Before You Read On ... Help Us Win A Teaching Kitchen!
Common Ground is a finalist in IKEA New Haven's Life Improvement Challenge. Help us win $10,000 for a new community teaching kitchen! Just text the message "LIFE35" to the number "62345." You can vote once a day until January 20th. Spread the word! Learn more. |
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Dear Friends of Common Ground,
For Common Ground's urban farm and community programs, the New Year brings some quiet time to reflect and look forward. Though summer seems far away, Rebecca and Jill have just added information on Summer Camp 2012 to our web site. Shannon, our farm manager, is busy with crop planning -- with the growing needs of our school cafeteria and a new West Rock mobile farm market in mind. We look forward to the 4th annual Rock to Rock Earth Day Ride on Saturday, April 21st, and to Spring Gardening Workshops as well.
In our high school, things are only heating up. As stories in this issue share, our 3 dozen after-school programs are buzzing, and newly released graduation rates are giving us more fuel for our school change efforts. At a chilly time of year, our students' and teachers' hard work is generating heat -- and real results.
So mark your calendar for spring events, text LIFE35 to 62345 once a day until Jan. 20th, and pay us a visit this warm winter. We can't wait to see you. |
CG Graduation Rates Outpace State Average
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 Field Trips Connect Kids to Food & Forest |
Executive Director Reflections
School Director Liz Cox and I spent time in Hartford last week. Governor Malloy went straight from the meeting at which I was presenting -- on Growing Connecticut's Farms, Foods, and Jobs -- to the Education Reform Workshop that Liz was attending. At the end of the day, Liz and I felt hopeful. The environment in Hartford feels full of potential for real and meaningful change. It is up to us to watch carefully, and to push to make sure that this time reform really does happen. Read more from Melissa Spear. |
 Spotlight: After-School Programs
Zumba and Hip-Hop Dance. Digital storytelling and robotics. White Mountain trips and woodshop. Boy's Talk and homework center. CG's after-school programs made some exciting new additions to the roster, just in time for the spring. After-school coordinator Sarah Tracy-Wanck noted that new clubs are packing a full house, while sophomore CJ expressed pride in his own extra-curriculars. "I'm able to play a responsible role in the school. It's allowed me to be more of a leader, and my fellow peers look up to me more." See pictures. |
MLK Day Children's Vacation Programs
During vacations, kids grades K-8 choose their own adventures at Common Ground. Martin Luther King Day will bring nature arts, cooking fun, and games in the winter woods. Register today for this and other vacation programs. |
 Jan 18, 21: High School Open Houses |
Feb 18: Plan Your Vegetable Garden! Join CT NOFA and Common Ground to learn the principles of planning for organic vegetable and flower gardens. Choosing the site and style, soil testing and improvements, choosing the right vegetables for the season, crop rotation and companion planting will be covered. $10 per person. RSVP at www.ctnofa.org. |
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