Four Named Eagle Scouts at Eagle Court of Honor
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- Written by Midori Im
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Proud recipients of their Eagle Scout certificates (left to right) Alex Hwang, Daniel Hwang, Daniel Kolb, Wesley Coker. Mark Schivley (far right) presented these on behalf of Boy Scouts of America. Photo courtesy of Hyun Hwang.Hitchcock Church was the setting for the Scarsdale Boy Scout Troop 4’s Eagle Court of Honor on Sunday May 15, 2022. Emceed by Scoutmaster Emeritus Kevin McCarthy, the event celebrated the achievements culminating in the Eagle Scout rank of four young men: Daniel Hwang, Alexander Hwang, Wesley Coker and Daniel Kolb. Only about one in 10 scouts attain this rank, the highest in scouting. Furthermore, eighth grader Daniel Hwang, a student at Scarsdale Middle School, may well be the youngest Eagle Scout in Troop 4’s history.
In the presence of the scouts’ family and friends, Mark Schivley, Algonquin District Chairman of the BSA Greater Hudson Valley Council, formally welcomed the scouts to the ranks of Eagle Scout. County Executive George Latimer and New York Assemblymember Amy Paulin congratulated the scouts and their families and presented the young men with commendations. In addition formal citations were given from the Mayor of Scarsdale, Jane Veron. Reverend Katherine Pater of Hitchcock delivered the invocation and benediction.
The Eagle Scout project, a community service effort led, organized and executed by the Eagle candidate, is one of the most challenging requirements. The boys had received help from family friends and scouts to have their projects come to fruition. Daniel Hwang’s project centered around the repair and completion of a terraced garden at Hitchcock. There had been an unfinished, abandoned terraced garden in the rear of the church’s property which, with the expansion of the Bronx River Trailway, had gone from a dark corner with little pedestrian traffic to part of a busy walking and jogging route for the community. Daniel’s project resulted in a garden of flowers and plants for the church community and users of the Bronx River Trailway to enjoy.
While in the troop Daniel has served as Den Chief and Chaplain Aide, as well as being recently elected to the position of Assistant Senior Patrol Leader. Outside of scouting, Daniel’s passion is baseball. He competes year-round as an outfielder for HEAT baseball in Ardsley. Daniel also enjoys singing and was a NYSMAA All-County voice selection in 2020. Daniel regularly volunteers with Midnight Run and Westhab, which provide food, clothing, and other essential items to the homeless in New York City and Yonkers. A high adventure lover, Daniel canoed more than 114 kilometers in northern Ontario a few years ago and is looking forward to biking and camping along the Pacific Coast this coming summer. Daniel’s other hobbies include golf, squash, and skiing.
Keeping it all in the family, Daniel’s older brother Alex also was formally recognized as an Eagle Scout on the 15th. Alex, a junior at Scarsdale High School, similarly began his scouting journey with Pack 440. As a member of Troop 4 Scarsdale, Alex has served as Troop Historian and Assistant Senior Patrol Leader. Alex has a strong interest in scientific research and has co-authored an academic journal article on asymptomatic pediatric Covid-19 patients in the metro-NYC area. He is also studying genes and biological pathways for various neurological disorders as a research assistant in the Icahn School of Medicine at Mt. Sinai. Additionally, Alex is active in Model UN and volunteers with Midnight Run.
For his Eagle project Alexander built three outdoor benches for Hitchcock. Permanent outdoor seating was in short supply and was in particular need by the older congregants when attending outdoor events or awaiting transportation.
A Manhattan transplant, Wesley Coker also started scouting at a very tender age. When he moved to Westchester and joined Troop 4, he enjoyed the campouts, community service events and earning merit badges. Now at 15, Wesley plays varsity football and junior varsity basketball at Edgemont High School. He is also a budding entrepreneur with a flourishing sneaker reselling business.
Wesley’s eagle project was the rebuilding of a 40-yard segment of a severely eroded and unsafe trail in the woods at Edgemont High School that is used by students daily to get to and from school. The work included clearing an adjacent stream of debris and moving stones to assist with rerouting the water flow, re-grading the trail with dirt and gravel to build a turnpike and eliminate puddling, forming short barrier walls of stone, and removing existing degraded wood stairs and replacing them with rock steps. The project cost just under a thousand dollars and took approximately 110 man-hours of physical labor with the assistance of scouts, friends, and family.
Daniel Kolb, a senior at Scarsdale High School, also has been in scouting for most of his life. Daniel has held several positions in the troop, including Den Chief, Assistant Patrol Leader, Patrol Leader, Senior Patrol Leader and Junior Assistant Scoutmaster.
