Panther Pride April 2013

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Panther Pride APRIL 2013

NEW MEMBERS INDUCTED INTO CUM LAUDE SOCIETY

The Ranney School Cum Laude Society inducted 10 new students, one faculty member, Mrs. Barbara Levine, and the first distinguished family to receive this honor, the Bhararas, into its chapter during a ceremony in RSPA Panther Hall on March 11, 2013. Founded in 1906, the national society known as Cum Laude recognizes the scholastic achievements of students in academi-cally superior secondary schools. Since Ranney’s introduction to Cum Laude, made possible by its founder Head of School Lawrence S. Sykoff, Ed.D., in 2001, the chapter has inducted approximately 117 seniors and 17 faculty members. According to Chapter President and Head of the Middle School David Fischer, this induction represents the highest academic honor Ranney School can bestow upon its students. Congratulations to the newest inductees: From top left: Kendall Torpey (Colts Neck), Rishi Sharma (Colts Neck), James Soldati (Rumson), Christina Kalinowski (Monmouth Beach), Roey Hadar (Fair Haven), Paul Sondhi (Wall), Erika Serhus (Freehold), Rachel Burstiner (Holmdel), Molly O’Neill (Red Bank), Kate Greenberg (Chapter Secretary), David Fischer (Chapter President). From bottom left: Vinit Bharara, Preet Bharara, Mrs. Desh Sudha Sondhi Bharara, Dr. Jagdish Bharara, Dr. Lawrence S. Sykoff and Barbara Levine.


Jordan Abraham ’21 Serves as Headmaster for A Day

NICOLE VAIANI ’16

(WALL)

Congratulations to freshman Nicole Vaiani (left) who placed 2nd in the NJSIAA State Fenc-ing Foil Competition on March

3. Nicole finished 6-2 during the round-robin tournament. With her determination and work

ethic, Nicole earned the first fe-male spot on the fencing awards

podium for Ranney School.

On March 8, 2013, Jordan Abraham ’21 (Manalapan) took on the duties of Head of School Dr. Lawrence S. Sykoff as he be-came “Headmaster for A Day.” As Head-master, Jordan declared a purple dress down day for all three divisions along with an ice cream sundae bar at lunch on Wednesday, March 13. After touring the Upper and Mid-dle Schools, Jordan met with the Communi-cations Department for a brief interview. He revealed that he was already anticipating lunch to be one of his favorite parts of the day. As part of the package, the Headmaster for A Day customizes the lunch menu for the entire school. Jordan’s selections includ-ed chicken wings, sausage sandwiches and ice cream sundaes. Jordan also discussed a few ideas he would incorporate if he were appointed Headmaster, which included

changing the school’s logo to a Viking in honor of his favorite NFL team, the installation of zip lines, unlimited lunch and desserts, and a dress-down day every Friday strictly for sports jerseys. Jordan also shared his goal of becoming a CIA agent after graduating from Princeton University. “I want to help the country and make sure everyone is safe.” Although he may not see a future for himself as Headmaster, he feels Dr. Sykoff, who is retiring this year, has done a great job in his 20 years as the Head of School. “I will miss Dr. Sykoff’s Panther pride and seeing him at all of the events cheering for us and being supportive.” When it was time for the Headmaster for A Day to call a final meeting with his parents and Dr. Sykoff, Jordan shared details from his exciting day and opened several gifts, including a person-alized photo album, Ranney School vest, plaque of recognition and a windbreaker courtesy of the Athletic Department. The 4th-grade Headmaster was admired across all three divisions for his generosity and enthusiastic personality throughout the day.

In February, 15 Upper School students attended Model Congress in Boston, MA. Chaper-oned by Upper School history teachers Marie Curry and Mark DiGiovanni, the group of future leaders had great success. Roey Hadar ’13 (Fair Haven) [left] and George Timmins ’15 (Old Bridge) [center] both won “the gavel” (first place) in their programs. Chrissi Michael ’15 (Sea Girt) [right] also received a Certificate of Excellence.

