RE Log Spring 2019

26 Ransom Everglades LOG SPRING 2019 On Campus An emerging Ransom Everglades stu- dent dance program featuring more than 40 seventh graders and the fresh talents of 15 sixth graders entertained a jammed Swenson Hall on Dec. 14 with the All- School Dance Showcase “REflections,” demonstrating significant progress under second-year dance teacher Desiree Masucci. The program also featured more than a dozen Upper School dancers, 20 eighth graders and cameo appearances from the Upper School’s RE Guitar Ensemble. The RE dancers, also trained by Upper School dance teacher Bailey Farrell, performed reflective pieces to a Dance Revival RE’s dance program bigger and better Seniors Honored Sixteen named National Merit Semifinalists range of styles from ballet to hip-hop. The Guitar Ensemble provided music and vocals for several pieces as more than twice as many students participated in the 2018 fall showcase than in the previous year’s. Masucci joined RE’s per- forming arts department in the summer of 2017 after teaching dance for Miami Theatre Center’s Summer Intensive Program and The Gordon School of Beth David Congregation. A Miami native who attended Dr. Michael M. Krop Senior High School STAR Magnet Academy for Visual and Performing Arts, Masucci earned her BA in theatre from Rollins College and her MFA in theatre from the California Institute of the Arts. Sixteen RE seniors were named semi- finalists in the 2019 National Merit Scholarship Program, a distinction that places them in the top one percent of high school seniors who took the Preliminary SAT during their junior year. The semifinalists were recognized during an Upper School assembly on Sept. 25, 2018. Ransom Everglades’ National Merit Semifinalists: Sofia Andrade ’19, Julia Bernstein ’19 , Luke Elegant ’19 , Tomas Graglia ’19 , Winston Lam ’19 , Makenzie Love ’19 , Anna Mistele ’19 , Roberto Palacino ’19 , Isa Peña ’19 , Juanchi Roca- Paisley ’19 , Joshua Ronis ’19 , Calliste Skouras ’19 , Ilija Wan- Simm ’19 , Margo Squire ’19 , Valeria Vela ’19  and Daniela Zaidenber ’19 .  (Makenzie Love not pictured.) The National Merit Scholarship Corporation was established in 1955 to conduct the National Merit Scholarship Program. The semifinalists may con- tinue in the competition, seeking the ultimate title of Merit Scholar and one of 7,500 National Merit Scholarships awarded in spring 2019 worth more than $31 million. All 16 semifinalists were named finalists in February.