Second annual Rowayton Racketlon raises generous support for Carver kids!

A group of Rowayton residents organized the second annual Rowayton Racketlon for the benefit of Carver kids on Sunday, September 26th. The event happened at the Rowayton Community Center and nearly 50 Rowaytonites participated. The event this year also benefited the Rowayton Fire Department, a great friend of the Carver community — and Fire Department volunteers cooked for the event!

A total of $5,000 was raised, $2,500 for each organization.

The event was inspired by the sport of Racketlon in which competitors play a sequence of four racket sports back-to-back: ping pong, badminton, squash, and tennis. It originated in Finland and Sweden and was modeled on other combination sports like the triathlon and decathlon (which helped inspire the name Racketlon.)

For the Rowayton Racketlon, the four sports were changed to paddle tennis, pickleball, badminton, and ping pong to make it easier to play all four sports at the same location.  Participants were divided into six teams of eight people each.  Everyone played all four sports, one sport after the other, and the winning team was determined by the total number of games won across all of the events. 

While you’re probably familiar with badminton and ping pong, you might not be a pickleball fanatic – yet. Pickleball is growing at a rate that is almost unprecedented in the history of American sports. Part of its popularity is that it is much easier to learn and play than tennis and other racket sports.  Norwalk has been joining the bandwagon with courts at the Norwalk Senior Center, Nathan Hale Middle School, Ludlow Park and Roosevelt Elementary School and Norwalk Parks and Recreation recently announced plans to create four dedicated pickleball courts at Woodward Avenue Park by Spring 2022.

Paddle Tennis (technically Platform Tennis, to distinguish it from Paddle Ball) is a sport that was invented nearby, in Scarsdale, NY in 1928.  It is played outdoors on raised courts with chicken wire fences that you can play the ball off of.  While it has historically been more of a winter sport, it is also being played in the summertime more and more.

The Rowayton Racketlon was conceived as a way to bring together people who love playing these different sports, to have some fun competition and to give back to the overall community.

While these generous Rowayton Carver donors had a lot of fun that day, Carver students were the winners!

Thank You, Rowayton Racketlon!

Memorial service for Mike Barbis on the field at Brien McMahon High School this Sunday, 6:30PM

Here is Mike delivering Christmas presents to Carver kids. The Carver community greatly grieves the loss of this stalwart volunteer and friend through the years.

Here is Mike with other Carver friends at our annual Rowayton Connections party.

FAFSA Day at Norwalk Community College on Saturday, October 16th

Community conversation next Thursday on Equity Literacy via Zoom, 6-8PM

Free vaccination every Wednesday now through October 27th

Town Hall meeting tonight at 7 PM on the issue of Student Mental Health!

Please join the students of the Center for Youth Leadership at Brien McMahon High School for a discussion on student mental health needs, what schools have done to address them, and how the district can better meet the needs moving forward.

Click here or on the image below to join in the discussion via Zoom, 7:00 pm-8:00 pm, tonight.

This discussion is made possible by Norwalk ACTS. It provides a safe space for youth to come together to educate, share experiences and explore solutions to ensure an equitable school environment. As a reminder, these are student-led discussions, however, adults are encouraged to listen in.

In the news: Carver receives state youth violence prevention grant

Carver CEO Novelette Peterkin. (Harold F. Cobin)

Read the entire article here at Nancy on Norwalk.

NORWALK, Conn. — State grants totaling $150,000 will help fund youth violence prevention initiatives at “five wonderful nonprofit organizations in our community,” State Rep. Stephanie Thomas (D-143) said Friday.

“I believe that we all benefit when government and nonprofit organizations team up to address difficult issues,” Thomas said, at City Hall. “Our nonprofit partners are closest to the problem, and they focus on database solutions that work. Given the challenges we’ve all faced over the last 18 months, this funding will help vulnerable youth move forward in a positive direction. All five of these organizations have proven strategies that will help our young people stay on a positive path throughout their lives.”

“I want to just take a moment to really thank Representative Thomas for her efforts to bring this funding to our local communities. She is in her first term in the first year of her first term,” State Senate Majority Leader Bob Duff (D-25) said. “… It’s very hard to kind of find your way around (in your first year), whether it’s virtually or in-person and she managed to do not only that but find funding for these great organizations.”

“This grant will specifically help us to expand our Summer Run program. That’s a program that we’ve done for a number of years,” Carver Center Executive Director Novelette Peterkin said.

