Spoken Word teaching artist Isaiah Makar celebrated his birthday with a very special event, the first-ever Julian Middle School 6th Grade Poetry Slam.

A participant from each class was chosen by their peers and presented their work to the entire 6th grade class. The event closed with the announcement of the overall champ, a heartfelt thank you by other participating students and a very loud rendition of “happy birthday” to Isaiah.

The original 7th grade Spoken Word program started in Fall 2015, the program was expanded to 6th grade this year. Spoken Word is a powerful and effective medium for fostering creativity and self-expression in young people.Through both in-school residencies and extracurricular clubs, students learn to write and revise poems that reflect their own unique experiences, interests, and opinions. They then have opportunities to share their poetry in safe and supportive space.