RPS Update

Breaking news... Ridgefield High School has been selected as a 2026 Blue Ribbon School by the State of Connecticut. This press release from the Governor's Office announcing the award cites RHS's academic and career success as well as the new Thrive Together Initiative. The award is a great opportunity to celebrate the collaborative work at RPS over the past six years. Congratulations to our RPS faculty and leaders, families, the Board of Education, and all RHS students and alumni. We are so proud!

Across our schools, students and faculty took time to recognize and honor the men and women who have served, and continue to serve our country in defense of the freedoms we cherish. Memorial Day also reminds us to pause in gratitude for those who made the ultimate sacrifice in service to our nation. Through classroom activities, ceremonies, and moments of reflection, our students were encouraged to consider the meaning of service, sacrifice, citizenship, and community. I encourage families to take a moment this weekend to also reflect on the significance of Memorial Day and to honor those whose courage and dedication have helped preserve the values and opportunities we hold dear.

On Tuesday evening, the Board of Education will hold its regularly scheduled meeting. During the session, the Board will receive its final update of the school year on its District Priorities, highlighting the progress made across our strategic initiatives and the collective work of our students, faculty, staff, and leadership teams. The Board will also engage in the final policy discussions and revisions of the year as we continue our commitment to strong governance and continuous improvement in support of our schools and community.

We hope to announce a ribbon-cutting ceremony for Prospect Ridge soon... for those of you who have been visiting the dog park, you can certainly see the progress. We could not be more excited for this special day.

In addition, this time of year marks the height of an incredibly busy hiring season across the district. Our administrative teams have been actively engaged in screenings, focus groups, and interviews as we work to identify outstanding educators and staff members to join our RPS community. We know that the strength of our schools begins with the quality of the people who serve our students each day, and we are deeply committed to attracting talented, passionate, and student-centered professionals who will contribute positively to our culture of excellence, care, and growth. #Bettertogether

Enjoy the long weekend.

Warmly,

Susie

Susie Da Silva, Ed.D

The Ridgefield Board of Education is seeking applicants to fill a current vacancy. In accordance with the Town Charter, to maintain the current party representation for this seat, the candidate must be a registered Democrat and a resident of Ridgefield. Interested individuals are encouraged to submit a letter of interest and resume to the Board of Education Chair, Tina Malhotra, at tmalhotra@ridgefieldps.net no later than June 2, 2026, and to notify the Ridgefield Democratic Town Committee at communications@rigefielddems.org of their interest.

Please check your school calendar for early dismissals, art shows, concerts, and school events. RHS kicks off the CHIRP Concert Series on May 26; Senior Prom is on May 29.

We are excited to welcome our incoming kindergarteners with orientation events in May and June. If you have neighbors or friends who have kindergarten-age students (turning five by September 1, 2026), please encourage them to register ASAP. All registration information, including eligibility, can be found here.

Please check your school calendar for art shows, class events, and more.

Please help RPS go green by checking your students' e-Backpack weekly for important information.

Ridgefield High School auditorium was the place to be on Wednesday! The incredible masterclass artists Adam Taylor, Noé Socha, and Eric Finland from the band The Blues and Beyond took to the stage. This amazing annual event isn’t just a concert; it’s a specially designed enrichment experience that brings our 11th-grade US History coursework to life. RHS Juniors got to experience history through storytelling, primary sources, and—of course—MUSIC! The program offers a deeply engaging look at African American history, showing our students how music shapes and reflects culture.

Adam Taylor, the band's lead vocalist and drummer, connected with our students throughout the show. The energy in the room was electric from the first chord, but the real magic happened at the very end. In a brilliant, unscripted moment, he invited junior Peter Jensen right up onto the stage for the final song.

Peter absolutely crushed it, joining the band to bring the house down! View a snippet of video of Peter’s performance courtesy of Assistant Principal Christine Hopkinson here: Blues and Beyond.

After the show, students flocked to the band to thank them and share how excited they were to attend the in-school field trip. A huge thank you to The Blues and Beyond for making history unforgettable, and to our awesome Juniors for being a fantastic audience. We already can't wait for next year!

Photo Caption: Sara Hill - University of Massachusetts Amherst; Eva Figlar - Dartmouth College; Stella Accinelli - University of Connecticut; Erin Byrne - Trinity Dublin and Columbia University Dual Degree Program; Eva Taleb - University of South Florida; Leighton Accinelli - University of Connecticut; (Not Pictured) Layla Sisca - Northeastern University

RHS World Language Department Chair Allyson Power announced that RHS awarded 130 Seals of Biliteracy to Senior students taking World Language classes at RHS and 21 Seals to students who speak or have learned another language at home.

