Ridgefield Tiger Talk

Tiger Talk Senior Intern take over, return of the interns! This week on Tiger Talk, we welcome a second group of RPS Communications intern co-hosts, Claire Burns and Kayla Jacobowitz. They join us to talk about the exciting new projects including an Insider's Guide to RHS and a district art e-gallery showcasing RPS student artists. Thanks for listening to these fresh new voices!

Tiger Talk Senior Intern take over! On this episode, RHS Senior interns Henry Neligan and Andrew Carter interview Kylie Lassow and Chloe Collins, two attendees of the Panama intern trip. This episode of Tiger Talk dives into the global medical squad Panama trip our interns went on. We learn about why they went, what they did, and what they got out of it. You will get a peek into what a day looks l...

This week on Tiger Talk, we welcome back Dane Street, the Director of Athletics for RHS! Dane joins us to share exciting updates from across the department, including winter sports highlights in skiing and wrestling, and a recap of the spring season covering boys' rugby and volleyball just to name a few. We also dive into upcoming athletic initiatives and discuss how the Tigers are gearing up for...

In this week’s episode of Ridgefield Tiger Talk, we welcome back Assistant Superintendent Cory Gillette. Mrs. Gillette joins us to share details about the incredible offerings in this year’s Forever Summer Bridge Program at RPS. We dive into everything from the lower and upper school offerings to Jumpstart programs, Best Buddies, volunteer opportunities and high school courses. Thanks for listenin...

In this week’s episode of tiger talk, we welcome back Counseling Department Supervisor Joy Squitieri. She tells us about RHS’s college fair happening next Wednesday at 6:30pm. There will be over 100 college representatives in attendance and the counseling department will be holding many informational sessions for parents and students. This year they’re also excited to roll out a digital sign-up sy...

In this week's episode of Ridgefield Tiger talk we welcome back Michael Murphy, Physics and Robotics teacher at Ridgefield high school. Joining him are three RHS students, Connor Graves Robotics Club Vice President, Brian Murphy Co-Student Event Manager for this year's Ridgefield VEX Tournament, and Ayan Bhowmik Robotics Club Co-President. We discussed the annual robotics tournament held at Ridgef...

On this week’s episode of Tiger Talk, we sit down with RHS English teacher Jaclyn Aaron and English Department Chair Patricia Boutilier. We dive into their captivating new course, Mysteries, Mayhem, and True Crime, discussing its origins, the importance of such topics for student engagement, and the incredible buzz it’s generating around RHS. Thanks for listening!

On today’s episode of Ridgefield Tiger Talk, Cory Gillette joins us for a conversation with a Visual and Performing Arts (VPA) all-star panel featuring Michael McNamara, Shane Peters, Ryan Dunne, Rachael Zumbo-Penney, and Teresa Ringkamp. We dive into the department’s impressive accomplishments and initiatives from the past five years. For more details, please explore our VPA Five-Year Review and...

Earlier this week, we launched the 2026-2027 budget season with the presentation of the Superintendent’s Proposed Budget at Monday night’s Board of Education meeting . Because of the amazing work this leadership team has done over the past five years, Assistant Superintendent Cory Gillette joins me on the podcast today so we can discuss some new additions to the budget website that offer historica...

On today’s episode of Tiger Talk, we welcome Counseling Department Supervisor Joy Squitieri and RHS Counselor Michelle McCullough to discuss post-high school readiness. We cover essential topics such as actionable steps juniors can take right now, what parents should consider as their child approaches junior year, the upcoming college fair, and various opportunities beyond college. Thanks for list...

In this episode of Ridgefield Tiger Talk we get to interview the Ridgefield High School's acclaimed chorus group, The Madrigals who recently performed at the iconic Radio City Music Hall. Under the guidance of Choir Director Lauren Verney-Fink, these talented young singers brought holiday cheer to the big stage. Elizabeth Campbell, Joseph Capone, Hazel Connally, and Jonathan Waymire share behind-t...

In this week's episode of Tiger Talk, we welcome Dr. Rachel Besharat Mann from Wesleyan University and Christine Schenzer, Branchville Elementary Library Media Specialist. The duo recently co-authored an article in the prestigious academic journal The Reading Teacher, and they join us to share how their collaboration began. We dive into the innovative, developmentally appropriate model used by Rid...

