Girls Basketball Still Trying To Find Its Rhythm
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Kayla Maroney drives on John Jay.The Scarsdale girls’ basketball team hosted its first game of 2020 on Saturday January 3 against the highly touted Arlington Admirals. The Raiders were looking for their first win of the season, while the Admirals came into the event 3-1 with recent blowout wins against Fox Lane and Clarkstown North – and their only loss of the year against perennial powerhouse Ursuline.
Prior to the game, a moment of silence was observed in memory of recently departed Scarsdale resident and former NBA Commissioner David Stern. Raiders’ co-captain Jessica Solodar was back in action as Scarsdale came out for the opening tip.
Meghan Quirk and Phoebe Shearer grab a rebound.The first quarter started fairly evenly as teams traded early baskets. Halfway through the quarter, Arlington star player and co-captain Molly Stephens went on a scoring spurt – hitting two three pointers and adding a few free throws in a short period of time. Scarsdale had trouble controlling the ball early and had multiple turnovers on each end of the court. Despite the five points contributed by senior co-captain Kayla Maroney, the quarter ended with the Raiders trailing 19-10.
Scarsdale’s struggles continued in the second quarter as the Admirals continued a combination of strong defense and solid shooting. Point guard Mia Castillo added to her five first quarter points with eight more, including several bombs from outside. The Raiders began substituting liberally – trying to find the right combination. Maeve Jacobson provided much needed defensive help along with Moira Conlan and Isabelle Goldban. While the Admirals equaled their first quarter production, Scarsdale only added six points and the half ended with the Raiders trailing 38-16.
The second half saw the Raiders tighten its game considerably. While the offense still struggled to convert on opportunities, the defense clamped down and held the Admirals at bay. Co-captain Meghan Quirk hit a three pointer mid way through the third quarter and Maroney added eight points. The teams played quite evenly and the end of third quarter saw the Admirals lead stand at 24 points.
Moira Conlan about to score.
The final quarter saw the Raiders continue to improve. Goldban poured in 7 points while center Abby Talish found the mark and added four points. Maroney also added a three pointer late bringing her total to a Raider-game high 17 points, and Scarsdale outscored Arlington 16-14 in the fourth quarter. The Admirals’ Stephens and Castillo tallied 14 and 19 points respectively as Arlington prevailed 64-42.
Raiders on the Defense
Scarsdale continues its campaign with two more tough opponents: On January 7th the lady Raiders travel to New Rochelle and the following week host Mt. Vernon. Photos by Jon Thaler. See more here.
Abby Talish takes a jumper.
Sports News: Four Honored at Section 1 Football Awards Dinner, Hockey Team Donates Gifts for Kids
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Four Scarsdale High School football’s players were feted at the 2019 New York State High School Section 1 Football awards dinner on Sunday December 15 at the Pearl River Hilton. The section includes 70 high schools. Scarsdale’s Sam Feldman, Dean Mancini, Chris Saenger, and Harry Song were given their awards as “all conference” or “all section” players. Sam Feldman was also awarded league player of the year as offensive lineman. The players were acknowledged as the leaders of a team that posted a great season record of 5 wins and 2 losses, with the losses against the two finalists in the state playoffs.
Pictured Above: Harry Song, Sam Feldman, Chris Saenger (not pictured: Dean Mancini)
Hockey Team Donates Gifts to Hospital
On December 14, the Scarsdale Varsity Ice Hockey team donated over $1,000 in gifts to the Maria Fareri children's hospital in Valhalla.
High School Physical Education teacher James Synowiez, who coaches the team, reported:
"This season the Varsity Ice Hockey team was interested in donating or helping out a local charity. We decided that purchasing gifts to help make the holiday season brighter for children who are not able to be home with their families would be a great way to give back to the community. Each student-athlete was responsible for bringing at least one gift to the hospital on the donating day last Saturday morning, prior to our game. As a coach I was impressed with the selflessness our boys displayed and the amount of gifts that they showed up with. We look forward to making this an annual tradition!"
One Thousand Acts of Kindness from Middle School Students
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From left to right AJ Hart, Andrew Mandel, Rachel Rakower, Kate Hubell, Joyce Liu, Skylar Katz, Amanda Gorrin, Ellie Greenspan, Eli LeblangSixth graders from Butler House and Fountain House at Scarsdale Middle School have organized 1000 acts of kindness over the school year. The effort is led by social studies teachers, Ms. Jeanne-Marie Castiello (Butler House) and Adam Nichols (Fountain House).
According to Ms. Castiello, here is what they did:
Butler 6 worked with Fountain 6, their sister house, to collect over 255 toys for the Children's Hospital at Montefiore (CHAM). For the last three years, students have donated toys to Montefiore's Annual Holiday toy drive. Next week the toys will be distributed to patients at the Children's Hospital Holiday Party.
