For the past 15 years, under the direction of Hillside Grade School Librarian Barbara Nelson, all the students at Hillside Grade School have participated in the storytelling competition.
The students are asked to read a poem or a rhyming book, then memorize it and recite it before Ms. Nelson and her judges. Out of that group are chosen the students, some from each grade level, who actually perform at the festival held in the Hillside Grade School gym.
The chosen students must then perform in front of the judges who this year were Mrs. Shelia Bet, Director of Curriculum and Instruction Diane Zirilli-Mares and Professor Nick Petrone who is the Adelphi University director of the Department of Theatre.
The judging is done very professionally and all the performances are timed which is part of the score. This year it was a very difficult task to chose a winner because each participant was so well-prepared and performed his/her piece with such feeling while calm and well-poised.
This year’s participants included: First grade: Isabella Bigeni, Tyler Costin, Gianna Palmeri, Kristos Fernadez and Anthony Silva and their piece was entitled, Counting Creatures.
First grade: Gauri Shyamnath and Khushi Shah and their piece was Five Little Monkeys Reading in Bed.
First grade: Adithya Krishnan, Jack Vasquez and Raiyan Ahmed, who recited Chicka, Chicka, Boom, Boom.
Second grade: Jasmine Choi-If You Give a Cat a Cupcake.
Third grade: Sean Gordon and Angelina Fernandez who recited Joseph Had a Little Overcoat.
Third grade: Nicki Stephen-Leo The Late Bloomer
Fourth grade: Sophia Leeds-Move Over Rover
Fifth grade: Ania Zolyniak-The True Story of The Three Little Pigs as told to A. Wolf.
Sixth grade: Angela Pugliese-Stephanie’s Ponytail.
Reshma Itty and partner-I Am Not Sleepy and I Will Not Go To Bed.
Alexandra Bongiorno and Vasica Halicos-Who’s On First.
