On Monday 24th April English teacher Ms. Jessica Doyle and JCSP Librarian Ms. Mary Flynn travelled with Sofiia Bezruchenko (3 Oak) to the Killeshin Hotel in Portlaoise for the PDST Write a Poem and Well-Read awards ceremony. Sofiia’s poem, “Наш мирний лютий / Our Peaceful February”, was highly commended in this national poetry competition. Of the poem, Declan Smith PDST Literacy advisor said:
“The National Write a Poem adjudication committee has highly commended Sofiia Bezruchenko's "Наш мирний лютий / Our Peaceful February" in the Junior Cycle category. Sofiia's poem is one of three highly commended poems. Sofiia's dual language poem captures the suffering and uncertainty felt by so many. Its laconic voice and evocative imagery are heartrending. Well done to Sofiia on this fantastic achievement.
Congratulations to you both on this wonderful achievement. Supporting students' creative impulses can be a challenging task at the moment and you have demonstrated a wonderful devotion to fostering this capacity in your students.”
At the ceremony attendees heard from award winning poet and playwright Colm Keegan. Colm’s inspirational words and powerful poems inspired everyone, and he awarded each poet with their prize. Sofiia was also accompanied to the ceremony by her mother and brother, and classmates Nicole Gailis and Kyla Ngwenya.
Sofiia’s poem was the only finalist / winner from a Co. Wexford school. It was fantastic to have her work recognised at the ceremony and showcased in the PDST Write a Poem Awards Booklet. This booklet was circulated to all winning schools and will also be published on the PDST website. The same poem is also due to be published in the Irish Times in May, in their up-and-coming Fighting Words supplement.