the nha news - norwalk housing · 2011-07-11 · page 2 the nha news local news dear officer...

THE NHA NEWS

Oil Spill Was Largest In US

History By Clarentz Jean, 7th

Grade, Washington Village

This is an edited version of an original

article that appeared in The Washington

Village Voice in June

On April 20, 2010 there was a great

oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, off of

the coast of Louisiana that killed 11

oil workers from BP.

The impact to the environment and

wild life has been devastating. The

brown pelican, the state bird of Loui-

siana has been devastating.

A variety of procedures are being

used to cleanup the oil including:

dispersants being sprayed, boom

equipment and skimmers. It appears

to be helping to keep some of the oil

out at sea. The Gulf of Mexico oil

spill has cost BP $2 billion in clean

up costs already. This is a serious

disaster because we eat fish and other

marine animals and if that gets into

the fish and other marine animals

and that could be seriously dangerous

for us.

(Story continues on BACK PAGE.)

Written and Illustrated by the Children of the Norwalk Housing Authority After School Learning Centers

Local News 2

NHA News 3

Travel Section 4

Review Section 5

Opinions 6

Sports 7

Volume 1 Issue 1

2010 BACK TO

SCHOOL

ISSUE

What You’ll Find

Inside

This Issue

BP Oil Spill Finally Capped By Yianiellie Zuniga, 7th Grade

Meadow Gardens

BP finally capped the well this summer on July

15th, nearly 3 months after the explosion. Shortly

after they capped the well, they also replaced their

CEO, Tony Hayward who was not popular with

people. The amount spent on the clean up so far is

about 350 million dollars. And a new estimate of

oil that was spilt in the gulf is about 30,000 of bar-

rels each day.

Haiti Still Needs Help By Angeline Moresca, 4th Grade,

Roodner Court

Almost 7 months ago on Tuesday after noon on

January 12th in Port au-Prince, Haiti an earth-

quake struck the island with a 7.0 magnitude.

About 250 thousand people died and millions of

people were hurt, left homeless or impacted by

the earthquake. Haiti still need our help.

THE NHA NEWS

LOCAL NEWS

Dear Officer Schwarz,

Thank you so much! I enjoyed having you

give me a tour around the Norwalk Police

Department! I hope we see each other again

or take another tour. My favorite part was

when we went to the shooting range and we

got to see the red and blue lights in the dark

and when you showed us your dummy and

when we saw how to clean your guns and all

about the tasers , guns and dummies. I hope

you enjoy our letters!

Thanks,

Curstin Williams, 8th Grade

* * *

Dear Officer Schwartz,

I would like to thank you for giving us the

tour. My favorite parts were when you locked

us I the jail cell. But my personal favorite was

the bullets and the shooting range. But the

part I really didn’t like was waiting for the bus

outside.

Thank you,

Trevor Thomas, Grade 6

* * * Dear Officer Schwartz,

I would like to thank you for the tour that you

gave us of the police department. My personal

favorite part of the tour of the police depart-

ment was when we got to dance in the shoot-

ing range. I also liked the taser gun. It was

interesting the way the two fishhooks hurt the

person who is getting tased.

Sincerely,

Nick Severino, Grade 5

NHA Children Take Field Trip to

Norwalk Police Department This summer children from the NHA Summer

Program paid a visit to the Norwalk Police De-

partment and Officer Schwartz. The thank you

letters from children from Roodner Court to

Officer Schwarz below capture the children’s

experience.

Fatou’s African Hair Braiding

Salon Opens By Penda M’bengue,

5th Grade Washington Village

Fatou’s African Hair Braiding Salon

specializes in flat twists, box braids,

Senegalese twists, corn rows, weaves,

kinky twists, Cassamas Braids, Invisi-

ble braids, corkscrews, interlocks, etc

hairstyles for women, men and and

children. My mom, Arete M’bengue

and my aunt, Maty Cisse opened the

shop in March of 2010 as a surprise for

my cousin, Fatou Ndiaye.

Fatou’s African Hair Braiding is locat-

ed on 973 Boston Post Road in West

Haven, Connecticut 06516. In addition

to hair braiding, the salon wants to of-

fer to do nails and eyebrows. They are

looking to hire someone who can do

nails and eyebrows. If you are interest-

ed, please contact (203)465-8075 or

(646) 287 8453 and ask for Arete.

On July 19th, I interviewed my mom

and asked her a few questions about the

salon and here’s what she had to say:

Why did you want to open the

salon? It was my sister’s idea.

What do you do in the salon? I man-

age the hair salon.

What is the most popular braids that

people ask for in the salon? Kinky

twists and corn rows.

What is the busiest tie for you? Fri-

day and Saturday.

How is the business working out for

you? Can’t complain :)

You can also find the salon on

Facebook at Fatoubraiding.

The NORWALK NEWS

NHA LEARNING CENTERS

Leaders and Teachers Share

Thoughts

Throughout the month of July students sat

down with the various NHA Learning Center

Heads, as well as, some teachers and educa-

tion coordinators and asked them a series of

questions about themselves. Here’s what

everyone had to say.

WASHINGTON VILLAGE: Michael Crafter By Cyann Dickson,

3rd Grade

Who has

influ-

enced

you the

most?

My

mother

because

she took

care of

me and

taught me how to treat people with re-

spect.

What is your favorite movie? Brave-

heart because it is based on a true story

and the action is great!

Favorite Music? All.

Favorite Sport: Tennis.

Favorite School Subject: Social Studies.

Favorite Hobby: Going to the movies.

Favorite Video Game: Fight Night

Favorite TV Show: Family Matters

What are 3 adjectives you would use to

describe yourself? Smart Funny, pa-

tient.

Linda Ferguson By Cyann Dickson, 3rd

Grade,

Who have you admired most and why? My

mother, she has taught me how not to be afraid

of who I am and enjoy being yourself because

you are unique.

