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04/26/2017 10:23 AMOn Friday, April 28, a new, student-suggested name for a Branford coastal rocky outcropping, listed for generations as Negro Heads on nautical charts, will be revealed during a special event at Branford High School (BHS). From there, State Senator Ted Kennedy (D-District 12) Jr. will petition the U.S. Board on Geographic Names to permanently change the offensive buoy name on all government maps.
Kennedy first called for the buoy to be renamed in late 2015 and Connecticut's State Geologist and Connecticut's Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) requested a suggestion. By February 2016, working with Branford Public Schools (BPS) through Superintendent Hamlet Hernandez, the idea of an essay contest was initiated for BHS students.
At the time of the essay announcement, Hernandez said the collaboration was viewed by the Branford School District as an authentic opportunity for high school students to write and defend their opinion about what the rocks and buoy should be named.
"This takes a real-world issue and engages students in a purposeful writing assignment," said Hernandez.
In the ensuing months, an ad hoc committee of Branford organization representatives was formed to review the completed essays.
On April 28, three essay winners will be recognized and the first-place essay's suggested name will be carried forward by Kennedy.
Kennedy and Hernandez will be joined by the students who wrote the first, second and third-place essays along with their parents; Town Historian Jane Bouley; Blackstone Library Director Karen Jensen; Branford High School Principal Lee Panagoulias; Branford Community Foundation President Stephanie Farber; and Branford Fire Chief Tom Mahoney, according to a media advisory issued today from the state General Assembly.
All three students will also receive scholarships contributed by the Branford Community Foundation and Dr. Roger Lowlicht, a Branford resident.