Council Rock School District and CPCU Society announced finalists of the Fire Safety in the Home Contest
By Samantha Bambino
The Times
At a recent Council Rock School Board meeting, 12 colorful posters stood in the center of the room. These weren’t just any old school projects. From hundreds of submissions, these were the finalists chosen by a panel of judges to be the winners of the 34th annual CPCU Fire Safety in the Home Contest.
The contest took place throughout the Council Rock School District during National Fire Prevention Week, Oct. 8–14. All elementary students in the district were invited to participate and create a project, whether it be an essay, poster or video, on the topic of fire safety. Out of the hundreds of projects, teachers were tasked with selecting the top five in each of the three categories — grades one-two, grades three-four and grades five-six.
Next, a panel of judges examined the projects of the semifinalists, narrowing it down to the top four in each respective age group. The panel consisted of Council Rock school board director Wendi Thomas, Northampton Township fire marshal Frank Fenton and former Northampton Township supervisor Peter Palestina, who helped kick off the contest 34 years ago.
Palestina held his supervisor position for 24 years, during which he served as the township’s liaison for fire safety. He was also a member of the CPCU (Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter) Society, a designation held by 1 percent of insurance industry professionals. In 1984, he contacted the superintendent and school board president at the time about collaborating on a student safety program. All parties were immediately on board, and the contest has continued each year since, remaining the CPCU Society’s longest-running charitable event.
At the school board meeting on Nov. 16, Palestina explained how difficult it was for the judges to select a handful of winners.
“We had a lot of interesting posters and essays to judge this year,” he said.
While Fire Safety in the Home is technically a competition, the heart of the contest goes far beyond who comes in first place. Every week, stories on death and destruction due to fires are reported in the news. Many times, according to Palestina, these disasters are preventable.
“This is a contest that, to me, brings safety to the community because the children learn about fire safety,” he said. “It’s things like these that help promote a safer community.”
While creating their projects, the students visited local fire departments to conduct research and speak with the men and women who know fire safety best. Not only did the children gain knowledge on safety and prevention, but their parents received a refresher as well.
All of the winners were then recognized at the meeting in front of the school board, parents and teachers. Announcing the names was Thomas, who invited each student to come forward and stand by their project.
For grades one and two, the first-place winner was Kaylee Moore (Rolling Hills Elementary) who received $100 cash, movie tickets and a plaque. Her poster included vital tips like calling 911, establishing a safe meeting place and remembering the stop, drop and roll technique. Sophia Erickson (Churchville Elementary,) Alison Butkiewicz (Richboro Elementary) and Adelyn Martin (Rolling Hills), who came in second, third and fourth place respectively, all received $50 cash, movie tickets and a plaque.
In the category for grades three and four, first place went to Kylie Williams (Newtown Elementary), whose project featured Wary Mary’s rules for fire safety. Jared Checkoff (Welch Elementary), Brooklyn Cardone (Hillcrest Elementary) and Nicholas Gromosaik (Churchville) came in second, third and fourth respectively.
For grades five and six, Sara Tyler (Goodnoe Elementary) won first place. Second, third and fourth went to Swara Patel (Holland Elementary), Colin Cloud-Schenk (Welch) and Abigail Newton (Holland).
All of the winners will be recognized a second time at the Dec. 20 Northampton Township board of supervisors meeting. Citations will be presented to each student by state Sens. Tommy Tomlinson and Charles McIlhinney, House Reps. Scott Petri and Perry Warren and Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick. This will take place at 7:30 p.m. at the Northampton Township Building, 55 Township Road, Richboro.
Samantha Bambino can be reached at sbambino@newspapermediagroup.com
