Courtesy of Wesleyan Athletics

10th REUNION

Events!

The Office of Alumni Relations Hosted numerous events for the RCDS Community this year! Thank you to our volunteers and attendees.

Reflections on RCDS Panel

On January 4, recent graduates shared their RCDS insights and experiences with prospective families during the virtual Reflections on RCDS Alumni Panel. Moderated by Director of College Counseling Jeff Bates, the six panelists from the Classes of 2022 and 2023 reflected on their RCDS years and how they are helping them thrive in their postgraduate endeavors. All of the panelists touched on the School’s supportive community and the sense of belonging they felt when they were enrolled. Service was also a prominent theme, as the panelists talked about the ways in which they are giving back to their college and personal communities. It was a moving event that spoke to the lasting impact of the community connections and mentorship that happen daily at RCDS.

Alumni panelists:

Yuto Abe ’22

Grace Casale ’22

Ricardo Coates ’23

RCDS on the Road: Florida

Members of the Rye Country Day community gathered during Spring Break for a regional RCDS on the Road reception in West Palm Beach, Florida. Hosted by Director of Advancement

Madi Danquah ’23

Anya Khemlani ’23

Adé Larsen ’23

Lynette Gioffre P’29, P’32 and Manager of Alumni Relations Melissa Mahoney Wirth ’97, P’27, P’29, P’31, the event welcomed current parents and students, alumni, parents of alumni, and grandparents for fun in the sun and an MLB spring training game (New York Mets vs. Washington Nationals) at The Ballpark of the Palm Beaches. It was a wonderful afternoon of baseball and RCDS community-building! Special thanks to Steven and Alexandra Cohen and their foundation, GIE, for donating New York Mets ball caps, which were greatly appreciated and enjoyed by all!

College Care Package Party

On January 31, the Office of Alumni Relations hosted the College Care Package Party to send well wishes and a little RCDS love to our Wildcat alumni in college. Parents of alumni gathered in the PAC Foyer to create special Valentine’s Day packages, courtesy of RCDS, to send to their children in college. It was a fun evening that exemplified the lifelong community connection that comes with being an RCDS Wildcat for parents and alumni alike.

Athletics in College Panel

In December, RCDS alumni athletes shared their perspectives on the recruiting process for students hoping to continue their athletic careers in college. Thanks to our panelists:

• Peter Hagen, Syracuse University, Executive Director of Admissions

• Laura Baine ’20, Wesleyan University, Lacrosse

• Elizabeth Friedberg ’20, Cornell University, Field Hockey

• Olivia Friedberg ’20 Cornell University, Field Hockey

• Caroline Keating ’22, Bates College, Lacrosse

• Luke Millowitz ’23, Denison University, Football

• Charlotte Price ’20, Middlebury College, Lacrosse

• Kaela Smith ’21 Williams College, Field Hockey

• Georgette Summers RCDS, Assistant Director of Athletics

• Jeff Bates, RCDS, Director of College Counseling

STEM in College Panel

On November 28, the Office of College Counseling hosted the annual STEM in College panel via Zoom. The well-attended program provided insight into the numerous opportunities within STEM education in college and beyond. Thanks to our panelists: Clare Nee, Assistant Director of Undergraduate Admissions at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Ellen Chow, Dean of Undergraduate Admissions at Johns Hopkins University Cathie Bischoff, RCDS Director of STEAM Liliana Valle, RCDS STEAM Teaching Fellow Robbie Fox ’20, current senior at Columbia University

Alumni Games at RCDS

On Saturday, December 16, for the first time since before the pandemic, old friends gathered for the RCDS Alumni Winter Games. With Coaches Castagna and Effinger coaching on the ice and Coach Haft on the court, over 40 alumni from across the decades came together for friendly competitions on the ice and court. Hockey players Michael Pisacano ’87 and Georgia Kleiner ’13 were recognized as Most Valuable Players for their teams. Coach C., in his 45th and final year at RCDS, was presented with a personalized RCDS Varsity hockey jersey with the number 45. A moment of silence was held in memory of longtime basketball Coach John Sabia.

Alumni Essay

THE POWER OF SPORT

This February, I had the privilege of gathering with about 20 former Rye Country Day Girls’ Varsity Soccer players from the 1980’s and 90’s, a couple dozen women there to honor our beloved coaches, Pike and Mooney. We represented a sampling of the hundreds of girls who had represented RCDS on the soccer field during those decades.

