Young Writers' Workshop Celebrates 20 Years
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- Written by: Megan Shelton
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Saturday March 21 marked the twentieth anniversary of the Scarsdale PT Council's Young Writers' Workshop. It took place at the Scarsdale Middle School from 9 AM to noon.
Open to all third, fourth, and fifth graders that go to Scarsdale elementary schools and nearby private schools, the Young Writers' Workshop is an event in which students participate in numerous workshops of varying topics. These workshops have as great a range from learning how be a food critic to learning how to write a mystery novel and encompass many fields including journalism, technology and art. "Kids enjoy these workshops because they show them that writing isn't just what they are doing in the classroom; writing can take them in different directions. It shows the students that writing is wonderful and inspiring. We are so grateful to have all these creative minds come together. This workshop just gives kids a little bit more," exclaimed Karen Palaniappan who co-chaired the event with Chris Peckett.
The morning began with a keynote presentation in the middle school auditorium by the author of Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library and former improvisational comedian, Chris Grabenstein. During his presentation, he told the students about how his dreams have evolved from when he was a little kid. He is now a New York Times bestselling author. "Say yes" to whatever life throws at you, was Grabenstein's main take-away. He also gave the students a preview of his new chapter book, The Island of Dr. Libris. "I did improvisational comedy in New York with a group called The First Amendment for five years," Grabenstein told me after his keynote presentation. "There's a rule that all of us in the group live by, which is 'Say Yes' to whatever your partner does; you never say no. And that's how I write, that's how I do improv, and that's how I live. Whenever an opportunity comes along, I always say, 'Yeah, I'll try that!' It's just a better way to live."
After the keynote presentation, the students hurried to their first of two workshops of the day. There were more than thirty professionals in creative work who presented over thirty-four creative workshops.
One workshop I sat in on, "Taste Test," was a class for students who are interested in becoming food critics. The students learned how they judge the food they eat and how to properly comment on it. During the first half of the class, the leader of the workshop, writer Barbara Josselsohn, taught the students how to write a basic review; she emphasized the most important aspects of food analysis and how evidence, not opinion, is the major part of any review. Josselsohn wrote the basic format of a good review on the board and the students copied it into their notebooks. During the second half of the lesson, the students conducted a taste test between Entenmann's chocolate chip cookies and Chips Ahoy! chocolate chip cookies, using the skills they learned in the first half of the class and wrote summaries about which cookie they preferred and why. At the end of the class, Josselsohn asked the students about which factors influenced their decisions. It was fascinating to observe how each student judged both types of cookies and how these observations differed in their reviews.
After an hour in the first workshop, the students then hustled to their final workshop. Two popular workshops for the second part of the day were "Turn Your Expertise Into a How To Guide or Book" led by Jocelyn Greenky Herz and "Famous Pop Artist Leads Collage Workshop" with Michael Albert. In Herz's workshop, the students started off by writing lists of everything they are good at doing. The students then shared their talents with the class, while Herz encouraged the students to be open to encouragement and suggestions. In the middle of one very positive exchange between two fourth graders, Herz turned to me and said amazedly, "It's all right there, they all already have it."
In the "Famous Pop Artist Leads Collage Workshop", Michael Albert began by telling the students that his main goal: "is to create something that is a true masterpiece that can be in a museum some day." He showed posters of some of his more famous collages to the kids, who oohed and aahed over the various shapes, colors, and designs in each work. Albert invited the students to comment and interpret his work. During the second half of the class, he invited the students to make their own collages, playing The Beatles and raffling off poster versions of his collages while they worked.
The workshop was a huge success! It was amazing to sit in on so many different classes. One can almost see the students' minds in action as they were encouraged to think creatively.
Congratulations to the PT Council's Young Writers' Workshop on twenty great years.
Willy Wonka Jr. on Stage at SMS this Weekend
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- Written by: Joanne Wallenstein
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The cast and crew of Willa Wonka Junior are behind closed doors at Scarsdale Middle School this week rehearsing for their big weekend of performances on Friday March 20 and Saturday March 21 at 7 pm. Based on Roald Dahl's book Charlie and the Chocolate Factory the story centers on an eccentric chocolate factory owner and a poor boy who hopes to win a tour of the mysterious factory and a lifetime supply of chocolate.
When we stopped by the cast of 35 actors from the eighth graders were dressed in costume and the stage crew of ten sixth-eighth grade were busy with the lights, the sound and the scenery.
