Connecticut
Westport Students Have Strong Results At Connecticut History Day
Information from Westport Public Schools:
WESTPORT, CT — Students from Staples High School and Bedford and Coleytown Middle Schools won awards for a total of nine projects at the 2024 Connecticut History Day (CHD) held on May 4 at Central Connecticut State University. Competing for the opportunity to advance to the national competition, dozens of Westport students submitted entries that focused on this year’s theme, Turning Points in History.
A program of the Connecticut Democracy Center, CHD is part of National History Day which is an ongoing program that engages thousands of middle- and high-school students in historical research, interpretation and creative expression through project-based learning. It seeks to bring students, teachers, museums, and scholars together to support young people as they engage in history.
Students whose projects placed first or second in their category at CHD move on to the National History Day competition to be held at the University of Maryland, College Park, on June 9-13. Westport students who placed at CHD include:
Uma Choudhury, Zara Saliba, and Caroline Banks (Staples High School) who won first place for their submission to the senior group exhibit category, “A Turning Point in Culture: The Immoral Origin and Immortal Legacy of HeLa Cells.”
Julien McMahon (Staples High School) who won first place in the senior individual website category with the entry, “The Shot that Echoed Across the World: The Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand.”
Chloe Jordan and Sienna Wearsch (Staples High School) who took second place in the category, senior group performance, with “Beyond the Boundaries of the Human and Feminist World.”
Zayd Hemdan, Lev Piterbarg, and Oliver Sunderji (Bedford Middle School) took first place in the
junior group documentary with their submission, “Harlem’s Golden Age: Revolution and Rebirth.”
Third place in the same category went to Alina Knapp, Quinn Danbeck and Julia Riley (Bedford Middle School) with their submission, “The Impact of Barbie.”
Liam Harrison (Bedford Middle School) won second place for, “The Wonders and Woes of a Turning Point: The Basilic Cannon’s Blast into Multiculturalism”, in the Junior Individual Performance category.
Alex Sheefel (Coleytown Middle School) placed second in the junior individual exhibit for “Nunca Mas, Grandmothers of Change.”
Ethan Maxwell Valencia (Coleytown Middle School) won third place in the junior individual website category for, “The Transistor: One Discovery Changed the World Forever.”
The special recognition of Outstanding Entry in World History – Senior Division was bestowed on Kevin Cano and Will Enquist (Staples High School) for their project, “The Yalta Conference: How a Secret Meeting Changed the Fate of the Post-War World.”
The students who have advanced to the national competition were mentored by teachers Nell-Ayn Lynch, Staples High School; Caroline Davis and Gabrielle Tomas, Bedford Middle School; and Steve Cerny, Coleytown Middle School.
“We are so proud of students across Staples, Bedford and Coleytown who engaged in historical research and inquiry through this program,” said Dr. Lauren Francese, Social Studies Coordinator, Westport Public Schools. “Their participation and shared success are a testament to their curiosity and the skills they’ve developed in social studies classrooms to think critically about historical topics and enduring themes.”
UNCASVILLE, Conn. (WTNH) — Aaliyah Edwards came off the bench to score a game-high 21 points as the Connecticut Sun defeated the Portland Fire, 90-87, during Camp Day on Tuesday morning at Mohegan Sun Arena.
Thousands of kids were in attendance to watch the Sun hold on to a fourth-quarter lead as the Fire attempted to rally. Connecticut led by 10 at halftime and saw its lead cut to one in the final period.
Brittney Griner added 20 points for the Sun, who ended their three-game homestand with a victory. Olivia Nelson-Ododa went 8-for-8 from the foul line en route to 16 points and Leila Lacan chipped in 14.
Carla Leite led the Fire with 18 points.
The Sun visit Phoenix on Friday for the first of two games with the Mercury.
Florida’s tallest flag pole raises new Stars and Stripes on Independence Day
Florida’s tallest free-standing American flagpole now stands 250 feet tall at Bernice Braden Park in Cape Coral
You might have seen Connecticut’s state flag in government buildings and schools and wondered what the meaning was behind its design.
Adopted by the General Assembly in 1897, the Flag of Connecticut features a navy blue background with a white shield. Three grapevines with purple grapes are on the shield and oak leaves and acorns can be found on the shield’s edge.
Below the shield is a banner which features the phrase “Qui Transtulit Sustinet” written in Latin. According to ConnecticutHistory.org, that phrase translates to “He who transplanted still sustains,” which honors the colonists who moved to the state from England.
Per Encyclopedia Britannica, the three grapevines have two competing interpretations: they represent either the three oldest settlements in the state (Hartford, Wethersfield and Windsor) or the three colonies that merged to form Connecticut (Connecticut Colony, Saybrook Colony and New Haven Colony).
Why is the Connecticut flag blue?
According to ConnecticutHistory.org, the blue comes from Connecticut’s Civil War military flags. During the Civil War, Connecticut regiments had flags featuring blue backgrounds. ConnecticutHistory.org reports that when the legislature adopted an official flag in 1897, they kept the color that military tradition had already established.
Origins of Connecticut’s state flag
Per ConnecticutHistory.org, Connecticut did not have an official state flag until 1897. The site reports that in 1895, the Anna Warner Bailey Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution in Groton pushed for an official flag to display in their new meeting room.
Governor Owen Vincent Coffin introduced a bill on May 29, 1895, which ConnecticutHistory.org says caused the legislature to subsequently form a committee. After several designs were submitted, the Connecticut General Assembly adopted the flag in 1897.
Connecticut’s coat of arms, which includes the shield, grapevines and banner featured on the state flag, was not formally standardized until 1931, according to USASymbol.com. The website also says color standards for the flag came in 1956, when the Secretary of the State’s office developed uniform specifications.
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