TOWAMENCIN- Students were given the opportunity to celebrate literature on Tuesday during North Penn High School’s 5th annual Lit Fest. Open to juniors who take 6.0 English, Lit Fest incorporated curriculum into three competitions: artistic renditions, dramatic reading, and the knowledge bowl.

Opening with a slide show featuring student artwork submissions, Lit Fest kicked off with teachers reading select passages to students. Then, 13 juniors took to the podium and presented a passage from any assigned text they read during the current school year to the audience. A team of teachers judged student artwork and dramatic reading performance. Mrs. Elizabeth Weizer, organizer of this year’s Lit Fest, was impressed with student performance.

“Every year the students just blow me away with their talent! From the incredible artwork to the riveting speeches—and think about how difficult it is to get in front of over 300 of your peers and give a speech—it just keeps getting better and better every year,” Weizer said.

Although daunting to read in front of a large audience, Laura Butterworth presented a passage from Scarlet letter and enjoyed the experience.

“It was really fun. It was a little nerve racking, but really exciting. I practiced a little bit almost every day,” Butterworth said. “I know I stumbled on the one part, but I feel I did a pretty good job conveying the emotion and setting the tone.”

After the conclusion of the dramatic readings, students were split up into teams by classroom and period for the knowledge bowl. Students used their knowledge of novels and vocabulary in an attempt to answer trivia questions. Weizer explained how Lit Fest allowed students to feel as though their hard work during the school year paid off.

“I think they get a real sense of the amount of work that they’ve put in over the first semester. When they think back to all of the works they read so far this year, and all of the thinking and writing they did, they feel a sense of accomplishment,” Weizer said. “It’s also a great way to show that what they do matters. Here’s an application for literature, for art, for speaking…it doesn’t exist in a vacuum in our English classrooms. They are able to apply their skills.”

While competing for gift cards and bragging rights, students like Noah Clemens enjoyed participating in the knowledge bowl.

“At first we were all very shy about the whole thing, but as it went on we got very competitive, excited, hype, and to be honest a bit cocky as we kept getting questions right,” Clemens said.

Among others, Clemens was fond of Mr.Kevin Manero’s announcing style, feeling that it contributed to the excitement of Lit Fest.

“The way Mr.Manero is teaching the curriculum this year really makes it interesting and fun to come to class,” Clemens said. “I think because of him my attitude towards literature and English class in general has been shaped for the better, and Lit Fest was another great example of how his charisma helps make English fun.”

Overall, students and teachers alike walked away feeling positive after Lit Fest.

“It made me feel more accepted by my class since they were cheering for me and mostly looked to me for the trivia part” Butterworth said. “It was pretty awesomazing. I was super proud of my class… It was lot of fun for all of us.”

“[Lit Fest] was one of my favorite events I’ve ever taken part in,” Clemens said. “I really enjoyed the competitiveness, especially coming from my team.”

“It’s the kids who truly make Lit Fest what it is and they never disappoint,” Weizer said.

Below are the winners of this year’s Lit Fest:

Art winner: Hannah Pham

2nd place: Catalina Barroso

Speech Winner: Doug Bell

2nd place: Ben Ahlmark

Knowledge Bowl:

1st: Manero 4th and Weizer pd.2

2nd: O’Reilly p.8 and Weizer p.6

3rd: Manero p.5