The Fairfield County Chapter of the Links, Inc. recently sponsored the “Heart Healthy Families Poster Contest” for Bridgeport Public School students during the months of March and April. Students in grades K-8 created posters about maintaining a healthy heart through exercise, healthy eating, and visits to the doctor.
A reception and heart healthy luncheon to view and celebrate the posters of more than 200 students took place on Saturday, May 5, at the William H. Pitt Center of Sacred Heart University in Fairfield. Mayor John Fabrizi attended and addressed 120 assembled parents, teachers, administrators and children. All participants celebrated the awardees and enjoyed presentations and child-oriented activities designed to highlight the importance of heart healthy behavior
Cash prizes and award certificates were presented to the winners. The following Bridgeport Public School students received awards:
Best in Show
David Flores – Grade 8 – Thomas Hooker School
6th – 8th Grade
First Place – Daryl Stoval – Grade 6 – Longfellow After School
Second Place – Peter Barnaba – Grade 6 – High Horizon Magnet
Third Place – Jazmin Reyes – Grade 6 – John Winthrop School
3rd – 5th Grade
First Place – Assan Rogers – Grade 4 – Classical Studies Academy
Second Place – Timme Le – Grade 5 – Classical Studies Academy
Third Place – Kayla Duncan – Grade 3 – Classical Studies Academy
K – 2nd Grade
First Place – Alex Thompson – Grade 2 – Black Rock School
Second Place – Amanda Plummer – Grade 1 – Black Rock School
Third Place – J’nai Richardson – Kindergarten – Black Rock School
Honorable Mention – Group Project
Grade 6 – Longfellow School
Tatyana Salgado
Rayneesha Barnes
Inessa Vargas
Marlene Valentin
Best in Show winner David Flores also won a trip for him and 30 of his classmates to visit Stepping Stones Museum in Norwalk. The winning posters will be on view at City Hall Annex, 999 Broad Street, on the 2nd Floor in the Rotunda gallery throughout the month of June.
The Fairfield County Chapter of the Links, Inc. is a chapter of a national organization of African American women who volunteer and raise funds to support health, art, and youth projects in the Stamford, Norwalk and Bridgeport urban areas.
Great Corporate Sponsors
The Board of Education, its staff, and students would like to thank the following companies for their generous donations to Bridgeport’s public schools:
Gartner Corporation
10 laptop computers, valued at $100 per unit
Donated to Winthrop School
InBev, USA
Four tractor trailer loads of office furniture
Donated to the school district
Hugh Lauter Levin Associates, Inc.
300 “bulking dummies”
Donated to the Art Departments at Bassick, Central and Harding
Bridgeport Public Schools greatly appreciates these generous donations.
Bridgeport Public Schools Presents Breakfast in the Playground
In an effort to keep its students healthy and happy, Bridgeport Public Schools continues to provide breakfast for students in every school. Presently the schools feed about one-third of the students eligible for the program on a daily basis.
In light of the decreasing participation in the breakfast program at Columbus and Curiale, the BBOE has introduced Breakfast in the Playground, a creative program designed to encourage students to get a healthy start to the day by staying active and eating well before schools. The program provides a simple, yet healthy meal that can be eaten on the go as students enjoy play time.
Under the direction of Maura O’Malley and Gene Santini, Director and District Supervisor of Food and Nutrition, respectively, this program is successful. "Breakfast in the playground is the best of two activities for students. We encourage students to be active and exercise daily so rather than coax them away from the playground in the morning to eat breakfast in the cafeteria, we bring breakfast to them in the playground,” Mrs. O’Malley said. “These students now have both a morning workout and a healthy breakfast.”
Bassick Participates in CPEP Contest
Earlier this month, students in Bassick’s Connecticut Pre-Engineering Program (CPEP) competed in the CPEP’s statewide competition, held at the University of New Haven (UNH). Bassick is the only high school in Bridgeport that has a CPEP program.
CPEP provides programs designed to encourage young students to pursue careers in the fields of mathematics, science, engineering and technology. It is the only program of its kind in the state. “It is an excellent program because the kids don’t often appreciate the importance of science,” said Ignatius Bertone, Bassick’s CPEP advisor. “This program helps them get first-hand experience of how science applies to their everyday lives. It’s been very motivational.”
Congratulations to the following winners of this year’s CPEP Day Competition:
Bridge Competition
Construction Award
Kenny Nwajagu
Reynaldo Sanchez
Alex Nguyen
Egg Drop
First Place
Duyon Tran
Sohee Jang
Linh Nguyen
Chess Competition
Third Place
Lenny Finelli
Mancala Competition
Third Place
Lenny Finelli
Nanotechnology Essay Competition
First Place
Pedro Guetterez
UNH professors and graduate students provided their expertise in judging the events. Winners received awards in the form of trophies and ribbons. Essay winner Pedro Guetterez also won a $100 savings bond and a portable DVD player. Next year Mr. Bertone hopes to expand this program and get more students involved.
The Connecticut Pre-Engineering Program's (CPEP) mission is to help underrepresented students discover their potential through science, math and technology. CPEP is designed to identify underrepresented minority and women students who have the potential for college at the upper elementary through the middle/junior high and high schools levels to enter and graduate from quality institutions of higher education. Providing the support system necessary to motivate students to perform well in a pre-college program, CPEP furnishes students with a strong foundation in mathematics, sciences and English to pursue math, science or engineering based fields at the four-year university/college level.
