Scarsdale SBNC Seeks Candidates
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The School Board Nominating Committee (SBNC) is an elected group of 30 members who identify, propose and nominate qualified candidates to run for the Scarsdale Board of Education. The 30 voting members represent each of the five elementary school neighborhoods. Each year ten new members are elected to serve a three-year term on the SBNC. the Administrative Committee is asking residents to help maintain the excellent Scarsdale schools by serving the community by volunteering to run for the SBNC.
To become a candidate, complete a biographical form and submit it, with a candidate petition with signatures from ten residents in your elementary school district, by November 18, 2014 to either of the SBNC Administrative Committee co-chairs: Bennett Josselsohn (bjoss100@aol.com) or Mindy Tucker (mindytucker8@gmail.com). These forms and additional information can be downloaded from www.scarsdalesbnc.com, where further information on the process can also be found. The forms are also available at the Scarsdale Library and Village Hall.
Those interested in becoming a candidate can visit www.scarsdalesbnc.com and/or contact the SBNC Administrative Committee co-chairs with any questions.
Westchester Teens Party with a Purpose
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Teens from the Ardsley, Edgemont, Scarsdale, and Masters schools came together at The Coliseum in White Plains on August 28 to raise money for The Children's Village (CV). This first-ever teen fundraiser for CV was attended by 200 teens and was organized by a committee of Westchester seniors: Julie Miner (Edgemont), Courtney Schwartz (Scarsdale), Amanda Rozencwaig (Scarsdale), Jessica Siegal (Ardsley), and Eric Passarelli (Masters School).
"The Children's Village is right in our area, and yet very few kids even know it exists. We thought that by having a dance party for the charity, it was a great way to raise money, awareness, and at the same time have a really fun start to the school year!" said Julie, who's been volunteering at CV for several years and conceived the idea.
The Children's Village (www.childrensvillage.org) serves over 11,000 children and families throughout the New York Metropolitan Area. CV runs the only runaway and homeless shelter for teens in Westchester, a residential campus in Dobbs Ferry, an Education and Employment Center in Yonkers, and many more programs the help keep children safe and families together.
The committee received generous support for the event: The Coliseum donated the space, ESP Productions contributed one of their top DJ's, and Edgemont senior Harris Freedman rocked the house as guest DJ.
The teens plan to make this an annual event, handing over the reins next year to younger friends and siblings. CV welcomes volunteers throughout their many locations in Westchester and is expanding opportunities available for teenagers who are ready to get involved.
Founded in 1851, The Children's Village works in partnership with families to help children develop the skills and positive attitude needed to succeed as healthy contributing adults. Each year, CV serves more than 11,000 of New York's most at-risk children and their families. Programs include short-term residential programs, shelters, street outreach, foster and adoptive homes, a community center in Harlem, programs for youth involved with the juvenile justice system, and a host of family support services. Visit them on the web at www.childrensvillage.org.
Meet the Man Who Runs the Internet
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Scarsdale's new School Superintendent, Dr. Thomas Hagerman, will lead a "community conversation" on technology and our schools on Tuesday, September 16 at 8pm at the High School in Rooms 170-72.
The program is sponsored by the Scarsdale Schools Education Foundation and the event is free and open to the public. Online registration is available on the home page of the Foundation's website here.
Dr. Hagerman will be interviewing Andy Jassy, SHS '86 and now Head of Amazon Web Services. Jassy will discuss the future of technology in our schools and in the nation, his own formative years in Scarsdale and how best to prepare our students for college and careers.
The Wall Street Journal has called Jassy "the man who really runs the Internet". The division he leads at Amazon sells computing resources as a service over the Web, through a network of Internet-connected servers. AWS currently manages some of the world's biggest websites, including Netflix, NASA, Pinterest, Reddit and the CIA. Jassy's division is among the fastest-growing components of Amazon, a part of the business many analysts suggest has the potential to grow even beyond the company's already enormous retail business.
In the past ten years, AWS's advances in "cloud computing" have played an instrumental role in facilitating the startup culture of Silicon Valley. At the same time, AWS has ushered in a new era of innovation in finance, energy and health services, among other industries, by providing many of the largest companies in the world with affordable supercomputer services in the cloud. Jassy returns to Scarsdale, 18 years after his high school graduation, to look backward on his academic preparation and forward with observations on the future in his fast-paced corner of the corporate world.
