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And
the winner is…
Palm
Harbor University High School student wins statewide PSA Contest
February, 2009
Palm Harbor, FL – More than 30 students from around the state filled the Orange County Healthy
Start office in Orlando last Friday as Florida Healthy Kids Chair Loranne Ausley and Healthy Kids Executive Director Rich
Robleto announced the winners of the statewide “Act Out for Health” PSA contest. Jennie Lee,
a senior at Palm Harbor University High School, won the first place regional prize in the print ad category.
In an era of YouTube, Facebook
and MySpace, Florida Healthy Kids took a new approach to promoting Florida KidCare, the state and federally-subsidized health
insurance program for children 19 and under. Middle and high school students between the ages of 12-18 were challenged to
create a video public service announcement (PSA) or print advertisement about the program. With data showing more uninsured
children between the ages of 12-18, the Florida Healthy Kids staff and board of directors saw an opportunity to reach this
age group with a fun project that could offer more than just a cool prize for those who participated.
“The goal was simple…we
want to enroll these kids in our program. So we told the participants to explain from their own perspective how important
it is for families with uninsured kids to sign up for Florida KidCare,” Robleto said during the awards ceremony. “At
the same time, we hoped the contest would make the kids who didn’t have insurance more aware of the program and that
they would share the KidCare information with Mom or Dad so they could apply for coverage. We believe the contest accomplished
everything we hoped it would.”
With help from the Florida
Department of Education and the media, the contest information was shared with public, private and home schools across Florida
generating approximately 128 contest entries for both categories.
“I wanted to create a
print ad that other kids my age could relate to, so I used the theme of music and an iPod,” said Lee. “I hope
to use my prize money to purchase a new video camera.”
Lee submitted entries in both
the video PSA and print ad categories. She was awarded a $350 Best Buy gift card. Palm Harbor University High School received
a $350 donation from Florida Healthy Kids.
“It was interesting to
see how kids in this age group perceived the value of health insurance,” said Ausley. “The ads we selected used
messages and creative artwork that appeals to teens, yet we’re already hearing that parents with uninsured kids learned
about the contest through their kids and applied for Florida KidCare. This contest has been a win-win.”
Florida KidCare accepts applications
year-round and children enrolled in the program receive regular doctor’s visits, immunizations and routine vision and
hearing screening. Most families pay a premium of $15 or $20 a month for KidCare coverage. Medicaid coverage provides
eligible families with health care for no cost.
Nearly 1.4 million children
are served by Florida KidCare, of which 1.1 million are Medicaid customers and more than 255,000 are enrolled in MediKids,
Children’s Medical Services or Healthy Kids.
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Finalists Named in the 2009 National Merit Scholarship Program
The
National Merit Scholarship Corporation has named the following IB seniors as National Merit Scholarship Finalists in
the 2010 National Merit Scholarship Program: Shailaja Emani, Jessica Goodman, Sankar
Kannusamy, David Kirby, Matthew Reed, Christian Romero, and Robert "Tre" Ulseth.
In
additon, Victoria Humphrey attained semifianlist status in the National Achievement Scholarship
Competition. These academically talented students achieved Finalist level of the competition by fulfilling several requirements.
About 90 percent of the Semifinalists attain Finalist standing, and approximately half of the finalists will be selected as
Merit Scholarship winners, earning the Merit Scholar title.
Commended Students in the 2010 National Merit Scholarship Program
The National Merit Scholarship Corporation has recognized the following IB
seniors as Commended Students in the 2009 National Merit Scholarship Program: TBA
Commended Students
are recognized for the exceptional academic promise demonstrated by their outstanding performance on the PSAT/NMSQT.
About 34,000 Commended
Students throughout the nation are being recognized for their exceptional academic promise. Although they will not continue
in the 2009 competition for National Merit Scholarships, Commended Students placed among the top five percent of more than
1.4 million students who entered the 2009 competition by taking the 2008 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying
Test (PSAT/NMSQT).
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The PHUHS IB Program is also very proud of this year's seniors for their outstanding performance
on the May 2009 Advanced Placement examinations.
- AP SCHOLARS: Corin Agoris, Yesha Amin, Riffat Bhimani, Melanie
Cabezas, Todd Crooks, Tyler Crown, Dania Durnas, Shailaja Emani, Alek Falke, Brenda Garcia, Laura Goyack, Chelsea Gunn, Kristy
Guo, D.J. Kirby, Anna Kroll, Jonathan Lake, Denise Marton, Anirudha Mungale, Jesus Penabad, Steven Peterson, Chelsea Savona,
Yun Bo Tian, Ethan Ulm, Anna Yatskar
- AP SCHOLARS WITH HONOR: Amber Bedford, Drake Freeman, Samantha Griffith,
Martha Hinrichs, Christine Ho, Zachary Hopwood, Victoria Humphrey, Elizabeth Keller, Raymond Khouri, Su Young Kong, Adam Kraus,
Steven Kuba, Matthew Reed, Christian Romero, Andrew Schultz, Meghana Shetty, Sarah Yu
- AP SCHOLARS WITH DISTINCTION: Jessica Goodman, Ravi Haksar, Sankar
Kannusamy, Aakash Patel, Jeremy Sparks,
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