On a cold winter’s night the group congregated in a cozy living room, replete with soccer decorations, old yearbooks, and yellowing photographs. Many of us had dug out and worn our cherished yellow and navy RCDS Soccer warm-up jackets, symbols of belonging to this very special team, still holding their talismanic power all these years later.

A cacophony of joy and warmth quickly filled the room – women hugging teammates we hadn’t seen in decades, laughter booming while reminiscing with our coaches, shocked exclamations when we all realized how young Mooney and Pike were when they coached us. We then settled into a large circle, one reminiscent of the hours spent circling up on the soccer field, and the mood shifted to a reflective one.

By Vanessa Kroll Bennett ’94

during such important and tumultuous years. So many women identified moments of great challenge and pointed to our coaches as the people who had shown up when we needed it most.

And even more, many shared the lessons we learned from Mooney and Pike on the soccer field that have paid dividends in the decades that followed. Our coaches’ exhortation that we play every moment to our fullest ability became the

We honored the three teammates who were no longer with us: Stacy Garil '88, Joanna Wolf '88, and Julia Rosenfeld '96 –women who had been integral parts of the alchemy of RCDS Girls' Varsity Soccer. And then in turn each of us shared what being part of the RCDS Girls’ Soccer team had meant during the formative high school years and what lessons we still carry with us many decades later. Three common themes emerged, ones that speak to the power of sport as being about so much more than the sport itself: feeling truly seen and supported by our coaches, developing grit under their tutelage, and finding belonging amongst the girls on the team.

Over and over, the women in the room described how Pike and Mooney, who pushed us and supported us in equal measure, truly saw and cared for us

source of our grit, determination, and perseverance to this very day, personally and professionally.

People expressed again and again that during the ups and downs of high school, the Girls’ Soccer team was a sisterhood to which we could belong. So many sitting in that circle recalled moments of friendship and mentorship that kept them afloat – harkening back to hilarious and tearful stories. Even more, Mooney and Pike, with their leadership and commitment, facilitated the bonding of a team brimming with personality and effervescence. Without putting themselves at the center of the team, our coaches were truly our shepherds, herding us with respect and kindness, helping us navigate our way through adolescence.

The pioneering women of the Class of ‘85 recalled the Bad News Bears vibe of the

very first RCDS Girls’ Varsity Soccer team, a bold effort to create equity between the girls’ and boys’ athletic programs. They pointed to Pike’s enthusiasm as the force that kept them afloat until finding their equilibrium on the field.

Mooney’s addition to the coaching staff professionalized the endeavor, but as many stories demonstrated, Mooney and Pike never lost their sense of fun amidst the drive to build a successful program. Those of us who joined the team in the 90’s could barely imagine such a nascent program. By the time we had the privilege of playing for RCDS, there was swagger and skill filling the Wildcat warm-up jackets.

All too soon, the evening and the moment to revisit high school came to an end and we were recalled to our presentday adult obligations of family and work. Tearful goodbyes, long hugs, and lots of laughter punctuated our departures, but a sense of gratitude remained – profound gratitude for the privilege of playing for the RCDS Girls’ Soccer program under the guidance of Pike and Mooney.

Our coaches did not just teach us how to play soccer, they taught us how to live life with dedication and belief. They showed us what it means to show up for other people with hearts full of love and a fervent commitment to others. They reminded us through deeds and words that sports are about so much more than wins and losses, trophies and titles. Pike and Mooney demonstrated day in and day out, in the sweltering heat of preseason and the bitter cold of playoffs, that being part of a team offers belonging and connection, it teaches belief and determination, it fosters devotion and care. All these decades later, we are all so blessed to be the recipients of a life lesson that has no expiration date.

In Memoriam

Rye Country Day School expresses its deepest condolences to the families and friends of the following members of our community who passed away since the last publication of the RCDS Bulletin.

Alumni

Clare S. Ames '50

Alice Taylor Beringer '45, P'73, P'77, GP '05, GP '07

Amy Schneidman Bloom '89

Penelope Plunkett Campbell '56

Angela Chao '91

Ann Struthers Coburn '67

Joan Scott Ratsey Darling '51

Timothy Edlund '47

Marilyn Gerrish '42, P'68

Susan Tellier Perticone '81

Robert Tembeck '93

Phillip Waller '07

Judith Wight Werben '51, P'73, P'80

Sarah Lee Arnold Whittemore '52

Parents

Julene Burton-Goode P’98

Debbie Christie P’98

Hugh Cullman P’71, P’74, P’77, GP’04, GP’08, GP’13

Beth Julich Fleischman P’11, P’16

Stanley Fleischman P’74, P’76, GP’11, GP’11, GP’16

Marilyn Keeler Gee P’92

William Percy Klingenstein P’94, P’98, GP’29

Kent Holden P’10

Louise Lippner P’86, P’88

Laura Mooney P’18, P’20

Paul-Henri Nargeolet P’10

Eric Ordway P’08

Carol Sellon P’77, P’80, P’87

Grandparents

Marilyn Kroin Beck GP’22, GP’25, GP’28

Frank Veneri GP’23, GP’25, GP’28

Luisito J. Alibutod GP’24, GP’28, GP’29, GP’34

Robert Thalheimer GP’21, GP’23, GP ‘29

Remembrances

William Polk Smeal ’33

We are deeply saddened by the loss of William Polk Smeal, of Rye, NY, who passed away peacefully, surrounded by his family, on February 8, 2024, after a courageous three-year battle with Acute Myeloid Leukemia. He was nine years old.

Billy was born in New York City and moved to Rye with his family at age three. He attended Christ’s Church Nursery School and then Rye Country Day School, where he made an immediate impression with his outgoing nature, curiosity, and quick wit. To know him was to be charmed by him, and he was up for anything.

He loved LEGOs, New York Times word games, Greek gods, and correcting people on the proper pronunciation of his last name. Billy had a running 112-day streak on Duolingo for French, and he loved doing art projects and making hearts for his mom.

Billy endured his illness with dignity and grace. He attended third grade up through February 6 because he was so fiercely determined to be a normal kid. He remained spirited and engaged with life until the very end. Billy was and will always be an inspiration to the many people who loved him. He was a wonderful boy, and he will be missed dearly.

Billy is survived by his mother, Diana; his father, Ben; his brothers, Teddy (RCDS Class of 2031) and John (RCDS Class of 2035); his aunts and uncles and cousins; and both sets of grandparents.

Gregory Boester P'19, P'22, P'24

Gregory Jon Boester of Rye, NY passed away on December 29, 2023. He was a beloved husband, devoted father of three sons and an admired leader during his thirty-year career in finance. Mr. Boester was born in Los Angeles in 1968. He split his teenage years between Denver and Steamboat Springs, where he pursued with vigor his childhood love of ski jumping, earning a spot on the United States Ski Team. In 1994, he competed in the Olympic Winter Games in Lillehammer, Norway and the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships in Falun, Sweden. He had an immense passion for the sport throughout his life and often said that when he was ski jumping, it was like flying. His love for alpine sports only grew over time. After joining the Board of Directors of U.S. Ski & Snowboard in 1996, Mr. Boester became Vice Chairman. He was named a trustee of the USSS Foundation in 2004 and became the Board of Trustees President in 2013. His keen insights, strategic acumen and tireless efforts were instrumental in guiding the organization through pivotal moments. Mr. Boester believed in the power of sport to transform lives and tirelessly advocated for initiatives aimed at creating opportunities for aspiring athletes. He remained a trustee and an active supporter of competitive skiing throughout his life.

After graduating from St. Lawrence University and the Wharton School of Business, Mr. Boester advanced to senior leadership roles in fixed income at JP Morgan, Citadel and Barclays before becoming founder, CEO, and co-CIO of Praesagio Partners. In business, Mr. Boester was known for his visionary brilliance, unflagging enthusiasm,

and problem-solving acumen. Always one to share his vast knowledge and wealth of experience, he approached all challenges with a twinkle in his eye. He was also dedicated to using his position to help others, by actively supporting younger men and women in joining and collectively advancing in the business world. At Praesagio, part of the business focuses on keeping in their homes those veterans threatened by foreclosure.

