Haiku Contest Winners & Poems

Canyon Echoes Staff|April 24, 2017

Thank you to all who entered our second contest of the school year and submitted original haikus. We also want to thank our special panel of judges who thoughtfully read the poems and selected the winners.

We are delighted to announce the winners and share with you their poetry. Enjoy!
 

1st Place

Hesitant partner
New project, new school to face,
Warm friendship is born.

-Deena M., 8th grade 
(My first friend in a new school)
 

2nd Place

Agony floods me,
Felicity is nowhere,
Except in others.

-Tosh A., 6th grade 
(My first time that a family member died)
 

3rd Place

The crowd was cheering,
My heart was racing. Run fast!
Silence. We had won.

-Vani S., 6th grade 
(My first relay race)
 

4th Place

The sand crumbles soft
The waves whisper silently
The ocean’s secrets

-Paige W., 7th grade 
(My first time going to the beach)
 

5th Place

Orange, yellow, and red
Staring out wondering what
Secrets the sun held

-Paige W., 7th grade 
(My first time seeing the sunset in Texas)
 

Honorable Mention

what do haikus say
ring ding ding ding ding ding ding
what do haikus say

-Joseph Y., 8th grade 
(My first haiku)
 

Honorable Mention

On each were labels,
Left foot, right foot, so I could
Keep my first shoes straight

-Maxfield S., 6th grade 
(My first pair of shoes)
 

Honorable Mention

Cinnamon’s’ the name
I am a Cocker Spaniel
Play fetch with me please

-Mr. Waghorne 
(My first dog)

The Judges

“I’m especially enjoying poetry right now, as my daughter, who’s in 2nd grade, is participating in The Great Poetry Race. She gets a new poem each week, and reads it to at least 20 people. I’ve really enjoyed listening to her read the poems, and seeing the positive comments she receives about her reading. I also enjoyed reading all of the haikus in this contest!” -Mrs. Hagerty
“I wanted to judge the haiku contest because I was curious to know what inspires others to write haikus… and it was something out of the ordinary!” -Mrs. Rainey
“Having been a World Cultures teacher for so many years (13 of my 15 years teaching), I always had a special spot for haiku. It was such a beautiful way to express anything. It was also a fun way to engage my students in something multicultural that anyone could do. I mean anyone could come up with a ‘poem’ as long as it was 5-7-5. So I loved to teach about haiku (how they came about in Japan) and then let my students be creative. Usually, the ones who said they ‘couldn’t do it’ had the best ones.” -Mrs. Bruce