Daniel participated in a BSA High Adventure camp with other Troop 4 members at SeaBase in Florida, where they learned about sailing and snorkeling. For his senior option, Daniel is taking an intensive training course to become a certified Emergency Medical Technician. Daniel is headed to Colby College in the fall where he plans to study biology, with an emphasis on genetics, and also history. His hobbies include scuba, skiing, travel, gaming and reading.
For his Eagle project, Daniel designed and built an 8’ x 8’ outdoor enclosure for the enrichment of the animals of the Scarsdale Weinberg Nature Center. Animals of the nature center are put in the enclosure during the day and put back indoors in cages at night. The project has been well received by humans and animals alike.
Three of the four Eagle Scouts began their scouting journey with Scarsdale Cub Scout Pack 440. Both Pack 440 and Troop 4 have Hitchcock as their chartering organization, and they are open to people of any faith. More information is available at scarsdalepack440.com and https://scarsdale4.mytroop.us/home.
Kohn Brothers Receive Little Free Library’s Award for Outstanding Achievement
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- Written by Margaret Aldrich
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The Little Free Library (LFL) nonprofit organization has presented Asher and Zane Kohn with the 2022 Todd H. Bol Award for Outstanding Achievement. This award honors extraordinary individuals who embody LFL’s mission to build community, inspire readers and expand book access for all.
“It is a privilege to recognize Asher and Zane as one of this year’s winners of the Todd H. Bol Award for Outstanding Achievement,” said LFL Executive Director Greig Metzger. “Their volunteer efforts exemplify the vision of the late founder of Little Free Library, Todd Bol, to engage communities and enrich lives through the power of shared books. Through their effort, Asher and Zane have made their community a better place to be.”
After their local public library installed five Little Free Libraries around town, Asher and Zane Kohn started the “Diverse Books Teach Tolerance” project. The brothers use Little Free Libraries to distribute free books by diverse authors or about the experiences of diverse groups. Every month, they share a new selection of books for child, teen, and adult readers. Each diverse book has a sticker, QR code, and a bookmark that explains the Diverse Books Teach Tolerance program. Asher and Zane are Little Free Library stewards themselves and have even started an Action Book Club. Their motto? “Building a Better Community, One Book at a Time.”
“Volunteering as stewards and running the Diverse Books Teach Tolerance program make us feel a part of something that is bigger than ourselves,” said Asher and Zane. “We think that Little Free Libraries are a great way for teens to get involved in their communities and we hope our experience will inspire other teens around the country to start diverse books projects in their hometowns.”
The Todd H. Bol Awards for Outstanding Achievement are named for LFL’s founder, Todd Bol, who created the first Little Free Library book-sharing box in 2009 in Hudson, Wisconsin, and passed away unexpectedly in 2018. This is the fourth year the awards have been presented.
Read more about this year’s winners and see their photos at LittleFreeLibrary.org/todd-bol-awards.
Letter to the Editor: Colonial Fairs - Present Learning Experiences with Honesty, Sensitivity, and Context
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- Written by Frank Murtha
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Crispus AttucksThis letter was submitted by Frank Murtha of Jefferson Road:
Instilling a nuanced understanding of our nation’s history, the good, the bad and the ugly, is essential for our children. This is why the cancellation of the beloved Colonial Fair at Edgewood is so troubling and counterproductive.
We don’t have many visual windows into our nation’s pre-history; it predates the camera. We do have paintings, however. Perhaps the most iconic artistic renderings of colonial New England depict a man named Crispus Attucks at the front of a Boston mob taking a fatal musket ball to the chest from a British soldier. He was a brave and impressive person by all accounts of the time. He was also a person of color, African on his father’s side, Native American on his mother’s. Attucks was the first of four colonials to be killed on March 5th, 1770 in what would be called the Boston Massacre. He is often referred to as America’s First Martyr.
His comparatively darker skin makes him stand out in the paintings. His clothing does not.
Before confronting the redcoats, Attucks and his cronies had been imbibing in a pub, drinking ale and eating the food common to Boston public houses at the time.
The most famous person of color from colonial New England dressed, drank and ate in ways consistent with his white compatriots. Yet, ironically, these were the very factors cited for unexpectedly canceling the Colonial Fair, an annual learning experience in which 4th graders dress in period clothing, eat period foods, and engage in period activities such as candle making and tin smithing – though hopefully not insurrection.
Dr. Edgar McIntosh, Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment for the Scarsdale Schools, explained that “the focus on costumes and food centered on one historical perspective, while excluding the experiences of others”.
This undoubtedly came from a place of cultural sensitivity and inclusiveness, which is commendable and represents shared values in the community. The statement is not accurate, however.
The Boston Massacre
A focus on food is never exclusionary. Literally everyone eats food. Few things bring people together more than sharing food. If the issue is an insufficient representation of colonial food, the answer is simple; include more foods.
Regarding clothing for the Colonial Fair, children were encouraged to “be creative”. But for those unsure what to wear, the fair committee provided some basic suggestions; for boys it was pants with a white shirt and shoes; for girls it was dresses, shawls and shoes.