In addition to his work with the USS, Mr. Boester served on the board of Epi-Cure, a food recovery non-profit, coached Rye Youth Soccer for ten years and with Marian Wright, his wife, founded Moxie’s Creative Intellect (scholarship) Fund at Columbia University. Mr. Boester was also an active supporter of the Stone Barns Institute, St Lawrence University, Christ’s Church in Rye, NY, the Wharton School, ALSA, the Wounded Warrior Project, the Greensboro Association, Circus Smirkus, the GLT and the United Church of Christ in Greensboro, VT, two Vail Ski Team athletes, Rye Country Day School, the Nature Conservancy and so much more.

Mr. Boester had a wonderful sense of adventure and loved to travel the world, starting early with family trips to Hawaii and ski jumping training camps and competitions in far flung locales. With work, his family or the ski team, Mr. Boester journeyed through Vietnam, Dubai, Norway, Hong Kong, Scotland, Japan, Switzerland, Cambodia, Sweden, Dominica, South Africa, Myanmar, the Dominican Republic, England, Thailand, Finland, Italy, France, Spain, Abu Dhabi, China, Indonesia, Costa Rica, Germany, Mexico, Slovenia, Lebanon, countless domestic states and more. He loved a good adventure, including riding elephants in Cambodia, trying local delicacies, such as the large variety of Swiss sausages, and getting to know people from all walks of life, including a leader in the student movement in Myanmar. His heart, however, lived in Colorado’s high country with its rodeos, big open skis, snow-topped mountains and fresh clean air.

Mr. Boester was devoted to his wife, Marian Wright, with whom he recently celebrated twenty-five years of marriage while also a passionate supporter of their sons Cole (RCDS Class of 2019), Wyatt (RCDS Class of 2022), and Rhodes Boester (RCDS Class of 2024), whom he loved with all his heart. He will also be dearly missed by his cherished parents, Cindy and Ralph Boester, his brother and sister-in-law, Eric and Allie Boester as well as his brother-in-law Robert and Amy Wright, his brother-in-law Richard and

Anja Wright, and his brother-in-law Minturn and Gwen Wright and his nephews and nieces, Norie Wright, Tate Wright, Hunter Wright, Natasha Wright, Olivia Odom, Dylan Boester, Leo Boester, and Zane Boester and a great many more.

To his family and friends, Mr. Boester was an inspiring, generous, supportive, fun-loving husband, father, brother, son, cousin, nephew, and friend. His sense of humor was legendary, based on a supremely quick wit, also enhanced by his repertoire of Dad Jokes. Weekend naps were de rigeur, but Mr. Boester still found time to do all sorts of projects, such as building a sauna on a trailer with Wyatt, going on long hikes with Marian, hauling thirty-foot trees with Cole down to the mill at the Colorado ranch, and building a lakeside treehouse with Rhodes. He was always up for pick-up soccer, a jaunt into the city, “just one more run” down the ski slope, a waterski or a sail, or the simple pleasures of a one-on-one conversation with a dear friend.

Richard Caster (Coach1985-1992)

Richard Caster passed away on Friday, February 2, after a battle with Parkinson’s Disease. His contributions to Rye Country Day were essential to the School’s diversity and inclusion efforts and the athletics program.

Mr. Caster played football at Jackson State and was drafted to the New York Jets in 1970. He played eight seasons for the Jets and had 245 receptions for 4,434 yards and scored 36 touchdowns. He played the following five seasons with the Houston Oilers, the New Orleans Saints, and the Washington franchise. He finished his 13-year career with 322 receptions, 5,515 yards, and 45 touchdowns, averaging 17.1 yards per catch. Playing at 6-foot-5, and 228 pounds, Mr. Caster helped to revolutionize the tight end position with both his size and 4.5-second speed in the 40-yard dash. He went on to become a threetime Pro Bowl tight end (1972, 1974, and 1975) with the New York Jets. He retired from football in 1983. He is in the Jackson State Hall of Fame and a member of its All-Century and All-Centennial Teams.

In 1985, the New York Times reported on Mr. Caster’s role at RCDS as a football coach and as a counselor and admissions recruiter for Black students. In 1979, he helped run a football clinic at RCDS, which began his official relationship with the School. Mr. Caster’s inspiration to work in a school setting came from volunteer work he had done as a New York Jet. At the time, he was appointed in similar roles to the faculty of both Greenwich Country Day and Rye Country Day. As a beloved counselor and advisor, he played a critical role in the experience of Black

students at RCDS between the years of 1985 and 1992. His mentorship, kindness, and commitment to cultivating an inclusive, supportive environment for students will live on.

