Spivack Braun Is Big Brothers Big Sisters of Connecticut’s New VP of Philanthropy
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Big Brothers Big Sisters of Connecticut recently welcomed the new Vice President of Philanthropy to the team. Sheryl Spivack Braun, originally from Scarsdale, New York and now a Hartford resident, started her position on June 24.
Spivack Braun has extensive experience in nonprofit fundraising that will help BBBS of CT continue its mission of creating one-to-one mentorships between at-risk youth and adult mentors in the state. Most recently, she was the Director of Corporate and Community Partnerships for Hartford Hospital and Charlotte Hungerford Hospital. She engaged in similar work as the Director, Corporate & Community Engagement for the Montefiore Medical Center and Albert Einstein College of Medicine and served as Director of Making Strides Against Breast Cancer for the American Cancer Society.
Spivack Braun said, “I am thrilled to be able to combine my passion for improving the lives of children, regardless of their zip codes, to help them reach their highest potential with my desire to connect people, corporations and communities.”
In her new position as BBBS of CT’s Vice President of Philanthropy, Spivack Braun will engage and cultivate relationships with donors of the agency’s programs and be beneficial to the agency’s efforts in serving more Connecticut children in the coming years.
“I’m excited to welcome someone with Sheryl’s experience and community commitment to our team and have no doubt that she will be a boon to our efforts to serve more children in the coming years,” said Andy Fleishmann, BBBS of CT President and CEO.
Anyone interested in donating to support BBBS of CT’s mission of connecting youth in need with caring adult mentors throughout Connecticut are encouraged to reach out to Spivack Braun by emailing [email protected] or visiting www.CTBigs.org.
Joyous Celebrations at Greenacres and Heathcote
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The Greenacres Class of 2024 held its Moving Up Ceremony on June 20, 2024. The joyous celebration began with the Fifth Graders singing the School Song, followed by welcome remarks from Principal Sharon Hill. Each student was individually acknowledged and handed a certificate from the Fifth Grade Teachers - Mr. Guski, Mrs. McCarren and Mr. DeStefano. Dr. Blackhurst, Mr. Orengo and Ms. Leviatin, music teachers at the school, performed “In My Life” by the Beatles and the Fifth Graders sang “Defining Moment” by Pink Zebra.
Abby Englander, Sloane Allen, Maria Porto de Gomide de Faria, Marin Treanor, Avery Weppner, Kristel Oliva, Milly Pearson, Camryn Galeon and Evelyn Goldberg.Assistant Principal Sharon De Lorenzo continued the long-standing tradition of acknowledging families whose last child was graduating from Greenacres, and the Paulie Jimenez Award, which is presented to two students who go above and beyond in displaying kindness and inclusivity, was given to Maya Lall and Ezra Green. The students and their families enjoyed a video montage, which highlighted photographs of their classmates through the years and brought smiles to all in attendance. Before the Fifth Grade students left the ceremony, they received a gift of an SMS sweatshirt, which most put on while taking pictures outside with family and friends. Congratulations to the Class of 2024.
Jeremy Lam and Phoebe Chesler
Heathcote Elementary School
On the very warm, sunny morning of June 21, two classes of Heathcote fifth graders had their moving-up ceremony in the school's auditorium. The fifth graders sang a few songs including Yellow Submarine (with special Heathcote lyrics), Follow Your Heart and We Are The Future led by music teacher, Ms Bescherer. Principal, Maria Stile gave her message of appreciation to the Heathcote Class of 2024. Each of the fifth grade teachers presented certificates to their respective classes: Mrs. Cooper and Mrs. Edwards. It was a celebratory experience for all. Congratulations to the Heathcote Class of 2024! Now onto Scarsdale Middle School!
