Jennifer Vaughan Comes Home to Launch Physique 57
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Jennifer Vaughan Maanavi has returned to her hometown, Scarsdale, to open Physique 57 at its first ever pop-up location in the Golden Horseshoe Shopping Center on Wilmot Road. Three signature Physique 57 classes are offered daily by Co-Founder Tanya Becker who is teaching in addition to Physique 57 instructors from the Manhattan location.
Jennifer grew up on Crossway and graduated from SHS in 1989. Her parents still live in her childhood home. Speaking about the opening of the studio she said, "It feels nostalgic to bring Physique 57 to Scarsdale. It has been fulfilling to watch our brand grow on a global scale and a pop-up in my hometown brings the expansion of Physique 57 full circle." Jennifer has fond memories of growing up here and said, ""From the Steffi Nossen School of Dance to Scarsdale High School cheerleading, this is where my love for dance and exercise was born and blossomed. To me, it is only fitting that Physique 57 launch in the place where my fitness journey began."
She originally discovered the Lotte Berk Method when she sought to rehabilitate an injured back and get back into shape while working long hours as a finance professional and MBA student in New York City. Soon she was addicted. Upon learning the only Lotte Berk Method studio in Manhattan was closing, Jennifer put her Columbia MBA to work and opened up an exercise studio to take over where Lotte Berk left off. She sought out Tanya Becker, one of the most adored instructors from her former studio, to act as her co-founder and build an updated and modernized version of the eponymous technique. Together they developed a new challenging and comprehensive exercise program that is now the basis for Physique 57's internationally renowned method.
Physique 57's Interval Overload format is a challenging, muscle-targeting workout that utilizes intervals of cardio, strength training, and stretching. By overloading muscles to their max, then immediately stretching afterwards, muscles are able to fully elongate after every workout, giving clients a long, lean beautiful body. Instructors are trained to teach the method to clients with varied levels and learning styles and continually evaluated to assure quality control. All instructors are dancers and therefore innately attuned to proper alignment, movement, execution and anatomy. This benefit allows for a safer and more effective class.
Check out Physique 57 in the Golden Horseshoe at 1142 Wilmot Road and view their class schedule here.
SHS Principal Reports Impressive Student Stats for Scarsdale
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- Written by: Stacie M. Waldman
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The Scarsdale School Board met at Edgewood School on October 7th and heard the first Educational Report of the school year from SHS Principal Kenneth Bonamo. Now serving his second year at the school, Bonamo gave a positive report on the state of the school, including updates on academics, teaching, extra-curriculars, guidance and college acceptances. Here are highlights of what he shared:
Staffing and Class Sizes: SHS has a high level of individualized in student academic support including a low student to teacher ratio of 11:1. Teaching quality has been described as the greatest influence of students' academic success, and class sizes help determine how much time a teacher can spend with each student. A class size in the low to mid-20s is the goal for all classes. Different academic levels of classes are offered ensuring that academic needs and abilities are met for all students.
Tutorial System: SHS has tutoring available for students. A survey was administered to 25% of student population (n=343) last spring. A total of 95% said teachers are readily available- 31% of students were tutored before school, 54% after school. Mr. Bonamo reported that 96% of students said tutorial time is helpful, whether to review for an upcoming exam or ask a question, and 98% take advantage of this support (18% often, 36% regularly, 34% sometimes, 10% rarely).
Student Support: SHS has 9 counselors/Deans that work with the same students during their four years at Scarsdale High School. They lead programs such as parent engagement seminars and help with the college application process. Consistent with peer schools, there are between 180-190 students allotted per Dean. There are also 2 staff psychologists, a school nurse, 2 academic support teachers, and 2 community outreach workers.
Professional Development: Mr. Bonamo defended the Scarsdale Teachers Institute and educational grants, stressing that investment in teachers' ongoing learning results in improved classroom education as well as increased enthusiasm for teaching. The Colorado River Project has been implemented in science classrooms and helps students learn creative and critical problem solving skills. The Math STI class has been cited as a program worth keeping, and interdisciplinary teaching is being encouraged when possible.
Innovations in Curriculum: Civic Education in 9th grade continues to help 9th graders transition to high school. Advanced Topics (AT) courses are offered at the High School level and provide advantages for students in college admission, prepare students for AP exams, and helps with national rankings. SHS has chosen an AT curriculum versus an AP curriculum in order to provide solid teaching and flexibility in the curriculum.
Administrative Support: SHS has 1 Principal and 3 Assistant Principals, on par with peer schools. The school spends $245 per student for materials such as textbooks and e-textbooks, SMART Board technology, wireless access within the school, etc. Extracurricular activities including drama, music, and athletics are offered. One third of students were on at least one team last year. Extracurricular activities increase students engagement in school, correlate positively with student achievement, and help them develop life skills. School safety and security has been enhanced and the feedback has been positive.
According to Bonamo, statistics demonstrate that the high school is turning out highly successful students. Here are the numbers:
- The class of 2013 had an average SAT score of 1937, the highest in the region (including lower Westchester and Nassau County). This average SAT score is consistent with scores over the last 5 years.
- 97% of students attended 4-year colleges from the 2013 graduating class. Among the class of 2014, 71 students (or 20%) were recognized as National Merit Scholars.
