Annoucements

Frederick County Poetry Out Loud Competition Scheduled

January 4, 2012

Frederick County Public Schools and Frederick Arts Council announce the Poetry Out Loud: National Recitation Contest. The competition, presented in partnership with the Maryland State Arts Council, the National Endowment for the Arts and the Poetry Foundation, is part of a national program that encourages high school students to learn about great poetry through memorization, performance, and competition. On Friday, January 6, (snow date: January 25) at 4:30 p.m., twelve FCPS high school students from Brunswick, Catoctin, Linganore, Oakdale, Tuscarora, and Urbana High Schools will participate in the Poetry Out Loud County competition at the Cultural Arts Center, 15 W. Patrick Street ind downtown Frederick.

Poetry Out Loud is a national arts education program that encourages the study of great poetry by offering educational materials and a dynamic recitation competition to high schools across the country. Poetry Out Loud uses a pyramid structure. Beginning at the classroom level, winners advance to a school-wide competition, then to county, then regional then state competition, and ultimately to the National Finals in Washington, DC. More than 365,000 students from 2,255 high schools took part in the 2010–2011 Poetry Out Loud program.

Maryland’s State Champion placed in the top three and top nine respectively in the National Finals two years in a row.  Those champions Nora Sandler and Kari Barclay were students from Richard Montgomery High School in Montgomery County.

At Frederick Arts Council, contestants will recite works they selected from an anthology of more than 680 classic and contemporary poems. Students participating in the Poetry Out Loud program have benefited from educational materials created by the Arts Endowment and the Poetry Foundation. These materials include a standards-based Teacher’s Guide, a comprehensive website, a Learning Recitation DVD, and a CD featuring poetry recitations by well-known actors and writers such as Anthony Hopkins and Rita Dove.

Three FCPS student winners advance to the Region One competition on Saturday, February 11, 2011, at 1 p.m. (snow date: Saturday, February 18), at the Washington County Museum of Fine Arts, 401 Museum Drive, Hagerstown, MD 21741.  Region One counties include Allegany, Baltimore, Frederick, and Washington.