When have you been the saddest person

ever? When my cat got lost.

Where do you go when you are off work? To the mall.

When did you come to Washington Village?

5 summers ago.

Why did you become a teacher? I wanted to

help people become good readers.

How would you describe yourself using 3

adjectives? I am quiet, organized and patient.

ROODNER COURT: Meet Ms Laura Turner

By Curstin Williams, 8th Grade

Who do you most admire? Oprah and Dr Oz

What is your pet peeve? Unfairness and injus-

tice.

Where did you grow up? Florida.

Favorite Subject: Science and Health.

Favorite Sport? Basketball.

Where would you like to visit? Caribbean Is-

lands.

Favorite Music? R&B, Classical, Jazz.

Who has influenced you the most? Individuals

who make the most sense, logical, reasonable

and fair.

Favorite TV shows to relax? Bill Cosby, Liv-

ing Single, I love Lucy, Andy Griffith.

When were you the saddest? When my Grand-

ma and Dad died.

Sherone Rose

By Angeline Moresca, 4th Grade

Who do you most admire? In life, first my

mother because she was a strong black woman

and Maya Angelou the writer. I would like to

meet Maya Angelou.

Favorite music? Jazz

Favorite subject? English, basket ball art?

How would your friends describe you? My

best friends would say that I am kind and relia-

ble.

When were you the happiest and the saddest?

I was the happiest when I finally got to live with

my mom. I was the saddest when my mom died.

When were you most proud? When I graduat-

ed from college and when I see any of my for-

mer students succeeding.

Where would you like to visit? I would like to

visit Africa because I would like to see the place

where my ancestors came from.

Favorite vacation? I had the best vacation in

Florida and Charleston, South Carolina.

What 3 adjectives would you use to describe

yourself ? I am confident, trustworthy and nice.

How would you spend your idea day? I would

like to spend my ideal day on the beach reading

and drawing.

COLONIAL VILLAGE Ken Riley By Julisa Evans, 5th Grade

Who would you like to meet? President Barack

Obama.

What is your pet peeve? Disrespectful kids.

When is your birthday? April 10

Where did you grow up? Orangeburg South

Carolina.

Favorite subject in school? History

Where have you lived? Orangeburg south Caro-

lina and Norwalk Connecticut.

Favorite hobby? Fishing

Favorite sport? Football

Where would you like to visit? Hawaii .

Favorite music? Jazz

How old are you? 56

MEADOWS GARDEN Katrina Ellis By Chaz Watkins 3rd

Grade,

Who has influenced you the most? I would

have to say myself first and close friends and

family.

Who do you most admire? I admire strong

willed individuals who are honest, down to earth

and real.

Favorite Movie: Coming to America.

It is a great combination of love, comedy ro-

mance and great talent.

Favorite Music: Old School, R&B, love songs,

neo soul music and hip hop.

Favorite Video Game: Super Mario Brothers.

Classics never die.

Favorite TV Show: Channel 12 News

Favorite Subject: Health and Science.

Favorite Sport: Basketball.

Favorite Hobby: Reading; playing family

games

When were you the happiest and saddest? I

was the happiest when I got engaged and gave

birth to my precious daughter. The saddest mo-

ment is when my mom had to have surgery on

my graduation day.

When were you most proud? I was most proud

when I graduated college.

Where would you like to visit? I would like to

visit Aruba and parts of Africa.

Washington DC By Syndie Lau-

ture, 7th Grade, Washington Village

Washington D.C is one of the most in-

teresting places in this world. Even

though I never had been to Washington

D.C, just reading about make me want

to go. I mean, places to eat, shop, enter-

tain you. Washington D.C has it all. It’s

located on the Potomac River, Virginia

on the southwest side and Maryland on

the

south-

east

side.

It’s

known

for its

hot,

humid

sum-

mers,

pleas-

ant

springs

and

au-

tumns and mild winters with seasonal

snowfall averaging over 17 inches.

When most people visit Washington

D.C they mostly drive or take the train.

Some facts about Washington is the

white house was originally called the

“President’s Palace” or the “President’s

House.” A Baltimore reporter once

called it the “white house” in a newspa-

per article and the name caught on. The-

odore Roosevelt made this the official

name in 1901. Also the white house was

designed by JAME HOBAN. Take a

picnic and enjoy spectacular views of

the Potomac River at this 800 acre park,

located just 14 miles from Washington

DC. Story continued on page 8.

Jamaica By Jazmin Bien – Aime , 5th

Grade Colonial Village

Jamaica is off the South Coast of Florida

and slightly smaller than the state of Ct.

The climate is hot and sunny, tropical is

average temp is 82 degrees Fahrenheit.

The capital is Kingston. If you go to

Jamaica you have to turn your US dollars

into Jamaican dollars. The exchange rate

is $60 Jamaican dollars = $1 US Dollar.

You can get to Jamaica by flying out of

JFK. Many airlines fly into Jamaica but

for example: you can go on Jet Blue for

a long weekend in September for about

$362 round trip.

Jamaica is known for its reggae music.

Some things to do in Jamaica include:

you can go to the YS Falls to visit and get

water there and have fun and you can

going to Dunn’s river falls it is some

thing like rocky water is coming down.

Some good food to eat in Jamaica is jerk

chicken and fish pork some food place

have pelican bar and roasted yam pepper

soup

Some places to go include Moon Dance

and it is in Negril. There is also 7 Mile

Beach which has a nice resort.

The best time of the year is spring. I like

the fruits that are guinep and jew plum

and Jamaica mangoes. Jamaica mangoes

are the best and they grow all over the

place, but be careful when you pick one.

Make sure it doesn’t have a worm. Ja-

maica Is The Best!!!!

