Higher Education/ Employment/Trainings/ Health/Finance/Learning Centers

NHA NEWS

NHA Student Studies in England Emmanuella Louis, a high school senior and NHA

resident, received a full scholarship to participate in

the British American Business Foundation’s British

Studies Summer Program this summer. She and sev-

eral other students from around the country traveled

to England for two weeks where they studied British

art, literature, theatre and Euro-

pean history at ACS Internation-

al School in England. The group

also participated in field trips to

enhance their learning experi-

ence; they visited famous sites

including the Tower of London,

Big Ben, Westminster Abbey,

Stonehenge and the London Eye.

Some of the highlights for Em-

manuella include: climbing more

than 350 steps at St. Paul’s ca-

thedral to see the breathtaking view of the whole

city, the captivating paintings she saw at the Tate

Museum, visiting Shakespeare’s birthplace and

watching the play Taming of the Shrew at the Offi-

cial Globe Theater. She said the chocolate tasted bet-

ter in England, she loved how the city had artists

singing everywhere and how the stores in the streets

reminded her of where she grew up in Haiti. Em-

manuella will take the knowledge and skills she

learned on this trip and use them when applying to

college this year and eventually adjusting to college

life next year.

www.norwalkha.org

August 2016

Vol. 11, Issue 8

Rose is a Roodner Court Resi-

dent and NHF Scholarship

Recipient who is going to

New York University to pur-

sue a graduate degree in High-

er Education and Student Af-

fairs. She started her journey at NCC, transferred to

Andrew University to earn her bachelor’s degree and

is now in graduate school. She is currently doing an

internship in Pretoria, South Africa as part of her

studies. She wants to gain an understanding of the

challenges faced by South African Higher Education

leaders, policy makers, researchers, government offi-

cials, and other experts. She also wants to learn

about social transformation as well as educational

reform in South Africa. Applications for the 2017-18

NHF Scholarship will be available in February

2017. For more information about the NHF Scholar-

ship Program, contact Kim Hein at

khein@norwalkha.org or 203-838-8471.

New SoNo Farmer's Market Opens

50 Washington Street A new farmer's market opened in the heart of Sono

at 50 Washington Street. The market, known as

"Common Ground,"

will take place every

Saturday until the end

of October, from 11

a.m. to 3 p.m. Many

kinds of locally-

grown fruits and veg-

etables will be for sale

and people using

WIC, SNAP, Senior and Vets vouchers will be able

to double their buying power (2 for 1). SoNo's new

Common Ground Farmer's Market will also accept

cash and checks. The market, which offers fruit and

vegetables grown at Country Farm, Northford,

Connecticut, is a joint venture of the City of Nor-

walk and the Food Access Coalition, an all-

volunteer, non-profit organization which works to

make quality food accessible and affordable for all.

Rose Pierre Studies In South Africa

NHA Resident With Roofing/Laborer

Skills Needed For Roodner Court!

NHA will soon be

selecting a contractor

to replace all roofs on

Roodner Court build-

ings. Through

HUD’s Section 3

regulation, qualified

NHA residents re-

ceive a hiring prefer-

ence. The selected contractor will need one roofer/

carpenter for this assignment five days per week,

from September through December, and will be con-

ducting interviews of qualified candidates. This is a

physically demanding assignment; there are no

elevators at Roodner Court! If you’re interested,

please bring or mail your resume to: Norwalk Hous-

ing Authority, 24 ½ Monroe Street, Norwalk CT

06854. Attention: Lisa Roger

Applications are also available at the Monroe

Street office.

Higher Education/Employment/ Trainings

Significant Change to Free

Application for Federal Student Aid

(FAFSA) This Year

Are you a current college

student or will be apply-

ing to college this year?

There are two significant

changes to the FAFSA

that will impact you!

Students will be able

to submit a FAFSA earli-

er. Students will be able to

file a 2017–18 FAFSA as early as Oct. 1, 2016,

rather than beginning on Jan. 1, 2017. The earlier

submission date will be a permanent change, ena-

bling students to complete and submit a FAFSA

as early as October 1 every year.

Students will use earlier income infor-

mation. Students will be required to report in-

come information from an earlier tax year. For

example, on the 2017–18 FAFSA, students (and

parents, as appropriate) will report their 2015 in-

come information, rather than their 2016 income

information.

For more information and to stay updated on this im-

portant change, visit http://bit.ly/1QDLffd

The Federal Government and the college or universi-

ty you attend are where most of the aid you receive

for college will come from. It is REALLY important

that you complete the FAFSA as soon as it becomes

available on October 1st. In some cases, there is lim-

ited aid available – the later you wait to complete the

FAFSA, the less aid there may be for you for college.