We found the down and out bucket family singing "Think Positive," and reporter Phineous Trout with Mike and Ms. Teavee singing "I See it all on TV." Oompa Loompas dressed in chartreuse and sparkly wigs sashayed across the stage and Veruca Salt and Mrs. Gloop were happy to pose for pictures. Willy Wonka rolled out the candy cart and was resplendent in her tuxedo.
The entire cast looked like pros and it is sure to be a great show for the entire family. Tickets are $10 at the door and Willa Wonka candy bars will be sold during intermission, with the proceeds going to charity.
The cast and crew are led by Director Dorothy Golden, Musical Director Celia Cuk, Choreographer Rachele Ketterer and Technical Director Nicholas Lieto.
Will Wonka Junior
Scarsdale Middle School
Friday March 20 and Saturday March 21 at 7 pm
Tickets: $10.00
Attend the Children's Benefit Concert and Help to Send Needy Kids to Summer Camp
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- Written by: Joanne Wallenstein
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Here is a letter from Dorothy Yewer, Chair of the Children's Benefit Concert: The Church of St. James the Less in collaboration with Westchester Reform Temple and The Children's Aid Society will hold their 8th annual benefit concert at the Recital Hall at SUNY Purchase Performing Arts Center on March 21st at 7 pm.
Proceeds from the event will be used to send underprivileged children from Mt. Vernon to summer camp. Since its inception, over 350 children from the Edward Williams School have gone to the Children's Aid Society's, Camp Wagon Road in Chappaqua, New York. At camp, the kids get to experience the joys of childhood. Additionally, while there, they are fed both breakfast and lunch. This is essential as many of these kids qualify for the federal Free Lunch program. When school is out, the programs that are in place to see to it that these meals are served disappear, so camp takes on an extra significance.
I have been lucky to work with these children and to get to know them individually. At first blush I didn't completely grasp the overwhelming void camp fills in their lives. I thought it was a place to play, but I didn't appreciate the importance of spontaneous play. There are studies that show that the brain develops differently when a child is exposed to the natural world. There is a model referred to as the "curriculum of camp" that draws into focus behavioral differences that are exhibited between inner city kids who have been to camp and those who have not. What the findings show is that the children who experiences nature, and unrestricted play are able to make better choices later in life. Of course, this is true for all children, but the real difference here is that the children we are helping from Mt. Vernon do not have the ability to enjoy the many benefits of the outdoors that are so easily accessible to all of us. These children have little opportunity to get outside as the parks near their homes are too dangerous.
What all this means is that as a community we are giving our neighbors to the south a chance at a better life. The kids who have had the great good fortune to go to Wagon Road are changed. They are learning to be forgiving, to be gentle, to try new things, to jump high and to laugh easily. They are learning to let go of their worries and to face challenges bravely. They are learning what it means to give back. They are learning simple lessons too, like what it means to be on time, because being late means missing the bus and a day at camp. They are learning about fresh fruit and how to eat a balanced meal; they are learning the joy of having something to look forward to.
Our 8th Annual Outreach Children's Benefit Concert is taking place on March 21st at 7 pm at SUNY Purchase Performing Arts Center. Join us and help send a child to camp as every single dollar raised in ticket sales will to go directly to this cause. To buy a ticket, click here www.artscenter.org. or call the box office at 251-6200. We plan to fill the house and raise the roof to celebrate a world-class concert under the baton of internationally acclaimed conductor Justin Bischof and his 60-piece orchestra.
Justin is the Co-Founder and Artistic Director of the benefit and has made all of this possible. In addition, there will be the combined adult choirs of St. James the Less, Trinity Church Ossining and IHM of Scarsdale and New Amsterdam Singers of New York City. We are very excited that over 75 children will be singing including 30 children from Mt. Vernon. How empowering it is for the Mount Vernon kids to take part in an evening of which they are the beneficiaries. Children from Fox Meadow School, St. James the Less and Westchester Reform Temple will join to make the combined choir. The concert will close with all of the children and adults, as well as you the audience, joining in on a classic gospel piece. It promises to be a fun time!
See you on the 21st!
Dorothy E. Yewer
Co-Founder & Benefit Chair
SHS Chorus Performs and Tours in England
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- Written by: Lena Proctor
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While most people go on vacation to get away from school, this February, a group of 60 students from the Scarsdale High School Choir took a trip to England with their classmates and teachers. For six days and five nights, the chorus travelled, performed, saw the sights and made memories.
