Three Algonquin Poets Advance to State Finals

Last week, Algonquin Regional High School brought its best poets to the stage to compete for a slot in the state finals of the Poetry Out Loud Contest.

Sophomore Danielle Robbins proved triumphant, with junior Ben Rutan coming in second and sophomore Emily DeMaioNewton at third. All three will advance to the state finals to be held on March 11.

According to Poetry Out Loud's website, the National Endowment for the Arts and the Poetry Foundation partnered with U.S. state arts agencies to support this contest, which encourages the nation's youth to learn about great poetry through memorization and recitation. Poetry Out Loud was launched in high schools nationwide in the spring of 2006 with tens of thousands of students participating. POL has grown every year with over 365,000 students competing in 2010-2011.

Coordinated by English teachers Lindsay Coppens and Seth Czarnecki, Coppens said for the first four years, all of the school's winners have advanced to the state finals.

"We had approx 600 students participate at the classroom level this year, with about 35 semi-finalists," said Coppens.

Participating in the school finals were: Maya Polackal; Emma Becker; Danielle Robbins; Emily DeMaioNewton; Michael Stamas; Ben Rutan; Gina Lightner; and Anushka Dasgupta.