Rye Neck High School will present “The Little Mermaid” as its musical production from Feb. 27-29 at the Performing Arts Center. Directed by theater director Scott Harris, the musical features 40 students in the cast and 51 students in crew who will take audience members on an underwater adventure and play larger-than-life characters on stage. 

“So much of this production is color, light, costumes and effects to give the audience that underwater feeling,” Harris said. “We’ve got some amazing sets, and a lot of thought went into how to create this feeling of truly being part of a different world once you walk into the theater. Plus, we’ve got some of the most talented singers I’ve ever worked with at a Rye Neck production. Just beautiful voices, all around.” 

“The Little Mermaid” – the Broadway musical based on the classic 1989 animated film – tells the story of a young woman who wants more than what she has. She loves her family, but is uneasy, discontent. She wants to explore beyond her borders, see what else is out there and learn more about herself.

“The production is a massive undertaking, and so much of it is accomplished by our talented and professional theater students,” Harris said. “I’m very proud of the theater program we have at Rye Neck, all the pieces of it functioning together to create these beautiful productions. I think our audiences will truly enjoy the fruits of their labor.” 

Over the last three months, the students have been diligently working on their lines, choreography and vocals, while crew members have been designing and creating sets and building a 24-foot boat. In addition to Harris, the students are assisted by choreographer Francesca DeAngelo and Kathryn Krull on vocals. Taking on the role of Ariel is student Sophia Gennusa, who has several Broadway credits, including Matilda Wormwood in “Matilda the Musical.” She recently appeared in NBC’s “The Enemy Within” and has multiple other credits to her name.

As a special treat to its youngest audience members after a Saturday matinee performance, Rye Neck High School will invite children to meet the cast and have their picture taken with them. Then, children who are interested will be treated to a backstage tour, where they’ll be invited to see how the musical is put together. 

Performances are Thursday, Feb. 27 through Saturday, Feb. 29 at 7 p.m. and Saturday, Feb. 29 at 1 p.m. Tickets are $15 for adults and $10 for students and children, and are available at www.rnhssm.booktix.com.

Members of the Rye Neck High School Science Olympiad team had a strong showing at the Lower Hudson Regional Competition, held at Byram Hills High School on Feb. 1. They competed in academic and engineering challenges across all sciences and earned several medals. 

Heonjae Lee and Gabriel Miller placed first in Chemistry Lab, and Ava Liebmann and Mirabelle Brown placed fourth in Forensics. Brown, Phillip Buettner and Liebmann placed seventh in Codebusters, and Simon O’Rourke and Jessica Park placed eight in Ornithology. 

Team co-advisers Dan Moy and Lori Penesis said they are proud of their team’s efforts and successes.

Members of the middle and high school counseling departments worked together to bring a special presentation to eighth graders on Feb. 3 to prepare them for their transition to high school in the fall. During their visits, counselors reviewed graduation requirements and discussed focus electives. 

“This is an important component for the students’ transition to high school because it puts them in the driver’s seat of their high school careers,” middle school counselor Samantha Chu said. “We believe that the more students are informed of their expectations as well as the opportunities available to them, they will be excited about their future and be an active part of their curricula planning.” 

Chu said that while school always comes with work and responsibilities, it is an exciting experience and journey. She and her colleagues are committed to continue to offer students firsthand information about their future and connect them with teachers and peers to learn more about classes. 

“I am very impressed with my students’ diligence to the transition timeline,” she said. “They have been great about high school-related deadlines and advocating for themselves in regard to future opportunities. Little things like stopping by to ask a quick question demonstrates to me how excited and prepared they are for next year.”

A group of talented Rye Neck students, in grades six through 12, will have more than 70 artworks on display at the Mamaroneck Public Library art exhibit from Jan. 27 through March 13. 

The exhibit showcases a variety of work, from drawings to paintings and collages, of students in teachers Trisha Appel’s, Jennifer Dallow’s and Karen Fontecchio’s art classes. It also focuses on a variety of artists, skills and techniques across the different grade levels.

Inspired by ancient Greece, sixth graders created vases using different symbols and patterns on scratch art paper that were placed on top of a Greek column. Seventh graders who learned about the pop art movement and Andy Warhol created their own “celebrity self-portraits.” Eighth graders who learned about Stuart Davis’ abstract art and positive and negative space, created colorful and abstract city collages in which they used colored construction paper, magazines and newspapers to complete their work. 

“The middle school work that will be on display shows a small variety of what they learn throughout their time in sixth through eighth grade, which will continue throughout their years as high school students,” Appel said. “Students take with them their understanding of how to create interesting compositions, working with a variety of materials and knowledge of different artists and art movements, as seen on display, to help them become well-rounded art students at the high school level.” 

High school students in Fontecchio’s art classes created printmaking on watercolor backgrounds, contour line drawings and one-point perspective illustrations of room interiors. Having studied value and pencil-blending techniques, high school students in Dallow’s classes created still-life drawings in pencil. Students also created printmaking collages, which were made as a culmination of their design unit. 

“Students love to show their talent and have work displayed in the school throughout the year, but it is particularly special to have it in shown the community,” Dallow said. “I love to see the pride our students feel when given these exhibition opportunities.”

Rye Neck High School freshmen welcomed Mohamed Alsiadi, a professor and musician, as a special guest speaker in their Global 9 classes to further make connections to their studies on Jan. 9. During his visit, Alsiadi shared insight about the Arabic culture, language, art and music. 

“Alsiadi is very knowledgeable about Islam and Islamic culture, which we have been studying recently,” social studies teacher Marcella Scalise said. “The students have been learning about the historical beginnings of Islam and the influence of Islamic empires, including during their Golden Age.”  

During his visit, he discussed the origins of the Arabic language and taught the students how to say and write or draw specific Arabic words. He also discussed the arabesque form of Islamic art, played the oud and explained its significance. 

“I hope the students saw the connection between the historical topics relating to Islam and how it is today,” Scalise said. “I want them to have respect of all cultures, and it was helpful to have someone from the culture come in and speak to them.” 

Alsiadi moved from Aleppo, Syria, to New York City in 1996, and later became a professor of Arabic language, literature and culture. He is the lead professor and director for the Arabic studies program at Fordham University and the chair of the US-Mideast program at the Center for the Study of Genocide and Human Rights at Rutgers University. 

Members of the Rye Neck High School Sequoia Club – whose mission is to develop ideas and strategies to help their school be more environmentally friendly – have been educating their peers about the importance of recycling. Through their efforts, the students hope to make a difference in their community. 


Club members recently created and placed tops on recycling bins throughout the building to encourage students to discard items in the correct recycling bin. The students got the idea for the project after noticing how many bottles and cans were being wasted when food or liquid was thrown into a recycling bin. 


“The students decided to pursue the recycling project because they want to make a difference with recycling in their school,” said Chelsea Gillespie, a math teacher who advises the club. “The intent of these recycling containers is to encourage students to only put bottles, cans and paper in the corresponding bins. The recycling containers have two perfect shapes that fit bottles and cans and paper. We hope that with this change, students would be influenced to recycle more in school and outside of school.” 


There are a variety of recycling containers throughout the building. Near the main entrance, there is a large recycling bin for white paper, along with bins for all other paper, bottles and cans. Two recycling bins for bottles are located in the hallways, as well as large recycling bins in the cafeteria and small recycling bins in almost every classroom. 


After the holiday recess, club members will implement the second part of their recycling project – the Sequoia card program – which will reward students who recycle or do something beneficial for the environment.