Spring/Summer 2017

RCDS Spring/Summer 2017

Rye Country Day School 2017-2018

2017-2018

Board of Trustees

Alumni Executive Board

Andrea Sullivan

Scott Weiss ’96

President

President

Laura Mattson

Lauren Fortgang Mandell ’87

Vice President

Secretary

Gregg Felton

Melanie R. Baevsky ’07

Treasurer

Kristin Pisacano Casale ’85

Blanca Hirani

Ashok B. Chachra ’95

Secretary

Adam Friedlander ’79

Lisa Allen Brad Asness Nina Cheigh Hillary Hoffenberg Comora ’91 Sarah Dodds-Brown ’91 Edward Dunn ’83 William Featherston Jeff Hammel ’87 Michelle Kroin Michael Lazar ’87 Eric Medow Blair Endresen Metrailler ’96 Dennis Parker ’73 Juan Pujadas Jonathan Resnick ’85 Fernando Rivas Cindy Ganis Roskind ’90 Vik Sawhney Karen Sobel Lea Stevens Birgit Townley Andrew Wallach Scott Weiss ’96 Trustees Emeriti Edward B. Dunn Frederick A. Klingenstein Michael C. Murr

Jonathan Goldstein ’99 Robert M. Levine ’95 David A. Lamont ’99 Rene N. Lumley-Hall ’96 Brendan McGuire ’06 Lauren Fortgang Mandell ’87 Suzanne Cannistraro Napoli ’92 Andrew S. Nathanson ’09 Jonathan Ostrau ’80 Robin Quittell Ponticelli ’94 Max W. Schapiro ’04 Zachary Tax ’09 Alexander D. Valdes ’99 Daniel I. Wallance ’00 Melissa Mahoney Wirth ’97 Ex Officio: Honorary Faculty Gil A. Castagna, Jr. Ex Officio: Alumni Trustees Hillary Hoffenberg Comora ’91 Sarah Dodds-Brown ’91 Edward B. Dunn ’83 Jeffrey G. Hammel ’87 Dennis D. Parker ’73 Jonathan Resnick ’85 Cindy Ganis Roskind ’90 Ex Officio: Members Scott A. Nelson Headmaster

Carmen Ribera-Thain ’75

Lynette Gioffre

Edgar Wachenheim, III

Director of Development and Alumni Affairs

RCDS Spring/Summer 2017 Bulletin Editor: Susan Nelson Editor Alumni News: Lisa Hotte Young ’74 Proofreading: Lynette Gioffre, Sarah Istwany, Eliza McLaren, Kelly Melandro Contributors: Lisa Allen, Lori Ferguson, Jay Gerlach, Dick Mann, Corey Rubel, Lea Stevens, Ashley Zanon Photography: Aurelie Graillot Studio unless otherwise noted.

Design: Chave Design www.chavedesign.com

Contents 2 4 6 7 10 11 12 18 22 26 28 30

Upper School Graduation

Commencement Address

College Choices

Upper School Awards

Middle School Graduation

Fourth Grade Moving-Up

RCDS Signature Initiatives Global Studies Ethics Project The Institute Spring Sports

Wildcat News

Honoring Faculty and Staff

Saying Farewell to Linda Greenhouse Anne Sampson

32 34 36 38 40 41 42 44 45 46 48 60

Middle School Musical – The Lion King, Jr.

Spring One-Acts

Arts Celebration & Film Festival

Grandparents & Special Friends Day

New Trustees

Blue & Gold Dinner

RCDS on the Road in California Los Angeles & San Fran Receptions

Alumni Networking on Campus

The PA Year in Review

The Spring Benefit - RCDS Tonight!

Class Notes

In Memoriam

Spring Dance Concert

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1

2017 Upper

School

Graduation The Invocation was offered by alumna Jane S. Shuman ’69. Ms. Shuman is a Zen Buddhist Priest at Twining Vines Sangha in Purchase and Old Greenwich.

David Velona addressed the gathering as Class Speaker.

The Class of 2017 Parents’ Endowment Gift was presented by the committee’s co-chairs, from left, Laura Mattson, Gail Khosla, Cynthia Weber, and Farrel Starker. They announced that 99 percent of senior parents had contributed a total of $552,820 to the fund.

Scott Weiss ’96, vice president of the Alumni Executive Board, presented the Alumni Prize to: Hannes Boehning

2

Spring / Summer 2017

Kasey Luo

Daniel Leva

David Velona, Senior Class president, left, and Henry Shipman, Senior Class vice president, announced the Senior Gift. The bulk of the money collected by the class this year will be HSREXIH XS 6]I 'SYRXV] (E]´W ½RERGMEP EMH JYRH [MXL E WQEPP EQSYRX FIMRK WIX EWMHI XS provide the members of the Class of 2030 – this year’s Pre-K – with a pizza party upon their LMKL WGLSSP KVEHYEXMSR

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Commencement a d d r The 2017 Commencement Address was delivered by Anne Sampson, RCDS humanities teacher and grade 11 dean. In his introduction, Mr. Nelson noted that Ms. Sampson had been a “superb” classroom teacher, helping her students develop critical-thinking and writing skills. As dean of the Junior Class, Ms. Sampson has guided students in navigating the many demands of that stressful year, while also helping them maintain some balance and fun in the process. Last year marked Ms. Sampson’s final year of teaching; she retired after 20 years at RCDS. Following are her remarks:

Good Afternoon, members of the Board of Trustees, Mr. Nelson, faculty, family, friends and members of the Class of 2017.

I would like to begin by reading a simple poem that was written almost 50 years ago:

Now resting for the last moment In the cocoon of other years, The case seems indestructible, Unapproachable and yet Those who care to look within See the graceful, golden wind child, Wary of flight, lacking confidence In delicate wings, Who maintains, as a path to higher goals, Virtues a modern, swirling world condemns.

Determination is her key, she will conquer And fly.

My good friend and classmate, Susan Freisem, wrote that poem for my yearbook page. I was not unique. A friend composed a poem for every one of the 68 members of the class of 1969, and each tried to say something special that differentiated the individual from his or her peers. It struck me, as I prepared a class that explores the major cultural transformations of the 1960s, that the poem (minus, of course, the pure 60s flower-child allusion) speaks to the RCDS graduating class of 2017 as clearly as it spoke to me.

RCDS, like my high school, is a protective cocoon. I calculated that I have heard at least 30 times Mr. Wieman’s firm reminder that everyone should feel emotionally and physically safe 4

Spring 2017

at school, and I think that the faculty and staff does a superb job at both modeling and creating a warm and supportive atmosphere.

I know that I personally have benefited tremendously from my colleagues’ guidance, humor and support for the last 20 years.

Yes, it’s high school, and hurtful stuff happens, but my husband is always impressed when I come home with a story about a student who has stepped forward to tell an adult that there is an issue that concerns him or her. It is a quality of RCDS that close, supportive relationships often form between students and members of the faculty. Yes, we challenge and stretch you, and I am sure you have all experienced more than a few late nights and even some tears along the way, but I also suspect you know your teachers always “have had your back,” allowing you a few extra days to finish a project, prepare for a test, or to write a paper, and/or chasing you down when work does not get done. My alma mater was much the same. The support often comes in small, but significant ways. In seventh grade, I was a scrawny, insecure kid with a gap between my front teeth so large, I was convinced a pea could pass through without much damage. Needless to say, I did not smile much. One day I was going down the stairs to lunch and met Mr. Platt coming up the stairs. I smiled – how could you not smile at Mr. Platt?

He was so old, he had taught my dad, and he radiated good will.

He returned my smile and said, “Anne, you really ought to smile more. You have such a nice smile.” I am sure he did not remember the comment by the time he reached the top of the stairs, but I have never forgotten it. At the time, it gave confidence to a young girl “wary of flight” and definitely “lacking confidence in delicate wings,” but long term, I realized the importance of a smile. I cannot tell you how much your smiles, as we passed in the halls or as you entered my class, have brightened my day. I hope that each of you has experienced that kind of small, but transformative inter-

ess action with an adult while at RCDS, but whether you have or not, remember, a smile not only lifts the spirits of others, but can lift your own, as well. Those small gestures can have a big impact.

A cocoon is not only a protection against the outside world, it harbors a maturing, distinctive individual. I have watched you grow from squirming, cliquish ninth graders to a more cohesive class, filling to overflowing the Senior Lounge in ever-shifting groups. I have been impressed with your willingness, in these divisive times, to try to discuss your political and philosophical differences in civil tones. Members of the class have stepped forward to request spaces for public discussion and to push, successfully, for a course that explores the history of minority groups in this country. You are each unique individuals, but I have been impressed with your class spirit and with your can-do determination. When seniors handed you two humiliating defeats in the Junior-Senior Challenge your junior year, you came back en masse your senior year with determination and grit - despite the cold, gray weather – and, much to the chagrin of the junior dean, handed the current eleventh graders definitive defeats in both flag football and field hockey.

Individually, and as a group, you also have added to the silken threads that bind our RCDS community through the multiple ways you have reached out to others. In all my years of organizing Parents’ Night Out, I have never had so many juniors give up a couple of hours on a Friday night to play games with a record number of lower schoolers. You were terrific–engaged, responsive, and fully in control–although I am not sure you realized that amid the chaotic noise. You modeled for them the type of high school student they should aspire to be. You have given up Saturday mornings to participate in the SET program and to teach Port Chester youngsters to play an instrument. You have mentored middle-school students through a range of different programs, enriched neighborhood children in after-school classes, and shared your facility with language or mastery of particular subjects with underclassmen. While some of you have had the title and specific responsibility of being peer leaders, so many more of you have assumed the role of peer leader in the way you mentored and supported younger students on your sports teams, in drama rehearsals and dance classes, and during Advisory. You have lived within that cocoon, but you have, in so many ways, nurtured and strengthened it. You have modeled the RCDS motto, “Not for Self, But for Service.” Take that commitment out into the world with you, and, while it is a bigger pond, your dedication and commitment to others can make a difference.

Those “higher goals” alluded to in the poem, need not require great self sacrifice, but they do ask that you remain true to your values, look to the positive, and be appreciative. Probably the best way to illustrate what I mean is to tell two stories. My great, great, great uncle was caught up in the temperance movement in the 1830s and 1840s, and at one point in his life, he felt called by God to go and preach to lumberjacks working in the Poconos outside of Philadelphia, and so he traveled to their camp.

He was perhaps lucky that the men had moved on, as I am not sure how a rowdy bunch of loggers would have taken to a pious

Quaker preaching to them about the evils of drink; however, he found the camp empty. God had told him to speak, so he gave his temperance sermon to the empty clearing, and then turned around and walked home. Years later, at some kind of a reform conference in London, a man rushed up to him to say that my great, great, great uncle had saved his life. He had been behind a tree when my uncle started to preach. The man had not moved on with the others because he had been on a bender and only awoke to my uncle’s voice. The sermon had convinced him to change his ways, and he had gone on to lead a productive life. Of course, the point of this oft-told family tale is that you simply do not know, like Mr. Platt could not have known, what impact your actions and/or words will have on someone, but in adhering to what you perceive is right, your words and actions have potentially profound ripple effects.

The second story happened to me. It involves this silk rose. Over twenty years ago, when I worked at Baltimore Friends School, I taught a young man, a junior, who rarely earned a grade even in the B range. He sat on the far left wing of the arc of desks in a seat that students select either because they forgot their glasses and want to be near the board, or because they want to be out of the teacher’s line of vision. He rarely said anything, even when I called on him. At the end of the year, just before graduation, after grades had been submitted, I was in my classroom doing some final tidying up before vacation, and he arrived with this rose to thank me for a great year. He said he had enjoyed the class and learned a lot. I was flabbergasted. By the traditional measure of success, the class had NOT gone well for him. Yet, he had found a way to be enriched by the experience. I have kept the rose for two reasons. First, because it reminds me that even when I do not meet my desired goals, there are positive things I can take from the experience, as that young man did, and second, because, in the action of giving me that rose, he both underscored the importance of a thank you and validated me as a teacher. He strengthened those “fragile wings” noted in the poem and fueled my determination to look for the “silver lining.”

I suspect that as you sit here, about to break out of the RCDS cocoon, the great adventure that is college and your life beyond perhaps seem daunting prospects, and your wings delicate. But I hope that you will take with you the values imparted here and which you have so often demonstrated. I know from the determination I have seen from so many of you in the classroom, on the athletic fields, on stage, in community service, in so many venues, that you will find your own path. Determination is key, but I would hope that it extends to staying true to the moral code nurtured by your teachers and your parents, and that, like my distant uncle, doing what is right even if you do not believe anyone is watching. Like my former student, I hope you look for the good and always say thank you, and that you remember the value of a kind word or a smile. In those small, daily interactions with others there is power, not only to strengthen the wings of others, but your own as well.

Determination is YOUR key; you will conquer and fly.

