On, January 17th, 25 students participated in this year’s Poetry Out Loud competition.  Poetry Out Loud is a national poetry recitation contest funded by the National Endowment for the Arts.  The competition starts at the school and regional level, eventually moving to a state and then National Competition in Washington, D.C.  Students who win the National Competition have a chance to win $20,000. Students choose from a wide range of poems on the Poetry Out Loud website and then perform their poems on stage.  Students are judged for their voice and articulation, dramatic appropriateness, evidence of understanding, and overall performance. 

This year, our 3rd place winner was Iona Leslie, Shrewsbury, who performed Barber by Larry Bradley. 

Our 2nd place winner was Gabriella Jamieson, Bradley Beach, who performed Learning to Love America by Shirley Geok-Lin Lim.  

Our school champion was Theo Gearty, Red Bank, who performed Advice from La Llorona by Deborah Miranda.  Theo will move on to the NJ Region 3 competition at The Count Basie Theater on February 4th.