New Canaan Advertiser: Russo is Carver’s ‘High School Volunteer’

See the article here at the New Canaan Advertiser

New Canaan High School student Kiera Russo was recognized by Carver Community Center as High School Volunteer of the Year at the annual Testimonial Dinner June 12.

Every year Carver honors college graduates, high school graduates, most improved students of the year, and other levels of graduation and achievement.

The Carver Center provides after school and summer programs for students in Norwalk. 

“For my 16th birthday party, instead of receiving gifts, I asked all of those invited to donate to the Carver Center if they were interested,” Kiera told the Advertiser. “I clearly have some pretty amazing friends and family, because we were able to gift the Carver Center with new sports equipment, basketballs for example; and new books and arts and crafts.”

She added that it was her first time working with the organization. It inspired her to start the Carver Cares club at New Canaan High School. Club volunteers go to Carver every month to spend time with children there, Kiera said. In addition, a walkathon in the spring raised $1,400.

“I’m so happy to have contributed just a little support to the Carver Center, as they have always supported my endeavors. Although I may be just a small part of the Carver Center’s world, that organization has truly made all the difference in mine.”

Kiera Russo is seated at the head of the table among her fellow volunteers from New Canaan High School

The Hour: Mo's Summer Run at Carver

Carver Foundation pickup games draw in city’s basketball talent

By Justin Papp  SEE the article here

NORWALK — Friday nights in the Carver Foundation gym, DJ Juelz is both emcee and official.

Stationed with his laptop and speakers in a corner of the small gym the night of July 20, he blasted hip-hop music, pausing to use his mic to yell “cookies” — basketball slang — when one of the roughly 20 players at Mo’s Summer Run had the ball stolen.

After one particularly contentious game ended with a next-basket-wins overtime and the losing team was slow to cede the court, Juelz intervened.

“You want to play again, sign up on ‘the board,’” Juelz barked to the losing team, who eventually shuffled off the court.

At Mo’s Summer Run, an all-summer open gym for local basketball players at Carver begun in 2009, Friday nights are alumni night. Players who honed their skills at Carver and then went on to high school, collegiate and, in some cases, professional careers, show up to flaunt their talents or settle decades-old scores on the court with rivals from the area.

And to these players “the board” is a critical document....

See the balance of the article here.

See images from our summer transition program for rising 9th graders at Brien McMahon High School!

As the summer begins to draw to a close for the rising 9th graders at Brien McMahon High School, below is a brief description of what they have been experiencing at our summer transition program. Also, see the images throughout this post taken at the high school and during some of the many field trips they took.

Each summer, Carver conducts the Freshman Summer Success Academy at Brien McMahon and Norwalk High Schools. Rising 9th graders participate in our 5-week summer program.  Several years of successfully running the Freshman Success Summer Academy show marked improvement for our Carver students once they enter into high school!

Research suggests that the most difficult transition point in education is from middle to high school. Navigating a larger environment, excelling in rigorous courses, meeting graduation requirements, and juggling competing priorities can be quite challenging. The Freshman Success Summer Academy serves as a necessary bridge into high school. 

Students enrolling in the program participate in academic courses, participate in the school’s advisory program, and take field trips to enhance team building and the academic program. Breakfast and lunch are provided for free each day. 

Advisory is an integral part of the student’s high school program because it helps students make new friends and form a connection to their new high school. Its mission is to prepare students for life’s transitions, including career development and post-secondary opportunities, through meaningful connections. Students participate in a weekly advisory meeting throughout the summer program.

ENGLISH

Through reading of the text “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens,” by Sean Covey, students discuss and reflect in journal format the ideas and concepts presented. Students practice in active reading strategies that will help them navigate and successfully manage the amount of required reading on the high school level.

SCIENCE

Students participate in hands-on activities to prepare for high school science courses. They practice lab specific math skills, science inquiry, graphing data, collaborative and independent work habits in lab settings, while completing engaging scientific investigations

HIGH SCHOOL 101

Students learn the basics of navigating high school, including reading a transcript, understanding graduation requirements, earning credits in courses, and looking ahead to potential career options. Students also use Naviance/Family Connection to develop an individualized Student Success Plan to identify needs and interests and set future goals.

THE SECRETS OF MY SUCCESS

Students use this course to plan for their Student-Led-Conference (SLC) The format of SLC puts the 

student at center of the conversation in assessing their success. Students present work samples and identify areas of strengths and those in need of improvement. Parents are invited to participate. Formal invitations will be sent home.

MATH

This course helps students bridge the gap between Pre-Algebra and Algebra 1. Math concepts that are highlighted include computations, problem solving, solving equations, and graphing. Students practice the mathematical skills necessary for success in high school.

S.W.A.G. Skills (Study Everyday, Work Hard, Achieve your Goals, Graduate with Honors)

Featuring the essential learning strategies for becoming a better student, this course helps students learn how to prepare for class, use organizational and time management strategies, and identify effective study skills. 

HISTORY

This course focuses on getting students ready for 9th grade world history. Using academic sources, discussion, and group work, students investigate historical events. Students practice research and presentation skills in preparation for 9th grade research projects. 

Carver summer campers learn to swim at the Y!

The Riverbrook Regional YMCA at the Wilton branch is an integral part of the Carver community. The Y shares its human and physical resources with other agencies such as Carver that can benefit from collaboration. 

Right now, the Y Youth Swimming Lesson Program is helping Carver summer campers to become competent and confident swimmers! Children are introduced to the water through a graduated series of lessons developed and standardized by the YMCA of the USA. The program is divided into age groups, and children move through the levels at their own pace as their abilities and skills grow. 

