Maroon and White Announces Spring Athletic Awards
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Maroon and White lauded senior spring athletes at their barbeque on Tuesday June 3rd. Many of the families who named the awards attended the ceremonies with multiple generations represented.
Here are the proud Scarsdale seniors who won the awards presented by Maroon and White Co-Presidents Kathy Coleman and John McCann:
Conservation Advisory Council Recommends Mulching in Place
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The Scarsdale's Conservation Advisory Council (CAC) and the Sustainability Committee of the Scarsdale Forum agree: the time has come for the Village to encourage residents to let leaves mulch rather than sweep them to the curb for pick-up. The CAC, which is an advisory board to the Board of Trustees, has produced a report advising them on options with regard to Village leaf collection, an activity that costs Scarsdale about $800K annually and requires over a thousand truck trips to distant disposal sites.
Years ago the Village composted leaves locally but this practice was discontinued after neighbor complaints. In recent years, "mulching in place", the practice of finely grinding leaves so that they settle into lawns and contribute back valuable nutrients, has taken root as an alternative practice particularly here in Westchester. Leaf mulching not only reduces the Village's cost of leaf collection but also the use of harmful (and increasingly banned) synthetic fertilizers. The Scarsdale Village Board adopted a Leaf Mulching Resolution in December, 2011. It has since begun to educate residents in leaf mulching, with demonstration projects held last year in Chase and de Lima Park. Mulching in place actually is an option that any lawn-loving suburbanite should love, as it can measurably improve soil quality beyond the "empty calories" of store bought fertilizers.
The CAC chose not to advocate a particular policy but to instead provide Trustees with a menu of options. Numerous communities nationwide were surveyed and contacted, including all municipalities in southern Westchester. The CAC found that basic options for Village leaf collection actually are few:
-Do not collect leaves, requiring residents to dispose of them through other means, such as landscapers.
-Collect only bagged leaves, much as the Village now collects other yard waste. About half of the communities in southern Westchester do not vacuum leaves, most recently Greenburgh, New Rochelle and Irvington. Reports are that the transition to bagging went surprisingly smoothly.
-Vacuuming, which is what the Village now does.
The alternative to any of these Village programs would, of course, be leaf mulching by residents. Recognizing that vacuuming is most efficient for homeowners, the CAC proposed various alternatives incorporating it: a gradual reduction in leaf vacuuming frequency so that residents could slowly adapt to other means of disposal and a leaf vacuuming fee that residents could avoid by bagging, having landscapers haul leaves or, most desired, mulching in place.
The CAC advocates that regardless of which option the Village chooses, leaf mulching outreach to residents be immediately stepped up. Its rationale is that as changes in leaf collection policy will increasingly make residents open to alternatives, they should be educated in advance about leaf mulching. The CAC has prepared a survey to gauge current resident leaf practices and interest; it will publicize this survey in the Fall.
The Scarsdale Conservation Advisory Council (CAC) is an advisory body to the Village Board of Trustees. The Council studies issues affecting the local environment and also maintenance of the Village's "natural" character. Issues may include open space, wetlands, trees, energy conservation, and other "sustainability" issues.
The CAC's leaf report is available here under "Exploring Leaf Collection Options".
Miracle League Challenges SHS Raiders
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SHS sophomore Teddy DeLorenzo coaches players from the Miracle of Westchester baseball team, a team that gives students with disabilities the chance to play baseball in league play. The Miracle Players repeatedly asked DeLorenzo if they could challenge the SHS JV Baseball team.
On Sunday May 18th DeLorenzo was able to make it happen ... and the big game was scheduled: The Scarsdale Raiders JV Baseball team accepted the challenge from the Miracle League of Westchester players. The Raiders were nothing short of surprised when the Miracle players held the Raiders scoreless for six innings with Joe "Real Deal" Reale taking the Raiders pitcher Ben Hasson over the fence for a two-run home run.
