Newton County School System (NCSS) students earned numerous awards at the recent Griffin RESA (Regional Educational Service Agency) 2021 Regional Literacy Days Poetry Recitation, Ready Writing, and Drama Competition.
Overall, 11 Newton County students brought home awards.
In the poetry recitation contests, competitors were judged on a number of criteria, including stage presence, articulation, interpretation, memory and accuracy, and difficulty of the piece.
Live Oak Elementary School third-grader Xander Wheeler placed first with his performance of “Try, Try Again” and Veterans Memorial Middle School eighth-grader Naya Hatchett won second place honors with her performance of the poem, “Real Me.”
Maren Poynter, a sixth-grade student at Newton County Theme School, brought home a second place award with her performance of, “Highway to Happiness,” and Cousins Middle School student Aubrey Norton won the third place award in the seventh-grade competition with her performance of “Dear Santa.”
Newton County School System students also earned two awards in the Ready Writing Competition during which students are given a writing prompt and one hour to complete an essay.
Ariel Shy, a fifth-grade student at Middle Ridge Elementary School, took home the second place award in her grade and Newton County Theme School third-grader Grace Fowler earned the third place award in the third-grade competition.
The Liberty Middle School drama team, consisting of students Kanya Kossonou, Kaylee Ransom, Matthew Rush, Landon Boston and Jheloni Burt, took home third place honors with their performance of, “The Magic Marker Mystery.”
“The Literacy Days Competition provides students with the opportunity to perform and be recognized for their talents through the celebration of the arts,” said Samantha Fuhrey, superintendent of Newton County Schools.
“I am proud that we had so many winners at the regional competition as it takes a tremendous amount of talent and commitment to participate in this type of competition. They definitely represented their schools and our school system very well.”