UPPER SCHOOL STUDENTS SHINE AT MODEL CONGRESS IN BOSTON


NATIONAL HONOR SOCIETY HOSTS SENIOR-SENIOR PROM

The annual Senior-Senior Prom sponsored by the Russell G. Ranney chapter of the National Honor Society (NHS) recently took place at the Applewood Estates Assisted and Active senior living community in Freehold. Kate Greenberg, advisor to the NHS, said, “This year we were told that the one night of dancing did more for one gentleman than three months of physical therapy. Through dancing that night, he gained enough strength and confidence to put his walker aside and use only a cane. His wife was thrilled.” The event is also a wonderful example of intergenerational connection; the elder seniors shared stories about their lives, careers and service in the military with the senior-class.

MADISON PRICE ’13 (RED BANK)

OMAR HOZAYEN ’13 (COLTS NECK) LEAH CHAISE ’13 (MORGANVILLE), ALYSSA MULLALLY ’13 (RED BANK) AND ALEXANDRA SENECA ’13 (COLTS NECK)

LOWER SCHOOL COMMUNITY

SERVICE CLUB The Lower School Community Service Club received a special visit from Corinne LeBaron, Executive Director of Ronald McDonald House, NJ, this month. She spoke to the students about the organization, her lifetime commitment to commu-nity service and her many experiences, including working in an orphanage in Africa, a school in India and working with victims of domestic vio-lence. The club presented her with a check for $695.51, which they raised through the Valentine’s Day car-nation sale. Congratulations to these students for their hard work and service to the community!


UPPER SCHOOL ACADEMIC TEAM Members of the Ranney School Academic Team Roey Hadar ’13 (Fair Haven) [left], Jake Bassinder ’13 (Point Pleasant)

[center] and Joshua Goikhman ’15 (Morganville) [right] fin-ished in 3rd place out of 32 teams in the Academic Team Chal-lenge held in Bloomfield, PA. Had they not already qualified

for nationals, they would have qualified in this event.

HISTORY BOWL AND BEE

Congratulations to Ranney’s two teams that com-peted in the History Bowl and Bee on February 23. Team A, led by Jake Bassinder ’13 (Point

Pleasant), made it to the semi-finals, and Team B, composed mainly of freshmen, made it two-thirds

of the way through the competition.

RANNEY SCHOOL MATHLETES

Congratulations to the “mathletes” from grades 4-6 and their coach Jane Guadagno and chaperone advisor Doreen Fowlkes for a successful Pi Day Mathleague competition. The follow-ing teams participated: 3rd grade Matthew Raccuia (Farmingdale) 4th grade Hubert Wang (Holmdel) Dylan Warren (Rumson) Megan Yerrabelli (Freehold) Evan Woska (Marlboro)

5th grade Shrish Vaidyaselvan (Marlboro) Katie Donnelly (Holmdel) Talullah Manghise (Red Bank) Mason Leong (Middletown) 6th grade Sathya Edamadaka (Allentown) Jacob Field (Tinton Falls) Priyanka Prasad (Freehold) Jack Crilly (Shrewsbury)

Grade Level Team Results: 4th-grade: 1st Place- Hubert Wang, Dylan Warren, Megan Yerrabelli and Evan Woska 5th-grade: 2nd place- Shrish Vaidyaselvan, Katie Donnelly, Talullah Manghise and Mason Leong 6th-grade: 2nd place -Sathya Edamadaka, Jacob Field, Priyanka Prasad, Jack Crilly Individual Results: Congratulations to Hubert Wang ’21 who qualified to compete at the State level! 2nd place Auxilary Winners: Sathya Edamadaka, Mason Leong, Dylan Warren, Evan Woska and Shrish Vaidyaselvan Ranney School finished in second place overall! Congratulations to all those who competed!

UPPER SCHOOL STUDENT COUNCIL AND TRI-M MUSIC HONOR SOCIETY

In February, the Student Council and Tri-M Music Honor Society

presented American Red Cross Representative and New Jersey resi-dent Antonia Silver with a check for $5,908 to be used for recovery efforts in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy. Ms. Silver spoke to Up-per School students about the American Red Cross and her own per-

sonal experiences with community service.

From left: Tri-M Music Honors Society President Luciano Cioffi ’13 (West Long Branch), Antonia Silver, Co-Director of College

Guidance Adam Materasso and Student Council President Jordan Hesslein ’13 (Red Bank).


