100 Years of Scouting Celebrated in Scarsdale
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On Saturday May 19 the Scarsdale-Edgemont Girl Scouts celebrated the 100th Anniversary of Girl Scouting in the United States. Hundreds of girl scouts, parents, brothers, sisters and community members turned out to join the party, which took place on Scout Field from 11 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. Mother Nature provided the finishing touches on the grand celebration. The day not only was filled with sunshine, but with laughter, fun and teamwork! Organizers planned for the event for months, and on the big day, everything came together perfectly.
The day kicked-off with an obstacle course race, organized by two 8th graders from Scarsdale Middle School. As part of their Girl Scout Silver Award project, Megan Reynolds and Sarah Jathas, provided games and races throughout the day, including tug-of-war, three-legged-races, water balloon toss, a Girl Scout trivia contest, and even a pie-eating contest! Face painters adorned the crowd with colorful artwork on many faces of children and parents alike. The Westchester Power Squadron provided an interesting lesson on water safety, and Weinberg Nature Center wowed the crowd with an exciting hands-on animal presentation.
One of the highlights of the day came when the winners of the baking contest were revealed. Hundreds of cupcakes and cookies with a “girl scout theme” were entered into a contest to determine the best cupcake and cookie. While the winners were happy to hear their name called, the crowd was even more happy to get to enjoy the free treats that lined the tables.
The day was filled with many other exciting activities. Girl Scouts shared their crafts and history, a caricaturist created humorous sketches for many of the participants, D.J. Peaches had everyone dancing, and a magician dazzled the crowd with his shows. Lange’s Deli kept the bar-b-que going with a steady flow of burgers and hot dogs. Homemade lemonade cooled the crowd throughout the day. Popcorn and cotton candy was in abundance. Jeannine Palermo of FitnessLink donated a personal training session and a group fitness party to two lucky winners of the raffle. The community pitched in by providing much needed dog and cat food for a pet pantry. This community service collection was spearheaded by Jennifer Jacobowitz, a sophomore at Scarsdale High School, as part of her Girl Scout Gold Award project. And, in typical Girl Scout fashion, many stayed after the event was over to help with the clean-up!
The day was very special. As one dad of a girl scout put it: “There was a real feel-good vibe in the air. It was refreshing to see a homespun event. Everyone had a great time.” Another participant asked: “Are we going to have this event again next year?” The organizers responded: “This event only comes around once every hundred years.”
The Scarsdale-Edgemont Girl Scout program is open to girls in grades k-12 who live in either Scarsdale or Edgemont. Parents also are welcomed to join, as troop leaders or volunteers in the organization. If you are interested in joining the Scarsdale-Edgemont Girl Scouts please contact them through their web site www.segirlscouts.org .
Article and photos contributed by Amy Cooper.
Is Chinese the Language for our Children’s Future?
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A few facts: -Mandarin Chinese is spoken by 1 in 5 people in the world.
-The increasing impact of the Chinese language worldwide has become hard to stop.
-Analysts predict China could overtake the United States as the world’s greatest economic power by 2027
-Bloomberg rankings list Mandarin as scoring highest in a ranking of languages, excluding English, for use in business
In 2009 two Scarsdale moms, Joanne Teoh and Wanna Zhong sought to teach Chinese to their own children and ended up starting the Chinese Language Program (CLP) for their kids and others. The children started learning and having fun with Mandarin in the summer of 2009 at one hour classes, twice a week for 10 children. Through word of mouth demand grew to increase classes and now the program has now grown to a weekday after school program that teaches 90 children with 7 teachers on staff. The CLP summer program has evolved into a full immersion summer camp running for 10 weeks, 5 days a week from 9am-2:00pm.
CLP offers mommy and me, after-school, and summer programs that immerse children in Chinese. At CLP, young children learn Chinese through interactive play, drama, song, craft, and dance. CLP’s philosophy of teaching with fun interactive methods has proven to create great excitement in the students, 
whom enthusiastically come to each of their classes.
Studies have shown that a new language is best absorbed at a young age. CLP values that young minds can pick up a new language naturally and quickly. CLP teachers are trained to work with children in an interactive, fun, enthusiastic manner and allow children to engage themselves fully in the language. Through song, dance, role playing, reading, and writing the language, children grasp the language without realizing they are doing so.
"My 3 year old daughter was reading a book to her father, pointing out all the animals she saw. It was different this time though because she said all the animal names in Chinese without being prompted!! We were thrilled!" (From a CLP family member).
Learn more about the program at
chineselanguageprogram@gmail.com
www.clpchildren.com
914.907.6075
Gently Used Children's Book Wanted for Book Drive
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The Child Care Council of Westchester is happy to announce their fourth annual children's book drive, a collaboration with Westchester Association for the Education of Young Children.Over the past three years, this drive has collected thousands of good quality, gently used books, and then distributed them to dozens of programs serving lower income children.
This year the book drive runs from April 23rd to May 18th.
Any gently-used children's books you wish to donate can be brought to the Child Care Council offices at 313 Central Park Avenue, Scarsdale, the Alcott School on Crane Road or click here for more information and a list of other drop-off locations. Your generosity is appreciated.
Questions: contact Miriam Kerness at (914)761-3456 ext. 134.
