Summer Reading Program At Scarsdale Library Reaps Rewards for Kids
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Scarsdale kids like to read. In fact, more children were reading more books this past summer in the Scarsdale Library's Summer Reading Program than in 2012, which was an impressive year. The Summer Reading Game encourages children from infants through 4th grade to read or be read to during the summer months.
From late June to late August, 317 children participated in the program. They read a total of 6,899 books, just shy of 22 per child. In 2012, 267 children read 4,799 books, or about 18 per child.
In addition, the library's Children's Department reported that in July and August 1,546 patrons attended 26 programs organized by the library. The most attended were the four sessions of Drop-in-Crafts, which had 227 participants. The single most popular program was Animal Antics' from Green Meadow Farm with 178 attendees, followed closely by the Caps for Sale puppet show with 150 wide-eyed children and adults. The programs included science, music, art, architecture and chess.
"We did it all this summer," said Karen Zielinski, Children's Services Manager. "The participation, energy and enthusiasm of the children, and their parents, were terrific. It has to rank as our most successful summer ever."
Popular books in the Summer Reading program were Rick Riordan's Percy Jackson and the Olympians series as well as the Heroes of Olympus series. Also, as in past summers, Harry Potter was in high demand, along with Cupcake Diaries by Coco Simon, Rainbow Magic Fairies by Daisy Meadows, and Wonder by Patricia Polacco.
The library employs Reading Game Listeners who encourage participants to keep reading. "The children are quite proud of what they are doing and they like to come in to talk to the librarians and listeners about the books they are reading," Zielinski said. "Many of the children set goals for the summer and we also see some competition in families among siblings to see who can read the most books."
Children receive rewards based on the number of books read or listened to. After two books, the participating children receive a sticker, after five books they can dig into the "Treasure Chest" for a fun prize and after 20 books they receive a free book to keep. To encourage the children to come to the library, each receives a raffle ticket every time for a drawing for a $5 certificate at Haagen Daz, donated by Steve Mandani the owner of the local store. In addition, two book baskets were raffled off containing, books, crafts, and games.
Halloween Fun in Scarsdale this Week
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Scarsdale is awhirl in Halloween activities this year. We already had a highly successful Halloween Window Painting Contest, the Zombie Asylum Haunted House at Supply Field is scaring residents both young and old, the Halloween Breakfast for High School Seniors is planned for Thursday morning 10-31 with the Halloween Parade for the younger set scheduled for Thursday at 3:30 pm in Scarsdale Village. ... all this before trick or treating even begins on Thursday night. This year, no snow and mild weather are forecast for the big night, so hopefully Halloween will be safe and fun for all.
Here are recommendations from the Scarsdale Police and AAA for a safe holiday:
Halloween is coming, and because trick‐or‐treaters often forget about safety, the Scarsdale Police Department and AAA are urging both parents and motorists to be even more alert on October 31st.
On Halloween, children are being placed in potentially dangerous traffic situations, and are more likely to be injured by a motor vehicle than any other night of the year, according to a study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. While Halloween lands on a Thursday this year, many festivities often take place the weekend before, putting a large number of both youth and adult partygoers on the road at that time.
The Scarsdale Police Department and the AAA of New York offer the following tips to parents for their children on Halloween:
- Be bright at night; use reflective tape on costumes and treat bags, wear light colors and carry flashlights for extra visibility.
- Don't wear a costume that obstructs vision. Instead of masks, try non‐toxic face paint.
- Look all ways and listen for traffic before crossing, and review pedestrian safety rules
- before you leave the house.
- Cross at corners, not between parked cars or mid‐block.
- Use sidewalks where available. If there are no sidewalks, always walk facing traffic on the
- left side of the road.
- Younger children should always be accompanied by an adult or trustworthy teen. Older children should be given boundaries and should communicate with their parents along the way.
The AAA offers the following tips for motorists on Halloween:
- Avoid driving through residential areas where trick‐or‐treaters are likely to be present.
- Obey all traffic signals and travel with extreme caution through residential areas.
- Scan far ahead and watch attentively for children who may be excitedly running from
- house to house.
- Turn on your headlights, even in daylight, to make your vehicle more visible.
Before your kids go trick or treating on Halloween, snap a photo of them and send it to Scarsdale10583 at scarsdalecomments@gmail.com to share with your neighbors.
Civ Ed for all Freshmen - Why Not?
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Scarsdale High School Principal Ken Bonamo gave the first education report of the year at the October 7 Board of Education meeting and, based on his presentation, the high school is thriving. Teachers are making great use of the professional development programs available to broaden their horizons and deliver improved product for their students. Students are able to choose from an array of exciting and innovative course offerings, including multi-disciplinary courses and additional technology classes, and are also benefitting from low student-teacher ratios. The counseling system provides ample support to students, and the principal-to-student ration is in sync with other high performing school districts.
Mr. Bonamo pointed to average SAT scores as a measure of success, although one could make the argument that that this is as much a hallmark of Scarsdale parents' willingness to make a financial commitment to their children's success on the SAT as it is an indication of high school superiority. Similarly, the extremely high level of enrollment in 4-year colleges can be attributed to our population.
Regarding the Advanced Topics program, a topic no longer as controversial as it was during its conception and roll-out, Mr. Bonamo was convincing as to its superiority to the AP curriculum. Drawing on his experience as an AP History teacher, he was able to provide concrete examples of where students missed out when forced to adhere to a strict curriculum, rather than apply course concepts to relevant topics. As to the impact that not offering Advanced Placement classes has on Scarsdale High School's place in the popular U.S. News and World Report and Newsweek high school rankings, Mr. Bonamo downplayed their importance, and he explained just how easily those rankings can be manipulated.