Congratulations to the class of 2017. www.ryecountryday.org

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2017

American University

New York University (4)

Amherst College (2)

Northwestern University (2)

Bard College

Pennsylvania State University

Boston College

Pitzer College

Boston University (2)

Pomona College

College Choices Members of

Rochester Institute of Technology Skidmore College (2) Stanford University (2)

Bowdoin College

Trinity College

Brown University (2)

Trinity College, Dublin (IRE)

Bucknell University

Tufts University (3)

Claremont McKenna College

Tulane University

Day School’s

Colby College

University of California, Berkeley

Colgate University (3)

University of Chicago (3)

Class of 2017

Columbia University (2)

University of Michigan (2)

Cornell University (6)

University of Pennsylvania (6)

will be attending

Dartmouth College (2)

University of St. Andrews (UK)

Davidson College

University of Southern California (3)

the following

Duke University

University of Texas, Austin

Emerson College

University of Virginia

colleges

Franklin & Marshall College

University of Wisconsin, Madison

Gordon College

Vanderbilt University (2)

and universities:

Harvard University (5)

Wake Forest University

Haverford College

Washington & Lee University

Iona College

Washington University in St. Louis

Johns Hopkins University

Wesleyan University

Lafayette College

Yale University (3)

Rye Country

Lehigh University 6

Quinnipiac University

Spring / Summer 2017

2017 Upper School

The Dennis Parker Prize was awarded

by Mr. Parker (right) to Aminata Diane ’17 (second from left), and Remie Houston ’17.

Also pictured is Ali Morgan, RCDS director of Diversity and Inclusion.

Awards

The Headmaster’s Prize was presented by Headmaster Nelson (right) to Hanna Kopits ’17, Jack Mattson ’17, and CeCe Payne ’17.

RCDS Athletic Director Wendy Haft, right, presented the Richard Le Maire Award to Hannes Boehning ’17, and the Mary Borton Trophy to Taylor Regan ’17.

The Christine Nelson Award for outstanding citizenship was presented by Grade 10 Dean Ted Heintz, right, to sophomores Patricia Bautista ’19 and Lazlo Kopits ’19.

Awards The Alumni Prize The School’s highest honor. Awarded to that senior who has made the most outstanding contribution to the life of the School.

Hannes Boehning ’17 Daniel Leva ’17 Kasey Luo ’17

Dr. Sarah Danziger, Classics Departrment chair, center, presented the Latin Award to Cate Mollerus ’17 and Jack Briano ’17.

The Headmaster’s Prize

The Christine Nelson Award

Given to that student who models leadership, courage, or academic excellence.

Hanna Kopits ’17 Jack Mattson ’17 CeCe Payne ’17

Presented to tenth graders in recognition of outstanding citizenship.

Patricia Bautista ’19 Laszlo Kopits ’19

The Parents Association Prize In recognition of exemplary personal growth and service to others.

Alexander Goddard ’17 Jarvey O’Neill ’17 David Velona ’17

The James P. Godfrey Award Presented to that underclassman who has performed significant service on behalf of others.

Alonzo Diaz ’18 Paul Hadchiti ’18 Celeste Kelly ’18

The Mary Ann Reichhardt Memorial Award In memory of the School’s Director of College Counseling. Given to a senior for a combination of outstanding academics and contributions to the School.

Francis Tedeschi ’17

The Gretchen Pulvermann ’30 Scholarship Award Given to an accomplished senior who will study performing arts in college.

Angela Dogani ’17

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Department

Awards

The Will McCurdy ’05 Award (Courage, Character & Commitment) Thomas Moysak ’17 Ryan Zeplin ’17

The V. Janet Lott Spirit of the Theatre Award was awarded

by Jay Gerlach, chair of the Drama and Dance Department, center, to Angela Dogani ’17 and Alex Goddard ’17.

The Senior Dean’s Award Awarded to the senior who has made an outstanding contribution to the senior class and to the School during the senior year.

Daniel Aklog ’17 Natalie Alpert ’17 Drew Kesselmark ’17

The Class of 2008 Award Given annually to that freshman who has had the most positive influence in and outside of the classroom, noting his or her enthusiasm and dedication to school work and extracurricular activities.

Edward Burdick ’20 Valeria Morales Ciriaco ’20

The Dennis Parker ’73 Prize Given to a senior who has made our school community more inclusive by celebrating diversity, raising awareness about issues of equity and social justice, and inspiring others to recognize the humanity of all people.

Aminata Diane ’17 Remie Houston ’17

The Superintendent’s Award Given by the Lower Hudson Council of School Superintendents to two seniors for high academic achievement.

Elena Kim ’17 Enzo Stefanoni ’17

The Glen Robertson Award

(for faculty)

Jack Briano ’17 Cate Mollerus ’17

Computer Science Computer Science Award Matthew Molinelli ’18

Computer Achievement Award Max Mindich ’19 Helena Zimmerman ’19

Drama & Dance V. Janet Lott Spirit of the Theatre Award Given to that student who has contributed most onstage to the School’s drama program.

Angela Dogani ’17 Alexander Goddard ’17

Glen Robertson Memorial Award Presented to that student who has contributed most backstage to the School’s drama program.

Jarvey O’Neill ’17 Keith Pagnani ’17

Tia Gueye

Dance Award

Art

Presented to that student who has contributed most to the School’s dance program.

Remie Houston ’17 Drew Kesselmark ’17 Bennett Weber ’17

Photography Award Charles Capstick-Dale ’17 Douglas Kosann ’17 Madeline Madden ’17

English English Award

Videography Award

Jack Briano ’17 Catherine Kimmel ’17 Bennett Weber ’17

Cooper Yeager ’17

Lelia Carter Birrell ’68 Awards 2-D Studio Art

The Oberlin College Award

Stephanie Starker ’17

Presented to that sophomore who has excelled in the study of English.

Patricia Bautista ’19 William McPhail ’19

3-D Studio Art Elena Kim ’17

Classics

Creative Writing Award

Classics Award Forbes Crowley ’17 James Ishiguro ’17 David Velona ’17

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Latin Award

Spring / Summer 2017

The Robert Reeser Memorial Award in Math was presented to Jarvey O’Neill ’17 by Upper School Math Department Chair Tia Gueye, center, and Hope Reeser, Bob’s wife.

Gabriela Vascimini ’17

Humanities

Joshua Bennett ’06 Humanities Award Henry Cho ’17 David Velona ’17

Book Awards presenters and recipients

Cornelius Tacitus Prize Presented to that junior who has excelled in the study of humanities.

Harrison Kadish ’18 Jason Sheppard ’18 Christopher Ziac ’18

Mathematics

Natural Sciences Science Award James Kosann ’17 Kasey Luo ’17 Cate Mollerus ’17

Physical Education

Mathematics Award

The Mary Borton Trophy

Natalie Alpert ’17 James Kosann ’17

George Washington University Medal

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

Taylor Regan ’17

Presented to a junior with the highest average in mathematics.

Clayton Bass ’18 Charles Curnin ’18 Varun Wadhwa ’18

The Richard Le Maire Award

Robert Reeser Memorial Award

Book Awards

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

Jarvey O’Neill ’17

Modern Languages Elena Kim ’17

The Dartmouth College Book Award Matthew Molinelli ’18

Chinese Award Annabelle Liu ’18 Roxanne Mistry ’17

The Harvard University Book Award David Jensen ’18 Annabelle Liu ’18

French Award Kasey Luo ’17

The Johns Hopkins Alumni Prize Jason Sheppard ’18

Spanish Award Jack Briano ’17 Daniel Leva ’17

The University of Pennsylvania Book Award Jenna Cohen ’18

Music Music Award

The Princeton University Book Award Alexei Mentzer ’18

Kasey Luo ’17 Noah Swan ’17

David Velona ’17

John Philip Sousa Award James Ishiguro ’17

The Brown University Book Award Clayton Bass ’18 Madeline Zuber ’18 The Cornell University Book Award Charles Curnin ’18

Modern Languages Award

Choral Award

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

Hannes Boehning ’17

Upper School Principal Paul Wieman, center, presented The Will McCurdy ’05 Award to Thomas Moysak ’17, left, and Ryan Zeplin ’17.

The Wellesley College Book Award Sarah Walker ’18 The Yale University Book Award Varun Wadhwa ’18

www.ryecountryday.org

9

Middle School

Graduation

Amelia Jessop, eighth grade speaker, addressed her classmates.

Alexandria Dunkley, Eesha Narain, and Makayla Whealton.

Alex Harasimowicz

Paul Hadchiti ’18, president-elect of the Student Body, welcomed the graduates to the Upper School.

Gideon Prempeh, Ethan Stuart, Muhamed Ka, Charles Allen, Jason “JB” Russo, and Sebastian Jolly.

10

Spring / Summer 2017

Fourth Grade Pete Miller, Aedan Pearl, Connor Rusch, George Ballantoni and Alexander Rivas.

Moving-up Dr. deChabert, principal of the Middle 7GLSSP [IPGSQIH XLI VMWMRK ½JXL graders.

Henry Fogel received his diploma from Ms. Olson.

Penny Lazar and Maggie Nichols.

Eleanor Brown’s diploma came with a hug from Ms. Smith.

The Middle School choir.

www.ryecountryday.org

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Signature Initiatives Students Take on Global Issues

By Lori Ferguson

“Not for Self, But for Service.� It is the motto that informs every aspect of life at Rye Country Day School, as faculty and staff seek to imbue students with a lifelong passion for learning, understanding, and service in a world that is constantly evolving. Part of this important mission is served by RCDS’s Global Studies Program, whose trips are designed to expose students to cultures, natural environments and social and political systems around the world, thereby raising their awareness of their responsibilities as global citizens.

This year’s trips were no exception. In June, two dozen rising tenththrough-twelfth graders embarked on trips designed to expand their horizons and offer them a new appreciation for the challenges and opportunities that exist to create positive social change -- globally as well as locally.

From June 18 to 24, one group of eight students and two faculty journeyed to El Paso, Texas, for a program on border studies and immigration. “We started planning this trip last year, before the election,â€? says Global Studies Chair Alison Doernberg, “but in light of current events, it proved to be incredibly timely.â€? Over the course of the week, students met with community-based organizations in El Paso, as well as with other organizations that work with immigrants. “The students spoke to people who are intimateO\ LQYROYHG ZLWK LPPLJUDWLRQ DQG ERUGHU FRQWURO LVVXHV DQG OHDUQHG Ă€UVWKDQG about the challenges and opportunities they face,â€? says Ms. Doernberg. “We hope that their experiences will encourage leadership development DQG PHDQLQJIXO UHĂ HFWLRQ RQ ZKDW WKH\ DUH OHDUQLQJ DW 5&'6 Âľ At the same time, a second group of sixteen students and three faculty headed overseas to Sicily for a week-long ‘Intensive Study of Ancient Civilizations.’ The students visited a number of ancient sites and studied classical history under the tutelage of instructors from the Brooklyn--based Paideia Institute.

Part of this important mission is served by RCDS’s Global Studies Program, whose trips are designed to expose students to cultures, natural environments and social and political systems around the world, thereby raising their awareness of their responsibilities as global citizens.

12

Spring / Summer 2017

In the coming academic year, program participants will share their experiences at faculty meetings and talk about their observations with other members of the RCDS student body at ‘Wildcats Around the World’ lunch sessions. Already, however, participants are expressing enthusiasm for the experience and what they learned. “People are people,â€? noted Troy Kesselmark ’18, one of the students who traveled to Sicily. “A new culture may have a different way of living, but at the end of the day, we are all human‌. It’s the duty of a global citizen to welcome and celebrate RWKHU FXOWXUHV DQG , IHHO FRQĂ€GHQW WKDW , IXOĂ€OOHG P\ UHVSRQVLELOLW\ Âľ “I am very glad I enrolled in this trip,â€? agreed Kyle Castagna ’18, another member of the Sicilian group. “The things it taught me and the experiences I gained were really a once-in-a-lifetime chance for me.â€?

El Paso student participant Charlotte Townley ’19 also felt her travels were worthwhile. “The trip to El Paso was probably one of the most eye-opening experiences I’ve ever had,� says Townley. “I take Spanish in school, and immigration is all over the news, but that’s my only interaction with the topic. This trip put a human face on the issue, and it was inspiring – it really made me realize the depth and complexities of immigration and the challenges that those living the experience must face each day.�

Signature Initiatives Global Studies

El Paso

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Signature Initiatives Students on the Global Studies trip to Sicily toured its famous sites, integrating their knowledge of Latin language, history, literature, and, culture. As an introduction to Taormina, the group climbed Monte Tauro to see the Santuario Madonna della Roca and the Saracen castelo, once the site of Taormina’s ancient Greek acropolis.

Global Studies

Sicily On the way to Siracusa, the group stopped at a Greek theater, where they read a description of the landscape by Goethe with Mount Etna serving as a backdrop. They also translated and acted the prologue of a Roman comedy

by Plautus. At Naxos they viewed an archaeological excavation of an ancient dwelling.

At the Archeological Park in Siracusa, the students viewed a Greek theater and a Roman amphitheater and discussed gladiatorial and modern combat. They then explored the quarry, which features the Ear of Dionysius, a man-made cleft with unique acoustics.

The group before the Temple of Concord at Agrigento. The Vale di Templi is a UNESCO site.

A series of ancient tunnels lies beneath the Duomo on the island of Ortygia and only became known to the public after it was used as an air raid shelter during the Allied invasion in 1943.

Inside the theater at Segesta, students took turns reading from an oration by Cicero.

