Hoosac Valley Middle School Students Win Fire Prevention Poster Contest
.JPG) Zachary Hubbard took first place and Madeline Zelazo took second place in Berkshire County in the state poster contest. |
CHESHIRE, Mass. — Hoosac Valley Middle School students recently learned about fire prevention through creative means.
Terry Vivori, family and consumer sciences teacher at Hoosac Valley, said students have been getting a crash course in arson prevention through the Arson Watch Reward Program Poster Contest.
"Each year during October, Fire Prevention Month, the exploratory class teachers for the Hoosac Valley Middle School students present through video, facts, and discussion how to prevent fires and fire safety," Vivori said. "The students get very excited doing this, and they always look forward to hearing from the state who the winners are."
Vivori said only the top six posters from each grade level, sixth through eighth, are submitted to the state contest, and this year sixth-grader Zachary Hubbard took first place and eighth-grader Madeline Zelazo took second place in Berkshire County.
They both attended a banquet on May 29 with their families, teachers and Adams Fire Chief Paul Goyette at the Sheraton in Framingham, where the winners were presented with a cash prize and plaque.
"At the banquet each year, we hear about the lower percentage of fires in the state," Vivori said. "The state fire marshal's office attributes this to the continuing fire prevention and fire safety education through this program."
Vivori said the winning posters will be used in the fire marshal's annual report and the Arson Watch Reward Program calendar. She said the posters will also be displayed in the State House during October for Fire Prevention Month.
The Massachusetts Property and Casualty Insurance Underwriting Association sponsors the contest and more than 200 communities have participated in the program.
She said retired North Adams firefighter David Simon first introduced the program to Hoosac Valley 10 years ago and that it has had a great educational value.
Goyette told her that the educational value is to get fire safety education into the school and to promote the use and upkeep of smoke and carbon-monoxide detectors in homes, which may in turn help save lives and property.
Tags: contest, fire safety, state fire marshal,
