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projects

The New Castle United for Youth EXPERIENCE

August 17, 2021 by Inside Press

Two Greeley Students Describe How the Coalition’s Interns Made an Impact

By Janice Seong and Violet Christensen

This summer, a group of Chappaqua teenagers log onto Zoom and discuss youth substance use, eager to make a difference in their community. Every year, New Castle United for Youth (NCUFY) provides an opportunity for local teenagers to work on projects surrounding youth substance use and healthy decision-making through a summer internship program.

Interns meet in two-week chunks with six total work days. The first week of the internship focuses on learning skills such as data visualization and the components of successful public health interventions. The second week of the session consists of more project-based work, where we break into groups to create final projects centered around youth substance use or promoting healthy lifestyle choices.

While working as interns, we share our perspectives as teenagers and work collaboratively with our peers. Intern Ian Freeman relates that the internship offers a unique way for “youth [to] help out other youth as opposed to adults because people are more likely to listen to others that they can relate to more.” Michael Huaca adds that he got to interact with students that were “freshmen, upperclassmen, or students below [his] grade.” The internship held by NCUFY allows us to interact with other youth that we otherwise would not share classes with at school.

Last year, one session focused on finding a way for families to spend more time together during quarantine. The project produced a family cookbook; the main inspiration behind it arose from an activity in which we each had to find and present an item that reminded us of a moment we had with our families. In making the cookbook, we picked various cuisines and included recipes that would be accessible to all age groups. Another project we made emphasizing familial connections was a family craft booklet that included tutorials on activities like making bead bracelets and creating a family tree. Due to the limited amount of activities that were available during quarantine, we wanted to share engaging activities families could participate in together.

Another summer session project was a survey on what a typical weekend looks like for Chappaqua teenagers; its main purpose was to show that a typical weekend does not involve risky activities and drinking–contrary to what many teenagers may believe. Because there was not enough time to fully develop this project in the summer, we began to have weekly meetings on Wednesdays. Throughout the past school year, we reviewed the work that the summer interns did and continued working on a survey for Chappaqua teenagers to complete. The results of the survey show that a majority of the teenagers (94%) do not use substances including marijuana or alcohol on a typical Saturday. We plan on using the results to develop an infographic to share with local youth.

Alex Mancini, a summer intern involved in creating the survey, finds the weekly meetings to be beneficial. He says, “The most rewarding part of participating in the meetings is completing projects that we have been working on and putting them into the real world. Also, the idea that what we are doing could be helping someone in our community is very reassuring to think about.”

As the school year starts, students interested in NCUFY can get involved by joining the weekly Coalition Youth Leadership Council meetings held throughout the school year. An easy way to join is by emailing the Coalition Coordinator, at ncufycoordinator@gmail.com. For more info, visit newcastleunitedforyouth.org. Moreover, students can join Greeley’s SADD club, led by NCUFY member and Greeley Student Assistance Counselor Carolyn D’Agostino who works closely with the Coalition to inspire smart choices in and outside a school environment.

It’s greatly satisfying to have a meaningful impact on your community. NCUFY gives Greeley students the perfect opportunity to put our heads together and reach rewarding outcomes

Janice Seong is a rising senior at Horace Greeley High School and one of the Editors-in-Chief of the Greeley Tribune. A part of New Castle United for Youth for three years as the Youth Sector Representative, she enjoys giving back to her community and working with her peers to make a lasting impact.

Violet Christensen is a rising sophomore at Greeley and has been working with the NCUFY coalition for two years. She is also a member of Greeley’s SADD club and enjoys contributing to the well-being of the community. In her free time, Violet can be seen playing softball, volleyball, and video games.

New Castle United for Youth, a coalition funded through the federal Drug Free Communities grant program, aims to create a supportive and interconnected community for New Castle youth and their families. Each summer, NCUFY hosts an internship program for local teens to hear their perspectives and to empower them to support each other.

 

Filed Under: Cover Stories Tagged With: Mentoring, New Castle United for Youth Coalition, projects, Quarantine, Students, youth

STEM Fest Kids Describe their Projects

June 3, 2016 by The Inside Press

Editor’s Note: STEM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering and Math. Before this year’s STEM Fest day, held May 14th at the Bell Middle School, the following students volunteered to explain their projects to Inside Chappaqua! Here’s just a sampling of hundreds of projects and experiments the kids have been engaged in. For more information about STEM Fest, visit chappaquaptastem.com

IMG_2836Arnav Roy

Project: Knock Lock

This circuit is a small locking mechanism that opens or locks a box with a specific ‘knock.’ My circuit has a sound sensor called ‘piezo,’ which can sense vibrations as well as sounds. I wanted to build something that I could attach to my room door, so that only I have access to my bedroom. The best part was making the circuits itself, as I enjoy experimenting with circuits. In this project I soldered wires for the first time and that was fun. The hardest part was to get the right knock intensity to fall in an acceptable range of the code. For my future project, I want to work on an app for my Knock Lock.

parabolaGigi Wheeler

Project: Parabolas

I saw a film at the San Francisco Exploratorium about parabolas and got the idea for this project. A pendulum makes a parabola shape. There are all kinds of examples of parabolas in nature. I’m taking pictures of the ones I see and writing about them. I like taking the pictures. When this is over, I might want to study matter, or how dragonflies fly, or what infinity is.

NeelNeel Roy

Project: Coding

I coded a few different programs using ‘Python.’ Every Sunday, I take Python classes at my friend’s house. The best part about this project was creating new programs and playing with all the games that I made. The hardest part about this project was making the game, because if the coding was not right I would get a syntax error. Then I would have to go back again and find the code that was incorrect. In the future, I want to create a really big complicated game using code.

waterTessa Wheeler

Project: Testing for Lead

I had been hearing about the problem with water contamination in Flint, Michigan. My grandmother works in Flint at The University of Michigan’s Flint campus. So she collected some water and sent it to in the mail. It was hard to get it here safely. I then talked with my aunt’s boyfriend who works at the National Science Foundation about the best ways to test for lead. He said that using test strips is a fine indicator for lead presence, so I used that. I tested the water from Flint, Michigan, and thankfully it was negative for lead. I then decided to test some toys for lead. I started by researching what toys had been recalled. I found that one of our toys was recalled for lead. And a toy my sister recently received for her birthday even has a notice on it that it contains lead! I want to make sure kids are not getting toys with lead. For my next project, I want to do a study on the immune system or dwarfism.

HenryWilliam2Henry LePage and William Hollister

Project: A Small Scale Hovercraft

We thought it would be interesting to build transportation that has no friction, because it floats on a cushion of air, and goes really fast. We got the idea for the hovercraft from a book called “How Things Work.” There was a cut away section of the inner workings of a hovercraft, and we decided to figure out how to build a working model based on the picture in the book. The best part of collaborating on this project was working together and using power tools. Truthfully, nothing worked at first. We needed to adjust the weight of the craft and the skirt didn’t seal properly. Then we had to change the height of the fan and make a cage for the fan since we realized the blade could cut off our fingers. The hardest part, by far, was getting the weight down. After the STEM Fest, Henry is planning on building a full scale wooden boat that will broaden his woodworking and CAD skills. William will attend a technology camp this summer, and he has plans to land the first Lego mini figure on the Moon with a model rocket.

Understanding how Enzymes Work

At the Regeneron Exhibit, student Nicole Weyne made and measured glucose (using a glucose test strip) for milk by adding the enzyme lactase. About 200 kids stopped by the hands-on exhibit run by Regeneron volunteers, who are also New Castle residents. Lori Gowen Morton Photo.
At the Regeneron Exhibit, student Nicole Weyne made and measured glucose (using a glucose test strip) for milk by
adding the enzyme lactase. About 200 kids stopped by the hands-on exhibit run by Regeneron volunteers, who are
also New Castle residents. Lori Gowen Morton Photo.

Filed Under: Cover Stories Tagged With: Chappaqua, experiments, Inside Press, projects, STEM, STEM Fest, theinsidepress.com

Sew Happy Sewing: Hand and Machine Sewing Instruction for Kids throughout Westchester

May 20, 2015 by The Inside Press

Wainwright_37Sew Happy Sewing, Inc began in 2012 when Kim Mulcahy decided to turn her hobby in to a cottage industry. She realized that sewing was a life skill that was missing and yet desperately needed by the women and kids in her town. Now, in 2015, the Sew Happy Sewing program is being taught at after school clubs in over 13 schools in Westchester and Kim has 3 talented instructors who, under her guidance, teach sewing in a nurturing, grass roots fashion. Sew Happy Sewing covers both hand and machine sewing but Kim is a keen supporter of hand sewing and often explains to the kids that they can take out a needle and thread anywhere but not a sewing machine! As with everything it’s about finding a balance!

Sew Happy Sewing also offers “boutique” camps in Rye, Greenwich and Chappaqua. “Threads” Camp is tailored to inspire potential fashion designers and fashionistas out there. The difference between the Sew Happy “Threads” Camp and other fashion-type camps is that we actually teach the kids how to design and SEW wearable garments. At “Threads” Camp, the kids work through fun design challenges, sometimes in groups and sometimes alone to create unique garments and they plan and orchestrate their own fashion show on the last day.

Wainwright_8“Summer Of Sewing” Camp offers a combination of sewing projects from stuffed animals and gadget cozy’s to pj pants so it’s a great introduction to sewing allowing the kids to try their hand at many different areas of sewing.

The kids who attend our camps make great new friends and connections and often move on to advanced sewing classes and workshops with Sew Happy. We offer the camp to ages 8 – 17 and then we group the kids by age with age appropriate projects and assignments.

Sew Happy offers two birthday party packages, “Sew Fun” is hand sewing for ages 7 and up and offers a choice of super cute projects like bunny puppet, mouse-in-a-tin, gadget cozy or cup-cake softee. “Extreme Sewing” is a machine sewing party where the kids decorate fabric with decorative machine stitches and then they make it into a pillow.

In addition, Sew Happy Sewing has regular workshops in Rye and is planning to expand in to other areas of Westchester this year. Private lessons for individuals or groups are also available. Call 917 885 7716 for more information, visit www.sewhappyusa.net or email Kim at kim@sewhappyusa.net.

Filed Under: Lifestyles with our Sponsors Tagged With: Gifts, industry, Inside Press, projects, Sew Happy Sewing, sewing, theinsidepress.com

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