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Eighth grade students were treated to a special music workshop by Andrew Beall, an international composer and soloist, who filled the school’s auditorium with Broadway tunes on June 3. 

During his visit, Beall discussed his inspirations behind his music, shared how he started out in the industry and played a variety of songs from his musicals. In addition, he talked about the creative process and challenged the students to sing along to a song from his musical “Goodbye New York.”  

“An extraordinarily talented and accomplished young man, Andrew shared his knowledge with our students,” Principal Eric Lutinski said. “He travels and performs with world-class symphonies throughout the world, and his musicals, starring Tony-award winning actors, are captivating audiences in the states and abroad.” 

Two of Beall’s three musicals were produced last season. His first musical, “Song of Solomon,” recently finished a sold-out run at the Thespis New York Festival, where it was nominated for best musical. His second musical, “Goodbye New York,” will receive its premiere production in Kansas City in 2020. His third musical, “Platinum Girls,” was produced in September 2018 to critical acclaim. In addition, Beall has performed on Broadway in “A Gentlemen’s Guide to Love and Murder,” “In The Heights,” “Les Misérables,” “Lion King,” and “Spiderman,” as well as in numerous orchestras. If not performing at Carnegie Hall, he may be found at his regular gig, playing percussion and marimba for “Lion King” on Broadway. 

Beall’s visit was generously arranged and sponsored by the RN PTSA HS/MS STEAM Committee, chaired by Susan Banker, in collaboration with Lutinski and middle school teacher Jenny Theall. It was designed to expose students to the world of musical composition and composing a Broadway musical, as well as to help them connect personally to the experience. 

“Students have many opportunities and paths to consider for their own talents, and hopefully they were inspired to think differently about them and to develop and pursue them,” Banker said. “We also hope we inspired learning through close listening, participating, seeing and hearing how stories are told musically, lyrically and through the use of voice.” 

Rye Neck Union Free School District students – who have been diligently working on their science research projects – earned awards when they showcased their exhibits at the Tri-County Science & Technology Fair, held on April 27 at White Plains Senior High School. 

Congratulations to the following F.E. Bellows students who earned awards in their respective categories:

• Dylan Arouh – first place in the Middle School Biology category. 
• Spencer Elliot and Henry Holtman – second place in the Middle School Chemistry category. 
• Lily Fauci – second place in the Middle School Earth/Space Science category. 
• Max Cea and Osborne Ringstad – “Outstanding” award in the Elementary Chemistry category.
• Sydney Healy – “Outstanding” award in the Elementary Earth/Space Science category.
• Dalia Mansell and Sela Rozov – “Outstanding” award in the Elementary Engineering and Technology category.
• Annie Kasanin and Virgina Latorre – “Outstanding” award in the Elementary Engineering and Technology category.
• Melanie Kramer and Sheena Haviland – “Outstanding” award in the Elementary Health and Medicine category.
• Sage Abbey and Bianca Canonico – “Outstanding” award in the Elementary Health and Medicine category.
• Owen Wagner – “Outstanding” award in the Elementary Physics category. 
• Tammy Zhang – "Excellent" award in the Elementary Physics category.

Congratulations to the following high school seniors who earned medals in their respective categories:

• Nicole Pereira – second place in the Physiological/Experimental Psychology category. 
• Elizabeth Mioli – second place in the Health and Nutrition category. 

Congratulations to the following middle school students who placed in the top three spots in their respective categories:

• Matthew Steeves and Jaime Latorre – first place in the Engineering and Technology category. 
• Isabel Palacios-Ferrer – second place in the Psychology category.
• Derek Ryan – third place in the Biology category.
• Ethan Felenstein – third place in the Biology category.
• Kyle Ryan – third place in the Earth Science category.
• Jeremie Thinat – third place in the Engineering and Technology category. 
• Ella Grann – third place in the Environmental category. 

