Quarantine Creations: The Silver Linings of COVID-19
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Julia Kushnick and Riena Parente After Completing Their MarathonFor students, the COVID-19 pandemic has surely redefined the meaning of “free time.” Most of us have never experienced a lack of structure for this long, and it is sometimes difficult to fill our days with enough meaningful activity. Some students saw an opportunity to fill this time by taking on a challenge or embarking on a new venture. In addition to the passion projects completed by SHS seniors, several other students have used the abundance of free time to pursue new hobbies, help others, or raise awareness for important causes.
Here are some innovative projects completed by SHS students during these unprecedented times:
Jay Greenwald, Matt Hoffman, Matt Sussman, Jack Silvers
When the senior options program was altered due to the restrictions of COVID-19 many students were left without a project. A group of SHS seniors have used this time to create a sports talk show.
Jay Greenwald, a founder of the project, shares his thoughts: “So many of us wanted to participate in the show that the idea grew from one general sports show into two more specialized shows, one about baseball and one about basketball. We named the show the Corona Sports Network, consisting of CSN Base and CSN Hoop. For the past three weeks we have been planning talk shows and recording ourselves on Zoom amidst heated debates. CSN Base has featured two special guests, Yankees reliever Adam Ottavino and MLB Network writer Sarah Langs. Although it is unfortunate that we did not get to have in-person internships this year, creating these videos has been an incredible experience that brightened up my quarantine. Check out our videos on YouTube.”
Riena Parente and Julia Kushnick
“Hi! Our names are Julia Kushnick and Riena Parente and we both are juniors from Scarsdale High School. Over the past weeks, we have been alarmed by the protests against systemic racism throughout the United States and wanted to take a stance and educate ourselves more on the issue.” On June 7th, 2020, Julia and Riena took action. They walked a marathon, “dedicating each mile to an African-American who has lost a life due to police brutality or other racist citizens, while still recognizing the deaths of the many others.” Throughout the walk, they distributed flyers containing statistics and ways to contribute to their cause at people’s doorsteps in order to raise awareness of the issue at hand. The community was encouraged to help out by printing out the flyers and displaying them throughout their own neighborhoods, or Venmoing by money to them, where 100% of the proceeds went to the Black Lives Matter foundation. Even though Julia and Riena have already successfully completed their marathon, it is not too late to donate to their amazing cause. See below for how you can still get involved!
Adam Katcher
“I’m Adam Katcher, a sophomore at Scarsdale High School. For the majority of my life, I did not think I had a proclivity to writing. One night, the week before Christmas Break, I was restless. I had a handful of tests the next day, so sleep was being interrupted by the pull of the temporary stress. I was thinking of ways to try and turn my conscience away from the imminent exams. As the night wore on, my thoughts started to wander. As my thoughts continued to whirl around, I realized that I was thinking about a story. I was meeting characters whom I had never met. As if there was a prophecy for me to write the story, I shot out of my bed and started typing. After nearly an hour of frantically slamming the keys, the first chapter to my novel was in the works. I felt an obligation to the characters that I had conjured in my imagination, an obligation to make them come to life. And so, every day for the past few months, I made the story come to written fruition. As quarantine gave me extra time, and the ability to work with my English teacher, I finished my novel and have published it on Amazon.
“The book is titled 2035. Here’s the story: The world has always been unpredictable. While the fires of war have flared periodically, by the year 2035, a truly global conflict has not occurred for nearly a century. This story explores friendships in apocalyptic times, as well as the change in emotions and opinions experienced by an 18 year-old high school student. After years of growing animosity between, and within, nations, tensions finally reach a climax. As war breaks out, how does an inexperienced draftee survive during a time where nuclear weapons threaten the existence of humanity? Can there be hope and light in times of despondency?”
Anya Kornfeld on Connection Companions
"During these difficult and unprecedented times it is easy to become overwhelmed. I have personally struggled to keep up with schoolwork, create a structured schedule, and maintain my typical level of motivation. I, as well as many of my friends, yearn for the interactions and connections we had in school and other in-person activities such as sports and clubs. While platforms such as Zoom and FaceTime provide great ways for people to stay in touch, as the months have passed in quarantine, it has become increasingly difficult to have meaningful interactions with people.
"I have been volunteering with kids with special needs during high school through organizations such as the JCC and Backyard Sports. I quickly realized the importance of the time I spent with these kids. Whether I was playing a board game, a sport, or simply talking, these moments provided important connections which helped build crucial social skills. In addition, (and most importantly) the kids, and volunteers, were having fun.
