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Written by: Joanne Wallenstein

Published: 03 December 2014

Created: 03 December 2014

Last Updated: 07 December 2014

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Diners who patronize Spadaro in New Rochelle will be pleased to learn they have opened a new restaurant right here in Scarsdale. The Spadaro's know how to cook – and in New Rochelle everyone was treated like family. There were no menus and the meal was served family style. Plates and plates of delicious food emerged from the kitchen- all good – but in quantities that were difficult to manage.

The new Spadaro Ristorante has opened at 753 Central Park Avenue in the space formerly occupied by Za Za. The décor has been stripped down – leaving the bar and a large pizza oven. There's plenty of room for small and large tables and the atmosphere is lively but not too loud.

We visited on the weekend before Thanksgiving and the place was hopping. When I learned they had only been open for a few weeks I feared service would be slow or haphazard – but our waitress was on her toes and ready to help.

We started with wine – the restaurant offers the usual by the glass as well as special selections by the bottle. On the blackboard that night were Amarone, Brunello, Chianti, Montelpuciano and more. While we considered the extensive menu and the specials we munched on toasted tranches of Italian bread doused in olive oil with garlic. Yum.

The menu includes a tempting array of appetizers, pizzas and calzone– made in the brick oven, ten pasta choices, salads, soups and meat, fish and chicken entrees. How to choose? We shared a mozzarella caprese - with a hearty portion of fresh cheese and delectable cherry tomatoes. We also ordered the zucchini in carrozza – a special that night. It was irresistible.

For dinner I had a hearty-sized plate of Rigatoni "Norcina" with sausage and more cherry tomatoes. The sauce was delicious and at $15.95 it was enough for the four of us. For his entrée, my husband chose an item from the menu – Maree Monti, which is papperdelle with shrimp, asparagus, parmesan and smoked mozzarella – another good option. There's plenty for those who don't eat meat including Pasta Alla Nino, Bucatini (hollow spaghetti) with mozzarella, eggplant, capers, black olives and red peppers. Pictured here it was flavorful and abundant. One of us ate more sensibly and chose the grilled Branzino which was grilled whole and deboned.

The meal was satisfying and reasonable priced – and there were many more dishes I would have liked to try. As we were taking our last few bites a charming magician appeared at our table. David Ferst or Magic Dave as he is called, was clever and amusing, peppering his banter with references to the 60's about Soupy Sales, S&S Green Stamps and 45 records. With amazing dexterity he stumped us with his card tricks and used his skills as a mentalist to correctly guess many personal facts about the people in our party.

Between the drinks the food and the magic it was a successful night at a reasonable price. Try Spadaro in Scarsdale before you can't get in.

Spadaro Ristorante
753 Central Park Avenue
Scarsdale, NY 1058
(914) 723-0100

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Written by: Melissa Hellman

Published: 19 November 2014

Created: 19 November 2014

Last Updated: 19 November 2014

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What makes the Scarsdale educational experience so exceptional? There are many elements that comprise Scarsdale's success and the recent addition of the Scarsdale Center for Innovation (CFI) is an important ingredient. Within the CFI construct are incredible examples of our district's administrative leadership, passion and engagement of our teachers and collaboration among all the various parties required to make innovative changes within a public school district.

At the November 17 Board of Education work session, Lynne Shain, Assistant Superintendent for Instruction/Co-Director, The Center for Innovation and Jerry Crisci, Director of Technology/Co-Director, The Center for Innovation presented a progress report highlighting several CFI projects that have had impact in the classroom.

CFI was founded three years ago with the following mission statement:

In order to be better prepared for the future, Scarsdale graduates must:
• Think critically and creatively in order to solve complex, non-standard problems
• Understand their role in an interdependent world
• Use evolving technologies for research, communication, and innovation

The Center is focused on reimagining education for all students. It is empowered to develop, nurture, and provide feedback for innovative ideas relating to teaching and learning. The Center links educators throughout the community to develop, test and implement, and evaluate innovative ideas and methodologies in order to imagine a future that has yet to be invented. By focusing on large-scale educational change and partnering with members of our community, CFI intends to demonstrate how public education can be transformed to prepare students for the future.

CFI projects are being implemented in all grades and schools throughout Scarsdale. One of the examples presented on Monday evening was the use of "game-based learning" at the Middle School. Research shows that play stimulates the tenacity and persistence required for effective learning. Games give players permission to take risks that would not be permitted in a traditional academic setting, and inspire students to create, share, mix, modify, curate, critique, and comment on content to which they might otherwise be indifferent. Game-based learning includes group work, interaction and a high degree of student engagement. This approach was contrasted against the idea of a teacher standing in front the classroom providing information. SMS Librarian Sharon Waskow and SMS Social Studies Teacher Meghan Troy led the members of the Board of Education through a lesson that was used in class this year. The BOE members were tasked with finding the meaning of a political cartoon from the Civil War. They were broken down into teams and given the rules of play. Individual players were given playing pieces for wagering on their ideas as well as limited veto powers in case of disagreement. Board members were fully engaged and the audience could easily picture how a group of 7th graders would be very excited to explore history in this fashion.

