Baltimore County Public Schools announced the winners of the 2025 Team BCPS Haiku Contest and one of those students is from Dundalk Middle School.
Middle School Winner
Reborn black mermaid
feeling the warmth on her face
lilypad sunrise
Payton Williams, Grade 8
Dundalk Middle School
Library media specialist: Amanda Colgan
(The haiku was created in response to art prompt #7, which was
created by Corryn Word, a Grade 12 student at Milford Mill Academy.)
The judges felt this poem was very evocative of the art prompt. They liked that the haiku was bookended by words – “reborn” and “sunrise” – that relate to the theme of renewal. One judge noted that the phrase “warmth on her face” drew attention to the artist’s use of light. Another
judge described the phrase “lilypad sunrise” as “beautiful and lyrical.”
BCPS students were challenged to write haiku in response to a piece of student artwork selected from among 10 pieces. More than 1,500 entries were received from 85 schools, centers, and programs.
All entries are judged blindly (without any identifying information about the writer), and haiku being considered for prizes are checked to ensure they are original works.
The following three schools each submitted more than 100 student entries: Pinewood Elementary School (117 entries), Stoneleigh Elementary School (112 entries), and Owings Mills High School (110
entries).
