As reported yesterday evening, with temperatures over 90 expected today, there will be a 2-hour early dismissal on Mon. June 7 at 6 schools with limited air conditioning: Nathan Hale, West Rocks, Naramake, Rowayton, Tracey & Wolfpit.
This was the latest news since this morning.
There are early dismissal school closings across the state.
After-school programs & activities at the schools named above are canceled.
The Norwalk Public Schools STEM Department is proud to present the STEM21 Showcase! This virtual experience highlights the creativity and innovation of Norwalk's students and teachers. The STEM21 Showcase is a compilation of highlight videos from each school that celebrates and recognizes the academic achievements and design thinking occurring in the areas of STEM education during this past school year.
It’s that time of year to encourage our students to participate in CONNECTICUT READS, the 2021 Governor’s Summer Reading Challenge – an annual, statewide program encouraging students to read books during the summer months. This year’s theme is “Tails & Tales.” Each year, the schools with the highest percentage of participating enrollment and the highest number of books read by participating students at the end of the summer are recognized for their accomplishments.
To support summer reading, the Connecticut State Library’s statewide eGo eBook platform is now available through many local public libraries, and provides access to digital resources for all ages. For a list of local public libraries currently offering eGo, visit https://egoct.org/.
Information on the 2021 Summer Reading Challenge
The 2021 Commissioner's Summer Math Challenge stresses the importance of maintaining math skills during the summer. Schools compete based on student population and grade level. The program identifies the schools with the highest percentage of participating enrollment and the highest number of badges earned by participating students. Registration instructions, district reporting forms and all other materials are available online.
Regististration for Grades 1-8 / Registration for Grades 9-12
Summer Math Log (Metametrics and Khan Academy)
Summer Math School Reporting Form - Form must be completed by October 29, 2021.
Message to Parents and Students / Mensaje a padres y estudiantes (Spanish)
Summer Math Flier / Folleto de Summer Math (Spanish)
Connecticut Summer Math Passport
Here is the Carver website page to register for all our summer programs.
After a tumultuous school year, there has and continues to be substantial disruption to our children’s learning, interpersonal interactions, and social-emotional well-being. Addressing these disruptions requires an educational response, which is already underway, to promote renewal, reduce opportunity gaps, accelerate learning, and advance equity by providing access to supports, resources, and enhanced enrichment experiences available this summer and into the 2021-22 academic year.
That is why Carver is investing in providing and expanding free and affordable access to summer enrichment and wellness opportunities for all students with an emphasis on those who were most impacted by the pandemic, a critical first step toward helping our students thrive in the years to come.
Disruption is a time to innovate, create, partner, and collaborate to redefine education moving forward by combining traditional educational tools with the nontraditional methods we found most successful during the pandemic while being mindful and responsive to the needs of the children we serve. Now more than ever, it is critical to see this as an opportunity to renew these high-impact practices through summer and beyond, and leverage the assets that our partners and donors make possible.
Our initiatives will prioritize engaging, hands-on learning experiences and transformative enrichment opportunities. We will help children re-engage, provide services to address children’s social-emotional and mental health needs and help them get caught up so that they can thrive during the 2021-22 school year and beyond. These enhanced learning and enrichment opportunities are key to recovery and to helping our young people heal from the past, prepare for the future, and flourish along the way.
The summer transition programs are designed to help incoming 6th and 9th-grade students transition into Norwalk’s four middle and two high schools. Programming includes individualized instruction, parental involvement, small group learning experiences, diverse enrichment activities, free transportation, and full-day activities benefiting working families.
Students learn the basics of navigating their respective new schools. The incoming 9th-graders learn how to read a transcript, understand graduation requirements, earn credits in courses, and look ahead to potential career options. Students use Naviance/Family Connection to develop an individualized Student Success Plan.
These are the most affordable and high-quality programs available to students ages 5 through 13 years old in Norwalk. These program offerings range from (CDC rules permitting) swimming to project-based and hands-on personalized learning to prepare students for the coming school year.
Our summer literacy program, facilitated by certified teachers, uses the myON and Lexia Reading Core 5 software to provide personalized learning. NPS certified teachers also teach math sessions, the two primary programs are TimezAttack and ThinkCentral. TimezAttack is a computer-based math fact game that strongly supports fact fluency. ThinkCentral is the online component of the GO Math Common Core math program used in NPS K-5 classes.
A new, national survey explores the unique role out-of-school time programs play in youth development compared with home and school, how parents assess quality in OST programs, and the impact of COVID-19 for summer 2021—and beyond.
And speaking of summer, a new report by the Afterschool Alliance and Edge Research shows participation in summer programs is higher than ever, but the demand is far from being met. For every child in a program, there’s another child waiting to get in.
This new corporate collaborative awarded Carver a $50,000 grant for our summer transition program for rising 9th graders at Norwalk’s two high schools.
Six local businesses created a partnership with Fairfield County’s Community Foundation (FCCF) to establish the Fairfield County Corporate Collaborative for Education Equity.
A multi-year local impact and funding collective, the founding corporate members seek to foster educational equity in Fairfield County by helping to reduce and eliminate disparities that impact the region’s most vulnerable pre-K through 12th-grade students, parents, and guardians as well as teachers and staff.
Participating companies work with FCCF to support local nonprofit organizations and initiatives in the Greater Bridgeport, Danbury, Norwalk, and Stamford regions with financial contributions, employee volunteerism and expertise, mentorship and internship opportunities, and other resources.
“As business leaders, we have an opportunity to support our community’s economic recovery while also addressing the educational disparities that impact far too many children and families in our county. Now more than ever, supporting education is critical to promoting equity, fairness, and opportunity for all,” said Marc Lautenbach, President and CEO, Pitney Bowes, who first extended an invitation to the other companies to form the collaborative. “It is unacceptable that entrenched educational gaps sharply divide Connecticut students along racial, ethnic, and economic lines. Stepping forward to help reduce these gaps is the right thing for all of us, and for all of our stakeholders.”
“We are grateful for the leadership of Bank of America, First County Bank, Lapine Associates, Pitney Bowes, Synchrony, and Xerox in forging this new education-focused collaborative,” said Juanita James, President and CEO, Fairfield County’s Community Foundation. “By pooling their philanthropic resources, leveraging the influence of their respective corporate brands, empowering their employees, and aligning around specific projects we believe we can make a meaningful and measurable difference in helping to close some of the opportunity gaps that exist in our region.”
Ridgefield High School student Julia Clavi was a national semifinalist in the annual Profiles in Courage Contest. She was among the top 15 student finalists. Her evocative essay on Jose Canales will be published on the Profiles in Courage website and she will receive a monetary award.
The annual Profile in Courage Essay Contest invites high school students from across the nation to write an essay on an act of political courage by a US elected official. The contest is a companion program of the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award™, named for Kennedy’s Pulitzer Prize-winning book, Profiles in Courage, which recounts the stories of eight US senators who risked their careers by embracing unpopular decisions for the greater good. This year, 2,290 essays were submitted from students in fifty states, Washington, DC, and Puerto Rico, and from US citizens in China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Luxembourg, Peru, Philippines, Qatar, Singapore, Spain, South Korea, and the United Kingdom.
Carver was among those awarded State Department of Education 2021 summer enrichment grants which will expand high-quality summer enrichment programs for Connecticut children.
Our grant is for the new summer enrichment program we are creating this summer at Side By Side Charter Charter School.
Carver is also conducting summer transition programs for rising 6th and 9th graders at Norwalk’s four middle and two public high schools, the After the Summer Bell program at Kendall Elementary School, and its summer enrichment programs at the Carver Community Center and Columbus Magnet School.
We are grateful to Senator Murphy for having fought hard for summer programming funds to be included in the American Rescue Plan that passed Congress earlier this year.
Below is an update on COVID-19 as life returns to normal.
REMINDER: The Treasury Department has released guidance on the implementation of the Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds. For reference, here are the links to the fact sheet, Interim Final Rule, and the program website. They also released a FAQ document, which can be found here, which they will continue to update as program implementation progresses.
REMINDER: CDC announced that fully vaccinated people can resume activities without wearing a mask or physically distancing, except where required by federal, state, local, tribal, or territorial laws, rules, and regulations, including local business and workplace guidance. Connecticut will no longer require fully vaccinated residents to wear a mask in most indoor and outdoor spaces.
REMINDER: Governor Lamont announced that as Connecticut continues to recover from the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, he is creating the Back to Work CT program, which will provide a one-time $1,000 bonus payment to 10,000 long-term unemployed people who live in Connecticut and obtain new jobs. The program is designed to encouraged long-term unemployed individuals to find work. The program is being administered by the Connecticut Department of Revenue Services. In the coming days, the department will create a form on its websitefor individuals to apply. The first applications will be accepted eight weeks from the start date of the program. Workers will be eligible to receive only one incentive payment.
For information on federal coronavirus relief, including help for small businesses, direct cash payments, and more visit murphy.senate.gov/coronavirus. This page provides answers to frequently asked questions and gives a summary of available programs and funding.
For the latest information about keeping you or your family safe go to cdc.gov/coronavirus. For resources and information about Connecticut’s response, including updates about vaccine distribution, visit ct.gov/coronavirus.