As a result of their outstanding performance, Steeves and Latorre have advanced to the Broadcom MASTERS competition, a national science fair that is sponsored by the Broadcom Foundation, while Palacios-Ferrer and Thinat were selected as alternates. The top 10% of science fair applicants from across the country are nominated to compete. In addition, Rye Neck Middle School, which had the highest overall average among all other middle schools, won the Susan Schaell Handelman Award for Scholastic Excellence in Science & Technology for the second year in a row.

The Tri-County Science & Technology Fair brings together student-scientists from Putnam, Rockland and Westchester counties who showcase their exhibits before a team of judges in their respective categories. 

Rye Neck Middle School seventh graders, who recently studied about potential and kinetic energy in their science classes, built roller coasters to bring those concepts to life.

Using foam tubing, a marble and tape, the students worked in groups to design their roller coasters and secure them against walls, books or lab tables. Each group dropped their marble on the tracks and it soared through several loops – the minimum requirement for the roller coasters was that they have one loop, one curve and one hill – before landing in a paper cup. 

“Not only are they required to observe the potential and kinetic energy throughout, but they must also calculate both energies numerically,” Zeoli said. “The students found it challenging to create a roller coaster that accomplished all guidelines at first and had to get creative with their materials and space. In the end, they found it rewarding when their marble successfully completed its full path through the coaster.” 

Student Caroline Johansen, whose group designed a roller coaster with hills and successfully completed the project, said she enjoyed being able to collaborate with her fellow classmates and contribute with different ideas. 

“The students not only learned about energy throughout, but also learned to work together as a team to create a successful product,” Zeoli said.

 

Sixth grade students – who have been studying ancient Greece in Eric Rudolph’s and Colleen Slattery’s social studies classes – recently demonstrated their knowledge by completing an extensive research report on a Greek god or goddess of their choice and sharing their findings with their classmates.

Having studied the ancient civilization’s geography and government, as well as mythology and daily life for men and women, the students were challenged to write a report on one god or goddess. They were tasked with describing their family history and appearance, explaining the symbol that represents the god or goddess, summarizing one myth they played a key role in, and explaining how the god or goddess influenced Greek culture. 

“The students prepared short presentations about what they learned,” Slattery said. “In addition to presenting key facts or interesting myths to the class, some students were extremely creative and either dressed up or brought in props, such as tridents and armor, to go along with their presentation.” 

Throughout the research process, the students worked closely with library media specialist Linda Costelloe to navigate databases and used NoodleTools, a platform that helps students record and organize their notecards. 

Before beginning their studies on ancient Greece, Slattery said the students read “The Lightning Thief” by Rick Riordan in their English language arts classes and were eager to further explore some of the gods and goddesses mentioned in the book.  

Eight young poets from Rye Neck Middle School were selected to read their original works before a live audience at the 18th annual Poetry Live! event, held at the Emelin Theatre in Mamaroneck on March 31. 

This year’s poets included sixth graders Tara O’Reilly (“Leaf”), Matthew Rubin (“The Effects of Space”) and Natalie Silva (“School”), and seventh graders Jack Kidder (“The Friend”), Theodore Kusbiantoro (“Fireflies”), Aria Miyazawa (“Untitled”), Megan Ronan (“The Little Yellow Ladybug”) and Riley Taylor (“The Forgotten Forest”). 

“Their poems were selected for their originality, rich imagery, strong nouns and verbs, tight economy and their ability to ‘show, not tell,’” said English teacher Jenny Theall, who chose the students to represent the district at the event. “It was a magical moment where we honored student-writers, supported our children’s efforts in expressing themselves in a positive, artistic venue, and celebrated poetry.” 

The Poetry Live! event was sponsored by the Village of Mamaroneck Arts Council and celebrated National Poetry Month. All of the poems that the students wrote were published in an anthology, which was presented at the event. 

Rye Neck Union Free School District was one of five school districts to be represented at Poetry Live!