EnglishHaitian CreoleSpanish

Carver alumnus EJ Day named to GNAC All-Conference first-team

We have celebrated EJ’s successes through the years.

Today, there is the news that after averaging the second-most points per game (21.6) in the Great Northeast Athletic Conference and powering the Lasell University men’s basketball team Lasers to the semifinals of the conference tournament, senior EJ Day garnered GNAC All-Conference first-team recognition.

Day reached double figures in points during 24-of-26 games, including scoring 20 or more points 15 times. During a semifinal-round matchup at Albertus Magnus in the GNAC Tournament Saturday, he equaled a career-high 45 points, tied for the second-most points in a game in program history. Day set career-highs in made field goals and 3-pointers, as he shot 15 of 26 from the field and 7 for 14 on 3-pointers. The 5-foot-10 guard was named to the 2022 GNAC All-Tournament team.

Day posted a game-high 32 points, shooting 11 of 17 from the field and 4 for 6 on 3-pointers, during a 102-83 triumph over eventual GNAC Tournament-runner-up Albertus. He poured in 22 second-half points, as Lasell held a 50-28 lead on the scoreboard during the final 20 minutes.

Carver's Breakfast With Champions inspires Carver students to pursue their dreams!

L-R: 5FINGAZ; Kavan Weise; Jessica Herlihy; Jackie Roberson; Samantha Zullo; Rose Lanard; Lamail Townsend (back row); ; Lucy Newton; and Tremain Gilmore

Carver’s annual Breakfast With Champions introduced more than 120 Carver students and their parents to leaders in an array of professions on Saturday morning. Carver students were inspired to pursue their interests and to prepare for satisfying careers.

Special thanks to our panelists for devoting this quality time to inspire our young people:

Ernie Cobb

  • Samantha Zullo, Behavioral Specialist (a social work professional who works with adults and children who have developmental, mental health, and behavioral challenges).

  • 5FINGAZ, Director of Design at Love More than Ever (a street art movement that is attempting to shift the paradigm from Hate/Bigotry to Love/Acceptance)

  • Rose Lanard, a Carver board member and President of Lanard Consulting (a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Leader, Strategist, Coach, and Mentor)

  • Lamail Townsend, critical care helicopter EMT, and nurse

  • Ernie Cobb, former NBA basketball player

  • Lucy Newton, a real estate broker

  • Kavan Weise, nonprofit organization manager

  • Jessica Herlihy, social worker

Carver staff members Tremain Gilmore and Jackie Roberson organize this annual event and, as always, their light is so bright that Carver kids never feel that they are in the dark.

The professionals spoke to our young people and answered their questions as part of this annual forum at the George Washington Carver Community Center.

We are grateful to these “champions” in our community for inspiring our young people to achieve their career goals and dreams.

Thank you everyone for supporting Carver kids on Fairfield County's Giving Day!

We are forever grateful to the 107 donors who so generously responded to Fairfield County’s Giving Day appeal on Thursday, February 24th. Your gifts totaling $7, 715 will support our 11 summer 2022 programs serving approximately 1,000 Norwalk youth in grades K to 9.

Carver placed 32nd out of more than 400 participating Fairfield County charities in the number of gifts received. Carver also received a $500 prize for our Black History Month essay. Fairfield County’s Giving Day is powered by Fairfield County’s Community Foundation and Bank of America is the annual Champion Sponsor of the Giving Day.

Carver’s summer programs offer Norwalk youth engaging, hands-on learning experiences and transformative enrichment and wellness opportunities. Carver youth receive social-emotional support and the preparation they need to thrive in the upcoming school year. Carver summer programs give our youth a sense of community and develop intergenerational relationships.

The Hour interviews Novelette Peterkin

Novelette Peterkin during the Carver Center's 80th anniversary year with a kick-off party on Tuesday, January 30, 2018, in Norwalk Conn. Hearst Connecticut Media file photo

See the entire article here. The article about Connecticut leaders “driving change in their communities” appeared in most Hearst Connecticut Media news outlets such as Fairfield Citizen and many others.

