Keep Jamming
The Greely PTO, which supports schools in both Cumberland and North Yarmouth, Maine, hosts an annual poetry jam. Students recite their original poems or those of published poets at this special event, where families
first walk a red carpet before performances begin. Students also can work in teams and present together; some even choose to wear berets in beatnik style to add to the jam’s mood. Last year, nearly 100 students performed, says Bethany Hanley, the PTO’s communications chair.Take It Outside
Each spring, the Chase Street Elementary PTO in Athens, Ga., holds its Poetry Picnic on the school grounds with food, beverages, and several poetry-related activities, says Myra Moore, the group’s president. In the weeks before, children write poems that are then displayed around the school during the picnic. Families are encouraged to tour the building and enjoy the poems. Students are provided with adhesive notes so they can post remarks on their friends’ poetry. While at the picnic, students can also work with local poets to create new poems together.
Posting Poems
As a member of the PTO at Barrington Elementary in Upper Arlington, Ohio, Beth Taggart considered publishing a collection of student poetry but decided that showcasing their work online would be a more flexible (and cheaper) way to go. The result is the Poetry Page, which lives on the PTO’s website and is updated monthly. Children are encouraged to submit their work, including illustrations that accompany poems, and Taggart says she has yet to turn down a poem. At the end of the school year, the students receive a button that reads “I’m a published poet of the Barrington Poetry Page.”
