Poetry Performance Competition 2013
Over the next few weeks boys will be preparing to take part in the Poetry Performance Competition, now firmly established as one of Wyvern’s major events. The competition presents an excellent opportunity for all students in the school to refine and demonstrate their public speaking skills. All boys will enter the competition and are expected to select a poem, learn it off by heart and then perform it in front of the class. Finalists will be selected from each class. Year level finals will then be held to decide the top three places in each year group.
Class teachers will assist their students with the selection of poems. In addition, Mrs Barnes in the library will have the school’s poetry collection on hand to assist in this process. Boys may also bring in poems from home. Each boy is expected to retain a copy of his poem, as well as provide a copy for his class teacher for approval by the end of week 3. All poems should be published work by recognised authors.
As a guideline, poems should be of approximately the following lengths:
Kindy – between 4 – 6 simple lines (not nursery rhymes)
Year 1 – between 6 – 10 simple lines
Year 2 – between 8 – 12 lines
Years 3 & 4 – between 10 -20 lines
Years 5 & 6 – between 18 – 30 lines
Class heats will be held in week 5 of this term with four boys from each class being selected to go through to the year level finals to be held in week 6. There will be a Poetry Performance Competition Award Ceremony on Friday 30 August at 2pm. At this time the 1st place winners from each year group will perform their poems. We thank the P&F for their kind donation of prizes which will be awarded for 1st, 2nd and 3rd places. All finalists will be presented with Highly Commended certificates.
The following guidelines will be used when judging the boys:
Difficulty of poem (not length) -10 points
Voice (use/projection, tone, diction, pace) -10 points
Animation (manner, personality, gestures) – 10 points
Overall presentation and style – 10 points
No costumes may be used, however, the boys are permitted to use a maximum of 1 prop. Expression, gestures and body language are to be encouraged.
Sandra Gray
Deputy Head
