Teutopolis High School Announces Poetry Out Loud Contest Winners

Teutopolis High School has announced the winners of a school-wide contest for Poetry Out Loud: National Recitation Contest.

All students in freshman-junior English classes recited a memorized poem for their classmates in a classroom poetry competition. Out of over 200 students, 13 students were the top performers in their classroom competitions and competed against each other at the school-wide contest in the THS Media Center on Feb. 4.

The student winners are Elizabeth Weidner, Ashley Bressendorf, and Danielle Sarchet. The winner and runner up of the school competition will advance to the REGIONAL Poetry Out Loud contest in Champaign on Feb. 12, with the winner of the regional advancing to the state competition. The IL champion will receive $200 and an all-expenses-paid trip to Washington, DC, to compete for the national championship. The school 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 his or her school library. The national finals will take place April 28-29, 2020, where $50,000 in awards and school stipends will be distributed.

The competition, presented in partnership with the ILLINOIS ARTS AGENCY, 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— both classic and contemporary—through memorization, performance, and competition. Since the program began in 2005, more than 3.8 million students and 60,000 teachers from 16,000 schools across the country have participated in Poetry Out Loud.

Student Participants: Lily Hemmen, Abby Mette, Mollie Koester, Elizabeth Weidner, Danielle Sarchette, Shannon Cooper, Bailey Niccum, Shelby Starwalt, Aubrey Collins, Sam Thompson, Hunter Sandschafer, Sydney Wesselman, Ashley Bressendorf

Student Winners: Elizabeth Weidner, Ashley Bressendorf, Danielle Sarchet

Judges: Misty Mapes, Brook Wilson, Deborah Philpot, Al Church

POL Coordinator: Liz King