Eberhart contest winners have been named

Published 8:44 am Thursday, April 12, 2018

“A Night For Our Poets” honored finalists and champions in the Richard Eberhart Poetry Contest on Tuesday at  the Hormel Historic Home.

Almost 150 students in grades K-12 entered the contest.

On Tuesday night, finalists read their poems before the final champions were named.

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Held in partnership with the Richard Eberhart family, the event is sponsored by the Austin Public Education Foundation, Hormel Historic Home, Friends of the Austin Public Library and the Austin Public Schools’ Gifted and Talented Services. Edwina Harder, the principal on special assignment and mentorship coordinator for the Gifted and Talented Services, was emcee for the evening.

Students whose poetry was chosen as the best received cash checks and books as awards.

Mercy Ademola, a fourth grader at Banfield Elementary School, at the end of her reading of her finalist poem, “Two Roads.” At right is Edwina Harder, a principal on special assignment this year and mentorship coordinator for the Gifted Services for Talent Development in Austin schools, who also served as the emcee.

Winners and finalists were:

•Woodson Kindergarten Center, Madelynn Corey (winner) and Rachel Napton.

•Banfield Elementary School, Charlotte Bliese (winner) and Mercy Ademola and Juliette Zimmerli.

•Neveln Elementary School, Izaak Belden (winner) and Rio Grimm and Aleah Nguyen.

•Southgate Elementary School, Jaely Solberg (winner) and Henry Andersen and Paisley Tietje.

•Sumner Elementary School, Enar Zaki (winner) and Johanna Simpson and Damaris Vega Andrade.

•I.J. Holton Intermediate School, Ariana Keefe (winner) and Claire Bliese and Max Larson.

•Ellis Middle School, Cora Feist (winner) and Kiera Neufeldt and Nora Tweeten.

•Austin High School, Eleanor Hinchcliffe (winner) and Keagan Larson and Cassity Nangle.