WEB EXCLUSIVE Students turned in their final poems to their English teachers today for the annual Poetry Festival that will take place on Monday, April 30th in Syufy Theatre.

All students were required to hand in a minimum of one poem of any style on any topic.

“We want the festival to be an inclusive whole school activity,” English teacher Riki Garcia Rebel said. “I know that sometimes students need a little extra prompting to write poetry and that it’s not a common activity for teenagers, but they can get  into this sort of meditative zone that is actually very healthy for their brains.”

While students wrap up the year with regular school work and preparation for AP and IB testing, some students do not put extensive time into writing a poem.

“I didn’t plan on entering the contest in the first place and I have a lot of homework to do this week, but I started writing a poem that I’m submitting tomorrow,” Sophomore Jacqui Carlson said. “It’s a way for me to calm down and I have been told that it’s very therapeutic.”

In addition to announcements of grade and all-school winners, the festival will also include live poem readings from students.

“When the students get to stand up and read, they make themselves vulnerable,” Garcia Rebel said. “They put themselves on stage and they share something that they created. That is not an easy thing to do and I think their peers really recognize the value in that.”