Teaching From the Garden: Creating Transformative Learning Landscapes for our High School Students
Edgar R. Garcia, a Special Education Teacher at Brien McMahon High School who serves as Carver’s Lead Program Coordinator, shared photos with us of his after-school students growing vegetables, herbs, and flowers.
Our students are comparing growth using different soils, lighting, watering, environment, and many insightful procedures. Our students have been excited about this learning opportunity and have been diligent with all the duties involved in growing vegetables, herbs, and flowers.
School gardens can provide an engaging space for limitless discovery and learning opportunities. With youth becoming increasingly disconnected from the natural and cultivated world, it is more important than ever to create gardens as laboratories.
These gardens connect students to plants, soils, ecology, and a multitude of other concepts in a hands-on, experiential learning environment. School gardens help children discover where their food comes from and form the foundation for making healthier food choices. Gardens can nurture life skills in youth, including responsibility, problem-solving, and critical thinking.
Our gardens engage students by providing dynamic environments in which to observe, discover, experiment, nurture, and learn. Living laboratories where lessons are drawn from real-life experiences rather than textbook examples, gardens draw students in as active participants in the learning process.
Science, math, language arts, health, and many other subjects can be introduced through hands-on experiential activities such as these. School gardens can focus on fruit and vegetable production, building wildlife habitats, and creating spaces for pollinators.
School gardens enrich the lives of the youth who explore their spaces.
A garden creates an accessible environment to investigate science, math, reading, writing, and history— bringing each of these subject areas to life.
From understanding fractions to discovering how cotton makes a t-shirt, the garden is a context to experience these ideas hands-on and to contribute significantly to student success.
Collaborating with math, science, and art teachers can bring additional ideas for using gardens as hands-on reinforcement of what they are teaching in those classrooms. Field trips to community gardens and farmers' markets also inspire young minds.
Ezekiel McDowell is a star on stage and in the community
Ezekiel McDowell (Zeke), a senior at Brien McMahon High School, is regularly seen on stage in his school performances and at other venues like the Crystal Theatre in Norwalk.
He is also a longtime participant in Carver’s after-school and summer programs and has been involved in the community in other ways as well.
Zeke volunteered at Carver’s summer academy at BMHS for rising 9th graders for the past two summers. Zeke also works at Bowlmor.
Zeke is committed to pursuing a career in music and theater. He’ll be starting at Norwalk Community College this fall.
In his freshman year, Zeke worked backstage for the BMHS production of Hairspray. In his sophomore year, Zeke took a risk and auditioned and was cast in the BMHS production of Mamma-Mia, and then in Les Miserables his junior year.
This year Zeke is playing the role of George in the BMHS production of Carrie: The Musical (being streamed on YouTube on May 21).
In addition to these BMHS productions, Zeke has been involved in six productions at the Crystal Theatre, including in the role of Victor in their recent production of Louder Than Words.
Crystal Theatre offers musical theatre show classes for students in Preschool to High School. All classes culminate in a fully staged musical production in their 250 seat auditorium at the Ben Franklin Center in Norwalk.
Most of the Crystal Theatre productions are original musicals written by local musicians and writers with a mix of classic musicals for balance and perspective. Crystal Theatre is a family of creative and performing artists.
Theater inspires learning that nurtures the creative spirit of our students while training them in the art of singing and acting in a positive environment. We believe in learning by doing.
Here are the results of our Virtual STEAM showcase
Nathan Hale students with their drones!
You have undoubtedly heard that STEM, which stands for an educational focus in science, tech, engineering, and math, changed to STEAM, to include the arts. Carver students gathered virtually yesterday to exhibit their STEAM creations.
The event gave our middle school students the opportunity to display their hard work and engage with judges who asked questions and were treated to the unique talents of our diverse students.
The STEAM Showcase is always a hit with students, educators, and attendees.
Here are the winners of our Virtual STEAM showcase.
