Cabinet Meetings and Commercials

Hey everyone!

I have had a great couple of weeks! First of all, I got to have another Cabinet meeting! Melody, Hayden, Eva, and Reilly were able to join me. It was so amazing to catch up with everyone and hear how their platforms are going. You can read more about them in their own blog posts (Reilly's, Hayden's, Eva's)!

Me with Cabinet members Melody, Hayden, Eva, and Reilly. 

At the Cabinet meeting, we did something very special. We chose the top thirteen finalists for my statewide poster contest! The poster contest was held in cooperation with the State Department of Children and Families as part of their 2019 CT Family Day. The final winner will be selected from those top thirteen and then will be used to promote CT Family Day and helping to find forever homes for children who need them. We had about 80 entries and I'll tel you a little secret: they were all amazing! All of them were so colorful, happy, and cheerful! It took us such a long time to choose just the top 40! I am really proud of all of the people who participated in the contest. You can see the top designs on Facebook HERE.

We also had an Open House at Connecticut's Old State House. The Old State House was open to the public and people could come in, walk around, and learn all about Connecticut's government. The Kid Governor's Cabinet and I were there to greet visitors. It was a lot of fun getting to meet all of you and to hear your stories. I also want to thank all of the people who donated to our collection drive to benefit East Hartford and Hartford food pantries, Mercy Housing and Shelter Corporation, and the Winifred House. Oh, and those who signed Hayden's Screen Time Pledge! 

Along with all of that, I shot a special commercial for the CT Sun Pride Night game. I got to meet professional basketball players and I had a really nice time. On July 12th, I will be attending Pride Night for the CT Sun women's basket ball game at Mohegan Sun. I hope a lot of people will come to the game! If you do go, feel welcome to stop me and say "hi!". I would love to meet every single one of you. 

How can you show love today? Think before you speak. Make sure the words you are saying are positive and kind. 

Love you all!

Your Kid Governor, 

Recording My Training Webinar for Teachers

Hey everyone!

It has been a busy few weeks. I finally crossed off my teacher training platform point by presenting a webinar on May 20th. A webinar is kind of like a free podcast that anyone, anywhere can listen to on their phones, iPads, and computers. My webinar was about helping parents, teachers, or anyone who works with children to know how to properly support a child in the LGBTQ community. It was hosted by the State Department of Education. We had a professional trainer named Sarah Free who works at the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence. She is so kind and she specializes in helping people learn to work with LGBTQ students. We also had a student named Luis Cruz from East Hartford High School come and share his personal stories of coming out as gay and being openly part of the LGBTQ community.

Me with Luis and Sarah Free after the webinar. 

I want to thank both of these people so very much from the bottom of my heart for helping me make this happen. I am so grateful, and I couldn't have done it without them. I would also like to thank everyone that has listened to the webinar or will listen to it. I am so thankful that this came out as well as I wanted it to!

I also received a card from some supporters from Nova Scotia, Canada! So here is a special shout out to Evelyn and Joanne for such a kind letter to me. It really brightened up my day!

How can you show love today? Maybe you can help clean up at school or at home without being asked to. It will really make someone feel happy!

Love you all!


Your Kid Governor,

A message from your friends a the Connecticut Democracy Center...

You can watch CTKG Ella's Pride-Hope-Love webinar HERE or below.

This webinar was a part of Kid Governor Ella's three-point Pride-Hope-Love platform for LGBTQ+ youth safety and was sponsored by the Connecticut Democracy Center.

Click HERE to access resources from the webinar.

My First Meeting with my Cabinet!

Hey everyone!

We had our first cabinet meeting this week and it was so much fun! The Kid Governor Cabinet includes the six other finalists from the Statewide Election back in November. The members of the cabinet are Eva, Hayden, Jason, Madison, Melody, and Reilly. They are all such nice people and it is an honor to be able to work with them.

At the meeting, we got to know each other a bit more by completing a scavenger hunt that was set all over Connecticut's Old State House. We had to solve clues to bring us to our next location and then take selfies with an iPad to prove that we had solved the clue! One of the clues brought us to the downstairs costume room and we all had to dress up in fun costumes. I dressed up as a 90s rock star, Eva was a lion, Jason was a basketball player, and Melody and Reilly were circus performers! We all had a great time.

After the scavenger hunt, we shared a pizza dinner together and then it was time to get down to business. We held our meeting in the Kid Governor's Office (which was once the Grown Up Governor's office). The first thing we discussed was how we were all doing with working on our own individual platforms. I updated the Cabinet on my progress with the guide I am writing to start GSAs in schools, the teacher webinar that I am working on to train educators on LGBTQ issues, and the poster contest I'd like to run to help advocate for foster homes for LGBTQ youth.

Eva mentioned how she had run a toiletry drive at her school to help get needed supplies for families who may not be able to afford them. Reilly did a blanket and pillow collection at her school to donate to local foster homes. Melody has been organizing food drives at her school to benefit local food pantries. Jason is building a Little Library in his community. Hayden is running a screen-free week with a screen-free pledge. We all brainstormed ideas about what we can do to help each other achieve the goals we set during our campaigns. We then went into a Facebook Live video where we answered questions from our constituents. If you go to the CT's Kid Governor Facebook page, you can watch the video!

