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Written by: Jeremy Gorrin

Published: 04 June 2026

Created: 04 June 2026

Last Updated: 04 June 2026

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The athlete honor society athletes receiving their awards.On Tuesday, June 2nd, 2026, the annual Maroon and White barbecue took place at Scarsdale High School. This awards ceremony honors the student athletes who played in many seasons of sports throughout their high school athletic career. Many of the awards given at this ceremony have plaques inside the school with the past recipients. Before the awards ceremony, there was a community dinner, hosted outside the school, at the Brewster Road entrance. This dinner is attended by athletes of all seasons.

Jordan Wechsler, President of Maroon and White, and Athletic Director, Cindy Parrot, presented the following awards.

Spring Sectional Champion Teams
2026- Girls Golf
Sophia Black, Rory Winston, Zoe Winston, Arwen Dong, Liya Chu

Boys Tennis Team
Nathan Appleman, Ethan Goh, Mark Ha, Jeffrey Huang, Jerry Jin, Emmett Klingsberg,
Sean Ma, Matthew Nussbaum, Dylan Pai, Jack Reis, Charles Robertson, Rohan Sehgal,
Chris Strovink, Kaito Tsukamoto, and Lucas Yao

Tennis Individuals
Jack Reis

Track and Field
Alice Nicassio - 100 meters and 200 meters
Boys 4x400 - Raj Bhatt, Yuhan Cruz, Jonathan Shawn, Joseph van de Broek
Ana Pettinelli - 800 meters

Awards:
TIMBERGER AWARD
The Elizabeth Timberger Memorial Award honors an outstanding senior who supports a team or the athletic program in a non-playing role, such as manager, statistician, audio-visual assistant, play-by-play person, mascot, or sportswriter. This year there are two recipients.

Mr. Timberger presenting Samara Feuerstein and Chase Timberger with the Timberger award.Recipient: Samara Feuerstein
The first award winner this year is an exceptional team manager whose impact reaches every corner of the soccer and flag program, leading with a team-first mentality and anticipating the needs of players and coaches before they arise, from keeping meticulous stats and organizing uniforms to setting up drills, checking ball pressure, and even stepping into goal when needed. Beyond logistics, she shapes team culture: organizing “bus buddies” on away trips, flagging to coaches when a teammate seemed off, supporting players through rehab, and already mentoring the next generation of managers to carry the program forward. Samara Feuerstein is one of two recipients of the 2026 Timberger Award.

Recipient: Chase Timberger
Chase Timberger spent two years as a hardworking football player and a loyal baseball manager whose organization, pre-game preparation, and meticulous tracking of statistics, roster changes, and pitch counts proved invaluable to his coaches. Chase Timberger is the second 2026 Timberger Award recipient, receiving the honor that bears his family’s name.

MOONEY AWARD
The Nina Mooney Award is presented to a senior female athlete who displays commitment, enthusiasm, spirit, concern for others, and a positive work ethic, with no academic requirement.

Mr. Mooney presenting Leah Brown with the Mooney award.Recipient: Leah Brown
The 2026 recipient of the Mooney award is Leah Brown, who has been a tremendous player for the girls soccer, basketball, and flag football teams. On the basketball court she shut down opposing scorers; on the soccer field she anchored the back line with the work ethic and grit that earned her this year’s Defensive MVP; and as a flag football captain, she leads with dedication and spirit while contributing on both sides of the ball as a rusher and blocker.

KNOPP AWARD
The Nonie Knopp Memorial Award is presented to a senior male athlete who displays commitment, enthusiasm, spirit, concern for others and a positive work ethic.

Recipient: Collin Brennan
The 2026 Knopp award winner is Collin Brennan, who exemplifies what it means to be a true leader, captaining both the football and lacrosse teams not with words but through consistent actions and unwavering character. On the lacrosse field he is the definition of an unsung hero, living out the team’s motto of “together” through selflessness, toughness, and a high standard for himself and his teammates; on the football field he is calm under pressure and calculated in everything he does, and has extended his leadership beyond the program by involving the Varsity Football Team in a Sunday-morning flag football program that nurtures the next generation.