At the Chiesa di San Giovanni, they toured ancient Christian catacombs and the tomb of WKH Ă&#x;UVW %LVKRS RI 6\UDFXVH 14

Spring / Summer 2017

Signature Initiatives

Ethics Project

By Lori Ferguson

The

´7KH ÀUVW VWHS LQ WKH HYROXWLRQ RI HWKLFV LV D VHQVH RI VROLGDULW\ ZLWK RWKHU KXPDQ EHLQJV µ REVHUYHG $OEHUW 6FKZHLW]HU 7KH VHFRQG VWHS LW FRXOG EH DUJXHG LV XQGHUVWDQGLQJ KRZ WR H[HUFLVH RQH·V HWKLFV ZLWKLQ WKH ERXQGV RI VRFLHW\ ,W LV KHUH WKDW 5&'6 &ODVVLFV 'HSDUWPHQW &KDLU 6DUDK 'DQ]LJHU DQG 8SSHU 6FKRRO (QJOLVK WHDFKHU -HQQ\ +HDWK OHDGHUV RI 5\H &RXQWU\ 'D\·V (WKLFV 3URMHFW VHHN WR KDYH DQ RQJRLQJ LPSDFW RQ 5&'6 VWXGHQWV )RU WKH VHFRQG \HDU LQ D URZ 'U 'DQ]LJHU DQG 0V +HDWK OHG D VXPPHU HWKLFV UHWUHDW /DVW \HDU WKH SDLU OHG VWXGHQWV LQ DQ H[DPLQDWLRQ RI ELRHWKLFV 7KLV \HDU IURP -XQH WR WKH\ MRLQHG IRUFHV ZLWK D SDQHO RI RXWVLGH DXWKRULWLHV DQG IDFXOW\ LQVWUXFWRUV WR OHDG ULVLQJ VRSKRPRUHV MXQLRUV DQG VHQLRUV WKURXJK ¶(WKLFV LQ WKH 0HGLD · ´2YHU WKH FRXUVH RI WKH IRXU GD\ SURJUDP ZH ORRNHG DW HWKLFV IURP ERWK D WKHRUHWLFDO DQG SUDFWLFDO SHUVSHFWLYH µ VD\V 'U 'DQ]LJHU ´:H ZDQWHG WR SURYLGH VWXGHQWV ZLWK D JURXQGLQJ LQ HWKLFDO WKLQNLQJ DV ZHOO DV RIIHU WKHP WKH RSSRUWXQLW\ WR DSSO\ ZKDW WKH\ KDG OHDUQHG LQ UHDO ZRUOG VLWXDWLRQV µ 'XULQJ WKHLU IRXU GD\V WRJHWKHU SDUWLFLSDQWV ZUDQJOHG ZLWK VXFK TXHVWLRQV DV ¶:KDW DUH WKH HWKLFDO LPSOLFDWLRQV RI VXSSUHVVLQJ WKH QHZV"· ¶,V LW DOZD\V XQHWKLFDO WR KROG EDFN LQIRUPDWLRQ IURP WKH SXEOLF"· ¶,V LW HWKLFDO IRU PHGLD RXWOHWV WR HQGRUVH D SDUWLFXODU SROLWLFDO FDQGLGDWH"· DQG ¶:KDW DUH WKH HWKLFDO LPSOLFDWLRQV RI IDNH QHZV"· *XHVW VSHDNHUV LQFOXGHG +RZDUG 5 &DERW ² D GLVWLQJXLVKHG OLWLJDWRU VSHFLDOL]LQJ LQ DQWLWUXVW VHFXULWLHV DQG LQWHOOHFWXDO SURSHUW\ ODZ FODVV DFWLRQ VXLWV DQG WKH IDWKHU RI /RZHU 6FKRRO /HDUQLQJ 6SHFLDOLVW &RXUWQH\ &DERW ² ZKR GLVFXVVHG DSSOLFDWLRQV RI HWKLFV LQ WKH ODZ :LOO %DUGHHQ VHQLRU YLFH SUHVLGHQW RI 6WUDWHJ\ DQG 'HYHORSPHQW DW The New York Times SDUWLFLSDWHG DV ZHOO VSHDNLQJ WR VWXGHQWV DERXW WKH FROOLVLRQ EHWZHHQ SXUH UHSRUWLQJ DQG WKH EXVLQHVV VLGH RI WKH QHZV ´7KH H[SRVXUH WR UHDO ZRUOG SUHVHQWHUV ZKR VKDUHG H[DPSOHV RI WKH HWKLFDO GLOHPPDV WKH\ IDFH LQ WKHLU GD\ WR GD\ MREV ZDV UHDOO\ DQ H\H RSHQHU IRU WKH VWXGHQWV µ VD\V 0V +HDWK

Will Bardeen, senior vice president of Strategy and Development at The New York Times, discussed various aspects of reporting with the students.

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$IWHU VSHQGLQJ WKH ÀUVW GD\ JHWWLQJ D KDQGOH RQ WKH FRQFHSWV RI HWKLFDO WKLQNLQJ SDUWLFLSDQWV VSHQW WKH QH[W WKUHH GD\V DSSO\LQJ ZKDW WKH\ KDG OHDUQHG ´7KH VWXGHQWV ZHUH LQWHUHVWHG DWWHQWLYH DQG GHHSO\ HQJDJHG LQ WKH FRQWHQW µ 0V +HDWK HQWKXVHV ´7KH\ OLVWHQHG FDUHIXOO\ WR WKH VSHDNHUV DQG DVNHG JRRG TXHVWLRQV µ ´:H ZDQW WR KHOS VWXGHQWV GHYHORS D WUDQVIHUDEOH IUDPHZRUN IRU HWKLFDO GHFLVLRQ PDNLQJ µ VD\V 'U 'DQ]LJHU ´:H KRSH WKDW WKH VNLOOV WKH\ OHDUQHG GXULQJ WKH SURMHFW ZLOO HQDEOH WKHP WR YLHZ WKHLU 5&'6 FRXUVHZRUN WKURXJK DQ HWKLFDO OHQV DQG UHVSRQG DSSURSULDWHO\ LQ WKH IXWXUH ZKHQ FKDOOHQJLQJ LVVXHV DULVH µ Ethics Project participants, from left, James Lambert '20, Vladimir Reed '20, Sarah Walker '18, and Claire Slocum '19.

www.ryecountryday.org

15

Signature Initiatives

The Institute for Innovative Teaching and Learning

By Lori Ferguson

In 2016, RCDS launched The RCDS Institute for Innovative Teaching and Learning, an initiative designed to support faculty pursuing innovative methods to advance the School’s mission and values. With the pilot year of operation at a close, Director Eliza McLaren is assessing all that’s transpired, and she couldn’t be more delighted. The result of a practicum assignment that Ms. McLaren undertook as part of her master’s program in Educational Leadership from the Klingenstein Center at Teachers College, Columbia University, the Institute has blossomed LQWR D à RXULVKLQJ HQWLW\ WKDW VKH EHOLHYHV ZLOO deliver value to the Rye Country Day community for years to come.

The Institute came about, says Ms. McLaren, WKURXJK D FRQĂ XHQFH RI HYHQWV DQG IRUWXLWRXV timing. Bold Vision 2020 – the School’s current strategic plan and the driver behind the ongoing capital campaign, Advancing A Tradition of Excellence – called for a ‘Center for Excellence ZLWK D 3XUSRVH ¡ ZKLOH 0V 0F/DUHQ¡V PDVWHU¡V program required initiation of a project at her KRPH VFKRRO WKDW ZHQW EH\RQG KHU GD\ MRE DV director of marketing and communications. The Institute provided the perfect vehicle for serving these joint needs. ´$IWHU GLVFXVVLRQ ZLWK 6FRWW 1HOVRQ WKH KHDGmaster, and Ann Sullivan, associate head of VFKRRO DERXW KRZ WR PDNH D FHQWHU IRU LQQRYDWLRQ ZRUN DW 5\H &RXQWU\ 'D\ , VWUXFWXUHG WKH SURMHFW ZLWK WZR PDLQ JRDOV WR WLH WRJHWKHU RCDS’s current and future initiatives regarding character education, ethics, global studies, STEAM education, etc., and to provide more opportunities for faculty to lead and be drivers of innovation. Our faculty is an incredible resource, DQG , EHOLHYH ZH QHHG WR JLYH WKHP HYHU\ RSSRUWXQLW\ WR JURZ DQG OHDG LQ WHUPV RI DFDGHPLF programs.â€? Ms. McLaren is quick to point out, KRZHYHU WKDW WKH LQLWLDWLYH PXVW EH RI YDOXH WR WKH 6FKRRO DV ZHOO ´, GLGQ¡W ZDQW WKH ,QVWLWXWH to simply add additional requirements and paSHUZRUN WR WKH 6FKRRO , ZDQWHG LW WR HQKDQFH the learning experience for faculty and students at RCDS.â€?

16

Spring / Summer 2017

Ms. McLaren began the project by taking a careful look at existing practices. She and a small group of colleagues visited other schools, inFOXGLQJ 3KLOOLSV $FDGHP\ $QGRYHU 5LYHUGDOH Country School, and the McDonogh School, to VWXG\ WKH ZD\V LQ ZKLFK WKH\ HPSRZHU IDFXOW\ WR extend their ideas beyond individual classrooms and disciplines. “The composition of Andover’s 7DQJ ,QVWLWXWH ZKLFK LV FRPPLWWHG WR H[SORULQJ and advancing innovative approaches in teachLQJ DQG OHDUQLQJ ZDV D ELJ LQĂ XHQFH Âľ After surveying the existing landscape and forPXODWLQJ D SURJUDP WKDW VKH EHOLHYHG ZRXOG best serve RCDS, Ms. McLaren put out the call for faculty to submit project proposals. The reVSRQVH ZDV HQWKXVLDVWLF DQG Ă€YH SURMHFWV ZHUH selected to receive funding and support. InstrucWRUV NQRZQ DV ,QVWLWXWH )HOORZV ZHUH JLYHQ RQH VXPPHU DQG WKH IROORZLQJ \HDU WR Ă HVK RXW WKHLU LGHDV DQG EULQJ WKHP WR IUXLWLRQ ´, GLGQ¡W NQRZ ZKDW WR H[SHFW DV HDFK SURMHFW ZDV VR GLIIHUHQW EXW HYHU\WKLQJ ZHQW UHDOO\ ZHOO Âľ VD\V 0V 0F/DUHQ ´7KH IHOORZV ZHQW DERYH DQG EH\RQG LQ SDYing a path for future projects, and I think it’s only going to get better.â€?

(DFK SURMHFW XQGHUWDNHQ LQ WKH Ă€UVW \HDU KDV integrated into the programmatic life of the School, says Ms. McLaren, helping to evolve or change existing programs, just as she had hoped. ‘The Community of Innovative Teachers’ – an in-house professional development program focused on the science and art of teaching WKDW ZDV FRQFHLYHG E\ IHOORZV 6DUDK 'DQ]LJHU DQG .\OH 0LWVFKHOH ² ZDV YHU\ VXFFHVVIXO DQG LWV ZRUN ZLOO FDUU\ IRUZDUG LQWR WKH XSFRPLQJ \HDU “This project sponsored a number of in-house GHYHORSPHQW RSSRUWXQLWLHV ODVW \HDU DQG ZKHQ , looked around at the mix of teachers attending, , ZDV WKULOOHG 7KH FURVV SROOLQDWLRQ DPRQJ GLVFLplines is incredibly exciting.â€? ,QVWLWXWH )HOORZ 'LRQ 5HLG WKH DVVRFLDWH GLUHFWRU of college counseling, also recognized results from his project, ‘Amplifying Student Support,’ VD\V 0V 0F/DUHQ ´'LRQ ZDQWHG WR PRYH WKH QHHGOH ZLWK UHVSHFW WR WKH ZRUN EHLQJ GRQH around diversity and inclusion here at RCDS,

Signature Initiatives and the event that he held during last year’s Wildcat Weekend brought together some 80 parents, faculty, alumni, and current students to discuss these topics and how to better support the needs of all students.�

project was so successful that three more classURRPV ZLOO EH RXWÀWWHG QH[W \HDU ´:H¡UH FUHDWLQJ a community of experts who are familiar with ways to alter the learning environment in ways that increase effectiveness in teaching.�

‘Innovative Classroom,’ the project piloted by Institute Fellows Tia Gueye and Brian O’Callaghan, also proved fruitful. Using two classrooms as experimental labs, Dr. Gueye and Mr. O’Callaghan explored ways to enhance environments and furniture to optimize student engagement and collaboration. In the Upper School, for example, several faculty members are experimenting with highly mobile Node Chairs, which can be easily rearranged to accommodate various teaching styles. “You don’t often think of furniture as being an important part of the classroom environment,� concedes Ms. McLaren, “but this project showed that the type of furniture used can completely change the pedagogical approach.� The

“There are all sorts of conversations taking place in educational environments these days regarding how best to support teachers, and micro innovation tends to work well,â€? she continues. “I’ve heard from several fellows that being involved with the Institute has reinvigorated their teaching, which is so meaningful to me. My primary goal is for the Institute to prove empowering for teachHUV , ZDQW WKHLU LQYROYHPHQW WR EH D IXOĂ€OOLQJ experience and an opportunity for growth.

