South Pacific

On Sunday November 23rd South East took a group to see South Pacific at the Westchester Broadway Theater. Many of our participants had a great time singing along to some of their favorite songs such as "There is nothing like a dame" and "I'm gonna wash that man right out of my hair" and "Some Enchanted Evening". Visiting the WBT is one of our participants favorite things to do because they are able to eat a delicious meal and watch a good show!

Teen Adventure Planetarium Extravaganza

Space the final frontier. Last Saturday SEC star-gazers traveled to the Hudson River Museum to get a better glimpse at the infinite expanse that surrounds our planet.

The Hudson River Museum in Yonkers NY is home to the historic Glenview Mansion featuring six distinct period rooms, the newly revamped and now state of the art planetarium and a permanent exhibition on the Hudson River’s history, geology and bio-diversity.

The planetarium show “Our sky tonight” was our final destination on Saturday. Adventurers sat back, relaxed and stared up into the night sky. We watched as the sun took its course across the sky on a late fall day and the stars slowly appear.

Our moderator showed where we lie in the solar system in relation to our other neighboring planet. Then finally we left planet earth completely to see our galaxy (the Milky Way) in its totality.

Seeing the night’s sky from an outer space perspective can you make you feel small and insignificant but simultaneously brings us together by making you realize how close we really are.

“Things are impossible until they’re not” – Captain Jean Luc Picard: Star Trek The Next Generation

Barnyard Bash

Southeast consortium hosted a Barnyard Bash at the Posillipo Center in Rye Brook on Saturday, November 15th.  Party goers enjoyed line dancing to many boot stompin country songs as well as swinging their partners around and around the dance floor. The evening of fun was complimented by refreshments and snacks including seven layer bean dip and country flower cake. 

Chocolate Tour!

Our Sunday Excursions group went to NYC to enjoy a Chocolate Tour this past Sunday. Needless to say we had an deliciously good time! There were 8 different places on our tour starting with Lilac Chocolates then Chocolate Bar, Magnolia Bakery, Milk and Cookies, Bisous Ciao, Xocolatti, Pasticceria Bruno and Vosges. We sampled everything from chocolate candy, cookies, macarons, cupcakes and more. 

After our tour we headed back to Grand Central where we enjoyed some pizza at Two Boots. Then to end our day we explored the outside of GCT and talked about some of the history. Everyone who attended had a really great time!

Sunday Excursions Trip to Barton Orchards

Last Sunday 10/26 the Sunday Excursions group took a trip to Barton Orchards for a day of festive fun! Once we arrived we took a hayride to the Apple Shack where we collected our apple sacks, and pole extender (to help us reach some apples up high) and off we went! We were able to pick a variety of apples in two different apple fields. 

We were in for a cool surprise on the way to the third apple field! As we got closer we found out that you can either walk or take a giant slide on the way to the other apple field! Needless to say some participants and staff took on that extra adventure!

After all that apple picking our bellies were telling us it was time for lunch! We were able enjoy hot dogs, pizza, sandwiches and more. For dessert we snacked on some homemade cookies and cider doughnuts. 

The day was a little colder than most of us would have liked so to keep warm a few of us went to the dance floor to enjoy the live music and to dance, dance dance! Every day is better with a dance party if you ask me!

Next we headed over to the live animal section of the orchards where they had lamas, chickens, pigs, ponies, donkeys and more! The animals were very friendly and we were even able to pet a few of them.

To end our day we watched a chain saw artist carve a bear out of a log of wood! That was awesome to watch! Everyone had a great time enjoying a wonderful fall day. On the way out we stopped to grab a pick a pumpkin to take home. So with a bag or apples and pumpkin in hand we headed back to the SEC bus to drive home.

Totally Teens Night!

We had our first Totally Teen session of the Fall Season on 10/24 and everyone had a great time! It was even better because the Night on The Town group came over to join us, more friends to hang out with! 

The room was busy with lots of activities such as ping pong, pool, video games, foosball and we even had a special Halloween craft. Some of our teens preferred to relax and watch a movie on the flat screen TV. Everyone enjoyed pizza, chips and a dessert during the course of the night. Needless to say there were lots of smiling faces at Haindl Field House last Friday night!

A Spooky Saturday in Sleepy Hollow

The teens piled into the South East bus and made their way to the Sleepy Hollow Cemetery last Saturday afternoon. The fall foliage was in full force as the teen adventures made their way to the historic cemetery nestled snugly against the banks of the Hudson River. With our walking shoes on and the sun shining overhead we set out into the vast and rolling hills of the Sleepy Hollow Cemetery.

Our tour guide told us fascinating tales of notable people interred at the cemetery like Washington Irving, author of the immortal tale of Ichabod Crane and the Headless Horseman. We were dazzled by hidden histories of many tombs and monuments. The tour was also a hands on experience allowing the teens to get up close and peer through tomb windows placed in their heavy slab of granite entrances.

Our brave collection of friends even had the guts to enter an old “receiving vault;” a structure that’s purpose was to store the recently deceased in the cold winter months when the ground was too frozen to dig a grave. Once spring had arrived and the ground soft, then the bodies were removed from the receiving vault and laid to rest. Spooky!

