Dear RCSD Community,
Happy Friday the 13th. Traditionally a bad luck day, some people have actually found that good things happen for them on Friday the 13th. Great things happened to the RHS varsity wrestling team on Tuesday the 11th, when they won against Harrison for the first time in 37 years! Congratulations to the team and coaches!
MLK, Jr., Day
This coming Monday is Martin Luther King, Jr., Day and schools and offices are closed in observance. Many people honor the day by performing acts of service; I have heard about many of our students planning on a day focused on community. After Monday, we have a good long stretch of time with no days off (cue the sound of children crying) until the Mid-Winter recess from February 20-24. I know lots of great teaching and learning will be taking place in the schools, and that there will also be a lot of snow day rituals practiced at homes throughout Rye.
Rhythm on Rye Performs with Jabberwocks
After your MLK, Jr., day of service, consider dropping by the Rye Free Reading Room to hear Rhythm on Rye, Rye High School’s a capella group, perform with Brown University’s oldest a capella group, the Jabberwocks. The joint performance is Monday, January 16, at 4:00 p.m. at the Reading Room. The cost is $10 for adults, and students and children are $5. Please RSVP to sherylcukerappleyard@alumni.brown.edu.
Medical Emergency Preparedness
If you’ve been watching the local news, you may have seen some alarming stories about students in neighboring districts experiencing a variety of medical emergencies. I want to take this opportunity to tell you a bit about some of the medical emergency preparations in place at the RCSD. Firstly, the District has AED (automated external defibrillator) devices placed strategically throughout every school district building, and athletic trainers bring portable AEDs to athletic practices and games. All school nurses and athletic trainers are AED-, CPR- and First Aid-certified. Moreover, the AED devices can easily be used by non-medical personnel because they deliver audible user instructions during an emergency.
Secondly, all RCSD school nurses are trained to administer NARCAN (Naloxone), a life-saving opioid overdose reversal medication, in the case of an opioid overdose. Many other adults in our schools have undergone the training as well. If you are interested in being NARCAN-trained, sessions are offered by the RyeACT and the Port Chester - Rye - Rye Brook EMS.
Academy Project Presentations
At Tuesday night’s Board of Education meeting, two senior Academy students spoke about their year-long community-based action research projects. Watch the video here; students Henry Field and Lily O’Connor come on at 20:00 The deadline for Academy applications for the 2023-24 school year is today. I don’t usually include photos in my weekly update, but the one below is too cute not to share. It shows Academy students Henry Field and Lily O’Connor conducting a science experiment in preschool. Amazing how things come full circle!
Henry Field and Lily O’Connor showing an early interest in action research
Enjoy the long weekend!
Sincerely,
Eric Byrne, Ed.D.
Superintendent of Schools