Weezee is Wow: A Sensory Play Space for Westchester Children
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There is a new deluxe gym and play space for children ages 1-12 in Westchester. WeeZee-The World of ‘Yes I Can’ is a 16,000 square foot space that creates a world of sensory adventures where kids of all stages and abilities can grow. Doors opened this week at the gym which is geared to children who have sensory issues and delays, but all families are welcomed.
Located in the old Readers Digest Campus, just off the Saw Mill River Parkway in Chappaqua, New York, WeeZee was sprung from the mind of Louise Weadock-Rowe, (her friends call her Ouisie, pronounced WeeZee) a registered Child Psychiatric Nurse. In 1985, she founded ACCESS Nursing and Healthcare Services, a large regional provider of health care personnel on the east coast. Weadock-Rowe was immersed in the health care needs of children and families early on, but when her second child, Shannon was born in 1993, things hit home.
She noticed Shannon reacted differently, often with volatile responses to touch, sound, people and even food. It turned the family’s world upside down. She went from executive meetings to running from one specialist to another and one type of therapy session or another with her daughter all in search of a silver bullet to turn their lives back to ‘normal’.
Louise found that most of the therapies focused on ‘desensitizing’ Shannon to things through multi-sensory gross motor exercises, many of which she could replicate at home. Rather than withdrawing due to this diagnosis, the Weadock-Rowe house became a fun place for Shannon and kids from the neighborhood could play and learn. In time, this became WeeZee’s place.
WeeZee’s isn’t like most play spaces that many people in the area know. There are athletic training, rooms to improve motor skills, a music room, karaoke room, a tot zone for younger kids and a café with swings. If needed, a program can be specifically designed for the child and he or she can work with a professional at WeeZee’s.
Parents, depending on the age and ability of their child are invited to chill out and take a much-needed break in the Zen Den. There, parents and caregivers can enjoy free wi-fi, earphones, massage chairs, and smoothies for purchase while their kids enjoy the activities. Louise stresses that they are particularly sensitive to parents who have drive their children from one service provider to another in order for them to get the help they need. With that in mind WeeZee has partnered with an entire cadre of occupational therapists, recreational therapists, speech therapists, physical therapists, licensed clinical social workers, dieticians, academic tutors, masseuses, music teachers, counselors, psychiatrists, and psychologists
If your child already gets services for PT or OT and your family is a member at WeeZee, you can bring this person in as a guest, however, as Weadock-Rowe explains, it’s not ideal. As she puts it, this would be akin to bringing your own personal trainer to a gym where he or she doesn’t work.
Services and the space at WeeZee may be extraordinary but it does come at a price; a $500 initiation plus $285 a month for one child, $125 for two and $100 for three. See their website for reduced-rate promotions throughout the year.
Weadock-Rowe says that enrollment is a bit above their expectations, but there are still openings.
Just open a week, Louise says the work has already been incredibly rewarding, “I’ve been involved in health care and helping people since 1985. No one has ever thanked me for something I’ve done like this before. It’s been amazing.”
As for Shannon, she’s in college now, and very involved with the development at WeeZee The World of Yes I Can. She’s among their top consultants giving her experienced view on what a child who may have a hard time with sensory issues would like and how they would benefit.
WeeZee World of Yes I Can!
480 Bedford Road
Chappaqua, NY 10514
(914) 752-2100
Open 7 Days a Week 8:00am-9:00pm
For more information visit their website.
Jen is a freelance journalist who has covered the economy and markets for over a decade at a major financial news outlet. She lives in Scarsdale with her husband and 2 children. Jen has yet to bake a successful batch of cookies.
Local Writers to Share Expertise at Teen Writers’ Conference
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The Scarsdale Public Library, will hold its second annual Teen Writers’ Conference on Friday, May 11th from 5:00 to 7:30 pm at Scarsdale High School. The event is open to students in 6th through 12th grade. Each attendee will be able to attend two workshops, divided by grade (6th through 8th and 9th through 12th) in a variety of genres, led by local authors with expertise in their given field. There is no charge to attend.
Workshop choices include:
- Think Like A Script Writer/Novelist, led by Todd Strasser
- Finding Your Voice, led by Marilyn Johnson
- The First Page, led by Sheela Charli
- People Make the Best Stories, led by Carrie Gilpin
- Writing From Police Records, led by Carrie Gilpin
- Taste Test, led by Barbara Josselsohn
- The Art and Business of Short Story Writing, led by Jacob Appel
- Secrets to Writing for TV and Film, led by Bruce David Klein
- Get Writing!, led by Nancy Zachary
- Friday the 13th, led by Alice Scovell Coleman
A reception featuring dinner and baked goods will follow the workshops.
Registration for the conference is required by Wednesday, May 2nd. The form is available here and can be filled out and emailed to scarsdalelibraryteens@gmail.com or submitted at the front desk of the Scarsdale Public Library, Scarsdale High School Library, or Scarsdale Middle School Library.
The Teen Writers’ Conference is organized by the Teen Advisory Board of the Scarsdale Public Library – a group of high school students dedicated to promoting the library throughout the Scarsdale community. To learn more or join, reach them at scarsdalelibraryteens@gmail.com.
The Scarsdale Public Library is located at 54 Olmsted Road, Scarsdale, NY, 10583. Contact them at (914) 722-1300 or visit www.scarsdalelibrary.org
