April 1, 2017: SC State Library's "Young Minds Dreaming" Poetry Contest -- awards ceremony

SC State Library's "Young Minds Dreaming" Poetry Contest
Awards Ceremony
April 1, 2017, 3 p.m.
SC State Library, 1500 Senate St., Columbia, SC
Pamela Hoppock, Coordinator
Attending & featured: author Jacqueline Woodson.

Youngest winner
with author Jacqueline Woodson

I was honored to be asked to be one of the judges for the inaugural "Young Minds Dreaming" Poetry Contest, sponsored by the South Carolina State Library. South Carolina students in grades 3-12 were invited to submit poems relating stories of a person, place, or an experience that made a mark on student's lives. 

There were nine judges. I judged the submissions from the 3rd graders, a rich assortment of poems consisting of about 90 entries. Then the three judges assigned to the elementary grades judged the top nine poems from grades 3-5. Thank you, students, for each poem--each flight of imagination--that I read! I look forward to attending tomorrow's ceremony to cheer your talents and efforts.

Out of more than 600 SC student entries in the contest, offered for students grade 3 - 12, there are nine winners. 

Elementary (grades 3-5)

• 1st Place - Sonia Baxter: "The Beach", 3rd grade, Round Top Elementary School
• 2nd Place - Catie Coats: "My Grandma's Death", 5th grade, Oak Pointe Elementary School
• 3rd Place - Michaela Grindstaff: "Up Main Street", 5th grade, Oak Pointe Elementary School

Middle (grades 6-8)

• 1st Place - Nada Rahal: "Beauty", 6th grade, Alice Drive Middle School
• 2nd Place - Charlotte Hughes: "The Cherry Blossom City", 8th grade, Heathwood Hall
• 3rd Place - Michaela Lanier: "Destructional Peace", 7th grade, Blythewood Middle School

High (grades 9-12)

• 1st Place - Skye Robertson: "Dreams", 12th grade, Fort Mill High School 
• 2nd Place - Gillian Moses: "Flight", 9th grade, Clover High School
• 3rd Place - April Williams: "Dreaming of Innocence", 11th grade, Fort Mill High School