Tax Penalty Refund Bill Passes NYS Assembly and Senate and Awaits the Governor's Signature
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New York State Assemblywoman Amy Paulin passed 41 two-house bills during the 2024 legislative session which just ended on June 6 making her once again the leading bill-passer in the NYS Assembly. Of particular significance to the Village of Scarsdale is Paulin’s bill which permits the Village of Scarsdale to give refunds of tax penalties charged to residents as a result of late tax payments made last year.
Assemblywoman Paulin drafted the bill and coordinated with State Senator Shelley Mayer to propose the same bill in the State Senate. “After Mayor Arest learned what happened, he approached me right away to figure out a way to help Scarsdale residents who had been assessed tax penalties,” said Assemblywoman Amy Paulin. “I appreciate having someone as diligent and thoughtful as Justin to work with at the local level. The Scarsdale Village Board of Trustees needed to pass a Home Rule resolution which would allow my bill to be passed. They did so right away which gave me more time to get the bill through the Assembly. Even bills which seem non-controversial still take time and effort to pass.”
Now that the bill has passed in both the Assembly and Senate, it goes to the Governor who will have until December 31 to sign it into law.
“Whether through my local office or by passing legislation in Albany, I always strive to help and be responsive to my constituents” said Paulin. “I was pleased to be able to support Scarsdale by passing this bill.”
Zoe Greenberg Publishes a Fantasy Novel
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While most of us have trouble gathering our thoughts for an essay, SHS Junior Zoe Greenberg just published a fantasy novel – and illustrated it too! She stopped by, just before finals, to discuss her book, Vie, that is now available on Amazon.
What inspired you to write and illustrate a book? Did it begin with the plot or your artwork?
I’ve always wanted to be an author– it’s been the plan since elementary school. There were a few gap years when I was convinced I wanted to be a roller coaster engineer, but after taking some high school math classes, I’m firmly back to my writing roots.
The story of how Vie itself came about is interesting, though. It was right after Covid, and my mom had forced me to go with her to the Brooklyn Museum. Now, in a typical 8th-grade angsty fashion, I was moping around and acting like she’d just done something horrible– like, she just told me she was sending me off to Alcatraz, or something. But, while I was there, I saw a sculpture. It was of a tree, and embedded in that tree was a piano, which played entirely on its own. Of course, the piano was automated– it was one of those things you sometimes see in hotel or movie-theater lobbies. But as I was looking at it– and I stood looking at it for a while, while my mom was desperately trying to move on to the next room. I wondered, “what kind of invisible creature would play that piano?” And somewhere along the way, that character became Hehma, and the story grew from there.
In regard to whether the art or plot came first, it was pretty simultaneous. I came home that day with character-creation in mind and started drafting my first drawings of Hehma. I moved on from character to character until I had a full cast of people– thinking up what sorts of characters they would be, drawing them, changing them a bit, renaming them. The two processes were intertwined.
How did you go about getting the book published? How did you produce it?
It was surprisingly easy. There’s this platform on Amazon called “Kindle Direct Publishing,” and if you make an account, you can publish basically anything (for free!). I’m pretty sure the books are printed on demand– so they don’t have inventory ready, they just make a new book every time someone orders one. So, it doesn’t cost me any money. Amazon takes a big cut of my profits. Which is sad, but fair.
Would you call it a graphic novel? Who are some other authors who you admire in this genre?
I wouldn’t say it’s a graphic novel. It’s a fantasy novel. Most of the book is just strict writing. But there are a few illustrations here and there—there’s 11 of them, including the front-cover and the map.
There are a whole bunch of authors whose work influenced my book. My biggest influence is J.R.R Tolkien, simply because he invented the fantasy genre as we know it today. I also adored (and still adore) Harry Potter as a kid. It was truly all I thought about for a good three years of my life, which is probably a little concerning, but it’s too late to ruminate on that now. It was the series that really made me realize that I wanted to write fantasy, too. Other than those two, I also loved Ransom Riggs’ Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children and Rick Riordan’s Percy Jackson. I also take a lot of inspiration from movies and television, especially Hayao Miyazaki’s Studio Ghibli movies, like My Neighbor Totoro, Spirited Away, Princess Mononoke, and Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko’s Avatar the Last Airbender.
