School Spotlights April

RCSA Southeast

RCSA Southeast and RCSA Mandarin students participated in the 2024 Mandarin Art Festival!

Damir’s impressive artwork earned third place, showcasing the creativity and skill of our students. Well done to all participants for their hard work and dedication!

We are thrilled to announce the addition of two wonderful staff members to our school community: Ms. Matteo and Ms. Massini. They have joined us to cover maternity leave and have already started making a positive impact in our classrooms.

Ms. Matteo and Ms. Massini have embraced a collaborative approach by co-teaching with our existing teachers. This strategy not only ensures a smooth transition but also helps our students get acquainted with their new teachers in a supportive environment.

Previously, Mr. Seker admirably covered Ms. Sagmaquen’s Math class, and we extend our gratitude for his contributions. He continues with Math support, Mathletics, Chess, Academic events and Science Olympiad. Now, with the arrival of Ms. Matteo and Ms. Massini, we are confident in their abilities to not only fill in during maternity leave but also play crucial roles during our school’s expansion.

As we celebrate these new beginnings, we also invite you to join us in supporting our colleagues who are expecting. If you would like to contribute to the baby registries for Ms. Planz and Mrs. Branscome, please find the links below.

Your generosity and support are deeply appreciated as we welcome new members to our school family and celebrate the joys of growing together.

Mrs. Branscome’s Baby Registry: https://www.babylist.com/list/baby-adam-larissa-connell

Ms. Planz’s Baby Registry: https://www.amazon.com/baby-reg/jaclyn-planz-april-2024-orangepark/2PZ3APKD15OJ5

RCSA Elementary

RCSA Middle-High

4 Middle-High Rockets were accepted into the Rotary Youth Leadership Conference! Way to go Lara, Megan, Joyce, and Atticus!

Marielly Silva (RCSA Middle-High) and Stefani Ng were 11 and 14 when they started their project, Project Music for Kids, which provides tuition-free piano lessons to kids at a local Brazilian church, where many of the kids face financial or language barriers that prevent them from exposure to music education. Over the past two years, they have expanded their program and received national attention twice from a nonprofit based in Baltimore called Karma for Cara. In the process, they have gained experience in growing an arts education initiative, from finding sources of funding as youth, to planning engaging group lessons and involving student volunteers. They have experimented with different approaches to optimizing their program, with varying degrees of success, and through trial and error have gathered an understanding of what approaches are effective. Above all, Marielly and Stefani want to mobilize other leaders, especially youth leaders, to impact their communities in similar ways by helping make music more accessible. Because they both grew up playing the piano, they view music and the arts as an integral part of a kid’s childhood and education, and want to extend the opportunity to encounter the arts to as many kids as possible. They want to share their relevant experience, and in doing so, inspire other leaders to initiate arts education programs using similar models.