THE NHA NEWS

Orlando, Florida By Ariyanna Peterkin,

6th Grade, Colonial Village

Thinking about having vacation? Well, why you

don’t visit Orlando, Florida! Orlando, Florida is

the 82nd largest city in the United States. It’s the

5th largest city by population. Orlando used to be

called Jernigan after the first permanent settler

Aaron Jernigan. Now if you’re planning on going

to Florida then you should pack…… Sandals, T-

shirts, shorts, Capri’s, skirts, hats, etc.

Now the most fun part of visiting Orlando. Dis-

ney World! Disney World is full of rides games

shows and lots of activities. They just don’t have

Disney World they also have Magic Kingdom,

Epcot, Disney’s Hollywood studios, Disney’s

Animal Kingdom, Typhoon Lagoon, Blizzard

beach and also Downtown Disney. So if your

going to Orlando, Florida makes sure you visit

one of the places. Like I said before…. Thinking

of having a vacation why don’t you visit Orlando

Florida!

Dominican Republic By Nick Severino,

5th Grade, Roodner Court

I am from the Dominican Republic. It is a very

nice place to visit. Let me tell you about it. The

Dominican republic is in the Caribbean Sea on

the island of Hispaniola. The country of Haiti is

on the other side of the island. Santa Domingo is

the capital

and the

official

language is

Spanish but

English is

also spo-

ken.

It has the

second largest coastline in the Caribbean—1,000

miles long. Money used is called pesos. The

temperature range is between 80-90 degrees

Fahrenheit. Here are some names of the white

sandy beaches that I have been to: Boca Chica

and Caribe beach. There are big waves for surf-

ing and boogie boarding. My sister surfed on

those beaches. The national meal is called La

Bandera. It is rice, beans, plantains and meat. It

is also called The Flag. Visit the Dominican

republic it is great!

TRAVEL

Guatemala By Briana Tosado, 5th

Grade Colonial Village

Guatemala is in Central America. The

average temperature is very hot. It is

about 90 degrees. Guatemalans salsa

dance and celebrate. A dish in Guatema-

la is steak and eggs. In Guatemala’s his-

tory they danced and sang. The capital

of Guatemala is Guatemala City. Carne

Guisada is a big dish in Guatemala. We

make it at home.

THE NHA NEWS

MUSIC

REVIEW:

Shakira By Cindy

Makaba, 5th

Grade

Meadow Gar-

dens

Shakira was

born on Feb-

ruary 2, 1977

in Colombia.

Shakira is a singer, song writer, musician,

record producer, dancer, and philanthropist.

Shakira is a very kind singer and also has

won 11 awards and went on 10 tours. Shaki-

ra broke through into the English-speaking

word with the release of laundry service,

which sold over 13 million copies world-

wide.

MUSIC REVIEW: Fergie By Eyesly

Zaniga, 2nd Grade Meadow Gardens

Fergie is a

beautiful

singer. Her

hair was

blond but

now she dyed

it black. My

favorite song

is Clumsy.

My second

favorite song

is Getting

Over You.

Now Fergie

sings with the

Black Eyed Peas. They sound good together.

My favorite songs that they do together are

I’m Gonna Rock That Body and Meet Me

Half Way and the song I Got a Feeling.

Fergie is really famous. She even sang well

when she was little. Fergie’s real name is

Stacy. She was born on March 27th 1975 in

Hacienda, California. She is Mexican. Her

school was Glen A Wilson High School. A

few more of her songs include: Glamorous,

Big Girls Don’t Cry. Finally, Fergie got

married to Josh Buhamel.

BOOK REVIEW: Diary Of A Wimpy Kid By Ann Papin, 5th Grade

Washington Village

Diary of A Wimpy Kid is a book by Jeff Kin-

ney. This is a realistic fiction novel about a

boy named Gregory “Greg” Heffley and his

daily middle school life. The book is a New

York Times best seller. The book takes

place during his first year in middle school.

The Cheese Touch is about getting cooties or

germs. The books is mostly about Greg’s

day to day mid-

dle school life.

I like this book

because it’s

funny and it’s a

good guide into

how to survive

middle school

life. I recom-

mend this book

for kids that are

in middle

school or going

to be in middle

school.

VIDEO GAME REVIEW: Call of Duty,

Modern Warfare 2 By Noah Ruffin, 8th

Grade, Colonial Village

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 is the game

of the year. It sold over 191,000 copies in the

US. In China, the game sold over 209,000.

That is the highest amount of games to be

solid ever, in a year, in a country. The Call

Duty Modern Warfare 2 story mode is very

tough on any challenge mode you choose

from. In the story you play as 4 characters:

Sergeant Gary (Roach), Caption Mactavish

(Soup), Private First Class Joseph Allen, and

Private James Ramirez.

The game went out to the PS3, X Box 360

and PS2. The creators of the game are work-

ing on putting it on with the WII. In the story

mode the missions are chosen from easy,

normal, harden, or veteran, In the free play of

the game, you can do mission with friends or

family. Now kids can play on online and

against people from different countries. It is

more fun because the new guns and new

maps are now downloaded into the system.

There are 2 old maps from call of duty 4 and

there are other new maps.

POP CULTURE REVIEW : Silly

Bands By Kamora Prince, 1st Grade, Mead-

ows Garden.

I like glitter silly bands and I like baseball

ones, and musical silly bands. I asked the

kids in my summer class at Meadows Garden

what their favorite silly bands were and here’s

what they said:

1. Eagle

2. Phoenix

3. Long Horn

4. Man on A Horse

5. Dragonfly

6. Princess

7. Ghost

8. Scottish terrier dog

9. Baseball player

10. Big Foot

My favorite game is call of duty WAR at

WAR and in the game you can play as Ameri-

can soldiers back in war world two and see

how far you stay alive in the free missions of

Nazi zombies. If you want to kill more zom-

bies in different places you have to pay for

them but theirs a cheat code to get the maps

for free unfortunately I can’t tell you this be-

cause I could get arrested. The creators of Call

of Duty did an awesome job on detailing the

zombies and the surroundings. I would give

Call of Duty 20 stars because if ever you get

bored, a surprise comes out of the game.