Overall, it was an amazing experience to get to know and work with such a passionate group of students who obviously care a lot about their causes. I can't wait until our next meeting!

How can we all show love today? You can work hard in school to always be a role model for others by being kind not only to other students but also the adults in the building. Your teachers love you, make sure to show your love back!

Love you all!

Your Kid Governor,

A message from your friends at the Connecticut Democracy Center...

Stay tuned for upcoming guest blog posts from the six cabinet members to learn all about the incredible work that they are each doing in their communities!

True Colors Conference

Last month was really exciting! On Friday, March 22, I went to the True Colors Conference at the University of Connecticut. True Colors is the "largest LGBT youth conference in the country" and has been happening every year since 1994! Every year, thousands of LGBTQ youth and their allies attend this amazing event. I was lucky enough to be asked to be a part of the opening ceremony. I was able to speak to over 2,500 students, teachers, and others about my Pride-Hope-Love platform and my focus on LGBTQ youth safety.

My good friends from the state government, Representative Jeff Currey and State Comptroller Kevin Lembo, also spoke at the opening ceremony. I also got to meet Representative Themis Klarides, leader in the House of Representatives.  Afterwards, I was able to attend several workshops that highlighted the LGBTQ youth experience. There were many different choices but my sister Riley and I decided to go to one where you could decorate a drawstring bag to show how you are unique and diverse. I chose a blue drawstring bag and put rainbows and hearts all over it.

During lunch, my family and I got to eat in a special room with the rest of the speakers. I had two pieces of pizza and a soda. Then it was time for the second workshop of the day. Riley and I both chose something called Genderbread. We decorated gingerbread cookies any way we wanted to to show that gender expression is an individual thing. I made mine with a smiley face, bow tie, and pants. At the end we got to eat them. Mine tasted so good!

At the end of the day we went to one more workshop. My sister and I both went to a dancing workshop. We learned how to salsa dance. Usually in partner dancing, the man gets to take the lead but the focus for the day was teaching everyone how to lead the dance, regardless of gender. It was so much fun and so funny!

The True Colors Conference was truly amazing! I highly recommend that you try to go next year, I know I'll be there!

How can you show love today?
Stand up for someone who you can tell is getting picked on. When you're getting bullied, it's always nice to have a friend.

Love you all!

Your Kid Governor,

RULER and Kids Night on Broadway!

Hi everyone!

Wow - it has been kind of crazy these last couple of weeks! On Tuesday, February 26th, I had the honor of being invited to a Yale conference for mental wellness and happiness that was put on by the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence. This conference focused on a program that Yale has come up with called RULER. According to their website: “RULER is an evidence-based approach for integrating social and emotional learning into schools, developed at the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence. RULER applies ‘hard science’ to the teaching of what have historically been called ‘soft skills.’ RULER teaches the skills of emotional intelligence — those associated with Recognizing, Understanding, Labeling, Expressing, and Regulating Emotion.” This is a training program for educators all across the state.

Me with my mom, sister Riley, and dad!

At this conference, we were able to take different workshops for what we wanted to learn more about. My first class was about mental wellness in middle schools because pretty soon I'm going to be in sixth grade. The whole class was about how we can help our middle schoolers feel happy and calm at school and at home. The next class I took was about LGBTQ youth and the struggles that they face. The session was mostly about transgender and non binary students at our schools, but it did also talk about lesbian and gay students. I had the opportunity in this workshop to share my experience as a student who is a part of the LGBTQ community and talk to the educators in the room about how to help those students feel more emotionally supported in their schools. I had a lot of fun in both of my workshops and then we got to have lunch! I had chicken and salad. My sister Riley ate a whole chicken!

"I had the opportunity in this workshop to share my experience as a student who is a part of the LGBTQ community and talk to the educators in the room about how to help those students feel more emotionally supported in their schools."

Afterwards, we got in the car and went to New York City. That night was a special event called Kids Night on Broadway. We met our best friends at a pizza place then we went to a show called Come From Away. It was about how when 9/11 happened, people who were flying during the attacks had to  land in Canada and stay there for six days until they could go back home! It was a fantastic show. After the show we had a real treat! The writer of the show had seen some news reports about the Kid Governor program and my platform, so she invited me and my family to head backstage to meet some of the cast and see what it is like backstage on Broadway. I got to meet Jenn Colella! She is a Tony nominated actress and a big advocate for the LGBTQ community. I was thrilled! After that, we slept over in New York City.

The next day I went to school and got back to work on the guide I'm writing. It is all about how to jump start a GSA (Gay Straight Alliance) for elementary school students. I am writing it with my friends who are part of the new GSA at my school. I have also asked my sister to contribute some illustrations ! I hope that at some point, students will be able to read the guide and get some ideas about how to create safe spaces in their own schools.

My question for readers this week is: How can I show love today?

If you notice someone at school who might be struggling in math, science, or English, offer to help them out!

