Author and Photographer of Tuxedo Park: The Gift of Nature to speak on November 15
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Only 40 minutes from Scarsdale and a few miles from the New York State Thruway, Tuxedo Park offers sanctuary to a diverse range of wildlife. This is uniquu; vast expanses of nature do not often exist so close to metropolitan areas. Tuxedo Park, however, is rich with biodiversity. Here, more than 450 species of trees and plants, 150 species of butterflies and moths, and nearly 200 species of birds, mammals, reptiles, and amphibians thrive. Its lakes and feeder streams teem with life year round.
A new book, Tuxedo Park: The Gift of Nature tells the story of the village's diverse species and scenic beauty through more than 200 original color photographs. Many of the species living in Tuxedo Park are also found in Westchester County. On November 15th, Author Chiu Yin Hempel and Photographer Greg Miller will discuss their experiences and adventures creating the book. Scarsdale residents, nature and photography enthusiasts, conservationists, and people who simply enjoy wildlife and history are welcome to attend. The presentation will be held at the Tuxedo Park Fire Department. Registration is required; the event is free.
Founded in 1886, Tuxedo Park is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Nature in Tuxedo Park appears almost untouched by man. However, over 100 years of conservation-minded community development has been responsible for the village's continued ecological health and unspoiled beauty.
While writing the book, Ms. Hempel worked 
closely with John C. Yrizarry, naturalist, author and wildlife artist who spent more than a decade compiling his Field Notes of natural species in Tuxedo Park. "Tuxedo Park is a historically important, ecologically rich Shangri-La. John showed me so many species, including some not easily found in the Hudson Valley region, such as purple trillium and the protected pileated woodpecker," said Ms. Hempel.
"Together, Chiu Yin Hempel's historical research and writing, Greg Miller's photographic talent for capturing light, and John C. Yrizarry's work on documenting natural species tell the story of nature's gifts in Tuxedo Park," Carol Monderer, the book's publisher said.
The book is available for purchase on Amazon.com. This is the third volume in an illustrated trilogy about the historic community of Tuxedo Park, New York. The other books are Tuxedo Park: Lives, Legacies, Legends and Tuxedo Park: The Historic Houses.
This presentation is part of the Tuxedo Park Library's Authors' Circle. The Event will take place at the Tuxedo Park Fire Department: 2 Contractors Rd. Tuxedo Park, NY. Please make a reservation: register on the Tuxedo Park Library website, send an email to the library at [email protected] or call (845) 351-2207.
Jessica Lahey Urges Parents to Let Their Children Fail So That They Can Succeed
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How do we teach our children to be intrinsically motivated to succeed? That's what Jessica Lahey, teacher, journalist, writer, and mother spoke about to a large audience at Scarsdale Middle School on Thursday night, October 29th. Co-sponsored by the Scarsdale PT Council, SHSPTA, SMSPTA, and the Scarsdale Public Library, Ms. Lahey stopped in Scarsdale on her book tour for "The Gift of Failure: How the Best Parents Learn to Let Go So Their Children Can Succeed." Lahey writes a bi-weekly New York Times column, "The Parent-Teacher Conference," writes for The Atlantic, and is a commentator for Vermont Public Radio.
Ms. Lahey's book focuses on the school-age years when parents must learn to allow their children to experience the disappointment and frustration that life brings rather than protecting them from it. She spoke about over-parenting and a fear of failure that many school children take on that affects their curiosity and desire to learn. Ms. Lahey calls this curiousity "intrinsic motivation" and focused her talk on how we as parents can best support and develop it in our children to help them find success both in school and out of school.
"Why are people motivated to do what they do?" she asked. Ms. Lahey suggested that there is extrinsic motivation which places controls on behavior like a reward system, nagging, or punishment. "These are horrible for self motivation," she claimed. "If you want someone to have intrinsic motivation and do something that elicits creativity, then remove extrinsic motivation whether in the form of a reward or punishment. As soon as you put a reward on something, a child loses intrinsic motivation."