- Over the last 10 years, there was a 9-point increase (from 55% to 64%) in students accepted to the most competitive colleges.
- According to a survey of students that graduated in 2013, 68% felt better prepared for college as compared to their peers and 23% felt as prepared as their peers for college.
Reports from the other schools will follow at subsequent meetings.
Bank Robbery on Central Avenue and Lockdown at Edgemont Jr/Sr High School
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Greenburgh Police received back-to-back calls on the afternoon of September 26 about a gunman at Edgemont Junior/Senior High School and an armed robbery at the Capitol One Bank at 911 South Central Park Avenue in Scarsdale. Just after lunchtime on Thursday police received a call that a man with a gun was spotted at the school. The police arrived at 1:45 pm and placed the school in lockdown, darkening all the classrooms and instructing students to sit against the walls. Police checked every building on the campus and no gun was found. According to Superintendent Victoria Kniewel, the report is believed to be false. By 2:30 pm classes resumed and after-school activities were given the go ahead.
However, also at 1:45 pm police received a report that an armed robbery had occurred at the Capital One Bank on Central Avenue. According to Captain Chris McNerney, "a male suspect entered the bank, displayed a firearm and ordered everyone to the ground. The suspect then took an undetermined amount of cash and fled the area in a dark grey sedan with dark tinted windows in an unknown direction. The suspect is described as a light-skinned male wearing an NYPD knit hat, gloves, a mask covering his face below his eyes, dark colored long sleeve shirt, blue jeans and tan work boots. He was also in possession of a police type radio-scanner."
The school and the bank are about a mile apart. Police are trying to determine if the two incidents are linked.
Harry Reynolds Calls for Road Repair at the Scarsdale Library
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This letter was sent to Scarsdale10583 from Scarsdale resident Harry Reynolds:
Village Clerk
Village Hall
1001 Post Road
Scarsdale, New York 10583
Notice is hereby given of the existence of the dangerous, defective and unsafe condition that has long existed in the roadway located at and abutting upon the Scarsdale Public Library at 54 Olmsted Road in the Village of Scarsdale. The roadway's surface is so notoriously broken and filled with crevices that walking upon it at any point is a hazardous undertaking for the population in general and particularly the aged, visually impaired, crippled, infants, and pregnant women, to say nothing of its use at night by the sighted who must walk among the holes and bumps and puddles while alert to angularly parked cars pulling out from their parking spaces. We are an over taxed, long suffering, patient community deserving more than an entrapping roadway.
The Village by law is required within a reasonable time after the receipt of this notice to repair the defective condition and make the roadway a place reasonably safe.
Respectfully,
s/Harold Reynolds
At the Movies: Prisoners Explores a Father's Fury
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- Written by: Deborah Skolnik
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Keller Dover is a mensch—a guy who doesn't just bring home the bacon, but (as we learn in this movie's opening scene) hunts venison, too. He teaches his son to know his way around a gun as well, explaining that it's important to be self-sufficient, in case the fabric of society is ever rent asunder.
So begins Prisoners, a bleak but gripping tale of two families and how they cope when, indeed, the unspeakable happens. On Thanksgiving Day, as the Dovers and their neighbors, the Birches, celebrate together, the couples' daughters both mysteriously disappear from the front yard. Have they run away? Have they been abducted? And what of the shabby RV parked nearby not long before?
The RV is tracked down by police, and its driver, a creepy, laconic fellow with a child's IQ, is a suspect. His stringy hair and oversized glasses are fashion felonies, but it's maddeningly unclear whether he's committed any actual crimes. When he's released for lack of evidence, we learn the shocking lengths that Dover (played by Hugh Jackman) will go to in order to get to the truth out of this oddball.
You won't always want to watch what happens next—though each scene involving the chief investigator, played by Jake Gyllenhaal, is worth keeping your eyes open for. His Detective Loki is a study in contrasts; a man who urges the anguished parents to remain calm, while his own face contorts into nervous tics. Maria Bello, as Dover's wife, also has a fascinating face. As the days drag on, her eyes darken and her lips fade till they merge into the divot under her nose. But her underwritten character does little besides retire to bed amidst snowdrifts of crumpled tissues. Viola Davis, as the mother of the other missing child, has it better: In one wrenching scene, she demonstrates where feminine gentleness ends and motherly ferocity takes over.
Will the tragic tots be found? Of course you'll be rooting for their safe return, but they're almost beside the point. Dover Keller's really the one who's gone missing. He's on an autopilot of ferocity and vengeance, one that, in the end, makes him as much a prisoner as he believes the girls themselves may be. Literally. You'll be playing his armchair quarterback--and conscience--long after the movie ends.
Is Prisoners easy viewing? No--especially given that this is "Walk to School" week in some parts of town. Is it for everyone? Absolutely not. And definitely not for children. But if you like suspense, and the chance to have movie-club-style debates with your date, you'll find plenty to ponder here. Just be aware that for the price of the ticket, you're about to watch a man sell his soul.
Deborah Skolnik is a Greenacres mother of two and the Content Director for Myron Corporation, a large business-gifts company in Maywood, New Jersey.
