The Inside Press

Magazines serving the communities of Northern Westchester

Sarah Ellen Rindsberg

Eminent Neuroscientist to Speak at PTA Meeting

by

On October 22, Sam Wang, a neuroscientist at Princeton, will address the PTA on the topic of “How Well Do You Know Your Child’s Brain.”  Wang, co-author of the book, “Welcome To Your Child’s Brain:  How the Mind Grows From Conception to College,”  is currently working with the Chappaqua School District as the scientific advisor for educational best-practices.  He views his collaboration with the district as “a conversation between researchers and educators.”

Wang has begun meeting with teachers and administrators and finds that they are “very open to the possibility of improving their practice and implementing new ideas.”  Optimal methods and settings for learning will be discussed.  One of the first areas Wang will pursue is the design of the classroom.

In the 1980s Wang changed his course of study from physics to neuroscience, a field which he finds tremendously exciting.  In his lab, research on autism is one of the focal points.  Progress in this area is one of the most dynamic subjects in neuroscience today.   “It’s [now] possible to talk about the mechanics of how autism works,” Wang observed.

Responding to an inquiry as to whether neuroscience would be an appropriate addition to the curriculum, Wang mentioned that he teaches a course entitled ”Neuroscience and Everyday Life.” at Princeton which has no prerequisites.  “Neuroscience is mature enough that is’s possible to teach it at the high school level,” he noted.

PTA President Maura Marcon related that parents are “really exciting and interested” about the upcoming presentation.  She received a call from a parent of pre-schoolers wondering whether the talk was open to all – Marcon assured her that it is.

An Extraordinary Venue For Art

by

From the Louis-Dreyfus Family Collection

A hidden treasure will be revealed this Sunday at a benefit for the Horace Greeley Scholarship Fund.  An exquisite art collection – located right in the neighborhood – will be open to the community for two viewings at 3 and 4:30.

The works on display are from the private collection of the Louis-Dreyfus family.  The doyen of these gems, William Louis-Dreyfus, traces his interest in art to his sojourn in France as a young adolescent.  “I used to skip school to go to the museums and the Louvre,” he confessed.  Today, he pursues his passion at galleries and in artists’ studios.

There are many works by masters including Matisse, Kandinsky and Miro, but these are not the names cited by Louis-Dreyfus when asked to describe the pieces which speak to him.  The work he is “most emotionally tied to” is “The Departure of Fruit and Vegetables from the Heart of Paris” by Raymond Mason.  This sculpture depicts vendors, laden with their wares, in a truly vivid palette.

Louis-Dreyfus does not focus solely on maintaining and growing his collection.  He is also committed to using it purposefully; mainly for the benefit of underprivileged youth served by the Harlem Children’s Zone.  When several of his friends prevailed upon him to open his gallery for a benefit for the HGSF, he was happy to accommodate.

HGSF president David Perlmutter has seen the works and is thrilled that members of the community will have the opportunity to visit this gallery.  “The breadth of the collection is spectacular,” he noted.  He found the work of Bill Traylor, an outsider artist, particularly captivating.

A slideshow and tickets are available at hgsf.org/art.

Another Grocery Store on the Retail Horizon?

by

When the Planning Board convened on the evening of October 2, it faced a full agenda.  Ordinary items including exterior lighting at Chase and a residential swimming pool were quickly dispatched.  Next, the Planning Board turned to consider an issue at Chappaqua Crossing and a lengthy and learned discussion ensued.  The Planning Board deliberated the proposal to amend chapter 60 of the town code to allow retail stores to operate in a research and business district.  This issue had been referred by the Town Board to the Planning Board.

One of the major talking points focused on the 50,000 square foot grocery store, a potential anchor tenant of the retail mix.   Board member Sheila Crespi raised the question about the potential impact of the proposed change on the rest of the town:  “I feel that this is introducing a third community area into New Castle.  This is a very significant change to the development of our town,”  she noted.  The Board then examined the possibility of decreased patronage of the stores in Chappaqua and Millwood.

Reaction to the proposed changes in the community at Chappaqua Crossing are mixed.  Although there are residents who favor an addition to the local retail environment, there are also many who remain opposed.  Michelle Lee voiced a common concern:  “I don’t know if we need another grocery store.”   “There’s too much traffic as it is and we have a lot of options,” she continued.

The debate will continue at the meeting of the Town Board on October 30.  The public is invited to attend.

A Look at Energy Efficient Vehicles in the Town of New Castle

by

New Castle is definitely focusing on putting your tax dollars to work in a green way.  When choosing vehicles, a high priority is placed on fuel efficiency and diminished emissions.

The town’s fleet includes nine hybrids:  five Ford Escapes, one Nissan Altima, one Honda Civic, one Ford Fusion and one Ford Focus.   “We try to buy the type of equipment that burns less fuel and contributes less pollutants,” Scott Smith, Assistant to the Commissioner of Public Works noted.  For some of the vehicles employed by the town, including the class seven trucks which are used for snow plowing, hybrids are not currently available.

In the town’s police department, there are currently four hybrid vehicles.   Three of these are used by administrative personnel and the fourth is utilized for parking enforcement.  The latter vehicle, the Ford Focus, is particularly efficient due to the nature of its beat which does not necessitate high speed travel.  “He drives very slowly,”  Chief Charles Ferry noted.  “We see a lot of the benefits of the hybrid in parking enforcement,” he added.

According to Ferry there are currently no hybrids which can accommodate the requirements of a patrol car.  “Patrol vehicles have to be pretty big,” he observed.  They need to carry computer systems and other equipment.  Although they are not hybrids, the Dodge Chargers employed by the department do have an energy efficient feature – at low speeds they run on four cylinders and at higher speeds they switch to eight.

Eat Dinner With Your Family Night

by

Due to the busy lives being led by New Castle residents, family time is sometimes relegated to the back burner.  The Chappaqua PTA is aware of this phenomenon and encourages harried parents to begin to rectify the situation by sitting down and sharing a meal with their family.

Maura Marcon, the Chappaqua PTA president supports this concept wholeheartedly.  “Sit down, take a break, eat dinner with your family,”  she advised.  “It’s important that we do get together as families; eating and talking,” Marcon continued.  The PTA always insures that the date for Eat Dinner With Your Family Night – the fourth Monday of September – is noted on the district calendar and that information regarding the program is disseminated to all residents.

Elyse Falk, a parent of 3 boys, aged eleven, nine and five, is also a strong proponent of the concept.  She serves as co-chair of the nutrition committee for the district as well as co-chair of the nutrition committee at West Orchard.  Falk always eats with her offspring and relishes the opportunity to converse while consuming a home-cooked meal.  “I love promoting good nutrition,” she noted.  On Monday, she served meatballs, pasta and kale, and yes, her kids do enjoy the latter.  She often seasons the kale with kosher salt and olive oil and then roasts it until crispy.   Her other method of preparation is to sauté the kale and add it to rice or pasta.

The concept for advocating that parents eat with their children was developed by Casa Columbia, the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University whose website states  “the more often kids eat dinner with their families, the less likely they are to smoke, drink or use drugs.”  For further information visit:  http://casafamilyday.org.