Every year, the Crossroads English department sponsors our school’s participation in a national competition in the memorization and recitation of poetry called Poetry Out Loud. Every student in the school participates: they recite their poems in the beginning of January. Many students will be memorizing their selections over the December break. Simply reciting the poem correctly will be a success, but we also compete and name a single winner from each grade who performs at an all-school assembly; from this competition, we will select a school winner who will compete in the St. Louis regional competition in February.
In 2012, 2013, and 2014 years, Crossroads winners went on to States. In 2012 and 2013, those students won the Missouri competition and went on to Nationals in Washington, D.C. While we love this objective recognition of the children’s excellence with literature, most important to us is that every student learn and love a poem.
The English Department