PEPPERS AWARDS
The Peppers Awards recognize one female and one male senior scholar-athlete who distinguish themselves through dedication in games and practice, unselfish sportsmanship, and active encouragement of teammates, with a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.5.

The Pepper family presenting Rachel Rakower and Gil Krausz with the Pepper award.Female Recipient: Rachel Rakower
This year’s Female Peppers Award winner has competed at a high level across all three track seasons of her high school career while holding school records, earning state championships and All-American status, and serving as a calm, inclusive leader who helped guide the girls to their first Cross Country State Championship qualification in forty years. Off the track, she has conducted cancer-immunotherapy research at the NIH and siRNA-delivery research at Regeneron. Rakower, who holds a 4.01 GPA and will attend Caltech in the fall.

Male Recipient: Gil Krausz
This year’s Male Peppers Award winner has been credited with turning around Scarsdale Baseball, anchoring the program as a three-year varsity pitcher and two-year captain who his coaches and teammates trust to beat anyone when he takes the mound. Named Section 1 AAA Pitcher of the Year as both a junior and a senior, he was All-League in 2024, 2025, and 2026 and All-Section in 2025 and 2026, drawing every top opponent on the schedule and keeping hitters off balance through four years of working in lockstep with his coach. Krausz, who holds a 3.87 GPA and will attend Colby College in the fall.

The Iron Athlete Award
The Iron Athlete Award recognizes active interscholastic athletic participation in every season across grades nine through twelve, totaling twelve consecutive seasons at Scarsdale High School.

Recipients:
Leah Brown
Camryn Culang
Parker Lin
Nate Lynch
Leia Patel
Rachel Rakower

The Iron Athletes receiving their awards.

The Scarsdale High School Scholar Athlete Honor Society Award
The Scholar Athlete Honor Society Award, established in 1969 in the name of Grant Geiger, is presented to top senior athletes who exemplify:
Dedication to their sport
Competitive spirit
Performance on and off the field of play
Performance in the classroom with a GPA of 3.5 or higher
Positive attitude
Citizenship
Sportsmanship

Recipient: Leo Green
Leo Green is a natural leader whose selflessness and team-first mindset prompted Coach Verboys to shift him from running back to lineman, a move he accepted without hesitation, telling his coach, “No problem, Coach. Whatever the team needs.” When a season-ending injury sidelined him, he coached his backup and worked the sidelines motivating his team.

Recipient: Gavin Wellen
Gavin Wellen is a two-sport athlete who draws the opposing team’s top player on the lacrosse field and starts at center on the football team, bringing the same physicality, discipline, and quiet leadership to both. Coach Synowiez describes him as a stoic young man whose teammates listen when he speaks.

Recipient: Jalyn Ryu
Tennis player Jalyn Ryu is described by Coach Jen Roane as a team player, consummate student, and the epitome of a Scarsdale student-athlete, with a quiet, unassuming manner that exemplifies her hard work and competitive spirit. Passionate about the law, she was selected for the Columbia University High School Law Institute and will attend the University of Pennsylvania in the fall.

Recipient: Stella Van Arsdale
Stella Van Arsdale is an accomplished skier and multi-year team captain who won Scarsdale’s first-ever Skimeister Award by finishing #1 across two disciplines at Sectionals and has medaled four times at the New York State Championships. Coaches Pat Liu and Mindy Genovese point to her mature, patient demeanor and the high bar she sets for herself — a bar that extends off the field, where she is training to become a fifth-generation airplane pilot. Van Arsdale, who will attend the University of Rochester in the fall as a dual-sport soccer player and ski racer.

