Dogs, Cats, Students and Poetry Rock the Fifth Annual ACE Poetry Contest for National Poetry Month
By Guest Blogger, Riley, ACE Poetry Contest Mascot, Assisted by Martha Sessums
Riley here. Mascot of the ACE Poetry Contest. Chewing on a treat which is almost as good as chewing on poetry. Almost.
Do you believe it’s been five years since I started doing this? Being the Mascot for the ACE Poetry Contest. ‘Cause it’s April, and April is National Poetry Month. And ‘cause poetry is cool, our students are cool and they write cool poetry about technology.
Arf. Arf. Arf. Arf. Arf. Five years. Started in 2013 when I was a young pup. Now I’m a millennial pup. So cool.
Yup, Riley here, the official mascot for the ACE Poetry Contest. This year it includes all Alpha Public Schools, plus the Alpha/ACE Learning Center where the parents of Alpha students learn English and lots of other things. This is where I hang out and am so cute that John Glover, and whoever else sees me, is inspired to give me treats. Treats are second only to poetry.
Also joining us are the usual poet masters – Oakland International High School (OIHS) and San Francisco International High School (SFIHS). Did you see Breakfast’s post last week? He’s the mascot of OIHS, and jumped right into his position as cat poet and cheerleader. He’s got great moves, especially across a keyboard.
Looks like Lobo will be the SFIHS Mascot this year. He’s a howler poet. Great presence and style, as expected from tech-styling San Francisco. I wonder if he gets to ride those white busses around the city and down the peninsula? I’ll ask him next time I see him.
The rules of the contest are like previous years. The poetry topic is “learning with technology.” As usual, each school and ACE Learning Center will manage and judge its own contest. The prizes are rich – $75 for first prize, $50 for second, and $25 for third. They will be given in the form of credit card gift cards so the winners can spend the money on anything they want. Treats for me, perhaps? (You knew I was going to suggest that.)
Any type of poetry is accepted, from traditional haiku to slam. Rhyme on a dime to free verse.
For the first time this year we will have a special guest – one of the feral cats at KALW radio will be introducing some pretty wild poetry. The radio station, Along with America Scores Bay Area, has a special program for student poets – they get to record their poems and they are posted on the radio station’s web site. Now that can dial-up the fun.
So there it is. It’s the beginning of the best month. Poetry Month. Looking forward to some cat and dog and student poetry and wisdom. It’ll be a treat.