REVIEWS

THE NHA NEWS

EDITORIAL OPINIONS Stop the Bullying !!! By Julisa Evans, 5th Grade

Colonial Village

Bullying is a common issue in many

schools. Most kids get bullied in

school, on the bus, out of school, and

if you walk home, there can be people

that chase you.

Bulling can be physical; mind games

computer programs where you can say

mean things to people, and miss treat-

ed by not talking to somebody because

somebody told you not to.

Some ways to avoid being bullied

include stop talking to people who use

bad language because that would im-

mediately make them want to fight

you. Also do not hit somebody be-

cause that is going top make it worst

for both of you because you can get

suspended from school for hitting

somebody which is bulling so do not

hit because you can get in big trouble

for being physical.

Why do kids bully? Kids bulling be-

cause they think that is cool and to get

popular with other kids in their school.

They should stop bulling because it is

a bad habit and if they keep bulling it

can mess up their life when they grow

up to be an adult because they can

continue to make bad decisions.

I think that people should not bully

because it makes them look bad.

No Smoking and No Drugs!!! By DeMara Little, 6th Grade

Washington Village

Not smoking and not taking drugs is im-

portant because you’re healthier. When

you start smoking and or taking drugs,

you usually get addicted. I think this

issue is important because it will tell peo-

ple not to take drugs or smoke. Accord-

ing to the internet website: http://

nototobacco.org/ it says the following:

Cigarettes cause more deaths than co-

caine, auto accidents, AIDS. Alcohol,

heroin, fires, suicide and homicide. Ap-

proximately, 400,000 people die each

year from smoking and or taking drugs.

That 1100 people per day!! 60% of

smokers start at the age of 14. In my

opinion, if you are taking drugs or smok-

ing, I demand you to stop!

President Obama Is A Good President By Kamora Prince, 1st Grade

Meadow Gardens

The President is great and a good presi-

dent. He is the best president because he

is a smart and good writer. Two books

he has written are: Dreams From My

Father and The Audacity of Hope.

Choosing the Right Family Pet By Yianiellie

Zuniga, 7th Grade , Meadow Gardens

Animals are a big part of life, and most people think

they know everything about them. Sometimes people

get animals like snakes big spiders, and some endan-

gered spices and in the end they end up killing them or

the owners get hurt. I know many things about them

though and if you’re interested in getting a snake or a

big spider than maybe I can help.

Snakes can be very dangerous even if they aren’t ven-

oms. They still have sharp teeth and can harm you that

way. If you don’t know what venom is it’s a poison that

is located in a venom sack in the back of the snakes

eyes. The potent toxin travels to the front fangs into a

mini pouch and injects into it’s victim. This is one major

way that the snake and the big spider have in common.

The same system is used.

Maybe if you’re not interested in animals like snakes or

big spiders maybe you might want to get a less danger-

ous pet. Perhaps a puppy or a cuddly kitten. I can help

you with that too. First thing you should do is make sure

your completely committed to take care of another liv-

ing thing you have to walk it, feed it, bathe it, brush or

comb it and take care of its coat. Also I would see if

any family member has any allergies to the animal you

would like.

If you’ve done all of the above than your ready for the

next step. For example you wanted to get a Pomeranian,

and you think you know all you need to know about

them. But than and all of the sudden your cute little pup-

py cant breath and than your vet tells you that Pomerani-

ans suffer breathing problems and you say “well I didn’t

know that” you probably would feel embarrassed well to

avoid all of that embarrassment you should do research

on them and learn more about them, that way you would

know the right way to care for them.

Some animals are not great pets. Some can cause all

sorts of trouble. Have you ever heard of Charla Nash

the lady who was attacked by her friend’s chimpanzee

on February 17 2009. She was interviewed on Oprah

and revealed the damage that Travis the chimp had

done. He tore off some of her fingers, and face. On

Oprah, she had talked about here fear of him. She be-

lieves that what had triggered Travis to attack was her

new hair style. After the attack, Travis was put down.

Some victims aren’t as lucky as Charla and some have

died from animal attacks. Well, I hope you’ve all

learned more about the risks, facts and what happens to

you if are foolish and don’t know anything about the

animal you bought or have.

THE NHA NEWS

SPORTS LeBron Moving to Miami By Autumn Peterkin, 6th Grade,

Colonial Village

On July 11th LeBron James announced that

he was moving from the Cleveland Cavaliers

to the Miami Heat. LeBron James originally

from Akron, Ohio called the Cleveland Cav-

aliers his hometown team. His fans were

very angry about him leaving causing their

selves to burn his jersey. He says: “I feel

terrible that I’m leaving and that I couldn’t

bring the

NBA cham-

pionship to

the city.

They’ve

wanted the

champion-

ship for so

long!”

Was it be-

cause he

wanted to be

on a winning

team? Or did

he choose

play how

much they were paying him? Or were the

players better on Miami Heat? My opinion is

that Miami Heat was paying more than the

Cleveland Cavaliers.

US Lacrosse Growing By Jalen Elliott,

5th Grade Meadows Garden

US lacrosse was founded on January 1,1998

but lacrosse started with native Americans.

They didn’t have string or metal to make it

with, so they used wood and straw. US La-

crosse resulted from the merger of many

different groups including the Lacrosse foun-

dation the NCAA rules that are followed are

followed by many Americans.