The faculty is the School’s best resource,�

Ms. McLaren concludes. “It’s important to nurture them.�

2016 - 17

&

2017 - 18

INSTITUTE PROJECTS

1. The Community of Innovative Teachers (2016-17) Sarah Danziger (US) and Kyle Mitschele (MS)

6. Mindfulness Toolkit for Teachers (2017-18) Monique Caterina (LS) and Sandy Castagna (LS)

2. Good Morning RCDS (2016-17) Tim Silverman (US/MS) and Corey Rubel (MS)

7. The Case Study Method: Student Decision-Making in the Classroom (2017-18) Clemmie Everett (US) and Charles Sliter (US)

3. Amplifying Student Support (2016-17) Dion Reid (US)

8. UPLIFT: A Mentoring Program for Girls of Color (2017-18) Aundrea Smith (LS) and Charaun Wills (US)

4. Digital Responsibility (2016-17) Jenny Heath (US) and Jason Leath (US)

%XLOGLQJ &RQÂżGHQFH 3HUIRUPDQFH DQG 3DUWLFLSDWLRQ LQ 67(0 'LVFLSOLQHV (2017-18) Kaori McManus (US), Joanne Ciuccio (MS), Jennifer Doran (US)

5. Designing Innovative Classrooms (2016-17) Tia Gueye (US) and Brian O’Callaghan (MS)

10. Makerspace Apprenticeship Program (2017-18) Chris Kaye (MS) and Katie O’Shaughnessey (US)

Institute Fellow Brian O’Callaghan works with his middle school social studies students in his classroom. Mr. O’Callaghan and his project partner, Upper School Math Department Chair Tia Gueye, are studying how to enhance classroom environments and furniture for optimal learning.

Institute Fellow Dion Reid welcomes RCDS community members to a student-support workshop held during Wildcat Weekend.

www.ryecountryday.org

17

2017 Team Records

+

Awards

Spring Sports W L T Varsity Baseball FAA League Champions FAA Tournament Champions

14

4

6

1

10

6

Boys’ Varsity Golf 2nd Place FAA Tournament 2nd Place NYSAIS Championship

7

3

Girls’ Varsity Golf

7

5

Boys’ Varsity Lacrosse FAA League Co-Champions NYSAIS League Champions

13

8

Girls’ Varsity Lacrosse

10

9

Boys’ Varsity Tennis

10

3

6

4

10

4

7

2

JV Baseball Varsity Softball

Boys’ JV Tennis Girls’ Varsity Tennis Girls’ JV Tennis

18

Spring / Summer 2017

1

Team Records continued

Boys’ Varsity Track & Field

Varsity Sailing

2nd Place at NYSAIS Championship

2nd in NY State Sailing Championship 3rd in CT State Sailing Championship

Girls’ Varsity Track & Field 17th Place at NYSAIS Championship

www.ryecountryday.org

19

All-League Recipients Baseball Joe Burns ’17 Enzo Stefanoni ’17 Owen Coady ’19, Honorable Mention Softball Kristen Brown ’17 Shane Tomaino ’18 CeCe Payne ’17, Honorable Mention Boys’ Golf Matt Yamin ’21 Nick Jindal ’18, Honorable Mention Eddie Massaro ’17, Honorable Mention Girls’ Golf Mackenzie Martin ’17,

Honorable Mention

Boys’ Lacrosse Thomas Chai ’17 Max Manning ’17 Isaac Sacks ’19 Henry Cho ’17, Honorable Mention 20

Spring / Summer 2017

Girls’ Lacrosse Emily Moran ’17 Charlotte Price ’20 Taylor Regan ’17 Laura Baine ’20, Honorable Mention Boys’ Tennis Will Roddy ’19 Gabe Smilovic ’19 Trevor Faulk ’17, Honorable Mention Girls’ Tennis Mia Hotsuki ’19 Sena Selby ’20 Kate Yamin ’18, Honorable Mention

Individual Honors Baseball Coaches Award: Joe Burns ’17 Wildcat Award: Enzo Stefanoni ’17 Con Edison Athlete of the Week: Enzo Stefanoni ’17 Con Edison Scholarship Award: Enzo Stefanoni ’17 Enzo Stefanoni ’17 pitched his 40th win in May, breaking the NY State record for all-time career wins.

He now holds the record at 43 wins.

Boys’ Tennis Coaches Award: Will Roddy ’19 Wildcat Award: Charlie Capstick-Dale ’17 FAA Doubles Champions: Jack Miller ’19 & Will Roddy ’19

Softball Coaches Award: CeCe Payne ’17 Wildcat Award: Kristen Brown ’17 WNEPSA: Kristen Brown ’17, Shane Tomaino ’18 Kristen Brown ’17 reached the all-time strikeout record of 220.

Boys’ Track & Field Coaches Award: Obosa Ogbeide ’17 Wildcat Award: Evander Jackson ’17 NYSAIS Champions: Evander Jackson ’17 (110 high hurdles); Jackson Brodwolf ’18, Cameron Coleman ’19, Cullen Coleman ’20, & Evander Jackson ’17 (4 x 100 relay) 2nd Place NYSAIS: Hannes Boehning ’17 (shot put & discus); Jackson Brodwolf ’18 (100 meter dash); Obosa Ogbeide ’17 (high jump)

Boys’ Golf Coaches Award: Nick Jindal ’17 Wildcat Award: Eddie Massaro ’17 NYSAIS Champion: Matt Yamin ’21 Matt Yamin ’21 and Charles Jolly ’19 qualified for the Federation Tournament.

Girls’ Tennis Coaches Award: Lily Rosen ’19 Wildcat Award: Kate Yamin ’18

Girls’ Track & Field Coaches Award: Drew Kesselmark ’17 Wildcat Award: Maddie Zuber ’18

Girls’ Golf Coaches Award: Natalie Alpert ’17 Wildcat Award: Sammie Bobman ’19 Boys’ Lacrosse Frank Effinger Award: Henry Cho ’17 Raymond Konopka Award: Thomas Chai ’17 WNESSLA: Thomas Chai ’17, Max Manning ’17 WNESSLA Honorable Mention: Henry Cho ’17, Isaac Sacks ’19 All-American: Thomas Chai ’17 Academic All-American: Henry Cho ’17 Thomas Chai ’17 is the all-time leader in goals, assists, and points, as well as the all-time leader in single season goals with 86. New record is 205 goals and 125 assists.

Girls’ Lacrosse Coaches Award: Sarah Walker ’18 Wildcat Award: Taylor Regan ’17 WNEPSWLA All Star: Emily Moran ’17, Taylor Regan ’17 Taylor Regan ’17 is the all-time leader in goals, assists, and points, as well as the all-time leader in single-season goals with 116 goals. New record is 334 goals and 122 assists.

Con Edison Athlete of the Week: Taylor Regan ’17 All-American: Taylor Regan ’17 Sailing Coaches Award: Celeste Kelly ’18 Ryan B. Mahoney Award: Cooper Yeager ’17

www.ryecountryday.org

21

Wildcat NEWS Research Published

Students Welcome Guest Speakers

Courtesy of Daisy Grossman

Junior Charlie Curnin’s work with the New York Genome Center’s Erlich Lab was recently published by Oxford University’s Bioinformatics. Charlie has been working with the lab intensively for 10 months, and has created a science research study at RCDS around this work. To read about Charlie’s research, go to the News & Publications page on the RCDS website.

Drs. Asher Bercow and Lauri Grossman with Sarah Colin and Daisy Grossman Courtesy of Daisy Grossman .

Courtesy of Charlie Curnin

The Pre-Medical Learning Club met with Dr. Asher Bercow, a pediatric critical care fellow, and Dr. Lauri Grossman, who practices homeopathic medicine, earlier in the spring. The club was started by sophomores Sarah Colin, Daisy Grossman, and Alex Medow to provide students with the opportunity to discuss bio-ethical issues in the community, as well as to practice diagnosing patients given a list of symptoms and family history. Dr. Bercow and Dr. Grossman discussed their daily lives and routines with the students, giving them a sense of what pursuing their goals would look like.

Sustainability Awards

22

Juniors Celeste Kelly and Kya Lloyd were recognized by the Westchester Chapter of the NAACP for their participation in the annual NAACP ACT-SO Competition. Celeste won a silver medal in Photography and a bronze medal in Original Essay, and Kya won a silver medal in Ceramics.

Courtesy of Ali Morgan

Courtesy of Kerry Linderoth

Rye Country Day was recognized as a Rye Healthy Yard by the City of Rye Sustainability Committee based on the School’s commitment to sustainable lawn care, resource conservation, and native plantings. Joining Headmaster Scott Nelson, Director of Sustainability Kerry Linderoth, and science teacher Amanda Sackey in the photo below are RCDS students whose designs received special recognition in the Rye Sustainability design contest.

ACT-SO Winners

Spring / Summer 2017

Wildcat NEWS Connecting Through Lacrosse The boys’ lacrosse team offered a clinic to a developing lacrosse program for middle schoolers in the Bronx. Coach Rosolen said, "I was especially proud to be their coach on a day like yesterday - they were ¿[LQJ VWLFNV WHDFKLQJ VNLOOV DQG HQFRXUDJLQJ WKHVH QHZFRPHUV WR WKH JDPH RI ODFURVVH

Courtesy of Kerry Linderoth

Courtesy of Matt Rosolen

+MZ\QĂ…ML ;KPWWTaIZL Habitat

The National Wildlife Federation (NWF) has recognized Rye Country 'D\ 6FKRRO DV D &HUWL¿HG 6FKRRO\DUG +DELWDW 7KH FHUWL¿FDWLRQ LV EDVHG on Rye Country Day’s commitment to transforming its schoolyard into a thriving wildlife habitat by providing essential elements needed by all wildlife – natural food sources, clean water, cover, and places to raise their young. The habitat also serves as an outdoor education site where students can engage in cross-curricular learning in a hands-on way. Some of the features that were recognized by the NWF include RCDS’s three campus gardens, bird feeders, birdbaths, rain barrels, bird houses, organic lawn care practices, pollinator gardens, and native plantings.

Courtesy of Kerry Linderoth

Sustainability Through Student Voices

Kerry Linderoth, director of sustainability, and students Ryan Stackpole '17 and Alonzo Diaz '18 presented at the NYSAIS Sustainability through Student Voices Conference at the Town School in NYC this spring. Their workshop was called “Community Engagement Through Sustainable Farming.� Alonzo talked about his project with the Port Chester Giving Garden, which was the result of his EE Ford Fellowship. Ryan discussed the sustainable farm he designed for AP Environmental Science last year and started building last summer at Wema Children’s Center in Kenya. Ms. Linderoth spoke about the Rye Country Day campus gardens, ACTION garden curriculum, collaboration with Flik, and partnerships with Stone Barns, Carver Center food pantry, and Our New Way Garden.

www.ryecountryday.org

23

ANNUAL FUND 2017-18

IT TAKES ALL OF US PLEASE MAKE YOUR GIFT TODAY

Every gift makes a difference in supporting the next generation of RCDS students. Annual Giving allows us to recruit and retain outstanding faculty, offer financial aid to deserving students, and fund programs in the arts, athletics, community service, and sustainability, to name a few.

24

To give, go to ryecountryday.org/give, Spring / Summer call2017914-925-4523,bor use the enclosedbenvelope.

Wildcat NEWS

Courtesy of SheBoss

Shane Tomaino '18 HDUQHG ¿UVW place in the Electrical and Mechanical Engineering Category of Physical Science in the International Science and Engineering Fair, the largest pre-college science fair in the world.

Shane represented RCDS with her innovative design for LifeSpin(TM), a FRPSUHKHQVLYH ZDWHU SXUL¿FDWLRQ DQG transportation system that has exciting, real-world applications.

Credit: Terry Mathis

International Science Recognition

Visiting Artist Program

At the Technovation Challenge in May, RCDS sophomores Cecilia van Paasschen, Georgia Mandell and Charlotte Townley won the Connecticut Regional Pitch for an app they designed. The Technovation Challenge is a competition that invites girls from all over the world to solve real-world problems using technology. The girls designed, developed, and pitched their app called SheBoss. “SheBoss is a crowdsourced, salary comparison tool for women. The user is prompted to input her profession and yearly salary, and then LV SURYLGHG ZLWK D 3UR¿OH SDJH WKDW VKRZV WKH SHUFHQWDJH WKDW she is making compared to a male counterpart.”

The Peridance Contemporary Dance Company from New York City performed for all three divisions as part of the Nancy and Roger L. Strong, Jr. Visiting Artists Program, which brings new artists to campus every year. The dancers delivered impressive and beautiful performances and then asked intriguing and thought-provoking questions of the students. A master class that was challenging and thoughtful was also held for the more advanced student-dancers.

College Bound Fourteen members of the Class of 2017 committed to continuing their athletic careers as student-athletes in outstanding college and university interscholastic programs. To see a list of their colleges, please visit ryecountryday.org/athletics/alumnni-athletes

Courtesy of Elizabeth Bennet

Courtesy of Ryan Kopreski

Technovation Challenge

www.ryecountryday.org

25

Honoring Faculty and Staff in 2017

At the Faculty/Staff Tea in early June, Headmaster Nelson recognized the milestones and accomplishments of members of the RCDS faculty and staff, and noted their many contributions to the School.

Summer Vacation Grant recipients included, from left, Denise Francella, Beatrice deSabatino, Katy Carroll, Karen Cosgrove, Margie DeStaso-Fazulak, Patty Oddoux, Dion Reid, Alison Doernberg, and Sarah Danziger. Missing: Bob Brody.

The Cohen Excellence in Teaching Awards were presented to, from left, Matt Cavanaugh, Mary Krasovec, Cathie Bischoff, Sarah Ingrassia, Mary Marcell, Georgette Summers, Monique Caterina, Susan Burns, and Corey Rubel.

Missing: Kyle Mitschele.

26

Spring / Summer 2017

Retirements Two faculty members were recognized on their retirement and thanked for their long-term commitment to the School.

