Great News -- Central's Hosa teams wins awards at state conference;Winthrop student Jazmin Reyes Wins PAC Writing Contest

The following students won awards at the State Conference:

Concepts of Health Care: 1st place -- LaTanya Gomes

CPR/First Aid: 3rd place -- Doris Addison and Reina Lartey

Creative Problem Solving: 2nd place -- Kristina Lewis, Smileyne Charleston, Ibraheem Adebanjo, and Bing Zheng

Medical Math: 3rd place -- Alvin Sanabria

Medical Spelling: 1st place -- Adaobi Ogbenta and 2nd place -- Claudraya Harrison

Medical Terminology: 2nd place -- Stephannie Furtak and 3rd place -- Aldonille Campo

Outstanding HOSA Chapter: 3rd place -- Iris Rosa

Researched Persuasive Speaking: 1st place -- Mateo Castano

All of the students from Central that won awards in the State Conference and Central's HOSA president Amy Tran will be attending the National Leadership Conference in Orlando , FL , June 20-23, 2007. At the National Leadership Conference students will be competing in the above mentioned competitions for national chapter awards.

Central High School 's HOSA has been fundraising all year for their trip to Orlando . They are still in need of financial support; any donations to the club are greatly appreciated. To donate contact Deana DiLuggo at ddiluggo@bridgeportedu.net or (203) 576-7377.

Winthrop student Jazmin Reyes Wins PAC Writing Contest

Winthrop School sixth grader Jazmin Reyes has participated in writing contests since the first grade, and recently her literary skills earned her recognition as this year’s Parent Advisory Council (PAC) Writing Contest winner. “I like writing so I did this contest to show people that I can write,” said Jazmin. “I get to do something I love and get rewarded for doing it.”

The 6^th Annual PAC Writing Contest is a parent initiative to support the children of Bridgeport in academic growth. Each year a volunteer parent committee organizes the event and chooses a writing topic and the grade which will compete in the contest. This year the event was open to all sixth grade students, with participants answering the following question: If you could change one thing to make the world a better place what would it be? Think about the reasons you would change them and tell your reader several reasons why it is the most important thing to change in order to make the world a better place. Jazmin chose to explore the issue of global warming because she felt it was a problem that encompasses a variety of other issues, such as pollution. The following is an excerpt from her winning essay:

We need to empower individuals to take action to curb global warming. Human beings and the natural world are on a collision course. Human activities inflict harsh and often irreversible damage on the environment and on critical resources. If not checked, many of our current practices put as serious risk the future that we wish for human society and the plant and animal kingdoms, and may so alter the living world that it will be unable to sustain life in the manner that we know. Fundamental changes are urgent if we are to avoid the collision our present course will bring about. Even though many are taking there part in trying to save the Earth from preventable tragedy we still need others to help. Just if everyone in the world does one small thing th at will help it all adds up and we will be so much closer in curing the Earth.

As the Grand Prize winner, Jazmin received a laptop and printer, which will be especially useful in her future academic endeavors. “I was really happy to find out I won,” she said.

Writing and math are Jazmin’s favorite subjects, but it is evident that writing is her passion. “Writing lets me express myself in a different way,” she explained. She certainly expressed her views well in this essay, and her exhortation is clear: “Global Warming is a serious crisis, and it needs to be solved, NOW!”