Winners for the 2023 Boston Children’s Poetry Competition

  • Pre and K Winner: Summer Day by Oakly Santana, Fitzgerald Elementary, Waltham
  • Honorable Mention: A Snake by Camden Runyon
  • Grade 1 Winner: The Ocean by Joseph Perez, James Mulcaney Elementary, Taunton
  • Grade 2 Winner: Dragon and T-Rex by William Maher, Zervas Elementary, Newton
  • Honorable Mention: Purple by Louisa Soodik, Glen Uqruhart School, Beverly
  • Honorable Mention: Dragon Duty by Jai Athulith, Holy Name Parish School, West Roxbury
  • Honorable Mention: Dumplings by Alp Gencer, Zervas Elementary, Newton
  • Grade 3 Winner: Shell, Emma Pedrotty, Atrium School, Watertown;
  • Honorable Mention: Waves by Maya Bedding, Fitzgerald Elementary, Waltham
  • Grade 4 Winner: The Very Last Unicorn in the World by Aakrishbi Achariya, Fitzgerald Elementary, Waltham
  • Grade 5 Winner: If I lived in the Woods by Cici Despres, Greenfield;
  • Honorable Mention: Special Place by Gaspard Choulet, Zervas Elementary, Newton
  • Honorable Mention: The Teardrop Treasure by Caroline Brennan, Maynard
  • Honorable Mention: Like Mother, Like Daughter by Ferrari Jones, JC Middle School, Lexington
  • Grade 6 Winner: I could Grow up, Omega Hu, Jonas Clarke Middle School, Lexington;
  • Grade 6 Winner: Ode to Point Shoes by Maria Fernanda Calanca, JC Middle School, Lexington;
  • Honorable Mention: Waterfalls by Ahishayan Vinjamaram, JC Middle School, Lexington
  • Honorable Mention: No One Knows by Ryan Mohan, Newton
  • Grade 7 Winner: I remember the Summer – Sloane Keppeler, Runkle School, Brookline;
  • Grade 7 Winner: Silk by Sarah Rodriguez, Up Academy, Dorchester
  • Honorable Mention: Thanksgiving Drive, Siri Chung, Milton Academy
    How to be a Teenager by Adelle Freink, John Runkle School, Brookline,
  • Grade 8 Winner: Dance The Body Unspoken by Georgia Marshall, Marblehead Charter School; Marblehead
  • Grade 8 Winner: Proud Me by Louis Loosen, Milfred Avenue School;
  • Haiku Winner Lower Division: Owls, Josie Chmielewski, Crisafulli School, Westford;
  • Haiku Winner Lower Division: Nature’s Lullaby, Olivia Temple, Fitzgerald Elementary, Waltham
  • Haiku Winner Upper Division: Seashells, Lauren Barlow, Granby Junior High, Granby,
  • Haiku Winner Upper Division: The Stormy Molehill by Thomas Slater, Granby Junior High, Granby;
  • Founders’ Award Upper Division: Emerson Snyder, Ode to Books, Grade 6, Jonas Clark Middle School, Lexington
  • Founders’ Award Lower Division: Colombe Choutet, Winter, Grade 3, Zervas Elementary, Newton