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Written by Stacie M. Waldman

Published: 10 December 2014

Created: 10 December 2014

Last Updated: 10 December 2014

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When my children were babies, lots of people told me how lucky I was that they were born in the winter because they would be the oldest in their classes, and thereby have a (purported) advantage. And then came the day when people started saying to me, "Oh, that bites! Both your kids are born in the winter? So you can NEVER have a party outside?" Which was around the same time that my daughter handed me a list of 37 kids (not really yet drop-off age, so add about 25 adults) that she wanted to invite to her themed party that I was hoping to host in my "cozy" house.

So I started to hunt for another venue and found that indoor party space rentals aren't easy to come by in the Scarsdale area as most come pre-themed with limited choices for entertainment. There are bounce houses, craft studios, sports clubs, pools, gymnastics venues, dance studios, and more, but most of these require that you use their services for your party. But what if you want to run your own party or hire entertainment like a clown, magician, or character to come for the kids and you just want space? Here's a run down of your options:

Alcott School
With a big parking lot and many available time slots, Alcott School on Crane Road in Scarsdale offers party planners a gym space for up to 25 preschool aged children. Parties can be held on weekends in the morning or the afternoon. The cost is $150 for a 90-minute party, $75 of which is for the space and $75 of which goes to the party attendant in cash. The party can be extended to 2 hours for an additional $15 paid to the staff member. You can get there 30 minutes ahead of time to set up. Alcott School, 46 Fox Meadow Road, Scarsdale. 914-472-4404.

Congregation Kol Ami
This synagogue has a gym that is almost the size of a regulation-size basketball court. Kol Ami in White Plains rents out space regularly for kids birthday parties. They provide tables and chairs as well as ice by request, and you bring everything else. Most people bring in professional entertainment for the kids. There's a large parking lot next to the building. Parties can only be held on Sundays from 12:30-2:00 PM. The cost is $200 per hour and it's requested that you tip the custodial staff, but very little clean up is required. Congregation Kol Ami, 252 Soundview Avenue, White Plains. 914-949-4717

Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church
Your child can have up to 30 friends party hardy in the large gymnasium that is part of the Greek Orthodox Church in nearby New Rochelle. They provide a long cafeteria table and chairs and have free parking for guests. But reserve far in advance, because winter books up fast. Most parties run 90-120 minutes and it's requested by the church that parties have planned entertainment of some sort so that kids don't run wild in the gym. It's a perfect venue for any sports-themed party. All paper goods must be brought in and all trash must be taken out. The cost for a 90-minute party is $200 plus $30 for the custodian. Add $35 and your party can be two hours. (A $125 damage deposit is required.) Greek Orthodox Church, 10 Mill Road, New Rochelle. 914-235-6100.

JCC of Mid-Westchester
There are three social halls available for rent at the JCC. The first can hold up to 20 people, the second up to 30, and the third can hold up to 40. The cost is $300 for the first two and $400 for the larger room. More than one space can be rented at a time and the space is not limited to children's parties. There is ample parking in the attached lots. The Bendheim Theater can be rented out as well for $1,000 and can hold up to 220 people. Although people usually bring their own food, the JCC can arrange for coffee, tea, or food for an additional cost. You do not need to be a JCC member to rent this space. JCC of Mid-Westchester, 999 Wilmot Road, Scarsdale. 914-472-3300.

Scarsdale Friends Meeting House
Just down the road from Scarsdale Village is the historic Quaker Meeting House that has party rental space availability on Saturdays and Sundays after 2:30 (most weekends) and weekdays after 1 PM (most days). The relatively large party room can hold up to 30 kids and there is an attached parking lot, a gated playground and an updated kitchen. Party hosts can use the tables and chairs, but tablecloths must be provided and furniture must be returned to its original position. The party host is responsible for taking out the trash and sweeping the floor as well as turning off the lights and locking up. The space can be rented for classes or meetings as well. The cost is $40 per hour plus set-up and clean-up time (estimated to be one hour) and an additional $10 per hour for use of the kitchen. Scarsdale Friends Meeting House, 133 Popham Road, Scarsdale. 914-472-6550.

