Students Participate in Poetry Out Loud Competition

On Tuesday, October 25, fifteen students from 9th through 12th grade participated in the school Poetry Out Loud competition. Each participant had been previously selected as the winner of their English class’ contest and was therefore chosen to participate in this round with a chance to advance to the state competition. During the school contest, each student eloquently recited their poem of choice with little error, thoroughly impressing the judges and leaving them with some tough decisions to make. The audience of students couldn’t help but clap after watching each of their peers perform so well. In the end, judges concluded the winners to be as follows: Jack McKee, first place; Micah Webb, second place; Raven Gonsoulin, third place; Claire Wingfield and Windfield Swetman, honorable mentions. Jack McKee will advance to the Mississippi Poetry Out Loud competition, where he will compete with other school competition winners throughout the state.

In order to score well in the Poetry Out Loud competition, a student must successfully meet certain criteria. According to the Poetry Foundation’s scoring rubric, these components are physical presence, voice and articulation, dramatic appropriateness, evidence of understanding and overall performance. Those who placed in the school competition were those who scored the highest overall in these components according to this rubric. We are extremely proud of the overabundance of talent exerted by each participant and the dedication of our faculty in allowing these talents to shine through. Our school community appreciates these unique talents, like poetry recitation, and how they truly set our school apart from the rest. Go Irish!

Written By: Elizabeth Van Horn