Linda Greenhouse – 24 years Anne Sampson – 20 Years

Awards Martin Kleinbard Award:

The Frank Effinger Award:

Lower School: Sandy Castagna Middle School: Tim Silverman Upper School: Charaun Wills

John Calandros

Will McCurdy Advisors Award: Oliver Bloch and Jenny Heath

The Priscilla Liebman Award: The Cohen Excellence in Teaching Awards:

Karen Cosgrove

The Linda Grossman Award: Patty Oddoux

The Frank Effinger Award went to John Calandros, second from right. Headmaster Nelson presented the award, along with the award’s founder, Adam Friedlander ’79, left, and the award’s namesake, Frank Effinger, right.

Seniority Fellowships Denise Francella Brian O’Callaghan Catherine Scher Pam Sheehy Matt Suzuki

Susan Burns, Monique Caterina, Sara Ingrassia, Kyle Mitschele, Corey Rubel, Matt Cavanaugh, Mary Krasovec, Cathie Bischoff, Mary Marcell, and Georgette Summers.

Seniority Fellowships went to, from left, Denise Francella, Pam Sheehy, Brian O’Callaghan, and Matt Suzuki. Missing: Catherine Scher.

Linda Greenhouse was recognized upon her retirement after 23 years at RCDS.

Anne Sampson, retiring after 20 years, received congratulations and thanks from the Headmaster and her colleagues.

Summer Vacation Grants Bob Brody Katy Carroll Karen Cosgrove Sarah Danziger Beatrice deSabatino

Margie DeStaso-Fazulak Alison Doernberg Denise Francella Patty Oddoux Dion Reid

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Saying Farewell

Beloved teachers Linda

By Dick Mann

23

Linda Greenhouse

years

L

Linda Greenhouse’s 23-year career at RCDS ended with her retirement in June as she watched construction of the Cohen Center for the Creative Arts beginning. The new facility that will house all Middle School and Upper School art classes “exemplifies the commitment of the community to a strong arts program, which has made my time at RCDS so rewarding,” she says.

Linda had been chair of the Art Department since 2004.

She was raised in the Philadelphia area, graduated from Haverford High School, and earned a bachelor’s degree in art education from Penn State in 1972. She taught elementary school art in Norristown, Pa., for one year before moving to Westchester County, where she taught elementary school art in the White Plains school district for two years. Linda and her husband, Martin, also a Penn State alumnus, made the move “because we love the theater and arts in the New York area.”

Linda continued studies in the arts while raising Hillary (now a pet-selection adviser in New York) and David (now a congenital pediatric heart surgeon in Boston) before joining RCDS in 1992 as a maternity-leave replacement in the Art Department. She taught a broad range of classroom and studio courses from the Lower School through twelfth grade (with a two-year break from 1995 to 1997) before being named chair of the department 12 years later.

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Linda introduced an AP studio art course and an advanced honors photography course as she led the transition of the department from darkroom to digital photography, and also greatly expanded visibility of the arts on campus. She pioneered year-round art shows offering exhibits by faculty, staff, and alumni, as well as from the art students.

She also instituted a program of bringing wellknown visiting artists to campus to work with the students. Previous artists included David Eppley, an installation vinyl artist, and Big Nazo, a softsculpture group.

At the Faculty-Staff Tea, Linda Greenhouse was thanked by Mr. Nelson for her 23 years of service to RCDS. Haiti Lumiere de Demain (Light of Tomorrow) is a program in which Linda’s students exchanged art with students in Haiti as part of the RCDS Public Purpose initiative. Students also provide framed photos they have taken to Furniture Sharehouse, a Westchester program that helps the needy furnish and decorate their homes. And Linda enouraged her students to form Focal Point, a club that publishes books of student photography.

Retirement will result in more time for Linda to develop and exhibit her own work, explore more forms of art, assist others through volunteer programs and travel the U.S.

Greenhouse and Anne Sampson depart.

20

Ann Sampson

A

Anne Sampson retired from RCDS in June after a lifetime association with independent schools as a student, teacher and administrator.

For the past 20 years, she taught RCDS Upper School history, and since 2005 also was dean of the eleventh grade.

Anne grew up in the Philadelphia area and was a kindergarten-through-12th-grade student at the independent Germantown Friends School until attending Kirkland College — now Hamilton College — in Clinton, N.Y. She graduated with a BA in history in 1973, and later earned a master’s degree in history from Northwestern University and a master’s in education from Loyola University in Baltimore.

Anne was recognized by the Headmaster and her colleagues at the Faculty-Staff Tea. Her husband, Hugh, was a medical student whose career advancement took the couple to Chicago, then Durham, N.C., then Baltimore, and finally to the New York area, where he settled in as a pediatric allergist and food allergy researcher at Mt. Sinai School of Medicine. “For one thing, his research resulted in taking peanuts off airplanes to reduce the danger to those with allergies,” she says.

years

Baltimore Friends School before the couple moved to Westchester. She joined RCDS in 1997 to teach U.S. History and World Civilizations in the Upper School.

“With three teenage daughters, I was uniquely qualified to become the den mother (dean) of the eleventh grade,” she says. Noting that the eleventh grade is a “stressful year” for students, she developed “fun” programs to ease the tension. “It’s relatively easy here because the kids are great to work with, and Rye Country Day offers a lot of support for new ideas. It encourages innovation.”

She started the Junior-Senior Challenge, in which the girls play flag football and the boys play field hockey one day in November. Parents’ Night Out is a fund-raising program in which the junior class hosts youngsters in grades 1 through 3 for an evening of nine round-robin activities in the school gym. In team with junior-class leaders, Anne also organized and conducted breakfasts for the class at the end of each quarter.

More time with her five grandchildren, travel, sailboating, tennis, and perhaps some volunteer work loom high on Anne’s list for the future. Her new agenda starts with a trip to Australia and New Zealand this fall.

Anne’s career grew by teaching three years at North Shore Country Day School in Chicago, three years at Durham Academy, and nine years at

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Spring Dance

Spring Dance Happenings

By Ashley Zanon

This year's spring dance concert featured exciting performances that transported the audience

into the depths and expanses of the ocean through movement. Mermaids, jellyďŹ sh, sharks, crabs, pirates, tides, currents, ship wrecks and many more sources of inspiration were used to bring the movement on stage to life. The concert included performances in the styles of contemporary, modern, and jazz. The performances featured Cedar Street Dance Company, Upper School Art Elective and Physical Education Dance, as well as 7th and 8th Grade Physical Education Dance.

It was a wonderful, cross-divisional experience for all students involved.

Contemporary

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Spring / Summer 2017

modern

jazz

e Concert

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THE

Middle School Musical

By Corey Rubel

LION KING JR.

Disney's The Lion King has captivated the imagination of audiences around the world and this year, the seventh- and eighth-grade Integrated Performing Arts class shared its version of the story. From the "Circle of Life" to "Can You Feel the Love Tonight," The Lion King Jr. packed favorites from the well-known QSZMI ERH žEVI JVSQ XLI SVMKMREP &VSEH[E] TVSHYGXMSR This production was a true collaboration as students engaged themselves in the creative process to create characters, understand movement, and live within the culture set forth by the play. Musically directed by Mr. Coulianos and choreographed by Mrs. Zanon, the ensemble worked effortlessly to polish all aspects of the musical production. It was a wonderful performance and experience for all!

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Spring

By Jay Gerlach

The 2017 Upper School One-Acts served as the culminating project for student directors taking the Advanced Topics in Theatre class. Similar to last year, the OneActs were entirely directed, performed, and produced by the students. They were charged with selecting short, 10-minutes plays exploring the theme of “love.� The topics ranged from romantic relationships to family dynamics, friendships, and coping with loss.

One 34

Spring / Summer 2017

Acts www.ryecountryday.org

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ARTS

T

Film Festival

The Performing Arts Center was the location of a celebration of RCDS art in May. The PAC foyer showcased the AllSchool Art Show, which was vibrant with artwork from all three divisions. During the opening reception there, some of the young students participated in a scavenger hunt that required them to search among the pieces for answers to various questions. After the reception, the RCDS Film Festival in the PAC auditorium featured film presentations

by RCDS students, and then the annual Dance Concert followed, where RCDS dance students displayed their grace and athleticism on stage.

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Spring / Summer 2017

OCTOBER 21, 2017

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and

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Special Friends Day

Spring / Summer 2017

One hundred and ďŹ fty-one grandparents and special friends of students in grades K, 2, and 4 visited the Lower School in May, sitting in on classes and participating in various activities with their special students.

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N E W

T R U S T E E S

Lisa Allen Ms. Allen recently completed the second year of her term as president of the RCDS Parents Association. As such, she sat on the School’s Board of Trustees, where she has served on the Development, Nominating, and Communications committees, as well as the Marketing and Outreach Committee.

Ms. Allen is also a member of the School’s Annual Giving Committee. Prior to her term as president, Ms. Allen served a two-year term as secretary of the Parents Association. She has also worked on the School’s Parent Balance Committee and in various other Parents Association roles, including as a liaison, host family, and Wildcat Den volunteer, and as the Lower School liaison division coordinator, a Lower School photo book co-chair, and the Kindergarten lunchroom coordinator. Ms. Allen is an RCDS liaison for REACH Prep, and has served on the REACH Prep luncheon committee for the past four years.

Ms. Allen grew up in Denver and graduated from Colorado College with a B.A. in political science and a minor in contemporary French studies. After earning a J.D. degree from the Columbus School of Law at Catholic University, Ms. Allen practiced real estate law in Denver and then moved to London, where she practiced international corporate law. While abroad, Ms. Allen was actively involved with the Junior League of London.

Ms. Allen and her family moved to Rye in January 2007, and she continued volunteering for various organizations, including Midland Elementary School, Putnam Indian Field School, and the Rye Free Reading Room (as an Auxiliary Board member).

Ms. Allen and her husband, Julian, have two children, Charlie (Class of 2021) and Grace (Class of 2024).

Michael Lazar ’87 Mr. Lazar grew up in Rye and graduated from Rye Country Day School in 1987. He is a co-founder of BlackRock Kelso Capital Corporation and served as its chief operating officer from its formation in 2004. Mr. Lazar served on the company’s board of directors and as managing member of BlackRock Kelso Capital Advisors, the company’s investment advisor. Previously, Mr. Lazar was a partner at Kelso & Company, L.P., one of the oldest firms specializing in private equity investing.

Having originally joined Kelso & Company,

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Spring / Summer 2017

L.P. in 1993, Mr. Lazar was involved in Kelso & Company, L.P.’s private equity transactions since that time. Prior to joining Kelso & Company, L.P., Mr. Lazar worked at the predecessor to J.P. Morgan Securities, Inc. He began his career in the Corporate Finance and Structured Finance groups at Chemical Bank, where he focused on financings for leveraged companies.

Mr. Lazar received a B.A. degree, cum laude, from Dartmouth College. He has served as co-chair of the Leadership Council of the Naomi Berrie Diabetes Center at Columbia University Medical Center, as a member of the Dartmouth College Fund Committee and as a director of the New York Division of the March of Dimes. In addition, Mr. Lazar has served as a director on the boards of certain Kelso portfolio companies.

Mr. Lazar and his wife, Lauren, have lived in Greenwich for 15 years with their four children: Caroline (Class of 2024), Penny (Class of 2025), Robert, (Class of 2026) and Ryan (in pre-school). Mr. Lazar has served as president of the Rye Country Day School Alumni Executive Board and as a member of the Board of Trustees.

Lisa Allen

Blair Endresen Metrailler ’96 Ms. Metrailler attended RCDS for 14 years (Pre-K through Grade 12) and graduated in 1996. She was previously a member of the RCDS Alumni Executive Board and was inducted into the RCDS Hall of Fame for athletics. She is a class agent and alumni volunteer. Ms. Metrailler has served in several roles as an RCDS parent, including as a class liaison, a host family, co-chair of Wildcat Den Spirit Wear, and an Annual Giving volunteer.

Ms. Metrailler holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in government from Harvard College, where she was captain of the varsity squash team. After graduating, she worked in the Investment Banking Division and the Investment Management Division at Lehman Brothers and Barclays Capital. Ms. Metrailler currently serves as the co-chair of the Friends of Harvard Squash and was Leadership Gift co-chair for her reunion class at Harvard College. She is a co-chair of Young Friends of the New York Philharmonic Benefit Committee and was previously a member of the Rye Library Auxiliary Board.

She and her husband, Edouard, live in Purchase with their two children, Winn (Class of 2026) and Nina (Class of 2030).

Michael Lazar '87

Blair Endresen Metrailler '96

Angela Dogani and Jasleen Anand

Blue + Gold Dinner

The Class of 2017

This year’s seniors are engaged students, talented artists, accomplished athletes, have a strong commitment to public purpose, and they are now the newest alumni.

On May 31, the members of the Class of 2017 were feted at the annual Blue and Gold Dinner at Reid Castle at Manhattanville College, and welcomed to the RCDS Alumni Association.

The evening began with a performance by the senior members of the WildScats, Elizabeth Baxter, Kasey Luo, Remie Houston, CeCe Payne, Keith Pagnani, Noah Swan, Patrick Sullivan, and David Velona, including solos by Elizabeth, Patrick, and David.

Tables at dinner were set so that faculty and alumni would join the students. Following a toast by Senior Class President David Velona and Student Body President CeCe Payne, Michael Lazar '87, outgoing president of the Alumni Executive Board, welcomed the seniors and encouraged them to stay in touch with RCDS as they navigated their college and professional careers.

