Category Archives: Schools Scene

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

Arts & Entertainment, Schools Scene

RFH Talent Show: Entertainment & Charity

Call it a night of fun, entertainment and charity RFH style.

It was the Rumson-Fair Haven Regional High School (RFH) Talent Show and it showcased 18 student acts on April 7 with the proceeds from the show donated to the American Cancer Society.

“A great variety of music and talent, coupled with creative hosts and judges’ commentary, made this year’s talent show the best one yet!” RFH Student Council Advisor and Spanish teacher Yannell Maglione said.

Of the 18 acts, three were chosen by judges Bill Grillo, RFH music director, and Stefania Flecca, English teacher.

In the end, first prize was awarded to the group that performed David Bowie’s Ziggy Stardust, featuring Paddy Ahimovic and Matt Bavuso. Katie Person claimed second prize with her dance performance to Sinner. Third prize went to Anthony Cinko and Tristan Kilper performing Nothin’ on You by B.o.B. and Bruno Mars.

The cast of student performers for the evening …

• Joe Esposito, Rob Lenza, Joe Monte, and Noah Sullivan – Grand Theft Auto by Fall Out Boy;
• Mia Sourlis – I’m Yours by Jason Mraz;
• Fiona Lenahan – Original Piece;
• Julia Handerhan and Rogan McGarvey – Wish You Were Here by Pink Floyd;
• Ally Calvanico, Emily Cooner, Leigh Forsyth, Jenny Greener, Brian Incremona, Rachel Makstein, and Bailey Newsome performing a mashup of Love Yourself and Photograph;
• RFH Dance Team Members – Dance Mix;
• Max Connery – piano piece;
• Kate Gagliardi – This Is Gospel by Panic! At the Disco;
• Paddy Ahimovic, JC Liang, and Kate Sustick – Tears Dry by Amy Winehouse;
• Michael Frissora – No Such Thing by John Mayer;
• Sophia Maita and Jen Sandoli – Can’t Make You Love Me by Bon Iver;
• Stephen Appezzato, Calvin Bruno, Henry Manelski, and Anthony Paolantonio – Naïve by The Kooks;
• Emma Singleton – Fix You by Coldplay;
• Matt Bavuso and Peter Hogan – Mrs. Handerhan, a rendition.

This year’s Talent Show was hosted by RFH seniors Olivia Teevan and Danny Trocchia and physical education and health teacher Eric Zullo and organized by the Student Council.

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

Schools Scene

RFH Students Serve Up Some Food for the Soul

Members of the Rumson-Fair Haven Regional High School (RFH) Cooking Club volunteered at the Jon Bon Jovi Soul Foundation’s Soul Kitchen Community Restaurant in Red Bank recently.

Working with Soul Kitchen’s Front-of-House Manager Dolly Bonilla, the RFH students on April 16 cleaned off and set tables as well as organized menus for that evening’s crowd.

They were also given a tour of the facility’s garden, which provides fresh organic ingredients for meals, by gardener Robin Grossman. The students learned more about what the Soul Kitchen means to the local community.

“Hope is Delicious” is the motto of the Soul Kitchen, which provides healthy, organic, and locally grown food in a restaurant setting. For paying customers, there are no prices on the menu. Instead, they are invited to “pay it forward.”

A donation of $10 covers the cost of one meal, and anything extra helps defray the cost of someone else’s meal. Nonpaying patrons of the Soul Kitchen can perform volunteer work in exchange for family meals. Those who volunteer in exchange for meals are guided through their tasks by Soul Kitchen staff members, giving them a step up in qualifying for jobs in the restaurant industry.

The Soul Kitchen treats all customers with dignity and respect, while uniting communities and forming healthy and lasting relationships through food.

Volunteerism is very important to the success of Soul Kitchen, and there are opportunities available for those who would like to help out by busing tables, cleaning, stocking items, or serving. More information can be found at jbjsoulkitchen.org.

RFH students who volunteered their time were: Tori Hyduke, Christy Jadevaia, Katie Kane, Michaela Lake, Julia Marascio, Jenna Sandoli, and Becky Unsinn. They were accompanied by RFH Library media specialist Linda Wien Murray and English teachers Cassie Fallon and Lauren Grumbach, who are the club’s co-advisors.

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

Schools Scene

Forrestdale Students Revisit Jersey Icons

Kaila Scarpa, a Forrestdale School sixth grader, uses an interactive learning device at the New Jersey Hall of Fame Mobile Museum. Photo/Rumson School District
Kaila Scarpa, a Forrestdale School sixth grader, uses an interactive learning device at the New Jersey Hall of Fame Mobile Museum.
Photo/Rumson School District

Rocker Jon Bon Jovi’s jacket. A Les Paul guitar. A Green Bay Packers helmet representing longtime Coach Vince Lombari. These were just a few of the items viewed by sixth graders at Forrestdale School in Rumson when they visited the New Jersey Hall of Fame Mobile Museum.

Continue reading Forrestdale Students Revisit Jersey Icons →

Schools Scene

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

Arts & Entertainment, Schools Scene

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

Arts & Entertainment, Schools Scene

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.

Arts & Entertainment, Schools Scene

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 →