Carver's beginning swimmers work on water acclimation, safety, and basic swimming skills. Children may or may not swim independently with a float belt. Our more advanced youth work on swim strokes for front and back, safety, self-confidence, and endurance. 

It's collaborations like this with the Y that make the goals and dreams of our youth possible.

THANK YOU, the Y! 

Carver campers visit the Maritime Aquarium to meet the sharks, otters, sea turtles, jellies, and so much more!

The Maritime Aquarium is Carver's science partner throughout the year, during summer and then after school during the school year. 

The Maritime Aquarium is approximately 140,000 square feet and has more than 177,000 gallons of water in its live animal exhibits. On exhibit are more than 2,000 marine animals and reptiles, representing in excess of 300 species. Its 93 exhibit tanks range in size from 10 to 110,000 gallons. There are two exhibit pools: seals and ray touch. Off-exhibit are more than 30 additional tanks and a small pool.

The aquarium has a display of detailed ship models with 14 in cases, as well as charts and interpretive signs. In the ship model area and throughout the Cascade Cafe are signs describing the nautical origins of many popular sayings, for example, "bitter end," "scuttlebutt," "let the cat out of the bag," "under the weather," and "three squares a day."

Carver campers love the Maritime Aquarium!

Join us for Mo's Summer Run basketball nights!

How Carver summer programs keep the learning "faucet" running

Carver provides Freshman Summer Success Academies for graduated 8th-grade students transitioning into 9th grade at Norwalk and Brien McMahon High Schools.  Carver provides a Summer Middle School Transition Program for 5th-grade students transitioning into Norwalk’s four middle schools. Carver provides two summer enrichment programs for chidren aged K-13 at the Carver Community Center and Columbus Magnet School. Carver is given free access to each school’s facilities and resources free of charge. 

A Brookings Institute article written by David M. Quinn and Morgan Polikoff explains disappointing—but unsurprising—statistics about the summer slide, a term used to describe the academic regression experienced by students over the summer.

A few keys facts:

• Learning and achievement is perishable. The average student loses a month of academic-calendar learning each summer.
• The impact of the summer slide contributes to a more pronounced achievement gap.
• Research has found a link between socioeconomic status and the loss of reading skills experienced over the summer.
• Studies show older students lose more over the summer than younger ones.
• Students see greater academic dips in math than in reading.

After mapping out the summer slide and its impact on students, Quinn and Polikoff go on to describe the “faucet theory” from the book “Summer Learning and Home Environment.” This theory provides a hypothesis for to why the summer slide hits lower-income children harder. 

The “resource faucet’ is on for all students during the school year,” Quinn and Polikoff explain, “enabling all students to make learning gains. Over the summer, however, the flow of resources slows for students from disadvantaged backgrounds but not for students from advantaged backgrounds. Higher-income students tend to continue to have access to financial and human capital resources (such as parental education) over the summer, thereby facilitating learning.”

Thanks to your support, since 2005, 100% of Carver seniors have graduated on time. Carver infuses high expectations, academic rigor, and healthy relationships into its youth development approach to instruction. Carver provides support that recognizes individual strengths, needs, and learning styles. Carver interventions and supports align with the Norwalk Public Schools 2019 Strategic Operating Plan aimed at closing the Achievement Gap. 

Carver keeps the "faucet" of resources running all through the year for its students and even after they go to college. 

Summer Learning with myOn Reader at the Carver Community Center and at Columbus Magnet School

myON Reader provides unlimited access to a broad collection of digital texts that are available for online and offline reading, and dynamically generates a list of just-right titles for each student that matches his or her current interests, grade, and Lexile® level.

Research shows that students tend to read more when they have choice and ownership over their reading and learning. That's the core concept behind myON! Flexible scaffolds, including professionally-recorded audio, text highlighting, an embedded dictionary and a zoom feature, make texts more accessible for students.

Students can choose titles from their recommended list or from the full myON library available under Carver's subscription. Student reading engagement and growth are measured in real time. Students, educators, and families use the data available at their fingertips about reading activity and growth to celebrate success, build motivation, and support differentiated instruction. 

myON Reader includes enhanced digital texts in English and Spanish from respected publishers in a mix of fiction and nonfiction. Optional reading supports and a suite of reading and writing tools foster deep connections to the text.

myON News delivers age-appropriate news articles for students, reporting on timely topics and current events through a series of five daily news articles, 52 weeks a year. Articles are available in English, Spanish and French. Coverage includes high-interest US and world news as well as arts and entertainment, sports, science and technology, and more.

Images of Summer: Carver campers visiting Beardsley Zoo and Skyzone!

Connecticut’s Beardsley Zoo has a proud history of over 90 years as Connecticut’s only Zoo. As an accredited member of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) and participant in its Species Survival Plan (SSP) programs, they are committed to the preservation of endangered animals and are actively developing strategies that will protect species and preserve their wild habitats. Through education, conservation, research and recreation, Connecticut’s Beardsley Zoo provides a wonderfully wild experience for Carver summer students!

Skyzone (in Norwalk and Bethel) is always working to invent epic new ways to play and exercise. Even though they’re the originators of wall-to-wall aerial action, they never stand still. The only way to understand it is to experience it. So we regularly rally our summer students and go!

And this is just a fraction of what happens everyday this summer in our enrichment summer camps and summer transition programs at Norwalk's two high schools and four missile schools!

Carver Summer Across Norwalk on July 3rd!

See all the photos here at our Facebook page of Norwalk River Rowing for rising 9th graders attending the Summer Transition Program at NHS; Carver Community Center campers swimming at NHS; rising 6th graders attending Carver's Summer Transition Program at Nathan Hale Middle School; and Summer Enrichment campers at Columbus Magnet School!