Materials you should gather now/have on hand to be

able to complete the FAFSA are:

Your Social Security number (it’s important that

you enter it correctly on the FAFSA!)

Your parents’ Social Security numbers if you are

a dependent student

Your driver’s license number if you have one

Your Alien Registration number if you are not a

U.S. citizen

Tax return information from 2015

Records of your untaxed income, such as child

support received, interest income, and veterans

noneducation benefits, for you, and for your par-

ents if you are a dependent student

Information on cash; savings and checking ac-

count balances; investments, including stocks and

bonds and real estate but not including the home

in which you live; and business and farm assets

for you, and for your parents if you are a depend-

ent student

If assistance is needed in completing these forms,

call Kim Hein at 203-838-8471 ext. 190 or Wendy

Gerbier 203-852-1144 ext. 0.

Employment Tip of the Month:

DON’T include “Objective” on

your resume

Instead of including an “Objective” on your re-

sume, start using a

“Professional Summary”.

A summary includes a few

short sentences at the top

of the resume that allows

you to clearly indicate

what you have to offer in-

cluding your skills and

attributes, as well as what

you’ve done. As an example, “Reliable, self-

motivated professional with over five years of ex-

perience across varied industries including retail,

health care and hospitality. A quick learner, able

to work independently or as part of a team. Profi-

cient with Microsoft Word and Excel. Recognized

by management and peers for providing excep-

tional customer service to clients.”

FREE

Preregistration required:

Must be unemployed or underemployed to

qualify

Must be a minimum of 21 years old to partici-

pate

Pre-screen and background check required

Must complete 4-

week classroom train-

ing and 2-week intern-

ship

Interested residents

must respond to Lisa

Roger at 203-838-

8471 X188 by August 19th for classes starting

in October.

Are You A Parent of A 2 to 4 Year

Old Child? Columbia University Medical Center in partner-

ship with the Norwalk Housing Authority will be

conducting a program you may be eligible to par-

ticipate in with your

child. Compensation

for participation. More

information to come

but if you have ques-

tions please contact

Patricia Marsden-Kish

203-838-8471 ext. 184.

Health/ Finance

FREE Training for New Careers in

the Growing Health Care Field

Training opportunities include C.N.A., Phleboto-

my, E.M.T., Pharmacy Tech, Radiation Therapist,

and more. Eligibility requirements include family

income or unemployed. Must have a high school or

GED Diploma. Starting salaries $16 per hour after

8 days of training. For additional information or to

register, call Marie Juleau at 203-838-8471 ext. 186

or Nadine Delcin at 203-838-8471 ext. 681. A

FREE training from the WorkPlace Southwestern

CT HealthCareeRx Academy. September 14, 2016

from 5:30pm – 7:00pm at Choice Neighborhood

Office, 149 Water St., 2nd floor, Norwalk, CT.

JOIN THESE FUN

INFORMATIVE EVENTS!

Financial and budgeting sessions to educate teens

on the essential steps needed to achieve financial

independence. Whether it’s learning the basics on

opening up and maintaining a bank account, man-

aging money while at school or preparing for life

after college, if your teen has questions, these

workshops are the right place to start! This Teen

Financial seminar will be held on Wednesday

August 3rd 10:00am –12:00pm and Tuesday Au-

gust 9, 4:30PM – 6:30PM

Investing in yourself – Build wealth and savings to

meet your life goals. Learn how investment ac-

counts work. Identify what’s needed to plan, accu-

mulate, protect, and enjoy wealth for a sound and

secure financial life. This seminar will be held on

Wednesday August 11, 2016 from 5:30PM –

7:30PM.

All events will be held at NHA’s Choice Neighbor-

hood Office, 149 Water Street, 2nd floor, Norwalk,

CT 06854. Call NHA to reserve your spot today,

203-838-8471 Marie (x186) or Nadine (x681).

Be Healthy from the Inside Out

The Regional Riverbrook YMCA in collabora-

tion with Norwalk Housing Authority is offering

FREE nutrition classes for all those interested in

learning how to live a healthier lifestyle, includ-

ing: how to manage weight, healthy food choices,

managing cholesterol, high blood pressure, dia-

betes; staying motivated; and so much more. Join

us Tuesday 5PM – 6PM, August 16th and Tues-

day 5PM – 6PM, September 20th. Call NHA to

reserve your spot today, 203-838-8471 Nadine

(x681) or Marie (x186).

Do you suffer from High Blood Pressure? FREE Blood

Pressure Screening!

