Psychologist and Comedian Offers Strategies to Fight Stress
- Details
- Written by Wendy MacMillan
- Hits: 1185
Dr. Matt Bellace with Michelle De FeoStress, whether our own or our children’s, is definitely no laughing matter…but Dr. Matt Bellace had his audience chuckling about it as he outlined how adults can foster resilience in teens and help them to make healthy choices. Not only a renowned neuropsychologist and published author, Dr. Bellace is also a stand-up comedian who has appeared in comedy clubs across the country. On Tuesday March 7th, parents were treated to a program with Matt Bellace thanks to the efforts of Scarsdale Advocates for Youth (SAY) and Scarsdale Middle School teachers Michelle De Feo and Cara Forray.
Though Dr. Bellace used humor to connect with parents in the audience, his messages about mental health awareness and how to cope with stress were serious and important. He began his program by recruiting volunteers to take part in an exercise that demonstrated the value of surrounding yourself with people who support you and hold you up. According to Bellace, the teen brain is a novelty seeking missile that searches out excitement. Therefore, he asserts,it is essential for teens to lean on healthy friends who provide positive support and encouragement. To illustrate this point, Dr. Bellace shared a slide highlighting mental health status by social support variables demonstrating that when teens have a high level of social support, they are much less prone to depression, anxiety, self-injury, and suicidality. What's more, when teens are surrounded by positive friends and meaningful relationships they tend to take good and healthy risks as opposed to risks that could negatively impact them or others.
Using narratives from his own family life, Dr. Bellace touched on the stress collectively felt by children and parents alike during the pandemic. He suggested that we all need to give ourselves a big hug for making it through such a hard time. Dr. Bellace described one anecdote from parenting during the pandemic which underscored an essential strategy we can all use to combat stress…movement. Talking about how his kids were sitting inside behind a screen all day, Dr. Bellace asked them to rate their mood. After taking his kids on a bike ride, he asked them to rate their mood again and noted that all noticed a marked improvement. Dr. Bellace extolled other strategies that can be utilized to diminish or even prevent stress and minimize the chances of making unhealthy choices. Some of the strategies include:
Exercise to demonstrate importance of leaning on healthy people.
-5 Finger Breathing. Dr. Bellace asked his audience to all participate in this easy exercise to help get control of breathing which in turn can help us control our emotions. He first asked everyone to sit up straight with their feet on the ground. He then raised his hand and with the pointer finger of his opposite hand he began to “trace” each of his fingers inhaling deeply with each upstroke and exhaling on the downstroke.
-Meditation. Dr. Bellace also led the audience in a quick meditation, a practice he describes as a superpower to calm the mind and in turn, makes more room for us to express emotions in a healthy way. For optimal effects, Dr. Bellace suggests that we practice a few minutes of meditation every day around the same time.
-Music. Through more engaging audience participation, Dr. Bellace demonstrated how the purposeful use of music can lift your mood and help improve well-being. He explained that we can also use music to help us cope, get us psyched and change how we are feeling.
-Writing. Whether writing in a journal or writing songs or letters, Dr. Bellace described writing as an incredibly effective tool to help reduce anxiety and stress.
During his presentation, Dr. Bellace described the pitfalls of drug and alcohol use and how these substances adversely affect the developing brain. He explained that “weed” is not the same drug that parents used when they were teens and that THC shrinks the hippocampus and memory capacity. THC use can also thin the prefrontal cortex, the area of the brian responsible for decision making, planning, impulse control, and more. Because of these detrimental effects (and many more), Dr. Bellace advises delaying drug and alcohol use as long as possible, preferably until the brain is done developing in our mid-twenties. Instead of drugs, Dr. Bellace promotes trying to find natural highs that often release the same chemicals in the brain as drugs. Some natural highs he described include:
-Laughing
Bellace with SAY Co-chairs Wendy Gendel and Amy Rompala
-Cold water plunge
-Yoga, dancing, swimming, hiking, or any other exercise
-Watching a sunset or just being in nature
Another important takeaway from the presentation was Dr. Bellace’s reminder that “storms are going to hit no matter what” but “the most beautiful waves come from the biggest storms.” In other words if we choose to look for it, going through adversity can be good and can inspire growth and flourishment. These are only a few of the impressionable highlights from the program. For more in-depth learning, check out Dr. Bellace’s books: “Life is Disappointing…and Other Inspiring Thoughts” and “A Better High: Laugh, Help, Run, Love...and Other Ways to Get Naturally High!” To learn more about other helpful programs and workshops check out Scarsdale Advocates for Youth.
Scarsdale Foundation Offers Scholarship Aid
- Details
- Written by Joanne Wallenstein
- Hits: 1019
Students who graduated from Scarsdale High School or lived in Scarsdale during their high school years and who have completed their first, second, or third years of college are invited to apply to the Scarsdale Foundation for tuition assistance. For the 2022-2023 academic year, the Foundation awarded need-based grants totaling $148,000 to 33 students attending private and state-supported colleges and universities.
