Five student-produced videos from four local school districts — including Ottoson Middle School — have been selected as finalists in the 2014 PSA Project, hosted by Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan and Middlesex Partnerships for Youth Inc.
On June 17, Nashoba Valley Technical High School was anounced as the winner. Its video is titled “Take Time to Get Involved” and was created by students Jack Stavro of Billerica, Aislinn Wolfe of Pepperell, and James Lisciotto of Chelmsford.
As part of the sixth annual PSA Project, middle and high school students were invited to create original 30- to 60-second public-service announcements under the theme “CommUnity Involves You,” an effort to encourage students to be engaged and active members of their school and larger community.
About 130 students participated, and 33 student videos were submitted. All entries were reviewed, and the finalists were chosen by a panel of judges that included educators, law enforcement and staff from the Middlesex District Attorney’s Office.
The finalists were:
o Somerville High School, Somerville: “Community Hallway”
o Nashoba Valley Technical High School, Westford: “CommUnity”
o Nashoba Valley Technical High School, Westford: “Take Time to Get Involved”
o Ottoson Middle School, “Arlington: Get Involved”
o Melrose High School, Melrose: “Helping is Contagious”
“I am so proud of the work of Middlesex County students in creating these videos,” Ryan said in a news release. “All of the entries were creative in their interpretation of this year’s theme. We wanted students to think about their role in their community, both inside and outside of school. Each of the finalists was successful in using that message. The PSA Project, and its companion, the Poster Project, have been successful ever year because students are great communicators. When students create the message they can motivate their peers and effect change.”
Last month, the District Attorney Ryan and Middlesex Partnerships for Youth honored four students in the second annual Poster Project, a companion program to the PSA, where students designed original posters following the same theme.
More than 100 posters from 131 students across Middlesex County were submitted. The winner and three honorable mentions were selected by a panel of judges that included Middlesex District Attorney’s Office and Middlesex Partnerships for Youth staff, art teachers, police officers, and school administrators. Click here for more information.
Middlesex Partnerships for Youth, Inc. (MPY) is a non-profit organization which provides prevention and intervention resources and training to Middlesex school districts and communities. District Attorney Ryan is the Chair of the MPY Board of Directors.
Through the efforts of District Attorney Ryan and MPY, educators, parents, and students can regularly engage in collaborative trainings with law enforcement, social services, and community-based organizations as well as share the latest information and resources. Such interactions provide the foundation for creating solution-oriented, community-based, multi-disciplinary approaches to addressing youth violence, substance abuse, child abuse and neglect, hate crimes, and harassment across Middlesex County.
For more information on prevention and intervention programs, visit www.middlesexda.com and www.middlesexpartnershipsforyouth.org.
This story was published Tuesday, June 10, 2014, and updated June 17
