Commack Earns Awards In Spanish Poetry Contest

By Brenda Lentsch

Commack High School students earned gold, silver, and bronze at the annual Hofstra Spanish Poetry Contest for Secondary Schools. The Long Island event is organized by Hofstra University’s Romance Language Department. The students competed against approximately forty other students in each category ranging from level I to IV, junior high school to high school. Students were judged on pronunciation, intonation, memorization and expression as they recited poems by famous Spanish authors.

Congratulations to Matthew O’Connell for first place in Level 3, to Jesse Woltal for her first place win in Level 4, to Jae Yoon Bae and Christina Cabana for 2nd place in Level 4, and to Julian Faranda and Samantha Lampert for Level 4 third place wins. In Level 5, Jeffery Ball took 3rd place, as did Carmen Vieytez, in the Native Category.

The students work very hard in memorizing and practicing their poems after school, and their hard work has paid off! Mrs. Silva coordinates and assists the students in this great endeavor.

Photo above: (Pictured from left to right) Julian Faranda, Samantha Lampert, Jae Yoon Bae, Matthew O’Connell, Jesse Woltal, Carmen Vieytez, Christina Cabana and Jeffrey Ball.