WAKEFIELD – The Massachusetts Partnerships for Youth (MPY) is proud to announce the winners and honorable mentions of this year’s Public Service Announcement (PSA) Project.
This year participating students were challenged to create a video PSA featuring the theme “We Stand Together.” The theme is inspired by Black Lives Matter at School, a national committee of educators organizing for anti-racism and racial justice in education. Suggested student topics – Diversity, Empathy, Loving Engagement and Restorative Justice – come from the Black Lives Matter Guiding Principles.
Approximately 60 students submitted PSAs this year.
“The public service announcements students created were tremendously thoughtful, timely and moving. We are pleased to have been able to provide this opportunity to support their creativity and offer an outlet for their voices,” MPY Executive Director Margie Daniels said. “Thank you to all of the students and advisors who participated. It is always a pleasure for us at MPY to be able to recognize the hard work of socially conscious young people and the educators working alongside them.”
“This PSA project is a fantastic way for students of all backgrounds, like myself and my peers, to advocate for issues we are passionate about and raise awareness about racial inequity. Thank you to MPY for providing us with this opportunity,” said Shivi Srikanth, a junior and founder/president of the newly-formed Social Activism Club at North Reading High School. “On behalf of all the students who were a part of this project, we thank MPY for this opportunity and honor, and we hope to continue spreading awareness about the importance of racial justice for our Black peers.”
This year’s winners are:
Middle School: Student group “Spilling Wild Tea, Talks on Social Justice” of Winter Hill Community Innovation School in Somerville for their PSA “Next Chapter.” Members of the group include: Jamila Baptista, grade eight; Roodiana Dorsainvil, grade eight; Sabrina Dumerant, grade seven; Nora Freeman, grade five; Nancy Nimako, grade seven; Ariana Diaz, grade seven; and Advisers Tara Stead and Jennifer Miller.
High School: The North Reading High School Social Activism Club’s “Black Students’ Lives Matter” PSA. Grade 11 students in the group include Gianna Naulivou, Jackie Magner, Jared MacDonald, Samantha Magner, Taleen Toby, Katie Musgrave, Angelina Palazzolo, Turfa Sarfaraz, Lily Joyce, Emma Galbraith, Shivi Srikanth and Advisor Edward Blum.
“The students deserve all the credit and we are incredibly proud of their hard work and their thoughtful message delivered in the PSA,” Blum said. “From start to finish, this PSA project was student-led. The students found out about the PSA project, they organized the meetings, they created the script, they recorded the videos and they created the final project. The students truly demonstrated important 21st century skills focused on being active citizens in a global society showing leadership, initiative, passion, thoughtfulness, empathy and selflessness. We are happy and proud to continue to support these students and make sure they continue to have a platform to bring awareness to key issues and bring positive change to our society.”
Honorable mentions were awarded to:
Middle School:
- Daley Middle School in Lowell for its student PSA “We Stand Together — Equality.” Students in the group include Daisalyn Iem, grade seven; Diandra Heung, grade seven and Advisor Barbara Campbell.
- Daley Middle School in Lowell for its student PSA “PSA Project Poem” by Alanna Bastien, grade eight and Advisor Barbara Campbell.
High School:
- The Southeastern Regional Technical High School Video and Performing Arts Junior Shop’s PSA “We Stand Together.” Students in the group include: Destiny Ayala-Gonzalez of Brockton, Trinity Buckley of West Bridgewater, Hazel Costello of Brockton, William Folan of West Bridgewater, Antonio Gomes-Noyes of Brockton, Alyssa Monteiro of Brockton, Delilah Parma of Easton, Kya Wallin of Brockton, Precious Bembery of Brockton, Tyler Chamberlain of Stoughton, Aviyah Clark of Brockton, Delor Ehade of Brockton, Jacob Howland of Brockton, Olivia Silva of Norton, Jacob Nalbandian of Mansfield, Fanny Mizhirumbay of Brockton and Advisor Janelle Canastra.
- The Nashoba Valley Technical High School TV & Media Production/Theatre Arts Program’s PSA “We Believe.” Students in the group include Brian McCall, a senior of Pepperell; Rebecca Loureiro, a senior of Chelmsford; Ryan Jaeger, a senior of Dunstable and Advisor Eric Stevenson.
Entries were judged by teams including school administrators, police chiefs, art teachers, community prevention professionals, school resource officers (SROs) and middle school students.
For more information about the PSA competition, visit MPY’s website here.
About the Massachusetts Partnerships for Youth, Inc.
Massachusetts Partnerships for Youth, Inc. is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization that provides training, fosters collaboration, and develops programming to increase the health and safety of students. MPY is committed to bringing cutting-edge information and high quality trainings to constituents and endeavors to provide solution-oriented, community-based, multi-disciplinary approaches to reducing and ideally eliminating risky behaviors for youth.
The nonprofit is governed by a Board of Directors made up of school superintendents, police and fire chiefs, and other community leaders who work closely with MPY staff to deliver this mission.
To learn more, visit www.mpyinc.org.
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