Derby girl pens prize-winning essay, creates pizza at Antonio's

Bradley School students dream up patriotic pies 
 

By Christine DiGrazia

Principal 

Bradley School, Derby

The presidential candidates were asked all kinds of burning questions during the many months leading up to Tuesday’s Election Day: What will you do to improve the economy? How will you create jobs? Will you raise taxes?
Even Pizza Hut tried to get their opinion on their favorite pizza topping: sausage or pepperoni?

But one related question the candidates weren’t asked was recently put to Bradley School third, fourth and fifth graders as part of an essay-writing contest to help promote an Election Day fund-raiser at The Original Antonio’s, an Italian-themed restaurant in Ansonia: “Which pizza toppings would you want the President to choose for the ‘Official Pizza of the United States’? And explain why.”

Fifty students submitted essays that showed as much creativity and cuteness that 8, 9, and 10 year olds could muster using a list of 21 pizza topping ingredients from Antonio’s, the site of the Election Day fundraiser.

The toppings included artichoke hearts, mozzarella, peppers, mushrooms, pepperoni, eggplant and others.
The 10 most creative and well-written essays were given to Antonio’s owner Chris Setaro to judge for three top prizes.
First place went to fifth grader Natalia Wyszkowski, 10, of Derby who combined artichoke hearts, extra mozzarella, onions, peppers, tomatoes and eggplant to create her “Our U.S.A. National Pizza.”

Natalia won the opportunity to make her prize-winning pizza from scratch in Antonio’s kitchen with Setaro and then eat it with her parents, Grace and Jaroslaw, who moved to the United States years ago from Poland, and her brother, Gabriel, a Bradley School first grader.
Natalia is in Cindy Klabonski's fifth-grade class.

First, Setaro showed Natalia how to toss the dough to make the crust; then he helped her spread the sauce on top. Next, she added all the toppings and Setaro helped her put the pie into the oven.

Ten minutes later, Natalia was sharing her special creation with her family as dozens of Bradley School students and their families ate at nearby tables.

Below is the contest question, followed by Natalia's essay:

 “Which of the following pizza toppings would you want the President of the United States to choose for the”Official Pizza of the United States?”


The pizza toppings I would want the President of the United States to pick are artichoke hearts, extra mozzarella, onions, peppers, tomatoes, and eggplant.
Each of these toppings has a reason behind it and is yummy for the “Official Pizza of the United States.”
I chose artichoke hearts as a symbol to ensure everlasting love in this wonderful country and fondness for each other.
I believe extra mozzarella would stand for us (people) because no matter what cultures, we are one big nation and should “stick” together, like the cheese that keeps all the toppings together.
Onions would also be important. They would maybe cause us to shed tears to honor the soldiers, the wounded and especially the ones who lost their lives that many families are grieving for.
Peppers are spicy and would symbolize our toughness and dedication to the United States.
Tomatoes would provide pride and strength in the American blood that flows through our veins.
Finally, eggplant so we can plant crops.
Eggplant also promises that we have a tough exterior, but that we are definitely kind and friendly softies on the inside no matter what our stories are.
Together, these seven toppings make us the best of the best and this “Our U.S.A. Nation” pizza is symbolic of who we are and where we stand.
They are the reason we also offer helping hands, and I actually think that with these toppings, any pizza will be outright delicious!

“I read her essay and the tears were coming down,” said  Grace Wyszkowski as she watched NataIia make the pie at Antonio’s Tuesday. “I was in shock, it was so beautiful.” 

Wyszkowski said her daughter is “a big reader. She reads in the car. She reads in bed. I have to tell her to shut the light, that it’s time to go to bed.”

Natalia said the essay she entered was the first draft she had written and that she wrote it without help. She said she chose the toppings first and then thought of how each would apply to the president or the United States.

Second-place winner Claire Douglas, a fifth-grade student, was cited by Setaro for her “Liberty Pie,” a pizza shaped like the Liberty Bell. 

On her pie were red bell peppers, “which represent American farmers, who are so important to our country” and “onion for the many layers of American society.”

Claire’s sister, Amelia, a third grader, won third place for her “All American” pizza, which was shaped like the Statue of Liberty. On it would be jalapeno peppers, “because you have to be brave to eat them and barbecued chicken, because Americans love to grill.”

The other students whose essays made the top 10 were: fifth grade, Vanessa Adamski and Manuela Zapata; fourth grade, Cole Boulton; third grade, Shayne Kichar, Benjamin Smith, Alyssa Iorfino, and Piotr Drozdz.

As Natalia was sharing her pizza with her family, she looked up and noticed a classmate at a table on the other side of the restaurant. “That’s the boy who won the contest the first year,” Natalia said. Sure enough, at the table sat Arthur Newberg, a fifth-grader at Bradley School who had won the first pizza essay contest for Bradley School in 2011. 

Arthur’s entry, “The Fun Guy (Fungi) Meat Pie,” had been Setaro’s top choice in that contest and Arthur got to make that pizza in Antonio’s kitchen that year. 

As Arthur joined Natalia in the kitchen at Antonio’s Tuesday night, the cameras flashed for him once again.