|  Welcome Whitney Slade!
As of July 1, I officially landed at RCDS and have begun my journey. My first order of business is to begin to learn about and appreciate the culture, rhythms, and traditions of RCDS. Over the summer months, I have been meeting with faculty to begin that process. A school is like an onion; it has many layers to peel back to fully understand its structure and shape. I look forward to this process. I would relish alumni perspectives on this great school. You will provide what is called in the business "institutional memory." Your input would be helpful in shaping my deeper understanding of the history of your school. Please feel free to reach out to me in any way. Drop by, if you are in the area, send me an email, or contact me through snail mail - all opinions and memories welcome. In the future I look forward to connecting with alumni at Homecoming and other alumni events, locally and beyond. If my first few days at RCDS are any indication, I am sure you have a lot to feel proud about your school. Best, Whitney
wslade@rcds.org
SAVE THE DATE! - WHEN: Saturday, September 27
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WHAT: - Student athletics in the morning
- Complimentary BBQ lunch with entertainment for the whole family
- School tours in the afternoon
- All-Alumni (21+ years of age) cocktail reception at 5:30 p.m. in Riker Hall
- Class-based reunion dinners to follow either at school or off-site
Postcard invitations will be mailed out soon, so watch your mailbox! Visit www.rcds.org/homecoming if you plan to attend – we hope to see you there!
Faculty Features My Faculty Enrichment Experience
by Barbara Jones, RCDS Upper School Faculty Member As the recipient of the 2014 Blake Award, I was able to travel for a week in March to the Eva Russell School and Orphanage in the Dominican Republic. This is a small school in Monte Plata that provides education and meals for very poor street children who cannot afford food, clothes, or the ability to attend pubic school. Every child has lost one or both of their parents and lives in a home considered primitive.
READ MORE... Jeff Brown, RCDS Resident Historian Every family has its keeper of family history. Whether that person is an avid genealogist or just a saver of family memorabilia, there always seems to be one central clearinghouse of ancestral news. The RCDS family is no exception; our best source of school history is Jeff Brown, a 35-year veteran of our Maintenance Staff.  One glance at his desk in the Maintenance Office says it all; behind his desk hangs an ancient weathered school sign, two yellowed 49-star classroom flags, a 1930’s radio in an ornate wood case, lots of Rumson area postcards from the 1910’s and 1920’s, and 88 years of other assorted school memorabilia. Have a question about a former teacher? Jeff can fill you in. Looking for a specific item? Jeff knows where it’s stashed.
RCDS congratulates Jeff on concluding his 35th year at the school this past spring. He continues to work tirelessly in his role on the maintenance team and his additional role as resident historian.
 Horizons Program at RCDS
This summer, the Horizons Student Enrichment Program welcomed more than 160 students for its six-week summer program. The students, primarily from the Red Bank School District, range from Kindergarten to 8th grade and spend their days engaged in project-based academics, music, art, and swimming. Volunteers are an integral component to the success of the Horizons program and RCDS alumni make up the majority of the 90 volunteers that have spent at least two weeks dedicating their time as teaching assistants and mentors. According to research conducted by the National Summer Learning Association, low-income students lose more than two months in reading achievement, despite the fact that their middle-class peers make slight gains. Lori Hohenleitner, Executive Director of Horizons at RCDS says, "The program has bridged the summer gap and has not only prevented the 'summer slide,' but data shows that the program has provided three months of advancement over the 6-week span."  Eleni Scurletis '12, working with a Horizons 2nd grade student
Click here to learn more about Horizons at RCDS!
RCDS Events Click below to view some photos from our recent events. 
Thank you to Ara and Rachel Hovnanian, parents of Alton ’02, Alexander ’04 and Serena ‘09 for hosting a wonderful evening at their home! 
Thank you to Mr. Small and his family, and to the following Celebration Committee members for their hard work: | Andrea Aikins
Deborah Ansell
Virginia Bauer
Rebecca Donington
Tracy Boyle
Penn Branin
Marilyn Broege
Joanne Clark
Lynda Cooper
Jennifer Steiner Crowell ‘88
Sarah Devlin Devine ‘89
Kerry Devine
Elizabeth Devlin
Hilary DiPiero
Sally-Anne French
Donna Gibson
Margaret Greenberg
Danielle Devine Greene ‘79
Joyce Gulden
Pari Harrison
Leslie Hitchner
Margaret Rachel Hovnanian
Lucy Kalian
Claire Knopf
Eileen O’Hern Luby
Lisa Luckett
Eileen Lushefski
| Marshall Lynch
Alison Maloney
Beth Martino
Paula Metz
Mindy Minerva
Jacqueline Mitsch
Jennifer Hurtt Mullins ‘85
Mindy O’Mealia
Allyson Reid
Christine Reynolds
Lisa Ricker
Margaret Riker
Geri Roper
Stella Ryan
Mary Ryan
Siran Sahakian
Patricia Scopellite
Lynn Spector
Christine Stout
Denise Thomas
Bonnie Torcivia
Judy Torcivia
Kim Tsimbinos
Laura Whisnand
Patricia Whittemore
Tamberlyn Zacks | | Summer 2014 Check Out What's New on the
Alumni Blog Visit www.rcds.org/alumninews to read about great things that are happening for fellow RCDS Alumni, to submit comments, or to share your own news.
- Homecoming 2014 – Saturday, September 27th
- Regional Alumni & Friends Events (Exact dates: TBD) We are currently considering events in the following locations:
- Florida (East Coast & West Coast) – January or February 2015
- New York City – March or April 2015
If you are interested in hosting or helping organize an alumni event in your area, please contact Jessica at jgoski@rcds.org
Emmanuel G. Collins, Jr., Ph.D. ‘74  The Rumson Country Day School’s “alumni reconnection” project is producing far more than just names and addresses. Our sleuthing process is also capturing some fascinating stories about the personal lives and careers our alumni have enjoyed since leaving RCDS.
One very interesting reconnection has been with Dr. Emmanuel G. Collins, Jr. ’74, who spent just three years at RCDS. We’d had no contact with him in the intervening 41 years, so it was a pleasure to discover that the boy we’d known has become one of our nation’s leaders in engineering and robotics. READ MORE...
WANTED: Class Agents!
We are pleased to have a number of alumni classes from “the 4’s & 9’s” already planning reunion events for this summer and fall and we thank their Class Agents/Reunion Chairs: - Isabel Hertz ‘49
- Bruce Severance ‘64
- Class of '74 Reunion Committee
- Scott Metzger ’79 & Danielle Devine Greene '79
- Sarah Schiavetti ‘94
- Michael Ansell '99, Alexandra Boyle '99, Dustin Glass '99, Brian Torcivia '99, Chris Torcivia '99
- Gabriella Goode ‘04
Class Agents/Reunion Chairs are vital to the success and life of our Alumni community. We are looking for individuals to volunteer to:
- Gather contact information for classmates
- Share news with classmates about RCDS and pass along classmates' news back to the school
- Forward event invitations and encourage attendance
- Help organize your class' next milestone reunion year (i.e., 10th, 20th, 25th, 50th, etc.)
Contact Jessica Goski, Director of Alumni Relations at jgoski@rcds.org if you are interested in becoming a Class Agent/Reunion Chair.
Join RCDS Alumni on Facebook
 Join the RCDS Alumni Facebook group in order to stay current on school news and events, and to catch up with former classmates and fellow Gators.
Join RCDS Alumni on LinkedIn
 Join the Rumson Country Day School Alumni Group on LinkedIn in order to reconnect, share professional skills, and network with fellow RCDS Alumni.
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