Achievement ceremony highlights state awards for J.E. Cosgriff Memorial students

Friday, Jun. 03, 2016

SALT LAKE CITY — On May 27, J.E. Cosgriff Memorial Catholic School held its Honor and Achievement Ceremony at St. Ambrose Catholic Church.

Betsy Hunt, principal, welcomed everyone to the event.

“What a great year; we have so many things to be proud of,” she said.

Father Andrzej Skrzypiec, pastor of Saint Ambrose Parish, offered the opening prayer, also welcoming everyone that day to the event.

The kindergarten students delighted the audience as they sang “You’ve Got a Friend in Me,” which is the student motto.

The awards and honors started with Jackie Biskupski, mayor of Salt Lake City, taking the podium to announce the winning entry of the Utah League of Cities and Towns youth essay contest, which was written by Cosgriff 8th-grader Thomas Lien.

The theme of the annual essay is “Why I Like My Community.”

“It’s a complete honor to be here with you today,” Biskupski said. “Community means many things to me. I love to live in Salt Lake City with my son, who is 6 years old. … I want our community to be a place where everyone and all the people feel welcome. ... When people feel comfortable they share their talents and build their community together.” 

Biskupski proceeded to read Lien’s essay; he used very descriptive words to portray his neighborhood and the people who live in it.

“One behalf of the Utah Leagues of Cities and Towns, I salute you, Thomas, with ‘The Making Life Better’ first-place 2016 essay,” said Biskupski.

For winning the contest, Lien received $100 and J.E. Cosgriff was presented with $1,000 “for making life better in this essay contest,” Biskupski said.

This is the seventh time that a student from J.E. Cosgriff has won this statewide contest, which encourages the youth of Utah to increase their awareness of their communities.

“How is it that one school can produce so many winners?” asked Tom Godfrey, essay contest coordinator, who was part of the committee that selected the winning essay.

“What makes the difference is the guidance of an outstanding teacher,” said Godfrey, adding that “good writing is more than spelling. … It is being able to describe going to school or how to pet the dog or being able to describe a neighborhood as well as Thomas did, so the readers can feel that they are there.” 

Godfrey recognized Cindy Hunt, Cosgriff’s languages arts teacher, for her outstanding ability to teach young people to write well. As part of the recognition, Hunt received a plaque.

During the ceremony, students in grades 4-7 who achieve the honor roll also were recognized.

Other awards were presented for achievement in Boy Scouts Advancement, the fine arts, mock trial, the science fair, national mythology, presidential fitness, and student council.

The Heart of the Champion award, which includes a full year’s tuition for a rising 8th-grader at Cosgriff, was presented for the first time.

Also at the ceremony, the faculty and staff who won’t be returning to J.E. Cosgriff next school year were recognized.