Novelette Peterkin, born in Jamaica, is the CEO of the Carver Foundation of Norwalk that provides 47 after-school and summer programs to K-12 students in every Norwalk public school, Side by Side Charter School, and in the Carver Community Center. She considers herself deeply committed to the success of the Norwalk community, including serving as a member of The Maritime Aquarium Board of Directors.

Q: What’s the most important issue facing your community today?

“Giving all Norwalk students the same opportunities to succeed in school and life as their peers receive in neighboring towns. When resources are equitably accessible, our students’ highest potential is unbounded. I believe Norwalk’s city and education leaders are listening to our students and families and are working diligently and effectively to close opportunity gaps. We need to remember and celebrate the fact that Norwalk Public Schools is the number one city school district in the state for three years in a row, as measured by the Connecticut State Accountability Report.”

Q: What change do you hope to see in Connecticut in the next few years?

“There is a very strong collaboration underway among Norwalk’s city leaders, school district, post-secondary institutions, employers, state workforce agencies, and many other community stakeholders to create and sustain a framework that builds and supports rigorous career pathways for all our K-12 learners. Carver is privileged to be a part of this mighty effort. Over the next five years, our students will be able to make informed decisions that meet with local, state, and national workforce trends.”

Q: What more can be done to help contribute to that change?

“Since the onset of the pandemic, time-limited but significant new governments funds have become available to help prepare our youth for 21st century careers. We need to do a better job of inspiring private donors to get involved. Carver donors are there for us in amazing ways in this effort and local employers are welcoming our paid student interns into their workplaces. We were able to place daytime counselors (we call them Future Readiness Coordinators) in Brien McMahon and Norwalk High Schools to support Carver students in their individual academic and career discovery journeys. But there is so much more to do.”

Q: What does Black History Month mean to you?

“Of course, the example of our namesake, George Washington Carver, is an ever-present inspiration. This month and always my greatest inspiration comes from Carver alumni, especially those who have been a part of my life since I joined Carver in 2004. There are so many wonderful stories to share of our young people making their mark in the fields of law, government, medicine, finance, entertainment, professional sports, technology, education, entrepreneurship, the creative arts, among many other careers. These impressive Black women and men embrace and carry forth Carver values into their careers.”

Join us Friday, March 4th, Opening Night for the Connecticut Cobras professional men's basketball team!

The Carver community will have the honor to participate in the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the newly established Connecticut Cobras professional men’s basketball team on Friday, March 4th, at the University of Bridgeport.

Join us!

The Connecticut Cobras is the first men’s professional basketball team in the state of Connecticut since 2000. The team has many connections to the Carver community and to Carver alumni.

Carver is making 135 tickets available to the families of the students participating in Carver programs this school year as part of Carver’s ongoing parent engagement programming.

Roy Kane, Jr., who grew up at Carver, and went on to play for the University of New Haven, is on the team. As reported in The Hour: …On Thursday night at the Carver Center — the place where he grew up as both a young boy and as a young basketball player — Kane showed that dreams do come true as he signed an official letter of intent to take his skills to the University of New Haven on a full athletic scholarship.

Berdine Joseph of The Voice fame will sing the National Anthem at the Cobras Opening Night game on Friday, March 4th. Berdine sang at many Carver events through the years. For The Voice, as noted by The Hollywood Reporter, Nineteen-year-old Berdine Joseph, who grew up in Haiti before her family moved to the United States, auditioned next. She sang “Hey Mama,” which was a very interesting song choice and definitely one of the more original performances of the night…

Jahmerikah Green-Younger is also on the Cobras team. He was a star basketball player for Brien McMahon High School. He and his family are longtime members of the Carver community. We wrote about Jahmerikah here when he was a senior guard for the Albertus Magnus College men's basketball team when he tallied his 1,000th-career point. This update was about Jahmerikah signing a professional contract with the Western Massachusetts Zombies in the East Coast Basketball League.