"While it may be difficult for my friends and I to stay in touch during the pandemic, I realized that it is even more difficult for kids with special needs. This is why I thought to start Connection Companions. I, as well as all the volunteers, aim to establish this same connection and help kids with special needs thrive while staying at home.
“I am eager to work with kids and serve our community in such a positive way. As of right now we have 7 children with special needs working with our volunteers. The feedback has been incredible and we are looking to expand our initiative throughout the summer, possibly looking into socially distant playdates.
"If you have a child with special needs and you are looking for someone to play online games, help with homework, play a virtual sport, or just talk, please contact us! There is a form on our website where you can sign up or you may email me directly (anyakornfeld1@gmail.com). We cannot wait to get in touch.
"Finally, we are always looking for volunteers. If you are a high school student and are looking for a meaningful way to spend your time, fill out the volunteer form on our website!
Connection Companions Website
Sarah Jane Traumer
Scarsdale High School Junior Sarah Jane Traumer spent her 17th birthday baking 100 cupcakes for the Scarsdale Heroes. Sarah Jane recognized the bravery of the Scarsdale Heroes, especially the Scarsdale Volunteer Ambulance Corps (SVAC). The SVAC has done extraordinary work on the front line in response to the coronavirus outbreak. Sarah Jane spent the day baking, icing, decorating, and boxing all 100 cupcakes. She delivered the boxes of cupcakes to the SVAC, the three Scarsdale Fire Houses, and the Scarsdale Police Department. Sarah Jane selflessly devoted her birthday to helping the Scarsdale Heroes. She enjoyed spending her birthday giving back to her community.
Letter from a Reader: If Day Camps Can Open, Why Can't There Be a Graduation?
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- Written by Joanne Wallenstein
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This letter was sent to the Scarsdale Schools from Shirley High:
Good afternoon:
Governor Cuomo announced June 29th for summer day camps to open, so why doesn’t Scarsdale do an in-person graduation ceremony June 29th? This is only a 3 day postponement from the original date and would make no sense not to have it.
Let’s please consider giving the kids a meaningful celebration instead of a kitchen table graduation. The 5 minute parade does not make up for a proper graduation. With the 6’ apart and outdoors ceremony should be safe and easily doable.
Please change it to a true in person ceremony on June 29th. It isn’t too late to do so.
Shirley High
Church Lane
High School Students Launch Quarantine Tutors to Provide Free Online Tutoring
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Julia Schnipper and Betsy Harris launched Quarantine Tutors to provide online tutoring to other students.Two enterprising sophomores at Scarsdale High School have launched a new venture to help younger students who are engaged in e-Learning and may be missing one-to-one interaction with their teachers. Julia Schnipper and Betsy Harris founded Quarantine Tutors to offer free remote tutoring sessions, as a way to give back to the world. They have dozens of active students who receive tutoring week after week from their twenty tutors across the country.
Despite the closure of school, teachers are still giving students work, remotely. This can be challenging for some due to the lack of in-person instruction. In order to assist, Quarantine Tutors provides free online instruction across all subjects for students in elementary and middle school. They use Zoom, FaceTime, and other platforms to allow students to meet with tutors online. They assembled a team of high school tutors from across New York, New Jersey, and Florida who are able to tutor in a wide range of subjects.
Schnipper reports that their tutors have reached out to their local elementary schools, public libraries, and on social media platform to spread the word. Since there is no geographic limitation on virtual tutoring, they were able to pair tutors that lived in New York City with students who lived in Georgia. They have students from New Jersey, many parts of Westchester (Ardsley, Pelham, Port Chester…), New York City, Long Island, Georgia, Connecticut, and Florida.
They plan to continue the tutoring sessions over the summer after school is out as many students will be home and parents will be working. In addition to tutoring sessions they will be offering Zoom classes, possibly in magic, drawing, acting, and languages. In these classes, the students will be able see the other students and possibly make new friends and chat with them in the chat box of Zoom..
They currently have around 35 students and 20 tutors. They are just shy of 100 tutoring sessions in two months, which comes out to be just under 4,000 minutes. A student is most commonly tutored twice a week for around 30-45 minutes, and a tutor on average has 1-2 students per week.
Though the service is free, the girls do ask for donations in lieu of payment and 100% of the proceeds will go directly to the GlobalGiving Foundation, an organization that provides disaster relief.
