April is Poetry Month at AE/MS. All students in grades one through eight choose and memorize grade-appropriate poems. They practice at home, they practice at school, and then they recite and are scored at the preliminary level. All students are scored on a rubric that they have worked with in the classroom throughout the process.
It is always difficult to judge, but only a few finalists from each grade can be chosen to recite at Poetry Night.
Poetry Night is an entertaining but long evening. It seems like the rigor, length, and caliber of the poems increase each year. The students always do an amazing job!
It is not always easy to get up in front of an audience and recite, but many of our students have become quite comfortable speaking in front of a crowd. Every year I have adults tell me that they wish they’d had the opportunity to recite and perform when they were in the early grades, as it would have helped them later in life. Poetry recitation is an important skill.
This semi-formal evening is a long-time, favorite tradition at AE/MS.
All of our students are recognized for their poetry recitation skills every spring. Poetry is part of the curriculum and an important focus at AE/MS.
Here, in alphabetical order, are the finalists:
Grade 1 – Bent
Oliver Andrews
Katie DelSignore
Emily Hackmann
Delaney Young – alternate
Grade 1 – Wiley
Braeden MacKenzie
Jeremiah Mock
Arienna Perry
Jason Koziol – alternate
Grade 2 – Hildebrand
Jane Anderson
Kalee Keyser
Lagan Salathe
Ani McIntyre – alternate
Grade 2 – Jensen
Andrew Croteau
Zealen Therrien
Caleb Warzocha
Bruce Clough – alternate
Grade 3 – Hubbard
Anthony Hammond
Sasha MacKenzie
Shannen O’Donnell
Jesse Niemyer – alternate
Grade 3 – Peters
Garrett Niemyer
Rylee Sweeney
River Turnbull
Cassidy Piroso – alternate
Grade 4
Juliette Adams
Lilly Furtkamp
Maddie Jewell
Jazlyn Perkins – alternate
Grade 5
Hannah Asbury
Riley Keezer
Tempest Przybyla
Vienna Marcus – alternate
Grade 6 – Edmunds
Hannah French
Britta Johnson
Nelson Makechnie
Alexis Cate – alternate
Grade 6 – Murphy
Samantha Parkman
DJ Rankins
Sofia Weber
Lexie Emeny – alternate
Grade 7
Betsy Abrahamson
Gloriana Brown
Finn Weber
Scout Armstrong – alternate
Grade 8
Annika Johnson
Cope Makechnie
Jacqui Morris
Kenzie Emeny – alternate