Rye Country Day School

For the RCDS that stands for the Royal College of Defence Studies, please click here.

Rye Country Day School

Headmaster	Mr. Scott A. Nelson
Upper School Principal	Mr. Paul Wieman
Middle School Principal	Mr. Joe Isola
Lower School Principal	Mrs. Barbara K. Shea
School Type	Private, co-ed
Grades	pre-K-12
Technology	(See below)
Location	Rye, New York, United States
Mascot	Wildcat
School Newspaper	Rye Crop
School Yearbook	Echo
School Annual Publication	Bulletin (Spring/Fall)
School Colors	Blue and Gold

Rye Country Day School, or RCDS, is a co-educational, college preparatory school in Rye, New York, in the United States.

History

Rye Country Day School had its beginnings in 1869, when a group of local parents, wishing to improve the quality of education available for their daughters, contacted The Reverend William Life and his wife, Susan, who ran a small school in Pennsylvania. The Lifes came to Rye and established The Rye Female Seminary under the direction of Mrs. Life. During its first year - 1869 - sixty students (25 boarders and 35 day students) enrolled in The Seminary, which was located on the present school property on Grandview Avenue. From the beginning, the School set out to educate the whole child, emphasizing not only academic excellence, but broad humanistic values and community service, as well. Today, these very same values are at the heart of the School's philosophy and are reflected in the school motto: Not for Self, but for Service. In 1896, The Seminary was purchased by the Misses Harriet and Mary Stowe, two members of the faculty. Upon assuming leadership, the Stowe sisters initiated significant changes in the curriculum. During this period the school introduced college preparatory programs for women. Conscious of the potential financial risk for a strictly proprietary institution, a group of parents bought The Seminary in 1917 and established it as a nonprofit day school under the direction of a board of trustees. The year 1921 saw The Seminary merge with a boys' school from nearby Harrison, New York - The Rye Country School - and became known as The Rye Country Day Schools. In 1928, the "s" was dropped from the word "Schools". To accommodate the presence of boys, the campus experienced a period of growth and development. At this time, the School offered a program for girls from kindergarten through grade twelve, and a program for boys from kindergarten through grade nine. It was not until 1964 that the Board of Trustees extended the enrollment for boys through grade twelve.

The Pinkham Building that houses the Upper School.

Students and the School

Clubs

Student Government

RCDS students are involved in a unique student government system that involves a fairly new "Diversity Coalition." The makeup of the government is as follows:

• President of the Student Body
  • Vice President of the Student Body
• Grade 12
  • President
  • Vice President
  • Senators (2)
• Grade 11
  • President
  • Vice President
  • Senators (2)
• Grade 10
  • President
  • Vice President
  • Senators (2)
• Grade 9
  • President
  • Vice President
  • Senators (2)
• Other
  • Representatives of the Spirit Club (2)
  • Representatives of the Diversity Coalition (2)
  • One Faculty Advisor (non-voting)

Diversity Coalition

Created in May 2006, the Diversity Coalition's goal is to bridge the student clubs that are based on racial, religious, sexual orientation, or minority groups. The President and Vice President of each of the clubs listed above with a * sit on the Coalition board. Two representatives of the Coalition then sit on the Student Government as voting members adding the diverse voice of the Student Body to the Government.

Modern Languages

In March, 2006, Rye Country Day School announced two new additions to the Modern Language department for the next academic year: In Lower School, parents will now chose between Spanish or French for their child in grades 2-4. Fifth Graders and their parents will also make this choice. Additionally, Mandarin Chinese is also offered to sixth and seventh grade students (first half of Level 1) and to all Upper School students (full year course covering Level 1.) After discussion of adding a non-western language to the curriculum, the administration decided to move forward with the Mandarin Chinese initiative starting fall 2006. With the addition of Mandarin and change of language options in Lower School, the break-down of each grade follows:

• Grade 2-4: Choice of Spanish or French.
• Grade 5: Introductory class of Spanish, French, or Latin.
• Grades 6-8: Continuation of Spanish, French, or Latin; or an Introduction to Mandarin (second half of Level 1 is covered in the first 3 languages.)
• Grades 9-12: Through Level 3 (minimum) of following languages must be completed. Additional languages may be added during Level 3 of original language or after.
  • Spanish (Honors levels available)
  • French (Honors levels available)
  • Latin (Honors levels available)
  • Mandarin

Some languages may be taken as Independent Studies from teachers who know these languages. In the past, students have taken Greek, Japanese, and German.