Babe Ruth: Best Baseball Player

of All Time By Syrus Bradley, 5th Grade,

Colonial Village

My name is Syrus Bradley and I like base-

ball. My favorite team is the Boston Red

Sox. In my opinion, Babe Ruth is the Num-

ber One player in baseball. He was born on

February 6th, 1895. Babe Ruth’s real name

was George Herman Ruth. He moved from

the Red Sox to the Yankees in the 1918 sea-

son. Babe Ruth retired on June 13th, 1948.

He died on August 16th, 1948 and his death

was because of throat cancer, which he had

fought for two years.

Babe Ruth is my Number One baseball play-

er. I know he’s the best because he hit

homeruns almost every time he was at bat.

He’d point the bat where he would want to

hit a homerun and he would hit the ball

where he pointed at most of the time! Babe

Ruth was the number one hitter because he

hit homeruns!!

LACROSSE continued

I like lacrosse because you get to do

a lot of team work and I am good at that. I

would like to own my own lacrosse store one

day. The sticks come in different shapes and

sizes and colors. There are over 250,000 US

Lacrosse members and growing.

Kobe Bryant Lead Lakers to

15th NBA Title By Trevor Thom-

as, 6th Grade, Roodner Court

Kobe Bryant, also known as the LA

Lakers team leader helped lead the

LA Lakers to their 15th NBA Cham-

pionship Title for the 2009-10 season.

. He is also known for some other

things like being the Lakers guard the

sportsmanship guide and the Lakers

MVP.

Kobe Bryant was born on August

23rd, 1978 in Philadelphia. And you

know what? His father is Joe

“Jellybean” Bryant. He is not the

only child though, he has two sisters

named Sharin and Shaya. Kobe was

always I love with basketball.

You want to know what else is very

interesting? He moved to Italy when

was around the age of 7, 8 and 9.

While most kids in Italy were playing

soccer, Kobe was playing basketball.

Kobe Bryant By Jaki Elliott, 4th Grade, Mead-

ow Gardens

Kobe Bryant is 6’7’’ and he is a

guard. He weighs 231 pounds. On

January 22 he scored 81 points

against the Raptors. Kobe Bryant

plays for the Los Angeles Lakers.

He joined the Lakers in 1996 and

he never went to college. KB has

won 5 NBA Championships and 4

rings. Today KB’s jersey number

is 24. Four years ago he was Num-

ber 8.

THE NHA NEWS

NEWS CONTINUED

24 1/2 Monroe Street Norwalk, Connecticut 06854

Phone: 203-838-8471 Fax: 203-838-6535

Website: www.norwalkha.org

Washington DC Travel

continued from page 5. The Washington DC region is lucky

to have wonderful bike trails. Jump

on a bicycle and you’ll quickly feel a

relief from hectic city life. Take the

whole family and explore the historic

C & O Canal.

Explore a quaint historic town just

over the Potomac River from Wash-

ington, DC. Visit colonial houses,

churches, and museums and shop for

antiques. Start at the Smithsonian

Institution Building where you can

pick up a map and information on all

of the museums. These national

treasures cover a wide range of sub-

jects from art to space exploration.

Plan to explore those you are most

interested in, but don’t try to see

everything at once.

Be sure to save time to see an IMAX

movie at the Natural History Muse-

um or the National Air and Space

Museum. Our national monuments

are truly spectacular. The best time

to see them is at night when they are

illuminated, less crowded and park-

ing is easier. During daytime visits,

take a tour bus. Listen to informative

park ranger talks and you won’t have

to negotiate congested city traffic.

While you’re there you’re definitely

going to get hungry so here are

Washington favorite places to eat.

Cheap Eat is a place where you can

find food for fewer than 25 dollars.

And Restaurant Eve is a place where

you can find the best dish, peoples

favorite is Lobster Disguise. After

you eat you might take a look at the

shopping places for example MAZ-

ZA GALARIE is one of the shop-

ping place to shop in Washington

D.C.

Most people says you have to go at a

best time of year well in Washington

D.C it doesn’t matter what time of

year you go your still going to have

fun.

SUMMER 2010

The NHA News

is published 5 times a year

by the children

of the

Norwalk Housing Authority

After School

Learning Centers

Publisher

N-Visage Communications

For information

about how your child can

participate in the

The Newspaper Program

Contact

Danielle Truini

203 899-1739

Continued from PAGE 1

The oil spill was so big, that it’s was

bigger than the surface area of Rhode

Island. The spill (which nobody really

knows how much there is) was estimat-

ed by BP to be leaking approximately

2.5 million gallons a day. It reached the

gulf coast and wetlands of Louisiana,

Alabama and hit the white beaches of

the Florida panhandle of Pensacola.

People lost money due to their jobs be-

ing tied to fishing, tourism and oil drill-

ing in the gulf. President Obama talked

to executives at BP about setting up a

fund to help residents of the gulf who

are lost money. BP agreed to set aside

$20 Billion to help those in the Gulf

region.

Flamingos

By Sanaiah

Dickson, 5

Grade Meadow

Gardens

Flamingos are

pink. They are

birds with long

legs. Flamin-

goes eat algae,

small insects

and small crus-

taceans like

shrimp.

Flamingoes get their pink color from their

foods. Flamingoes are native to Central and

South America. There are about 954,456 fla-

mingos left in the world. Flamingos protect

themselves by staying in large groups so they

can defend in large numbers. Some flamin-

goes are also from Florida.

The Washington Village

VOICE

On Tuesday, January 12,

2010 an earthquake hit

Port-au-Prince, Haiti at a

magnitude of 7.0. Many

houses were destroyed,

including the Palace Of

Haiti, where the president

lives.

According to President

Rene Preval 230,000 peo-

ple were killed from the

disaster, 300,000 were in-

jured and 1.2 million have

been left homeless. There

happened and people are

still reporting aftershocks.

But the good news is that

constructors from the

USA, Canada, Greece and

other countries are going

to Haiti to help rebuild.

