Congregation Kol Ami Celebrates 90 Years
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This year marks an historic occasion for Congregation Kol Ami as they celebrate their 90th year. Congregation Kol Ami (then known as The Jewish Community Center of White Plains) was founded in August 1923, in a period of economic recovery from World War I when women were given the right to vote. From its inception the synagogue has been rooted in torah, worship and acts of loving kindness and has been a foundation of progressive Jewish presence in Westchester County ever since.
The synagogue was founded in 1921 when two boys, Robert Stein and Martin Barbe, asked their moms if they could have religious instruction, similar to their Christian schoolmates. By the spring of 1922, 11 families with a total of 30 children pledged $100 each to defray expenses. Now called Congregation Kol Ami, "the voice of my people," the congregation has almost 800 member families. Kol Ami is a voice of creative Judaism that provides contemporary meaning to traditional Jewish values and teachings. "We have made real the world we believe in, a place where we are celebrated in our joys, comforted in our sorrows and supported in our spiritual journeys" says Rabbi Shira Milgrom.
The 90th celebration will culminate in a 90th Anniversary Gala Weekend. Lori Abrams, co-chair of the event says, " We honor the people who had the foresight and the strength to build an educational foundation and a Reform synagogue in White Plains. Ninety years later we celebrate all the people who have continued to keep this vision alive." The weekend will start on Thursday, April 24 with a 90th Anniversary Celebration. The evening will feature a delicious dinner tasting from local restaurants including: 42, Taleggio, La Bocca and Sam's of Gedney Way from White Plains, Moscato, Flourish and Taiim Cellar of Scarsdale and Mima's from Irvington. There will be a live performance by the award-winning, Jewish a capella group "SIX13" and a scrumptious dessert buffet from local bakers and bakeries. The raffle prize winners will be announced at the Gala on Thursday and first prize is a "Weekend in Paris".
The following evening, Friday, April 25, Kol Ami will honor Nan Blank, Early Childhood Program Director and Felice Miller Baritz, Religious School Director for their ten years of dedication and commitment to educating the children at Kol Ami. Shabbat in the Woods will begin at 5:30 (children ages 2-6). Shabbat services at 6:15pm will be followed by a festive Oneg for all ages.
For information about the 90th Anniversary Gala and the special Friday evening of honor, visit their website, www.nykolami.org or call 914-949-4717.
Chickens on the Loose in the 'Dale
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First it was a wild turkey blocking traffic on the Post Road, now we found a clutch of chickens on River Road. Late Sunday afternoon, as we drove down River Road on the way to the Bronx River Parkway, we spotted not one, two, or three but five chickens crossing the road, including three beautiful roosters with bright red combs. They climbed up an embankment to the front lawn of a home where they munched on the grass. They looked too fat, healthy and well-groomed to have survived a winter in the wild and appeared to be domesticated, not wild chickens. Had they flown the coop or do they live in the woods of the Bronx River Reservation across the street?
Police later reported that these chickens were the "temporary pets" of some children on River Road. They were able to secure them after police let them know that their pets were on the loose.
You Are Invited to the Scarsdale Bowl
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To the Editor of Scarsdale10583.com: As Chair of the 2014 Scarsdale Bowl Dinner, I cordially invite all Scarsdale residents and friends to celebrate Scarsdale volunteerism and to honor David Raizen, the president of the Scarsdale Volunteer Ambulance Corps on Wednesday evening, April 9th at our new venue, The Fountainhead in New Rochelle.
Our honoree has positively impacted the lives of many of our fellow citizens, from those stricken during Hurricane Sandy, to those affected by the heat at High School graduations, to those who have dialed 911 seeking emergency ambulance transportation to the hospital – David has been there for all of us. This is our chance to thank and honor him.
But the Scarsdale Bowl Dinner is more than just about one honoree – its is about all the volunteers -- the Trustees, School Board members, the PTA presidents and PTA members, the volunteer firemen, the Boy Scout and Girl Scout leaders, the sports teams' coaches, the Nominating Committee members, and the hundreds of other committee members – everyone who contributes her or his time to make our Village more liveable and more enjoyable – the Bowl Dinner is a celebration of all of us and all of our neighbors who volunteer. There are few events scheduled during the year that offer as enjoyable an opportunity to gather together with so many fellow Scarsdalians as the Bowl.
If you have misplaced your invitation accidentally, there's no problem: just go to the Scarsdale Foundation website, www.scarsdalefoundation.org and click on the link on the right-hand side of the page to purchase tickets for the Scarsdale Bowl dinner You can download the registration form, indicate with whom you would like to be seated, or sign up for a "get-acquainted" table, and mail it in to the address indicated.