Mr. Caster leaves behind his loving wife of 37 years, Susan McGowan Caster; two devoted daughters, Shannon Myla Hampton (Arthur) and Alona Nicole Caster; equally devoted sons Richard J. Caster (Natalia), Max Allen, and Sean; as well as five grandchildren, Tamiya, Camren, Alonzo, Richard, and Adrienne. He is lovingly remembered by five siblings, Harriette (Patrick) Ely, Ronald (Allyson) Caster, Stephanie Caster, Monica (Amos) Barnes, and Frederick (Zella) Caster; brother-in-law Tim McGowan (Cynthia), sister-in-law Lillian Caster, and numerous nieces and nephews, including the devoted Carla, Demetrius, and Sharmayne. He is also survived by his former wife, America Shannon Caster. Mr. Caster was preceded in death by his beloved parents, Allen and Rosa Lee (née Bryant) Caster, adored grandmother Emma Bryant, and three cherished brothers, Allen Jr., Sherman, and Stephen.

Terry Lott H’02 (ShopTeacher1962-1998)

Terry Lott was born in Southampton, Hampshire, to William and Norah (Dobinson) Lott. They lived in the town before and after the war. His father relocated the family to Shootash because of the terrible bombing of Southampton at the time. Terry attended the La Sagesse private school there for the duration of World War II, returning to Southampton to attend Bitterne Park School until age fifteen, achieving eight Ordinary Level GCE passes. He then entered Tauntons Grammar School, where he obtained two further passes at Advanced Level, a high achievement. Mr. Lott was conscripted into the Royal Air Force and chose to go right after school, although he could have delayed it. He spent time in North Africa and Malta and overall enjoyed his time in the RAF, although it would not have been his personal choice.

Mr. Lott then went to Loughborough University to study art and music. After leaving the University, he and Janet (nickname Vee) married at Kegworth Baptist Chapel on July 18, 1959. They had become engaged after knowing each other for only six weeks after meeting at a dance in Leicester. They were married for sixty-four happy years!

After Mr. Lott taught English, math, and woodwork for three years at Wroughton School in Swindon, Wiltshire, he and Janet decided to emigrate to the United States in 1962. Mr. Lott was employed as a teacher at Rye Country Day School for 34 years. After briefly working as a medical secretary, Vee joined him at RCDS a year or so later in the Alumni Development

In Memoriam

Office and then as Assistant to the Headmaster.

Mr. Lott was respected by the faculty and students at RCDS for his work ethic and loyalty. He loved every minute he spent at the School. He taught the woodwork and architectural drawing program to children from age 12 through to 18, as well as evening classes for adults.

Mr. Lott is remembered as a giant of a man, not only in stature but through his wit, his intelligence, his kindness, his wry and understated humor, his eccentricity, and his offbeat character. One of his former principals at RCDS said that some of Mr. Lott's educational ideas were way ahead of his time; another said that he made everything in life seem possible because he had built his own summer home, extended his own home, and even dug and created his own swimming pool; another said he always chose to sit with him in the dining room because it was a guaranteed lively, amusing conversation. They say there’s a book worth writing in every human being. Mr. Lott even managed that improbable task by chronicling his and Vee’s life in France after their retirement! He loved cars and animals. He also enjoyed the huge variety of North American fauna he found at his various homes with Vee.

Mr. Lott has left a yawning, unique, and unfillable void in the life of his family, friends, and colleagues and he will be hugely missed by everyone. He truly loved his parents, his beloved brother, Kevin and his family, Vee’s family, and all his friends and acquaintances. He created a life for Vee and himself that no one, even she, could have predicted. A person who was deeply loved. A life well lived.

Janet Lott wanted to say thank you to all who have reached out to share their memories of her husbands and offer their condolences. It meant a great deal to her to hear from so many dear friends.

Betty A. Reardon (EnglishTeacher1955-1963)

Betty A. Reardon, internationally celebrated as a founder of the field of peace education and feminist peace scholar, passed away on November 3, 2023.

