My family and I have been residents of Scarsdale for most of my life. I attended Quaker Ridge Elementary School, Scarsdale Middle School and Scarsdale High School. Seven years ago my husband and I returned to Scarsdale to raise our family in the Quaker Ridge neighborhood that I grew up in. In short, I am a committed and proud Scarsdalian, and care deeply about our community.
My family and I are in support of the Scarsdale High School auditorium renovation, and we are supporters of funding the project by way of a bond. The renovation of the SHS auditorium will improve the students’ experience, with better lighting, acoustics, better equipment, seating, etc. The auditorium is also a place for important school meetings and gatherings of students and adults from across the community. I feel that it is imperative that our children assemble and learn in a modernized environment that expresses our community’s values for performing arts and where presenters can be heard well.
Our daughters are now seventh and eighth graders at the Scarsdale Middle School, and are active participants in the community and at school. Both have been involved in the elementary and middle school plays, and take much pride in their roles on and off the stage. This year, our seventh grader participated in the SMS play, “SpongeBob,” which played to a packed audience. It brings me such joy to see how her participation in the program is playing a meaningful role in her development as a confident and happy young woman. The lessons the students learn at play rehearsals are invaluable — building lasting friendships, enhancing speaking skills, and challenging themselves beyond their comfort zones. Equally as significant, theater has become a place of refuge from screen time, which has become so invasive to both the home and classroom experiences — the list of benefits are too great to name here. My daughters look forward to their continued involvement and participation in theater programs at SHS.
I would note that our family has attended several wonderful SHS theater performances over the years, most recently “Mamma Mia.” While the SHS theater program is doing a fantastic job at producing highly entertaining productions, I can tell you firsthand that the theater, from what I can see, has not been meaningfully updated in at least 30 years.
As a mother of two middle school students, I would be so excited to share with my daughters that they will be entering the high school with a facility that will no doubt improve their social, recreational and educational experiences. The renovated SHS auditorium will benefit our community at large, and will be a wonderful meeting place that we can all be proud of. I urge eligible Scarsdale voters to make time to vote Yes for the SHS auditorium bond on Tuesday, May 16.
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