Category Archives: Schools Scene

Find out what’s going on in the RFH Regional High School and Rumson and Fair Haven school districts.

Filling Empty Food Bowls at RFH

The community came out in force recently for the annual Rumson-Fair Haven Regional High School (RFH)-sponsored Empty Bowls fundraiser, getting roughly 8,700 meals to those in need.

The event , held in the RFH cafeteria on March 3, raised $2,900 for the Food Bank of Monmouth and Ocean Counties which amounts to the roughly 8,700 meals.

Empty Bowls is named for the situation faced by local families struggling to put food on the table. Each year the event is open to the public and features beautiful original artwork in the form of bowls crafted by RFH ceramics students. For $10, people purchase one of the ceramic bowls as well as soup, bread and dessert.

Cups and Cakes Bakery in Rumson and Crazees Ice Cream and Frozen Yogurt in Rumson served as community sponsors of the event.

A variety of soups was provided by members of the RFH school community, including staff members. Breads and desserts were provided by the RFH Cooking Club as well as RFH staff, students, and community volunteers.

RFH ceramics students as well as members of the RFH Character Education Club and RFH Cooking Club provided a helping hand. Sophomores Brian Incremona and Leo Maita provided music to dine by.

This year’s fundraiser featured a lucky chance drawing for ceramic pieces donated by local artists Lauren Bellero, Denise Ciolino, Steve Jaskowak, Greg LaPlaca, Judi Tavill, and Zack Wilson.

Event coordinators were: RFH Art Teacher Zack Wilson, library media specialist Linda Wien Murray, and guidance counselor Jason Lippart. RFH parent volunteers were Marianne Velcamp, Jen Shaw and Annie McGinty.

The Empty Bowls Project, now in its 25th year, is an international grassroots effort to raise both money and awareness in the fight to end hunger. More information can be found at www.emptybowls.net.

The Food Bank of Monmouth and Ocean Counties alleviates hunger though child nutrition programs, a mobile pantry, a senior food program, and nutrition education.

For more information on how you can help as a volunteer or by donating, visit www.foodbankmoc.org.

— Edited press release from Rumson-Fair Haven Regional High School

Knollwood’s ‘Peter Panic’ an Original Tale of Athletes and Actors

They called it Peter Panic.

The sixth, seventh and eighth grade Performing Arts Troupe of Knollwood School in Fair Haven recently presented a production story of an age-old struggle — athletics versus performing arts — about a fictional drama club and the football program vying for the limited space provided by their high school dubbed Peter Panic.

The 26-member cast acted, sang and danced its way through the Feb. 25 production.

The story: The Drama Club, led by Pam (Nora Doonan), is in desperate need of funds and performers. The Drama Club members (Aaron Bernstein, Sarah Dolan, Sabrina Marshall, Ceci Newman, and Nora Phillips) turn to the school’s two members of the Economics Club (Hannah Bates and Marie Mohen) for help. They decide that they can sell more tickets to the upcoming production of Peter Pan if popular athletes agree to perform.

Two star football players, Lefty (Jacob Gerbman) and Tinkerman (Caitlin Carr), audition and are given key roles as Captain Hook and Tinkerbell. The cheerleaders (Brett Cetnar-Garrett, Addie Cope, Avery Fratto, Elizabeth Harby, Clancy McCann, and Bea Zaleski) are cast as mermaids.

Everyone is doing their best to work together. Even the Detention Girls (Kira Fleischer, Sarah Neczesny, and Grace Tambaro) accept roles as the lost girls. But when conniving football coach Rook (Michael Mazzucca) gets wind of what’s happening, he plots to halt production and bring down the drama club.

Musical numbers in the show included: “All the World’s a Stage,” “Here in Neverland,” “Audition,” “Dreams Don’t Die Hard,” and “The Show Must Go On.”

The production was directed by seventh grade social studies teacher Alison Dooley and eighth grade literary teacher Gabrielle Illiano, with choreography by Sickles School third grade teacher Morgan Bufano. Art teacher Jessica Data was the set designer, and computer tech support provider Brian Ericson directed sound and lighting. Music teacher Karen Hauge was music/choral director.

— Edited press release from the Fair Haven School District

Preview: RFH’s Bullying Message

In just over a month, Rumson-Fair Haven Regional High School (RFH) drama students will be setting the stage at New York University’s (NYU) Forum on Educational Theater (FOET) to bring awareness to teen harassment and bullying in an production dubbed The Bystander: A portrait of Apathy.

Bystander was written by RFH English teacher Suzanne Sweeney, who is also the high school’s drama director.

With the performance slated for April 24, the students are not only the performers, but the producers of the narrative short drama with a message.

The above YouTube video gives a glimpse into what’s coming at NYU.

The RFH students performing in The Bystander are: Gianna Casale, Vaughn Coleman, Emily Cooner, William Dey, Matthew Hughes, Jeremy Nives, Jane Pavluk, Eli Rallo, Paige Russo, Lisa Sandoli, Ben Segall, Kelli Tuttle, and Alissa Zack.

The student directors are Gianna Casale, Eli Rallo, and Alissa Zack.

RFH Drama Students Set to Perform at NYU Forum on Educational Theater

The Bystander: A Portrait of Apathy, a proposal submitted by Rumson-Fair Haven Regional High School (RFH) English teacher Suzanne Sweeney, has been accepted by the New York University Forum on Educational Theatre (FOET).