RANNEY ROBOTICS CLUB The Ranney School Robotics Club has been working hard all year to de-sign, build and drill their robots for multiple competitions. The two com-peting teams led by Raymond Moser '15 (Shrewsbury) [Team A] and Brandon Gioggia '16 (Belford) [Team B] have had great success in their battles so far, with Team A recently earning an invitation to the VEX World Robotics Championship on April 17-20 in Anaheim, California. This represents the first time Ranney has qualified for the World Tourna-ment and the students are excited to compete against the top 400 teams from all over the globe. Congratulations to our Upper School students!

ETHAN BODNER ’25

(EATONTOWN) Kindergarten student Ethan Bodner was selected as a finalist in Artsonia, an inter-national online museum for art students, for his clay sculpture of a dog that he made in art class. Out of 100,000 entries each week, Artsonia selects just a few submissions from each age group as finalists.

Knowledge Vision.Honor

UPPER SCHOOL STUDENTS

VOLUNTEER AT CINDERELLA’S CLOSET

A group of Upper School students led by Alex Seneca ’13 (Colts Neck), Erika Serhus ’13 (Freehold), Mad-die Young ’14 (Middletown) and Caroline Korey ’14 (Locust) volunteered at an event hosted by Cinderella’s

Closet of Monmouth County, a charity that provides less fortunate high school students in the community

the opportunity to attend their prom in style while pro-moting self-esteem among young adults.


SCIENCE OLYMPIAD

Congratulations to the Middle School Science Olympiad Team and their coaches, Mrs. Williams and Mr. Allen, on a successful competition earlier this month. The following students placed in their categories:

Jillian Ross ’17 (Rumson) and Greg Marx ’17 (Marlboro): 6th place- “Crime Busters”

Teddy Montalbano ’17 (Rumson) and Louie Mastrokostas ’18 (Freehold): 4th place-“Helicopters”

Ashley, Alexa and Dylan Biswal ’17 (Millstone Township): 6th place-“Mission Impossible”

BRYNN BRESNAHAN ’13 (WALL) Senior Brynn Bresnahan (pictured above with Head Coach and “B Central” Coach of the Year Tom Moriau) was named to the first team, Shore Conference Coaches Association “B Central” basketball team after a successful 2012-2013 season. As one of two seniors on the team, Brynn served as a leader and constant motivator to her teammates.


PERFORMING ARTS AT RANNEYPERFORMING ARTS AT RANNEY

MAN OF LA MANCHA

Congratulations to the cast and crew of Ranney’s Upper School production of “Man of La Mancha” on a remarkable performance.

Pictured above: Noah Goldstein ’14 (Spring Lake Heights) as Don Quixote,

Peri Rohl ’16 (Freehold) as Aldonza (Dulcinea) and George Timmins ’15 (Old Bridge) as Sancho Panza.

For behind the scenes interviews, visit the Ranney School website Multimedia Gallery.

LOWER SCHOOL STRINGS STUDENTS

Congratulations to the following Lower School students on their acceptance into the 5th Annual Central Jersey Elementary Honors Orchestra. This year, the CJMEA EHO Festival will take place on Saturday, April 13, at John F. Kennedy High

School in Iselin, NJ. This will be the second year that Ranney School strings students represent the Ranney School Orchestra, with an increase in participation from 4 last year to 10 this year.

Annabella Andiorio ’21 (Wall)– violin Lara Chu ’21 (Colts Neck)– violin Samantha Jackman ’21(Freehold)- violin Talullah Manghise ’20 (Red Bank)– violin Jatin Nayyar ’20 (Morganville)– viola

Daniel Palatnik ’21 (Marlboro)– viola Aidan Smires ’20 (Freehold)—violin Shrish Vaidyaselvan ’20 (Marlboro)– violin Hubert Wang ’21 (Holmdel)– cello Evan Woska ’21(Marlboro)— violin

a

violin


LUKE ARNONE (SEA GIRT)

Luke Arnone ’19 recently participated in a sailing competition in Am-sterdam as a member of the USA team. A total of 210 sailors from 13 different countries competed in a total of 8 races. Luke finished in the top 10 in 4 out of the 8 races and finished in 41st place overall. The next endeavor for the young sailor will be a qualifier in Wisconsin at the end of April.

JACOB FIELD (TINTON FALLS)

Congratulations to Jacob Field ’19 on being named an All-American Scholar (Eastern Division) by Pop Warner Football! Jacob was one of 35 boys selected from 1,900 applications. The prestig-ious award is based on a combination of grades, school involvement and community service. This is the sec-ond year Jacob has received this hon-or.