The Haitian government

estimated that it is going to

cost about $3.8 Billion

dollars to rebuild the

country. Hopefully, after

that, things will work nor-

mally again.

is no home for the people of

Haiti, who now sleep on the

street. Some people think

sleeping on the street is safe

but is it really? Well, it is not

safe because when the disas-

ter happen the jail in Haiti

was destroyed and all kinds

of criminals escaped. Since

they escaped they are rob-

bing people when they are

asleep.

It’s been almost three

months since the earthquake

There has been a major

earthquake in Chile. But,

in Chile there was less

damaged than in Haiti.

There were approximately

500 people who were

killed, according to Chile’s

Office of Emergency Man-

agement.

The carnage from 8.8

magnitude quake didn’t

begin to approach the one

that happened in Haiti.

That earthquake made

212,000 dead and left

many people homeless.

Even if the earthquake in

Haiti was a 7.0. magnitude

earthquake, the quake was 700

to 800 times stronger and

depth which was 21.7 miles

compared to a 8.1 mile depth

of the quake from Haiti in

which a lot of damaged was

caused.

The coast of Chile has a histo-

ry of earthquakes. The honor

of the greatest earthquake of

all earthquakes recorded in

human history was the Valdi-

via, Earthquake or Great Chil-

ean Earthquake that meas-

ured 9.5 in 1960. Both earth-

quakes started tsunamis across

the Pacific Ocean.

Chile Hit By Another Earthquake By Fabian Castillo, 4 th Grader

Help Still Needed For Haiti By Clarentz Jean , 6th Grader

Written, Published and Distributed by the Children of the Washington Village

After School Learning Center

New Puerto Rico

Birth Certificate

Procedures

2

President Obama’s

To Do List

2

Obama’s Health

Care Plan

2

Fashion Icon: Coco

Chanel

3

Super Bowl 3

New Newspaper

Club

4

INSIDE THIS

ISSUE

April, 2010

Issue

Volume 1

Issue 1

Last December, 2009, the Gover-

nor of Puerto Rico made a new

law about birth certificates.

Puerto Ricans need to issue new

birth certificates using state- of –

the art technology to limit the pos-

sibility of document forgery make

another birth certificate because

people are buying fake birth cer-

tificates identities and charging

$5,000 – 10,000 dollars on the

black market.

Approximately one third of the

4.1m Americans of Puerto Rican

decent could be affected. Puerto

Ricans usually have about 20 birth

certificate copies over their life

time.

Accord ing to Kenne th

McCauley Hernandez the Puer-

to Rican Secretary of State said

40 percent of identity fraud in

the U.S involves birth certifi-

cates.

Beginning July 1st this summer

native born Puerto Ricans hold-

ing the old birth certificates will

no longer be valid.

For more information contact

the US State Department.

Obama’s Health Care Bill Passes

Late Sunday night on March 21st,

Congress passed President Obama’s

health care Bill. Here are some things

that are included in the bill:

It makes insurance affordable and

gives insurance coverage to 32 mil-

lion more Americans that are cur-

rently not insured.

It gives people the same choices

that members of congress have .

It ends discrimination against

Americans with pre-existing medical

conditions (like diabetes, cancer and

heart disease.)

Kids can stay on their parents poli-

cy until they are 26 years old.

Page 2 The Washington Village VOICE

Puerto Rico Passes New Birth Certificate Law By Elizabeth Diaz, 4th Grader

President Obama’s To Do List? By Xiamary Castillo, 2nd Grader

I think President Obama needs to

help people in the United States.

Here is my list of what I think the

President should do.

Help people keep their homes

because people need shelter and

places to live.

Help people get jobs because

people need money for their

bills, food and to pay their taxes.

Help the environment like the

oceans and the earth because we

need to keep the earth clean.

Help people with their health for

things like diabetes, cancer and

heart disease.

.

Coco Chanel is recognized as being

probably the top French fashion de-

signer in history. She is famous for

designing the first little black dress.

Chanel started the hobby of design-

ing hats, which eventually lead her

into fashion. In 1913, Coco Chanel

opened her very first shop which sold

a range of raincoats, sportswear, and

jackets.

In Deauville, France where Coco

also had a shop, French women dur-

ing the World War I came to accept

her view that women were supposed

to dress for themselves and not for

their husbands. This all started off

when she wanted to become a caba-

ret singer. While she failed to get

steady work as a singer, it was here

that Chanel met a rich young French

textile heir named Etienne Balsan to

whom she soon became an acknowl-

edged mistress, but she kept her day

job in the tailoring shop which led

her to fashion. Balsan lavished on

her beauties of the rich life includ-

ing diamonds, dresses, and pearls.

While living with Balsan, Chanel

began designing hats as a hobby

which soon became deeper interest

of hers. After opening her eyes, as

she would say, Coco left Balsan and

took over his apartment.

Her hats were worn by celebrated

French actresses who helped to

establish her reputation. In 1939,

at the beginning of World War II,

Coco Chanel closed her shops.

In 1957 Coco Chanel won the

Neiman Marcus fashion award for

distinguished service in the field of

fashion that was yearly award creat-

ed in 1938 by Stanley Marcus.

Coco Chanel died in January 10.

1971 at age 81 she is now known

for her fashion and always will be

remembered.

going to be his last year, but he

couldn’t believe that he was playing

and having a good time.

After the game, the Saints football

team donated some of their money

to help out New Orleans after Hur-

ricane Katrina devastated the city in

2005.

Super Bowl! Super Bowl!

Super Bowl! Wow what a game!

On Sunday February, 7, 2010 the

Super Bowl between the Indianap-

olis Colts versus the New Orleans

Saints. The game ended with the

Saints beating the Colts with a

score of 31-17. Boy was it a game!

