Schools

V.S. student poets advance to regional recitation contest

Posted

Two Memorial Junior High School students won a poetry contest at their school this month and will participate in a regional competition on Feb. 27 at Farmingdale State College.

Ninth-graders Ogo Chukwuma and Jeanine Nwade took the top honors in their school’s Poetry Out Load Recitation Contest, part of a national program that was launched in 2006. Winners in individual school competitions advance to regional and state competitions, with a chance at the national finals in Washington, D.C.

The program helps students develop public speaking skills and self-confidence, according to the Valley Stream Central High School District.

Separate poetry contests were held for grades 7 and 8. Jania Robinson and Ariana Smith were the seventh-grade winners and eighth-graders Khadija Zahid and Alexandra Henrius won their contest.