Butler 6 collected educational baby and infant toys for the NICU at CHAM.
For the holiday season each of Ms. Castiello’s students wrote letters and cards for Thanksgiving and the holidays to senior residents at the Schaffer Extended Care Center at Montefiore. Students will continue to correspond with the senior residents for the entire school year.
Ms. Castielle said, “The generosity of spirit is truly heartwarming and amazing. To see sixth graders dedicated to helping others is awe inspiring and gives true meaning to the holiday season.”
Alexandra Israel
Joey Pappalardo
Emma Lerner
Alex Horner
Two from SHS Honored for their Work with Local Immigrants
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Two with roots in Scarsdale were honored for their work helping immigrants get established in Westchester at the Community Resource Center Gala at Beach Point in Mamaroneck on Thursday night November 21. Jacob Faierman, an exceptional Scarsdale High School senior, and Jennifer Rosenzweig, a compassionate SHS teacher, were thanked by the CRC whose mission is “to promote the cultural, economic, educational and professional integration of immigrants to the already established larger community and to advocate for those in need…. (they) aim to provide the tools to prepare new immigrant families to become self-sufficient and active members of the community.”
Jacob Faierman met SHS English teacher Stephen Mounkhall in ninth grade and has since pursued independent study projects under Mounkhall’s direction, exploring all genres of writing, including poetry, short stories, creative writing and satire. During his sophomore year, Faierman wrote a play and the following summer he worked for “Make the Road New York,” an organization that assists immigrants with legal issues. His job was to interview the immigrants, hear their stories and help them complete naturalization papers. He asked questions and learned the moving stories of their lives.
When he returned to school for junior year he wanted to find undocumented immigrants in Westchester and interview them to get out their stories. Faierman said that his grandparents immigrated to this county from Argentina and Uruguay and taught him the value of listening to the stories of others.
He started to visit the Community Resource Center in Mamaroneck and to converse with the people in an evening English class taught by SHS teacher Jennifer Rosenzweig. He was able to use his Spanish to communicate and conducted short interviews with dozens of immigrants. From those he selected six people who were the most committed and willing to share their stories. He eventually culled down and translated many hours of interviews into six stories which he published in a book titled “Voices in the Shadows, Stories of Undocumented Immigrants in America” that is available on Amazon. Due to the immigrants’ difficult legal status, no real names are used.
For her part, Jennifer Rosenzweig explained why she became involved at the CRC. She said, “After the last election I wanted to do something to help immigrants. I started teaching weekly ESL classes there late in the fall of 2016, and I even though teach evening classes after a full day of work, I always leave with more energy than I arrived with. My students are an inspiration to me--they are full of good humor and a deep desire to learn and improve their English skills. My class is considered "intermediate" and the goal is for students to "graduate" from my class to take the accredited class offered by BOCES at the Center. I am always filled with a mixture of pride and sadness when a student I have been working with over the months is able to pass the test to move to the next level. I am so grateful for the opportunity to work closely with this community...I very much believe the oft-repeated sentiment that those who have the lowest opinion of immigrants are those people who do not know immigrants. I cannot imagine anyone spending time in my classes or at the Community Resource Center who is not moved by these people and their stories.”
English teacher Stephen Mounkhall, who supervised Faierman’s independent study projects, said he had previously worked with talented student writers, but “this was the first time I had someone with a mission. He (Jacob) tried not to make it political.” Jacob’s mission was to “put out there what they (the immigrants) have to say.”
Mounkhall was moved by the reception Faierman received from his classmates. 50 students showed up to a recent reading at the Scarsdale High School Library. Mounkhall noted that despite his achievements, Faierman remains very humble. Looking at the book, another student said to Faierman, “I can’t believe you wrote a book,” to which Faierman replied, “You could too!”
Faierman was also honored by the Rotary Club of Larchmont and received commendations from Congressman Eliot Engel, County Executive George Latimer and State Senator Shelley Mayer. Faierman shared the following final essay from his book with us. Read below …and if you would like to purchase your own copy of the book, click here.
Marco Bohorquez, who runs the volunteer program at CRC with Faierman and Rosenzweig
From Voices in the Shadows: Stories of Undocumented Immigrants in America:
Hope can drive people halfway across the world to a land where they are not welcomed by all. Most people in the United States notice immigrants’ presence in society, either through news broadcasts or by seeing them on the street. Not many, however, listen to their struggles and experiences. These stories exemplify the burdensome nature of a journey to the United States. Some faced the pinnacle of their struggles in their home country. Others realized the most challenging realities on the journey to America. Some confronted the greatest difficulties while in the United States, the very country they aspired to reside in. Perhaps the immigrants’ featured in this book have yet to encounter their most overwhelming experiences. The beautiful facet of these stories is that they all share in a common theme: none of them are done being written.