The Arts

Music

All students in grades Pre-K through 6 are required to have music in their schedules and all Upper School students are required to have a minimum credit exposure to music.

• Students in grades Pre-K-4 participate in "music classes" with their class.
• Students in grades 5-6 are required to pick either Band or Choir (or both) for the school year.
• Students in grades 7-8 have the option, but are not required to take a music class. Classes offered are Band and Choir. Students in Band can chose to play in the Middle School Jazz band and those in Choir can be in the Cubscats, the junior version of the Wildscats, the school's a capella group.
• Students in grades 9-12 have the option, but are not required to take a music class. Classes offered are Band, Choir, Music Survey, and Music Theory. Of these four, Music Survey is the only required class.
  • Sub-bands:
    • "Jazz Big Band"
    • "Jazz Messengers"
  • Sub-Choirs:
    • Bel Canto
    • Madrigals
    • Wildscats

Drama

Acting classes and shows are produced multiple times per year. Below is a list of some common drama events put on annually.

• Fall U.S. Drama (most recently Macbeth)
• Winter U.S. Student/Faculty Musical (most recently The Mystery of Edwin Drood, upcoming: The Pajama Game)
• M.S. [7/8 Concert Choir] Musical (most recently Fiddler on the Roof, upcoming Godspell)
• Spring U.S. One-Acts

Classes offered are:

• Middle School
  • Acting Workshop
• Upper School
  • Art of Comedy
  • Acting Workshop
• ...and others

Fine Arts

Classes are offered at all levels that include the study of fine art. These classes include, but are not limited to:

Athletics

Athletic Teams

The Scott A. Nelson Athletic Center that was completed in 1999 as part of the School's Capital Campaign.

• V = Varsity, JV = Junior Varsity, MS = Middle School

Athletic Facilities

Technology

Students in grades 7-12 are required to have a laptop computer (either Windows or Apple operating systems.) These students use the wireless signal that is available throughout campus in addition to multiple servers and an e-mail system. Students in 6th grade and below use the computer labs that are located in the lower, middle, and upper school. Smartboards are used in every classroom.

Trivia

• During the 1970s, musician Noel "Paul" Stookey of Peter, Paul, and Mary, would hold occasional evening concerts for students in the Library (currently the Upper School Art room).
• During the time of the Vietnam War, RCDS Upper School students worked with the faculty to stage a walk-out protest of the war. The students met in the Amphitheater (located in the rear of the Pinkham Building), and processed down the hill, through downtown Rye and congregated in the Village Green by the Rye Library. At that location, students were addressed by a series of speakers
• US Latin teacher David Tafe co-wrote the original Ecce Romani textbook series.

Notable Persons

Alumni

• Barbara Bush (left prior to graduation), former First Lady
• Savion Glover, Actor/Tap Dancer
• John Treacy Egan, Actor
• Tova Snyder, International Painter and Muralist
• Barry Mendel, Producer
• Steven Otis, Politician
• Robi Hager, Actor in Spring Awakening
• Richard Stevenson Parker (a.k.a. Parker Stevenson), Actor
• Princess Leila Pahlavi, former Princess of Iran
• Edward Albee, Playwright (left prior to graduation)
• Nick Kroll, Actor in ABC's Cavemen

Teachers

• Margaret Hamilton, Kindergarten Teacher turned Actress
• Eric Everett, Drama and Stage Design Teacher turned Singer
• Bitsy Nebauer, former MS Science teacher is the mother of Christopher Atkins
• Ted Lawrence, Varsity Baseball Head Coach, former player for the Texas Rangers and Detroit Tigers

References

External links

• Rye Country Day School
• Rye Country Day School on Placeopedia