Nyema Burnes and Sarah Caidor, 10th graders at Brien McMahon High School, report from Temple University

Prior to today, we knew very little about Temple University. We had envisioned a school that was surrounded by trees and with buildings that were two or three stories tall. Our first observation was the logo. The logo adorned several buildings as we traveled through the neighborhood. Temple University is a pretty big school and clearly a diverse school. Temple was founded in 1907 by Russell Conwell. Russell Conwell is described as American Baptist minister, lawyer, writer and philanthropist. 

Experiencing Temple firsthand is a must. You will discover their willingness to welcome graduating high school seniors, transfer students and international students. We learned that almost half of Temple’s incoming students are students who are transferring from other colleges. Temple is a city within a city. There are several perks for students, such as seeing a movie with snacks for $4.50, free transportation and access to the writing center.

Temple offers more than 140 majors ranging from medicine, law, business and education. Students hoping to gain admission to the honors program must earn a 3.9 GPA and a 1220 on the SAT. Students embrace the owl pride and have a common desire to be the best they can be. 

In-state tuition cost $15,000 and out-of-state tuition cost $25,000. There are more than 25,000 undergraduate students. This is 14 times the size of Brien McMahon’s school population. There are hundreds of organizations at Temple, which means there is something for everyone. Sharing your interest and getting involved with campus life will make your experience at Temple more fulfilling. Temple will definitely make it to our list, but we are eagerly awaiting the experiences that lie ahead from the other nine colleges.

Nyema Burnes and Sarah Caidor – 10th graders at Brien McMahon High School

Serenity Saunders & Mahya Fleurime report from La Salle University on the spring break college tour!

Saint Jean Baptiste de La Salle was the founder of La Salle University located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. La Salle is a Catholic school demonstrating the true meaning of “One Voice, One Sound.” The tuition is $29,000; to be accepted the recommended GPA range is 3.1-3.2 and the recommended SAT score is 1100. The university’s most popular major is Nursing and the second most popular major is Business. Students in the nursing program use practice dummies with real-life symptoms, including crying for help and gushing blood, preparing its students for real-life trauma scenarios. Currently, there are 320 undergraduate students enrolled. The school maintains a small learning environment based on a 12 to 1 teaching ratio; administration works to ensure students are comfortable and relaxed while learning.

La Salle University encourages all its students to be involved in a group, club, or activity that fits one’s preference or interest. There are 13 sororities for those who want to be a part of Greek life; there is a vibrant Latin community, the BCS and even the university’s religious group known as “The Brothers.” La Salle supports the well-being of its student body and is determined to mentally and socially prepare its graduates for a career. Overall, there is an emphasis at La Salle if it wasn't to put them in an environment still simulated to look like real jobs they will acquire after graduation. The university also hosts events that promote wellness. For example, every other Wednesday the University hosts “A Stress-Free Day” inviting the community to participate by allowing dogs to roam freely in the quad. To enhance financial literacy among students, La Salle partnered with Trumark Bank and students are now able to open and manage their bank account. 

The school spirit and sense of community at La Salle University was interesting and exciting to see. We are excited to see more schools, but right now La Salle is high on our list! 

Student Reporters: Serenity Saunders & Mahya Fleurime
School: La Salle University

Playing for Music has a new global song to share!

Carver loves the music and messaging of Playing for Change, a multimedia music project, created by the American producer and sound engineer Mark Johnson with his Timeless Media Group, that seeks to inspire, connect, and bring peace to the world through music. Playing For Change also created a separate nonprofit organization called the Playing For Change Foundation, which builds music schools for children around the world. Creating Songs Around The World inspired the PFC crew to unite many of the greatest musicians they met throughout their journey through the creation of the Playing For Change Band. These musicians come from many different countries and cultures, but through music they speak the same language. The PFC Band is now touring the world and spreading the message of love and hope to audiences everywhere.

48th Annual Carver College Tour Begins!

The Impact Vine makes bridge building possible for Carver kids!

The Impact Vine crowdfunding donors made possible an eight-week, hands-on, STEM learning project whereby Carver middle school students built model truss bridges.

Led by a certified science teacher from Norwalk Public Schools, this Carver STEM education project explored the basic physics of bridges. Students used simple hand tools and materials and performed calculations to determine the amount of each material required for each part of the project. Students also calculated the cost of producing a structure based on the types of materials used.