The presentation was overwhelmingly positive, and left no doubt that our high school – Scarsdale's crown jewel, as it is so often called -is something to be proud of While the high school deserves its sterling reputation, is it possible that Mr. Bonamo missed an opportunity to point out weaknesses in the current program that could be easily rectified with increased funding? One example that comes to mind is the Civic Education program. Civ Ed, as it is commonly called, is offered to freshmen, and incorporates multidisciplinary English and History curriculum as well as community-building and counseling components. Currently, enrollment in the program is done by lottery, and not all who apply get it. Those who don't get a spot in the lottery, or who don't want to be in Civ Ed, are enrolled in Freshman Seminar, a less robust version of Civ Ed. Why is the school unable to accommodate all freshmen in Civ Ed who wish to be in it? If the issue is purely financial, this would have been an opportunity for Mr. Bonamo to ask for additional support.
Current or former high school parents - what other current programs would you like to see expanded or improved?
Kids Learn Life-Saving Lessons at Fire Safety Day
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Jeff Koslowsky, Captain of Scarsdale Volunteer Fire Company 3 and Volunteer Lieutenant Charlie Swift were just two of the many volunteer and career firefighters who visited Scarsdale elementary schools on Friday October 18 to educate children about fire safety. As they have over years past, the local Scarsdale Volunteer Firefighters, spent the day visiting our local Elementary Schools first grade classes to teach the ABCs of fire safety. Over 375 children participated in the program. This years' theme was preventing kitchen fires. Children got to interact with the firefighters, watch Sparky TV videos, check out one of the town's Fire Engines, and bring home their fire safety checklist to share with their family at home.
See these photos of the events at Heathcote and Quaker Ridge elementary schools taken by Jon Thaler, and view more of his photos at www.jonthaler.com.
At Edgewood School Scarsdale firefighters Lou Mancini, Jeff Goodwin, Mark Bezos, Michael Apcar, James Marinello and Jeremy Stemple visited first graders and taught them about fire safety. Here are some of the key facts they shared about fire safety:
- If the fire alarm goes off in the house, the children were told to move away from the area of the alarm and find an adult.
- If there is actually a fire, the children learned that they need to get out of the house as quickly as possible.
- Each family should determine a meeting place outside the house where they can find each other and call 911 in the event of a fire.
After showing the first graders how to stop, drop, and roll, firefighters showed a video called "Sparky's Kitchen Rules" that outlined four rules for kitchen safety:
stay at least three feet from the stove;
- Do not use a microwave unless a grown up gives you permission;
- Open containers with hot food slowly and keep them away from your face
- If you do get a burn, put it under cool water and find an adult right away.
After the video, one of the firefighters crawled into the room in all of his gear and the children learned about the clothes worn by firefighters and the equipment they use. Finally, the children went outside and saw Engine 54, a pumper engine. They learned about the parts of the fire truck, including the jaws of life and the hoses. With the help of first-grade teacher, Mrs. Lamonaca, the firefighters sprayed water from the fire hose and the deck gun on top of the truck. The children asked many questions and seemed eager to attend the Fire Fair at the Crossway firehouse on October 19th.
(thank you to Edgewood correspondent Maura Lee and photographer Jon Thaler)
Horror Movies for Scarsdalians
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- Written by Deborah Skolnik
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The tension! The shrieking! The tooth-and-nail fight for survival! No, I'm not talking about the last Town Hall hearing on generator-installation rules: I'm taking about the fact that Halloween is rapidly approaching.
Sure, you could tune in to a rerun of Carrie. But if you really want to have the bejeebers frightened out of you, why not watch a horror movie specifically geared to our hamlet? You'll have to check local listings for the flicks below—I'm too busy bagging or mulching my leaves, like all the little signs say, to dial Moviefone for you—but they're well worth seeking out. Like all truly great horror shows, they're based on actual events. Zoinks!
GOOSEBUSTERS: You hit the library for some lit, but you step in goose sh...ahem. Who ya gonna call? In this film's exciting climax, an influx of geese is followed by an even more alarming flock of goose-eradicating "experts" armed with tacky whirligigs, bullhorns, sheepdogs, nuclear warheads, and enough corn oil to either sterilize a gaggle of goose eggs or deep-fry a truckload of Twinkies at the next Scarsdale High School Carnival.
THE B.A.R. GLITCH PROJECT: Despite Scarsdale's iron-fisted rule by a Board of Architectural Review, which supposedly determines the dimension each bathroom tile in our homes, a building rises in front of Balducci's with all the charm of a Jiffy Lube.
THE AMITYVILLE HORROR: Your child's camp friends all turn out to live in Suffolk County, meaning you'll be braving the jam-packed L.I.E. every weekend to chauffeur her to reunions and sleepovers.
DAWN OF THE DAD: Your child earns a spot on an elite softball or football team. Instead of getting to sleep in on the weekends, you suddenly find yourself at a frosty Supply Field at 7 AM sharp, wondering how mosquitos can locate your flesh even through denim and fleece.
28 DAYS LATER, the town still has no electricity following any blizzard, hurricane, gentle rainfall, rainbow, or lunar eclipse. Zombie-like neighbors roam the streets, unable to procure essentials such as gasoline, a hot shower, or Opera Cake from Martine's.
THE RING: It's a cold winter morning. "How am I possibly going to get everything done today that I need to do?", you think as you awaken. Just then, the phone rings. You pick it up and hear the scariest words known to any Scarsdalian parent: "Hello, this is Linda Purvis, Assistant Superintendent of schools. Due to inclement weather, school is cancelled..." EEEEEEEEEK!
Deborah Skolnik is a Greenacres mother of two and the Content Director of Myron Corporation, a large business-gifts company in Maywood, New Jersey. She's expecting numerous sequels to The Ring this winter.
