From the Head of School
From the Desk of the Head of School: Helping the Class of 2024 prepare for life after RE
When RE’s board of trustees unveiled our core values (The RE Way) last year, it served as a reminder that Ransom Everglades is more than a school. The values – support and community, diversity and inclusion, honor and excellence, service and outreach, and joy and wellbeing – have little to do with achieving an A on a test or in a course. Although our students exemplify excellence, we aren’t a factory churning out excellent students. We are an important institution in our city that strives to send out academically prepared, capable and empathetic citizens ready for life’s challenges. That aspiration was the driving force behind the recent creation of the Life After RE Seminar Series for members of the Class of 2024.
The world outside Ransom Everglades’ gates can be unsettling and overwhelming, even on the idyllic college campuses often considered safe havens from real-world issues and strife. For our students to make a meaningful difference in the world, they must be able to confront and manage the challenges of their times. In addition to completing their final courses at RE, taking their last AP exams, finalizing their college choices and looking forward to traditions such as Senior Send-Off, prom and commencement, our seniors have been absorbing critical information designed to ready them for life after Ransom Everglades.
The Life After RE Seminars are mandatory and occur during the long advisory period. Every featured topic is important: In January, seniors learned more about media literacy, social media and fake news from Dr. Matt Margini, a Humanities Department faculty member. Last month, Assistant Director of Security Desiree de Armas provided a slate of tips on safety, self-awareness and security; and Faculty College Counselor Dr. Brandon King talked about how to participate in civil discourse and the importance of civic engagement.
This month, the Class of 2024 will hear about personal health and self-care from Dr. Joanna Bedell '05 of New Age Women’s Health, and about financial literacy from Mandira Bose-Nyberg, Upper School Mathematics and Computer Science Department Coordinator. The series will close with a session on college waitlists, and a powerful discussion of the dangers of hazing from Flavia Tomasello of The Antonio Tsialas Leadership Foundation.
Our seniors also benefited from important fall programming for all upper school students on consent and healthy relationships, and substance abuse. Taken together, the sessions represent a key component of our enhanced health and wellness focus, and they are as important to us as our other academic graduation requirements.
I am thankful to our Dean of the 12th Grade Roger Caron for taking the lead on organizing these seminars. I am also grateful to the many members of our professional community who have assisted with executing them. (See details about each seminar below.) It is clear from reading this issue of the Dell + Cannon that our students are excelling in many realms, from robotics and math competitions to speech and debate. They are talented, intelligent, diligent and interested, and ready for their college experience.
We also want to make sure they are ready for life.
Rachel RodriguezHead of School
Life After RE Seminar SeriesFact or Fake News? Guidelines for Media Literacy January 30, 2024 Navigating social media and the news, with guidelines on how to differentiate between misinformation and fact. Dr. Matt Margini, English Teacher Safety and Self-Awareness in Your New Environment February 15, 2024 Practical tips on how to stay safe on college campuses. Desiree De Armas, Assistant Director of Security How to Engage in Civil Discourse February 29, 2024 A discussion of civic engagement: what it is, why it is important, its role in education, and the variety of ways students can participate in and elevate civil discourse in college. Dr. Brandon King, Faculty College Counselor How to Take Control of Your Personal Health and Self-Care March 7, 2024 Health and wellness tips and strategies from an RE alumna and local physician. Dr. Joanna Bedell '05, New Age Women’s Health Financial Literacy for Students March 14, 2024 Honing financial literacy before leaving for college. Mandira Bose-Nyberg, Upper School Mathematics and Computer Science Department Coordinator College Waitlist Information Session April 4, 2024 How waitlists work, strategies for increasing your chances of acceptance, and insights into navigating this phase of the admissions process. Executive Director of College Counseling Jason Locke and Director of College Counseling Patrick Tassoni REal Talk: Recognize and Prevent Hazing April 11, 2024 Learn how to prevent hazing and risks associated with unhealthy on-campus social life, and discover how to make safe and compassionate choices. Flavia Tomasello, The Antonio Tsialas Leadership Foundation Fall 2023 Seminars For All Upper School StudentsConsent and Healthy Relationships October 25, 2023 How to prevent sexual assault and make safe and healthy choices in relationships. Mike Domitrz, President of The Center for Respect Substance Abuse Prevention November 7, 2023 The dangers of addictive substances and how drugs and alcohol affect the developing brain. Ann M. Moreno, Co-founder of R & A Therapeutic Partners |
Middle School
2045 South Bayshore Drive, Coconut Grove, FL 33133Phone: 305 250 6850
Upper School
3575 Main Highway, Coconut Grove, FL 33133Phone: 305 460 8800
Founded in 1903, Ransom Everglades School is a coeducational, college preparatory day school for grades 6 - 12 located on two campuses in Coconut Grove, Florida. Ransom Everglades School produces graduates who "believe that they are in the world not so much for what they can get out of it as for what they can put into it." The school provides rigorous college preparation that promotes the student's sense of identity, community, personal integrity and values for a productive and satisfying life, and prepares the student to lead and to contribute to society.