Upper School mathematics teacher Lauris Khan was chosen by

Lauris Khan, Upper School math teacher, addresses the gathering.

the senior class to deliver this year's remarks, and she reected on the closeness of the RCDS community.

As our 92 youngest alumni go off to college, they will be counting on newly elected Class Agents Drew Kesselmark, Daniel Leva, Kasey Luo, CeCe Payne, and David Velona to keep them connected to one another and to RCDS.

Alex Berger, Madeline Madden, Natalie Alpert, Bennie Weber, Meredith Doppelt, Stefanie Starker, Dylan Brickman, and Spencer Brickman.

L-R: Hannes Boehning, James Nash, Jared Jones, Thomas Chai, Noah Swan, Evander Jackson, Oboso Ogbeide, Forbes Crowley, and Joe Burns.

Class Agents Drew Kesselmark, CeCe Payne, Daniel Leva, Kasey Luo, and David Velona.

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41

RCDS on the Road in California

Photos courtesy of Lisa Young

Rye Country Day headed west in April to hold receptions in both San Francisco and Los Angeles. Faculty and administrators visited with over Ăþ EPYQRM ERH JVMIRHW [LS PMZI [SVO SV EXXIRH WGLSSP MR 'EPMJSVRME -X was a wonderful opportunity to meet alumni who don't often return to GEQTYW ERH KVIEX JYR JSV XLI EPYQRM ³ [LS WTERRIH XLI GPEWWIW SJ ÿ楹 XS ĀþÿĄ XS HMWGSZIV SXLIVW XLI] HMH RSX ORS[ [IVI RIMKLFSVW 8LI 6'(7 ZMWMXMRK XIEQ MRGPYHIH ,IEHQEWXIV 7GSXX 2IPWSR (MVIGXSV SJ (IZIPSTQIRX ERH %PYQRM %JJEMVW 0]RIXXI +MSJJVI %WWMWXERX (MVIGXSV JSV %PYQRM %JJEMVW 0MWE ,SXXI =SYRK ąĂ 'SEGL +MP 'EWXEKRE ERH 1YWMG (ITEVXQIRX 'LEMV 1EV] 1EVGIPP Gates Roberg-Clark '99 with Music Department Chair Mary Marcell.

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Rita Colimon '98 and Keith Calder '97.

Coach Gil Castagna with Alexandra and Chris Britt '91, sponsors of the San Francisco reception.

Steven Kornfeld '85, Gil Castagna, and Barbara Saunders '84.

Divya Krishnan '05, Anna Doud '07, Nealy Nimocks '10, and Pranav Sehgal '10.

Jake Wright '12, Mark Temple '12, and Michael Karr '16.

Headmaster Scott Nelson with Mark Read '80, Freya Read, and Ryan Burke '04.

San Francisco alumni gather at the Olympic Club's City Clubhouse.

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Spring / Summer 2017

‘• �‰‡Ž‡• Los Angeles alumni gather at the home of Lisa and Andrew Goldman '85.

Headmaster Scott Nelson with Marva Peterson Shearer, Class of 1934, sporting her new RCDS alumni cap.

From left, Los Angeles reception hosts Andrew Goldman '85 and his wife, Lisa, with Headmaster Scott Nelson, and Michael Weinsten '84.

Lowes Moore '11, Music Department Chair Mary Marcell, C.J. Gray '09, and Morgan McCall '98.

Director of Development and Alumni Affairs Lynette Gioffre with Jeffrey Goldman '87, Headmaster Scott Nelson, and Neil Tardio '82.

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ALUMNI NETWORKING ON

CAMPUS

RCDS is working to build a strong network for its alumni as they progress in their careers and consider opportunities after college.

In January, following a reception for alumni and faculty in the Athletic Center, members of the Class of 2017 met with young alumni to discuss life in college and beyond. The seniors asked thoughtful questions, and the panelists emphasized that their successes at college have depended on an open mind and willingness to adapt. Most revealed that the major they had anticipated choosing before going to college changed because of other opportunities that arose. This event is one of many opportunities the seniors will have to network with RCDS alumni. As graduates they will be able to access the RCDS LinkedIn group of over 625 members, as well as use the new platform, RCDS Alumni Advisor Network, to ask fellow alumni for resume critiques and mock interviews.

Young alumni panelists included: Donald Kyle ’81, Moderator, RCDS Upper School Dean; Alexandra Boillot ’08, Program Director, CitySquash; Christine Cunningham ’11, Cyber Systems Assessment Group/Asst. Staff Member, MIT/Lincoln Lab; Vanessa Jackson ’05, Associate/Corporate Group, Davis, Polk & Wardwell; John Paschall ’10, Sport Producer, NBC Sports; Hamill Serrant ’04, VP/Portfolio

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Spring / Summer 2017

& Algorithmic Trading, Sanford C. Bernstein; Michael Stewart ’09, High School Social Studies Teacher, Bronx Arena High School; and Ben Yelsey ’07, Senior Software Engineer, SeamlessDocs.

On the same evening, an alumni panel open to college graduates and older met in the PAC to discuss career moves within their fields, how changes in technology and social media have impacted their industries, networking strategies, and what factors to consider when thinking about a career change.

Alumni participating included: Jonathan Banner ’85, Moderator, Executive VP/Communications, PepsiCo; H. Robertson Barrett ’84, President of Digital Media, Hearst; Dr. Veronique Toyloy Brinson ’93 Internist, Montefiore Medical Group; Charles Fields ’88, Deputy Secretary for Business & Licensing, New York State Department of State; Sarah Gillman ’82, Chief Financial Officer, Children’s Aid Society; Nancy Miller ’86, Director & Associate General Counsel, TIAA Global Asset Management; Jonathan Rosenshine ’88, Associate Head of School, The Windward School; and Scott Weiss ’96, Director of Equity Sales, Barclays Capital.

The Parents Association

YEAR

1

in Review

By Lisa Allen

2 The RCDS Parents Association’s mission is to foster the relationship between the parent body and the School and to work in partnership with the School for the benefit of the RCDS community. To accomplish these ends, the Parents Association:

• $40,000 for an Upper School scholarship • $7,000 for the Faculty/Staff Holiday Gift Fund • $3,500 for assembly programs for students • $3,500 for the ACTION Program

• facilitates communication between parents and the School;

• $2,200 for music lesson scholarships

• develops and promotes a strong sense of community and school spirit; and

• $200,000 for the Advancing a Tradition of Excellence capital campaign

• raises funds for programs and events that enhance school life.

The Parents Association is also proud to award a special prize on Upper School Prize Day to a senior or seniors “who exhibit exemplary personal growth and service to others.” This year, the Parents Association prizes were awarded to Alexander Goddard 17, Jarvey O’Neill, and David Velona.

Funds raised in 2016-17 by the Parents Association supported the following programs, among others:

• $10,000 for Summer Grants for financial aid students

• $30,000 for faculty professional development grants • $40,000 for equipment grants

1

PA President Lisa Allen and the winners of this year’s Parents Association Prize, seniors Jarvey O’Neill, David Velona and Alexander Goddard.

2

Officers of the Parents Association, from left, Terri Kim (Secretary), Rosa Perkins (Vice President), Lisa Allen (President), Lea Stevens (President-Elect), Pilar Quintero (Treasurer).

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45

%<>5:3 1:1ŋ@ 2017

By Lea Stevens

RCDS Tonight Rocks the Capitol Theatre!

May 5, 2017 was a night to remember for Rye Country Day School when 575 parents, faculty, ơ Ƥ ǡ Ǥ Ƥ ǡ ơǦ ǡ ǯ Ǧ Ǥ

Ǧ Ǧ ǡ ǡ Dz Ǥdz Rye Country Day’s very own Jay Gerlach, director of the Drama and Dance Department, Ǥ ǡ Ǧ Ǥ Dz Ǥdz ǡ Ǧ ǡ Ǥ ǡ Ǥ ǡ ͆͛͘͠ǡ͘​͘​͘Ȅ Ǥ Ƥ Ǥ special thanks to: Bets Miller, Cathy O’Brien, Lea Stevens, Aileen Burdick, Christie Manning, Lea Medow, ǡ ǡ ǡ ǡ ǡ ǡ ǡ ǡ ǡ ǡ ǡ ǡ ǡ ǡ ǡ ǡ ǡ Ǥ Auctioneer Patrick Tully raised the excitement level offering one-of-a-kind auction items.

Jay Gerlach, the MC of RCDS Tonight, with his sidekick, Willy the Wildcat.

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Spring / Summer 2017

The Benefit was co-chaired by Bets Miller, Lea Stevens, and Cathy O’Brien.

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CLASS NOTES

1962

Michael Fackler joined a dozen fellow alumni when he sang with the RCDS Festival Chorus, a collaborative concert presented each January that includes students, alumni, faculty, staff, and current and past parents.

1963

Congratulations to Leigh Hallingby, who was named to the Special Libraries Association Hall of Fame at their annual conference in Phoenix in June 2017. Notes Leigh, “Such an honor today to be inducted into the Special Libraries Association Hall of Fame. SLA has long provided me with a peer group of information professionals, opportunities for leadership, valuable professional development, great networking, and wonderful friends.”

1965

Jeffrey Donaldson retired from the U.S. Army as Lieutenant Colonel. He and his wife, Vicki, live in Fayetteville, N.C., where Jeffrey works as a free-lance writer and consultant.

1966

David Pinkham recently collaborated with fellow photographer Cindy Wilson on a project entitled, “The Mills Project,” exploring the history of mills in the Blackstone Valley area of Rhode Island. Read more about this interesting look at history: http://bit.ly/2tN0DDu

67 Kenneth Park '92 and Kathie Albert Westpheling '67 at the HIMSS17 Conference in Orlando in February 2017.

In February, Kathie Westpheling attended the HIMSS17 conference (Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society). She writes, “While having a discussion with two of my fellow attendees about the media and latest issue of transgender bathrooms, we move on to where we are from. To my total shock and that of Kenneth’s, Dr. Kenneth Park ’92 and I discovered that we are both alumni of Rye Country Day School - 25 years apart. The only faculty we identified in common was our beloved Mr. Blair - our Latin teacher! I was happy to share the date of his 25th and my 50th reunion in October, and I look forward to seeing him again!”

Kathie is leading the 50th Reunion Committee, which includes Lory Jennings Gambrill, Barbara Howard, Joan Kerrigan, Nancy Benson McKittrick, and George Reed.

Unbeknownst to Kathie or Kenneth, Cindy Rosenwald ’72, a longtime member of the New Hampshire State House of Representatives, was at the same conference.

In May, Kathie and her husband, Paul, enjoyed a trip to Italy where they had a tour of the Vatican and then met Father David Murray for lunch. Kathie is doing her best to persuade David to come to Rye for Reunion 2017.

1967

50TH REUNION Barbara Howard’s involvement with RCDS includes her annual participation in the Festival Chorus Concert. a collaborative concert presented each January that includes students, alumni, faculty, staff, and current and past parents.

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67 Father David Murray '67 and Kathie Albert Westpheling'67 in Rome in May 2017.

1968

Marlene Kraemer Wurzbach writes, “My husband and I recently moved from Anna Maria Islands, Fla., to Sarasota. I still show my paintings on Anna Maria Islands at the Island Gallery West, as I have for the last ten years.”

1969

Ordained in 1997, Jane Shuman is a priest with the Zen congregation Twining Vines Sangha, which meets in Purchase and Old Greenwich, and she is involved in many areas of life at RDCS. In June, Jane gave the invocation at Upper School graduation; in January, she sang with the Festival Chorus; and she continues to serve as a Class Agent. When she made her gift to the Alumni Annual Fund this year, Jane noted, “I love the warmth

72

and diversity of the RCDS community and its dedication to service.”

Irina Schwatka '07, daughter of Diana Tompkins Schwatka '72, married Michael Straw in June 2017.

1970

If you watched American Masters: Jacques Pepin, the Art of Craft, in May 2017 on PBS, you also enjoyed the music of composer and RCDS Alumni Hall of Fame member Peter Golub!

1972

45TH REUNION

1973

Larry King reported in June 2017: “An amazing event ... my high school buddy and the first bass player I ever worked with, Paul Erhard, walked onto the cruise ship where I am currently performing! So great to be reunited after four decades ... he was as surprised to see me as I was to see him! And we both still look exactly as we did in the 10th Grade!”

Peter Abrons submitted an amusing story to the New York Times’ Metropolitan Diary, which ran it in May. You can read it at http://nyti.ms/2tJuE7L Special thanks to Diana Tompkins Schwatka and Richard Ricci for serving as Reunion chairs for the Class of 1972.

Diana's daughter, Irina Schwatka ’07, was married on June 24, 2017, to Michael Straw, near the Schwatkas’ weekend home on the North Fork of Long Island.

CLASS NOTES

73 Larry King '73 and Paul Erhard '73.

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CLASS NOTES

Dennis Parker and his daughter, Zoe Parker ’09, recently shared a Broadway evening when they took in A Bronx Tale, which features RCDS alumna Janelle McDermoth ’10 in the ensemble. Dennis is a member of the RCDS Board of Trustees and regular performer with the RCDS Festival Chorus.

