Schools
District 70 Student Wins Gwendolyn Brooks Youth Poetry Award
The District 70 board honored seventh grader Kira for her poetry this week.
Press release from Libertyville D70:
Oct. 13, 2021
The District 70 Board of Education honored HMS seventh grader Kira for her poetry this week.
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In August, Kira received top honors in the Gwendolyn Brooks Youth Poetry Award for her poem, Nature’s Wind Chime (about a rainstorm). The event, sponsored by the Illinois Humanities, the Illinois affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities, Kira was honored with the top award in the sixth-grade level poetry slot. The statewide award ceremony was held live virtually and the contest was open to students from kindergarten through to seniors in high school.
The Gwendolyn Brooks Youth Poetry Awards is a continuation of the contest Gwendolyn Brooks started in 1970 in her role as Poet Laureate of Illinois and continued until her passing in 2000. We are proud to honor the legacy of Ms. Brooks through this contest.
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Here’s what Kria’s Gifted Language Art and Literature teacher, Priya Varghese, said about her student: Kira's love of writing was evident from the start of the year. Her elaborate descriptions and rich vocabulary always drew me in. Kira has many talents and hobbies, and she has shared with me she has been writing chapters to a book in her spare time. We began our poetry study in the spring by me reading and modeling poems. Students were then given the opportunity to creatively express their ideas in their own works. Kira's poems about summertime, animals and loved ones were vivid and emotive. I am so proud of the risk Kira took when she entered the Illinois Humanities Gwendolyn Brooks Poetry Contest this summer. I am glad she found an avenue for her voice to be heard. Kira is well-deserving of this award. We will be hearing this talented young writer's name for years to come!
Listen to Kira recite her poem, Nature’s Wind Chines, on the board recording of the Sept. 27 meeting posted on the website under Board.
This press release was produced by Libertyville D70. The views expressed here are the author's own.
