VALLEY CITY, N.D. (NewsDakota.com) – Valley City High School held its sixth annual school Poetry Out Loud competition on Tuesday, January 21. Maple Valley High School, in its first year of Poetry Out Loud, also traveled to Valley City to join the contest. Poetry Out Loud is a national program that encourages high school students to read, analyze, memorize, and recite poetry.
Four Maple Valley students and two Valley City students won their classroom rounds and elected to put in the extra work to compete for the title of school champion from their respective schools.
On the VCHS theater stage Tuesday afternoon, each of the six contestants recited two poems selected from over 1,100 options. The recitation rounds were judged by volunteers from the VCSU English Club.
Senior Leah Hochhalter (Valley City) and freshman Avery Kohler (Maple Valley) were named the school champions and will now advance to state-level competition at the Heritage Center in Bismarck on March 3, 2025, for a chance to advance to Nationals in Washington, D.C.