I promise you will leave the dinner happy you made the effort to attend and proud that you are part of this special community.
See you on April 9th!
Cordially,
David M. Brodsky
Chair, Scarsdale Bowl Committee 2014
4 Burgess Road
Scarsdale, NY 10583
davidmbrodsky1016@gmail.com
Scarsdale Students Win Accolades
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The Scarsdale Schools announced achievements of middle and high school students in competitions in math, science and geography.
The Scarsdale Middle School Mathcounts team won first place in the state competition in Troy New York March 15-16. Math teachers Steve Weiss and Heidi Kaplan accompanied the team who emerged first out of 50 teams in the competition. Eighth grader Richard Xu and sixth grader Eric Wei will be part of the State's four-person team representing New York State in the Nationals May 8-11 at Disney World and Steve Weiss will coach of that team.
The team meets once a week and works through hundreds of problems supplied in the Mathcounts handbook that is distributed each year. The group is large and all students are welcome. From this group, top students are selected to attend the county-wide competition with an emphasis on a subgroup of 4 students plus an alternate who go to the states. Weiss attributes the team's success this year to the talent of the kids, their dedication and their love for math. They completed every practice problem he gave them and worked really well together. Weiss also sends kudos to the parents as well for their support.
Here are two sample problems of the type the team might be asked to solve: (see answers below)
Problem 1: Coin A is tossed three times and coin B is tossed two times. What is the probability that more heads are tossed using coin A than using coin B? Express your answer as a common fraction.
Problem 2: The giant earthmover used for open-air coal mining has rubber circular tires 11.5 feet in diameter. How many revolutions does each tire make during a six-mile trip? Express your answer to the nearest whole number.
Geography: Dermot Kantor (Popham 8) won the Geography Bee for the Scarsdale Middle School and then scored in the top 100 qualifiers in the New York National Geographic Geography Bee in January. He will compete again on April 4th in Albany at the NYS level of the Geography Bee. Hats off to Dermot and the Geography Bee coach, CHOICE Humanities teacher Rob Daly.
More accolades:
On Monday and Tuesday, March 10-11, thirteen Scarsdale High School research students attended the Upstate Junior Science and Humanities Symposium along with about 100 students from 30 schools in Westchester County and Upper New York State. Two Scarsdale students participated in the five Speaker Sessions, and two participated in the Competitive Poster Sessions. In the Speaker Sessions, Brian Beitler took third place in Biology and Cindy Du took 2nd place in the Competitive Poster Sessions.
On Saturday, March 15 nine Scarsdale seniors in the science research class participated in the 15th annual Westchester Science and Engineering Fair, hosted by Sleepy Hollow High School. This event was attended by approximately 400 students from over 30 area schools.
4th Place Awards were sponsored by Westchester Academy of Medicine. All Fourth Place winners received a medallion and $25. 4th Place winners included Phillip Liu for Computer Science and Zubin Koticha and Brett Pogostin for Behavior.
Claudia Laurie from Scarsdale received a medallion and $50 as a 3rd place winner in behavior. 
The award was sponsored by Psychogenics Pharmaceuticals.
2nd Place awards, sponsored by Acorda Theraputics were won by Archana Ram in Cell and Molecular Biology, Rachel Hurst in Earth and Space Science and Brian Beitler in Plant Science. Each received a medallion and $75.00.
Sam Huang was awarded a first place in Microbiology and Cindy Du was awarded first place in Medicine and Health. They were each given a gold medal and $100 sponsored by Regeneron Pharmaceuticals.
In addition, Cindy Du, was one of the ten top scoring projects and therefore was also awarded an all expenses paid trip to Los Angeles in order to compete in the Intel International Science & Engineering Fair .
Answers:
Problem 1: 1/2
Problem 2: 877 revolutions
Scarsdale Village Election Tuesday March 18
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A reminder to Scarsdale residents that the Village Election will be held on Tuesday, March 18, 2014. All Election Districts will be voting at the Scarsdale Village Hall. Hours of the election are 6:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. and noon to 9:00 p.m.
On the ballot will be three candidates nominated by the Citizen's Non-Partisan Party for Scarsdale Village Trustee: David Lee (running unopposed for a second term) and Deb Pekarek and Marc Samwick, both running opposed for a first term.
Friday, March 7, 2014 is the last day individuals may register with the County Board of Elections to be eligible to vote in the Village Election. March 11, 2014 is the last day to receive applications for absentee ballots to be mailed to qualified voters. After that date, personal applications can be accepted from registered voters at Village Hall until March 17, 2014.
Call the Village Clerk's office, Village Hall at 722-1175 for more details.
