North Carolina Poetry Society 2021 Student Award Winners
Student Contests Director, Jonathan Giles, is pleased to announce the North Carolina Poetry Society student award winners for the 2021 season. The participation of nearly 150 students in the contests is a testament to the teachers, parents, mentors, guardians and grandparents who continue to promote the writing of poetry, even in this period of difficult class- and virtual-instruction. The following award winners will have their poems published in the spring Pinesong anthology. We thank all the students who participated and look forward to our Spring Student Poetry Reading featuring many of the submitted poems.
Mary Chilton Award – Students 6th through 8th Grade
Judge: Allison Hutchcraft
First Place: “Dentistry is Heavy Construction” by Josiah Oakes, 6th Grade, Franklin School of Innovation, Asheville, NC. Teacher: Anne Moren Hegan.
Second Place: “I Ask Dad How I Should Live My Life” by Abigail Cutler, 7th Grade, Swain Middle School, Bryson City, NC. Teacher: Curtis Sikes.
Third Place: “The Movie of My Life” by Chance Biehn, 7th Grade, Carolina Friends School, Durham, NC. Mentor: Joan Barasovska.
Honorable Mention: “Snowfall” by Sanjana Solanki, 6th Grade, West Cary Middle School, Cary, NC. Teacher: Tara Hill
Travis Tuck Jordan Award – Students 3rd through 5th Grades
Judge: Clark Holtzman
First place: “Circle of Light” by Annabel Haynes, 5th Grade, Morehead Montessori, Durham, NC. Teacher: Jennifer Harrison.
Second place: “Where I’m From” by Clio Dunmire, 5th Grade, Tiller School, Beaufort, NC. Teacher: Cristina Quattrone.
Third place: “The Wolf’s Song and the Tree’s Dance” by Emerson Lane, 4th Grade, Pleasant Grove Elementary School, Raleigh, NC. Teacher: Erin Lane.
First Honorable Mention: “A Crown of Blue and Green,” by Selah Steele-Cobb, 4th Grade, Frank Porter Graham Bilingue, Chapel Hill, NC. Teacher: Cristina Bryan.
Second Honorable Mention: “Nature,” by Levi Shelton, 4th Grade, Jeffreys Grove Elementary School, Raleigh, NC. Teacher: Mariela Quiros.
Third Honorable Mention: “Alive” by Grace Letchworth, 4th Grade, Pleasant Grove Elementary School, Raleigh, NC. Teacher: Amber Bell.
Joan Scott Environment Awards – 3rd through 8th Grades
Judge: Grace Ocasio
First Place: “Autumn Daydreaming” by Annabelle Nichols, 4th Grade, Adams Elementary School, Cary, NC. Teacher: Shavone Wilkins.
Second Place: “Earthrise” by Michael Liu, 8th Grade, Kennedy Middle School, Charlotte, NC. Teacher: Xiaobin Chen.
Third Place: “The Salmon Mission” by Liam Larson, 5th Grade, Brooks Museums Magnet Elementary School, Raleigh, NC. Teacher: Susan Howard.
First Honorable Mention: “The Mockingbird” by Annabel Haynes, 5th Grade, Morehead Montessori School, Durham, NC. Teacher: Jennifer Harrison.
Second Honorable Mention: “An Invitation From a Cheetah” by Leah Silliman, 4th Grade, Tiller Charter School, Beaufort, NC. Teacher: Cristina Quattrone.
Third Honorable Mention: “Storm Cycle” by Reese Noel, 3rd Grade, The Oakwood School, Greenville, NC. Teacher: Molly Hostetler.
Sherry Pruitt Award – Students 9th Grade through Undergraduate
Judge: Leslie Rupracht
First Place: “manifest destiny” by Christina Polge, 11th Grade, Cary Academy, Cary, NC. Teachers: Palmer Seeley and Michael McElreath.
Second Place: “Passing” by Jessica Fan, 10th Grade, Hickory Ridge Highschool, Harrisburg, NC. Teacher: Krista Hodsden.
Third Place: “Off” by Saran Wenmueller, 12th Grade, Gaston Day School, Gastonia, NC. Teacher: Hazel Foster.
First Honorable Mention: “Remembering Summer Nights” by Brigid May, 11th Grade, Holly Springs High School, Holly Springs, NC. Teacher: Amanda Kain.
Second Honorable Mention: “It Matters” by Shaun Kawalec, 9th Grade, R. J. Reynolds High School, Winston-Salem, NC. Teacher: Pamela Henderson-Kirkland.
Third Honorable Mention: “Dreams of an Elementary School Friend” by Ellie Kim, Sophomore, Duke University. Professor: Enn-Ling Chen.
If you would like to be kept informed of the upcoming virtual student gathering and other planned activities for the students of North Carolina, please contact Jonathan Giles, the Student Contests Director, at jgiles0704@gmail.com.
All offers of prizes and publication are contingent on the authors’ compliance with the terms and conditions set forth in the official contest guidelines. While good faith efforts have been made to verify that the poems listed above do comply with these guidelines, North Carolina Poetry Society reserves the right to withdraw any offers in cases where disqualification is warranted.