The Raider award athletes receiving their awards.The Raider Award
The Raider Award recognizes the intangible characteristics Scarsdale Athletics aspires to develop through interscholastic competition. It is given to athletes who possess the attitude, work ethic, resilience, and leadership qualities to change the outcome of a game, the culture of their team, or the quality of a season by their presence.

Recipient: Gia Asen
A two-sport captain, Gia Asen is a deeply committed vocal leader whose work ethic and intensity set the tone for her teams, so much so that the flag football coaches designed a play specifically for her because her effort never wavers. Whether on the soccer or flag football field, she leaves everything on the field every game and consistently puts her teammates first, checking in on them on and off the field.

Recipient: Tessa Franco
Tessa Franco is a tenacious four-year starter whose grit and competitiveness rattle attackers and force errors, in the words of Coach Berger, who calls her the engine that makes her team run and a player who raises the bar for everyone around her. She will continue her lacrosse career at SUNY Cortland next year.

Recipient: Joseph Pappalardo
Joseph Pappalardo brought a team spirit second to none, leading beyond his title as basketball captain and showing up every day with a positive attitude. When he wasn’t playing football or basketball, he was managing the baseball team or leading the student section from the stands, building team culture across the program.

Recipient: Labrowne Brown
Labrowne Brown holds school records in multiple events, but it is his character and mindset that impress Coach Bedoya. Laser-focused during workouts and the ultimate hype man before a teammate’s race, he is consistently the loudest and most excited voice cheering on his fellow track athletes. He is always positive and committed to being the best athlete and teammate.

Maroon and White hosted a festive BBQ and a meaningful awards ceremony. Congratulations to all the athletes who received awards and best of luck to all the seniors attending college in the fall.

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Written by: Stacey Liew

Published: 27 May 2026

Created: 27 May 2026

Last Updated: 27 May 2026

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Two Scarsdale students were among 60 chosen statewide to attend the Students Inside Albany Conference from May 17-20, 2026.

In order to select the students, the Scarsdale League of Women Voters invited sophomores, juniors, and seniors attending SHS or residing in the school district to apply. After a selective process, the LWVS decided to send two SHS students to the conference this year: junior Samantha Goldban and sophomore Anushri Rana.

Connecting high schoolers from across the state, the conference aims to increase students’ awareness of what responsibility they hold in representative government and inform them about the tools they need for that responsibility. Specifically, SIA teaches students about public policy proposal, enactment, and change and also the impact they can make in this area.

Students Inside Albany is funded by the League of Women Voters of New York State (LWVNYS) Education Foundation. Students from Scarsdale are able to attend SIA free of charge due to sponsorship from both the LWVS and LWVNYS Education Foundation.

Since the conference is created to be immersive, students shadowed their NY State Assemblywoman Amy Paulin. Through this opportunity, many students were able to join a session on the chamber floor and experience NYS Government firsthand.

Both students had thoughts on the event:

Goldban said, “Students Inside Albany was an incredible experience. I am so grateful to the League of Women Voters for organizing the program and giving me this opportunity. During my time there, I got to speak directly with my district's legislators about local and statewide issues. It was an amazing way to learn more about the political process and how I can effect change through civic participation.”

Rana commented, “Students Inside Albany was an invaluable and enriching experience. The League of Women Voters provided the incredible opportunity to meet our assembly members and state senators, allowing for true immersion and helping us see our politicians as real human beings. My primary takeaway is that when we detach ourselves from politics, we become complicit, when in actuality, as constituents we hold more power than it may seem.”

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Written by: Joanne Wallenstein

Published: 09 May 2026

Created: 09 May 2026

Last Updated: 13 May 2026

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Updated May 13, 2026 (The following letter was written by The Scarsdale Parent-Teacher Council Executive Committee

Dear Editor,

On Tuesday, May 19th, Scarsdale residents will have the opportunity to vote on the school budget and bond, and the Scarsdale Parent-Teacher Council Executive Committee is urging our community to vote “YES” on both.