Struggling to keep your blood pressure under con-

trol? Looking to live a healthier lifestyle? In part-

nership with the Riverbrook Regional YMCA,

NHA is hosting a Blood Pressure Pre-Screening to

start off our Self-Monitoring Program. Stop by

August 11th and 23rd; September 8th and 27th any-

time between 4pm and 6pm at NHA Choice Neigh-

borhood Office, 149 Water Street, 2nd floor, Nor-

walk, CT 06854. Call NHA to reserve your spot

today, 203-838-8471 Nadine(x681) or Marie

(x186). All first timers will receive a FREE pe-

dometer! Come three times and receive your very

own FREE blood pressure cuff!

These residents are on their way to reducing their blood

pressure for a healthier lifestyle. You can too! Come

to the YMCA’s next blood pressure screenings!

In photo, from left to right: Getty Godfrey, Wilhelmina Tom-

lin and back row: Angela Butler, Rose Beau, Joanne Brown.

JOB CLUB: YOU’RE INVITED!!

Open the doors to

your dream job

NHA/HOU CNI OFFICE

149 Water Street,

2ND Floor, Norwalk, CT

2nd and 4th Wednesdays of each Month, 3PM

August 10th & 24th; September 7th and 21st

Call 203-838-8471 x673(Daphny) or x681

(Nadine) for more information.

Financial Tip of the Month:

Consider Renter’s Insurance

You may consider renter’s insurance as an extra

bill. Like health or auto insurance, renter’s in-

surance can save you money if something were

to happen to your apartment. Renter’s insurance

covers damage to personal property in case of

fire, hurricane or some other natural or unfore-

seen disaster. Policy coverage and cost will vary

with insurance providers and may cost less if

you add renter’s insurance onto an existing in-

surance policy, so shop around.

Higher Education/ Learning Centers

CS First: NHA Learning “Music and

Sound” Through Computer

Programing NHA’s Science and Math department empowered stu-

dents to create with technology through CS First! CS

First is sponsored

by Google and led

by CS First Guru:

Sheiree Powell and

CS First Hosts:

Joseph Alexis and

Dawn Drew. CS

First is a club-style

program that increases student access and exposure to

computer science (CS) education. During this action

packed one week camp, students used the computer to

learn to play musical notes, create music videos and

build interactive music displays while learning how

programming is used in the music industry. The fol-

lowing lessons were completed: Introduction and Dis-

covery, Dance Party, Musical Art, Musical Talent

Show and DJ Mixer.

FREE English Conversation Class at

Person-to-Person in

Progress Now!

Practice your English conver-

sation skills in a group setting

at Person-to-Person, 76 South

Main Street, Norwalk CT

06854. TUESDAYS and THURSDAYS, 10AM –

12PM. Registration not required! Drop-ins welcome!

This class is for students who already speak basic Eng-

lish. Only English will be spoken in the class. Please

contact Christian at 203-621-0691 for questions and

further information.

Awesome Art!

Congratulations to our student actress

Shanyrah Singleton for her outstanding per-

formance with the Music Theater of

Connecticut drama program.

STEM Week at Washington Village Washington Village Learning Center celebrated STEM

Week with Kelley Robertson! Students were all a

buzz with the many exciting experiments being per-

formed. In the below experiment, students combined

chemicals such as polyurethane and others to cause a

reaction in which the result was a material similar to

insulation. They then furthered the experiment to see if

the objects would sink or float.

Kelley Robertson works with STEM students during

one of the many exciting experiments this summer.

Students Wild Over Math! Students go wild over interactive Math Mat

Challenge game! With two skill levels, stu-

dents learn counting, addition and subtraction

with fast and crazy quiz games that makes

practicing math fun! It helps them think,

learn, and remember math equations using the

talking floor mat. Once the students listens to

the equation, they do the math, then quickly

tap on the right answer. The game gets faster

as the competition and score gets higher! As

the students played together, they practiced

following directions, taking turns, and pa-

tience!

Pictured: Joseph Alexis (Science and Math

Coordinator), Mark Moono, Tyleah Simms,

Miniah Edwin, Derrick Wiggins, Adrianna

Richardson, Shatrice Salters, Aniyia Prince,

Aisha Jean-Pierre and Kawashi Evans.

Children’s School

Summer Camp Entering Kindergartener Ronly Guillaume

had an amazing oppor-

tunity to participate in the

Children’s School Sum-

mer Camp in Stamford

for two weeks this past

June. Ronly enjoyed lov-

ing and thoughtful teachers as well as built

special friendships with other children. Ron-

ly’s parents, Ronald and Lovely, are incredi-

bly grateful that their son was able to enjoy

this special program and look forward to oth-

er opportunities in the future.