Wantagh Middle School’s Word on the Street literacy celebration hit a milestone on April 10, as it officially reached a decade. The 10th annual event to mark National Poetry Month featured more than two dozen presentations during the evening showcase.

Readers included students, teachers and administrators. There were mostly solo performances as well as a handful of duets. They could share existing poems or read original pieces. Works from noted poets like Robert Frost and Shel Silverstein were read. Many eighth graders also picked pieces from a book used during a class poetry unit, “Inside Out and Back Again” by Thanhha Lai.

Sixth grade teacher Tom Vereline, a regular at Word on the Street who will be retiring in June, read “Home,” an original poem reflecting on his career in Wantagh. Science teacher Christen Bellucci shared Heidi Bee Roemer’s “Welcome to the Science Lab” while student Quinn Burke did a visual demonstration of the poem. 

The event was organized by English teacher Chrissie Hult, who said that the goal is to spread appreciation of the written word. Eighth graders Giada Petrillo and Valentina Rodriguez-Beltran were the emcees, and Emily McHale opened the program by singing the national anthem. Guests enjoyed pizza and cookies during the show in the lower cafeteria which was transformed to have a café vibe.