Applications for the 2023-2024 academic year should be submitted online from the Scarsdale Foundation’s website: www.scarsdalefoundation.org (click on the College Scholarships link). Completed applications must be submitted by Thursday, June 1, 2023. Questions should be e-mailed to Scholarship Committee Chairs here.
The Foundation welcomes contributions from the community to augment the funds available for distribution each year. Contributions may be donated to a specially earmarked Scholarship Fund of the Scarsdale Foundation, enabling the Foundation to carry on the tradition of helping students in need pursue a college education. Donations may be made online by visiting the Foundation’s website or mailed to the Scarsdale Foundation at P.O. Box 542, Scarsdale, NY 10583.
The Foundation also hosts the Scarsdale Bowl Dinner where Scarsdale individuals are recognized for their volunteer service to the community. The Scarsdale Bowl will be presented to the 2023 recipient on Thursday, April 27, 2023 at the Mamaroneck Beach and Yacht Club.
For more information regarding the work of the Scarsdale Foundation, please visit the website here.
SBNC Seeks Candidates for School Board
- Details
- Written by Joanne Wallenstein
- Hits: 753
SBNC Seeks Candidates for Nomination to the Scarsdale School Board
Two members of the Board of Education are completing three-year terms
The School Board Nominating Committee (SBNC) is seeking to identify potential candidates to serve on the Scarsdale Board of Education. The SBNC held its first meeting of the 2023 season on January 26th and is now engaged in active outreach to build a robust candidate pool.
Over the next several weeks, SBNC members will recruit and review candidates in order to nominate two candidates for the nonpartisan slate in the next school board election. The school board election and budget vote are slated for Tuesday, May 16, 2023. The two of the school board members who will complete three-year terms this year are eligible for re-nomination.
The SBNC invites all Scarsdale School District residents to propose names of qualified individuals to serve on the Scarsdale Board of Education by email to sbncchair@gmail.com. A candidate must be at least 18 years old, a U.S. citizen, a qualified voter, and a resident of the Scarsdale School District for at least one year prior to the May 16th school board election date. Jonathan Lemle, SBNC Chair, stated: “The non-partisan SBNC process continues to enable a wide-range of Scarsdale citizens to be considered for nomination to the Board of Education. We welcome service-minded residents to step forward to help shape educational policies that support the children of our community.”
Interested candidates should complete a biographical information form and submit it via email to sbncchair@gmail.com as soon as possible, but no later than 7:00pm on Thursday, February 16, 2023. Application form is available on the SBNC website at www.scarsdalesbnc.com. Please see the “Join the School Board” tab or contact the SBNC Chair for further information.
Contacts: Jonathan Lemle, Chair Deborah Skolnik, Vice-Chair
A School Students Step into the Work World
- Details
- Written by Tyler Hughson
- Hits: 1788
Anna Cavalluzzi worked in an English class at Scarsdale Middle SchoolA hallmark of the Scarsdale Alternative School (A-School) curriculum is its annual January internship program. All of the A-School’s 80 students can participate and learn in various jobs, businesses and disciplines, ranging from law firms to television shows. They have the chance to pursue their passions or explore future job opportunities or just try something new.
Here’s what a few A-School students did this January:
Annie Cavalluzzi, a Senior in the A-School, chose to work at the Scarsdale Middle School under her eighth-grade English teacher, Ms. Hiller. Annie assisted Ms. Hiller to help lighten her workload and teach a new generation of students. Although Annie does not expect to pursue a career in education, she enjoyed the experience. Annie remarked that the best part of the internship was: “Getting to go back and work with a teacher who truly changed my outlook on a subject I once did not hold much interest in, as well as going back to the middle school and reminiscing about what I remember life being like Pre-Covid and how I truly was able to live such a different childhood than the students are living now.”
Junior, Cole Liebowitz interned at the Foreign Policy Association (FPA), a private, nonprofit organization that aims to inform the public about current global events -- something Cole believes to be critical in an ever-changing world. He helped draft updates for the FPA’s book, Great Decisions, where he wrote about topics such as the ongoing Russia-Ukrainian conflict, political trends in Latin America, Energy Security, and Iranian protests. “I think the best part of my internship was that it was all virtual. I could work in a comfortable environment while also being (somewhat) flexible with my schedule.” Cole stated. “However, having a flexible schedule is not always a good thing. Sometimes I would hold off my work until the last minute and have to power through it in one sitting.”
Junior, Dani Goldman interned under interior designer, Cheryl Bunzel, at her business CB Studio Design. Dani enjoyed selecting furniture for people in order to help them design a certain space. She noted the experience as “so cool because it was like, omg, I'm really helping somebody design their house.” Though she doesn’t plan to do anything related to this in a future career, she remarks this internship as “an amazing experience and good just to try it out.”
