Haiku Fest awarded certificates to all participating student poets. Thanks to over 3,000 poets, parents and teachers for making Haiku Fest successful. Winning entries are listed below.
We proudly announce the following commendations for participants in grades 7 and 8:
First Prize: $100
We sit in a vase
Our lives and stems cut in half
Missing the sun light
Paulina Zuniga, Age 13, Grade 8
Galileo Academy, Chicago
Second Prize: $50
Flakes into raindrops
Teardrop on the window sill
Pain is seasonal
Natalie Garza, Age 13, Grade 7
Josephine Locke Elementary, Chicago
Third Prize: $20
Icicles impale
Iscariot illusions
Incalescent ills
Louis Brooks, Age 13, Grade 8
University of Chicago Lab School
Founders Award: $25
Fireworks in July
The freedom inside of me
Running through the grass
Mark Balyasny, Age 13, Grade 7
Roycemore Elementary, Evanston, IL
Poem of the School Award
The gentle breeze spins
Lifting her hair silently –
Strolling in darkness
Angela Ruan, Age 14, Grade 8
Jamieson Elementary, Chicago
Poem of the School Award
On the white blankets
Children’s laughter plays around
Until the stars shine
Helen SaTsu, Age 12, Grade 7
Mt. Greenwood Elementary, Chicago
Poem of the School Award
Steadily the grass
Swayed back and forth in the sun
Thirsting for water
Samuel Correa, Age 14, Grade 8
St. Bartholomew, Chicago
Poem of the School Award
The snake slithered fast
It went through the big jungle
To catch a grey mouse
Thomas DeGrado, Age 13, Grade 8
St. Christina, Chicago
Honorable Mention
The moving waves left
Now the frozen lake is here
But the fire is near
Amel Nikho, Age 13, Grade 8
Jamieson Elementary, Chicago
Honorable Mention
Cold breeze in my face
Luscious waves reaching my feet
Sand warms my body
Eric Andersen, Age 12, Grade 7
St. Christina, Chicago
Honorable Mention
With each old story
I revisit memories
Nostalgia sinks in
Grace Zhang, Age 14, Grade 8
University of Chicago Lab School
Honorable Mention
The tree is healthy
Its leaves love the sunlight’s gaze
While people use shade
Jared Wallace, Age 13, Grade 7
Roycemore Elementary, Chicago
Honorable Mention
Wearing my headphones
I glide across the wood floor
Dissolving worries
Pierre Carll-Moton, Age 12, Grade 7
Bret Harte Elementary, Chicago
Honorable Mention
Waves pound the sand floor
Creating a steady beat
Breaths of the ocean
Sally Carlstrom, Age 13, Grade 8
University of Chicago Lab School
Teacher of the Year:
Ms. Joann Serafin
St. Daniel the Prophet, Chicago
Honorable Mention for Teacher of the Year:
Ms. Joan Baley
St. Christina, Chicago
Ms. Kathleen Gienko
St. Bartholomew, Chicago
School of the Year:
Josephine Locke Elementary, Chicago
Ms. Mindy Gonzalez, Ms. Hernandez,
Ms. M. Selim, Mr. Edgar Valentin
Honorable Mention for School of the Year:
St. Daniel the Prophet, Chicago
Ms. Joann Serafin
St. Christina, Chicago
Ms. Joan Baley
St. Symphorosa, Chicago
Ms. Eileen Akroush, Ms. Linda Jania, Ms. Nancy Webb