![At the bottom of the third inning, the Lions are still scoreless. Rowe stands at home plate, preparing to bat, while Vandenbrink stands off to the side as the next batter up. Despite having the bases loaded, the team was unable to score any runs. “It’s just the beginning of the season. We’re just going to be playing out best by June, [and] that’s where champions are,” Rowe said.](https://wlhsnow.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/IMG_3077-1200x900.jpg)
![All smiles. The group poses for a photo with last year’s book, “This is Our House,” along with their award for third Best in Show. Meikle, who was an Editor-in-Chief for the yearbook last year as well, holds both and stands at the center of the group. “That was an amazing feeling, going and grabbing the third place award,” Meikle said. “All of it paid off. I cried so much over that book, being able to receive [the award] was one of the highlights of my high school career, it was like the coolest thing ever.”](https://wlhsnow.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/8bookpose_philly-1200x800.jpg)
During life class on Feb. 8, sophomore students participated in the annual Poetry Out Loud competition. They had to memorize a poem in front of the sophomore class in the Performing Arts Center and this was broadcasted to other students in their life classes.
Poetry Out Loud is a national program that allows students to practice public speaking by reciting a memorized poem and to compete with students nationwide. Anna Crandall, a tenth-grade English teacher, organized the competition at the school this year.
”No one else volunteered [to organize Poetry Out Loud] and I refused to see the program die so I stepped up to do it,” said Crandall. “[Poetry Out Loud] is a nice way to have a community-building activity that the whole class gets to be a part of.”
After reciting their poems in the competition, Brooklyn Carr Heuer and Misha Rana, both sophomores, tied for first place. They have the chance to move on to the regional competition.
For more information about Rana and Carr Heuer’s experiences in Poetry Out Loud and Crandall’s experience planning it, listen to the podcast below, hosted by staff reporter Lucy Forest.
