‘Reflections’ On Different Heroes: Students Name Theirs

A total of 28 students throughout Sandy Hook Elementary School participated in the national Parent Teacher Association’s (PTA) 2005 Reflections contest.

This year’s theme, “A Different Kind of Hero,” challenged students in preschool through grade 12 to recognize the people, places, and even animals that can elicit a positive change in one’s life or community.

Categories include photography, literature, musical composition, and visual arts. The six local winners were Daniel Pearson, Stephanie Roman, Jessie Coughlin, Brittany Pearson, Ryan Rosenberger, and Madison Erhardt.

The top winners will be nationally recognized through three Awards of Excellence and five Awards of Merit in each grade division for each of the program’s four categories.

One Outstanding Interpretation award is selected from each category’s Awards of Excellence winners across the grades.

In photography, third grader Ryan Rosenberger won the local contest with his photo-profile on birder Jonathon Woods.

Fourth grader Stephanie Roman wrote an award-winning musical composition, “My Happy Piano,” about her cousin who finally passed a test she had previously failed numerous times.

In the literature category, second grader Jessie Coughlin was recognized for a piece she wrote about her mother, whom she considers her personal hero, while third grader Madison Erhardt wrote about Danny Thomas, founder of St Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, Tenn. Madison herself is a cancer survivor.

In the visual arts category, first grader Daniel Pearson drew a picture of his hero, his grandfather. Daniel’s older sister, third grader Brittany Pearson, also drew a picture of their grandfather.

All 28 participants received a certificate of recognition and a gift certificate to Border’s Books & Music in Danbury.

The Awards of Excellence and Awards of Merit will be announced this spring.

For more information on the Reflections Program, visit www.pta.org.