Bedford Middle School has been awarded a certificate of merit and $500 for a project last fall commemorating the 10th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
The school's "Spirit of Service" initiative, coinciding with a book read by eighth-graders, John Hersey's "Hiroshima," involved teachers creating a program focused on service. In the program, social studies students discussed the terrorist attacks and designation of Sept. 11 as "A Day of Service and Remembrance," according to a Westport schools news release.
Students explored connections between Hiroshima and Sept. 9/11, where people risked lives to help others, and also viewed "Darius Goes West," a documentary on a 15-year-old with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy whose friends help him travel cross-country.
The project also included a talk by two members of the Westport Volunteer Emergency Medical Services about the service they provide to the town on a volunteer basis. In response, students raised $600 during a "BMS for EMS" fundraiser and icons placed on an "appreciation wall" to express their gratitude.
A write-up of the Bedford Middle School project was submitted by Courtney Ruggiero, an eighth-grade social studies teacher, to the Tribute WTC Visitor Center, which subsequently was selected one of 10 schools to be honored at a Feb. 28 ceremony in New York City. The other Bedford teachers who worked on the Spirit of Service initiative, Laurie Gray and Alison Laturnau, accompanied Ruggiero to the ceremony.
The school received a certificate of merit for the "personal and meaningful manner in which [they] have engaged [their] students in exploring the history and lessons of September 11th" as well as $500 from the September 11th Family Members Foundation. The $500 was then given to Westport EMS as a donation for its service to the community, according to the release.