DuBois Area High School held its annual Poetry Out Loud All-School Competition in January. Ten students from Mrs. Dorothea Hackett’s English, Creative Writing, and Public Speaking classes and two students from the Open category participated. All students had to choose, memorize, and present two poems, demonstrating their understanding of the poet and the poem. Judges for this year’s competition were Mrs Debbie Wirths, Reitz Board member, Ms. Jacqueline Spicher, Program Director for Seven Mountains Media and former DAHS Regional qualifier in Poetry Out Loud, and Mrs. Molly Monella, former DAHS National Qualifier for Poetry Out Loud. DAHS faculty members Mrs Mandi Bell and Ms. Linda Rankus served as accuracy judge and prompter, respectively.
Back: Vanessa Smith, Cullen Appleton, Cameron Sarick, Connor Thompson, Grace Reynolds, Trent LaBenne, Ian Jay
Front: Aryana Kohlenberg, Rachel Aleprete, Isabella Jay, Nataley Reynolds, Payson Preston
This year, DAHS is permitted to send the top two qualifiers to the Zoom regional competition to be held on February 4, 2026. There, they will compete against other students from around the region to advance to the state competition in March. The DAHS qualifiers are Vanessa Smith and Isabella Jay. Congratulations to all who participated.