Your Kid Governor, 

-Ella

Spreading Pride with the Wolf Pack and Girls Rising

Hi everyone!

It has been a fun couple of weeks!

I turned 11 on February 8th and I had a lot of fun at my birthday party! After my party, my family, myself, and one of my friends went to Pride Night at the Hartford Wolf Pack game. I have never seen professional hockey before and I had a lot of fun! I got to go on the jumbotron and talk to everyone about being Kid Governor with Rachel Lutzker from Fox 61. I also got to meet a lot of my supporters who have been following my blog. It was so amazing to see all of you in person!

Me with Sonar, the Wolf Pack Mascot

About a week after, I got invited to a Girls Rising event where women celebrate women. Girls Rising is a non-profit group that is working “to empower and inspire girls and LGBTQ kids to pursue careers in STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, Math) fields.” The band Antigone Rising, who started the non-profit, performed at the event in Norwalk, CT. They are an all female rock band and they also identify themselves as queer. I got to speak onstage and I got to meet the band. It was such an honor to be there to spread my vision of PRIDE - HOPE - LOVE to everyone in attendance. Added bonus - Antigone Rising was amazing! If you haven’t heard their music, you should definitely check them out! 

Me with Antigone Rising.

How can you show love today?

Hold the door for someone. You never know what people are going through; your little actions can make someone’s day.


Your Kid Governor
- Ella

Two Inaugurations and my first public appearances!

Good Morning everyone!

It has been a busy couple of weeks! About a week before my own inauguration, I was invited to Governor Ned Lamont’s inauguration by State Comptroller Kevin Lembo. It was a lot of fun! I got to meet so many amazing people and a beautiful chorus sang as well. I also got to attend the very special "joint session" of the House of Representatives and Senate. That was where Governor Lamont gave his first speech to legislators about his goals as governor.

Me with Secretary of the State Denise Merrill, Mr. Charles Frey, Comptroller Kevin Lembo, Treasurer Shawn Wooden, Attorney General William Tong, and Lieutenant Governor Susan Bysiewicz right after they were sworn into office. 

Me with former Governor Dan Malloy. 

Then it was time for my own inauguration! It was an exciting but busy day. At my inauguration I got to meet so many amazing people. Some of these people included Governor Ned Lamont, Lieutenant Governor Susan Bysiewicz, and Congresswoman Jahana Hayes. I was also honored to meet the other six finalists for the 2018 Statewide Election. The seven of us will work together during the next year, not only to help my platform of LGBTQ+ youth safety, but also to work a bit on their platforms as well! I am so excited to get to know them, see their smiling faces, and make the world a better place.

Me meeting Congresswoman Jahana Hayes before my Inauguration! 

All of the state constitutional officers for Connecticut joined me and the final candidates for Inauguration Day. 

I'm so excited to get to work with the members of my Kid Governor's Cabinet-- Reilly, Madison, Eva, Melody, Hayden, and Jason.

The day after my inauguration, I was honored to attend the “Together We Rise” women's march at Two Wrasslin’ Cats, in East Haddam, CT. I had the opportunity to speak about my platform in front of a crowd, and I even enjoyed a free cinnamon bun! I was excited to meet so many interesting people and hear their stories. 

I was also honored to have NPR (National Public Radio) interview and film me this past week. They were so kind and helpful, and they seemed to really care about me and the things I am trying to accomplish.

Now that I've been sworn in as CTKG, I have my first challenge for my readers: how can you show respect today?

Wave or say, “Good Morning” to a someone you don’t normally speak to. You never know what little actions can make a person's whole day.

Email me and share how you made someone's day, at Ella@CT.KidGovernor.org.


Love you all!

Ella

Hi, I'm Ella!

Hi! My name is Ella Briggs, and I am the 2019 Connecticut's Kid Governor. I live with my mom, my dad, my sister Riley, my two huge dogs (Newfoundland- St. Bernard mixes!) Ace and Sammy, and my cat Otis in East Hampton, CT. I love to dance, sing, and play the drums. I also love to hang out with my friends and spend time cuddling my dogs and my cat. I like traveling, and my favorite place that I have traveled so far is Budapest, Hungary. I love this awesome playground for kids in Budapest called Tarzan Park, and I love the water slides on Margaret Island.

Me with my dogs, Ace and Sammy! 

This year, I am looking to accomplish my Pride-Hope-Love platform. First I am going to make a step-by-step book on how to start a gay-straight alliance (GSA) at your school so kids can feel PRIDE in who they are. Next I am going to spread the word for more foster families so kids who don't have a safe home for being themselves can feel HOPE that they will find safe and loving homes. Finally I am going to do teacher training so if kids have been getting bullied, teachers know exactly what to do and say so kids can feel LOVE from their teachers and fellow students.

I am going to use this blog to tell all of you about my experiences as Connecticut's Kid Governor. I will also sometimes give ideas of how you can show respect to everyone. Join me through my journey by checking in every once and awhile. Also email me any questions or things you would like to share with me at Ella@CT.KidGovernor.org I would love to here anything you have to say!

Love You All!

Ella