By Rye400 Committee
As published in Stroll Magazine, January 2023
The Greek philosopher, Aristotle, once said, “Those who know do.Those who understand teach.” Here in Rye, we have an amazing group of teachers who understand the importance of education in a child’s development as a productive and contributing member of our community and society. That’s why the Rye400 Committee, under the auspices of the Rye Historical Society (RHS), turned to them to help develop a series of activities for students, focusing on the town’s 400-year history.
The Committee is fortunate to have Jean Briggs Badger, former superintendent of the Dover, NH school system and current RHS board member, leading the effort. “Our teachers are our greatest asset,” she said. “By engaging them as part of our planning, we know the programs they develop will be appropriate and fun for our youngest Rye residents.”
Briggs Badger started discussions with the two new principals: Anne Gilbert, Principal, Rye Junior High and Michelle Pitts, Principal, Rye Elementary. With their support and leadership, a collaborative team of enthusiastic teachers was assembled to plan numerous activities and events to bring our Rye history alive for the students and the community. We are proud to introduce and thank the elementary school teachers — Jaquie Defreze, Phoebe Bishoff, Denise Wheeler, Gene Guth, Eileen Murphy — who are working with the teacher team at the junior high school— Chandra Eves, Laura Brown, Cody Booth, and Ed O’Brien.
“These educators started working in August,” Briggs Badger said, “with a goal of rolling everything out, in January and running throughout 2023.” Some of the educational projects and enrichment opportunities being considered include:
1) Legacy Project — an oral history project that involves students interviewing older town residents.
2) Wax Museum of people who are prominent in Rye’s history.
3) Essay and/or poster contest.
4) Mural art show.
5) Highlighting various themes of Rye’s 400-year history —fishing, childhood games, tourist hotels, etc.
6) Focus on the indigenous community in collaboration with Paul Pouliot of the Cowasuck Tribe. Demonstrations of native cooking, music, drumming, crafts, etc.
7) “Community Reads” project in collaboration with the Rye Library.
8) Creating a time capsule that will be presented to the Town.
9) Holiday parade with the school band.
10) Involvement in Rye Day on July 1, 2023, in Parsons Field.
11) Creating bookmarks for Rye400 that can be distributed through the Rye Library.
12) 400th-themed content in “Talents by the Sea,” an annual publication of students' poems and short stories.
13) Boat parade.
14) Proposal for an “Artist-in-Residence” project submitted to the Rye Educational Foundation, a nonprofit group that raises funds to support teachers and school projects outside the regular school budget.
To learn more about this educational initiative and all the other planned 2023 events, check out the Rye400 website at https://www.ryenh400.org, contact Rye400 at RyeNH400@gmail.com, and follow us on Instagram @RyeNH400.