The United States is at a turning point. Immigrants are at the forefront of national politics and local debate, but for all the chaotic screams on our television screens, in our newspapers, and on our social media, not many listen to the very people fueling the discussion. Instead, people who claim to be experts on the issue simultaneously spew judgment and propose policy solutions. Their opinions may well be valid, but in order to be truly be informed, one must listen to the actual fears, hopes, and day-to-day struggles these people face. There are millions of undocumented immigrants in the United States, yet in the mainstream, their voices are in the shadows, silenced by government intimidation.
These stories have not only changed my perspective on how we should approach the immigration debate, but they have also shifted my views on the struggles of these people. Undocumented immigrants choose to travel to America for a variety of reasons, but they all come in search of a better life. Those interviewed in this book were economic immigrants, asylum seekers, political dissidents, and dreamers. The common thread in this diverse group of people from different home countries, genders, ages, and financial backgrounds was a willingness to persevere and a deep love of family. The same reasons that brought my grandparents from Argentina fifty years ago are the reasons immigrants continue to journey to the United States today. People rarely realize these brilliant facets of undocumented immigrants in America, and debates surrounding immigration should always keep their humanity and their voices in mind.
Before embarking on this literary endeavor, I had never had the opportunity to converse with an undocumented immigrant. Despite their pivotal role in our culture, most citizens have never spoken to these wonderful people. I was surprised to find so many volunteers with such vibrant stories living within my small community. Many conveyed their appreciation for what I was doing, and I am truly grateful for the stories they shared with me. Their journeys will always stay with me, and I hope I am not the last native-born citizen they share their experiences with. Their voices are an integral step toward a more understanding society.
Preseason Snapshot: Scarsdale Winter Sport Features Much Potential
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Wrestling: After almost 15 years as assistant coach, Jeremy Szerlip begins his second year in the top spot with an eye towards a strong rebound in the ’19-’20 season. The team is coming off of a rebuilding season which saw several changes to the program’s culture and approach.
Coach Szerlip noted that his main objective since taking the helm last year has been to change the “general attitude of the team” and “come with a winning mindframe to compete in a hard division”. The team features an upperclass heavy squad with senior co-captains Dean Mancini, Connor Raff, and Thomas Reynolds leading the charge. The team also has high hopes for Sophomore Thomas Kuo.
Szerlip’s main concern going into the season is the team’s ability to retain its full membership throughout the long, grinding, tough campaign. To date – the team has all but two weight classes filled – which should make a large difference in dual meets. When asked about his initial outlook for the season – Szerlip said “I expect us to be very competitive during the dual meets and improve our performance considerably over last year”.
The Raiders open their season at the Section One dual meet on December 4th.
Boys Basketball
Second year head coach Joe Amelio has high aspirations for his squad this season. The Raiders started last year on an 8-0 roll, until injuries and a rough conference schedule took its tool and the team ended the season with a 14-6 regular season record. Scarsdale entered the playoffs as the 5 seed and lost a heartbreaker in an overtime loss to White Plains in the quarterfinals – just missing the semifinals at the country center.
The team lost 3 of its top 4 scorers – including SUNY Geneseo basketball player Cole Kattan – to graduation. However, several returning players should make a big impact including All State senior guard Jayshen Saigal, who Amelio believes “is a top three player in the conference”. Furthermore, point guard Matthew Lipsay will return after missing his junior year due to a broken wrist. He is looking for those two and several of the returning players to provide leadership to a team that is playing together for the first time.
Amelio stressed that “our defense was strong last year – particularly during the first half of the season. I expect us to continue that into this year and it will make us hard to beat”. Further, he said that “our defensive performance will be an early indicator of how successful we will be this year. Coach Amelio believes that his team “has the ability to make it to the country center this season”
The teams first regular season game will begin at home at Scarsdale on 12/4 as it hosts its annual tournament
Girls Basketball
Coach Mike Blanco returns for a 9th season leading a Scarsdale team that sported an 10-11 season against a very competitive schedule – and a tough first round playoff loss against a highly ranked Lady of Lourdes team.
The team sports a “barbell” of seniority – with over half the team underclassman. Blanco has high expectations of his senior co-captains Kayla Maroney (all section last year) Meghan Quirk, and Jessica Solodar – as well as junior Center Abigail Talish. He also believes that he has sufficient depth this year as his five sophomores all were on the squad last year as freshmen – and should help keep the team fresh as the season wears on.
The lady Raiders season begins on December 5th at its home tournament.
Photos by Jon Thaler. See more here:
