Polo Ridge wins first place in Fire Prevention Week bulletin board contest
Five other schools receive awards
Polo Ridge Elementary School won first place in the Charlotte Fire Department’s
25th annual bulletin board contest. The first-place win included a surprise awards
ceremony at the school on Friday, Oct. 9, as well as a check for $3,000, a plaque,
student and teacher prizes and the opportunity to keep the bulletin board winner’s
traveling trophy for a year.
The Polo Ridge bulletin board featured a large bed surrounded by smaller sleeping
scenes created by a classroom representative from each of the school’s eight thirdgrade classrooms. Recorded fire-safety messages are part of each sleeping scene.
Click here to watch their entry.
The contest asked third-grade students to create a bulletin board focusing on
this year’s National Fire Prevention Week theme: “Hear the Beep Where You Sleep.”
Schools submitted a photo of their board and a two-minute video where students
show off their entry and explain how they created it and how it ties in to the theme.
This year, 30 schools participated and six took home prizes. Other schools taking
home awards were: Ballantyne Elementary (second place); Barnette Elementary
(third place); Barringer Academic Center and Hawk Ridge Elementary (honorable
mention); and, Metro School (Chief’s award)
Each participating school received an award and each participating student
received a gift. The bulletin board contest is sponsored by the Charlotte Fire
Department, Mecklenburg County Fire Marshal’s Office, Firefighters’ Burned Children
Fund and the Fire Prevention Foundation of Charlotte.
CFD and the Mecklenburg County Fire Marshal’s Office provide fire-safety
education programs to all CMS third-graders every year. In the 2014-15 school year,
that was a total of 11,969 students.
Photo credit: Charlotte Fire Department
National Fire Prevention Week was Oct. 4-10. The week was established in
1922 to commemorate the Great Chicago Fire, which destroyed more than 17,400
structures, killed more than 250 people and left 100,000 homeless.
This year’s theme is “Hear the Beep Where You Sleep. Every Bedroom Needs a Working Smoke Alarm!” Did you know that approximately three out of
every five fire deaths happen in homes without smoke alarms, or where smoke alarms aren’t working. It’s important to have smoke alarms installed inside
every bedroom, outside each sleeping area and on every level. Smoke alarms should be connected so when one sounds, they all sound. Most homes do not
have this level of protection.
CMS awarded $3.3 million to enhance mental health services
District will support and expand school-based programs
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools has been awarded a $3.3 million grant to
increase student access to mental health services and resources. The money
will fund school-based therapy sessions for students and families, additional
student services support positions and behavioral health professional
development for school-based staff. The research grant is part of a $4.9
million award by the National Institute of Justice to the Research Triangle
Institute, a nonprofit research institute working with CMS to study mental
health services.
Affordability of mental health services can create a major barrier for
students with behavioral and emotional needs. Many CMS families who are
uninsured or privately insured are unable to afford the out-of-pocket expenses
associated with many mental health services.
“All students can succeed academically,” said CMS Superintendent Ann
Clark, “Sometimes they need extra support to overcome behavioral or
emotional difficulties that can get in the way of learning. This grant expands access to free, school-based mental health services for students and their
families. We are thankful for this extraordinary gift.”
The grant will be used to support and expand middle and K-8 school participation in CMS’ School-Based Mental Health (SBMH) program, a coll