Photos above: Italian: John Carrozza, Sean Khanna, Abigail Freeman;; Latin: Henry Frates, Nathan Rios, Pearce Steele, Benjamin Zonder,; Mandarin: Eva Figlar, Kiyeon Kim, Brandon Lebun-Luo, Timothy Orlow, Leyna Preston, Genevieve Roy, Caden Shiffer, Joseph Velasco

Mariam Alavidze- Georgian, Lucas Alexander -Portuguese, Gaia Bracchi- Italian, Sofia Bruzzone-Spanish, Martim Dias Pinto- Portuguese, Eva Figlar-Slovak and Czech, Chris Hawken- Afrikaans, Nathan Hobbs- French, Victoria Ivanova-Bulgarian, Kiyeon Kim- Korean, Ashley Libhart-German, Savannah Libhart-German, Annie Lo-Mandarin, Lucas Locatelli- Portuguese, Felix Petzold-German, Renzo Quadros Carvalho- Portuguese, Stephanie Quadros Carvalho- Portuguese, Stephanie Quiroga-López- Spanish, Ian Trujillo- Spanish, Klaudia Wanta-Polish

Mariam Alavidze, Lillian Barlow, Liam Barnes, Simon Bleck, Lilou Bonnaudet, Hailey Carone, Martim Das Pinto, Charlotte Foley, Keira Hinkley, Jacob Kalafus, Mackenzie Klugman, Ashley Libhart, Noah Martinoli, Lachlan Maloney, Henry Resnick, Veda Rosenzweig, Sofia Rossi, Teresa Silveri, Avery Silverstein, Miles Staples, Clarabelle Sutjito, Natalie Shartouni, Arushi Tripathi, Ian Trujillo, Sebastian Utomo, Camille Wyatt

Estefany Aguirre Ramos, Lucas Alexander, Sam Allen, Will Anderson, Juliette Arencibia, Dennise Atariguana, Vishal Basker, Nathaniel Beltran Mogrovejo, Ryan Bordeaux, Alexandra Bouleris, Chloe Burns, Erin Byrne, María Caballero Maldonado, Elizabeth Campbell, Sophia Cappiello, David Carpio Beltran, Renzo Quadros Carvalho, Stephanie Quadros Carvalho, Andrew Carter, Marcos Cid, Tess Coakley, Nate Davi, Sophie Desiano, Colbie DeVoe, Caroline Duncan, Stephen Ebenezer, Andrew Elliott, Mac Epley, James Fernandez, Madelyn Ferrara, Casey Fischer, Helen Fitelson, William Flynn, Sonia Gaughran, Mia Gimigliano, Gabriel Garcia Duran, Lotte Groot, Sam Guarin, Nahomi Guijarro, Jessica Gurung , Nathan Hobbs, Sienna Hoyos, Taylor Hyla, Kayla Jacobowitz, Nora Kallusky, Manaswi Kanumuri, Brian Knox, Aayush Koppisetti , Evdokia Kotereva, Leigh Kovalsky, Astrid Kropas, Jenna Lavorgna, Luke Latauska, Jayden Lee, Savannah Libhart, Lucas Locatelli, Benjamin Macaraeg, Jake Margulies, Madeline McCartan, Casey McClellan, Caroline McDonald, Vedika Menon, Keely Merrill, Niamh Murphy, Henry Neligan, Aidan Nelson, Benjamin Olsen, Charlotte Osher, Jayin Palicha, Ava Pemberton, Akshay Pertab, Vijay Pertab, Alana Redrup, Donya Royaee, Vittal Sheridan, John Shirvell, Layla Sisca, Samantha Spagnolo, Sadie Steckler, Norah Surette, Christian Szumski, Ella Titkin, Jack Thompson, Walter Treat, Zachary Trenck, Cesar Urrutia, Xavier Gracia, Ian Wallace, Brenna Williams

It's Concert Season. On Wednesday, RHS put on the Band Concert. They celebrated seniors and actually played paper for the song "Paper Cut". Bravo to band director George Beratis in the photo with his musical seniors.

At Scotland Elementary's in-school concert, students and staff were treated to some all-time favorites. From a string performance of Beethoven conducted by Josh Sette to a shared favorite, "Rainbow Connection" and "Seasons of Love" from the musical Rent, the repertoire and execution were unmatched. Fifth graders sang "You Will Be Found" from the musical Dear Evan Hansen, which SES music teacher Dennis J. Arcano is currently playing drums in A.C.T.’s run of the hit musical.

RPS is so fortunate to have such talented musicians teaching our students.