The child of Julia Florence Reardon (Burke) and Michael Augustus Reardon, Dr. Reardon was born on June 12, 1929 and brought up in Rye, where she attended Rye Grammar School and then Rye High School. She spent her adult life as a resident of New York City. She held a Doctorate in education from Teachers College, Columbia University, a Master’s degree in history from New York University, and a Bachelor’s in history from Wheaton College. She is survived by her nieces, Noel Menadier, Christie Menadier, Coley Menadier-Fisher; and her husband, Rick Fisher; her great nephew, Adam Fisher and wife Whitney Timmons; great nephew Grayson Fisher; nephew Mark Menadier; great nephew Burke Menadier; and great niece Kalani Menadier; niece Dani Menadier Thorn; and great nieces Sabrina Thorn

and Savannah Thornl and cousins Steven Ekholm, Carla Mohlenbrok Henry, and Ali Sheehey.

Dr. Reardon began her teaching career in 1955 at Rye Country Day School, and then in 1963 she began her work in peace education as Director of the Schools Program with the Institute of World Order.

She held prominent roles in the establishment and work of key institutions that define the field of peace studies and peace education. She was the founder and long-time director of the Peace Education Center and Program at Teachers College, Columbia University; the founder and director of the International Institute on Peace Education; the General Coordinator of the Feminist Scholar Activist Network on Demilitarization; Coordinator International Network of Peace Education Centers; the founding Academic Coordinator of the Hague Appeal for Peace Global Campaign for Peace Education; the Director of the Peacemaking in Education Program, United Ministries in Education; Executive Secretary of the World Council for Curriculum and Instruction; the School Program Director at the Institute for World Order; the Associate Director of Leadership and World Society (LAWS), and a founder of the Peace Education Commission of the International Peace Research Association.

Dr. Reardon also held a number of prestigious visiting professorships, including the Savage Chair, Distinguished Visiting professor of International Relations and Peace, University of Oregon; the A. Lindsay O’Connor Chair in American Institutions, Colgate University; Visiting Professor of Peace, Spark M. Matsunaga Institute for Peace, University of Hawaii at Manoa; Visiting Professor, Kanda University of International Studies, Chiba, Japan; Visiting Professor, Graduate School of International Cooperation Studies, Kobe University, Kobe, Japan; and Visiting Professor, Department of International Relations, Ritsumeikan University, Kyoto, Japan.

In addition, Dr. Reardon was an accomplished scholar of peace studies and peace education. She published numerous articles, books, book chapters, and reports, and has presented scholarly papers at numerous scholarly meetings.

Her many prestigious awards include the Pomerance Award for contributions to disarmament efforts within the UN system; nomination and honorable mention for UNESCO Peace Education Prize by ICAE, IPRA, WCCI; the American Association of University Women (AAUW) New York State Peace Award; Golden Balloon Award for Peace Education from World Children’s Association (presented at the United Nations); the 1986 Book of the Year Award from the American Journal of Nursing for Sexism and the War System; the 1994 Peace Studies Award

from the Peace and Justice Studies Association; the 2000 Jane Adams Peace Activist Award; Distinguished Alumna Award from Teachers College Columbia University, 2004; Volvo Heroes nomination 2006; nomination for the 2005 Nobel Peace Prize (among 1000 women nominated as a group); nomination for the 2013 Nobel Peace Prize by the International Peace Bureau (Norway); the 2010 Sean McBride Peace (International Peace Bureau); and the 2013 El-Hibri Peace Education Prize (The El-Hibri Foundation).

World War II, and then later, the Vietnam War, the Civil Rights movement, and the Feminist movement were formative in the development of her worldview. In the face of the horrors of world war, she believed, as early as the fifth grade, that there must be an alternative to war, and in the face of racism and sexism, she pondered early on the limits and possibilities of justice. In these formative experiences were the seeds of her fundamental approach to peace, as both the elimination of violence and the establishment of justice. She chose to be a teacher, believing that education was the key to a peaceful and just world.

Betty Reardon was a tireless student, exponent, and advocate of peace, justice, and peace education. She mentored and inspired generations of educators, scholars, and activists through her teaching and scholarship.