Wayside Cottage
Offering a glimpse into the past, Wayside Cottage on Post Road in Scarsdale is the home of the Junior League of Central Westchester and rents out space for larger parties (not limited to kids parties). A maximum of 75 people can party like it's the year 1720. There is very limited parking right outside the cottage, but guests can park at Scarsdale High School and walk up to the cottage (carefully, since Wayside Lane has no sidewalk or shoulder). The Village of Scarsdale sets the price for the cottage rental at $225 plus a $100 cleaning fee. Wayside Cottage, 1039 Post Road, Scarsdale. 914-723-6130.

YMCA
The YMCA in White Plains has several space options available for rent for kids parties as well as grown-up parties or meetings. The community room holds up to 125 people and has tables, chairs, and speakers that can be set up by Y staff. The cost is $125 for up to 2 hours and $100 per hour after that. The gymnasium is also available for rent and your child can have a do-it-yourself sports party here or you can hire Y staff or your own coaches to lead the party. For $150 for 2 hours, your child and up to 124 additional people have access to a gym with sports equipment available for your use (jump ropes, basketballs, soccer balls, etc.). Chairs and tables can be set up for pizza and cake. Lastly, the pool can be rented for a free-swim pool party. Up to 22 kids can be in the pool at any one time and if there are more kids at the party, they can rotate in and out of the pool for the hour. A lifeguard staffs the party. Pool parties are available on Saturdays from 3:30-5:30 and include an hour in the pool followed by an hour in the community room for food and cake. The cost is $350 for members or $425 for non-members. YMCA, 250 Mamaroneck Avenue, White Plains. 914-949-8030.

Are there other spaces you have rented out for parties? Or if you have used one of these spaces please write a review of it in the comments section below:

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Written by Joanne Wallenstein

Published: 18 December 2014

Created: 18 December 2014

Last Updated: 22 December 2014

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Scarsdale High School seniors who thought that the stress level during junior year was bad were surprised to find that the first semester of their senior years could be a time of even higher anxiety. Many seniors are now hearing back from colleges where they applied either Early Action or Early Decision. While in the old days students had to hunt down the mailman to find out if they had gotten in, today, rather than receiving a thick or a thin envelope in the mail, most students are finding out their fates via email or through colleges' online application portal while a very small number of schools are still relying on "snail mail."

From my observations, students who receive good news are updating their social media pages to reflect their new status. Some tweet their acceptances, but the majority of students, if they are going to post their acceptance at all, make a change to the Facebook page. Most who find that they have been deferred, or worse, rejected, are keeping that news private.

It seems to me, that at the beginning of the college process, many students were either dishonest about their "first choice school" or just refused to tell other students where they were applying. However, now that decisions have been sent out, some bold students are publicizing their rejections. The other night, as I was scrolling through my Facebook newsfeed, I saw that someone had posted a picture of his rejection letter. As I scanned through the comments underneath the post, I saw other students make sympathetic comments like this one: "Dude I feel for you, but everything always turns out great" and, my personal favorite, "Their loss man ... but when you get in somewhere you should feel free to send that school a rejection letter". Walking around school, I constantly hear students vocalizing their condolences to others who have been rejected or deferred.

By now, I know people who have gotten accepted to their first choice school, people who have been rejected from their first choice school, people who don't yet know where they want to go, and some who have not even applied to any school yet.

Why are students and parents on edge? For Scarsdale High School students, and seniors all over the country, the term "safety school" has begun to lose its meaning. Schools that used to be seen as safe acceptances are becoming target and even reach schools for even the most qualified applicants. No surprise then that there has been a large spike in the number of schools that the average student applies to over the past 20 years.

Much of the reason for this increase is related to the creation of the CommonApp. Applying to schools through this website makes the process as easy as clicking a button; literally. The ironic part of this is that as the schools become easier to apply to, they get harder to get into. "There has been an increase in the selectivity from the top on down, so kids are trying to cover all their bases," explained Dean Oren Iosepovici of Scarsdale High School. While one might assume that this fear is handled by applying to three "definites" for every "maybe", this doesn't seem to be the case in for everyone in Scarsdale. Some kids apply to large numbers of schools just to ensure acceptances. Others are applying to as many reaches as possible to see where they will get in. Iosepovici, along with the other well-trained Scarsdale deans, make sure that each student has an even spread of safety, target and reach schools. Still, it can be hard to bring kids down to earth when fear is the root of the problem."

This week many college freshmen have been visiting SHS after having completed their first semesters away at school. They have helped to put this process into perspective for their younger peers. Justine Souchak, a returning freshman from Hampshire College said, "I think the first semester of senior year is very stressful.... it's like a curveball, you never know what's coming at you. I only applied Early Decision to one school and got in, so after that, I was done. Just know that there are so many colleges and you're going to end up where you need to be."

