Students commended for helmet awareness essays
By karl vilacoba
Staff Writer

BRICK — An invitation to students from township schools to write essays on bicycle helmet safety yielded 197 responses, 15 of which were judged by the Township Council as winners. That’s the way they all became the Brainy Bunch.

In a short ceremony at the beginning of the Dec. 10 meeting, the council honored all winners of the Brain Injury Association of New Jersey’s Brainy Bunch contest.

All 15 winners received a complimentary bicycle helmet courtesy of Wal-Mart of Brick Township. In addition, the winners’ names were placed in a bucket for one lucky writer to receive a gift certificate for a new bicycle at Brick Bikes, paid for by Commerce National Insurance.

Councilwoman Kimberley Casten led the children in a Brainy Bunch song to the tune of the famed Brady Bunch theme after acknowledging all winners. A resolution was passed commending participating schools, students and sponsors for the contest.

"The essays were really terrific. If anything, we did what we set out to do in promoting bicycle helmet awareness," Casten said. "It was really tough to judge because they were all so well written."

Casten, Kathy Russell and Frederick Underwood judged the essays and read a few of them for the 100 in attendance.

Students from St. Dominic’s Catholic School, Osbornville, Emma Havens Young and Lanes Mill elementary schools participated. Osbornville students contributed 150 of the essays, Casten said.

"I think because of that, we ought to make Principal Dennis Filippone the president of the Brainy Bunch in Brick," Casten said.

The 15 students recognized for their essays were Chris Parlow, Christopher Self, Dominick DeFillippes, Kayla Conlon, Kaitlin Morrison, Danielle Moore, Chelsea Florczak, Sara Sissleman, Jessica Laird and Sara Pannullo of Osbornville; Marlee Greenburg and Michael Scardilli of Emma Havens Young; Nick Alvarez and Matthew Basillotto of Lanes Mill; and Amanda Casten of St. Dominic’s.