RENO - High school students can take center stage in the Nevada Poetry Out Loud program that offers students a chance to recite poetry for a chance to win cash prizes and a trip to Washington D.C. Registration for the competition is open to students and teachers through Dec. 31, according to Mary Jane Dorofachuk, arts learning program coordinator for the Nevada Arts Council.
Poetry Out Loud, the dynamic program that celebrates verse is structured similarly to the National Spelling Bee, but focuses on literary heritage through memorization and performance of classic and contemporary poetry. Registration for The Eighth Annual Nevada Poetry Out Loud competition is open to all Nevada public, private, charter, parochial and alternative schools and to home school associations.
Competition begins at the local level as students learn about, memorize and finally present poetry - out loud. Participants advance from school to district competitions and then to the Nevada State Finals, where the stakes are high. The state champion earns $1,000, wins $1,000 for his or her school to support literary programs and travels to the nation's capital to compete for $50,000 in scholarships and school prizes at the National Poetry Out Loud Finals. Those who place second and third at the Nevada State Finals receive $500 each and $500 for their schools.
In 2012, more than 2000 students participated in Nevada's Poetry Out Loud program representing their counties statewide. Nevada has been well represented in the national competition placing in the national finals on several occasions.
Starting at the classroom level, teachers are provided with free multimedia curriculum materials - a poetry anthology, audio guide, teachers' guide, posters and comprehensive website, http://www.poetryoutloud.org all aligned to national standards - to augment their regular poetry curriculum with poetry recitation and a school-level competition. The student winner and a chaperone from each participating school district receive support to attend the State Finals in March in Reno.
Teachers are invited to find out more about 2013 Nevada Poetry Out Loud and to register by Dec. 31 to participate at the Nevada Arts Council's website at nac.nevadaculture.org or contact Maryjane Dorofachuk at (702) 486-3738 or mdorofachuk@NevadaCulture.org.
The Nevada Arts Council, along with its partners the Nevada Department of Education and the Nevada Alliance for Arts Education cosponsor Nevada Poetry Out Loud, a national poetry recitation program made possible through the funding and leadership of the National Endowment for the Arts and the Poetry Foundation. Nevada Poetry Out Loud 2012 is made possible by generous support from NV Energy.
The Nevada Arts Council, a division of the Department of Tourism and Cultural Affairs, was founded in 1967 as the state agency charged with ensuring that state and national funds support cultural activity and encourage participation in the arts throughout Nevada. The agency's programs and services are designed to support creative expression, animate communities, diversify local economies and provide lifelong learning in the arts for all Nevadans. The Nevada Arts Council is funded by the Nevada State Legislature, the National Endowment for the Arts and other public and private sources.
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