Junior, Alex Wang worked in the Scarsdale High School library and assisted with shelving, scanning and buying books, updating and editing the library website/database and organizing past Maroon magazines. He learned about the background of both the building and parts of the school. “The librarians assigned me to organize past Maroon magazines/newspapers, and it went all the way back to the 1940s. It was really cool to see how the school was back then and read stories of what was happening. Like, did you know that SHS used to have a smoking lounge for students, and there was a rifle team?” Alex recounted. He also built a better relationship with the staff and said, “it was great knowing how much I was helping them out.”
Junior Irene Li worked at the Renaissance Bakery in the village, helping customers at the front, making pastries, stacking boxes, and more. She had this to say about the experience: “The best part of my internship was how chill it was. I liked interacting with the customers. I met a lot of wonderful people. The staff was super nice and easy to talk to if I ever needed help with anything.” Though she doesn’t expect to pursue anything similar in the future, she was “grateful for both the experience and opportunity to see how a small bakery functions.”
Brady Silberfein, a Junior, interned virtually for the booking team for Good Morning America, the morning television program that features news, weather forecasts, special interest stories, and popular culture. Brady helped her employer obtain interviewees for the special interest stories portion of the show. She commented that “The best part of my internship was the research I was doing and knowing that it helped my sponsor.” Though Brady is unsure of her future career, she can see herself doing something in TV production. In the end, she said that her time in internship was a good experience in teaching her what to expect in this field.
Janani Vittal and Maya KatcherJunior, Maya Katcher, worked as an intern for a freelance designer, involving different projects in animation, VFX, and more. Maya was given the opportunity to learn new software, including Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator, combined with her previous knowledge of Adobe After Effects. Though Maya worked virtually, she believed that was a positive for her, as she was “not on as strict of a schedule as someone working in person would be, which works really well for the way (her) brain operates.” Maya noted that her internship was a great experience for her in learning more about this particular field. She stated that it “was a great eye opener as (she) saw how pursuing this job would shape (her) future financially.” She added, “My sponsor showed me his college path and really gave me a clear outline of how he got to where he is today. All of this information made this internship feel so real, which just excites me even more for my potential future in this field!”
Tyler HughsonThe Internship program continues to provide students with a meaningful experience and help them discover or understand their different fields of interest. Who knows what these kids will be doing in the years to come!
Author Tyler Hughson, worked here at Scarsdale 10583, writing and researching articles for Joanne Wallenstein. About the internship he said, “Although I don’t want to continue in a field like this, I definitely think this was a worthwhile internship that taught me about the functions of the journalism industry and recent news in Scarsdale. I leave this internship with thankfulness to Joanne for this great opportunity and an appreciation for how much I was able to learn.”
Growing Team Hopes to Make Squash a Varsity Sport at SHS
- Details
- Written by Joanne Wallenstein
- Hits: 2270
Now in its second year, the Scarsdale High School Squash Team is back, stronger than ever. The team has grown from only nine players last year to 20 players this year who have formed three teams. The teams compete at the FairWest High School League against Bronxville, Rye, Briarcliff, Greenwich, Darien, Fairfield, New Canaan and New Haven. The teams train once a week with coach Adham Abou Taleb at the Westchester Squash Academy in Mamaroneck.
The team is looking forward to representing Scarsdale in the 2023 U.S. High School Championship Feb 26-28 at the Arlen Specter Center in PA. A second team is also planning to compete at the 2023 National Interscholastic Team Championship Feb 3-5. The team hopes that one day squash will become a Varsity Sport at the high school.
Follow the team on their Instagram and on Scarsdale page on the fairwest league website.
About the team, Coach Adham Abou Taleb said, “It has been a pleasure coaching the Scarsdale High School students at our club, Westchester Squash Academy for the second year in a row.
This season, I helped many players completely new to squash develop some of the skills and fitness levels that the sport requires, and I watched the more experienced players approaching the courts with a renewed and fresh enthusiasm for the game, coming from competing not just as individuals, but as part of a team.
I believe squash is much more than hitting the ball and winning games, it is about hard work, perseverance, consistency, and getting out of your comfort zone, and when you are part of a team is also about commitment and responsibility.
I am very proud to say that some of our senior players are very good leaders and great role models for the younger ones. I am confident in saying that when they will go to college, some of the younger ones will step in their shoes and take on the baton for next year and success will keep coming because success is not just holding a trophy in your hands but creating a path for others to follow.
As it stands, our A-Team is 3 and 2 with wins against Greenwich, Westport, and Rye and losses against Darien and Bronxville.
Team B stands at 0 and 4
Team C stands at 1 and 1
We are excited to travel to the National Championships in Philadelphia this February and we are looking forward to working even harder next season.”
Pictured Above:
Back row from L to R: Richard Fawcette, Eimaan Bilal, Nora Afzali, Peter He, Neil Sriram, Zane Kohn, Ali El Moselhy, Daniel Hochberg, Maddie Wilson, Sophia Kahan, Ephram Cukier.
Front row L to R: Aryan Barauh, Peter Lin, Armita Ahmed, Rehma Qadir, Daniyal Naeem, Noah Zoland, Nicholas Apessos, Amal Bilal and Leo Fried.
