Our annual Churton Park Poetry Competition got off to a fabulous start last week, as we celebrated the wonderful and creative poetry sent in by tamariki in our local community.

The competition was created out of a desire to encourage a love and enjoyment of poetry, and to celebrate tamariki who enjoy giving poetry writing a go. We also wanted to create an event that brings ākonga from our two local schools, Churton Park School and Amesbury School, together.

We had a pleasing number of entries from tamariki in years 2 - 6, about a wide range of topics from the colour yellow to the need to protect and save our seas. On Friday evening we came together to share and celebrate some of the wonderful poetry, and to announce the winners. 

Our poetry judge, Helen Vivienne Fletcher, is a children’s and young adult author, award-winning playwright and storyteller. Helen loved the range of topics covered in the poems entered, and provided feedback on each of the winning poems. Thanks to the very generous sponsorship of the Churton Park Community Association, each place getter was also presented with a Whitcoulls voucher.

Poetry winners:

Year 1-2 first place: Ava. Helen's feedback This poem had great use of alliteration and repetition. I liked that you didn’t immediately tell us who the beautiful runner was, but built-up a picture through the imagery.

Year 1-2 second place: Zachary. Helen's feedback: This poem had a nice rhythm to it, and a couple of well-placed rhymes. The last line added a nice element of humour.

Year 1-2 third place: Angela.   Helen's feedback: This was a fun list poem with some great imagery included. I loved seeing all the different things you felt “yellow” could represent.

Year 3-4 first place: Caelyn.  Helen's feedback: Great use of contrast between the first and second stanzas, and nice use of rhyme and rhythm. As a dog-lover I felt every word of this!

Year 3-4 second place: Sueli. Helen's feedback: I loved the imagery in this poem. It had a simple focus – a soap bubble in the sink – but really painted a picture.

Year 3-4 third place: John. Helen's feedback: Great use of rhythm and repetition. This poem told a dramatic story in a simple and effective way.

Year 5-6 first place: Florence. Helen's feedback: This piece had a really strong rhythm to it, which made it enjoyable to read (or sing!) aloud. It had a strong message, and I liked the inclusion of te reo Māori. 

Year 5-6 second place: Antonia. Helen's feedback: This poem had a really nice shape to it. I liked that you took us on a journey, and the last line brought the piece full circle.

Year 5-6 third place: Eva. Helen's feedback: This piece had great use of rhythm and rhyme without sacrificing the meaning of the poem – and what an important message it is too!

Huge thanks to Helen Vivienne Fletcher for being our wonderful judge, and to Maneesha Fonseka for her passion and organisation in getting our poetry competition off to a great start. We look forward to more fabulous poetry next year, so get practising!