News

Each year Springmont Elementary and Middle School students submit entries to the River of Words Environmental Art & Poetry Project contest hosted annually by Project WET (Water Education Today), part of the Georgia’s Department of Natural Resources Environmental Protection Division. In addition to promoting creativity, this competition helps students learn about the watershed in which they live and the importance and value of protecting one of our most precious natural resources. Georgia entries, which totaled more than 1900 this year, were judged by the Georgia Center for the Book and the GA Environmental Protection Division.
We are so proud of all our creative and environmentally conscious student artists and are excited to announce that for the 14th year running, Springmont has winners! 

Our Georgia Art State Winner - Category I (PK-Grade 2) - is Caleb McMaster, a 2nd-year Lower Elementary student, who submitted Falling Water, pictured here. 

Our Georgia Poetry State Winner - Category II (Grades 3-5) - is 5th-year Upper Elementary student Brielle Cliett, who submitted the poem below.
 

The River and the Birds

The river flows with the breeze.
Birds nest in the trees.
The water ripples, down it goes.
The birds whistle their lovely tune.
Mama birds chirp, baby birds cry then sing,
Their first lullaby.
Watch them leave, watch them.
Go fly, fly far from home.
Guppies ride the rapid currents.
Leaves blow in the wind
Trees stand still and tall
Birds do it all.
I sit, wait, watch time while the birds
Settle in for the night.
Morning arrives winds pickup.
Leaves fall from the trees
The birds wake up and start to fly.

Thank you to Art Teachers Theresa Dean and Claire Tadeo for inspiring and guiding our students! The Georgia ROW Awards Ceremony will be held on Sunday, April 30, at the DeKalb County Library in Decatur.

“Imagination runs through the places where we live like water. We need both things — a living knowledge of the land and a live imagination of it and our place in it — if we are going to preserve it.” - Robert Hass, Former US Poet Laureate, River of Words Co-founder