Great News From Bridgeport Public Schools

The mission of the Bridgeport Public Schools and its supporting community is to graduate all students "college ready" and

prepared to succeed in life.

Upcoming Events 

 

Last Wednesday, over 2,500 Bridgeport students received free tickets and transportation to the Bridgeport Sound Tigers day game against the Worchester Sharks.  Students were invited as part of the 5th Annual Cool Fun 101 event, sponsored by Peoples United Bank. The event provided teachers a fun, creative way of apply various scholastic subjects to hockey. Students had the opportunity to experience first hand the real-life educational applications of math, science, geography, and spelling in an exciting, interactive environment. 

 

"By having this game we are promoting the importance of education, regardless if you're a second grade student or a player for the Sound Tigers," said Sound Tigers President Howard Saffan.

 

The following schools participated in the 5th Annual Cool Fun 101 event:

 

Barnum School

Black Rock School

Blackham School

Bryant School

Classical Studies Academy

Columbus School

Dunbar School

McKinley School

Maplewood School Annex

Park City Magnet School

Roosevelt School

Thurgood Marshall Middle School for Social Justice

Waltersville School

 

To learn more about Sound Tigers hockey or to check out the team’s schedule, please visit www.soundtigers.com. 

 

 

 

In September, the Central High School Class of 2008 donated nearly 100 Back to School starter kits to kindergarteners at Maplewood School Annex.  This donation, allocated from the Class of 2008’s account, served as the seniors’ community service project.  The project was coordinated by Deborah McNeil, Central’s Senior Class Advisor, and Vivian Kingwood, Maplewood School Annex Social Worker. 

 

“The students were delighted when they received their pencil cases filled with crayons, glue, pencils, scissors, and other learning tools that would enable them to begin a successful start to their educational careers,” said Maplewood School Annex Principal Valerie Singleton. “The parents were thrilled that the high school students were so generous to the younger students in Bridgeport.”

 

Principal Singleton and the Maplewood School Annex kindergarten students and staff thank the Central High School Class of 2008 for its generosity and wish the seniors success upon graduation.

 

 ---Submitted by Theresa Dworkin

United Way’s mission is to improve lives by mobilizing communities to create sustainable changes in local conditions, which is what Community Impact means.  United Way knows that the best way to help the most people is to focus on the root causes of the most serious problems. The cooperation of the whole community is needed in order to accomplish this feat.  United Way brings together partners from business, government, education, non-profits, and the community at large to address Bridgeport’s most pressing needs.  United Way is able to create a real impact in the community because its members do the research, gather the experts, provide the funding, and assess the results.  The results are lasting solutions that help children succeed, build strong families, promote self-sufficiency, and strengthen our community.

 

All members of the Bridgeport Public Schools community are drawn together by a common cause: the education of our youth.  We have demonstrated that we have the expertise, the passion, and the drive to “Expect Great Things” in the community.

 

As educators, we are keenly aware of the challenges our children face each day to learn and reach their potential.  We give the best care and education possible within our school system.  But how, and by whom, are their many other needs being addressed?  What happens if they do not have a stable home environment in which to flourish?  Without additional support, our youth will not be prepared to succeed in school and in life. 

 

United Way of Eastern Fairfield County funds programs that help children enter school ready to learn while ensuring that all students have the skills necessary to graduate high school and succeed in the future.  The following programs are provided:

 

  

United Way’s initiatives in the area of early learning include the following programs.

 

* Child FIRST is focused on children’s mental health, and through the funding of this program, over 350 pre-school daycare teachers, site supervisors, mental health, and disability specialists have been trained about early childhood social-emotional development.  Child FIRST programs screen preschool students and parents to determine specific issues that inhibit the children’s learning process.

 

*  Born Learning is a public engagement campaign that was launched in January 2007. Buses traveling throughout the Greater Bridgeport area announce the importance of reading, singing, and playing with your children from the moment they are born.  In addition, thousands of Born Learning tools have been distributed throughout the community. 

 

* Read to Grow distributed over 2,500 literacy packets to new mothers at Bridgeport Hospital and St. Vincent’s Medical Center and donated over 4,000 new and gently used books to Greater Bridgeport area schools.

 

  

As we are well aware, children learn to read until grade three.  After that, children read to learn.  United Way is helping children achieve this benchmark by partnering with JPMorgan Chase in the Schools of Hope.  Over the past year, three schools have received the benefit of additional programs and professional training that impact children’s ability to read at grade level by grade three. 

 

  

Your contribution to the Community Impact Fund helps change lives. By sustaining quality programs that address academic performance, leadership skills, and positive youth development, you support families struggling to achieve financial independence and enhanced quality of life.  To learn more about the numerous programs and initiatives supported by United Way, please visit the website, at www.thewaytocare.org.