by | May 14, 2020 10:17 am | Comments (0)
Hamden Hall Country Day School families are tuning in weekly from Covid-19 isolation to view “The Turtle King,” a new in-house video series featuring three hungry turtles and the school’s maintenance team.
Continue reading ‘“Turtle King” Perks Up Quarantined Students’
by | May 6, 2020 1:56 pm | Comments (7)
Annette Korzick in her room a month before the lockdown.
My mom is in a nursing home, and while there have been many stories about the countless number of brave medical personnel, maintenance workers, kitchen staff working this nightmare, living it, dying it, there have not been many about the way it impacts a family — or in my case, a family member. Me.
by | Apr 24, 2020 2:44 pm | Comments (4)
Wanda Gomez, pre-Covid-19, with her grandson Jamell.
April 4 was a regular Saturday morning for me. Getting ready for my part-time job and starting my day.
by | Mar 31, 2020 12:02 pm | Comments (1)
Contributed Photo
Lunch this week on the patio at the Amistad Catholic Worker House, where inside dining is limited to eight people at a time while others get grab-to-go meals.
Mark Colville, who with Luz Catarineau operates the Amistad Catholic Worker House on Rosette Street, sent the following open letter to Mayor Justin Elicker.
Continue reading ‘Opinion: Non-Infected Homeless Need More Beds, Too’
by | Mar 18, 2020 12:34 pm | Comments (4)
Submitted Photos
New Haven Climate Movement’s Girls Speak Out for Climate Justice event.
On Monday, March 9, from 4 to 5 p.m, at the courthouse steps at the corner of Elm and Church streets, New Haven Climate Movement held a Girls Speak Out for Climate Justice event to have young women and girls share their thoughts and call for action on the growing climate disaster. Leaders of different youth climate organizations spoke alongside other high school age students. The Speak Out was followed by a social in the Library Performance Space with trivia, food, and educational videos. This event was organized in solidarity with International Women’s Day.
by | Mar 9, 2020 1:08 pm | Comments (11)
(Opinion) “New Haven has been Yale University’s home for over 300 years and mine for nearly 40. As a longtime Yale employee and New Haven resident, I know that the university and its city love and need each other — and that there come moments when our leaders have special reason to work closely together for the good of our community.
“… I do not believe that New Haven’s current financial problems are the result of a lack of generosity from Yale.”
Yale President Peter Salovey, 2020
“The History major is for students who understand that shaping the future requires knowing the past..”
Requirements of the Major, Department of History, Yale University
Knowing the past of New Haven and Yale’s relationship may indeed help us think through how we might seek to shape our intertwined future.
by | Feb 21, 2020 2:16 pm | Comments (1)
Contributed Photo
United Way’s Jennifer Heath with the “Game Changers.”
Five local people picked up community “Game Changer” awards from the United Way of Greater New Haven at a “Big Ideas” breakfast held this week.
by | Feb 4, 2020 1:18 pm | Comments (0)
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Henry Fernandez of LEAP contributed the following:
LEAP is opening a free Saturday Code Club for all children and teens ages 11 to 15. (Kids do not have to already be in LEAP.) Young technology enthusiasts and beginners alike can join to learn more about coding, robotics, virtual reality, app design and more. Short workshops led by instructors and volunteers are followed by opportunities to further explore the topic on their own, with one-on-one help from program staff. Participants will have the opportunity to create projects based on their own interests, collaborating with peers and supported by program staff.
by | Jan 18, 2020 9:47 pm | Comments (1)
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Victoria Wang of LEAP submitted the following write-up:
Have you ever wanted to speak to a national radio host about climate change? Enjoy an interactive singing performance from a Yale music scholar? Learn about what goes into designing a menu from a world-class chef? Then LEAP Year Event is what you’ve been waiting for — and you’ll be supporting a good cause while you’re at it!
by | Jan 9, 2020 8:52 am | Comments (0)
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CASA of Southern Connecticut members.
Josiah Brown sent in the following release about CASA, where he serves as executive director.
The Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) of Southern Connecticut has been awarded a $100,000 Local Special Project Grant from the National CASA Association for Children.
by | Jan 7, 2020 6:11 pm | Comments (4)
Contributed photo
Peter Davis, Dennis Riordan, Jolene Woodard, Craig Repasz, Robin Ladouceur, Chris Howe, Jean Webber, Matt Mallon, Patrick Lynch, Lauren Chicoski, Ranger Harry Coyle (kneeling), and Sam Rubin.
We did it, and it was pretty amazing.
by | Dec 16, 2019 1:32 pm | Comments (0)
Contributed photos
Chris Ozyck (right, in green hat) with a street tree pruning team.
Urban Resources Initiative sent in this article.
Winter may be coming, but that doesn’t mean that those who care for New Haven’s urban forest are turning in for the season.
Urban Resources Initiative, a nonprofit/university partnership at the local Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies, is gearing up to send out winter crews to prune over 500 young street trees in the next few months.
by | Dec 15, 2019 9:13 pm | Comments (7)
Contributed photo
A local activist group called Sex Workers and Allies Network sent in the following release.
On Dec. 17, sex workers and their allies around the world will come together to recognize the International Day to End Violence against Sex Workers.
Continue reading ‘Sex Worker Violence Prevention Rally Planned’
by | Dec 13, 2019 9:10 am | Comments (0)
Lynne Bonnett of the Greater New Haven Green Fund sent in the following notice:
by | Dec 5, 2019 1:06 pm | Comments (0)
Contributed PHotos
Mayor Harp Wednesday as “Miss Kendra.”
(Natalie Judd submitted the following article.)