As we were exiting the cemetery already thoroughly spooked we heard a faint neigh in the distance and the clip clop clip clop of hooves. As we turned, hair standing on end, we saw coming our way the Headless Horsemen himself!

But not to fear this must have been the Headless Horsemen’s friendlier cousin. Instead of taking our heads he let us take pictures with him instead.

Getting scared can really build up an appetite! The teen adventurers found a local park, settled down, and ate a lunch in the company of good friends with good tunes supplied by a nearby street fair.  All in all a great day especially since we all made it back with our heads!

Graveyard Dance

On Saturday, October 18^th South East Consortium hosted the Graveyard Dance at the Posillipo Center in Rye Brook.  The evening was filled with food, dancing and fun filled festivities to celebrate Halloween!  Participants and Staff dressed in costumes and danced the night away to our favorite DJ, Mike Petrillo.  With over fifty participants in attendance it was a spook-tacular evening!!!

UCAN Sports

It was a perfectly sunny day out on the pitch last Saturday at the premier of South East Consortium’s UCAN sports league. Athletes, parents, staff and volunteers made their way out onto the grassy field to kick around the soccer ball, get some exercise and just have fun.

UCAN sports league is the first of many new programs in a monumental initiative to redefine the way we approach and manage special needs athletics. UCAN, along with several other new and revamped South East Consortium athletic programs, combines co-operative play between participants and inclusionary participation with volunteers to create the optimal social and athletic experience.

Athletes arrive to practice and are paired up with their volunteer buddies for some down time before practice. Once the majority of players have arrived practice commences. Practice consists of two main components; straight physical exercise that helps develop and improve balance, strength and coordination (all integral foundations for sports) and a systematic expansion of sport specific skills that is built upon each week.

The volunteers provide support to our athletes while modeling and reinforcing taught skills. The volunteers also serve as a vehicle for social interaction between athletes with the intent of building confidence and interpersonal skills in a fun and enjoyable atmosphere.

The staff on hand possess a wealth of knowledge and experience when it comes to children and athletics. Teachers, firefighters, lifeguards and Eagle Scouts make up the exemplary staff South East Consortium has running the UCAN sports program.

Other sports program South East Consortium is currently running include TriSports, Partners in Sports, Cottle Crew Elementary After School, SEC Sluggers Fall Ball baseball clinic and Eastchester Eagles basketball camp. All of which work on incorporating aspects of the UCAN program.

“What we are trying to do here has never been done. We are looking to develop individual sports leagues throughout the area with the goal of one day having Rye play Eastchester or Harrison play Larchmont in a fun and competitive setting,” said Executive Director of South East Consortium Jerry Peters.

UCAN sports meets every Saturday at the Quaker Ridge School in Scarsdale. The fall season will focus on soccer, basketball in the winter and baseball in the fall. For more information about UCAN sports please contact the South East Consortium offices at 914-698-5232.

9th Annual Lauren Rizzetta Memorial Bowling Tournament

Come out for the 9th Annual Lauren Rizzetta Memorial Special Olympics Bowling Tournament. We will have fun competing and remembering our friend Lauren during this Special Olympic event. To participate you must have a current Special Olympic medical on file. 

Please wear your South East Consortium Bowling Team Shirt and sweat pants or pants (no blue jeans allowed). Bring a sack lunch and money for the snack bar.

Transportation is available on a limited basis to the event. If you are interested in transportation please let us know when your return your registration.

We must submit a list by the end of the week so please send those registrations bask asap, or just call the office and let us know.

The Wizard Of Oz

On Sunday September 21st South East took a group to see the last showing of "The Wizard Of Oz" at the Westchester Broadway Theater. As you an imagine everyone enjoyed this live version of the beloved movie. Our participants were singing along and dancing as the actors sang all the well know songs from The Wizard Of Oz. It was a great time, hanging out with great friends enjoying great entertainment! 

SEC at the Food Fest 2014

South East took a group to enjoy the Food Fest this past weekend at Harbor Island Park in Mamaroneck. We all had a really awesome time, enjoyed some amazing food, took part is some fun activities and got to meet Graham Elliot from the Fox TV show "MasterChef"! 

When we first arrived we sampled some delicious food from local eateries, then we sat down to watch Graham Elliot do a demo on a beautiful scallop dish. While Graham was cooking some of our participants got to see him cook up close!

Next we continued to walk about the tent areas to try some more food and participated in a couple of fun games about nutrition, local farms and won prizes to take home. Some participants were able to take home t-shirts, bracelets, pens, chocolate and more!

After sampling all that food we decided to walk over to the other area where they were playing live music. It wasn't long before our group found a comfortable place to relax and digest! There was comfortable Yogibo seating area for our participants and staff hang out and enjoy the festival. It was a truly wonderful day and this is something we will be looking to do again next year!

Fall Ball At South East!

After much demand SEC Sluggers is coming back for a limited time this Fall. Fall Ball will feature a 4 week Sunday morning baseball clinic at Labriola Field in Eastchester. Participants will work on hitting, running, catching and fielding all while fostering social interaction between peers. There’s no better time to be slipping on the mitt than on a cool, crisp autumn morning. Space is limited so please sign up today! Contact the South East Consortium offices for details concerning registration. Registration closes October 1^st. 

Click here for the registration form