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Thanks to the generosity of Rye Neck Middle School students, families and community members, the Student Senate has donated more than 20 boxes of food for people in need. The donations, which were collected over the course of two weeks, were donated to the Larchmont-Mamaroneck Hunger Task Force on Jan. 9. 

Spearheaded by the middle school Student Senate and advisers Matthew Magnani and Christopher Tinnirello, the students collected nonperishable food items, such as cereal, pasta, rice, canned fruits and vegetables, canned gravies, sauces and soups, peanut butter and more. 

“Our students were very enthusiastic about the drive,” Tinnirello said. “We even created video public service announcements to play during the homeroom periods to remind students to donate. We raised awareness about those who are in need, and we also helped in a small way.”

Members of the Student Senate include sixth-grader Angie Aguilar, eighth-grader Mirabelle Brown, sixth-grader Sasha Jaramillo, seventh-grader Charlie Meyer, eighth-grader So Sato and seventh-grader Daniel Zyngier.

Rye Neck Middle School eighth-graders – who have been exploring the Italian language and culture in Rosina Martinelli’s languages classes – celebrated their accomplishments by hosting an Italian food tasting. They enjoyed authentic food and desserts, which were prepared by parents and students.

“The students have already acquired their vocabulary and verbs associated with Italian food and popular dishes in their food chapter,” Martinelli said. “They learned not only how to make Italian food, but they walked away knowing that the Italian culture is rich with food and family.” 

Some of the dishes the students brought in included pizza, Nutella pizza, zeppole, Italian cream puffs, ravioli, meatballs, lasagna, penne alla vodka, tiramisu, Napoleon pastries and pasta primavera. 

In addition, as a culminating activity to their chapter on Italian food, the students worked in groups to create a script for an Italian cooking show. Each group was challenged to provide clear guidelines in Italian about how to cook an authentic dish.  

Students and teachers from Rye Neck Middle School and Rye Neck High School worked together to create winter scene masterpieces during the middle school’s Paint Night event on Nov. 30, which served as a fundraiser for the junior class.

Using a white canvas, acrylic paint and brushes, sixth- through eighth-grade students followed step-by-step instructions from art teacher Dara Goodman to paint the winter scene, which included a moon and white conifer trees.

“The students successfully created a glowing, radiating moon in their sky using beautiful cool colors,” Goodman said. “They worked in layers, creating blended colors, winter trees and snow to complete their seasonal paintings. Each student created their own unique piece of artwork that they were proud of. It was so exciting to see how each person’s own interpretation and style was portrayed throughout the different details, colors and styles within each individual painting.”

Meanwhile, Rye Neck High School junior class officers and their adviser, Linette Milo, helped the students with their supplies and the overall organization of the event. Volunteers included freshmen Khaleema Bogan and Jake Diamond, and juniors Sonia Finkenberg, Grace Kujawski, Robert Miller, Lucas Pasquina, Juliana Silva, Maxwell Thurer and Lucas Vienne. 

“The students had a lot of fun while working and were very attentive to details and the techniques being presented to them,” said art teacher Trisha Appel, who, along with fellow teachers Jennifer Dallow and Karen Fontecchio, answered students’ questions about different art techniques. “You could see how proud they were of their paintings while they were working and at the end when they finished.” 

At the end of the night, event organizers raffled off prizes, which included a small canvas and paints for students to continue to paint at home. 

“The students were smiling, laughing and helping each other,” Appel said. “It was nice to see such a large group of students having fun, being creative and finding inspiration from each other’s work.” 

The art department’s Paint Night raised money for the high school junior class. The fundraiser is held twice a year to benefit students as they raise money for their respective classes.

Sixth- and seventh-graders – who have been writing their own fictional stories in Jenny Theall’s Creative Writing classes – welcomed published author E.J. Flynn to their school to gain new skills and knowledge about the writing process.

During her visits on Nov 14, 27 and 30, Flynn – who is also a marketing and business professor at SUNY Purchase, founder of ILF Publishing and the parent of a middle school student – helped the students discover the power of their imagination. She also encouraged them to turn their own ideas into stories and empowered them with the confidence that they, too, can “make it happen” and get their stories published. 

“I love creative writing because it’s a safe place to express who you are through your writing,” said sixth-grader Willow Edwards, who has written descriptive poems, short snippets and fictional stories in her class. 

As part of the interactive workshops, Flynn challenged the students to keep organized, write down their ideas, start an outline, set goals and deadlines, do extensive research and partner with a friend or mentor who will keep them accountable. She demonstrated how a real-life experience or observation can be turned into a story and taught the students how to keep their readers invested by creating a believable world and robust characters, building suspense and writing a distinct beginning, middle and end to their stories. 

Sixth-grader Natalie Silva said she learned the importance of drawing inspiration from real-life experiences to develop a compelling story. 

“It’s such a creative and fun way to express yourself because you’re creating your own world, what happens in it and your own characters,” Silva said about the art of creative writing. “Obviously, life isn’t perfect, but this story is to you. And it becomes a reality to you and the readers who read it.”  

Theall said she invited Flynn to speak to her students because it was an opportunity for them to participate in a discussion with a published author, ask questions and envision the endless possibilities of creative writing. 

“Creative writing is student-generated and stems from their imagination,” Theall said. “Bringing in an author makes writing real. Hopefully, it also inspires them to continue writing, take it to the next step and have their work connect to art, current events and news. That’s the beauty of creative writing; it can connect all other topics.”