Shoreham-Wading River High School students continue to master public speaking skills and build self-confidence, and have a fun and creative outlet to aid in those abilities. The Poetry Out Loud event was recently held at the school, hosted by English teachers Jennifer Nazer and Sara Trenn.

The national poetry recitation contest works to encourage high school students to memorize and recite or perform real poems while learning about literary history and contemporary life. The students work with a preselected list provided by Poetry Out Loud. They are evaluated based on physical presence, voice and articulation, dramatic appropriateness, evidence of understanding, overall performance and accuracy.

Senior Emily Scherl took first place with her recitation of “I love you to the moon &” by Chen Chen; sophomore Isabelle Scherl took second place with her reading of “Bilingual/ Bilingüe” by Rhina P. Espaillat; third place went to Katherine Spencer for her reading of Diane Thiel’s “Listening in Deep Space.” Emily and Isabelle will head to Stony Brook University as the school’s semifinalists and Katherine will serve as a runner-up. Sophomore Summer Murphy and junior Andrew Wicks also participated in the contest, Summer reading “Advice from Rock Creek Park” by Stephanie Burt and Andrew reading “300 Goats” by Naomi Shihab Nye.

Date Added: 1/22/2024