Learn more here: https://www.quarantinetutors.org
Opinion: To Stand Against Racism, Use Your Wallet
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- Written by Charles Musoff
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This letter was sent to Scarsdale10583 by Charles Musoff:
Dear Scarsdale, particularly white people in Scarsdale, if you care about what's happening in this country right now, my question for you is simple: What are you doing to support Black people today?
If you have a platform on social media and you haven't spoken up, why not?
Maybe you don't know what to post, maybe you're nervous to engage with your followers, or maybe you don't want your school or employer to see you take a strong political stance. If that type of justification is currently your bottom line, remind yourself that Black people are dying, and the people killing them rely on white bystanders in order to keep it up. Please, make it clear whom you stand with.
If you've posted on social media but that is the extent of your engagement, what more can you do?
If you just want people to know that you care about racism, ask yourself why that public image is your priority. Instead, prove that you do care and push yourself to take action. You can sign petitions, contact your elected officials, and attend protests, all of which are great, but if there’s only one thing you do, donate. Most of us in Scarsdale are incredibly fortunate to have financial security, even now during the pandemic, which makes donating one of the most direct and most powerful ways we can support Black people right now. If you don't think you, as one individual, will make a difference with your donation, look into where specifically the money goes—maybe to medics or to victims' families—and convince yourself that it will.
If you're donating, where?
Trick question: It doesn't matter as long as the money will work toward racial justice, so don't get hung up on any one cause. If you're having trouble understanding why protestors are looting businesses and don't want to donate to a bail fund, maybe you'd rather support a nonprofit working to rebuild small businesses in the riots' wake. Find an organization or a fund whose mission makes sense to you.
If you're donating, how much?
I'm not asking for a dollar amount; I'm asking for your commitment. Giving a small sum, whatever that means to you, says that you expect others to make a bigger commitment to this effort than you are. If your donation doesn't feel that significant, it probably isn't. Push yourself to donate even more.
Lastly, if you've been arguing with friends and family members about racism, what goals do you and they still share?
Your conversations about race might be getting heated more easily. However, it's worth putting in the effort to find points of commonality and focus on actions you can agree to take now. When you start to feel interpersonal tension overshadow your shared focus on racial justice, don’t end the conversation. Instead, try to walk back through the points you agree upon and turn that into a plan for where to put your money. Even if the recipient organization is a compromise, donating there rather than not at all is a successful step in the right direction.
Altogether, as we work together to support Black people, I hope you put your money where your mouth is. If you have any questions about my message, feel free to send them to charles.musoff@yale.edu.
Note that all linked attachments are sourced from Black Lives Matter Carrd.
Scarsdale Rec Camp Cancelled for Summer of 2020: Pool Opening Delayed Until Mid-July
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The Scarsdale Recreation Department announced today, May 19, that the Village’s popular summer camps will be cancelled this summer. The program is a hallmark of the Scarsdale experience and is attended by a wide range of Scarsdale kids and also offers summer employment as counselors to Scarsdale teens and college students. Camps Sagamore, Lenape, Wapetuck, Pathunke, Sports Camps, Soccer Camps and the Teen Travel program are all cancelled for the summer of 202.
The memo says that the decision was made due to the restrictions imposed by New York State and the inability to get permits from the Westchester County Department of Health. It says, “That in combination with the amount of preparatory work and investment necessary to make the camps safe and successful, leaves us no alternative but to skip the 2020 summer camp season.”
The Village remains hopeful that they can offer weeklong camps in August.
The opening of the Scarsdale Pool, usually at Memorial Day, has been delayed until a tentative opening date of July 18. The fireworks spectacular scheduled for July 2 has also been cancelled.
The only good news is that 14 of the Village’s 26 tennis courts will open on Friday May 22, 2020. Special rules apply for usage: You must:
1) Have a tennis permit
2) Have a prior reservation and will you be limited to one hour time slot
3) Play singles – no doubles allowed
4) Arrive 10 minutes prior to your reservation
5) Check in with the attendant and show your permit
Where can you play? Two courts will be open at Brite Avenue and three of the five tennis courts will be open at Crossway. Five of the ten tennis courts will be open at the high school. At the Middle school three of the six courts will be open for play.
Also note, no lessons are permitted and the bathrooms will be closed. You can wear a glove and mask while playing, though gloves and masks are not required.
No decision has been made as yet about the Westchester Band concerts in Chase Park or the Recreation Department’s Parties in a Park.
Still prohibited are use of playgrounds throughout the Village, team sports, basketball and exercise stations. Public gatherings of any size are barred by the Governor’s Executive Order.