Using many anecdotes from her teaching experience and her years of parenting, Ms. Lahey described why intrinsic motivation is necessary for learning and everything else beyond that in life. She asserts that to be intrinsically motivated, you need the following three attributes:
• Autonomy
• Competence
• Connectedness
Autonomy is defined as independence, and ultimately this is what we hope for our children. However, we must promote it as an attribute from an early age. Ms. Lahey describes one type of parenting style as autonomy supportive – a style we should strive to adopt -- and another as directive (or controlling) parents which we should strive to avoid as this backfires and causes anxiety in children.
Competence is confidence based on actual experience. Ms. Lahey used school math problems to describe "desirable difficulties," or challenges that are good for kids (within their ultimate ability). "Children who are most likely to succeed are exposed to problem-based learning," she suggests, and referenced an independent film called "Most Likely to Succeed." She strongly cautioned against labeling kids as smart or not smart, but rather commending them for the effort they put into a project, a paper, a test, or homework as it creates a "fixed mindset" in the child and ultimately backfires. "How a child reacts to something when it gets hard helps define what a child will be like as an adult," Ms. Lahey said.
Connectedness is essentially the "science of self-motivation," or "...the idea that our parents and teachers love us and trust us, even if we don't perform to their standards," Ms. Lahey said. She suggested that parents and teachers "...need to help kids understand that what they do in the classroom is relevant to the outside world." She stressed the importance of helping kids find this connection. Math makes more sense when kids can use it practically.
Ms. Lahey warned against the use of parent-student-teacher portals where you can follow most of what your child is doing at school. "I truly believe this is destroying the parent-teacher, teacher-student, student-parent relationship," she said. "It is so disruptive and unfair to a child to provide this type of surveillance."
She left the audience with a quote to think about as they went home to their own kids:
"What makes us feel good in the moment may not be good for our kids in the long haul." Using the homework that her son left at home as an example, she said she wanted to bring it to him at school but chose not to so that he would learn to be more responsible in the future.
One audience member asked what to do if a kids comes home with an "F" because they didn't study? Ms. Lahey's answer was "Duct tape parenting. Essentially, you want to react the same way to an A as you do to an F. With an F, simply ask what he can do next time to prepare better rather than getting mad and voicing your disappointment. Simply encourage your child to work harder, try harder."
This allows for a child to solidly benefit from intrinsic motivation and removes external controls.
Ms. Lahey's book can be purchased here:
UJA Hosts Actress Mandy Gonzalez
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Westchester donors gathered at a Mamaroneck home to celebrate their caring commitment to UJA-Federation of New York and its work on Thursday, October 8, 2015. UJA-Federation works with nearly 100 beneficiary agencies, synagogues, and other Jewish organizations to care for those in need, connect people to their Jewish communities, and respond to crises close to home and around the globe.
The evening featured Broadway actress Mandy Gonzalez, best known for her role in the Tony Award-winning musical In the Heights. Most recently Mandy starred as Elphaba in the Broadway production of Wicked.
The event was chaired by Joy and Steven Zelin of Larchmont, Lisa and Marc Cummins of Harrison, Lisa and Stephen Eisenstein of Larchmont, and Linda and Seth Plattus of Scarsdale. The evening took place at the home of Cindy and Ben Golub of Mamaroneck.
The group heard from Eric S. Goldstein, UJA-Federation's CEO, who had recently returned from a trip to Israel to show support for and see the work the organization funds. Campaign Chair David Moore also addressed the gathering, emphasizing the strength of our generous community and the singular role that UJA-Federation plays in supporting the people on the margins of society and providing a global safety net.
"We all know what UJA makes possible – matching support for so many areas of concern with our reach and impact. Every dollar we invest in our beneficiary agencies helps them yield an additional 350 percent return in government funds," said Joy Zelin of Larchmont, chair of UJA-Federation's Westchester King David Society. "I feel it's a privilege to be a part of it all."
SBNC Candidates Sought for January 12, 2016 Election
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The School Board Nominating Committee 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, 10 new members are elected to serve a three-year term on the SBNC.
Please help to maintain our excellent Scarsdale schools and serve our community by volunteering to run for the SBNC. To become a candidate, please submit a candidate petition by Monday, November 23. Forms and other information can be found at www.scarsdalesbnc.com.