1974

Leith Colton ’74 was featured in the Rye Record in March 2017 about her work at The Carver Center teaching mindfulness and wellness. You can read the article at http://bit.ly/2uJd6Gz

1975

Trish Lind Migliore writes, “My son, Patrick Migliore, just graduated from Boston University with a double degree in journalism and film and television and is working as an intern with The Podesta Group, a lobbying and public affairs firm in DC.” Recently Gordon Witkin ’73 met with Patrick to offer career advice and insight into life in DC.

73 From Left, Zoe Parker '09, Janelle McDermoth '10 and Dennis Parker '73 on the set of A Bronx Tale.

Gordon Witkin was pleased to meet Patrick Migliori, son of Trish Lind Migliori ’75, in Washington, D.C. for lunch and a conversation about D.C. careers.

73

1976

In November 2017, Robert Herbst will try for his 19th world title in powerlifting. Read more about Robert’s athletic career at http://lohud.us/2tJkAek While she was visiting the East coast from her home in Boulder, Colo., in June, Melanie Pray ’78 was pleased to re-connect with classmates Jamie Edgar ’78, and Jeff Linton ’76

76

Gordon Witkin '72 (right) with Patrick Migliori, son of Trish Lind Migliori '75.

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Spring / Summer 2017

Jamie Edgar ‘78, Melanie Pray '78, and Jeff Linton '76.

1977

40TH REUNION Excitement is building for the 40th Reunion of the Class of 1977 – with Mark Bonham, Amy Cole, and Vicki Khazzam serving as reunion chairs.

CLASS NOTES

In February 2017, Tova Snyder and her father, Sheldon, presented their paintings at the A.I. Friedman Gallery in Port Chester in an exhibit entitled, “Two Views: Father and Daughter.”

1979

Leslie Sacks Blaustein recently reconnected with Cynthia Gelinas Rothman ’78 and Roy Rothman ’78 at the Omni Plantation on Amelia Island, Fla., in April 2017. As Cynthia noted, “Leslie and I were Wildcat cheerleaders together many, many years ago.”

1980

77 Vicki Khazzam '77 and Amy Cole '77.

1978

In June, 2017, Jamie Edgar and Jeff Linton ’76 re-connected with Melanie Pray, who was visiting from her home in Colorado.

Cynthia Gelinas Rothman reports, "Leslie Sacks Blaustein ’79, Roy Rothman, and I enjoyed catching up at the Omni Plantation on Amelia Island, Fla., in April 2017. Leslie and I were Wildcat cheerleaders together many, many years ago."

John Tracy Egan has joined the cast of Hit Her With Skates, which opened in May 2017 at the Hamilton Stage in Rahway, N.J. Learn more at www.hitherwithskates.com. In June, John married his long-time partner, Juan Jose Ibarra.

1981

Departing from his daytime role as RCDS Upper School Dean of Students, Donald Kyle served as the moderator for the Young Alumni Career Panel in January 2017.

Stephanie Victor’s daughter, Shoshanna, will enter her junior year at RCDS in September. In January, Stephanie was one of a dozen RCDS alumni to participate in the annual Festival Chorus Concert.

1982

35TH REUNION Sarah Gillman, CFO of the Children’s Aid Society, was recently featured in an EXEMPT Magazine interview about non-profits: http://bit.ly/2mmPUvH In January 2017, Sarah was one of seven panelists featured at our alumni career networking event on campus, and she is serving on the Class of 1982 Reunion Committee, along with classmates, Deirdre Sheehan DeVita, Kevin Farrell, Andrew Getraer, Frank Hearn, and Brad Kimmelman.

78 Leslie Sacks Blaustein '79 and Cynthia Gelinas Rothman '78.

CLASS NOTES www.ryecountryday.org

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CLASS NOTES

1986

Congratulations to Martin Dockery on being named one of 15 Best of the Fest at Orlando Fringe 2017! Read more at http://bit.ly/2r4Agpl

82 The Class of '82 Reunion Committee, from left, Brad Kimmelman '82, Deirdre Sheehan DeVita '82, Andrew Getraer '82, Sarah Gillman '82, and Frank Hearn ‘82. (absent, Kevin Farrell ‘82).

1983

Congratulation to Andy Berkenfield ’83, CEO and partner at Duncan Channon, a San Francisco advertising agency. The agency was named 2016 Small Ad Agency of the Year by Advertising Age. Andrea Greer has served on the Alumni Executive Board and is a regular participant in the RCDS Festival Chorus Concert. In July 2017 Andie spent her vacation hiking in Peru.

1984

Thank you to Nancy Miller, associate general counsel at TIAA-CREF, who was one of seven featured panelists at the alumni career-networking event on campus is January.

1987

30TH REUNION The Class of 1987 Reunion Committee members Jeffrey Araten, David Boxenbaum, Jeff Hammel, Tich-Duong Huynh, Jana Pompadur Kierstead, Michael Lazar, Lauren Fortgang Mandell, Patricia Goldman Perini, and Michael Pisacano are reaching out to all members to the class to build a truly great event on October 21.

1988

Having re-located back to the East coast, Rob Barrett was happy to serve as a panelist at the January RCDS alumni career-networking event. Rob is the president of digital media for Hearst Newspapers.

Both Jon Rosenshine, assistant head of school at Windward School, and Charles Fields, NY State deputy secretary for business and licensing, were featured members of our alumni career-networking panel in January.

1985

1991

Special thanks to Jon Banner for moderating our alumni career-networking panel in January. Jon is the executive vice-president/communications at PepsiCo, and a member of the RCDS Alumni Hall of Fame.

52

Glen Pierson has been appointed to the Superior Court of Connecticut by Governor Dannel Malloy, and confirmed by the Connecticut General Assembly. Notes Glen, “I am looking forward to my new responsibilities after working as a civil litigator in private practice for 22 years, the last 17 of which were spent as a principal in the Connecticut law firm of Loughlin FitzGerald, P.C.”

Spring / Summer 2017

Tanya Southerland has been elected to the Mt. Vernon, N.Y., Library Board of Trustees.

CLASS NOTES

1992

25TH REUNION The 25th reunion celebration is being spearheaded by a terrific committee, including Laurie Pinkham Ballantoni, Michele Lallemand Brazil, Suzanne Cannistraro Napoli, and Carolyn Longbotham Russell.

Eric Lane was recently named co-chairman of the partnership committee at Goldman Sachs. Read more at http://read.bi/2kAdoMW Proving that you never know where you will meet another RCDS alum, Kenneth Park and Kathie Albert Westpheling ’67 don’t know who was more surprised when their professional discussion at the HIMSS Conference (Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society), led them to discover they were both RCDS alums. Although 25 years apart, they identified their Latin teacher, Mr. Blair, as the one teacher they had in common. They look forward to seeing each other at Reunion 2017. (See photo on page 48)

1993

Special thanks to Veronique Toyloy Brinson, an internist with the Montefiore Medical Group, who offered career advice at our alumni career-networking event in January.

Veronique, her husband, Bakari, and their children live in Larchmont, N.Y. Congratulations to Chelsea and Daryl Gioffre, whose daughter, Alea Hope Gioffre, was born on April 14, 2017.

93 The Pivotal Service Award, presented to Blythe Keeler Robinson '93.

1994 Thank you to Vanessa Kroll Bennett, who took the time to present the Wellesley College Book Award at Upper School Prize Day in June.

Christian De Gennaro has just been promoted to executive vice-president at IRIS.tv Read more at http://bit.ly/2mY1b3x

Congratulations to Blythe Keeler Robinson, who was honored on May 4, 2017, with the PIVOT Foundation’s Pivotal Service Award at their 1st Annual Women in Philanthropy Awards Brunch. The PIVOT Foundation’s mission is to empower women of color from under-served communities who have been displaced from their jobs or who are unemployed. Blythe is the Executive Director of Sheltering Arms in Atlanta, Georgia.

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CLASS NOTES

1997

Amy Wachenheim McCaffery, Scott Rosen, and Melissa Mahoney Wirth are spearheading the 25th Reunion celebration. If you have not heard from one of them, please contact the RCDS Alumni Office with your correct contact information.

1998

94 Dr. Tey Meadow '94

Dr. Tey Meadow led two workshops with students on Wednesday, April 12, at Upper School Health and Wellness Day. Tey is an assistant Professor of Sociology at Columbia University.

1996

Lindsey Averill received her Ph.D. in comparative studies in June 2017 from Florida State University. Lindsey’s documentary, Fattitude, premiered in May at the DOXA Film Festival. Her recent piece for CNN about fat shaming can be seen at http://cnn.it/2sxxTLL

Congratulations to David and Lindsay Sichel Rubinstein, who welcomed their second child, daughter Abigail, on March 3, 2017. Abigail joins older sister, Caroline.

2000

Peter Sherman is the founder and chef at BarBacon in NYC. His restaurant was recently featured on the Travel Channel. http://bit.ly/2reIqhf

2001

Congratulations to Nick Ward and his wife, Sarah, on the birth of their first child, Margaret Ann “Maggie” Ward, on July 6, 2017.

Nick Kroll’s Oh, Hello!, a smash on Broadway, premiered in June on Netflix. In February, Nick and Oh, Hello! co-star John Mulaney hosted the Independent Spirit Awards in Santa Monica, Calif.

Scott Weiss is the incoming president of the Rye Country Day Alumni Executive Board. For the last two years, Scott has served as vice-president and chair of the Alumni Fund, taking alumni fundraising to record participation each year. In January, Scott was a panelist at our alumni career-networking event on campus.

01 Nick Ward '01 and his daughter, Maggie.

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2002

15TH REUNION Leigh Endresen Morrison is leading the Class of 2002 reunion committee.

Congratulations to Paul Finley and Krista Montanari who were married in Lenox, Massachusetts, on January 21, 2017. Paul and Krista live in Keene, N.H., where Paul is the owner of Legendary Painting Plus, LLC.

Mrs. Bainbridge’s fourth grade cubby room. But it wasn’t until the summer of 2014, after they went off to separate colleges and law schools - she to Emory and Georgetown, and he to Cornell JD MBA - that the two reunited. In an East Village bar of all places, and coincidentally with RCDS friends in tow, Ruth and Kyle spotted each other and have been together since. The Doppelts tied the knot at the Lighthouse at Chelsea Piers, where the groom finally confessed in a speech to their guests that he always had a little crush on his new bride.”

Chris Younge’s Philadelphia restaurant, The Little Lion, took home The Best of the Chefs Award, the top prize at WHYY’s Best of the Chefs in March 2017.

2003

Leslie Finger earned her Ph.D. in political science from Harvard University in May 2017.

Casey Keeler recently wrote, “I am ecstatic to announce I will be playing Madame DuBonnet in the Blue Hill Troupe’s next production of The Boyfriend. I can’t wait to bring some French class and Parisian sass to Madame DuBonnet’s Finishing School this November and hope you all will be able to see how much high school French I can remember and if that widowed multimillionaire, Neal Young, *ever* loosens up! À bientôt mes amis!”

In January, Casey also participated in the annual RCDS Festival Chorus Concert.

Special thanks to Marc Weber, who hosted Hannah Kopits ’17 as an intern at his Stamford, Conn., catering and events company, OnTheMarc, during Senior Term in May, 2017.

2004

Kyle Doppelt and Ruth Buckingham Doppelt we married on Saturday, May 13, 2017, in New York City.

Classmate Meghan Cross shared these thoughts, “Both middle siblings of a combined eight Wildcats total, the two RCDS lifers met in 1995 in Mrs. Block and

04 Ruth Buckingham Doppelt '04 and Kyle Doppelt '04 on their wedding day.

Hamill Serrant is a vice-president at Sanford Bernstein & Company, in New York City. He was one of seven alumni on our Young Alumni Career Panel in January 2017.

2005

Marian Golden and Andrew Bongiovanni were married on February 11, 2017, in Brooklyn. Marian works in Manhattan as a freelance visual effects coordinator on movies and television shows. Andrew is a project manager with M.A. Bongiovanni, a family-owned general contracting firm based in Syracuse, N.Y. Vanessa Jackson is an associate at the law firm of Davis, Polk, and Wardwell. In January 2017, she was a panelist on our Young Alumni Career Panel.

CLASS NOTES www.ryecountryday.org

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CLASS NOTES

2006

Wedding bells rang on June 25, 2017, for Rachel Greenburg and Matthew Geller. Rachel is a program manager at Cities of Service, an organization in Manhattan that provides grants and technical support for cities, and Matthew is a designer at Boschen Design Architecture in Manhattan.

In April 2017, former head of the RCDS Drama Department, Cary Fuller H ’89, was pleased to visit with Karen Eilbacher and Robi Hager backstage at the National Theatre in Washington, D. C. Karen and Robi are in the national touring company of Fun Home, which won 5 Tony Awards including Best Musical in 2015.

Arika Madouras Prime teaches computer science in the Middle and Upper Schools at RCDS and is the web projects manager. She is also one of a dozen alumni who sing in the annual RCDS Festival Chorus Concert.

Brooks Vardell graduated from The Ohio State University College of Veterinary Medicine in 2016. In July 2017, Brooks moved to Gordonsville, Va., where she is an associate veterinarian at Keswick Equine Clinic.

2007

10TH REUNION Have you heard from the Class of 2007 Reunion Committee about your upcoming 10th Reunion? Reed Endresen, and Megan Savage Gaffney have teamed up to make sure this is a great event!

When making her gift to the Alumni Annual Fund, Courtney Bannerot noted, “I’m proud to be an alumna of a school that gave me lifelong friendships and fostered a spirit of service in all of us.” Courtney recently received her MBA and MPH from Yale University.

