MONTRÉAL, QC, January 9, 2020 – Nine students have been named Canada’s top junior reciters in Poetry In Voice's second annual junior recitation competition.
These top-scoring students are awarded prizes for themselves and for their school libraries for the purchase of poetry books.
The nine student winners are:
English Prize Stream
Samira Haymour won the first prize of $300 for the best combined score of two recitations in English, and $200 for the library of Edmonton Islamic Academy in Edmonton, Alberta.
Jada Lodewyk won the second prize of $200, and $200 for the library of Little Flower Academy in Vancouver, British Columbia.
Maia Cassie won the third prize of $100, and $200 for the library of Queen Margaret’s School in Duncan, British Columbia.
Bilingual Prize Stream
Aleksander Smith won the first prize of $300 for the best combined score of one recitation in English and one recitation in French, and $200 for the library of Ashbury College in Ottawa, Ontario.
Laura Giancola won the second prize of $200, and $200 for the library of École secondaire catholique Monseigneur-de-Charbonnel in Toronto, Ontario.
Samantha Lufty won the third prize of $100, and $200 for the library of Villa Sainte-Marcelline in Westmount, Quebec.
French Prize Stream
Anouck Pérès won the first prize of $300 for the best combined score of two recitations in French, and $200 for the library of École internationale de Montréal, Quebec.
Philippe Shenouda won the second prize of $200, and $200 for the library of Collège Beaubois in Pierrefonds, Quebec.
Alevtina Luliugina won the third prize of $100, and $200 for the library of Villa Sainte-Marcelline in Westmount, Quebec.
Last Fall, students in grades 6, 7, and 8 from across the country participated in classroom and school contests by learning poems by heart from the Poetry In Voice/Les voix de la poésie online anthology. Each school's champion entered the Junior Online Finals by submitting two recitation videos for consideration. The videos were judged and the winners were selected by a panel of 9 Canadian poets:
- Sarah Brideau
- Doyali Islam
- Sonnet L’Abbé
- Rachel McCrum
- Paul Savoie
- Chloé Savoie-Bernard
- Steven Ross Smith
- Jason Stefanik
- Sarah Tolmie