RCDS News

RCDS Welcomes Visiting Artist

Rye Country Day School is excited to welcome back former RCDS student and Broadway star Jimmy Tate as the first Visiting Artist under a new annual program generously funded by a current RCDS family.  

At age 13 Jimmy Tate began studying tap dancing with Tony award winner Danny Daniels, and then with muti-Tony winner Henry LeTang. He first appeared on Broadway playing the title role in "The Tap Dance Kid"  and then went on to appear in "Big River," "Jelly's Last Jam," "Bring in 'da Noise Bring in 'da Funk," and "Riverdance."   

Jimmy has been teaching tap for over 12 years, first starting at Broadway Dance Center. He then moved on to teach at, and run his own studio for six years. In addition, Jimmy has done workshops, master classes, and choreography for dozens of studios across the country. 

During next week Jimmy will be teaching tap to the middle and upper school dance classes and sharing his dancing talents with students in all three divisions.

RCDS Students Take Honors at Science Fair

Six Rye Country Day students were recognized for their work at the Tri-County Science Fair held at White Plains High School on April 24.

Swathi Krishnan '11 won first place in the Health/Medicine division for her project, entitled "Development of a Novel Listeria-Caspose-3 DNA Vaccine to Eradicate Metastatic Breast Cancer." Her project was also named 5^th  best of all high school entries.

Jonathan Kligman '11 and Samisha Bansal '11, competing in the same  Environmental Science division, both managed to win first place in a tie. Jonathan’s project was entitled "Carbon Economic Intensity and Carbon Emissions in the Transportation Sector,” and Samisha’s was "Calculating the Feasibility of a Solar Power System for School Use."

In the Middle School competition, eighth graders Henry Townley, Lily Velona and Sophia Yanis won recognition for their research. Henry won 3rd place in the Biology division for his project entitled, "Instrumental, Vocal, Music, or Silence. Which is Best?" Lily took second place in the Biology division for her project, "Effect of Character Size on Test-Taking Sills." And Sophia won second place in the Environmental division with her project, "Memory Mnemonics."

Fund-Raising in Fashion for RCDS Students

Spring has brought several fashion fund-raisers to Westchester, spearheaded by Rye Country Day students.

Juniors Nicole Kaye and Amanda Shulman put their love of fashion to work recently, organizing a show at Neiman Marcus in White Plains that raised over $24,000 for Backpack Buddies, a program of the Children’s Hope Chest. More than 100 young women and their mothers attended the show, where 15 Rye Country Day students modeled the latest in beautiful clothes.

The Backpack Buddies program provides school supplies and backpacks for underprivileged children throughout Westchester County. Nicole and Amanda will now spend part of the summer purchasing the supplies, and assembling and delivering the backpacks to the various organizations that have requested them.

Another fashion fund-raiser initiative happened just recently at Bloomingdales, where male and female RCDS students representing *GOPiNK modeled prom fashions and collected donations of new and gently used prom dresses for Operation Prom.  *GOPiNK is the junior committee of Women at Risk, an organization that supports breast cancer research. The student organizers of the *GOPiNK fashion show were junior Ali Farber and sophomore Erica Baevsky.

First Graders Study City

As part of their curriculum, students in first grade learn about the city of Rye. They begin by walking downtown with their teachers to observe the architecture of the buildings on Purchase Street and to discuss the buildings’ various uses.  Then each student is given a store on Purchase Street to learn about. They interview their store’s owner, and construct a model of their store in class. Once all the models are finished, Purchase Street is recreated down the hallway in the RCDS Lower School, and parents and guests are invited to admire the children’s work.

In March, Rye Mayor Douglas French toured the miniature main street, praising the students’ accuracy and attention to detail.

The next unit of study in Grade 1 will examine Rye’s resources and how they are used, as well as how garbage and recycling are handled.

Varsity Basketball Wins Twin Championships: 

The NYSAISAA basketball tournament championship games at the Fieldston School on Sunday, March 7th proved to be an exciting and historic event for the Rye Country Day Wildcats.

In the opening championship game the girls' varsity basketball team , which was seeded fifth, easily defeated the number one seeded team, Immaculata, by a score of 38-24. This is the second consecutive NYSAIS state championship for the girls!

Later in the afternoon the third-seeded boy's varsity basketball team made its first-ever appearance in the NYSAIS championship game, facing Friends Seminary from Manhattan. The boys' team also rose to the challenge, dominating the top-seeded team from the very start and winning by a score of 58-42.

Congratulations to the girls' varsity basketball team and coaches Bob TeCarr and Kate Abromovitch on their second NYSAISAA Championship, and to the boys' varsity basketball team and coaches Vin Minotti, Rich Alin, and Kyle Marion on their first NYSAISAA Championship!!    