A great time was had by all including the parents in the stands, the Scarsdale JV team and most of all the Miracle League players on the field.
What You Don’t Know About State Mandates Could Be Harming Your Local School
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Take, for example, the recently passed state "tax freeze" law to promote shared school services and/or district mergers. Don't know what this is or what it could mean for the quality of the Scarsdale Schools? Then click here to link to the Scarsdale Parent-Teacher Council Legislation Committee's webpage, where you'll find details of how the new statewide law could affect Scarsdale over the next few years, as well as links to related news articles and research on the supposed vs. actual cost savings to be found in district mergers.
Concerned about the prospect of Scarsdale merging with other districts? Click here for an easy step for all Scarsdalians to take to have their voice heard on this issue.
The State's new "tax freeze" legislation is only the latest in a growing list of Albany imposed challenges to the quality of the Scarsdale Schools. Such is the critical message the PT Council Legislation Committee has been trying to convey to the Scarsdale school community throughout the year, starting with its November presentation at the middle school, "Is New York's 'Race to the Top' Education Plan Dragging Scarsdale Down?" (Click here to watch the Video on Demand.)
To educate the public on how multiple state mandates, including those on student testing, teacher evaluation and new Common Core standards, are increasingly eroding traditional local community control over our schools, the Committee has developed informational webpages on these topics, along with a frequently updated page of suggested Action Steps for all community members to get their voice heard in Albany.
"For Scarsdale parents, it's no longer enough to know what's going on in your child's classroom and school," say co-chairs Nan Berke and Mary Beth Evans. "In order to support your child's learning, you need to be aware of what's been coming at us from Albany and to be willing to stand up for high quality education."
"In fact," the chairs add, "these issues affect and therefore naturally unite all stakeholders in the Scarsdale schools – parents, educators, and taxpayers." They note that a large percentage of the Scarsdale community still needs to be awakened to the growing burden of the State's costly, bureaucratic, one-size-fits-all "reforms" on Scarsdale's ability to maintain local school excellence. "To effectively protect Scarsdale educational quality," they stress, "it's imperative that the entire Scarsdale school community engage in state-level advocacy on behalf of our children." They see the planned restoration of the District's Legislative Advocacy Committee as an important step toward realizing this kind of broad community engagement.
48 Athletes from the JCC of Mid-Westchester Compete in Maccabi Games
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More than 775 pre-teen athletes (a new record) from 14 JCCs in the Mid-Atlantic Region, gathered at the Owings Mills JCC near Baltimore, Maryland, for one of most incredible Jr. Maccabi games to date. The annual games for Jewish pre-teens, ages 10 to 12, mirror those of the JCC Maccabi Games with the emphasis on camaraderie and enhancing Jewish identity, as well as some healthy competition.
Among the 14 JCCs, Mid-Westchester had 48 athletes, competing in six different sports, including: Boys and Girls Basketball, Soccer, Swim, Tennis, and Table Tennis. The boys took home the Gold Medal in basketball, and the Silver Medal in soccer. Gabrielle Dobkin won an astonishing four Gold Medals in swimming, while Olivia Shpak also won Gold in the same sport. Ethan Berman and Elan Agus took home the Silver and Bronze medals respectively in table tennis.
Summing up the entire Jr. Maccabi experience, Steven Weisbrot, Delegation Head for Mid-Westchester, said: "It was fabulous; the kids had just an amazing time."
For more information, contact Mid-Westchester Maccabi Director Steven Weisbrot at the Jewish Community Center in Scarsdale: 914-472-7642; weisbrots@jccmw.org. The Jewish Community Center of Mid-Westchester, a proud beneficiary of UJA-Federation of New York, is a nonprofit organization dedicated to enriching the community by providing cultural, social, educational and recreational/fitness programs, human services and Jewish identity-building opportunities to people of all ages and backgrounds without regard to race or religion. For more information about the JCC of Mid-Westchester, class schedules, and more, visit www.jccmw.org.