Anthony and Deshaun standing next to their creations at the Carver Community Center

A truss bridge uses a web-like design to make the bridge stronger than a single beam or girder. From science fair projects to in-class activities, building a truss bridge offers children the chance to explore engineering concepts and connect science with math. Carver students discover how a truss works and how sturdy it is in comparison to other types of designs by making mini models and testing different structures.

The students created bridges designed their models to stand the stress of heavy weight, weather and sometimes even an earthquake. Students learned to understand the strains that bridges face and how they hold up under pressure. Students learned to consider what factors an engineer has to consider when designing a bridge. Students tested their models by rocking the bridge back and forth, simulating an earthquake, and by putting a fan in front of it to create a windstorm. The students observed and recorded what happens.

Carver in the News: Bankwell renews its generous support!

Carver Director of Philanthropy Nikki Lafaye with Bankwell SVP and Director of Business Development Rob Mallozzi

See the article here at NewCannanite.com.

As part of its commitment to provide value to the community, Bankwell donated $5,000 to the Carver Foundation of Norwalk. The mission of the Carver Foundation is to help children and youth reach their greatest potential by providing educational, social and recreational programs in a positive, safe and fun environment. Carver is Norwalk’s largest provider of after school programs for middle and high school students, and the largest provider of summer programs serving K through 9th grade students.

Infographic: National Assessment of After School Program Benefits

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s legacy remembered and honored

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s death 50 years ago left a nation grieving. His profound impact on civil and human rights will forever be remembered and honored. A champion of justice and equality, Dr. King’s brief life and steadfast activism are lessons in courageous leadership & compassionate service.

It's National Poetry Month. Listen to this NPR interview with Tracy Smith, the US Poet Laureate

NPR's Michel Martin begins its series for Poetry Month with Poet Laureate of the United States Tracy K. Smith. Listen to the interview here. 

Born on April 16, 1972, Tracy K. Smith was born in Falmouth, Massachusetts, and raised in Fairfield, California. She is the youngest of five children. She studied at Harvard, where she joined the Dark Room Collective, a reading series for writers of color. She went on to receive her MFA from Columbia University.

Smith’s first collection, The Body’s Question (Graywolf Press, 2003), won the Cave Canem Poetry Prize in 2002. Her second book, Duende (Graywolf Press, 2007), won the 2006 James Laughlin Award from the Academy of American Poets. Her most recent collection, Life on Mars (Graywolf Press, 2011), won the 2012 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry. In April 2018, Graywolf Press will publish her book Wade in the Water.

A starred review of Smith’s work in Publisher’s Weekly noted her “lyric brilliance and political impulses.” A review of Duende in The New York Times Book Review stated, “The most persuasively haunted poems here are those where [Smith] casts herself not simply as a dutiful curator of personal history but a canny medium of fellow feeling and the stirrings of the collective unconscious...it’s this charged air of rapt apprehension that gives her spare, fluid lines their coolly incantatory tenor.”

Smith is the recipient of the 2014 Academy of American Poets Fellowship. About Tracy K. Smith, Academy of American Poets Chancellor Toi Derricotte said: “The surfaces of a Tracy K. Smith poem are beautiful and serene, but underneath, there is always a sense of an unknown vastness. Her poems take the risk of inviting us to imagine, as the poet does, what it is to travel in another person’s shoes. The Academy is fortunate to be able to confer this fitting recognition on one of the most important poets of our time.”

In 2017, Smith was appointed Poet Laureate of the United States. Her other awards and honors include a Wallace Stegner Fellowship at Stanford University, a 2004 Rona Jaffe Writers Award, a 2008 Essence Literary Award, a grant from the Ludwig Vogelstein Foundation, a fellowship from the Breadloaf Writers’ Conference, and a 2005 Whiting Award. She is the director of Princeton University’s creative writing program and lives in New Jersey.

As a member of TEAM Summer, Carver summer programming featured in The Hour

The Carver Foundation of Norwalk, a member of Norwalk ACTS TEAM Summer, is the largest provider of after-school and summer programs in Norwalk.

By Stephanie Kim

NORWALK — For the past two years, a group of summer learning providers and community members have been meeting every month to discuss ways the city can collectively tackle summer learning loss — or avoid the “summer slide.”

This group came together through the city’s coalition of civic leaders, educators and organizations known as Norwalk ACTS. Named TEAM Summer, the group has the mission of not just closing the learning gap but also lessening the opportunity gap among socioeconomically disadvantaged children in the summertime.

Read the rest of the article in The Hour here. 

http://www.norwalkacts.org/teamsummer/2018-portal/

At the Hour: skim@hearstmediact.com; 203-842-2568; @stephaniehnkim