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 Ridgefield Public Schools to teach technology and digital citizenship. Plus, both guests are set to present at a major conference in Denver this week. Thank you for tuning in—here's a link to their insightful article (https://drive.google.com/file/d/1yXeWoGXsNEN1JP_V3ud9BGoSN4wRO8DX/view)!

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 the veterans in our community. Thank you for listening!

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 CERT website (https://www.ridgefieldct.gov/government/office_of_emergency_management.php) or search for “Ridgefield Teen CERT” on Facebook/Instagram for more information. Thanks for listening!

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! Highlighting some of our amazing students, and teams. Thanks for listening! (https://sites.google.com/ridgefieldps.net/rhsathletics/home)Click here for the athletics website. (https://sites.google.com/ridgefieldps.net/rhsathletics/home)

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 walk on the 25th and many other fun happenings. There’s something for everyone this Halloween in Ridgefield. Thanks for listening! Click here for more information on these events. (https://inridgefield.com/spooktacular-halloween-happenings-in-ridgefield/)

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 their community. Thanks for listening! For more information on the NHS click here (https://sites.google.com/ridgefieldps.net/ridgefieldnhs/home).

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 will return a few weeks into the 25-26 school year. Thanks for listening and have a great summer!

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, about the first intern service trip to Panama. Interns packed a lifetime into a five-day trip. Thanks for listening

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! (https://sites.google.com/ridgefieldps.net/rhsathletics/home)Link to the athletics website. (https://sites.google.com/ridgefieldps.net/rhsathletics/home)

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 for listening! 

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 (https://drive.google.com/file/d/1apNq2FwtZAcWE65d19CtWWfe51gnaXYw/view?usp=sharing), and click here if you’d like to RSVP (https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeJxvAY6dxgEWMLpu_5Gr6LSqptEADXGDGdbMxRKazmUjV2BQ/viewform). 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 the local and national level. We are already seeing our students gain many accolades. Thanks for listening!

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 on one with college representatives. Definitely a must listen, if you have a high school age student(s)! Link to college fair website mentioned in the podcast (https://sites.google.com/ridgefieldps.net/rhs-school-counseling/2025-college-fair-information?authuser=0) and the Post High School Planning Guide (https://sites.google.com/ridgefieldps.net/rhs-school-counseling/new-post-high-school-planning-guide?authuser=0).

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 learn about the rich musical history of New Orleans. Thanks for listening!

With the inevitable thaw of winter, we welcome back Ridgefield High School’s Director of Athletics Dane Street to give us a winter sports update. We discuss the many amazing accomplishments that RPS athletes achieved this past season, what teams are making it to the finals, a preview of spring sports, and some of the mental health training/community outreach athletic staff are participating in. Thanks for listening! Link to the athletics website. (https://sites.google.com/ridgefieldps.net/rhsathletics/home)

We have an All-Star crew for this week’s episode of Ridgefield Tiger Talk. Dr. Susie Da Silva Superintendent of Schools, Dr. Elizabeth Hannaway Assistant Superintendent of Special Services, and Jill Browne Director of Finance join the show to tell us about a very important vote happening February 25th. We discussed the importance of the new space needed for the Alternative High School/Ridgefield Transition Program, the long-term cost savings it can bring the community, and the importance of having a commitment like this for our impressive students. Thanks for listening. Click here to see the Alternative High School website mentioned in the show. (https://sites.google.com/ridgefieldps.net/ahs/home)

It’s budget season and on this week’s episode of Tiger Talk we welcome back Superintendent Dr. Susie Da Silva and Director of Finance Jill Browne (our second attempt at doing a budget podcast). We discuss the budget building process, some of the factors that go into creating the budget, how we arrived at this year’s number, and the upcoming presentations/meetings to bring the budget to completion. Thanks for listening! Click here for the budget website that was mentioned on the podcast. (https://sites.google.com/ridgefieldps.net/rps-budge-t25-26-info-site/home)Click here for the Superintendent Proposed Budget presentation from 01/16/25. (https://youtu.be/Yxf1oBoJqjo?t=2221)

On this week’s episode of Ridgefield Tiger Talk, we welcome Stephanie Cheung Counseling Supervisor and Lori Bran School Counselor. We discussed this year’s course selection for RHS students and students coming from middle school, next week’s (01/15/25 @6pm) open house for parents of eighth graders to see the high school’s elective offerings, and tips and tricks for both parents & students when trying to figure out what courses to take. Click here for the counseling website that was mentioned in the show. (https://sites.google.com/ridgefieldps.net/rhs-school-counseling/home) Thanks for listening! 

In this week’s episode of Ridgefield Tiger Talk, we welcome back to the show the Director of Safety and Security, Josh Zabin. We discuss how the new school security officer (SSO) model is working, the benefits/community impact of having these SSO’s at each building, the continuing work in making our buildings secure, and Sandy Hook promise our anonymous reporting system. Thanks for listening!

On this week’s episode of Ridgefield Tiger Talk we welcome back Physics and Robotics teacher Michael Murphy. Joining him are Ridgefield high school robotics team members Addis Engel, Declan Kelly, Juliette Langberg & Vijay Pertab. We discuss the robot club/high school course offerings that students can choose from, this year’s Vex robotics tournament game, the amazing skills that our students are able to develop in these courses/club, and how you can see these robots in action this Saturday 9am November 23rd at Ridgefield High School. Thanks for listening and for more information on the event (https://drive.google.com/file/d/1zTRk_eZrPjXo8jW1-E9d6sltbc3M8Uwx/view)Click Here (https://drive.google.com/file/d/1zTRk_eZrPjXo8jW1-E9d6sltbc3M8Uwx/view) and to learn how the game is played (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sx6HJSpopeQ)Click Here (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sx6HJSpopeQ).