This article was written by SHS Seniors Megan Shelton with input from Hannah Wolloch

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Written by Marjorie Rosenblatt

Published: 04 December 2014

Created: 04 December 2014

Last Updated: 04 December 2014

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Scarsdale mom and physician Marjorie Rosenblatt contributed the following article on how she keeps track of her kids: I was never one of the "powers-that-be" mothers, able to ensure my child's role in the school play or acceptance on a team as a result of personal contacts or social status. Nor was I ever a helicopter parent, preoccupied with the minutiae of the everyday lives of my offspring. I attended as many parent-related meetings and school performances as I was able. If I missed something, it was not lack of interest or desire for involvement but rather my rigorous work schedule that kept me away.

As a result, we ate dinner as a family every night, during which my children were subjected to painstaking interrogation regarding the details of their day's occurrences. The fact is, however, that I was the primary breadwinner and therefore, my employment had to be a priority, leaving my husband to serve as the Friday "pizza mom," the parent organizing "learning from our differences" and the yearbook photographer at the elementary school.

Thank you social media!! Now, with the ever-growing number of communication-oriented applications, as my children get older, I have discovered myriad ways to spy on them – to make up for lost time, if you will. I have become an obsessive electronic stalker. I wake up and check Snapchat to see if my son, now a college freshman, has posted any of his numerous drunken snaps to his story.

I proceed to see how many of his new snarky tweets can be found on Twitter. Instagram is the next stop on my surveillance train, where I view photographs posted by my ninth-grader, and then on to Yik Yak, where my two college student's universities are readily accessible under the heading of "my peeks." There I have the opportunity to learn what is "hot" at their schools, while silently playing the always-fun game – "guess which yaks were posted by my own children." (For those unfamiliar, Yik Yak is an anonymous posting site, designed for college communities.)

Facebook is next, where I view the walls of all of my children; I note new friends (whose walls I may then also peruse), recent posts and, of course, photographs. Not surprisingly, I am not infrequently met with a look of disgust when my older daughter mentions her friend Jim, for example, and although I have never actually met either, I ask "Jim Smith or Jim Jones?," oddly familiar with both from having previously surveyed their Facebook pages.

I may also review the Facebook pages of my daughter's a cappella group, or my son's fraternity, just incase a minor detail of their lives has escaped me. Finally, before I retire for the night, I examine Find My iPhone, intended to help trace a lost phone, but employed by yours truly to find comfort in the fact that my children have made it home safely yet another night.

Why, one may ask, do my children consent to what they refer to as my "creeper" behavior? The choice is not theirs. It is our house rule that when one gets Facebook, he/she must accept his/her parents as "friends." Similarly, as we pay for the iPhones, we must be allowed to track them if lost. Neither my husband nor I ever comment on what we learn from our voyeuristic activity; it is our hope that as long as we stay in the shadows, the multitudinous modes used to follow my children remain in their unconscious...out of sight, out of mind. Alternatively and, I suppose, preferably, as they become adults, they simply may not feel they need to maintain secrets, as they did when they were younger.

I (and others) often question why I participate in such obsessive behavior. An easy answer would be that I feel as if I have missed significant pieces of my children's youth, for which I am now over-compensating. It is also possible that I am overseeing, trying to make sure that they are employing good judgment and avoiding trouble. More accurately, I believe, is a need to remain connected with my children as each day they inch toward independence. Perhaps I am trying to diminish the sadness and loss that I feel, as they become more self-sufficient and create their own autonomous worlds. There are evenings when I crave having their once tiny bodies snuggled up against me in search of comfort. I am no longer the first face they see in the morning, or the last at night; in exchange, I have made them my first and last association of the day.

And so I stalk. Snapchat. Twitter. Facebook. Instagram. Yik Yak. Find my iPhone. These sites are enablers, supporting my pathology, and providing me a pseudo-sense of continued involvement in the daily lives of my children. The tiny bits of information I glean serve as few stitches in the gaping hole in my heart.

Time to go...social media awaits...

Marjorie Rosenblatt is a physician, wife and mother of three. She enjoys writing about her experiences and passions, including (but not limited to) her family, medicine and karate.

This post originally appeared on Grown and Flown. Find them on Facebook and Twitter.