Students in Dr. Chungsun Kim's Community Cello Ensemble had a blast playing two concerts this past Sunday and giving back. First, they wowed at Sunrise of Wilton (an assisted living facility), and then tugged at heartstrings at a fundraising concert at SoNo Collection to support the Alzheimer’s Association. The program included South American Getaway, Strauss Don Quixote, Gardel Por Una Cabeza, Mission Impossible, and Thunderstruck, which our cellists especially enjoyed!

ERMS and SRMS: April Steixner, Anna Zaharatos, Liam Lefferts, Lucas Tajada, Ian Perry, Chance Griffen, RHS: Grace Fomin, Raina Choi, Emmett Boyer, Kevin Ye, Izzy LaGravinese, Ethan Dawson, Hancheng Peng, Martim Pinto

Claudia Padilla, Malina Patel, Suna Rum, and Kate Steixner set the stage for the Ridgfield Arts Council "Behind the Scenes Award" ceremony at the Keeler Tavern.

RHS student Max Nadoraski was honored at the Ridgefield Art Council's "Behind the Scenes Award" ceremony at the Keeler Tavern. Max's Lead the Change venture supports SPHERE, a local nonprofit that supports adults with disabilities. Way to go, Max!

Visit the RHS Athletics webpage for playoff schedules, SY 2026-27 start dates, coaching vacancies, and so much more.

Sebastian is a senior with a weighted GPA of 4.99 and a consistent member of the High Honor Roll, taking mostly AP classes. He has played for the RHS boys’ varsity tennis team since his sophomore year and is captain this season. Outside the courts, Sebastian serves as the president of the math team, co-president of the coding club, and an engineering captain in the science olympiad. He is also a member of the RHS National Honor Society. In our community, Sebastian has volunteered for the School and Historical Society; he serves as a volunteer tutor for Schoolhouse.world; he also helps coach middle school science olympiad students at Scotts Ridge Middle School; and he leads the Scotts Ridge Middle School coding club as an instructor.

Erin has maintained a 4.68 weighted GPA as a High Honor Roll student while taking all honors and AP courses. She is a three-season senior captain of the Ridgefield girls’ cross country team in the fall season along with the girls’ track and field teams in the two latter seasons and has competed at the varsity level for four years. Erin has earned All-FCIAC First Team honors every track season since her sophomore year and contributed to Ridgefield’s back-to-back FCIAC championship titles in 2024 Erin is also a member of the National Honor Society, president of the RHS Environmental Club, and volunteers in her community with the Ridgefield Boys & Girls Club’s Keystone Club. In the fall, Erin plans to attend the Dual BA program between Trinity College Dublin and Columbia University as a Neuroscience major.

This week, four senior interns started in the RPS Communications Department. Andrew Carter, Claire Burns, Henry Neligan, and Kayla Jacobowitz will be combing the RPS hallways and the Greater Ridgefield community to connect with other RHS interns. They'll report on the Senior Internship program, which is a capstone of the RPS experience. RPS Communications interns will also be working on videos and curating an eGallery of student K-12 artwork. Follow along with the fun in upcoming RPS Updates, on @ridgefieldps on Instagram, and wait for a Ridgefield Tiger Talk podcast or two in June.

By Senior Correspondents Andrew Carter and Henry Neligan

RHS students, Vishal Basker and Tim Orlow, interning at the Daily Bread Food Pantry located in Danbury, are busy unloading trucks full of food and re-stocking shelves in preparation for incoming customers. Additionally, these interns work hard, breaking down boxes and helping customers. Daily Bread Food allows families to schedule appointments to get healthy and nutritious food.

Photo captions:

Top (Danbury Ice Arena) - RHS senior interns crunch numbers, set up, and help manage the Hat Tricks.

Bottom left (Branchville Elementary School) - RHS senior intern talks with 5th-grade students to find out questions they have about middle and high school.

Bottom Right (Ridgefield Theater Barn) - RHS senior interns create sets for auditions and plays, working with costumes and paint.

Junior Prom Is A Hit. On Saturday, RHS juniors danced the night away at Junior Prom at the Portuguese Club in Danbury. Weather-wise, it was a picture-perfect day, and everyone slayed, mogged, or whatever the kids say, looked great! We love our East Ridge twins. Ridgebury pies look good enough to eat.K-9 Officer Odin and Officer Michael McKnight visited during the Grade 5 Dare at Veterans Park. Thank you to all who participated in the Memorial Day Celebration at VPES and to our fallen heroes.

We would love to hear from you! Families and staff can submit stories, comments, or corrections to RPS Communications. Please follow us on Social Media with the links below.