Carver Center Summer Camp Parent Orientation Zoom-Meeting, Wednesday, June 30

Email our Carver Center Camp Director Waid Ramsubhag here to RSVP for either the 4 PM or 5 PM meeting you would like to participate in on Wednesday, June 30th.

This summer camp orientation meeting invitation is only for parents of youth attending the Carver Center Summer Camp.

Click here to join the 4 PM Zoom meeting:

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83731428651?pwd=WU5oUzl2TzhpUXV4VGRSU2piblRSZz09

Here is the Zoom link for the 5 PM meeting:

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86506321747?pwd=ZG5raXNHUTAzbUJrOWg3cHRXby9GQT09

Click on the image below to join us this evening at 7PM for our free gala streamed live!

Our 7th Annual Golf Classic was the best ever!

The pandemic receded just in time to give us a great day for fellowship and golf this past Monday.

The weather, the course, the club’s pros, Diageo’s refreshing drinks throughout the day, and the sumptuous lunch and dinner made our 7th annual golf event a day to remember. And we are forever thankful.

Together, more than 100 players, sponsors, and many other donors raised $113,000 for Carver kids.

The past 15 or so months changed the world, but not our mission. Carver kids are stepping out into the new world that awaits them.

It could be said that golf is a metaphor for the challenges and opportunities our students face. Like golf, school and life can be deceptively simple and endlessly complicated. School and career satisfy the soul and can forever frustrate the intellect. Like golf, life can be at once rewarding and frustratingly challenging. Balls take good and bad bounces. No other game combines the wonder of nature with the discipline needed for life in such carefully planned ways. Success depends less on strength of body than upon strength of mind and character.

All of that may not have been on our minds during our golf outing, but the wonderful support we received via golf is most appropriate!

Please enjoy a few of the images of our day of golf in the slideshow below. All of the images we captured are here in our Facebook album.

Carver Staff Spotlight: Joe Giandurco

Joe Giandurco (“Mr. G to his students) is Carver’s longtime Lead Program Coordinator for our Ponus Ridge Middle School PRIDE after-school program.

PRIDE is the acronym for Perseverance, Respect, Intelligence, Diversity, Excellence. Joe also manages the Carver summer transition program for incoming 6th graders.

Ponus Ridge was one of the initial schools into which Carver expanded its programs many years ago.

In all, five certified teachers and three paraprofessionals deliver the PRIDE after-school program with amazing results. Joe and his team provide students with homework completion support, Common Core skill development, and all manner of enrichment choices such as robotics, science and engineering hands-on projects, cooking, and exciting encounters that only the Maritime Aquarium can provide.

Born and raised in Norwalk, Joe has been teaching for some 20 years at Ponus Ridge Middle School. He is social studies and science teacher and a NEST Special Education Co-Teacher. Joe successfully communicates with colleagues from various disciplines and with parents to ensure student success.

Not surprisingly, Joe has the trust of his colleagues as Vice President of the Norwalk Federation of Teachers for the past three years.

We enjoy seeing Joe and his wife Shannon at Carver events all through the year.

Joe and his students capture the attention of the media from time to time.

Such as the time Joe encouraged a student to assemble a team of students to enter the Samsung Solve for Tomorrow STEM contest. The team became one of two winners from Connecticut, earning $15,000 worth of Samsung technology and supplies for Ponus Ridge. “’To see Emerard lay out his vision and watch his team run with it, for me, this is why I wanted to become a teacher,’ Giandurco said.”

From left to right: Dr. Fred Pierre-Louis, Ponus Ridge science teacher; Ponus Ridge 7th graders Dalvin Duncan, Jonathan Joseph and Shouri Akarapu; and Joe Giandurco, coordinator of Ponus PRIDE program.

Another time (and here), Joe helped his students compete in the FIRST Lego League (FLL) annual robotics competition with great success. The Ponus Ridge team built a robot named Carver Motors, which contains four motors and sensors. The Lego Legends team of Ponus Ridge 7th graders won first prize at the 3rd annual Backyard Blizzard robotics competition in Greenwich.

Great teachers like Joe have a gift, a special quality we revere. He never gives up on any student. As we all try to build an ennobled world of dignity for all, nowhere is the urgency of not giving up on any human being greater than in education.

Joe starts wherever he can with his students. He sees a need, so he threads a needle, and he ties a knot in his thread. He finds one place in the cloth through which to take one stitch, one simple stitch, nothing fancy, just one that’s strong and true. The knot will anchor his thread. Once that’s done, he takes one more stitch — teaches someone robotics, for example, no matter how long that takes. Or he encourages a student to enter his idea into a national contest.

The examples through the years are countless, and all of them life-changing for Joe’s students.  For Carver, Joe helped us tie one of our first true knots at Ponus Ridge, and today Carver’s quilt of school programs, tied together through the years, stretches across Norwalk.

Naramake 5th graders share thoughtful thank-you cards with Carver staff

Naramake students in Carver’s 5th Grade Scholars program surprised Carver staff with heartwarming thank-you cards. We can’t wait to follow them on their journey to middle school!

Images: After the Bell end-of-year carnival at Kendall Elementary School!

Juneteenth to become the nation's 11th federal holiday

The House voted 415-14 to make June 19, or Juneteenth, a national holiday commemorating the end of slavery in the U.S., the first new federal holiday created by Congress in nearly four decades.

President Biden will sign the bill into law this afternoon.

Of course, Juneteenth is a day the Carver community has long celebrated.

Here is a list of 10 Juneteenth celebrations in Connecticut this weekend.

The law will give the day the same status as Memorial Day, Veterans Day, Thanksgiving and other federal holidays.

Juneteenth would be the first federal holiday to be created by Congress since 1983, when lawmakers designated the third Monday in January as Martin Luther King Jr. Day, in honor of the slain civil-rights leader.

Juneteenth—also known as Emancipation Day, Black Independence Day and Jubilee Day—marks the 1865 date when Maj. Gen. Gordon Granger arrived with federal troops in Galveston, Texas, and issued an order freeing the nation’s last slaves. The ratification of the 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution in December 1865 abolished slavery throughout the entire country.

The June 19 holiday commemorating the end of slavery in the U.S. is already celebrated as a state or ceremonial holiday in 47 states (including Connecticut) and the District of Columbia. When Biden signs the bill, June 19 will become the country's 11th federal holiday.

U.S. Department of Education Equity Summit Series: Building Equitable Learning Environments in Our Schools

The U.S. Department of Education is excited to announce the first of the Education Equity Summit Series. This first installment will take place virtually on June 22, 2021. This summit will feature panel discussions focused on best practices for building an equitable environment in our schools, and remarks from individuals who are working to make those equitable schools a reality.

The first installment of the Education Equity Summit Series will feature:

• U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona

• U.S. Deputy Secretary of Education Cindy Marten

• Pedro Noguera, Dean, USC Rossier School of Education

• Baruti Kafele, former principal from Newark, NJ

• Alberto Carvalho, Superintendent, Miami-Dade County Public Schools (and a past Carver Child of America honoree!)

• Rosemarie Eller, Board President, White Plains Public Schools

• Melito Ramirez, Intervention Specialist, Walla Walla High School, Walla Walla, WA and 2021 RISE Award Winner

• Olivia Carter, School Counselor, Jefferson Elementary School, Cape Girardeau, MO and 2021 School Counselor of the Year

• Alejandro Diasgranados, Fourth- and Fifth-Grade Teacher, Aiton Elementary School and 2021 Washington, D.C. Teacher of the Year

Carver's Eric Day named to the Dean's List and much else at Lasell University!

Eric “EJ” Day

Lasell Dean’s List

Eric Day is repeatedly named to the Lasell University Dean's List for his academic performance, most recently in the Spring 2021 semester. To be named to the Dean's List, Lasell students must achieve a semester GPA of 3.5 or higher. Eric, Class of 2022, is majoring in Criminal Justice.

Chi Alpha Sigma (XA)

Eric was also inducted into Chi Alpha Sigma, founded in 1996 by then DePauw University head football coach Nick Mourouzis. His goal was to provide outstanding student-athletes with an opportunity to become connected within a fraternal association that aligns their educational and athletic successes for a lifetime.

In order to be inducted into Chi Alpha Sigma, a student-athlete must attend a four-year accredited college or university that is a member of the NCAA, NAIA, NCCAA, or USCAA. The honoree also must achieve at least junior academic standing by the fifth semester or seventh quarter, as determined by the certifying institution, and must have achieved a minimum cumulative grade-point average of a 3.4 (on a 4.0 scale).

Lasell Basketball

Eric plays guard for Lasell’s basketball team, the Lasers. Eric is a team starter and is an All-Great Northeast Athletic Conference Third Team selection.

"We are very thankful to be playing games this season," said Lasell veteran head coach Aaron Galletta. "The players' commitment to the program and to getting better each day has not changed, despite the current conditions. The team has been adhering to all local and campus health and safety protocols and we are very anxious to get back onto the court in these upcoming games. It is a great opportunity for these players to compete against outside competition, and for our fans to see our returning players back in action and to welcome some new faces as well."

At Brien McMahon High School, Eric also played football. As well as being the team’s Captain, hIs role on the field was as a shut-down defensive back and as a big play wideout. Through two senior games, he scored three of McMahon’s four touchdowns while making seven catches for 211 yards — a 30.1 yard per catch average. His touchdown receptions have measured 74, 26 and 56 yards.

Brien McMahon High School & Carver

Eric was a scholar-athlete (basketball and football) at Brien McMahon High School as well.

Eric was a longtime after-school and summer Carver student.

In the years before college Eric worked as a Carver summer camp counselor and was deeply involved in the Carver community.

TD Bank partners with First Book to launch a new Juneteenth initiative

First Book, a nonprofit dedicated to educational equity as a path out of poverty, launched Black Kids Matter, an initiative designed to amplify, celebrate and empower the voices of Black children. As part of the initiative, First Book will distribute 17,000 culturally relevant books that showcase diverse characters, voices, and life experiences to children of color, thanks to TD Bank.

The campaign is being introduced in recognition of Juneteenth (June 19th), a holiday celebrating the emancipation of those who had been enslaved in the United States. Here is more information on how to participate from First Book and TD Bank.

Those who participate in this initiative by submitting multimedia responses from the kids they serve by June 17, 2021, will receive a $100 credit to the Diversity & Inclusion section of the First Book Marketplace to thank you for your effort, courtesy of TD Bank.

​​​​​​In addition to collecting these creative responses, we're working together to distribute credits for books in your community. If you serve kids from low-income families, create your free First Book account to be notified when this and other funding opportunities are available!

If you have any questions, please contact First Book Member Services at help@firstbook.org. We look forward to celebrating alongside you and amplifying the voices of the children you serve!

—Your friends at First Book and TD Bank

Black Kids Matter kicked off in seven states across the Eastern seaboard last month, where educators encouraged their students to express the many ways that Black and Brown kids are special. Those educators submitted a wonderful array of videos, drawings, writing and poetry expressing the voices of the kids of color they serve. A selection of that content can be viewed here.

As part of the campaign, the TD Ready Commitment is enabling First Book to make books available for students in pre-K through grade 12. The books are being distributed throughout June, just in time for children to have on hand for summer reading.

To learn more about the Black Kids Matter Initiative, click here.

TD has a long-standing commitment to enriching the lives of its customers, colleagues, and communities. As part of its corporate citizenship platform, the TD Ready Commitment, TD is targeting CDN $1 billion (U.S. $775 million) in total by 2030 towards community giving in four areas critical to opening doors for a more inclusive and sustainable tomorrow – Financial Security, Vibrant Planet, Connected Communities and Better Health. Through the TD Ready Commitment, TD aspires to link its business, philanthropy and human capital to help people feel more confident - not just about their finances, but also in their ability to achieve their personal goals in a changing world. For further information, visit td.com/tdreadycommitment.