Wall of Distinction

Poetry Out Loud: Competition Results

The 2022-23 Homestead Poetry Out Loud competition took place on Wednesday, February 1st. Five students participated in this year’s competition: Nicole Obioma (11), Landon Richey (11), Stella Grable (11), Michelle Obioma (12), and Gaia Splendore (12). 

First Runner-Up went to senior Michelle Obioma. Homestead’s 2022-23 School Champion is senior Gaia Splendore. Gaia will represent Homestead at the Indiana Poetry Out Loud State Championship in March, with an opportunity to go to nationals later this spring. 

To participate in Poetry Out Loud, students memorize and recite two poems in front of a panel of judges. Judges evaluate both the quality of the performance as well as the accuracy of the recitation. Students select poems from a wide-ranging anthology that includes both classic and contemporary poetry.

All five students did a fantastic job! They worked for hours on memorizing their poems as well as being able to recite them in front on an audience.

English teachers Sally Rauber and Tara Olivero once again served as performance judges for the competition. They have helped with the program for the last several years.

Science Olympiad Team 

This academic year, a group of students in the sciences formed a Science Olympiad team at Homestead. Science Olympiad is a national program of regional, state, and national competitions every year in a broad variety of STEM fields.  Students prepare for and compete in events relating to biology, chemistry, physics, engineering, environmental science, logic, and scientific methodology.  Amongst the 23 competitive events, there are also several formats including written tests, hands-on activities, and building events.

This year is the first season Homestead competed, and where they attended an invitational at Manchester University in late January. There, they won two 2nd places and one 3rd place in individual events and placed 9th overall out of 14 teams.  More recently, the team attended a regional competition at Goshen College and placed 1st in ten events, 2nd in three events, and 3rd in seven events. Most impressive is that they won 1st place as a team overall!  This performance earned the team a bid to compete in the state Science Olympiad Competition on March 11 at Purdue Norwest University in Hammond, IN.  There, they will compete against 23 other teams from across the state.

Best of luck to the team as they compete against other teams in the state!

Scholastic Award Winners

The Scholastic Award results are out for students who submitted artwork or writing in December! Since 1923, the Scholastic Art and Writing Competition has been recognizing students for their individuality within their art and writing. The competition provides opportunities for creative students to see the value of their art and writing within their community. The Scholastic Art and Writing Competition is the country's longest-running and most prestigious scholarship and recognition program for aspiring creatives in grades 7-12. Approximately 10,000 students submit work across the United States and Canada to be judged at regional and national levels. Winning the Scholastic competition is a big achievement, considering the national scale of the competition. The art and writing pieces are first judged regionally, often among hundreds of students. Every year, students walk away with honorable mentions, silver keys, and gold keys. Students who are awarded a gold key get judged at the national level in New York City to be considered for earning a National Medal. 

All award winners will have their work displayed in the Fort Wayne Museum of Art in an exhibit from February 11-April 8th so that the community can admire these creative works. If you are in downtown Fort Wayne, go check it out! The pieces are a beautiful demonstration of the creative abilities of middle school and high school students in the area.

Art Award Winners:

Ash Bushnell, Elise Delaney, Shiksha Goyal, Kora Marquell, Lydia Pawlak, Madeline Phuong, Alicen Rorick, Munizeh Sadiq, Nurul Faiyzah Tarma, Leo Walker, Megan Rosenbaum, Krys McDonald

Gold Keys: Elise Delaney, Madeline Phuong, Ash Bushnell, Nurul Faiyzah Tarma

Writing Award Winners:

Marcella Emrick, Audrey Long, Katie McDonald, Gaia Splendore, Stella Grable, Megan Rosenbaum, Ganga Subramanian, Layla Kelly, Lily Burns

Gold Keys: Ganga Subramanian, Audrey Long, Lily Burns, Gaia Splendore

To view more of the award-winning work and submissions, click here. Congratulations to these hardworking artists and writers, and good luck to the gold key winners who are advancing to be judged at the national level in New York City!