Best Overall: Nathan Hale Middle School - Robotics
Jake Narcisse
Judah Foulks
Ethan Carter
Michelle Debrah
Most Challenging: West Rocks Middle School -Sound and Music
Tyla Brown
Surayyah Brown
Most Innovative: Roton Middle School
Venezuela Video --- Cira Teran
Video with the Lego --- Veronika Kravchuk, Viktoriia Kravchuk
Scratch Coding --- Jason Alvarado
Stop Motion Video --- Kamarley Leger
Best Overall Teamwork: Carver Community Center - Photography and Digital Editing
Victor Potter
Jayden Labaze
Top Presentation of Project: Side-By-Side Charter School - Structures and Bridges
Alyssa Austin
Dulce Garcia
Most Original: Ponus Middle School - Bridges
Marco Garcia
Jeffery De La Parra
Jadiel Torres
Amir Andre
Special thanks to our volunteers who helped to review the student projects and provide the student scientists with meaningful and encouraging feedback. And thanks to our educators and parents who through the school year are supporting our students as they explore the world around them.
STEAM skills are in high demand among today’s workers, and one of the best ways to equip future employees with these skills is to start early. Carver STEAM programs help students with these skills. After-school is a vital part of the solution for bringing more educational opportunities to kids.
THANK YOU, BANKWELL for being an innovation Sponsor of Carver's Celebrating Courage
Bankwell is an Innovation Sponsor of our Celebrating Courage gala on Thursday, June 24, at 7 PM.
Join us for a one-of-a-kind virtual event that will give voice and heart to why your support of Carver kids matters!
Bankwell is a longtime supporter of Carver programs. They are a true community bank.
Join us for the Celebrating Courage virtual gala on Thursday, June 24, 7PM!
Click on the image to go to our Celebrating Courage website.
Happy Mother's Day!
NPS Strategic Framework to be Presented via Zoom on Tuesday, May 18, 7PM
Norwalk Public Schools has been working on the next strategic plan to guide the district. In January, a representative strategic plan Task Force was convened and has been working with the Center for School Change to conduct an intensive needs assessment.
The Task Force includes teachers, principals, administrators, and community leaders, including Carver’s CEO, Novelette Peterkin.
At the Board of Education meeting on Tuesday, May 18 at 7 pm, Dr. Estrella will be joined by the Connecticut Center for School Change to present recommendations from this work. All parents are invited to join in for this important presentation.
To join the Zoom or to register to participate in public comments, click here.
To watch the livestream on YouTube, click here.
Public comments are also accepted via email (until 4 pm the day of the meeting). boepubliccomments@norwalkps.org
Norwalk Public Schools has embarked on several initiatives to gather research and data to help better understand the needs of the district, including an Equity in Education initiative and a review of the Human Resources and talent management function. A comprehensive facilities study is also underway, as well as a Special Education review to ensure the needs of students with disabilities are being met.
Internships for Multilingual Learners in Norwalk high schools
L-R: Tricia Massucco, After the Bell Program Manager; Joyce Rios, MLL Career Pathways Internship Program Facilitator
The MLL Career Pathways Internship is an amazing opportunity that Norwalk Public Schools (NPS) provides for our Multilingual Learner students.
This program provides students with a structured experience to help them build self-esteem, develop mentor and community relationships, and learn about careers and successful pathways to employment.
Through the helping hands of individuals in the community, the program prepares our youth for success. Unnecessary obstacles are eliminated and an equitable journey toward career readiness is forged.
This one-semester internship provides students with real-world career experiences and an opportunity to connect the Culture and Career Seminar classes with the workplace.
Beginning her fourth year in leading this vital program, Joyce Rios is a former Carver employee who helped to manage Carver’s after-school program at Norwalk High School.
Students receive school credit for participating. Students learn interviewing skills; resume writing; soft skills and hard skills; and how to create their personal skills and job experience portfolios.
Joyce invites local businesses and organizations to consider helping make this program successful for our English Language Learner students. There is no cost to the internship providers.
Carver is helping. Joyce’s students are introduced to the leaders of our before and after-school programs and we encourage Carver volunteers and local employers to help.
As of March 2019, NPS had over 1,900 English Language Learners (ELL) throughout the district who speak a total of 35 languages and come from 41 countries. If you consider all the students in the district, we speak a total of 59 languages and come from 68 countries. We are certainly a richly diverse and multi-cultural school district.
NPS is dedicated to ensuring that Norwalk’s English language learners throughout the district receive the best education possible. The ELL and general education teachers are working hard to create the same learning opportunities for our ELL students that are afforded to all students in the district. Here is an EL Parent Handbook.
Free mental health health awareness events this month
In honor of #mentalhealthawarenessmonth, take advantage of the many free and public events happening in Southwestern CT in May. @TheHubCT1. #CT #mentahealtheducation.
