Announcing the 2023 BCPS Haiku Contest
For the BCPS 2023 Haiku Contest, each student is invited to choose from among 10 pieces of student artwork and to write a haiku inspired by that artwork. (Below are only partial images of each artwork.) Entries for the annual BCPS Haiku Poetry Contest will be accepted from 12:01 a.m. on Thursday, February 16, through 4:45 p.m. on Thursday, March 2.
All haiku must be original and must be submitted using the online 2023 Haiku Contest Form. Each student may only submit one haiku. Winning haiku will be chosen at the elementary, middle, and high school levels. Winners will be announced on Monday, April 17, International Haiku Poetry Day, and will receive prizes.
As in prior years, the winning poems and additional selected haiku will be compiled into an online book with student artwork. Each school library will receive a print copy.
In our sixth year of the contest, students submitted a record 2,445 entries from 111 schools, centers, and programs.
A panel of student and staff judges selected 134 poems for the book, including elementary and middle school winners and two high school winners:
- Juliet Wentzell, Grade 5, Mays Chapel Elementary School
- David Yuan, Grade 7, Ridgely Middle School
- Grace O’Neill, Grade 11, Hereford High School
- Yen Pan, Grade, 10 Catonsville High School
The book also includes beautiful student artwork. Each school library will receive a print copy of the book.
Read our news release about the winners and the contest.
Read the 2021 Team BCPS Haiku Book!
In our fifth year of the contest, students submitted 1,649 entries from 108 schools! We could not be more proud to achieve record-setting school participation during a pandemic.
A panel of student and staff judges selected 193 poems for the book, including an elementary, middle, and high school winner:
- Aubrey Suljak, Grade 5, Jacksonville Elementary School
- Madilyn Senisse, Grade 8, Arbutus Middle School
- Noah Colosino, Grade 10, George Washington Carver Center for Arts and Technology
The book also includes beautiful student artwork. Each student artist and poet selected for the book will receive an online copy. Each school library will receive a print copy of the book.
Read our news release about the winners and the contest.
Read the 2020 Team BCPS Haiku Book
Despite the spring closure, the 2020 Team BCPS Haiku Contest received 1,446 entries from 99 schools and centers! Our theme was Hero, which gained new significance due to COVID-19. The contest runs each March as part of our We Are Team BCPS campaign.
A panel of student and staff judges selected 165 poems for the book, including an elementary, middle, and high school winner:
- Ella Navari, Grade 4, Prettyboy Elementary School
- Kiran Bhatia, Grade 7, Dumbarton Middle School
- Maggie Else, Grade 10, Dulaney High School
Student artwork that brought these poems to life was then selected for the book through the Office of Visual Arts. Each school library received a copy of the book.