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HALSTEAD HELPING HANDS collects and delivers prom dresses and men's jackets and accessories for Carver kids!

 

The Halstead Helping Hands initiative of Halstead Real Estate/Westport completed their drive for new and gently used prom dresses and men's jackets and all the accessories and delivered them to Carver for the benefit of our kids.

Here on clothing racks and tables are Westport's finest in elegant clothing! 

THANK YOU, HALSTEAD REAL ESTATE / WESTPORT AGENTS! 

This is Afterschool Professionals Appreciation week!

Afterschool Professionals Appreciation Week is a joint effort of community partners, afterschool programs, youth and child care workers and individuals who have committed to declaring the last full week of April each year as a time to recognize and appreciate those who work with youth during out-of-school hours. Join us for celebrations and display your appreciation to thank afterschool professionals who make a difference in the lives of young people. #heartofafterschool

Norwalk Public Schools receives 40,000 free books from First Book

The Norwalk Federation of Educational Personnel (NFEP) and the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) led the effort to bring more than 40,000 free books provided by the national organization First Book to Norwalk Public Schools (NPS). 

But first, up to 2,000 eligible school staff and volunteers needed to register with First Book! This registering included NPS staff, and staff from community programs who serve students and families in need, such as Carver. 

The registration campaign worked. The 40,000 books were just delivered to Ponus Middle School!

Carver after school students are seen here with Ponus Middle School Principal, Damon C. Lewis, Ed. D., helping NPS staff, NFEP volunteers, Norwalk's police and fire personnel and cadets, and many others to sort the books and to later help distribute them throughout the NPS system!

Soon, NPS classrooms, school buses, front offices, school nurse health rooms, cafeterias and afterschool programs will receive these gifted new books. Students will take these books home to read. Parents will be encouraged to read to their children. Thank you, everyone!

   

Shanna Lopez and Stefani McCollum report from Troy University as Carver's 47th annual College Tour draws to a close

Troy University

By Shanna Lopez and Stefani McCollum

We are at the end of our business portion of our 47th Annual College Tour. After being whisked through the states of Alabama and Tennessee with plans for visiting Six Flags over Georgia we have not skipped a beat. I must admit that when we left Norwalk, many of us had no idea what we would see and experience. Our imagination went into full gear as we eagerly traveled down I 95 and over the Tappan Zee Bridge beaming with excitement.

Today we are touring the campus of Troy University, home of the Trojans and located in Troy, Alabama. Troy University was founded in February 1887, when the Alabama Legislature established Troy State Normal School to train teachers for Alabama schools. In 1893, the school was renamed Troy State Normal College. Joseph Macon Dill was the first president of Troy.

With a population of nearly 8,000 students, Troy is seen as a medium size school. Troy has over one hundred student organizations and five different locations in Alabama. It is an international college with seventy-five different countries represented. Considering that we were touring on Good Friday, we were surprised to see so many active students around campus.

The minimum admission requirement is a 2.0 GPA, 20 on the ACT and 1030 on the SAT and there are generous scholarships for those who meet the criteria.

Our tour guide Mary Stewart did an excellent job of highlighting the beauty and charm of Troy University and the city of Troy. Troy is one of the most charming cities in the south. It has an unusual blend of small town values and big city offerings.

We see Troy as a school that is welcoming and nurturing to an average student while giving the same special attention to the high performing students.

Carver's Jessica Ramirez and Woodney Cadet report the University of Alabama in Huntsville on Carver's 47th annual College Tour

University of Alabama in Huntsville

By Jessica Ramirez  and Wodney Cadet

Huntsville, Alabama is affectionately known as the “Rocket City” because it's home to N.A.S.A and their space program. It's also home to the University of Alabama – Huntsville (UAH).

The University of Alabama in Huntsville was established in 1950, and became a full-fledged university in 1969. Compared to many of the other schools we have visited, it is a relatively new school. Aesthetically, the buildings look modern and the campus has a feeling of being designed from a master plan. None of the buildings seems out of place.  As we stroll the grounds there were signs of campus life all over. Student organizations set up interactive activities as well as information and recruitment stations. Fellow Carver students on the College Tour, Zyaire and Paul, joined the interactive activities and they loved it.

UAH has seven academic colleges and with nearly 8,000 students enrolled it is considered a medium size school. The top majors are engineering and nursing, and they have one of the best nursing programs in the state. Students can choose from over 150 student organizations.

To gain admission to UAH, you need a 2.9 GPA, an ACT score of 20 or higher and a score of 1,440 or higher on the SAT. The school offers merit tuition scholarships, and the higher your standardized test score or GPA, the higher the scholarship amount. For example, if your SAT score falls between 1,310 and 1,380, your merit award is 67% of your tuition. SAT scores between 1,390 and 1,510 will earn you 100% of your tuition in scholarship. The same applies to your GPA, so a 4.0 will earn you 100% of your tuition.

The student-to-faculty ratio is 16:1.  The graduation rate is 70%, but the graduation rate varies depending on the major. The average students per class is 28 as upperclassmen, but as a freshman or sophomore your classes are larger, mostly if you take the science/biology major.

In sports the school is mostly in Division 2, but recently their hockey team became Division 1.  One of our tour guides, Christian, informed us that the sports teams have improved a lot since he's been here.

Our experience was pretty amazing because of our other tour guide, Nicole. She is a nursing major and so was able to take us to see the College of Nursing. She showed us a lot of human dummies in different situations, which gave us an idea of what the practical hands-on as well as as academic course work is like for nursing students.

The history that the school shares with N.A.S.A was fascinating to us as well. UAH graduate student Saroj Kumar, a master’s candidate in aerospace engineering, spent two weeks as a crew scientist and executive officer at the Mars Desert Research Station in Hanksville, Utah.