AMY WINKLER (MANASQUAN) On March 16, Amy Winkler ’15 earned 2nd place in the Intermediate Engineering category at the Jersey Shore Science Fair at Richard Stockton College for her project focused on bridge failures. Amy went on to compete at the Delaware Valley Science Fair sponsored by Drexel University. Her work, along with other student projects, will be on display at the Ranney School Science Expo on April 9.

MRS. LILLIANNE TORRENTE Congratulations to music and chorus teacher Lillianne Torrente on her nomination for the Mas-ter Music Teacher Award by the New Jersey Mu-sic Educator’s Association (MJMEA). Mrs. Tor-rente is also the Musical Theatre Director and ad-visor to the Jr. Tri-M Music Honor Society.


EQUESTRIAN TEAM On October 4, 2012 the Ranney Equestrian Team became an active addition to the athletic program. Members had the vision to bring students together who shared a common passion for horseback riding and united a group of individuals into a team of sup-porters, cheering on their peers as they pursue their riding careers. Equestrian is an official team at Ranney and is open to anyone who holds a Unites States Equestrian Federation (USEF) number and rides horses or ponies, of any riding style, on a regular ba-sis. Several team members compete throughout the tri-state area year round, dedicating their free time towards practicing and riding. In fact, quite a few members travel to Wellington or Ocala, Florida during the winter months to ride and compete. These loca-tions are common for serious equestrian competitors across the United States who wish to compete in the winter months. Current team members range from 6thgrade to 12th grade and vary in experience. These members are Sara Abdel Barry ’15 (Manasquan), Kayla Birde ’13 (Rumson), Sophia Calve ’16 (Oceanport), Ashton Clancy ’16 (Colts Neck), Ireland Clancy ’15 (Colts Neck) [team representative], Ashleigh Conroy-Zugel ’16 (Holmdel)[team captain], Madison Gerhard ’18 (Colts Neck),

Krishawna Goins ’15 (Atlantic Highlands), Isabelle Heckler ’16 (Colts Neck), Jessica Herzog ’14 (Colts Neck), Niya Klayman ’16 (Clarksburg), Brianna Marchese ’16 (West Long Branch), Giavanna Marchese ’15 (West Long Branch) [team representa-tive], Kayla McCarthy ’15 (Manasquan), Adele McKenna ’15 (Rumson), Ariana Morales ’17 (Tinton Falls), Sophia Morales ’19 (Tinton Falls), Claudia Payor ’15 (Atlantic Highlands), Dana Rizzo ’13 (Wall), Coury Saker ’13 (Freehold), Kimberly Scopel-lite ’16 (Rumson), Melanie Scopellite ’14 (Rumson), and Lily Thacher ’16 (Holmdel). To stay up to date with Ranney School Equestrian Team news and to view results, videos and photos, please visit the Equestrian page in the Athletics section of the Ranney School website. Congratulations to those who competed throughout the winter season and good luck to all in their future competitions!

KYRA CITRON (BRIELLE) Since she was 9 years old, Kyra Citron ’16 has been pas-sionate about giving back to the community. Through her family’s foundation, the Charles Lafitte Foundation (CLF), Kyra has been actively involved in many facets of community service. In 2011, Kyra became the director of Kid’s Corner—a foundation where kids are empowered to change their world. According to the Girl Scouts of the Jersey Shore, Kyra has overseen a number of grants aimed at providing support to organizations important to kids as well as efforts to provide children with the oppor-tunity to get involved and give back to their communities. Kyra’s leadership includes both hands-on projects such as her annual book drive, which has donated more than 5,000 books to Bridge of Books, as well as funding na-tional grant requests reaching across the country. Her involvement has been honored by several organizations including Bridge of Books and Jersey Battered Women’s Services. Most recently, she was honored as a Junior Woman of Distinction at the Girl Scouts of the Jersey Shore Wom-en of Distinction & Community Partners Gala on March 1, sponsored by Investors Bank. Kyra was one of six honorees to join the other 140 Women of Distinction and Award recipients who have received recognition.

Photo credit: Two River Times

Kyra Citron ’16 Photo credit: Girls Scouts of the Jersey Shore

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Panther Pride April 2013