Last week, 11 Middle School students participated in our in-house Interpretation of Poetry Speech Tournament demonstrating personal interpretation of their selected poem. In this category, students first judged on their introduction. Prior to delivering their poem, they provide details about their poem including the author, the themes, and perhaps why the poem appeals to them. Pacing and timing are fundamental in reading poetry which is another criterion the judges must consider. As well, when reading the poem, the student must be aware of enunciation, voice modulation, and melody and/or rhythm. The final aspect of judging is determining if the students accurately and perceptively understood the poem.
All of our students were prepared after being provided with feedback during practices. A special congratulations go to the following students:
1st place: Annanya R. '25
2nd place: Brianna F. '26
3rd place: Ava F. '25
Honorable mention: Sara R. '26
Thank you to Mr. Peterson, Ms. Richmond as well as several Senior Speech students who volunteered their time to judge this event.