Rye Record Articles:
Girls' Basketball Story
Boys' Basketball Story

RCDS Athletes Honored for Academics:

The National Field Hockey Coaches Association recently named four Rye Country Day School seniors to the Association’s High School National Academic Squad. The RCDS honorees, Isabel Beshar, Hannah Loewentheil, Nealy Nimocks and Katie Sandling, led their team to a NYSAIS state championship last fall. To qualify for the National Academic Squad, a senior varsity player must achieve a grade point average of at least 3.5 and be nominated by her coach. The RCDS varsity field hockey coach, Georgette Summers, notes that this recognition is richly deserved, saying, “Isabel, Hannah, Katie and Nealy set a new standard for working hard on the field and in the classroom.”

(l to r): Isable Beshar, Katie Sandling,
Nealy Nimocks, Hannah Loewentheil

Annual Concert Celebrates 15th Anniversary

 Rye Country Day School’s 2010 Festival Chorus concert, entitled War and Peace, took place on Sunday, January 24th, to a packed house in the school’s Performing Arts Center. Celebrating its 15th year, this community chorus combines student voices from its Upper School Concert Choir with an adult choir of RCDS community members, including current and past parents, alumni, faculty and staff, and friends. This year 180 performers participated. With a professional orchestra providing the music, the chorus performed beautiful renditions of pieces chosen from Haydn's Mass in Time of War, as well as other music related to the theme. Featured soloists included RCDS alumnae Samantha Grenell-Zaidman '02, and Dani Hager '02. Proceeds from the Festival Chorus Concert ($3,200) will be donated to AmeriCares' relief efforts in Haiti.

View Media Gallery

RCDS Responds to Haiti Crisis 

Rye Country Day School will coordinate its efforts to address the Haitian earthquake crisis by raising funds for AmeriCares – Haiti Emergency Relief Fund.  RCDS also supported AmeriCares during the previous crises of hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005, and Darfur in 2006.  In order to meet emerging needs most efficiently, the School will conduct fund-raisers only, rather than collecting goods for Haiti.

AmeriCares is regarded as one of the most effective agencies in addressing humanitarian crises worldwide.   It has provided humanitarian aid to Haiti for over 25 years.  AmeriCares has an “A” rating from the American Institute of Philanthropy, and four stars from Charity Navtigator.  Over 98 percent of funds raised by AmeriCares goes directly into its programs.  For further information about the organization, please see the following Web site: www.americares.org

The Haiti crisis will be addressed in age-appropriate ways in all three divisions. RCDS projects currently being planned include student-led food sales, raffles, dress down days, coin drives, read-a-thons, and several others.

Members of the RCDS community who would like to support our efforts individually are also encouraged to donate as follows:

• Please make checks payable to AmeriCares (not RCDS).
• Please write “Haiti Emergency Relief Fund” in the memo section.
• Please submit checks to Ms. Anita Walsh, Director of Community Service.

If you have questions about these efforts, please contact Ms. Walsh at (914) 925-4594 or via email at anita_walsh@ryecountryday.org.

A Generous Week at RCDS 

Rye Country Day students participated in their traditional, weeklong fund-raising effort called Generosity Week just before winter break in December. Over 20 upper school student groups and clubs  planned activities to benefit local and national organizations. Examples included a toy drive and holiday party for WestHELP Greenburgh, a coat drive for New York Cares, a fencing team party for the patients at Blythedale Children’s hospital, a poetry reading at the Port Chester Nursing Home, a write-a-thon for Amnesty International, and sales of everything from raffle tickets to popcorn to latkes for the Tropical Rainforest Coalition, One Family Fund, MADD, New Rochelle Humane Society, Home for Our Troops, Save the Children, and Women at Risk. Lower and middle school students participated in the all-campus coat drive, and the lower school collected toys for WestHELP, and the fourth graders wrapped all the packages. While the week focuses more on service and raising awareness than on just raising funds, the sales brought in approximately $2,500 for their various charities.  Once again RCDS students have modeled the school’s motto: Not for Self, But for Service. View Media Gallery

RCDS Athletic Trainer Honored Twice  

Steve Norman, Rye Country Day School’s head athletic trainer, was recently honored by the Eastern Athletic Trainers Association (EATA) and by the New York State Athletic Trainers Association (NYSATA). 

EATA presented Mr. Norman with its Micro-Bio Medics Henry Shein Award, which is awarded annually to a certified athletic trainer who has made outstanding contributions to the profession on the secondary or prep school level. Mr. Norman, who has worked as the head trainer at RCDS for the past 16 years, has established an innovative program there dealing with injury rehabilitation and implementation of the IMPACT concussion management program.

NYSATA honored Mr. Norman by inducting him into the association’s Hall of Fame. Inductees must have been members of the National Athletic Trainers Association for at least 15 years and have served as an athletic trainer in New York State for ten years. Other requirements for its hall of fame include professional involvement with NYSATA, presentations at conferences and workshops, and serving as a role model for other athletic trainers.

