Tuttle School Student Honored for State Poster Contest Win

A message from the Secretary of the State Denise Merrill's office:

Denise Merrill joined dozens of 4th graders from across Connecticut recently at the State Capitol in Hartford for an awards ceremony honoring the winners of the Secretary of the State’s 18th Annual Poster Contest.

Secretary Merrill recognized 40 students – selected from a field of more than 500 entrants from nearly 50 participating elementary schools – for their posters depicting acts of good citizenship happening in their community.

“I always encouraged my own children to explore their imaginations, so it was wonderful to see young students from across Connecticut engage with their creativity, and produce beautiful posters,” said Secretary Merrill, Connecticut’s chief elections official. “It was far from easy selecting the top three posters from each of the five Congressional districts; all entries were unique and expressive. But, I am so thrilled to have the award-winning pieces displayed in the Capitol building. Our young people can be an inspiration for what good citizenship looks like.”

“The theme of the contest was "Good Citizenship Happening in Our Community."

This contest motivated students to look within their communities and see the democracy occurring in their towns,” said Secretary Merrill. “By making children aware of these opportunities within their community at a young age, we can only hope that it encourages the next generation of Connecticut leaders to demonstrate how to get involved in their local community and give back to their city or town. This is how we start civic engagement.”

Five winning posters were selected from divisions established by the Office of the Secretary of the State. Each division consisted of a 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winner, along with two students who received honorable mention. Every student honored at Thursday’s event received a certificate of recognition, and gift certificate from Barnes & Noble bookstore.

One of the second place winners included East Haven's Teal Graziano, a student at the Grove J. Tuttle School.

1st Place Winners were: 
Chandni & Chloe Nollet, Wolcott Elementary School, West Hartford
Meara Bodak, Haddam Elementary School, Higganum
Brandon Tang, Francis E. Korn Elementary School, Durham
Daniel Norena, Wolfpit Elementary School, Norwalk
Kevin Lush & Justin Vo, Carrington Elementary School, Waterbury