Parents, teachers, students and the entire community are welcome. Reserve your seat online here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/jassy.
Scarsdale's Noah Li: The Youngest Conductor at the Harold Rosenbaum Choral Conducting Institute
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Twelve conductors selected for the Harold Rosenbaum Choral Conducting Institute traveled to the State University of New York at Buffalo from August 17th to 22nd in order to broaden their musical knowledge with the guidance of Rosenbaum, the 2014 recipient of the Ditson Conductor's Award. The conductors range from 19-year-old undergraduates to 61-year-old music teachers ... except for Noah Li, a 17-year-old student at Scarsdale High School who composes, sings, plays the piano, and plays the drums for his rock band in addition to conducting.
"The Choral Conducting Institute was awesome," said Li. "The fact that people ranging from 19 to 61 years old are still trying to improve taught me that music-making is about striving for perfection. And seeing the different ways that people interpret a piece of music has shown me how there is a never-ending possibility for fun." Conducting is very rewarding for Li. As he points out, "[Conductors] get to take pride in the sound they hear. With every move they make, they are crafting sound."
Li enjoys "crafting" the sound of the Westchester Chinese Christian Church's youth choir. And in some cases, he has had the added enjoyment of conducting his own compositions, such as an original piece titled Prelude and Amen, an arrangement of a song titled All in All, and an arrangement of Amazing Grace.
Composing music is an emotional and personal process. "When I hear something I have written in the past, it's kind of like I'm looking at an old photo album of myself. But instead of seeing how I looked at the time, I'm getting a little flashback of how I felt," explained Li.
His arrangement of Amazing Grace might be the most powerful piece he has ever conducted. When someone at his church passed away, the choir planned to sing the somewhat drab version of Amazing Grace from the church's hymnal. "I figured that if they were going to sing Amazing Grace, then I should write them a better version of it," he admitted. Thus, Li changed the meter, incorporated a line from a catchy French folk song, and worked in a grand piano line that accompanies the singers in the second half of the piece. "That was a really great performance because we [Li and the choir] were doing it for someone," said Li.
Li not only conducts and composes, but he also sings and plays the piano and drums. Indeed, the Harold Rosenbaum Conducting Institute is not the only organization in which Li is the youngest; he is also the youngest in the Canticum Novum Singers, a chamber choir in NYC which has prepared over 600 singers, (who are normally 25 to 50 years old), for becoming professionals.
Conducting, composing, and singing would be enough for most people, but Li's musical career would simply be incomplete without the existence of an alternative rock band. He founded the band in order to utilize the talent at his church and perform Christian alternative rock songs for his congregation every week. When he realized that none of the numerous musicians at his church could play the drums, he bought himself a set of drums and practiced by playing rock band on Youtube. Other than the unfortunate case when one of his drumsticks flew out of his hand during a performance, (forcing him to retrieve it in the middle of a song), the rock band has been a complete success. "In the old days you would have a piano or an organ and you would play a hymn and people would sing along. Nowadays it's the same thing ... but with a rock band!" said Li.
Whether he is conducting or playing instruments for an audience, Li finds that performing erases the stresses of life. "When I'm in the spotlight I forget I'm there. I have one goal; my mind becomes sharpened into one purpose," said Li. "For that brief few minutes or however long the performance is - whether I'm conducting my choir or playing the piano - I'm able to forget about everything else, and just focus on making music."
Helping Kids Navigate the Playground
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Scarsdale alum Todd Rosenthal has just written The Playground Playbook, a guide to helping kids navigate the social issues that arise in playground play. A 1988 graduate of SHS Rosenthal has worked with kids for twenty years helping them develop sporting ability and social skills. He wrote this guide to help kids with problems stemming from behavioral and social issues occurring in the playground. His goal is to help kids make friends, improve self-esteem, and teach playground culture to help kids avoid unnecessary conflict and bullying.
Book Description: Feeling left out of playground fun hurts! However, getting into groups or "pickup games" (which are games created spontaneously by players who form the teams, make the rules, and referee the action themselves) takes specific skills and know how.
There are common problems that kids experience. To answer the needs of such children I've written The Playground Playbook. In it I've described ways that can be used by kids of various skill levels to overcome many basic game and group related difficulties.
No longer will kids see playing with others as such a mystery. No longer will their questions remain unanswered. I hope that after implementing some of my suggestions a greater confidence will be achieved so your child can succeed and become a valuable member of the playgroup.
