Interested parties can visit the Historic Hudson Valley website at www.hudsonvalley.org to learn more about the specific programs offered at Philipsburg Manor, Washington Irving’s Sunnyside, and Van Cortlandt Manor. Each program is appropriate for different age groups, with various offerings for every grade level from kindergarten through 12th grade. As of the 2014-2015 school year, all programs have undergone revisions to ensure that they align with goals and standards of the Common Core curricula. These revisions emphasize critical-thinking skills through activities like analyzing primary documents.
Historic Hudson Valley maintains rich and exciting school programs that allow students to explore firsthand different periods of American history. The organization’s immersive programs span the colonial period, the American Revolution, the growth of industry, and the emergence of American romanticism. Students are guided through these programs by staff members who have undergone extensive professional training. These tour guides, dressed in clothing appropriate to the period being studied, walk students through historic buildings and other points of interest and offer a range of hands-on activities.
Interested parties can visit the Historic Hudson Valley website at www.hudsonvalley.org to learn more about the specific programs offered at Philipsburg Manor, Washington Irving’s Sunnyside, and Van Cortlandt Manor. Each program is appropriate for different age groups, with various offerings for every grade level from kindergarten through 12th grade. As of the 2014-2015 school year, all programs have undergone revisions to ensure that they align with goals and standards of the Common Core curricula. These revisions emphasize critical-thinking skills through activities like analyzing primary documents. Camping can prove a wonderful bonding experience for parents and their children. Being outside removes many of the distractions of everyday life, from cleaning up the house to watching television. When beginning to camp, parents should start small with hikes or tents in the backyard. Taking children immediately into deep wilderness with no running water can be a bit of a shock. With small steps, children build confidence and avoid any feelings of fear that may arise by jumping in too fast. Before a camping trip, parents should make a list of all the potential activities that the family can engage in, such as hiking, fishing, or swimming, and then give their kids a say in deciding what they do. When children feel involved in decisions, they become more excited about the activities. When camping with smaller children, parents should always put safety first by accompanying them to the bathroom, especially at night, and insisting that they carry a flashlight. Parents must always keep an eye on their kids, who may accidentally wander off chasing a butterfly or some other form of wildlife. Parents who are new to camping can usually find classes at local outdoor adventure stores. These classes provide a great knowledge base for setting up a campsite. Parents should also feel free to ask staff at these stores for advice and recommendations on local camping areas. Thanks to the nonprofit organization myFace, previously known as the National Foundation for Facial Reconstruction, thousands of children from low-income families have received life-changing surgeries at the Institute of Reconstructive Plastic Surgery at NYU Langone Medical Center. myFace assists families with lodging and with medical, social welfare, and psychological services while children undergo lengthy procedures that would otherwise be unaffordable. Serious facial asymmetries and deformities, such as cleft palate and cleft lip, can impede a child’s ability to eat, sleep, and breathe. The emotional and psychological toll such conditions can produce are sometimes less obvious, but no less devastating to children and their families. Research has shown that the more symmetrical a child’s features appear, the more others tend to view him or her as “attractive,” and therefore as more intelligent, competent, and worthy of positive attention. Self-perception and parental perceptions also play major roles in shaping children’s behavior. Children with cleft problems and other oro-facial abnormalities are more likely to struggle with feelings of low self-worth. In addition, their parents may be more likely to accept inappropriate behavior from them or become so over-protective that they hamper their child’s positive social development. Peers may tease and bully children based on their facial asymmetries or the speech problems associated with them. A study reported in the European Journal of Orthodontics in 2005 found that children with cleft palate or cleft lip experienced more teasing, reported more negative behavior patterns, and were less confident about their personal appearance. Thanks to the work of myFace and its dedicated donors, $3 million annually now goes to help children move forward to lead healthier, more confident lives.
Historic Hudson Valley maintains rich and exciting school programs that allow students to explore firsthand different periods of American history. The organization’s immersive programs span the colonial period, the American Revolution, the growth of industry, and the emergence of American romanticism. Students are guided through these programs by staff members who have undergone extensive professional training. These tour guides, dressed in clothing appropriate to the period being studied, walk students through historic buildings and other points of interest and offer a range of hands-on activities.
