11 minute read
TIPS ON PARENTING
By Casey Russell
November is a month when people take some extra time to be thankful for what we have in our lives. For many Angelenos, that focused time of gratitude encourages us to find a way to give a little back. Families donate their time serving those who might not otherwise have a Thanksgiving meal. Schools, stores and places of worship often host food drives. Donation requests find their way to our mailboxes.
Sometimes it’s easy to just set some canned food aside, make an online donation or write a check and mail it off without remembering to take advantage of the built-in teaching opportunities this month brings. But taking the time to teach kids about gratitude and giving can have a big impact on their lives.
Helping kids learn to be conscious of what is good in their lives can make them more empathic people. Furthermore, studies have proven that as our thankfulness grows, our joy in life grows as well. And while it’s obvious that doing something nice makes the recipient feel good, it’s also true that the feel-good chemicals in our own bodies — such as oxytocin, dopamine and serotonin — increase when we perform an act of kindness.
Fostering gratitude
So, how can we foster a sense of gratitude? The first step is modeling. When we notice the tree in the front yard has blossomed or the swing at the park got fixed, we can say, “Wow, look at that beautiful tree! It’s pretty special that we get to see it every day.” Or, “Someone fixed the swing! Lucky us, we get to swing today!” When someone
CATHEDRAL CHAPEL
By Olivia Sherman 6th Grade
Happy fall! The next few months are filled with amazing activities and great learning opportunities.
CCS celebrated Hispanic Heritage Month with live cultural performances and delicious traditional foods. We are also bringing back our annual Family Fun Night. It will include game booths, food trucks, DJ music with dancing and photo booths!
CCS is also pleased to welcome Girl Scout Troop 70915, which will have Brownie meetings every other Tuesday.
We have resumed field trips. Second-grade students are visiting Underwood Family Farms in Moorpark, and seventh and eighth graders will see a live performance at the La Mirada Theater on Emmett Till.
We will be celebrating Halloween with carnival games and a costume parade. Cathedral Chapel will also participate in the Larchmont Family Fair on Oct. 30.
On All Saints’ Day we will attend Mass and we’ll be remembering our military service members on Veterans Day. The first trimester of school ends right in time for Thanksgiving break on Fri., Nov. 18. MARLBOROUGH SCHOOL By Avery Gough 11th Grade
The months of October and November are exciting at Marlborough.
In October, our seniors had their Mascot Presentation Day, where they unveiled a character they believe represents their class as a whole. The 2022 character is Vanellope von Schweetz from the movie “Wreck-It Ralph 2.” Vanellope encapsulates the lively spirit of the class of 2023.
Last month, the 7th and 8th graders put on their annual dance. It’s always a terrific way to reconnect elementary school friends. Also last month, for the first time ever, Marlborough hosted a Homecoming Dance for the sophomores, juniors and seniors. It was very exciting to be able to come together and start a new Marlborough tradition that has not been seen before. The dance was held in the gym.
Marlborough celebrated Halloween the traditional Marlborough way, “Pumpkin Day,” with a costumed walk-through in the gym.
The Preliminary SATs were recently held for everyone but the seniors. The 12th graders spent PSAT day working on college applications.
On Nov. 15 and 17, the allschool dance concert will showcase Marlborough’s talented dancers and choreographers. The fall athletics recognition ceremony is also on Nov. 15. It’s a fun time to celebrate the hard work of athletes in fall sports like volleyball, tennis, track and field and cross country. It is always a nice feeling to be recognized for all the hours put into work.
Thanksgiving break is starting the week of the 21st, so there is much to look forward to in spending time with family and, hopefully, seeing family that we have not seen in a while.
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Member American Dental Association Diplomat of American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry Orthodontics Available
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Tips on Parenting
by Casey Russell
in the family has remembered to do a chore without being asked, we can thank that person and remind him what a big help that was. If we come home from a busy day and everyone is hungry, we can open the fridge and say, “Whew! Aren’t we lucky we have all this good food in the fridge?”
We can model giving back by doing things in our daily lives. If we notice an elderly neighbor struggling with groceries, we can let our kids see us jump to help take her bags inside. Every time we take the dog for a walk with our children, we can make a point of picking up not only our dog’s poop but also an extra bit left by someone else.
Gratitude-inspiring ideas
This Thanksgiving, make a gratitude tree. Scatter fall-leaf paper cutouts on the table and ask everyone to write some things he or she is thankful for. Tape the leaves to a handdrawn tree at the end of the meal.
Tape a sign labeled “Wall of Positivity” up on a wall. Put a pad of sticky notes and some pens nearby. Write a few notes to start things off — “I’m thankful I got to sleep in today!” Or, “I’m thankful it rained! I got to wear my rain boots!” You’ll probably soon notice others’ notes popping up by yours.
Every night at dinner or at bedtime, start a tradition of telling each other something you were thankful for that day.
Teach your child the importance of writing thank-you notes. Encourage a family member to call and let your child know he received the nice note and that it meant a lot to him.
Helping kids give back
Rather than just giving your child an allowance in one piggy bank, consider having three piggy banks — one for spending, one for saving and one for giving.
Start a “get some, give some” tradition. Talk to your kids about donating some gently used toys they’ve grown out of after birthdays and winter holidays. Let them choose what to donate and where to take it.
Cut out coupons with your child and, when you go to the grocery store together, put your child in charge of taping the coupons to items so someone in need can use them.
Once a month when you go to the park or go for a walk as a family, take a trash bag and clean up the neighborhood a bit. Local real estate agents on Larchmont Boulevard are doing this every Friday morning.