Joining us for a patriotic discussion on Ridgefield Tiger Talk are East Ridge Middle School teachers Michael Settanni (Social Studies) and Alison Picarella (Health/PE). We discuss the very meaningful 24-year annual event that has become a powerful Ridgefield tradition that includes many members of the school and town community. This event has been a keyway for our students to make connections with...

On this week’s episode of Ridgefield Tiger Talk, we’re excited to welcome RHS 11th grader William Knispel. He’s the amazing young man who has started the teen chapter of the Ridgefield CERT (Community Emergency Response Team) program. Working with the CERT program, he is bringing important training such as first aid, disaster response, and basic car repair, to name just a few. Visit the Ridgefield...

Beautiful foliage is in full swing and you know what that means! It’s time for the fall sports update on Ridgefield Tiger Talk! Joining us on today’s podcast is a guest everyone is familiar with, Dane Street Director of Athletics for Ridgefield High School. We talk about the amazing fall season for swimming, football, soccer, field hockey, cheer/dance golf, cross county, and unified sports! Highli...

It’s that spooky time of year again! We welcome back to Tiger Talk the First Selectperson of Ridgefield, Rudy Marconi. We discussed all of the exciting and fun activities that are happening in the next few weeks. Starting on Oct 17th the Paranormal Park is open, Keeler Tavern Museum History Center will be hosting ghosts of Ridgefield on the 24th and 25th, Main Street will be having its Halloween w...

Ridgefield Tiger talk is back and on today’s episode will be talking about Ridgefield High School’s National Honor Society. Joining us is Mitch Peterson, Library Media Specialist and NHS teacher leader, and seniors Charlotte Osher and Lauren Ciuffetelli who are NHS officers. We discuss how students become members of the national honor Society, their volunteer work, tutoring services, and impact on...

RPS is ALL IN! This is Ridgefield Tiger talk’s season finale for the 24-25 school year. On today’s show, we welcome Cory Gillette, the Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum & Instruction. We discuss some of the amazing work that our teachers, students, and administrators have done to be ALL IN here at Ridgefield Public Schools. Tiger Talk will be off for the summer, but don’t worry the show w...

It was a week of firsts for the Ridgefield Tiger Talk podcast! We welcomed our first-ever RPS Communications intern, RHS senior Murphy Everdell. She discusses her internship, which is covering her fellow senior interns—in the office, in the schools, or on the farm. In the second part of the show, Murphy takes her turn as our first student co-host, interviewing her school counselor, Lori Bran, abou...

Although the current weather conditions don’t feel very spring-like, we welcome back Ridgefield High School’s Director of Athletics Dane Street to give us the Spring sports update. We discuss where the spring sports teams are in their season, what teams are going to the finals, a preview of what’s happening this summer, and some updates happening this fall. Thanks for listening! Link to the athlet...

On this week’s episode of Ridgefield Tiger Talk we welcome back Assistant Principal for RHS Mike Yagid and Science Teacher JR Condosta. We discuss the University of Connecticut’s early College Experience Program (or ECE for short), how it differs from a traditional AP course, the robust experiences our students have to choose from, and some impressive accolades for Ridgefield High School. Thanks f...

On this week’s episode of Ridgefield Tiger Talk we’re excited to welcome back Dr. Tony Showah, Assistant Director of Special Services. He tells us about all the amazing things happening at next week’s Inclusion Expo at Ridgefield High School on April 30 at 5 PM. Click here for the flyer , and click here if you’d like to RSVP . Thanks for listening!

In this week’s episode of Ridgefield Tiger Talk, we welcome back to the show, Kimberly Davis, Library Media Specialist at RHS, and Danny Martins, Department Head for Social Studies. They tell us about an exciting new club called Educators Rising. In this club, our students learn what it takes to become an educator, take on roles and responsibilities in different facets of education, and compete at...

In this episode of Ridgefield Tiger Talk we welcome back Stephanie Cheung RHS’s Counseling Supervisor. We’ll discuss the 2025 College Fair, Tuesday March 18th 6:00 p.m. There is a lot of noteworthy stuff happening this year. Currently there are over 90 colleges signed up, the counseling staff will be hosting many informational breakout sessions, and many opportunities for our students to top one o...

On this week’s episode of Ridgefield Tiger talk we welcome three RHS music teachers. Michael McNamara VPA chair, Lauren Verney-Fink chorus teacher, and George Beratis Band teacher. They tell us about an amazing opportunity that our music students will be having by traveling to New Orleans later this month. They will perform live at a few venues. Participate in a college level music clinic, and lea...