Interested parties can visit the Historic Hudson Valley website at www.hudsonvalley.org to learn more about the specific programs offered at Philipsburg Manor, Washington Irving’s Sunnyside, and Van Cortlandt Manor. Each program is appropriate for different age groups, with various offerings for every grade level from kindergarten through 12th grade. As of the 2014-2015 school year, all programs have undergone revisions to ensure that they align with goals and standards of the Common Core curricula. These revisions emphasize critical-thinking skills through activities like analyzing primary documents. Private equity fund investors typically wait up to a decade to see a return on their investment, but a new trend of investors cashing out early by selling investments in the secondary market has emerged. Secondary sales of stakes can include venture capital and real estate funds, in addition to private equity funds. In 2014, selling into secondary markets increased 80 percent from the previous year, according to research conducted by Evercore. The study surveyed more than 70 large investors. Private equity funds have risen in value in recent years due to highs in the stock market and low interest rates, among other factors. Many investors have decided to cash out now rather than wait for the funds to mature fully. The majority of these decisions, according to Evercore, result from portfolio management rather than regulatory pressure or financial distress. These sales also benefit buyers since investing in an existing private equity fund stake involves considerably less risk than other investments even if returns prove a bit limited. Most of the buyers last year were large investment vehicles, not individual investors. John Kemeny, the former president of Dartmouth College and the co-inventor of the BASIC computer language, began life in Budapest with his family. In 1940, his father moved the family to the United States to escape the Nazis, and they settled in New York. Kemeny, who died in 1992, was a lifelong student and educator, working with some of the most renowned scientists in history. He began his undergraduate career at Princeton University, but took a year off to work on the Manhattan Project in Los Alamos, New Mexico, with Richard Feynman and John von Neumann. Later, as a doctoral student at Princeton, he served as Albert Einstein’s mathematical assistant. Upon graduation, he was offered a full-time teaching position at Princeton, but instead took a job in the mathematics department at Dartmouth College. He served as Dartmouth’s president between 1970 and 1981, then returned to teaching full time. Kemeny worked with Tom Kurtz to create BASIC as a way to make computer programming accessible to everyone. He subsequently became known outside of the mathematical world for his role on President Jimmy Carter’s task force - later named the Kemeny Commission - that investigated the Three Mile Island nuclear explosion. Formerly known as the National Foundation for Facial Reconstruction, myFace maintains a comprehensive psychosocial team for families dealing with craniofacial issues through The Newman Family Support Center, which serves as a single destination for counseling on issues related to, among other things, genetics, behavioral and psychiatric health, and speech. The multidisciplinary team at Newman consists of a family program coordinator, nutritionist, speech pathologist, pediatric nurse practitioner, geneticist, and social worker. Families served by Newman receive constant support throughout the treatment process. To help families and patients network, The Newman Family Support Center also organizes regular events such as summer fun picnics and an annual carnival and fundraising walk. The center is home to several family support groups organized around the needs of parents, siblings, and patients. Working in the local community, the center’s employees lead awareness programs and other educational initiatives that focus on the social stigma of facial differences at area schools and in partnership with other organizations. For more information about myFace and its programming, please visit www.myface.org. For those looking for the perfect vacation spot in the northeastern United States, it’s hard to beat Mount Desert Island, a Maine landmark that attracts more than 2 million tourists every year. The island boasts both a bustling urban scene and one of the most beautiful parks in the country, Acadia National Park. Referred to as “Mount Dessert” by the locals, the island is dominated by the national park, but also includes several towns, ranging from the tourist haven of Bar Harbor to the upscale villages of Mount Desert. Whether tourists are interested in a charming coastal vacation or a nature-filled outdoor adventure, Mount Desert Island delivers.
Visitors should be sure to visit the island’s lighthouse, Bass Harbor Head Light, drive along scenic Park Loop Road, climb or drive up to the peak of Cadillac Mountain, or take in the biodiversity of the Wild Gardens of Acadia. History buffs will want to visit the park’s Islesford Historical Museum, open from late summer to early fall on Little Cranberry Island, although Bar Harbor and other towns on the island also have museums and art galleries worth exploring. Those looking for accommodations will find both small inns and luxury hotels, but many prefer to stay at one of the many campgrounds on the island, such as Blackwoods or Seawall, as well as Duck Harbor Campground on nearby Isle au Haut. Literacy in the United States is at serious risk. According to statistics compiled by such organizations as the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Education Association, half of all American adults cannot read above an eighth-grade level. Others fare even worse: over 20 percent of adults read at or below the fifth-grade level, which is far below the level typically required to earn a living wage. Furthermore, studies have found that students are four times more likely to drop out of high school if they have not developed proficient reading skills by the third grade. With an estimated annual cost of $20 billion to businesses and taxpayers, illiteracy and poor reading comprehension are threatening to become a full-blown social crisis.
Faced with these troubling statistics, organizations like the non-profit association ReadWorks are working to improve reading comprehension in children, in hopes of addressing problems before they start. To achieve this goal, ReadWorks researches, develops, and provides high-quality reading comprehension lessons and curriculum-based informational and literary passages for students in kindergarten through eighth grade. The lessons are directly available to educators free of charge, and their impact on student achievement and teacher effectiveness is constantly measured and improved. To date, ReadWorks has reached over 10 million students across the country. Historic Hudson Valley (HHV) offers a number of exciting events for families throughout December. Several times during the month, a talented actor retells Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol in the Old Dutch Church. Master storyteller Jonathan Kruk shares the Christmas classic with musical accompaniment. This story reveals the true meaning of Christmas by taking individuals into the life of Ebenezer Scrooge, a miserly man who must rediscover his humanity with the help of some interesting companions.
Individuals who attend the Dickens retelling receive complimentary admission to A Holiday Open House at Philipsburg Manor, located across the street from the Old Dutch Church. To celebrate the season, HHV employees illuminate the manor with bonfires and candle lanterns while attendees enjoy an array of sweets and hot beverages. Individuals can also engage in a number of different crafts or enjoy live fiddle music. The event occurs every weekend in December. People wishing to attend either or both events need to purchase tickets ahead of time. Tickets are available online at the HHV website, HudsonValley.org. |
AuthorWilson Neely Corporate lawyer and Dealmaker of the Week Archives
July 2015
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