Shoreham-Wading River High School sophomore Isabelle Scherl took first place in the Poetry Out Loud New York State regional semifinals held at Stony Brook University on Feb. 26. Isabelle and her sister, senior Emily Scherl, were SWR’s winners at the school’s competition in January. Emily also placed in the top five at the regional semifinals. Isabelle will move on to the state finals to be held at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City on March 9.

Both students are members of the high school’s art and literary magazine, Cymbals, and work along with other students and advisers Jennifer Nazer and Sara Trenn sharing their talents and helping to build a network of shared support and confidence in their natural talents.

“We are so overjoyed and we are extremely proud of our Cymbals members,” Ms. Trenn said.

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.

Date Added: 2/28/2024