Hope Ann Reeser (Math Teacher- 1984-2008)

Hope Anne Reeser passed away on April 25, 2023. Hope was born in Canandaigua, NY, on January 10, 1948, and was the daughter of David and Natalie (née Nutting) Feinson. After graduating from Rye High School in 1966, Hope went on to Endicott Jr. College (Class of 1970) and then graduated from Keuka College in 1972 with a Bachelor of Arts in elementary education. Later she received her Master’s degree in elementary education at the College of New Rochelle.

Ms. Reeser was a math teacher at Rye Country Day School for over 30 years. She lived her whole life in Rye, and she was a member of Rye Presbyterian Church and sang in their choir for many years. She was a lover of life, family, friends, animals, nature, and all holidays, and she was known as a “kid at heart.”

Ms. Reeser was predeceased by her loving husband, Robert Reeser, who passed away in November of 2009. Robert Reeser retired from RCDS in 2008 after 33 years of dedicated service as a Middle School Math and Computer Teacher. She and Robert were married for 15 years. Ms. Reeser is survived by her brother John E. Feinson and his wife, Elizabeth, and her nieces, Erica Coulter (Jonathan) and Molly Ross (Thomas); nephews, David Feinson (Annette), and Christopher Feinson (Krista); grandnieces and

grandnephew, Maddie and Eliza Coulter, Olive and Autumn Feinson, and Oliver Ross. Hope was best friends with Gina Langer de la Chesnaye, and home companion and friend to Resha. Her wonderful animal companion, Shep, was always at her side.

John Sabia H’02 (P.E.Teacher/Coach1973-1998)

John R. “Babich” Sabia, 93, passed away on December 12, 2023. He was born March 11, 1930 in Port Chester to the late William and Carmela “Nellie” Perone Sabia. Mr. Sabia was raised in Port Chester, and graduated from Port Chester High School in 1947. He served in the United States Army, reaching the rank of sergeant.

Johnny “Babich’s” passion for sports and his athletic abilities made him a local legend. He was a Physical Education teacher and coach, first at the Holy Rosary School in Port Chester, and then at Rye Country Day School. It was at RCDS that he enjoyed a successful career spanning 25 years, touching many lives with his unparalleled dedication to his students, his team players, and his colleagues. His great mentorship, his kind spirit, and his genuine dedication will live on.

Among his achievements was bringing the 1983 RCDS Men’s Varsity Basketball team to an undefeated season, the only one on record, with 23 wins and no losses. Coach Sabia was inducted into the School’s Hall of Fame (twice) in recognition of his contributions to the School’s athletic programs.

In 1998, Coach Sabia retired from Rye Country Day School, and the 2002 graduating class made him an honorary member. In 2019, he was honored at the Winter Athletics Awards Ceremony when the Men’s Basketball team renamed the teams’ Wildcat Award in his honor. The recipient of the Coach Sabia Wildcat Award, like the honor’s namesake, embodies a high level of skill, sportsmanship, leadership, and teamwork.

Mr. Sabia was a parishioner of the Corpus Christi Church in Port Chester. He was married on November 4, 1956, in Port Chester to Helene D. Accurso, who predeceased him on November 21, 2009. He is survived by his beloved children, John W. Sabia of Rye Brook, NY, Joanne Feda of Southington, CT, and Helene Sabia and her partner Shawn Paladini of Sparta, NJ; grandchildren, Marc Feda (Karleigh) and Michael Feda (Yanira); and great grandchildren, Lily Grace Feda, Parker James Feda, and Noah Matthew Feda. He was also predeceased by his brothers, Joseph and Anthony Sabia.

Dennis Sullivan (ScienceTeacher1976-1992)

Dennis Sullivan died on May 10, 2023. Dennis was a member of the RCDS Science Department from 1976 to 1992. Dennis leaves behind his wife, Rachel (Ivker) Sullivan, their daughter, Emily, and their son, Ben.

WEEKEND & REUNION

On October 19, all RCDS alumni are invited to reconnect with each other and the School during the Fall Fair & Homecoming. In the evening, alumni with graduation years ending in 4 and 9 will enjoy a special Reunion Cocktail Reception. The day will also include a special 50th Reunion celebration for the Class of 1974.

Return to campus

Connect with friends and faculty

Discover what’s new at the School Share Wildcat pride across the generations