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Rye Neck High School senior Giulianna Miceli has earned special recognition for her accomplishments in the Italian language. During an awards ceremony at the Westchester County Board of Legislators headquarters in White Plains on Oct. 7, she was recognized for her excellence in and appreciation of the Italian language.  

Miceli, a student in Rosina Martinelli’s Advanced Placement Italian language class, was among 17 students to receive the award. 

“The world language department of Rye Neck is extremely proud of this outstanding accomplishment and recognition of Giulianna Miceli as October is Italian Heritage Month,” Martinelli said.

Members of Rye Neck High School’s Mind Your Mind Club are sending simple, yet powerful messages to their peers thanks to Post-it notes they left throughout the building. Ranging from “You Are Enough” to “Kindness Changes Everything,” “Love Yourself” and “Be Brave,” the messages were designed to spread positivity. 

“We know that school days can sometimes be stressful due to academic or social reasons,” said Nicole Crispinelli, school psychologist and adviser of the club. “Our hope is that a small and thoughtful positive message may serve as a reminder to someone to take a deep breath, remember that feelings are temporary, and that they are supported at school by friends and staff. We all could benefit from viewing these positive messages in the hallway as we are walking around the building.” 

With assistance from Crispinelli and Principal Tina Wilson, members of the Mind Your Mind Club placed the Post-it notes in the shape of a heart on a wall outside the dining hall, as well as in the girls bathrooms around the building. 

Lilly Morningstar, a junior and president of the Mind Your Mind Club, said that while the messages are simple and short, they resonate with her peers and can make a big difference in spreading positivity. 

Throughout the school year, Mind Your Mind Club members raise funds for different mental health organizations and practice different mindfulness techniques, including breathing exercises and yoga, to help them relax and calm down. In addition, in honor of World Mental Health Day, they have been raising awareness about mental health and advocating against social stigma. 

Dozens of Rye Neck High School students were recognized for their achievements when they were inducted into the National Honor Society on Sept. 23 and World Language Honor Society on Oct. 2. 

Forty-nine seniors – who have achieved cumulative weighted averages of 90% or better and demonstrated a commitment to the accompanying attributes to which the National Honor Society subscribes, such as character, service and leadership – were inducted as members of the National Honor Society during a ceremony on Sept. 23. 

Before the students took their membership pledge, they heard welcoming remarks from their adviser Kara Slattery, as well as from NHS president Grace Kujawski and vice president Anthony Sterbens, while this year’s officers, secretary Jonathan Marcuse and treasurer Maxwell Thurer, participated in a candlelighting ceremony.

“The students will provide service to our school community throughout the school year by providing in-school tutoring and mentoring for fellow Rye Neck students,” Slattery said. 

The 2019 National Honor Society inductees are seniors Atika Alradi, Ryan Boron, Anna Boswell, Emma Bucknavage, Gianna Calcagni, Justin Cantu, Adesuwa Carlton, Emilie Cohen, Tiana Colon, Sean Diamond, Kaitlyn Dorfman, Evan Dunne, Lisa Engelen, Kristina Esposito, Matias Fernandez, Sara Ferreira, Sonia Finkenberg, Adam Galluccio, Ronan Heaton, Kayla Hollmann, Kota Hyuga, Hideo Ishihara, Grace Kujawski. Heonjae Lee, Nathan Lesser, Jonathan Marcuse, Luke Masciopinto, Giulianna Miceli, Michael Miller, Elaine Musa, Colin Nashelsky, Alessandro Orjuela, Lucas Pasquina, Sarah Paumier, Matthew Quartararo, Owen Robertson, Anna Romani, Harry Rosas, Jonathan Shin, Juliana Silva, Julianna Spencer, Anthony Sterbens, Maxwell Thurer, Kyle Treacy, Lucas Vienne, Grace West, Timothy Wice, Max Zangiacomi and Yu Zushiden.