We understand that budget season brings real questions. Taxes are not abstract as they are felt by every household in Scarsdale, and we respect that residents are weighing this vote carefully. That thoughtfulness is a reflection of our engaged, conscientious community.

We want to speak directly to anyone who is uncertain, or who may have heard arguments for voting “no”: please consider what is actually at stake.

Scarsdale’s schools are not just excellent; they are exceptional in ways that take generations to build and that can erode far more quickly than they were built. Our nationally recognized academic programs, small class sizes, diverse curricula, and talented, experienced faculty exist because this community has consistently chosen to invest in them. A “no” vote on the budget would likely unwind that investment in immediate and impactful ways: larger classes, further reductions in aides and staff, fewer electives, cuts to non-sanctioned, JV, and VarB sports, reduced enrichment programming, and limits on academic innovation.

The bond vote is equally consequential. Our school buildings, many of which are over a century old, have infrastructure needs that cannot be wished away. Voting “no” does not make those needs disappear. Families at Fox Meadow and Edgewood are already experiencing overcrowding. Students at Heathcote, Quaker Ridge, and Greenacres lack air conditioning in key areas. Our fields remain in short supply. These are not hypothetical future problems — they are present realities that grow more expensive and more disruptive to address with every year of inaction.

Scarsdale has always understood that great schools do not sustain themselves. They require commitment, year after year, from the community that depends on them. Strong schools are also the foundation of Scarsdale’s property values — a fact that matters to every homeowner in our community, not just those with children currently enrolled.

On Tuesday, May 19th, we hope you will vote “YES” on the school budget and bond for our students, our teachers, and the Scarsdale we all chose to call home.

Sincerely,
The Scarsdale Parent-Teacher Council Executive Committee:
Erica German, PTC President
Rokaya Hassaballa, PTC President Elect
Shilpa Spencer, PTC Treasurer
Jeannie Adashek, PTC Secretary

(The following letter was written by Edgewood PTA Co-Presidents Jackie Nimer and Chelsey Mitchelle)

To Our Edgewood Community:

We know we’ve spent a lot of time this year talking about the bond and budget, and we appreciate everyone who has stayed engaged and informed along the way. We also understand that people are tired and ready to move on from this conversation. But fatigue does not lessen the importance of what is at stake here. This vote will have a direct impact on our children, our schools, and the experience we are able to provide as a community, so we’re asking you to take a few minutes to really read this and really think about what matters to you. We want to speak honestly and candidly about what is happening on May 19th, because there is a lot of mixed emotions and misinformation.

There are three things on the ballot on May 19th: the budget, the bond, and the Board of Education candidates. What is important to understand is that the budget and the bond are separate votes, both appearing on the same ballot. While you can technically vote differently on each, the outcome of this ballot will ultimately be a pass or a fail.

That said, if the budget does not pass, additional cuts will need to be made. And if it fails twice, the district is required to move to a contingency budget, which would mean roughly $6 million in immediate reductions.

That impact of it not passing is immediate and we assure you that the implications will be difficult to absorb and even harder to come back from in coming years.

A failed vote means nearly $6 million may need to be cut before going into the fall of 2026. That is not abstract nor is it insignificant and has serious ripple effects across the district that will directly impact your child’s educational experience. It likely will mean teacher lay-offs, larger class sizes, and fewer resources for our children in this community.

We are not talking about small adjustments. We are talking about real changes to what our children experience every day in the classroom.
If the bond does not pass, Edgewood does not get the infrastructure improvements, renovations, or the addition that our school needs. In the near term, that means continued overcrowding, limited space, and learning environments that are already stretched. Over the longer term, it means falling further behind on critical upgrades, higher costs from deferred work, and a school that is not set up to support the experience we want for our kids.

We know there are frustrations some community members are experiencing. Not everything is working perfectly. Reveal Math has been a big point of conversation. There are things people want to see improved, changed, rethought. That is fair. But if we misdirect those types of frustrations into this vote, we are not fixing any of those problems but in fact, exacerbating the issue making them harder to solve. There is the question of curriculum, and there is the reality of physical space. Without the space, there is nowhere for that curriculum to be effectively taught, whether we agree with every aspect of it or not.

