When I found out at my school assembly that I had been elected as the next Kid Governor, I was ecstatic! I was filled with emotion, and I could hardly believe it! It has been an amazing journey from my first presentation to just my school classmates back in October, to now being able to share my platform with every 5th grader in the state! Now that I am your Kid Governor, I'm so excited to begin my one-year term in office!
There were so many important issues I felt that I could choose from when creating my campaign platform. I was interested in so much, from cleaning up litter to healthy school lunches. But what I really felt strongest about was increasing physical activity among students. I chose this issue because 3.2 million people die globally every year from not being active enough. My dad is a Physical Education Teacher and has always inspired me to be active, so I was surprised to learn that a lot of people don’t get the physical fitness they need to be healthy.
My platform is called Getting Fit 4 Fun and focuses on these three steps:
Create a Fit4FunKids video series on YouTube with videos about fitness, physical activities, interviews with professionals, and student-submitted videos.
Coordinate a statewide poster contest focused on fitness tips.
Develop a Fit-Coin program in schools to encourage physical activity.
After the Statewide Election in November, I attended the Leadership Transition Meeting. It was held in Connecticut’s Old State House, and I even got a chance to see my new office! My favorite part of the office was all the portraits of the past Kid Governors that were hanging on the wall. Seeing all their pictures made me feel proud that I was soon going to be a part of them! I just know I am going to do a great job, just like they did! I also know that I am not alone.
Another important part of the day was meeting the new Cabinet Members! I was a tiny bit nervous, but I was excited. We had a chance to get to know each other a little better, and I was happy to hear about their own platforms because those are all issues that I care about as well! I’m glad we’re going to be a team because we’ll get a chance to make a difference in a lot of different areas which I think are important to all 5th graders. I know their help is going to be needed when working toward my platform steps as well!
Another part of the day was meeting 2023 Kid Governor Ellie and the outgoing Cabinet. Ellie and I sat down and I asked her some questions about the Kid Governor experience. She told me that something she wished for me was to spread the word more about the Kid Governor program. It was good getting some one-on-one time with Ellie. I appreciated that she gave me some advice on being Kid Governor.
My next step will be to begin on my first platform point by meeting with Mr. O (the Connecticut’s Kid Governor State Coordinator) to plan interviews for my Getting Fit 4 Fun video series and to create an interactive Bitmoji classroom. Then I am going to work on plans for my statewide poster contest and Fit-Coin program.
As you can see, I have a lot of work to get started on and I look forward to working with my Cabinet and the 5th graders of Connecticut! If you have ideas to share with me or are making a difference in your community, you can email me at Cristiano@CT.KidGovernor.org.
Let’s Get Fit 4 Fun!
Cristiano Almeida
2024 Kid Governor
Oshana Elementary School
Southington
No comments:
Post a Comment