The 2019 Junior National Honor Society inductees are juniors Cara Allen, Jeremy Allen, Olivia Andreoli, Juliana Apoldo, Madeline Bayha, Jesse Ben-Meir, John Bianchini, Sarah Bigaouette, Aaron Caplan, Kimberly Carlton, Michael Cohen, Corinne Collado, Clarke Cooper, Freya Crook, Bloeme Daly, Julia DeLitta, Harrison Du, Lucy Friedman, Maura Gabriele, Sophia Gennusa, Natalie Goldberg, Kayla Gorin, Vincenzo Griffo, Alexa Guedez Ramirez, Kaci Harris, Erik Hennenfent, Jackson Hillyer, Julia Hodys, Sarah Klur, Elizabeth Lagani, Thomas Lavelle, Zachary Leontiou, Ruby Liebmann, Ava Meier, Matthew Melegrito, Mallory Michaels, Gabriel Miller, Lily Morningstar, Anna Murphy, Madeline Murray, Simon O’Rourke, Sofia Palacios Ferrer, Luke Park, Lillian Radcliffe, Matteo Renda, Andrew Ricci, Michael Rivituso, Joshua Rubin, Alexander Saltus, Maximillian Saltus, Stefanie Santoli, Elona Sebbane, Madeline Shaw, Sydney Simon, Dylan Spencer, Daniel Super, Angel Tapia, Noah Thurer, Eulalia Tisnovsky, Ariana Victor, Kathleen Victory and Naomi Young. 

Twenty-one high-performing students – who successfully met all of the requirements and competencies of the Level IV High School Link Course and were enrolled in an Advanced Placement course for the language – were inducted into the World Language Honor Society during a ceremony on Oct. 2. 

“We are all proud of their hard work and devotion over their many years of language learning,” adviser Davide Bianco said. 

The 2019 World Language Honor Society inductees are Sarah Bigaouette, Anna Boswell, Kristina Esposito, Eliott Nevejans and Alessandro Orjuela for French; Evan Dunne, Giulianna Miceli, Elaine Musa, Matthew Quartararo, Carlos Rodriguez, Anna Romani, Natalia Ruscitto and Anthony Sterbens for Italian; and Adesuwa Carlton, Kaitlyn Dorfman, Lisa Engelen, Sara Ferreira, Cynthia Lanuza, Lucas Pasquina, Harry Rosas and Juliana Silva for Spanish.

Rye Neck High School seniors Ryan Boron, Sean Diamond, Heonjae Lee and Lucas Pasquina were recognized by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation as Commended Students in the 2020 National Merit Scholarship Program. 

They are among 34,000 students nationwide to be recognized for achieving exceptional scores on the 2018 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test. They placed among the top 50,000 scorers of more than 1.5 million students nationwide who took the qualifying test.

Congratulations to the students on being recognized for demonstrating outstanding potential for academic success.

Rye Neck High School senior Grace West has been named a semifinalist in the 2020 National Merit Scholarship program. She represents the top 1% of students nationwide who were awarded the distinction. 

West was among more than 1.5 million students from 21,000 high schools who entered the academic competition by taking the 2018 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test as juniors. As a result, she is now among 16,000 high school students nationwide to be awarded the distinction by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation for earning some of the highest scores on the qualifying test, which served as an initial screen of entrants. 

“Grace is a model student and citizen,” Principal Tina Wilson said. “We are proud of her accomplishment and wish her luck as she continues in the process.”

West is captain of the varsity volleyball team and co-secretary of the Model United Nations Club. She’s also a member of her high school’s Mock Trial team, Peer Leadership, Student Athlete Cabinet and Student Senate. She has completed 240 hours of community service and, outside of school, she is a youth deacon at the Larchmont Avenue Church. 

