Calling all poets!  April is National Poetry Month, and the English Department will be celebrating with a collection and display of students’ original poems, as well as numerous readings in classes and morning meetings. 

Students and teachers are encouraged to share their original works or verse from their favorite poets.  This initative was kicked off by one of our Grade 11 students, who read one of her original pieces of poetry in a morning meeting after Spring Break.  Students are encouraged to speak with their English teachers if interested in reading poems at these morning meetings.  And, of course, the highlight of Poetry Month will be a very special Poetry Slam that will take place on the third Thursday of the month (April 19).  Make plans to join us as we celebrate the joy of language and poetry (while enjoying a snack or two) at 10:30 in the Haugen Hall atrium.

“Poetry is thoughts that breathe, and words that burn.” — Thomas Gray

A Middle School student receives some advice and tips for her writing from an Upper School student.

The English Department has recently started an initiative by which students in Upper School classes visit the Middle School to assist younger students with their writing.  Grade 9 students, for instance, recently visited Grade 6 to read, respond to, and offer useful feedback for the students’ personal fiction pieces.  The Upper School contingent enjoyed playing the role of mentors tothe younger students, and the Middle School students benefited from the feedback that their visitors provided.
Staten Island Academy is a community of strong readers and writers, and such initiaitives will undoubtedly foster and enrich the writing experience and create a model for interdivisional sharing and learning.