Forty-four kids were honored Tuesday at the state Capitol for their drawings, poems, essays and even song lyrics and a short play — all prize-winning submissions in a contest promoting energy efficiency.
Gov.Dannel P. Malloy, who spoke briefly at the ceremony in the Old Judiciary Room, thanked the organizer of the contest — The Connecticut Energy Efficiency Fund — saying: “These are great projects, great poems, great ideas … We want to encourage more children to be interested in the sciences and math fields and
this is yet another way to do it.”
Malloy noted that many of the entries with poems and essays also showed that the students’ “literary accomplishments were quite extensive.”
For her entry, Jessica Amarante, a fifth-grader at Walsh Intermediate School in Branford, rewrote the song lyrics toGuns N’ Roses’ “Welcome to the Jungle.”
“Welcome to the savings, we’ve got Energy Star/ We got everything you want, you won’t have to go far/ Reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, and other pollutants too/ If you got the money, honey, we’ve got what’s best for you.”
Kelin Virgulto, a third-grader at Ryerson Elementary School in Madison, wrote a poem: “There once was a smart school girl named Jill/ Who received a huge energy bill/ She turned off the lights/ To her parent’s delight/ In saving, she found her wisest skill.”
More than 800 schoolchildren submitted entries — the most in the eight-year history of the contest. Connecticut Light & Power Co. and United Illuminating Co. also were partners in the contest.
This year’s winners were well-rewarded. First-prize winners in each age category received an iPad; second-prize winners were given a Kindle. Third-prize winners received a season pass for their immediate family to one of several museums in the state, and those winning fourth prize or honorable mention got Amazon gift cards.
A first-prize winner, William Cabrera, who is in kindergarten at St.Peter/St. Francis School in Torrington, sat with his brand new iPad balanced on his lap. Was he happy with his winnings? William just smiled. His entry was a picture, showing a person turning off a light switch to save energy.
His mother Wilda Hernandez, camera in hand, also smiled at her son’s success, but of the prize she said with amusement, “They are just creating problems for me.”
Hernandez said the iPad still is probably better in her son’s hands than in hers. He’s already more adept at technology than she is, she said.