National Poetry Month Sparks Competition at OHS

          

The Octorara Area High School Library recently held several events in honor of National Poetry Month. A Poetry Reading and Competition, open to any student in grades 9 – 12, was held each Wednesday during the month of April. 

To participate students were required to either read an already published work, or read an original poem they had created.

Each week students read their poetry selections and were judged by a group of their peers.  The students with the highest scores moved on to the finals, to be judged by a panel of faculty judges.  A grand prize winner was chosen, as well as two runners-up.

The winners of this year’s competition were:

•  Grand Prize: Ms. Kendra Sweitzer, Grade 9
• 1^st Runner Up: Ms. Mayra Juarez, Grade 12
• 2^nd Runner Up: Mr. Brian Bonanno, Grade 11

 The following students received an Honorable Mention:

• Ms. Sarah LaBarge, Grade 12
• Ms. Rachel Irato, Grade 12 
• Ms. Jolene Sweitzer, Grade 11
• Mr. Justin Finch, Grade 12

In addition to the Poetry Competition, a “Featured Poet” was chosen each week.  The works of Naomi Shihab Nye, Gary Soto, Shel Silverstein, Sylvia Plath, and Edgar Allen Poe were on display for the students to peruse.

The competition was organized by Mrs. Lisa Budzik and Ms. Victoria Whitney.  Mrs. Budzik is the library assistant at Octorara High School and is currently completing graduate coursework in Library Science.  Ms. Whitney, a junior at Octorara High School organized the competition as her high school graduation project.