To become a finalist, the students must submit a detailed scholarship application, demonstrate an outstanding academic record, write an essay and earn scores that confirm their earlier performance on the qualifying test. About 90% of the semifinalists will advance to the next round, and about half of the finalists will win a National Merit Scholarship. According to its website, the National Merit Scholarship program honors students who show exceptional academic ability and potential for success in rigorous college studies. The program will award approximately 7,600 scholarships worth more than $31 million next spring.

National Merit Scholarship finalists will be announced in February, while scholarship winners will be announced in the spring.

Members of the Action Research for Community Change, a student-run think tank at Rye Neck High School, received proclamation awards on Sept. 9 in recognition of their research on public perceptions of water quality. 

The students – junior Gabriel Miller and seniors Sean Diamond and Owen Robertson, and graduates Andrew Alcin, Renue Chin and Ryan Germani – conducted a consumer confidence survey on behalf of the Westchester Joint Water Works in numerous locations in Mamaroneck and Larchmont in 2018 regarding the quality of tap water. They were recognized for their efforts and initiative by Town of Mamaroneck Supervisor Nancy Seligson and Paul Kutzy, manager of Westchester Joint Water Works.

The Action Research for Community Change team, facilitated by Dr. Valerie Feit, the K-12 enrichment coordinator and co-director of school counseling, is a Tools for Change program that uses social science research methods to support policy decisions for local organizations. 

“The purpose of Action Research is to address community issues by teaching students how to conduct ethical research that influences policy development for the common good,” Dr. Feit said. “The findings from this study clearly demonstrated that local community members understand and value the quality of the water we use. The final report was submitted to WJWW for use in their informational materials.”

With new books and school supplies in hand, students across all Rye Neck Schools filled the halls with smiles and excited chatter as they reported for the first day of school on Sept. 3.

“It was a great start to the 2019-2020 school year,” Superintendent of Schools Dr. Barbara Ferraro said. “Students arrived eager and excited to meet their teachers and reconnect with friends.” 

Kindergartners at Daniel Warren Elementary School attended orientation sessions with their parents and introduced themselves to their new teachers. Meanwhile, F.E. Bellows Elementary School students spent a half-day of classes organizing their school supplies and getting to know new friends. Throughout the day, Rye Neck Middle School students moved around the building to find their new classrooms and meet with their teachers, who greeted them with smiles and guided them through their expectations for the year. At Rye Neck High School, upperclassmen teamed up with freshmen students for various first-day-of-school activities that were designed to help the younger students make a smooth transition into high school.

“We wish all a productive and enriching school year,” Dr. Ferraro said.

Rye Neck Union Free School District welcomed 12 new faculty members during a two-day orientation, held Aug. 26-27. The group met with administrators, discussed policies and procedures, worked with their teams and departments, and received a tour of the district and community. 

Eric Lutinski, middle school principal and assistant superintendent for instruction, described this year’s group of new staff as a mix of both experienced and newer professionals. 

“Some of our new staff are Rye Neck alumni or have worked here as interns or student teachers,” he said. “Others come with years of experience in New York City, other Westchester districts or Connecticut. However, our new staff training sessions revealed that they are all thoughtful professionals who will contribute to the success of our students.” 

The following are new staff members at Rye Neck: 
• Lina Amello, teaching assistant at Daniel Warren Elementary School 
• Elisa Barilli, school psychologist at Rye Neck Middle School
• Joseph Callagy, English teacher at Rye Neck High School
• Crystal Contreras, Spanish teacher at Rye Neck Middle School
• Amanda D’Addona, social studies teacher at Rye Neck Middle School
• Chelsea Gillespie, mathematics teacher and teaching assistant at Rye Neck Middle/High School
• Jean Laffan, French teacher at Rye Neck Middle School
• Nichole Locher, physical education teacher at Rye Neck High School 
• Alyssa Massi, mathematics teacher at Rye Neck Middle School
• Carolyn Muller, special services teaching assistant at Rye Neck Middle/High School
• Brian Pinto, elementary school teacher at Daniel Warren Elementary School 
• Kristi Rachiele, science teacher at Rye Neck Middle/High School