On Wednesday, February 15, the Foundry Art Centre hosted the Poetry Out Loud competition for the St. Charles region. Eight talented students recited poems from memory and performed them for an audience in the Grand Hall. Emcee Allan Newsham led the competition through its three rounds, commenting on the importance of memorizing poetry and the courage of each of the competitors to perform in front of their peers and judges. The audience heard poems such as The Children's Hour by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (read by contestant Shelby Morgan), A Poison Tree by William Blake (read by two contestants, Trinity Tull and Alexandra Schulte), and The Mothering Blackness by Maya Angelou (read by contestant Kamera Harper). After three rounds of poetry recitation, the judges' score cards were tabulated and the winners announced. Third place was awarded to Shelby Morgan from Windsor High School, second place was awarded to Marissa Ginger from Washington High School, and first place was awarded to Lauren Schuette from Northwest High School. Lauren will advance to the Missouri State POL Competition on March 9, 2017 in Jefferson City, Missouri.
Congratulations to all the participants on their hard work and great accomplishments!