Student NEWS & shoutouts

Grace S. '27 began her equestrian journey at just six months old and started riding in shows by the age of three, according to a 2023 article about the Hampton Classic. Having accumulated many titles over her years of riding, Grace's achievements soared to new heights at the 2024 Devon Horse Show in Pennsylvania. As the top horse show in the country, the Devon Horse Show accepts only 30 ponies in total. Grace received the highest honors, being awarded Best Child Rider on a Pony and taking home the Grand Pony Hunter Championship.

In spring of 2023, Mateo S. ’24 was featured in RPAC Academy’s student art exhibition, The Artist’s Path. His work, including the above painting, was proudly displayed at the front of the gallery and visible from Main Street in Ridgefield. Most recently, Mateo was awarded First Place in the Teen Artist category of the Weir Farm Art Contest for his piece, Spider Flower at Weir Farm.

Quinn M. ’25 is a competitive speedcuber, which involves solving a variety of Rubik's cube puzzles as quickly as possible. Quinn started solving rubix cubes in August of 2022 and has competed in eleven competitions and counting! Quinn competes in eleven different puzzle events, and his best event is the 2x2 cube. In July, he qualified for the Speedcubing National Championship in Pittsburgh, PA and finished 18th out of 863 competitors in the 2x2. In October of 2023, Quinn competed in the New England Championships in Springfield, MA, and came in first place in the 2x2 out of 193 competitors - with an average of 1.8 seconds in the final around and personal best of 0.83 seconds. Quinn also placed fifth overall in pyraminx, a pyramid-shaped puzzle, and became the New England Champion in that event as well. Quinn has enjoyed making new friends through the speedcubing community and is looking forward to more competitions!

Watch Quinn’s YouTube Channel.
View Quinn’s World Cubing Association page.

During the height of the pandemic, actress Colby K. ’24 was featured in the Katonah Connect magazine as she recorded her voice for a Nickelodeon show at home. From her first big role at age eight to her dream of being on Broadway, the interview details her acting career. In 2023, Colby made her Broadway debut in 2023 in the show, Grey House, where she played the role of “Squirrel” in the production for 6 months. In the September/October issue of Bedford New Canaan Magazine, Colby was recognized for her dedication to and achievements in acting in the publication’s “18 Under 18” feature (page 39).

According to The New York Times, Elle M. ’27 is one of the “tiny dancers who make The Nutcracker sparkle”. Elle, a student at The School of American Ballet, played the role of Bunny in the 2022 New York City Ballet’s production of The Nutcracker. Read Elle’s interview with The New York Times here. Her photo in The New York Times was selected as one of the best arts photos of the year in the article, “How We Saw the Arts in 2022”. In the 2023 production, Elle is again taking to the Lincoln Center stage in a new role.  inRidgefield spotlighted Elle as“NYC’s Tiny Ballet dancer”, and she can be seen dancing in a NY1 piece about George Balanchine’s classic production below! In the spring of 2024, Elle once again took to the stage with the New York City Ballet, opening a Midsummer Night’s Dream in the role of Titania’s page.