06

Daryl Berke lives in Washington, D.C., where he is an attorney with the law firm of Feldesman, Tucker, Leifer, Fidell LLP.

Karen Eilbacher '06, Cary Fuller H '89, and Robi Hager '06 backstage at Fun Home in Washington, D.C.

In April, Chiamaka Nwakeze visited with RCDS students in all three divisions to discuss character, ethics, and leadership. The 2010 Commencement speaker at Harvard University, Chiamaka entered the NIH Partnership MD/ PhD Training Program in July, beginning with two years of medical school at Harvard. Her message underscored the value of an RCDS education and the importance of empathy. You can watch the video at http://bit.ly/2sGEx6F A special thank you to Andrew Moelis, who presented the University of Pennsylvania Book Award at Upper School Prize Day in June.

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07 Meghan Nelson '07 married William Welles in May 2017.

Wedding bells rang in Edgartown, Massachusetts on May 27, 2017, for Meghan Nelson and William Welles.

Meghan is the executive producer at SuperBright, a creative technology studio in Brooklyn. In May, Meghan hosted Callum Ellard ’17 for an internship during Senior Term.

Irina Schwatka and Michael Straw were married on the North Fork of Long Island on June 24, 2017. (See photo on page 49) Ben Yelsey was on campus in January 2017 as a panelist on the Young Alumni Career Panel. Ben is a senior software engineer at SeamlessDocs.

2008

Special thanks to Alexandra Boillot, program director at CitySquash, for participating in the Young Alumni Career Panel in January 2017. In May, Alexandra hosted Caroline Kimmel ’17 and Cristina Johnson ’17 as interns during Senior Term.

Rachel Groh received her MBA and MA in Education from Stanford University in June.

2009

The twin DJs Angel and Dren, known at RCDS as Angilique and Andrenne Coleman, have been making news across the country, including this piece in the Los Angeles Times: http://lat.ms/2sWWR8n. In June 2017, Andrenne returned to RCDS to present the Dartmouth College Book Award at Upper School Prize Day. CJ Gray used Facetime in April 2017, to video conference with the Upper School Economics and Politics class and talk about private equity and his experience in the industry. According to teacher Clemmie Everett, “C.J. was fantastic - he was able to get right on the students’ level and make concepts relatable to them. They were excited about it and had plenty of questions - in fact the 40 minutes flew by and it seemed like all of a sudden, we

09 CJ Gray '09 used Facetime to address an Upper School Economics and Politics class.

had to get ourselves to the next class and let CJ get back to work.”

Julia Lindon provided the Upper School Peer Leaders with a terrific improvisation workshop on April 18 as part of their leadership training program.

Zoe Parker ’09 and Dennis Parker ’73, recently visited Janelle McDermoth ’10 on the set of A Bronx Tale, to congratulate her on her terrific performance in her Broadway debut. (See photo on page 50) Denny Purcell, and Anna Whitehouse presented the Harvard University and Brown University Book Awards, respectively, at Upper School Prize Day in June.

Special thanks to Michael Schumaker who hosted Jesse Lefebvre ’17, Frank Tedeschi ’17, and Ryan Zeplin ’17 as interns in May during Senior Term. Michael is the product manager at Vestorly, a technology firm focused on the financial industry.

CLASS NOTES www.ryecountryday.org

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CLASS NOTES

Michael Stewart was one of seven alumni on our Young Alumni Career Panel in January 2017. Michael teaches social studies at Bronx Arena High School.

2010

Renyelle Jiminez received her Master’s in Education from Teachers College, Columbia University in May 2017.

Congratulations to Janelle McDermoth who, in her Broadway debut, has joined the cast of A Bronx Tale.

Janelle was happy to see Zoe Parker ’09 and Dennis Parker ’73 at a recent performance. (See photo on p.50) In January 2017, Jon Paschall, served on the panel at our Young Alumni Career Networking event. Jon is a sports producer for NBC Sports.

2011

Christine Cunningham works in the Lincoln Lab at MIT in Cambridge, Mass. In January 2017, she joined a panel of seven alumni at our Young Alumni Career Networking event.

Ryan Herbst ran the Boston Marathon in April 2017, raising more than $8,600 for the Martin Richard Foundation, named for the youngest of three people killed in the 2013 Boston Marathon bombings.

2012

5TH REUNION Samantha Abreu, Sarah Abreu, and Chris Farley are spearheading the committee for their class’s first official RCDS reunion. Watch for the class Facebook page.

Erica Baevsky presented the Cornell University Book Award at Upper School Prize Day in June.

Elizabeth Baker graduated from Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. She has accepted a position in Washington, D.C., as the Social Media Coordinator for the National Association for Music Education.

David Cho graduated from West Point on May 27, 2017.

He was pictured on the front page of the May 26 edition of the Journal News during graduation week activities.

Marisol Dahl was presented the Yale University Book Award at Upper School Prize Day in June.

Paul Fanto presented the Princeton University Book Award at Upper School Prize Day in June. Paul is a graduate student in physics at Yale and recently had his first peer-reviewed article published. In March, Paul was awarded a DOE NNSA (Department of Energy National Nuclear Security Administration) Stewardship Science Graduate Fellowship. This award is presented to students pursuing a Ph.D. in areas critical to stewardship science.

The fellowship’s stated goal is to “build a community of talented and committed doctoral students, program alumni, DOE laboratory staff and university researchers who share a common goal to further their science while advancing national defense.”

12 David Cho '12 during graduation week activities at West Point.

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CLASS NOTES

Andrew Mollerus and his brother, Matthew Mollerus ’13, have been named to the U.S. Sailing team. Read more about their accomplishment at http://bit.ly/2mMOXP1

2013

Anthony Carbone presented the Johns Hopkins Book Award at Upper School Prize Day in June.

Matthew Mollerus and his brother, Andrew Mollerus ’12, were recently named to the U.S. Sailing team. Read more about it at http://bit.ly/2mMOXP1

2014

Cynthia Luo is the youngest of a dozen alumni who participated in the January 2017 Festival Chorus concert.

15 Amira Smith '15

Avery Wagman was named March 2017 Student Athlete of the Month at Amherst College.

2015

Tara Berger who was named NESCAC All Academic and also received the NESCAC All Sportsmanship Award for women’s basketball, winter 2016-17. She was recently elected co-captain for her upcoming junior season. Tara represented the USA in Israel in July on the Maccabi Open Women’s Basketball Team.

2016

Congratulations to Cornell freshman and track and field team member, Jinjer Pearce, who earned a spot in the second team All-Ivy honors! Read more at http://bit.ly/2tqqOxP

Amira Smith volunteered in the Alumni and Development Office during the last week of the 2016-17 Alumni Annual Fund campaign, and helped the School reach a record 27 percent alumni participation in this year’s fund.

www.ryecountryday.org

59

In Memoriam Alumni Waldo Brighton Jones ’46, of Passe-a-Grille, Fla., and Whitingham,Vt., passed away on May 18, 2017. Born in New York City and raised in Greenhaven, Waldo combined her love of children and a passion for education into a career in education, ultimately retiring in 1991 as the head of the Lower School at Ripposam Cisqua School. There, she was known for her hallmark start to each day: greeting hundreds of children by name, always with a firm handshake. Pre-deceased by her husband, James, Waldo is survived by her children, Kinnon Williamson, Hutton Cole, and Britton Jones; seven grandchildren and two great-granddaughters.

Jane Paige Weld ’59, passed away at her home in Brooklyn, N.Y., on January 24, 2017, following a long illness. Jane was a trailblazer whose commitment to gender equality bloomed early. At age 18, she defeated an all- male sailing fleet in the International One Design class, a feat that was noted in Sports Illustrated. Jane worked at many levels in New York State government before running for the New York State Assembly in 1972, a race she lost despite endorsements from The New York Times and the Daily News. She enrolled in law school at Columbia University in 1973, where she was thrilled to work with then-Professor Ruth Bader Ginsburg on the initial sex-based discrimination case taken to the U.S. Supreme Court. Jane is survived by her sister, Rae Paige Schwarz ’63; her husband, Jonathan; their children, Elizabeth and Eric; and four grandchildren.

Kathy Wooster Elmblad ’70, of Grand Junction, Colo., died on April 16, 2017 surrounded by her family and close friends. Kathy's lifelong love of

music was sparked by the 1965 Beatles concert at Shea Stadium in 1965, an event she attended with at least one RCDS classmate. Kathy is survived by her husband, Bill; their three daughters, Denise, Christina, and Ashley; and by three grandchildren.

Neil Maxwell ’70, passed away on February 9, 2017, at Greenwich Hospital after a long battle with pancreatic cancer. Neil is survived by his wife, Paula; their daughter, Hayley; and his sisters, Karen Larsen and Leslie Aderson.

Charles Gulden ’79, of New Canaan, Conn., passed away unexpectedly on June 21, 2017. Chuck was a partner at Boomerang Capital in New York City, and an active volunteer in his community. He is survived by his wife of thirty years, Jennifer Wentzel Gulden; and their daughters, Whitney and Abigail.

Marc Osten ’80, of Amherst, Mass., passed away on April 19, 2017, following a tragic accident. Both a video blogger and a chef, Marc is best remembered for his community activism and his passion for educating others on environmental issues and the importance of local advocacy. Marc is survived by his wife, Colleen; their children, Olive and Daniel; his mother, Renee; and his sister, Caren Osten Gerszberg ’82.

Louis G. Altman ’84, of Rye Beach, N.H., died Sunday, July 2, 2017, at Portsmouth Regional Hospital. He was the loving husband of Amy Dee Pruszenski Altman.

Friends Cornelia "Connie" Barr passed away peacefully on May 29, 2017. Devoted to her family, Connie loved to share her passions for travel and the arts with her children and grandchildren. Predeceased by her husband, Thomas, she is survived by her children, Daniel Barr ’74, Anne Barr Hotz ’77, Robert Barr, and Sally Barr; and by four grandchildren, Andrew Barr, David Barr, Christopher Hotz-Berrier and Michael Hotz.

Barbara Berlanti, former staff member, passed away on May 6, 2017, in Palm Desert, Calif. Barbara is survived by her husband Gene; her daughter, Dina; her son, Greg Berlanti ’90; and three grandchildren.

Frances "Fay" Gray, a 60-year resident of Rye, passed away on April 3, 2017.

Avid tennis player and active community volunteer, she is survived by her husband, John; sons Robert Hennes ’71, former RCDS trustee Duncan Hennes ’74, and Theodore Hennes; six grandchildren, including William Hennes ’02, DJ Hennes ’05, and Andrew Hennes ’06; and one great-granddaughter.

Edelgarde V. Gumpel died on February 16, 2017, at the age of 91. Edelgarde is survived by her son, Peter Gumpel ’73. A funeral service was held in Vienna, Austria, in March, and she was laid to rest in Greenwood Union Cemetery in Rye in April.

Vivian Kabcenell, mother of Ellen Kabcenell Wayne ’71 and Brian Kabcenell ’74, passed away in May 2017.

Samuel Peabody, former RCDS Lower School principal from 1963-1973, died peacefully on May 3, 2017, in New York City. He is survived by his daughter, Elizabeth Peabody; his brother, Malcolm Peabody Jr.; and by many nieces and nephews. He was predeceased by his wife, Judy; his sister, Marietta Tree; and his brothers, Endicott "Chub" Peabody and George Peabody.

George Razook of Rye, N.Y., died on May 13, 2017, with his wife and children by his side. Longtime president of Razook's, the well-known designer

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clothing chain, George is survived by his beloved wife, Claudia; his children, Leslie Razook Eschricht ’71, Bradley Razook ’74, and Lauren Razook Roth ’77; and by eight grandsons, including George Razook ’03, Charlie Razook ’05, Christopher Razook ’08, and Harry Razook ’10.

Josette "Mimi" Trenchard passed away on June 20, 2017, in Summit, N.J. Mimi was an accomplished bridge player and was named a Life Master in 2016. She was also an avid runner, competing in dozens of marathons and many fifty-plus mile ultramarathons, and a gourmet cook. She is survived by her sons, Robert Trenchard ’87, and William Trenchard ’93; and her grandchildren, Elizabeth, Cole, Amelia, and Riley.

Angela Ule, wife of Maxwell Ule ’57, passed away on April 8, 2017, while in hospice care near her home in Cornwell Bridge, Conn.. A lifelong world traveler, Angela loved joining Max in discovering furnishings for their New York City home on their travels in England and beyond. A memorial service was held in Canaan, Conn., in June.

Lee Weinsten, of Wycliffe Country Club in Wellington, Fla., passed away on March 6, 2017. Lee was married for 32 years to her beloved husband, Milton, until his death in 1994. Lee was an avid tennis player and animal lover. She leaves behind her devoted sons, Mark Weinsten ’81, Michael Weinsten ’83, and Jeffrey Weinsten; and her cherished grandchildren, Melanie, Alexandra, Nicole, Lauren, Olivia, Randall, and Elizabeth.

Jane Bachman Wulf, known as Bambi, died at home on June 10, 2017. A groundbreaking magazine journalist, Jane worked for many years at Sports Illustrated and Time magazine before her retirement in 2009. Never one to sit still for long, she went back to school and earned an M.A. in education from Manhattanville College. She is survived by her husband of 32 years, Steve Wulf; their four children, Robert Wulf ’04, John Wulf ’08, Elizabeth Wulf ’13, and Eve Wulf ’13; and her parents, Elizabeth and Robert Bachman.

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