Friday, February 28, 2014

Hawks Versus Broncos

It was a back and forth slug fest Tuesday night between the Bronxville Broncos and the South East Hawks on the hard top. Hawks took an early lead and didn’t let up until the fourth quarter buzzer sounded (54-42.)

Friends and family gathered at Bronxville High School to watch the first annual Broncos V. Hawks basketball game. The Broncos squad was composed of boys and girls from the Bronxville basketball team who came out to give our Hawks a run for their money.

The Hawks were chomping at the bit at the start of game; very excited to play their first game of the season on a regulation court. After the starting five settled down some they started putting down some serious points. Center Andrew Brooks led the scoreboard with 20 points and 15 rebounds. Forwards Maggie Stone and Chris Horan showed off their passing skills with most assists for the evening, 14 and 12 respectively.

The Hawks performed beautifully displaying all the skills they have been working on at practice: passing, dribbling, communication and defensive positions. The game was great preparation for the Hawks who have their first Special Olympics tournament March 8th at White Plains High School.

All Hawks players saw game time and many took advantage this fact. Chris Bisconti made a terrific defensive block and bolted down the court. Eduardo Baca threw up some beautiful shots and John MacAulay made a series of two pointers from the side of the hoop.

Hands down highlight of the evening was Jason Frank getting his first official basket on the Hawks basketball team. On the fourth attempt Frank sank the rock for two. The crowd went wild and Jason made his rounds in the stands with high fives for all.

The significance of the event was not lost on either side of the bench. Bronxville students are already requesting this be a yearly tradition between the two teams.

“How nice of them (Bronxville students) to take time out of their day to play with us,” said Maggie Stone. 

Everyone left the gymnasium with a smile that Tuesday night. And that’s a W for everyone.

Monday, February 24, 2014

A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Leprechaun Leap

If leaping into cold water this time of year isn’t freakish enough, we’ve had an unexpected development.  Because of the prolonged frigid temperatures this winter the harbor area where we do the leap is totally frozen over and inaccessible.  So – what to do?

Thanks to great minds (and the Village of Mamaroneck Fire Dept) we have set up an alternative.  Instead of “leaping” we will be “slipping, sliding and splashing.”  Trust me, you’ll love it!  Just come to the event around 11:00 AM.  After you register (don’t forget your signed waiver if you are under age 18) enjoy the activities until we get wet. 

So bring your towel and some footwear and enjoy our alternative plan.  It may be a little different, but it accomplishes the same outcome.  And, of course, the most important outcome is raising some money to provide needed programs and services to many deserving people.

Thanks and I’ll see you on March 1.

Jerry Peters

Junior Games Program 2014

Click here to download the PDF registration packet

Thursday, February 20, 2014

Valentine's Day Dance


What’s better than Valentine’s Day falling on a Friday? A South East Consortium Valentines dance on a Friday night!

Participants cut a rug and shook a tail feather last Friday night at the Posillipo Center in Rye Brook to the sweet sounds of DJ Mike.  These dances are a fan favorite here at South East bringing out large numbers of party goers. Many participants dance until they can’t dance anymore.

Apart from being a great physical outlet dancing is great medium of expression and a wonderful opportunity to socialize with peers.

Several Friday night groups spent the first half of the evening eating dinner on Mamaroneck Avenue and being bused over by SEC transportation afterwards. While two other Friday night groups met at the dance and hoped right onto the floor.

After DJ Mike packed up his gear the crowd enjoyed some sweet Valentine’s Day cake and wrote some cards to friends, family and maybe even a special unsuspecting sweetheart.


Valentine’s Day can serve a loving pick me up during a cold and dark month. It was a warm and joyous occasion to be with so many good friends this Valentine’s Day.

Wednesday, February 12, 2014

Travel Club


Our travelers gathered Friday night for another awesome excursion into the community. The crew met up at the Mamaroneck train station last Friday night to take the rail down to Larchmont where we went to Plaster Palace and had dinner together.

 The Travel Club crew meets every Friday night for dinner and an activity in the community. It’s a fantastic group of young men and women who just really enjoy each others company, share some laughs and have a whole lot of fun.

Plaster Palace offered a wide variety of plaster molds for our participants to choose from; mugs, plates, trays, bowels and boxes. The majority of us picked the heart shape jewelry box (being the season and all) while others picked mugs or bowls to design and paint. Our projects should be ready for retrieval in one weeks time.

We had dinner at Ray’s Chinese Restaurant just a block away. The restaurant had set up a series of tables creating an intimate setting for us, which was perfect because it was one of our fellow travelers birthdays; Will Greco. Everyone in the restaurant chimed in a spirited “Happy Birthday” followed by cupcakes.


We made the chilly walk back to the train (which was late!) and made it back to the train station just in time for pick up. Even with the cold and late train our group was not phased in the slightest, such is the power of friendship.

Tuesday, February 11, 2014

The Rock Club


South East Consortium is reaching new heights at the rock climbing program. With the assistance of volunteer belayers, climbers get together once a month and explore the walls at the New Rock Club.

Rock climbing proves to be an excellent activity for children with special needs. Rock climbing helps develop eye- hand coordination, improves spatial awareness, motor planning, balance and coordination. Rock climbing can also help children set attainable goals and instill self- confidence; this can translate to other arenas of life such as school or social interactions.

The rock walls offer a varying degree of difficulty for our climbers. There is a learning room with 10 foot walls for our first timers or those who want to brush up on their climbing skills. On the main floor the gym boasts a variety of walls to be conquered including 40 ft and 50 ft rock faces.

There was obvious improvement seen in our returning climbers this past weekend. Peter Rice shot straight up his first three walls in no time at all. TJ Neeves scampered up every wall that was presented to him and Adem Dickenson and Shane Ingram buddied up to support each other while they climbed. Kayla Rodriquez got along great with her belayer which helped propel her up several walls at the gym.

We owe a lot of thanks to our wonderful volunteer belayers (the person on the ground giving or taking slack and keeping our climbers safe.) Our assortment of volunteers includes fire fighters, medical students, teachers and parents. One thing they all have in common is their love of climbing and the desire to share that world with our participants.

The sense of accomplishment one feels after ascending a particularly difficult wall is hard to measure. However, the expression on our climbers faces afterwards is easy to read: “I did it!”