The quarterback for the Saints said

that “After being injured in the Su-

per Bowl, he thought that it was

Saints Win Super Bowl And Help New Orleans By Clarentz Jean, 6th Grader

Coco Chanel: Early Hat Fashion Icon By Penda M’Bengue, 4th Grader

Page 3

If I Were A Grown Up By Elizabeth Diaz, Age 9

If I were a grown –up

I would be a dance teacher. I love to dance.

If I were a grown up I would have twins

I would read to them every night and tuck them into bed.

If I were a grown –up

I would have lots of money. I would live in a fancy house and drive a fancy car.

If I were a grown up

I would be smarter than a fifth grader.

If I were a grown up I would polish my nails and dye my hair.

My hair would be dirty blonde.

If I were a grown-up I would live in Puerto Rico.

Puerto Rico has clean water and beautiful waterfalls.

If I were a grown up

I would drive my red Audi all over the world. (if I could).

I will always fallow my dreams. (even when I am a grown-up.)


Phone: 203-838-8471 Fax: 203-838-6535


Norwalk Housing Authority

Learning Centers

MISSION

The purpose of the Norwalk Housing Authority Learning Centers is to

ensure that children, primarily youth residing in public housing, devel-

op the academic and personal skills that lead to success in school and

in future life.

This publication is the result of the Washington Village Newspaper

Club.

The Newspaper Club is an NEW after school enrichment program

being provided by the Norwalk Housing Authority Learning Centers

in partnership with outside vendor N-Visage Communications.

The program increases student exposure to real world skills, current

events, non-fiction writing and graphic art. Through a combination of

weekly classes and the publication of a community newspaper,

children, between the ages of 10 and 14, develop life skills such as

organizing, communicating, prioritizing, meeting deadlines and cre-

ative problem solving. Working in small groups, students brainstorm

story ideas, perform group exercises, discuss current events and pub-

lish their work. More than just a newspaper club, the program focus-

es on exposing student’s to non-fiction writing, oral presentation, and

creative communications skills.

Children participating in the program will:

Write in a variety of newspaper genres including hard

news and feature stories

Develop an appreciation for humor and creativity

through the use of satire and symbolism in their editorial

and illustrative cartoons

Discuss current events (local, national and international)

and its impact on their lives

Publish their work regularly in a community newspaper

Learn basic journalism jargon, proofreading and editing

Conduct interviews through the use of various questioning

techniques

Learn basic communications skills including the im-

portance of first impressions, handshakes, and effective

presentation skills

Interact with community leaders and businesses in the

community through both interviews and the sale of adver-

tising space in support of the paper.

If you are interested in learning more about this program, please con-

tact Danielle Truini, Director, NHA Computer Learning Centers

203 899-1739.


Norwalk Housing Authority Learning

Centers Mission Statement

“The Norwalk Housing Authority Learning Cen-

ters are committed to providing our student residents with academic support and enrichment opportunities in a safe, comfortable environment

that empowers children to reach their highest potential and launch successfully into adulthood.”

The Washington Village

VOICE

BP Oil Spill:

Largest In US History By Clarentz Jean, 6th Grade

On April 20, 2010 there was a great oil

spill that killed 11 oil workers at BP.

The oil spill is so big, that it’s bigger

than the surface area of Rhode Island.

The spill (which nobody really knows

how much there is) is estimated by BP

to be leaking approximately 2.5 mil-

lion gallons a day. It has reached the

gulf coast and wetlands of Louisiana

and has hit the white beaches of the

Florida panhandle of Pensacola.

A variety of procedures are being

used to cleanup the oil including: dis-

persants being sprayed, boom equip-

ment and skimmers. It appears to be

helping to keep some of the oil out at

sea. The Gulf of Mexico oil spill has

cost BP $2 billion in clean up costs al-

ready. This is a serious disaster be-

cause we eat fish and other marine

animals and if that gets into the fish

and other marine animals and that

could be seriously dangerous for us

Written, Published and Distributed by the Children of the Washington Village After School Learning Center

Editorial

Opinions

2

Food and

Entertainment

Reviews

3

Book Reviews

& Poems

4

INSIDE THIS

ISSUE

Volume 1

Issue 2

People are also losing money due to

their jobs being tied to fishing, tourism

and oil drilling in the gulf. President

Obama is talking to executives at BP

about setting up a fund to help residents

of the gulf who are losing money. BP has

agreed to set aside $20 Billion to help

those in the Gulf region.

2010

SUMMER

ISSUE

Iceland Volcano Erupts and

Disrupts Airports By Fabian Castillo, 4th Grader

On April 14th 2010, a volcano erupted

named Eyiafjallajokekull, located in Ice-

land. Much of the airports across the north-

ern and western parts of Europe were

closed because of all the ash that spread

through Iceland over to Europe. Fewer

than half of the usual number of flights

were able

to operate.

Hundreds

of thou-

sands of

passengers

were af-

fected by

the re-

strictions.

A i r p o r t s

w e r e

closed be-

cause the ash cloud was at the altitude that

airplanes fly. This was the worst travel cha-

os since 9/11.

Scientists are saying that the volcano in

Iceland is still erupting and may do for

some time. Story continued on Page 4.

What You’ll

Find Inside

This Issue

The Washington Village VOICE

EDITORIAL OPINIONS AND CARTOONS

Book Gives Teens Advice

on Good Eating Habits By Clarentz Jean, 6th Grader

On May 09, 2010, I read a book

about kids’ lives and all the prob-

lems they faced. One of the sto-

ries that I read was my problem.

A 5th grader wrote in 2005 and the

book is called Chicken Soup for

Preteen Souls.

The story was basically talking

about how big and chubby he

used to be and how he used to get

picked on by other kids at school

and then he made a big effort to

change his life and he became

slim and never got picked on

ever again. But the point of this

story is that the things the pub-

lic school are serving is really

bad for some kids.

