Tuesday, August 28, 2018

Back to School!

Hello everyone! 

The school year is right around the corner. Who’s excited? I know I am!

Going to school everyday means that if you have a pet, they might get lonely. So when you get home from school or work you should play with your pet, or just acknowledge that they are there. Petting them or giving them a treat will really make them feel appreciated. Watch my Responsible Pet Ownership video to learn about more ways that you can be a responsible pet owner!



I hope everyone has a great school year! If you have any questions or know someone who has done something to help animals, please email me at CKGJessica@ct.kidgovernor.org. Have a great day and make sure to help animals, those without a voice!


Wednesday, May 16, 2018

May Update from 2017 CTKG Jessica

Hello Everyone!

This month has been lots of fun. I have been helping some of my teachers with things in school. I am also still working with my 5th grade teacher, Mrs. Stuart, on our proposal for getting therapy dogs into the Milford Public School District. You can read about our work so far in my last blog post. So far, we are doing great!

Did you know that therapy dogs can solve lots of problems that are physical, mental, social, emotional, and they can even help with health! They can do all of this while looking adorable. Did you know that 44% of kids from the ages eight to eighteen have trouble sleeping caused by stress? Well dogs can help with these problems. They are able to help teens and kids calm down and focus. Dogs are very powerful when it comes to helping.



I'm also looking out for some people doing great deeds for animals. One lady named Alice creates items for the animal shelter to give to the animals. She makes dog toys, cat toys, rabbit toys, and even bird toys. She is definitely making animals happy!

If you would like to hear you or a friend in a shout out like this, email me the great things you or others are doing for animals at CKGJessica@kidgovernor.org!

Remember to help animals, those without a voice!

Have a great day,

Jessica

Thursday, May 3, 2018

A Busy Month for 2017 CTKG Jessica

Hello Everyone! 

I have been doing quite a bit of work this month. Currently I am working with my 5th grade teacher, Mrs.Stuart, on getting therapy dogs into the Milford Public Schools District to help with things like stress, anxiety and even reading comprehension. I have been researching the benefits and concerns to having dogs in school. 

Me with Mrs. Stuart, my fifth grade teacher, last year at the ASPCA Humane Awards.

One example of a benefit for having a dog in school is if a child has a reading disability, like dyslexia, they can sit down next to a sweet, calm, patient dog and try to read slowly. This is good because when a child gets stuck on a word they can keep working at it a find it out without being rushed. But when you are with another student or even with an adult you can feel rushed by them causing even more stress. When you get stuck on a word in front of your friends you might get embarrassed but when you stumble in front of a dog it’s no big deal. 



One of the downsides might be a cultural difference*. This might be a problem because certain cultures don’t like dogs. Now there are ways to take care of this, like having the children that don’t like dogs at a distance from dogs and to not talk about dogs in front of them. I can’t wait to do more work and research. I hope we can get dogs into the Milford Public Schools District. 

I hope everyone is great! Remember to help animals, those without a voice!



Have a great day!

-Jessica 😝
*A message from your friends at the Connecticut Public Affairs Network...

Along with cultural differences, dogs and pets may not be allowed into schools due to allergies. Some people may be allergic to dogs and dog dander. These allergies may cause severe reactions that range from a runny nose to swelling of the eyes and throat. Dogs that are service animals or police dogs are allowed into schools though and there are no laws to prevent them from entering a classroom. You should always alert the school first to make accommodations for those with allergies. 

Friday, January 26, 2018

Jessica's Farewell Address

A message from your friends at the Connecticut Public Affairs Network...

2017 Connecticut's Kid Governor Jessica Brocksom ended her term last week at the inauguration of the 2018 Connecticut's Kid Governor Megan Kasperowski. Jessica reflected on her term, shared well wishes with Megan, and thanked all who helped her this year. You can read her farewell address below and watch it here
Jessica prepares to give her Farewell Address at the 2018 Inauguration Day
 in the Courtroom of Connecticut's Old State House.

Good morning everyone! A special welcome to Secretary of the State Denise Merrill, State Senator Art Linares, State Representative Christie Carpino, Commissioner of Education Dianna Wentzell, Supreme Court Justice Emeritus Dennis Eveleigh, Portland First Selectwoman Susan Bransfield, Portland Superintendent Dr. Philip O’Reilly, and Kid Governor-Elect Megan Kasperowski. Thank you for being here for this special day.

I have had a very exciting year as the 2017 Connecticut’s Kid Governor. I would like to tell you all about it, but first I want to give a special thanks to the Connecticut Public Affairs Network. They are the reason that I was able to run to be Kid Governor and help so many animals. And thank you so much Mr. C, Ms. Whipple, Mr. Orcutt, and Ms. Sousa and everyone else for being there every day and helping me along the way. You guys have done so much for me this year and my accomplishments wouldn’t have been possible without all of you. I want to personally thank my fifth grade teacher, Ms. Stuart, for all that she does for me. She is the most amazing teacher that I ever had and I wish all students had the chance to be taught by Ms. Stuart. She was so supportive of me during my term. I thank you for everything you do for me and I wouldn’t be where I am today if it weren’t for you.

I really want to thank my family for all of their support for me and bringing me to many events just like this. I am truly grateful for them and I wouldn’t be able to do anything without them, so thank you so much.

During my year as your Kid Governor, I had the great opportunity to travel all over the state as well as New York and a special trip to Washington, D.C. During my travels, I was able to meet so many people along the way who are as passionate as I am about helping animals. It’s been amazing to see my platform of animal cruelty awareness not only help many animals, it motivated other people to help as well.

I would like to especially thank Senator Richard Blumenthal for inviting me to Washington, D.C. He and Representative Rosa DeLauro and Senator Chris Murphy took the time out of their busy days to visit with me and learn about my platform to help animals. They also told me about their work in Congress and the animal legislation they support. The Humane Society of the United States also met with me in Washington and shared how they help to advocate for animals.

I also got to go to New York and had the honor of being recognized by the ASPCA as the Tommy P. Monahan Kid of the Year. The ASPCA is such an important organization and they inspire me to do great things to help animals.

Over the year, I was able to meet all three points of my platform and do much more. I met my first goal of helping pass a bill. I was able to speak at a press conference at the state capitol to support a law allowing therapy animals to go to court with kids. The bill was signed by Governor Malloy in July and took effect in October. My second goal was met by coordinating a collection drive and donating many items and money to the animal shelter to help with costs for animal care. I also prompted other kids and adults to do the same and shared resources for planning collection drives in schools. Lastly, I met my third goal of making an educational presentation to spread awareness about responsible pet ownership. That presentation was released this week. There are so many things that you can do to help stop animal cruelty and be a responsible pet owner. I'm so proud of all the people in Connecticut who are helping animals, those without a voice.

This past year, I went to libraries across Connecticut to teach kids and adults about responsible pet ownership. I helped start a program called Heat Kills in my town of Milford with my State Representative, Pam Staneski. I met with elected officials and news reporters to share my platform. I also kept a blog called Helping Animals to motivate other kids to speak up for animals.

In closing, congratulations to our new Kid Governor Megan! You have such a great year ahead of you! You are going to make so many people happy and inspire others. Just don't forget to have fun and enjoy it while you can. It goes by so quickly.

I would also like to say “congratulations” to the six other candidates from the Statewide Election! Your campaigns were amazing and I hope that you will continue to spread your messages because they are all very important. Just remember you all can make a difference.

Even though my term is up, I will still continue to educate people on animal cruelty and speak up for animals to make sure their voices are heard. Once again, congrats to Megan and the six final candidates. And to everyone, remember to help animals, those without a voice. Thank you and have a great day!