The election to vote for this year's SBNC members will be on Tuesday, January 12, 2016 in the Scarsdale Middle School auditorium lobby from 7:00 am to 10:00 am and from 2:00 pm to 9:00 pm.
Please feel free to contact the SBNC Administrative Committee Co-Chairs: Kate Conlan at [email protected] or Dana Matsushita at [email protected].
Mitzvah Weekend at Scarsdale Synagogue
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A Mitzvah is a good deed, and Scarsdale Synagogue, which has set aside a community-wide day for doing good deeds every year, is expanding this successful program to a full weekend. During the three-day period, the synagogue's clergy and lay leadership will be creating opportunities to perform a variety of good deeds (Mitzvot), with the Synagogue (2 Ogden Road in Scarsdale) as the helping headquarters.
The schedule for the Mitzvah Weekend is as follows but complete details can be found here:
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 16
6:15 p.m. – Shabbat Services & Dinner followed by Guest Speaker, Rabbi Andy Gordon, who will share his experience participating in the historic Journey for Justice 40-day walk from Selma to DC that took place this past summer. Dinner $36/person, $18/for those 18 and under. RSVP to [email protected].
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 17
10:00 a.m. - Shabbat Services followed by a Social Action-themed lunch & learn.
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 18, 9:00 A.M. – 1:00 P.M.
All activities are open to the public and will take place at Scarsdale Synagogue including:
Annual blood drive sponsored by White Plains Hospital. Refreshments will be provided.
Karaoke for a cause
Cooking for the hungry
Crafts projects
A Living Wall of Talmud
Our Bar Mitzvah/Bat Mitzvah class will participate in the Manhattanville Making Strides Against
Cancer walk.
Learn more about the organizations and causes that your fellow congregants are passionately
involved
How to Help
In addition to these programs, the Synagogue will be collecting much needed and useful items to donate to worthy organizations in the greater Westchester and North Bronx communities, including:
• Children's Books & Clothing (ages 14 and below) for the Sharing Shelf – long sleeve shirts, sweatshirts, jeans, khakis, sweatpants, long sleeve dresses (4T – youth size 10 only), fleece jackets, winter coats, hats & gloves, sturdy shoes (merrills, sneakers, snowboots, & uggs), NEW socks, NEW underwear; Gently used books (for ages 5 and below)
• School Supplies for students at an underfunded school in Yonkers – backpacks, box of #2 pencils, box of black pens, box of assorted (24) crayons, glue sticks, pink erasers, box of assorted broad tip markers, pair of blunt edged scissors, pencil case, wide-ruled spiral notebooks, pocket folders, package of printer paper.
• Items for US Soldiers – action oriented or comedy DVDs, chapsticks, $5 Amazon or apple gift cards, protein bars, chocolate bars
• Food for the United Interfaith Food Bank – rice, pasta, soup, mac & cheese, pasta sauce, canned beans and canned fruit, canned meat or stew
• Diapers and wipes for Westchester Diaper Bank
• Pet Supply Drive for the New Rochelle Animal Shelter – dog and cat food, leashes, cages,
bedding, dog treats, cat treats, stuffed animals
• Lightly Used College Dorm Supplies for Grad Bag – XL twin sheet sets, blankets, comforters, duvets, desk lamps, small rugs, plastic hangars, extension cords, window fans, bed lifts, over door hooks, laundry bags/hampers, alarm clocks, storage lockers, book ends, bulletin boards, surge protectors, small suitcases.
• Fresh Start for UJA Federation Westchester – Fresh Start provides families in need with the ability to have a fresh start every morning – toothbrushes, toothpaste, hair brushes, shampoos, body wash, shaving items, deodorants, tissues, feminine hygiene products, soaps, baby care items (ointments, powders, wipes, diapers of all sizes.)
About Scarsdale Synagogue
Scarsdale Synagogue Temples Tremont and Emanu-El is a Reform Jewish congregation committed to creating a covenant community of shared lives and real relationships. We are an inclusive, caring and visionary community. As we journey together Jewishly, we strengthen ourselves and our sacred community.
For further information, please contact Roberta Aronovitch at (914) 725-5175 or by email: [email protected].
