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05/26/2015 03:00 PMAmong 250 Walsh Intermediate School (WIS) students who wrote about “What Memorial Day Means to Me,” 10 essayists and poets earned some special recognition this month.
The annual Captain Thomas Yester Memorial Day essay contest, organized by the Branford Veterans Parade Committee, was supported with prizes generously sponsored by the Branford Community Foundation. The judges selected a poem by WIS 7th-grader Maya Shebell as first-prize winner, awarding her a $100 Trailblazers gift card. The runner-up prize was awarded to WIS 7th-grade essayist Issy Mannle, who received a $50 gift card. Eight additional finalists from WIS grades 5 to 7 each received a $25 gift card for their work, including Samantha Esposito, Amelie Parczany, Lilt Stockwell, Issabella Finta, Emma Velardi, Mason Moor, Christian Bjork, and Mena Salama.
First-prize winner Shebell is a student of WIS teacher Patricia Mooney, and runner-up Mannle is a student of WIS teacher Michele Simpson. All 10 student writers also received certificates and were congratulated by Branford Superintendent of Schools Hamlet Hernandez (USMC Lt. Col., retired) and Veterans Day Parade Committee Chairman John Cooke.
In her first-prize poem, Shebell wrote: “A day of sorrows and tears, we remember those we hold dear. The heroes who fought in lands abroad to keep us safe and free, to be a democracy. To honor those who served our country we salute our flag, the red, white and blue, by placing our hands on our hearts and reciting the Pledge of Allegiance. These men and woman of courage make America ‘Home of the Brave.’ We bring uniformed-color flowers to place upon their graves. Because of them, our freedom is true. To the soldiers who helped the future, we give thanks to you!”