Christine Boyer a fifth grade teacher at Heathcote, presented another example of innovative teaching. She talked about the concept of Design Thinking (rudimentary definition: design-specific thought processes that designers apply during the process of designing) and applied it to her class rocketry module. Many parents who have had a child attend fifth grade in Scarsdale will remember the rocketry lesson and launch fondly as it is considered a highlight of the fiifth grade year. In the past, students were given very specific instructions about how to build the rocket and each student came to school with an identical rocket. Instead, Ms. Boyer provided students with design parameters so that the rockets would launch, but let the students use their creativity to make them. No two rockets were alike. Another change was that instead of just one launch where some rockets worked better than others, students had the opportunity to evaluate the results of the initial launch and make modifications for improved outcomes at a second launch. Finally, the students created animated books to document their processes. Ms. Boyer wrote "These books represent their learning, not only of rocketry, but of non-fiction narrative writing, the writing process, design thinking and Google presentations." Click here to see the student's books:

A third example of innovation was provided in a short video of Edgewood kindergarten school students learning about circuits with music and art. If you do not watch any other piece of the presentation, find three minutes to watch this inspiring video! Go to the Board of Education Video-on-Demand site and watch at 0:49:41 "A Short Maker Movie" at :49:41 minutes.

Other schools districts in the U.S. and abroad are using Scarsdale as a model for creating their own Centers for Innovation. Shain and Crisci stated that they are inundated with tour requests from other schools.

The Board of Education members and audience were impressed by the passion and creativity on display. It was evident that CTI sets Scarsdale apart as a leader in educational innovation.

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Written by: Joanne Wallenstein

Published: 12 November 2014

Created: 12 November 2014

Last Updated: 13 November 2014

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Maroon and White broke with tradition and hosted their fall dinner for hundreds of student athletes, coaches, parents and guests at the Crown Plaza in White Plains this year, rather than at Lake Isle in New Rochelle which is being remodeled. Commenting on the evening, Maroon and White President Kathy Coleman said, "We had 754 attendees at the new venue and the event went off without a hitch.  We were in seven rooms as opposed to three which allowed the coaches to speak in further detail about each player.  Many of the team coaches and parents have commented that they enjoyed having a room dedicated to just that sport."

Senior athletes from each of the fall teams gathered for photos –here are Scarsdale's young stars:

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Written by: Joanne Wallenstein

Published: 06 November 2014

Created: 06 November 2014

Last Updated: 06 November 2014

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The Citizens Nominating Committee Election will be held on Wednesday November 12 from 7- 9:30 am and 2 – 9 pm. Scarsdale residents are eligible and encouraged to vote. For those who cannot come to the polls on Wednesday, mail-in ballots are available at Village Hall and The Scarsdale Library. a mail-in ballot was also sent to each household by mail this week. Those elected to the CNC select a slate of candidates for the Village offices of Trustee and Mayor. Support Scarsdale's non-partisan system by voting on Wednesday at Village Hall.

Candidates Needed for the SBNC (this note was forwarded to Scarsdale10583 by Bennett Josselsohn and Mindy Tucker, Committee Chairs of the SBNC.)

What are you doing Sunday afternoons during the cold, dark winter (end of January through mid-March)? How about meeting some people and serving our community to boot? Join the SBNC!

HELP! SERVE! HAVE FUN! Please help to maintain our excellent Scarsdale schools and serve our community by volunteering to run for the SBNC. It's rewarding and interesting to participate, with a focused time commitment. (Plus you get to sneak in a couple of munchkins and chocolate chip cookies that your spouse can't see!)

HUH? The School Board Nominating Committee (SBNC) is an elected group of 30 members who identify, propose and nominate qualified candidates to run for the Scarsdale Board of Education. The 30 voting members represent each of the five elementary school neighborhoods. Each year, ten new members (two from each elementary school neighborhood) are elected to serve a three-year term. The SBNC meets for Sunday afternoons from end of January through the middle of March. (You get to spend time with adults! Make new friends! Need we say more?)

EASY! It's easy to become a candidate – just complete two forms by November 18, 2014 and submit them to either of the e-mails listed below or via mail to the addresses on the forms. The first is a biographical form and the second is a candidate petition, with signatures from ten residents in your elementary school district. These forms can be downloaded from http://scarsdalesbnc.com/join-the-sbnc/ , where further information on the process can also be found. The forms are also available at the Scarsdale Library and Village Hall. (You get to talk about yourself! How does it get better than that?)

MORE QUESTIONS? If you are interested in becoming a candidate or have questions, please visit the SBNC's website at www.scarsdalesbnc.com . Also, feel free to contact the SBNC Administrative Committee Co-chairs: Bennett Josselsohn at bjoss100@aol.com or Mindy Tucker at mindytucker8@gmail.com.

NO TIME TO VOLUNTEER? If you are too busy on Sunday afternoons with work, or driving your kids to sports, or watching football on the couch, you can still help. Please consider a contribution to the Administrative Committee's election fund! The Committee organizes and administers the SBNC election at significant expense. The cost of producing and mailing the brochure to every Scarsdale resident is not included in the School budget, the Village budget or any other source of public funds. Donations can be made by Paypal or by check payable to "SBNC Administrative Committee" and sent to our post office box (PO Box 172H, Scarsdale NY 10583). Donations are used solely for running the SBNC election and do not benefit any individual candidate. We rely on the community's financial support to sustain our non-partisan system of robust and contested elections for the Scarsdale School Board Nominating Committee.

SO, NOW WHAT? Run for the SBNC. Have fun. Donate to the SBNC. Do good. Run for the SBNC and donate to the SBNC. Have fun and do good!