Newton County School System (NCSS) students earned numerous awards at the recent Griffin RESA (Regional Educational Service Agency) 2023 Regional Literacy Days Poetry Recitation, Ready Writing, and Drama Competition. Overall, 25 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. Tiana Watley of Clements Middle School won first place honors in the seventh-grade contest and Maren Poynter of the Newton County Theme School earned the third-place award in the eighth-grade competition.
Newton County School System students also earned three awards in the Ready Writing Competition during which students are given a writing prompt and one hour to complete an essay. Lowell Howard of Newton County Theme School won third place honors in the fourth-grade contest and Anthony Hortman of Oak Hill Elementary won the third-place award in the fifth-grade competition. At the middle school level, Charles Henderson of Indian Creek Middle School placed third in the eighth-grade competition.
The Porterdale Elementary School drama team, consisting of students Lamarion Battle, Anayi Burney, Skylar Hamerter, Torin Petty, Preston Moses, Cali Clemments, Lewis Meeks, Amir Abong, Alivia Winter, Jamir Boyd, and Faley Slaven, earned first place honors with their performance of, “Mufaro’s Beautiful Daughters.” At the middle school level, the Clements Middle School team of Jessica Benton, Mariah Edwards, Morgyn Gay, Carleigh Hardegree, Nelani Jones, Skyy Lacy, Khamaya Leary, Genesis Nash, and Kennedi Zachary, earned third place honors with their performance of, “Cotton Candy on a Rainy Day.”
“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.”