Walnut Square Students Read Prize Poems at Haverhill School Committee Meeting

HAVERHILL -- June 11, 2026, Walnut Square Elementary students read award-winning peace poems at the Haverhill School Committee's June 11 meeting. Principal Jen Rubera introduced the segment, describing it as a five-year tradition in which teachers enter students in Northern Essex Community College's annual Peace Poetry Contest, which draws entries from schools across multiple cities and publishes student work. Nine students placed across three grades: in first grade, Brouwer (second) and Arleo (third); in second grade, Zaina (first), Logan (second), and Arush (third); in third grade, Parker (first), Lila (second), and Avia (third). More than a dozen additional students received honorable mentions. Students who attended read their poems aloud to the committee, with themes centering on family, sensory comfort, and references to Martin Luther King Jr. No formal votes were recorded in the portion of the meeting captured by the available transcript.