A Carver Facebook post explains that this summer, the program included the “new mobile L.O.V.E. Unit, an initiative that provided free basketball training and mentorship at Roodner Court and Columbus Court.”

“We actually took this on the road, which, as a result of this grant, we’re able to do that, so we’re very happy about that,” Peterkin said at Friday’s event.

Carver also offered high school students paid internships through an Earn and Learn Initiative, “as a result of this grant,” she said. “We also will add a number of family engagement at the community center. We plan to do a workshop on artificial intelligence. “There’s so many things that we want to do with families as well as with the students. So, we are grateful for this grant.”

The Carver Center, Homes for Hope, the Norwalk Housing Foundation, the Child Guidance Center of Mid-Fairfield County, and The Rowan Center are benefitting from the grant….

Bankwell's support of Carver is in the news!

Bankwell Financial : supports the Carver Foundation of Norwalk, the largest provider of before and after school and summer programs in Norwalk.

As a longstanding supporter, Bankwell is proud to again support Carver Foundation and its mission to close opportunity gaps for all children and ensure they graduate on time and ready for college and careers.

Carver is Norwalk's largest provider of before and after school and summer programs. Serving approximately 2,400 students, Carver operates in 18 K-12 Norwalk Public Schools, Side By Side Charter School, the Carver Community Center, and the Classical Studies Magnet Academy in Bridgeport. Since 2005, 100% of Carver seniors have graduated on time, 95% of whom immediately enrolled in college.

Novelette Peterkin, Carver's Chief Executive Officer states, "Bankwell's generous support through the years helps to further our mission in many priceless ways. The great capacity of Bankwell managers to explore and address ways to close opportunity gaps for our children remains one of their greatest communal gifts. I do not think a day passes in which I fail to look with fresh gratitude on Bankwell's commitment to Carver kids. It helps that we proudly display a big Bankwell banner in our gymnasium!"

Bankwell is a commercial bank that provides banking and lending services to businesses and residents. Bankwell was founded on the principles of providing an exceptional banking experience and adding value to the communities it serves. More about Bankwell can be found at www.mybankwell.com.

New NPS bus routes starting on Tuesday, October 5th

Revised NPS Start Times Effective Tuesday, October 5, 2021

Please click here to view revised school start times and dismissals starting Tuesday, October 5, 2021 

NPS Bus Routes

Please click here to view the NEW NPS School Bus Routes Starting Tuesday, October 5, 2021

Please click here to see the CURRENT NPS School Bus Routes as of 8/29/2021

Bus Information

The K-12 bus pass system that launched last year is being used again. Students swipe in with their bus pass upon entering the bus. The equipment works in cooperation with the GPS tracking system installed on the buses. There is a digital dashboard, which provides the district with reports of students’ daily attendance on buses. 

Bus Pass Distribution Information:

• If you are a new student to Norwalk and you are eligible for the bus, a new bus pass will be issued in school. If you need have questions regarding eligibility please contact your school office.

As part of our health and safety measures, NPS will continue using the standard protocols to keep both students and staff safe while riding the bus. As a reminder:

• Masks are required to ride the bus at all times. If a student arrives at the stop without a mask, one will be provided by the bus driver.

• Students will have an assigned area on the bus based on where their bus stop is scheduled on the route. Students will adhere to the driver’s directions on seating as they enter the bus. As they enter they will be expected to sit in the last empty seat available and fill the empty seats from the back to the front of the bus.

• Students will not change buses or stops and will remain in their assigned seats during the ride.

• On arrival at the building, staff will be available to direct students to their assigned entries.

Please arrive at the scheduled bus stop 15 minutes prior to the estimated arrival time.

Durham School Services is the NPS bus company and can be reached at 203-428-4192 between the hours of 6 am and 6 pm.

Rental and utility assistance for those impacted by COVID-19

Click here or on the image below to go to UniteCT - Emergency Rental Assistance for Connecticut's Economy.

Click here to access the UniteCT application and to see the bus schedule. On the bus, you will be able to use a computer to complete your application. Walks-ins are accepted, but appointments will be prioritized.

Click here to see our past blog post about rental assistance contact information for Norwalk residents.

UniteCT Program is administered by the Department of Housing on behalf of the US Treasury. UniteCT provides up to $15,000 rental and up to $1,500 electricity payment assistance on behalf of Connecticut households financially impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.