Westport students took six awards in the 2024 Access Awareness Awards (AAA) for
grades K-12, an annual contest sponsored by the Area 9 Cable Council and Altice that
recognizes student productions that are broadcasted on Altice’s Educational Access Channel 78 during the school year.

Encouraging students to develop video production and storytelling skills at all levels,
submissions are recognized in eight categories: Adult Assisted (Elementary), Animation/Stop Motion, Experimental, Documentary (High School), General Interest Story, Narrative/Fiction Entries, News Shows, Public Service Announcements, and School News Story.

Winning entries from across the Westport Public Schools include:

• “Inklings On the Wreckord” took third place in the High School News Show category. Mary Elizabeth Fulco teaches Advanced Journalism at Staples High School, the course that produces Inklings.
• “Stress” won second place in the High School PSA category for students Jack Schwartz, Allison Cancro, Pranav Pothukuchi and Sanchit Arora who were supported by Nicole Moeller, co-librarian at Staples High School.
• “On the Wreckord - Inklings: World Language Week” won second place in the High School School News Story category. Fulco teaches Advanced Journalism at Staples High School, the course that produces Inklings.
• Brayden Levy, Shane Warshaw, Alexander Wilson and Jude Hix, Kings Highway Elementary (KHS) students, won first place for “KHS Buddy Bench” in the Elementary School PSA category. Their instructor was Tara Doyle, Technology teacher at KHS.
• KHS students Harper Bell and Madeleine Olson also took first place in their category, Elementary School General Interest Story, for their entry, “Women’s History Month: Community Highlight.” Doyle was also their instructor.
• “Cheetah Vision Special: Women's History Community Highlight” by Jack Bell and Sable Shurman, KHS students, won second place in the Elementary School General Interest Story category. Doyle was also their instructor.

"These achievements reflect our students' creativity and dedication, and demonstrate the power of storytelling in education,” said Natalie Carrignan, Director of Technology for the
Westport Public Schools and its representative for the Area 9 Cable Council. “By fostering these skills, we're not only preparing our students for future success, but also empowering them to share their unique perspectives and make meaningful contributions to our community."

An "Eddy" (Ed Access Trophy) will be presented to the school for each winning project and
will be presented to students and schools who participated in the creation of First, Second, and Third Place projects.