Mayor Harp visited a first-grade class at Strong Elementary School Wednesday, playing the role of “Miss Kendra for the students.”
The mayor recitedMiss Kendra’s list with the students, and read them letters from Miss Kendra that respond to some of the worries they have shared in their letters to Miss Kendra about family, gunshots, fire drills, and their celebrations about awards and their love of school activities.
by | Dec 5, 2019 8:38 am | Comments (8)
Sophie Sonnenfeld Photo
One of 2019’s New Haven climate change marches.
(Opinion) New Haven’s contingent of the U.S. Climate Strike is this Friday, Dec. 6, from 2 p.m.-4 p.m. at City Hall. Will you join me and the rest of the climate justice movement to show your support for action on the climate emergency?
by and | Dec 2, 2019 8:43 am | Comments (1)
Contributed Photos
For the second year in a row, cadets from James Hillhouse High School Army JROTC volunteered to spend their Saturday giving back to veterans by serving a Thanksgiving meal at the West Haven VA Hospital.
by | Dec 2, 2019 8:37 am | Comments (0)
Current culinary studentsCross and alumni with the breakfast they prepared.
Veronica Douglas-Givan sent in these photos from Thursday’s Elm City Bowl, which brought together the Hillhouse and Wilbur Cross (and New Haven) communities for a pre-game meal and then an annual Thanksgiving football rivalry, which Hillhouse won 37 – 0 this year.
by | Nov 29, 2019 2:19 pm | Comments (1)
Contributed Photos
Elks Committee Quintarus MacArthur, Daughter Ruler Arlice Brogden, Exalter Ruler Gary Hogan, Daughter Wanda Mitchell, Kevina Mitchell.
The Elks Club East Rock #141 and Pocohontas Temple #55 served 70 families and guests at their 14th annual Thanksgiving Community Dinner Thursday.
by | Nov 14, 2019 8:44 am | Comments (2)
Contributed photos
The James Hillhouse High School Army JROTC cadets were very busy over Veterans Day Weekend. Instructors Lieutenant Colonel (Retired) John Hinrichs and Sergeant First Class (Retired) Lisa Rodriguez, both combat veterans, incorporated information on Veterans Day into their curriculum leading up to the events.
Continue reading ‘How Hillhouse JROTC Celebrated Veteran’s Day’
by | Nov 8, 2019 2:26 pm | Comments (11)
David Sepulveda Photo
Dennis Serfilippi and Adam Marchand after the polls closed Tuesday.
Dennis Serfilippi ran for alder Tuesday as an independent in Ward 25 against incumbent Adam Marchand, who won the election. Serfilippi wrote the following article.
Driving home from Edgewood School on Election Night I realized there was unfinished business. I needed to find a way to express my gratitude and more importantly share my experiences of the day just passed.
by | Nov 5, 2019 4:44 pm | Comments (11)
Thomas Breen photo
Carlos Torre at a recent City Hall protest.
Former Board of Education member Carlos Torre and former NHPS admin Gil Traverso submitted the following opinion piece about Latino/Latina representation in the city’s public school system.
Latina/Latino students account for more than 47 percent of the total student population of the New Haven Public Schools — currently the largest segment of the district’s student body. Yet, this same community is underrepresented, significantly, at all levels of the District’s staff.
by | Nov 5, 2019 9:30 am | Comments (0)
Josiah Brown, a volunteer member of the board of the Literacy Coalition of Greater New Haven, sent this account of an event in which the Coalition was involved.
David Braze, Nicole Landi, Joanne R. White, and Waltrina Kirkland-Mullins
On Oct. 24, the Literacy Coalition of Greater New Haven collaborated with the New Haven Free Public Library on a forum that the Public Library hosted on “Reading Instruction and Interventions in School: Science, Policy, and Practice” (which followed by a decade a Literacy Forum that had featured Margie Gillis on teachers and reading research).
The October event had been previewed, along with other literacy news, in an earlier Independent story—and preceded by one night the annual spelling bee to benefit New Haven Reads, a key Coalition participant. (As Lucy Gellman’s coverage of the Oct. 25 spelling bee noted, “While New Haven Reads tutors 550 kids a week, an all-time high of 234 more remain on the waitlist” — so additional volunteer tutors are needed!)
The importance of this work was underscored days later by the release of the latest National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) scores. On average nationally, both 4th-graders and 8th-graders saw declines in reading proficiency since 2017. In Connecticut, 4th-graders’ reading skills showed a slight decrease — while average gaps among various groups remained troubling. In a Connecticut Mirror account, Ajit Gopalkrishnan of the State Department of Education was quoted saying that though he doesn’t regard it as an “excuse … we are working on improving language acquisition for our English learners, who are a substantially bigger proportion of our population than even five years ago.”
(The NAEP’s “proficiency” standard is stiffer than that of virtually every state’s interpretation of “proficient.” According to the NAEP website, “… reaching the NAEP Proficient level is not necessarily the same as reaching a state’s standard for proficient performance at a given grade level.”)
Continue reading ‘Reading Instruction and Interventions in School: Science, Policy, and Practice’
by | Oct 31, 2019 7:45 am | Comments (3)
Lucy Gellman Photo
Land Trust’s Grand Acres.
Two of New Haven’s leading “green” nonprofits have signed a memorandum of understanding to merge.
by | Oct 23, 2019 2:39 pm | Comments (1)
Contributed Photos
It’s that spooky time of year again and this Friday (Oct. 25) from 4:30 to 7:30 p.m. all New Haven children and families are invited to LEAP’s annual Halloween Festival. There will be pumpkin painting, games galore and the LEAP haunted house.