Again, this does not exclude anyone. It is simply what people in 18th century New Englande wore. Whether you were British, non-British, wealthy, poor, slaves or free persons – you wore some version of the following; 18th century pants and shirts/dresses with shoes. There was no need to cancel a fun, interactive learning experience for our children based on these factors, and it runs the risk of sending a message to the children that the founding of our country, flawed though it is, is something not to be celebrated.
Approaching our past with sensitivity is to be applauded. Our country grappled with great moral evils, most notably slavery, which should never be denied or minimized. Our country is also the most prosperous, tolerant, and successful multi-ethnic society the world has ever known. Our nation’s history is complex, as is the evolution of its collective morality.
Any society that looks into its past will see the toleration of great evils that are repulsive, even incomprehensible by standards of the day. There is no exception to this truth, and future generations will undoubtedly feel the same about us.
The question becomes, what do we do with that?
The answer is not to reflexively ban all experiential learning from earlier times. The answer is to present learning experiences with honesty, sensitivity, and context.
Speaking of inclusion, part of the issue regarding the cancellation of the Colonial Fair is the way the decision was made. It is unclear whether an individual or a committee decided to cancel this activity. What is clear is that input from children and parents – who were left confused, blindsided, and disappointed - were not part of that decision. It ought to go without saying that as the primary stakeholders and financial supporters of education in Scarsdale, the input of children and parents must be factored into educational decisions. The decision-making process – to borrow a colonial phrase - felt a bit like taxation without representation.
The Colonial Fair is a fun and worthwhile experience which should be revisited for next year.
Frank Murtha
39 Jefferson Road
Indoor Elementary School Carnivals Draw Large Crowds
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- Written by Adam Katcher
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Inflatable attractions in Quaker Ridge gym garnered large crowds Not long after the Scarsdale High School Carnival, when all kids of the town flock together to test their fears on gut-wrenching rides, the elementary schools have their own carnivals on Saturday May 7, one day before Mother’s Day. These carnivals are focused on kindergarteners through fifth-graders: even though there were no mechanical rides, unlike at the High School Carnival, there was no shortage of activities and entertainment.
The signature red-and-white carnival colors decorated the booths inside of the schools: whether it be ring tossing challenges or trying to knock over metal cans, there were plenty of games for people to try their luck on. Giant inflatable slides and games were also set up. There was no shortage of food options either, including food trucks parked outside of the schools, which proved to be a huge hit.
Furthermore, some schools held multi-round talent shows – America’s Got Talent-esque – for the pupils, showcasing dancing, singing, hula-hoops, ukuleles, and more. There were also sports on offer thanks to Backyard Sports, facilitating challenges such as obstacle courses and large frisbee target games.
The strong sense of community in cramped surroundings is another indicator of a return back to pre-COVID norms. Some wore masks while the majority did not, with no judgment made by anyone in favor of either direction: the community was simply happy to be able to celebrate and gather together. The preference would have been to have held the carnivals outside, but the schools were more than able to make do.
Below are some pictures from Greenacres’ and Quaker Ridge’s carnivals:
Parents and kids gather to watch the student talent show at Greenacres
Quaker Ridge cafeteria became a sight for booths with the aroma of mouth-watering popcorn filling the air
Inflatable sports games, a student favorite for many years, made their highly-anticipated return
Greenacres set up a festive entrance, foreshadowing the excitement indoors, a stark contrast to the weather of the day
A packed Greenacres saw booths to be a huge hit
A small obstacle course that kids had plenty of fun running through and racing their friends
Tropical-themed inflatable slide towers over Quaker Ridge basketball hoop
In Appreciation of SMS Teachers
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- Written by Joanne Wallenstein
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(This letter was submitted by Leah Dembitzer, President of the Scarsdale Middle School PTA)
To the Editor: In honor of Teacher Appreciation Week and on behalf of the Scarsdale Middle School PTA, I would like to extend a huge thank you to Scarsdale Middle School teachers and staff for all of the hard work and dedication that they demonstrate every day. These last few years have put us all through the wringer and many (if not all) of us are still reeling from the effects of living through the pandemic. Through all of the struggles of these past few years, SMS teachers and staff members have been a steadying force -- they uplift our children; they challenge them; they encourage them.
I know that every day brings uncertain situations. However, in my view, middle school teachers, in particular, excel at dealing with the unexpected -- they are relating with our children, the middle learners, supporting them during a profound emotional, physical, social and academic growth period. I feel so lucky to have my children learning and growing at Scarsdale Middle School. May our lives continue to improve and normalize. Wishing all of our Scarsdale Middle School teachers the best as they finish out this school year.
Sincerely,
Leah Dembitzer
SMS PTA President, 2021-22