The Team Market Owner, a Norwalk native and longtime Carver friend, Anthony Hill, officially established the team in February 2021. The Cobras entered The Basketball League in July 2021.

The team is based out of Norwalk because of its proximity to major cities, including Albany, New York, and Boston. Hill aims to provide an outlet for young athletes and also partner with local companies and nonprofits like Carver.

The Cobras home games will be held at the University of Bridgeport. Here is the season schedule.

The Basketball League (TBL), formerly North America Premier Basketball (NAPB), is a minor league basketball organization. The league began operating in North America in 2018 with eight teams and expanded to over 30 teams as of 2021.

Carver families attend the Westchester Knicks game yesterday evening!

Carver provided 135 tickets to Carver families to attend the Westchester Knicks game at Webster Bank Area yesterday evening!

The Westchester Knicks, the official NBA G League affiliate of the New York Knicks, overpowered the Raptors, 119-106, last night at Webster Bank Arena. With the victory, the Knicks put the finishing touches on an undefeated home record in the month of February (4-0).

Here is a video of the game highlights:

The Westchester Knicks found a temporary home at Webster Bank Arena for the season since the Westchester County Center is being used as a COVID-19 vaccination site. The County Center has been a vaccination site since January of 2021.

All through the year, Carver parent engagement activities include parent and student college tours; apple picking; technology classes; a financial empowerment series; drive-in movie nights; outings to Lachat Town Farm (Weston, CT), extensive educational programs related to agriculture, the environment, sustainability, nutrition, and the arts; our annual Testimonial Dinner when students awards are given; International Day when students and their families share food and arts from their countries of origin; Teen Talent Nights; New Parents Nights; Build Together events; parents join their children on FIRST Lego (robotics) competition day; Data Nights (parents receive a presentation on standardized testing); and so much more.

Carver community thanks the Lowey 21st Century Community Learning Centers grant program for its support

Thanks to the Lowey 21st Century Community Learning Centers (21st CCLC) initiative, Carver has been able to offer a special after-school program to introduce 5th graders to Middle School expectations. All the students are assigned to a homeroom which they attend directly after the dismissal bell at 3:25 PM. Students then have a few minutes to eat a healthy snack and get ready for the Carver experience. Study hall and homework help are first. Certified teachers and assistants are available to help and in certain cases, students help each other.

The 21st CCLC initiative is the only federal funding source dedicated exclusively to supporting local afterschool, before-school, and summer learning programs. The program serves nearly 2 million youth, nationwide through grants awarded by state education agencies. This funding awarded to Carver by the Connecticut State Department of Education through a very competitive grant process provides for academic enrichment activities that help students meet state and local achievement standards. Carver is also able to offer a broad array of additional enrichment services designed to reinforce and complement the regular academic program, such as STEM programs, and physical activity and nutrition education programs. Carver also offers literacy and related educational development services to the families of children we serve.

Not only are the 5th-grade scholars developing good study habits, they are also exploring and challenging their abilities in an elective enrichment class 4 times a week. Students are breaking barriers by facing their fears, completing challenges, enhancing skills, and building teamwork abilities.  The students make presentations on all of their hard work later in the school year.

These academic and enrichment experiences complement what the students are learning during the day in class. The courses are presented in a different way from the regular classroom setting. 

When transitioning to middle school, concerns arise regarding procedural changes. Students are worried about being thrown into an environment of independence and responsibility—an environment significantly different from any educational experience known to date. They are expected to get to and from classes on their own, manage time wisely, use a locker, organize and keep up with materials for multiple classes, be responsible for all classwork and homework from multiple teachers, and at the same time develop and maintain a social life.

Although young adolescents seem to cry out for independence, they also need protection, security, and structure. Expectations are difficult to meet if expectations are unknown. The new procedures and rules are a major concern for upcoming fifth graders who are in the process of transitioning to sixth grade. These major and small details make an impact on young adolescents’ social, emotional, and academic experiences.