Continue reading RFH Drama Students Set to Perform at NYU Forum on Educational Theater

Bonnie and Clyde Come to RFH

The Rumson-Fair Haven Regional High School (RFH) Tower Players are setting the stage for a production of the Tony-nominated musical Bonnie and Clyde.

The show will start with opening night on Friday, March 18 with a 7:30 p.m. curtain and a show on Saturday at the same time and close with a 1 p.m. Sunday matinee on March 20.

Bonnie and Clyde, musical by Frank Wildhorn, of Jekyll and Hyde, Civil War and Dracula fame, is based on the real-life adventures of starry-eyed Bonnie Elizabeth Parker and the outlaw Clyde Chestnut Barrow, who embarked on a crime spree across the United States at the height of the Great Depression.

Bonnie wants to escape from her west-Texas town and become a movie star. Clyde has just broken out of prison with his brother Buck. When they meet, their mutual cravings for excitement and fame set them on a mission to chase their dreams.

Teaming up with Buck and his wife Blanche, they commit a string of robberies and become American folk heroes as well as law enforcement’s worst nightmare. Forced to remain on the run, the lovers resort to increasingly brutal crimes. But as their fame grows and the body count rises, the end draws near for the ill-fated duo.

Bonnie and Clyde features a non-traditional score combining blues, gospel, and rockabilly music. The RFH production will showcase a cast of 45.

The RFH production stars Eli Rallo as Bonnie Parker, Matt Hughes as Clyde Barrow, Kate Sustick as Blanche Barrow, and Liam Hughes as Buck Barrow.

Suzanne Sweeney is director, with Kasi Ann Sweeney as assistant director. RFH Dance Team Coach Jen Costa is choreographer. Amy Fredericks, musical director for the Count Basie Awards, will be conducting the pit orchestra and overseeing vocal performances as the production’s musical director.

Costumes and props are under the direction of Carole Malick, and Matthew Leddin is overseeing the tech crew of 50 students providing set construction, sounds, and lighting.

Refreshments and a Texas-style feast, including chili and cornbread, will be available for purchase at the café in the RFH gymnasium before each performance and during intermissions.

Ticket prices are: $10 for general admission and $6 for students and seniors. RFH students with SGA cards will be admitted free.

To purchase tickets online, visit the RFH web site (rumsonfairhaven.org) and click on “Bonnie and Clyde.”

For more information including group discounts, contact Play Production Coordinator Stefania Flecca, [email protected].

The Box Office will be open for ticket purchases an hour before each performance.

Over the years the Tower Players have received numerous awards for acting, directing, choreography, costumes, set design and lighting, and overall outstanding production.

Lunching with a Loved One at Deane Porter

Enjoying Lunch with a Loved One at Deane Porter School are Joseph Whitehouse and his grandmother Elaine Sourlis and Maria Ursino and her cousin Cecilia Ciambrone, and Reagan Haley and her grandmother Ginger Kriegel. Photo/Rumson School District
Enjoying Lunch with a Loved One at Deane Porter School are Joseph Whitehouse and his grandmother Elaine Sourlis and Maria Ursino and her cousin Cecilia Ciambrone, and Reagan Haley and her grandmother Ginger Kriegel.
Photo/Rumson School District

Love was in the air as the Rumson Parent Teacher Organization (PTO) presented its annual Lunch with a Loved One at Deane Porter School recently.

Students kindergarten through third grade enjoyed a luncheon celebration with a special person in the special Valentine’s Day themed event on Feb. 15.

“Families and schools belong together, and Lunch with a Loved One allows us the opportunity to come together for a fun event,” Deane Porter School Principal Shari Feeney said. “It’s great to see the smiles on everyone’s faces and hear the laughter as they share lunch with their friends and loved ones.”

The PTO provided bottled water and an array of home-baked treats, snacks, gluten-free snacks, and pre-packaged peanut-free items as well as fruit and granola bars in the Deane Porter gym festooned with Valentine’s Day decor.

— Edited press release from Rumson School District

Rumson Schools: Hoops for Funds

The boys' teams from Forrestdale and Holy Cross schools prepare for a rebound during the annual Basketball Fundraiser. Photo/Rumson School District
The boys’ teams from Forrestdale and Holy Cross schools prepare for a rebound during the annual Basketball Fundraiser.
Photo/Rumson School District

Courtside was the place to be on Feb. 4 when the Forrestdale and Holy Cross School basketball teams squared off in the RFH gym.

A good time was had by all as the boy’s and girl’s teams took to the court to raise funds for both schools in the annual event.

Continue reading Rumson Schools: Hoops for Funds

Trailblazer: RFH’s Shannon Corsi’s Ticket to the GRAMMYs

Rumson-Fair Haven Regional High School (RFH) student Shannon Corsi is about to hit the red carpet, or some path close to it, at the GRAMMY Awards tonight.

It was her original song “Trailblazer,” about the plight of substance abuse, that got here there. She’s already looked in on a rehearsal.

Soon it’s show time. No, she’s not a contender, but she won her own contest that got her and a few other teens closer to being one.

In case you haven’t heard it yet, take a look and listen to her song that set her on her way.

Enjoy, Shannon! Congrats!