Mr. Norman received his B.S. in Physical Education from SUNY Cortland and an M.E. degree in Administration of Physical Education and Athletics and an M.A. in Physical Education Curriculum and Teaching from Columbia University. Prior to joining the athletic department at Rye Country Day School, Mr. Norman served on the athletic training staff at Columbia University.

Rye Country Day Students Featured at All-State Festival

Rye Country Day School was well represented at the 2009 New York State School Music Association All-State Winter Conference held in Rochester, NY, on December 3rd - 6th, as three seniors, Kristi Licare, Janelle McDermoth, and Julia Sayles, were selected to perform in solo and ensemble venues.

Kristi Licare performed on alto saxophone in the All-State Jazz Ensemble. One of two saxophone players statewide, she was also selected for the All-State Wind Ensemble on clarinet. Kristi performed in the 2008 All-State Symphonic Band on clarinet and served as an alternate in the Jazz Ensemble, also on alto saxophone. At Rye Country Day, she is a co-president of the Band and Jazz Band and a member of the Concert Choir. Kristi is a captain of the girls’ varsity fencing team for the third consecutive year, is a member of the varsity softball team, student instructor in the Digital Wave program, and is a Peer Leader. She studies saxophone with Alexander McCabe at Rye Country Day and clarinet with Laura Flax at the Juilliard School Pre-College division, where she is a member of the Pre-College Symphony and Chamber Music program.

A Fond Farewell 

RCDS AP Scholars Recognized 

Eighty-eight Rye Country Day students have been recognized by the College Board’s  2009 Advanced Placement Program for their outstanding achievement on the college-level Advanced Placement Exams.

6 AP National Scholars (having received grades of “4” or higher on eight or more AP Exams): Grayson Clary, David Fertig, William Lassman, Flora McDavid, Dennis Purcell, Jacob Stavis

40 Scholars with Distinction (having received grades of “3” or higher on five or more AP Exams): Erica Adler, Heidi Alpert, Marni Aronson, Jacqueline Baron, Alba Berenguer, Lucy Braid, Anthony Carbone, Alexander Cardone, Grayson Clary, David Fertig, Joshua Geller, Daniele Gold, Kelly Gordon, Christopher Gray, Daniel Judd, Michael Kahn, Alec Khan, Madeleine Knight, Becky Lange, William Lassman, Ann Lubben, Carole Mariani, Flora McDavid, Max Ortwein, Matthew Peterson, Amanda Platek, Dennis Purcell, Daniel Samet, Alexander Shapiro, Jacob Shulman, Jacob Stavis, Sanford Sternberg, Michael Stewart, Susan Temple, Eugene Vinitsky, Rachel Watson ’09, Anna Whitehouse-Lewis, Alyssa Wohl, Jason Wong, Kathryn Yates

19 AP Scholars with Honor (having received grades of “3” or higher on four or more AP Exams): Emily Arons, Rachel Blumer, Amanda Cole, Adam Colombo, Kathryn Cordiano, Maria de Lera Fernandez, Adlee Fayyaz, Jena Goettisheim, James Grasso, Lindsay Haut, Sarah Houis, Rachael Jelley, Zachary Lattanzio, Julia Lindon, Jonathan Madorsky, Conor McDade, Laura Pantaleo, Scott Wieman, Matthew Wolff

29 AP Scholars (having received grades of “3” or higher on three or more AP Exams): Lila Abboud, Farima Alidadi, Deelan Ayhan, Isabel Beshar, Sarah Black, Ryan Blatt, Andrenne Coleman, Jessica DiChiacchio, John Holland, Cody Levine, Hannah Loewentheil, Janelle McDermoth, Sarah Nelson, Suzanne Nimocks, Jake Rattner, Alex Rieger, Melinda Roy, Katherine Sandling, T.J. Sarda, Julia Sayles, Andrew Schneider, Christopher Seter, Samantha Stone, Caroline Stoupnitzky, Miles Suleman, Miranda Tecklin, Elizabeth Tepler, Stephanie Whittemore, Alexander Zavoluk

Student Honored for Service:  Senior Elexa Antweil was one of just ten student volunteers honored county-wide at the Westchester County Youth Board’s 2009 Milly Kibrick Youth Service Awards Dinner, held on October 21 at the Davenport Club in New Rochelle. The evening’s program noted, "In all her endeavors, Elexa has distinguished herself as a proactive leader. . . . Whether in the classroom or the community at large, Elexa naturally applies her energy, intelligence and positive attitude to make her school and community better." Elexa, a consistent volunteer in the Rye Country Day community service program, has devoted over 420 hours to service so far during her high school years. She is a three-time recipient of the school’s Founder’s Award for community service, and has also received the school’s 2008 Christine Nelson Award for outstanding citizenship, and the 2009 James P. Godfrey Award for significant service on behalf of others.

Elexa with her parents, Mark and Susie Antweil, at the awards dinner.