Cutting staff and increasing class sizes does not improve curriculum. Voting no on the bond and budget in order to bring attention to other issues is in direct conflict with some objectives parents are trying to accomplish. It directly conflicts with the values and standards most of us have for our children and community.

A very real scenario is classrooms of close to 30 students. If it feels hard to get attention and support now, it will feel very different under those conditions. This has been a charged year. That is not lost on anyone. People care deeply about education here, and that is part of what makes this community what it is. We have been honored and privileged to be a part of the journey this year and are really proud of how Edgewood and other schools in Scarsdale have shown up and supported one another.

Many of us chose to live here because of the schools. We want our children to have the best experience they can and that experience is shaped by the people in the building every day. Our teachers. Our staff. The environment we create for them to do their jobs well.

Last week we celebrated Teacher Appreciation, and it feels important to say this out loud. Our teachers show up every single day for our kids. They care for them, they teach them, they support them in ways we don’t always see. Most of us can point to a teacher who changed our life in some way (I’m sure many of you still remember their names and faces and still can share stories on how they have shaped the person you are today).
Everyone is entitled to their own opinion and their own vote. That is part of what makes this community strong. But we are asking you to take a step back and think about what you value. As families, as community members, but most importantly as parents.

What do you want your child’s day to actually feel like in school? And just as importantly, are you comfortable with them feeling the impact of cuts across the district if this doesn’t pass?

Every vote does matter. Truly. If there are two eligible voters in your household, it is important that both show up. If you cannot make it to Scarsdale Middle School on May 19th, you can vote at the district office at any point leading up until May 19th. The need is real, the data is clear, and the time to act is now.

We are incredibly lucky to be part of this community.

We are asking you to really think about what matters over the next couple of weeks and to vote in alignment with what you want for your children and for this community.

With gratitude,
Jackie Nimer and Chelsey Mitchell

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Written by: Joanne Wallenstein

Published: 05 May 2026

Created: 05 May 2026

Last Updated: 05 May 2026

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Dear Editor,

This week, May 4-8, we celebrate National Teacher Appreciation Week. On behalf of the Scarsdale Parent Teacher Council Executive Committee and the PTA Presidents of our seven schools, we want our teachers and staff to know how profoundly grateful we are for everything they bring to our schools each and every day. Across all seven of Scarsdale’s schools, our building-level PTAs are marking this special week with events and initiatives designed to honor the remarkable people who make our schools what they are—but we know that no single week, and no single gesture, can fully capture the depth of our appreciation.

Our teachers and staff give so much of themselves: their time, energy, creativity, and compassion. They show up not just as educators, but also as mentors, advocates, and steady presences in the lives of our children. Every school year brings its own rhythm of joys and milestones, routines and surprises, complexities and challenges—and year after year, Scarsdale’s faculty and staff meet all of it with remarkable dedication, grace, and purpose.

We wish every teacher, aide, administrator, and staff member a truly wonderful appreciation week. We hope the final months of this school year are filled with the many small moments of connection and accomplishment that make this work so meaningful.

Thank you, sincerely and wholeheartedly, for all that you do.

Best wishes,
Erica German, PTC President
Rokaya Hassaballa, PTC President Elect
Jeannie Adashek, PTC Secretary
Shilpa Spencer, PTC Treasurer
Erika Rublin, SHS PTA President
Gina Chon, SMS PTA President
Chelsey Mitchell, Edgewood PTA Co-President
Jackie Nimer, Edgewood PTA Co-President
Jessica Rosenberg, Fox Meadow PTA Co-President
Dorathy Sunshine, Fox Meadow PTA Co-President
Liza King, Greenacres PTA President
Saum Shetty, Heathcote PTA President
Sandra Brudnick, Quaker Ridge PTA President