Community Update: 11/22/24

Dear RCSD Community,

Well, I thought we wanted rain -- until rainwater caused a heat sensor in the high school cafeteria to short out resulting in evacuating both the middle and high school in the rain on Thursday morning. Turns out there can be too much of a good thing!

After the deluge came the first snow of the season. I can’t believe that we are here, but it’s time to remind everyone of our snow day protocols. I do my very best to make the call the night before if at all humanly possible. You will be notified by text, email, and phone (yes, there will be singing, but not by me). If it’s too close to call, you will hear from me via text, email, and phone at approximately 6:30 a.m. We will also post delay/closure information on the pop-up bubble on the District website. We also still send information to the local news media for those of you who enjoy nostalgically watching delays and closures crawl across the bottom of your TV screen.

Please remember that we have a short week next week: schools are dismissed at 11:00 a.m. (HS/MS)/11:30 a.m. (elementary schools) on Wednesday and are closed through Friday for the Thanksgiving Recess. Offices are closed Thursday and Friday.  My next Community Update will be the Friday after the break, so I’d like to take this opportunity to wish everyone a very happy, healthy Thanksgiving. We will once again host at our house, so a weekend of house guests and accompanying chaos is fully expected.

BOE SEL Talk (We Love Three-Letter Acronyms!)

At Tuesday night’s Board of Education (BOE) meeting, we heard a presentation about what the District is doing to support social emotional learning (SEL) at the elementary schools. The ultimate goal is to enhance the culture and climate within every school so that students feel a sense of belonging and connection. To watch, click here and start at 4:30. On December 17, we’ll hear about the important SEL work going on at the MS/HS.

Swimmer Send-Off

We held a send-off for the 5 Rye High School and 2 Rye Neck High School girls varsity swimmers headed to the State Swimming and Diving Championships in Rochester yesterday morning in the RHS gym. The girls compete today and Saturday: watch them here (paid subscription). Go Garnets!

National Inclusive Schools Week

December 2-6 is national Inclusive Schools Week. The week is a chance to connect, grow, and celebrate what makes each of us unique. The RCSD, in partnership with RAISE, will be celebrating Inclusive Schools Week across the District. The theme this year is “Every Voice Matters” -- together, we can build a community where everyone feels valued and seen.

Have a terrific weekend and a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Eric Byrne, Ed.D.
Superintendent of Schools