Let your kids come up with ideas for how they’d like to help others. You can get them started on ideas by talking about what they are naturally drawn to. If your child loves drawing, maybe she can make artwork for a senior living center. If your kid loves animals, maybe he can help out at the local shelter or help a busy neighbor by taking her dog out for an extra walk.
It doesn’t take much time to build gratitude into our families’ lives. It’s simply a matter of remembering to make it a priority. Plus, getting in the habit of giving back can even shape some family traditions.
Bettering the world, strengthening our families, helping our kids’ empathy and generosity grow — win, win and win.
For more parenting tips, check out my book, “The Handbook for Life With Little Ones: Information, ideas and tips for birth to age five,” on Amazon.
(Continued from page 2) turing innumerable Africans as prominent members of society, even members of royalty and members of biracial marriages.” So much is so wrong it is hard to know where to begin.
First, this is not a piece of found footage from 1290, it is an artistic vision. It is telling of Medley only that inclusion of non-white actors is what he finds so offensive and off-putting, while one review earlier, he laments that an Irish film is “marred by brogue that is often difficult to understand.” Medley’s lust for originalism is apparently a mere convenience exploited when it suits his need to see people who look like him centered in all stories.
Second, Medley reduces Black performers to “innumerable,” conjuring hordes and reducing human beings to numbers — classic dehumanization tricks.
Finally, his opprobrium is particularly focused on Black actors portraying higher class members of society, some even (gasp) married to white members, again a nod solely to a source of friction with Medley’s worldview.
The Larchmont Chronicle is not a public square in which anyone is free to speak at any length at any time, with countering voices given equal time (so a reader like myself must resort to a letter to the editor). Rather, it is a platform that chooses content to be featured at the exclusion of other voices. I saw no disclaimer and have read no equally platformed columnist counter Medley’s intolerant views.
Will the Chronicle’s restaurant reviews next include statements like “my otherwise fine meal was destroyed by a diner wearing a Pride T-shirt” or perhaps the architecture column can laud neighborhoods that are mostly white or exclude minorities (the Chronicle’s neighborhoods do not have a sterling history in this regard). We are living through an era in which the political party with which Medley’s views are aligned is intent on disrupting free and fair elections, pushing false electors, disenfranchising voters it finds inconvenient, and stacking the Supreme Court with activist Federalist justices.
In just the time since his diatribe against the rights of pregnant people (a phrase he would undoubtedly find triggering, as it is inclusive) to bodily autonomy, Dobbs has abolished Roe, and most abortions have rapidly been banned in at least 13 states, with a potential nationwide ban being pushed by a party that has not represented the majority in over two decades.
Medley’s piece was published in an issue that contained nearly a full-page ad dedicated to LA’s Holocaust Museum and left this reader wondering what the content in other small papers has looked like on the eve of authoritarian eras. Larchmont Chronicle, you will notice when an actor playing a part is Black, white, Asian or whatever, but the point, Mr. Medley, is that you will not CARE. This is a venerable tradition in acting called “the willing suspension of disbelief.” For the same reason, we do not expect historical films to be accurate depictions of their time. Please do not try to tell me that every historical film you have seen has been absolutely true. And anyway, how would you know what teenage girls in the 13th century thought and felt? Virginia Elwood-Akers Kingsley Drive
this reader beseeches you to take a close look at the content you choose to highlight. Kate Corsmeier Ridgewood Wilton
I read Tony Medley’s review of the new Lena Dunham film, “Catherine Called Birdy,” and was quite disturbed. I would be remiss if I did not point to you that being “woke” in the 21st century is far from ridiculous. In fact, it is a positive state of mind, which some of us hope will spread.
There are many things I do not like about the 21st century, as I am 84 years old and hopelessly befuddled when it comes to computers and cell phones. But I am not confused about being “woke.” A philosophy that simply means that people should wake up and notice racism and sexism — even when it is subtle — is both beautiful and hopeful to me, and, I repeat, NOT ridiculous.
The current belief in “color-blind casting,” which clearly is Ms. Dunham’s plan, is also not ridiculous. Why in the world would the tint of an actor’s skin make a difference in how well they could perform the part? Of course
likes pizza, and we want to serve pizza with a smile.”
Right now, the restaurant is closed Mondays and Tuesdays and is open from 3 to 8:30 p.m. Wednesdays and Thursdays. On Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, it is open from noon until 8:30 p.m. Said Ruggles, “I think the goal is to be open six days a week and maybe do delivery on Mondays.”
To learn more, go to the restaurant’s Instagram page at @villagepizzeriala or visit villagepizzeria.net.
Boulevard
(Continued from page 4) worked out, Ruggles, who, as mentioned, came on after the original agreements were made, seemed unaware of any controversy when he spoke with the Chronicle. He told us that he and his associates plan to be on the Boulevard for a long time. Everybody knows your name
Ruggles said, “It’s such a great part of Los Angeles… Eventually, I think we’d like to have a new grand opening where people can meet everybody.” He envisions a “Cheers mentality — everybody knows your name — that personal touch where you know people by name and can really cater to the regulars and be loyal to the people who are loyal to you.”
Ruggles said, “We want to continue what Steve and his family did here… Everybody
STEVE COHEN (center) meets Village Pizzeria potential new owners in August 2021, from left: Guy Narduli, Bret Saxon, Cohen, Jeff Bowler and Frank Grillo. Photo courtesy of Amy Saxon
The Plymouth School
Safely Opened for the 2022-2023 School Year!
NOW ENROLLING
• Preschool program for children 2 to 5½. • Creative activities to encourage cognitive & social development including art, music, movement & play • Experienced teachers devoted to fostering self-esteem in a safe nurturing environment • Over 45 years serving the neighborhood