Who do you envision as the target audience or readers of your book?
I might be a little biased as the author, but I feel like my book could appeal to anyone. I mean– if you’re 7 months old and don’t understand English yet, then that’s a different story. But I’ve shown my book to people of all ages (my age, 20s, 50s, 80s) and they’ve all really enjoyed it. Or, at least, they told me they did– so I’m just gonna choose to trust them. I would say it’s probably best suited for older elementary school kids to younger high school kids, but it’s certainly not restricted to them.
Explain the title.
I can’t say too much without spoiling the book, but I will say that the name Vie (pronounced Vee, like how the francophones say it) belongs to a “lost spirit of mortality” that the main character, Lucia, is tasked with finding. Which isn’t ideal for Lucia, because she has a very shoddy understanding of what’s going on most of the time. But she’s trying her best, so I suppose that counts for something.
Are you promoting it?
I am! I’ve been making videos on Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube Shorts (those who are familiar with YouTube Shorts know that that’s a pretty desperate resort but I gotta do what I gotta do, so oh well). I will say, the marketing has probably been the hardest part of the whole process, both because I enjoy it the least and because it’s really difficult to truly catch someone’s eye and get them interested in what I have to offer– interested enough to spend their money on it. But I’m trying my best and hoping that my book, if not taking off on social media, will do its own rounds by ear and recommendation from those who’ve already read it!
Do you plan to continue to study art/writing in the future?
I do. Being an author is definitely Plan A for me. I would talk about my Plan B’s, but I feel like having a Plan B in the first place usually undermines Plan A, so I’ll just leave it at that– my goal is to make a living off of my writing!
Tell us about yourself.
Well, other than my writing and art, I’m a big animal-lover. I have two cats, a crested gecko, and was a volunteer at the Greenburgh Nature Center (until school got in the way– but I’m planning on returning soon!) I also really love video games– to my fellow video game lovers, God of War Ragnarok, Baldur’s Gate 3, Undertale, Assassins Creed Odyssey, and Minecraft are my favorites. I have two older brothers (23 and 26), one of whom spends most of his time showing me old YouTube videos from 2006, and the other coming into my room, throwing random objects onto my floor, and then leaving. And I love to read, which I think goes without saying. My recent favorite (other than Harry Potter) is As I Lay Dying, for my fellow Faulkner fans!
Check it out and buy your copy here:
A Barbeque and Photo Session for Scarsdale Athletes
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Maroon and White hosted their annual spring barbeque prior to the award ceremony on Tuesday June 4, 2024.
The event celebrated spring athletes and honored senior members of each team, pictured here. The weather was spectacular and everyone enjoyed hamburgers, hot dogs and more.
Here are portraits of the seniors from each spring team:
Girls Lacrosse: Adelia Bandsma, Sorin Kalashian, Maxine Silverman, Skyalr Matusz, Camryn Brosgol and Sabrina Katz
Flag Fottball: Drew Frank, Yuri Sato, Katerina Rvacheva, Ivy Boockvaar, Emilia Gomez
Boys Tennis: Drew Bender and Zach Pai
Boys Lacrosse: Jack Greco, Jarred Hoffman, Trevor Knopp, Spencer Rosen, Rhett Needleman and Max Siegel
Boys and Girls Track: Deanna Matula-Osterman, Ari Sobel, Shannon Kelly, Sydney Geringer, Etai Pollack, Matt Wong and Darius Toosi
Boys Golf: Thomas Kronenberg, Sajiv Mehta, Spencer Sarachek, Cole Gerson and Justin Liu
Softball: Ella Krausz, Emily Levine, McKinley Conlan, Ella Hayes, Sammy Fenigstein and Anna Henry
Baseball: Jacob Brown, Wes Urlich, Oscar Langford, Max Timberger, Aaron Kahn and Om Hira