Did you know that a carton of

chocolate milk that they serve

at school has much more sugar

then a can of soda? So some-

body should do something

about these things.

Please help the kids in public

school eat healthier and you

should see a big difference.

Write or call your local Board

of Education about the cafete-

ria food.

US SECURITY

2010 FIFA WORLD CUP

Video Game Review:

Sonic Rider

By Mouhamed mbengue

3rd Grade

Sonic Rider is a four player vid-

eo game played on the Game

Cube and Wii consoles. It is a

race to see who is the best. It’s

an action adventure video

game. The best mode is Story

Mode. It is where you take your

hovercraft somewhere. For ex-

ample, you can pick any setting

like Green Cave Splash Can-

yon to play the game in or Metal

City.

The object of the game is to

keep your hover craft in the air.

You have to keep on spinning

your control. You can pick the

speed when you are racing. It’s

rated E for everyone. I give it 4

stars.

Kids Prefer Burger

King But Mc D’s Fries

Are For Me By Penda mbengue, 4th Grade

During May 2010, I conducted a

survey on which fast food is better

McDonalds or Burger King. The

table outlines my findings:

Amusement Parks

Provide Summer Fun By Victor Rodriguez, 4th Grade

Recently, I took a survey between Six

Flags and Lake Compounce. When I

started my survey, I thought that Lake

Compounce was going to win the sur-

vey, but instead Six Flags won the sur-

vey.

Overall, kids preferred the rides, the

food and the roller coasters at Six Flags,

but thought the water rides at Lake

Compounce were better because they

were not as fast and not as scary. No

matter which one you like, both are a

lot fun if you get a chance to go this

summer.

Six Flags

N e w

England

is locat-

ed be-

t w e e n

Hartford

a n d

S p r i n g -

f i e l d

Massachusetts and is open from 10-6

daily. Tickets can be bought on line for

$32.99 and children under 2 are free.

Parking is $15.00. www.sixflags.com/

newengland.Lake Compounce is locat-

e d i n B r i s t o l C o n n e c t i c u t

www.lakecompounce.com. Tickets :

Regular Admission $34.99, Junior Ad-

mission $ 25.99 ( plus a 10% admissions

tax) and children under 3 are free.

Parking is $7.00

The Washington Village VOICE

FOOD AND ENTERTAINMENT REVIEWS

Page 3

Category McDonald’s Burger

King

Burgers 17 13

Fries 17 13

Milk Shakes 19 11

Chicken 13 17

Breakfast 23 6

Commercials 10 16

Mascot 7 21

Overall

Preference

19 10

Category Six

Flags

Lake

Compounce

Rides 4 3

Food/Snacks 5 2

Roller coaster 5 2

Water Rides 0 2

In my opinion McDonald’s is bet-

ter because their business is very

big with people crowded in the

restaurant. I love their fries be-

cause they’re thin and salty. I also

think that McDonalds is better be-

cause it has been open for about

70 years and Burger King has been

open for about 53 years so people

have known McDonalds longer

than Burger King.

I’d also say that McDonald’s is bet-

ter because, I also conducted a

short survey during the day

(separate from the kid survey) and

asked adults if they liked McDon-

alds better or Burger King. Half of

the adults said they loved McDon-

alds better because alot of

grownups grew up with Ronald

McDonald, even my parents. To

me Burger King’s fries are thick

and oily. So while Burger King is

OK, I vote for McDonald’s!!!!.


Phone: 203-838-8471 Fax: 203-838-6535


Book Review:

When You Reach Me By Elizabeth Diaz, 4th Grade

When You Reach Me, by author, Re-

becca Sted is a good book for kids

8,9 and up. The book is about a girl

named Miranda. She keeps getting

all these mystery letters and she

doesn’t know who is writing them!

One mysterious part of a letter says,

“I won’t be myself when I reach you.

I know you have shared my past let-

ter, I ask you not to share the rest.”

Whoa!!! Shocking right? I don’t want

to give away the mystery of the sto-

ry, but I really liked the book be-

cause it was scary and it make be

feel nervous. I couldn’t put it down

until I finished it. It a grabbing sto-

ry. The story can be kind of confus-

ing the first time you read it, but be-

cause it is such a good book , if you

read it one more time, it’s more re-

vealing. I give this book 5 stars.


Author Visits Local

Norwalk School By Ximary Castillo, 2nd Grade

On May 28th at Cranbury Ele-

mentary School, I interviewed

Barbara Park, the author of the

Junie B. Jones children’s books.

All of the books are about a girl

who does things wrong and then

fixes them.

Barbara Park has written over

200 books for children. Some of

her other Junie B Jones books in-

clude: Junie B. Jones and the

Smelly Bus, Junie B. Jones and the

Yucky Fruit Cake, Junie B. Jones is

a Barbershop Guy, Junie B. Jones

Graduates Kindergarten, Junie B

Jones is Not a Crook.

I like these books because they

are silly and funny at the same

time. They are also kind of weird

because, in all of her books, she

eats her cereal with orange juice

instead of milk! How weird is

that?

The Junie B Jones book series is

for kids ages 8 and up! I give

these books 5 out of 5 stars!

BOOK REVIEWS

I Like School By Fedjanaika Estime

I like school because: I can learn from my teacher. She let’s us do math. We do math together. She reads Charlotte’s Web to us. She reads Trumpet of the Swan to us. My favorite is Charlotte’s Web because Charlotte’s helped the pig and took care of him. My teacher and my school are the best in the whole entire world.

Iceland Volcano continued.

from Pg 1.

Since the day the volcano start-

ed erupting, airports across Eu-

rope have had to close on and

off again because of the ash

cloud.

the nha news - norwalk housing · 2011-07-11 · page 2 the nha news local news dear officer...

Documents