RYE COUNTRY DAY SCHOOL:
The Rye Country Day School campus was a busy place again this summer with a variety of programs and activities throughout June and July.
The Rye Country Day School campus was a busy place again this summer with a variety of programs and activities throughout June and July.
The school held its two-week Mini-Camp activities and weeklong Wildcat Camp sports programs. Many faculty and staff participated in the annual Digital Wave professional development technology workshops in early June.
The RCDS Summer School, offering accelerated courses in math, review courses in math and English, and driver’s education classes, completed a six-week session. On a different part of the campus, Rye Country Day hosted Academic ACTION, an enrichment program for 75 middle-school students from several public schools in Westchester and the Bronx.
As in previous summers, Rye Country Day made its facilities available to various community groups. The Port Chester Council for the Arts youth theater program returned to stage several performances of two different productions in the Dunn Performing Art Center in July; New York City-based Prep for Prep held its annual summer outing involving 150 students; and REACH Prep conducted its three-week Symposium for REACH students attending high school.
In addition, the Rye Y used school facilities for staff orientation and training in late June. Rye Recreation conducted a one-week field hockey camp, while Rye Youth Soccer held a soccer camp on the RCDS athletic fields. Play Smart Academy also conducted its one-week sports program on the campus.
Following last summer’s major renovations of the Klingenstein Library, two dining rooms, and Upper School Art Room, there was little construction activity on the campus this year.
As always, faculty were busy pursuing a variety of professional development activities this summer, including technology and math workshops; courses at Teachers College on the teaching of reading and writing; sustainability workshops; summer graduate studies; curriculum development for individual courses; and Rye Country Day’s own curriculum mapping project.
NEW FACULTY & STAFF
Upper School
Tameka Farrell
Science
Ms. Farrell joins the Science Department from Hewitt School in New York, where she taught chemistry, developed STEM curricula, and coached the Science Olympiad.
Tia Gueye
Math
Previously, Ms. Gueye served as Deputy Head of School at EF Academy in Tarrytown, where she also taught math.
Renyelle Jimenez
Teaching Fellow
Ms. Jimenez returns to her alma mater as a teaching fellow in the English Department. She previously served as a teaching fellow at Success Academy charter school in the Bronx.
Iain Pollock
English
A published poet, Mr. Pollock comes to Rye Country Day from Springside Chestnut Hill Academy in Philadelphia, where he taught English.
Mary Ross
Science
Dr. Ross worked previously at Deerfield Academy, where she taught chemistry.
Charles Sliter
Humanities
Mr. Sliter previously taught history at the Masters School in Dobbs Ferry and at School of the Holy Child, where he chaired the History Department.
Middle School
Brandon Saltz
Science
After serving as a long-term substitute last year, Mr. Saltz joins the Middle School as a member of the Science Department.
Lower School
Elizabeth Baldelli
Assistant Teacher
Ms. Baldelli comes to Rye Country Day from New Lebanon School in Greenwich.
Courtney Cabot
Learning Specialist
Ms. Cabot previously served as the Lower School Learning Specialist at the Children’s Day School in San Francisco.
Kate Dembowski
Learning Specialist
Ms. Dembowski served as a lead classroom teacher and Instructional Specialist for the Harrison public schools.
Brittany Fitzgerald
Assistant Teacher
Ms. Fitzgerald joins Rye Country Day after serving as an assistant teacher at Greenwich Country Day School.
Emily Greenspan
Grade 3
Most recently, Ms. Greenspan taught Grade 4 at Beekman Hill International School in New York City.
Jamie Klein
Assistant Teacher
Ms. Klein is a recent graduate of Pennsylvania State University.
Melissa Stoll
Assistant Teacher
Ms. Stoll is a recent graduate of the University of Delaware.
