2022 Senior National Semifinalists

People’s Choice Award

Watch the 42 Semifinalists’ recitations and vote for your favourite!

 

Poetry In Voice/Les voix de la poésie announces 42 Semifinalists in its high school recitation contest! The National Finals will be broadcast live on April 21st on poetryinvoice.ca. The 42 Grades 9–12 students were chosen from thousands of students across the country.

Here are our Semifinalists!

Bilingual Stream

Lauren Altomare

NORTHERN SECONDARY SCHOOL

TORONTO, ON

Amira Aouchiche

ÉCOLE INTERNATIONALE DE MONTRÉAL

MONTRÉAL, QC

Nadine Berdous

COLLÈGE JEAN-EUDES

MONTRÉAL, QC

Charlotte DeLeskie

UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO SCHOOLS

TORONTO, ON

Victoria Gotcheva

GLENFOREST SECONDARY SCHOOL

MISSISSAUGA, ON

Michelle Lin

WEST POINT GREY ACADEMY

VANCOUVER, BC

Rohan Mariash

MILES MACDONELL COLLEGIATE

WINNIPEG, MB

Isadora Mota Pinheiro

COLLÈGE BEAUBOIS

PIERREFONDS, QC

Gaëlle Nadon

COLLÈGE ST-ALEXANDRE DE LA GATINEAU

GATINEAU, QC

Aaronsaul Negre

ALL SAINTS HIGH SCHOOL

Calgary, AB

Jessica O’Brien-Visbisky

DR. CHARLES BEST SECONDARY SCHOOL

COQUITLAM, BC

Natalia Starzeba

PHILIP POCOCK SCHOOL

MISSISSAUGA, ON

English Stream

Faith Aborode

ASSUMPTION COLLEGE CATHOLIC SECONDARY SCHOOL

WINDSOR, ON

Yusra Ali

EDMONTON ISLAMIC ACADEMY

EDMONTON, AB

Bem Denga

WEBBER ACADEMY

CALGARY, AB

Al Gilbert

KILDONAN-EAST COLLEGIATE

WINNIPEG, MB

Chloe Lam

LITTLE FLOWER ACADEMY

VANCOUVER, BC

Finn Liu

FRASER HEIGHTS SECONDARY SCHOOL

SURREY, BC

Ella Majkic

PRINCE OF WALES SECONDARY SCHOOL

VANCOUVER, BC

LiLi Miko

LONDON CENTRAL SECONDARY SCHOOL

London, ON

Isabel Miller

CROFTON HOUSE SCHOOL

VANCOUVER, BC

Kate Morozova

THORNLEA SECONDARY SCHOOL

THORNHILL, ON

Mia Luz Nedellec

CHAMPLAIN REGIONAL COLLEGE - SAINT-LAMBERT

SAINT-LAMBERT, QC

Stephanie Omorotionmwan

ALL SAINTS HIGH SCHOOL

Calgary, AB

Lilly O’Rielly

COLONEL GRAY SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL

CHARLOTTETOWN, PE

Pearl Pilip

OTTEWELL SCHOOL

EDMONTON, AB

Shanice Raymond

ELMWOOD HIGH SCHOOL

WINNIPEG, MB

William Skene

ST. GEORGE'S SCHOOL

VANCOUVER, BC

Anika Yap

ST. JOSEPH'S CATHOLIC HIGH SCHOOL

WINDSOR, ON

Olivia Yong

BAYVIEW SECONDARY SCHOOL

RICHMOND HILL, ON

French Stream

Harshpreet Anand

ÉCOLE LA ROSE SAUVAGE

CALGARY, AB

Youssef Farag

COLLÈGE BEAUBOIS

PIERREFONDS, QC

Sarah Hamdi

UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO SCHOOLS

TORONTO, ON

Mickaëla Harroche

ÉCOLE MAÏMONIDE CAMPUS JACOB SAFRA

ST-LAURENT, QC

Maria Khouas

COLLÈGE JEAN-DE-BRÉBEUF

MONTRÉAL, QC

Maya Lachance

CALGARY FRENCH & INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL

CALGARY, AB

Victoria Ngoy Ndombe

VILLA STE-MARCELLINE

WESTMOUNT, QC

Annick Parent

COLLÈGE ST-ALEXANDRE DE LA GATINEAU

GATINEAU, QC

Camille Racicot

CÉGEP DU VIEUX MONTRÉAL

MONTRÉAL, QC

Wisdom Sanouvi-Awoga

ÉCOLE ALEXANDRE-TÂCHE

ST. ALBERT, AB

Anna Shagalov

ÉCOLE INTERNATIONALE DE MONTRÉAL

MONTRÉAL, QC

Chloé Simard

COLLÈGE JEAN-EUDES

MONTRÉAL, QC

To compete, students had to learn by heart two poems from our anthology and enter one of the contest’s three streams: English, French or Bilingual. The public is now invited to watch each Semifinalist’s video and vote for the People’s Choice Award:

poetryinvoice.ca/peoples-choice

lesvoixdelapoesie.ca/choix-du-public

$35,000 in Prizes

On winning a place in the Semifinals, each reciter has already earned $250. The recipient of the People’s Choice Award will receive an extra $500. During the National Finals, a total of nearly $35,000 will be awarded to the winners and their school libraries.

While Poetry In Voice’s signature event is normally held in a different Canadian city each year, the changes due to COVID-related health measures gave an opportunity to share the students’ recitation videos more widely. Until March 29th, the public may watch the Semifinalists’ 42 videos on poetryinvoice.ca and vote for their favourite one. Poetry lovers and neophytes alike: everyone will find poems and interpretations to their taste!

The judges will have the difficult task of choosing the nine finalists to be announced on Thursday, March 24 and who will participate in the National Finals, broadcast live on April 21.

In the meantime, the public is invited to follow the young reciters on the Poetry In Voice/Les voix de la poésie website and to vote for the People’s Choice Award.

About Poetry In Voice/Les voix de la poésie –

Founded by Scott Griffin, chairman and founder of the illustrious Griffin Trust For Excellence In Poetry, Poetry In Voice/Les voix de la poésie encourages all Canadians to speak the language of poetry. They are the essential resource for teaching and learning poetry in Canada — and beyond. The organization started by hosting a recitation contest with 12 schools in Ontario in 2010, and has since become “a cultural force in Canada,” according to Margaret Atwood. 

Every year, the organization hosts two national recitation contests (one for students in Grades 9–12, and another for students in Grades 6–8) and a dozen local team recitation contests every year. These contests rely on robust online anthologies of classic and contemporary poems in English and French. The organization also publishes an annual bilingual journal of student poetry, VOICES/VOIX, with issue #4 to be released this June. 

Their websites also include comprehensive teaching materials, and to date Poetry In Voice/Les voix de la poésie has sent poets into over 1700 classrooms to work with over 50,000 students through their Poet In Class/Poètes à l’école program. 

MEDIA CONTACT:

For all media enquiries, including interviews with the Semifinalists, contact Rorie Bruce, e: rorbruce@mymts.net, c: 204-781-1769

 

English
Start here: