Friday, February 8, 2013

Fire prevention poster, essay contest winners named

Annual awards presented this week
SHELTON – The two first place Fire Prevention Poster Contest winners, a fourth grade and a fifth grade winner, were announced Wednesday at the annual Shelton Fire Prevention Contest Awards Ceremony  at Shelton City Hall. Overall City of Shelton Winners is as follows: Grade 4  - Berra Barkana of Mohegan School; Grade 5  - Isabela Baghdady of St. Lawrence School.

Each poster will now advance to a state level contest. 
Assistant Chief Ted Pisciotta congratulated students and thanked parents, teachers, principals, and firefighters for their efforts.
John Anglace, President of the Board of Aldermen, spoke about the benefit of the annual contest and his gratitude for all the many individuals that support this fire safety program.
 All first and second place winners from the fourth and fifth grade representing each of Shelton’s public and parochial schools,  received a cash award of $75 and $50, respectively, from Anglace. The two overall City of Shelton winners, were presented a cash award of $100, a certificate, and a medal.

The annual poster contest, launched in 1984, is designed to develop fire safety awareness in youngsters and to encourage them to take the message home to their families.
It is jointly sponsored by Connecticut FAIR Plan, representing the insurance industry in the state; the Connecticut Fire Marshals Association; Connecticut Board of Education and the Office of State Fire Marshal. 
The local contest is administered by the Shelton Fire Prevention Bureau. Approximately 900 posters were submitted this year from Booth Hill, Elizabeth Shelton, Long Hill, Mohegan, Perry Hill, St. Joseph, St. Lawrence and Sunnyside schools. 
Each student who submitted a poster will receive a Certificate of Appreciation and a pen from the Connecticut Fire Prevention Poster Committee. Judging was held on Dec. 19 with representatives from the Board of Aldermen as judges. All first place posters will be displayed over the next year at schools, public buildings, and events. 

Essay contest winners
Anglace also presented cash awards and certificates to winners of the Sixth Grade Essay/Public Service Announcement Contest. Classrooms received a cash award of $100, $75, and $50 for first, second, and third place, respectively. Each student author received a cash award of $50. 
The Bureau is thankful for the volunteer essay/PSA judges from the Shelton Patch and Valley Independent Sentinel.
Since the contest began in 1996, its purpose has been to promote fire safety by having students research the topic while writing their PSA. 
The fire department/fire prevention bureau would like to use the essay to help remind adults and children how important fire prevention is to Everyone/Everyday. 
This year’s winners are:

1st Place

Mr. Fabrizi’s Class, Perry Hill School
Student Authors:  Alyssa Bretan and Codi Lynders

2nd Place

Mrs. Reilly’s Class, Perry Hill School

Student Authors:  Sarah Gloria and Kaitlyn Lupia

3rd Place

Mrs. Novak’s Class, St. Lawrence School

Student Author:  Peter Sandri

Students of both the poster and essay contests depicted many of the essential elements of preventing fire from ever occurring and of preparation and planning required to be ready for fire. 
Pisciotta hopes the messages of posters and essays will be shared with everyone in the community to help further reduce needless damage to property, injury to persons and loss of life that can result from fire.
In addition to spreading information about fire safety, Pisciotta also finds the contest helpful to measure the effectiveness of educational programs of the fire prevention bureau. "From reviewing the nearly 900 posters and 40 essays it becomes apparent where we have made a great impact and have identified areas where special focus may be needed to improve our educational efforts," he said.

For information contact the Shelton Fire Prevention Bureau at 924-1555 or on the web at www.cityofshelton.org.

This information was taken from a press release from Ted Pisciotta, Assistant Chief. 






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