HARDWICK – Ursa Goldenrose, a ninth-grade student at Hazen Union School, has been announced as the school winner of the Poetry Out Loud competition held January 31.

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Six Hazen Union students participated in the Poetry Out Loud school-wide contest after receiving high scores in classroom competitions. The students recited works selected from an anthology of more than 1,200 poems. Judges evaluated student performances on criteria including voice and articulation, evidence of understanding and accuracy. The National Endowment for the Arts and Poetry Foundation have created free, standards-based curriculum materials to support Poetry Out Loud including a teacher’s guide, lesson plans, an online anthology, posters and video and audio on the art of recitation. These resources are available for free at PoetryOutLoud.org.
Goldenrose will advance to the regional Poetry Out Loud contest. March 6. The Vermont champion will receive $200 and will advance to the national finals next spring where $50,000 in awards and school-organizational stipends will be distributed. The representing school or organization of the state champion will receive $500 for the purchase of poetry materials. The first runner-up in each state will receive $100, with $200 for their school or organization.
Poetry Out Loud, presented in partnership with Flynn Theater Poetry Out Loud, the National Endowment for the Arts and the Poetry Foundation, is a national arts education program that encourages the study of great poetry by offering free educational materials and a dynamic recitation competition for high school students across the country. Since the program began in 2005, more than 4.3 million students across the country have participated in Poetry Out Loud.
The Poetry Foundation provides and administers all aspects of the monetary prizes awarded and travel arrangements for the Poetry Out Loud National Finals. To learn more about the Vermont Poetry Out Loud contest, visit PoetryOutLoud.org.