Choral Director and teacher John Cuk organized every moment of what proved to be an excellent trip. He arranged the hotels, the performances, sightseeing and transportation, packing loads of fun into just six days.
We were busy from the moment we landed in London. After an overnight flight, the choir met our tour guides at the airport and started sightseeing right away. We stayed in Oxford for two nights and in Cambridge for three nights and saw a remarkable number of England's most famed sites including:
Windsor Castle: also known as the world's largest occupied castle, we walked through the beautifully detailed and spacious fortress.
Christ Church College: This college at Oxford was the location of several famous scenes from the Harry Potter movies.
The Bodleian Library: while perusing on the courtyards of Oxford colleges, we stopped into England's biggest library, containing a copy of every sing book that has ever been published in England.
Cambridge: A whole day was spent at the university, but we did not out of things to do ... we toured, had lunch and performed with a masterclass of Cambridge students.
Covent Garden: We all enjoyed our visit to Covent Garden where we visited boutiques, souvenir shops, and stores.
Tower of London: highlighted by the famous exhibit of the royal crown jewels, we toured the beautiful tower inside and out and marveled at the view of the Tower and London Bridges.
Victoria and Albert Museum: tour guides shepherded us through the world's largest museum of decorative arts and design, currently showcasing their current exhibition of wedding dresses from 1775-modern day.
Visit to Chinatown: for dinner one night, we took a trip to London's Chinatown- just in time for Chinese New Year- and celebrated by having dinner at a traditional Chinese restaurant.
Les Miserables: You can't visit London without going to the theatre – and everyone loved the musical performance of Les Miz at Queens Theatre in London's West End.
St. Paul's Cathedral: On a guided tour, we admired the high, detailed ceilings, and were taken downstairs to the whispering room.
St. Giles' Cripplegate Church of London: We performed with the New London Children's Choir and the Oxford Concerto Orchestra after a warm up-rehearsal in this beautiful spacious Church.
When I asked some fellow friend and performers what they liked most about the trip, it was very hard for them to decide. Sam Rosner, a tenor and also one of the soloists said, "I loved everything... singing in the chapel, and just the city of Oxford in general, and having the free time to explore such an old space with a modern subculture was really amazing. I also really loved meeting the English people, it was nice to get to meet the orchestra we were performing with, as most of them were our age! " Soprano Elizabeth Hansen said, "As cheesy as it is, the last concert really stuck with me. I really think it brought us all together, and we sang beautifully."
Choral Director John Cuk said, "This was one of the nicest group of students I've ever taken on a trip. They represented their school, town and country admirably. The concerts at Oxford and London were performed with distinction. A high point was their master class with world renown choral conductor, Steven Cleobury. After his work with the Scarsdale students, he allowed us to perform a short program at King's College Chapel in Cambridge. It was truly an experience that I will never forget."
For me, I enjoyed making new friends and rehearsing the performing with the chorus. It was also nice to have a break from on phones and computers and to focus on the trip and each other.
On the last day of the trip at our last performance, a wave of sentimentality hit the group. After an amazing week, we all realized that the sound we created over the course of the trip will never be recreated again. The combination of all 60 of our voices created a unique and beautiful sound that each one of us will remember for a lifetime.
Photo Credit: Bella Vierra
Gentle Scarsdale Satire
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Scarsdale native and mother Deborah Skolnik has just launched a Facebook page called Gentle Scarsdale Satire. According to Skolnick, the page is for easygoing individuals who aren't afraid to laugh at themselves and their beloved town. Skolnik says that "whenever inspiration strikes," she'll put up some "light verse gently skewering Scarsdale's silliest quirks."
Here's a poem she posted about the potholes which are plaguing our local roads.
Pothole Palooza
I'm driving on the Bronx River Parkway...
Then BAM! I'm seeing stars!
The road has suddenly turned so bumpy
my car's like the Rover on Mars!
I've driven straight into a pothole,
its edges half-hidden and rough.
It's as big as a black hole in outer space
gobbling planets and light waves and stuff!
On Mamaroneck, Fenimore, and Post Road too,
there are dips and gaps and ruts.
It's amazing we all don't have broken axles
and also broken butts!
"When will they fix this?" we ask each other,
Failing to remember
that road crews will come by and patch this all up...
in time for next December.
Check out more of her witticisms on Facebook at Gentle Scarsdale Satire.
