Sixth grader pens winning poem
![Sailee Kumar]([{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_1/v1743780583/uscsdk12paus/jw9ivmaygszvbaq2tmao/PoetryWinner.png","width":256},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_2/v1743780583/uscsdk12paus/jw9ivmaygszvbaq2tmao/PoetryWinner.png","width":512},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto/v1743780583/uscsdk12paus/jw9ivmaygszvbaq2tmao/PoetryWinner.png","width":800}])
A Boyce Middle School student has been named the winner in the Middle School Poetry category of the 40th annual Waldman Arts & Writing Competition.
Sixth grader Sailee Kumar, along with six other category winners, will be honored at a ceremony on Wednesday, May 14, 2025, at Chatham University. One of the seven winners will be selected as the Grand Prize recipient.
The Waldman Arts & Writing Competition, hosted by the Holocaust Center of Pittsburgh, invites middle and high school students from the Pittsburgh region to submit themed arts and writing pieces. This year’s theme is “Local Legacies: Holocaust Survivors of the Pittsburgh Region.”
“The competition was offered as an enrichment opportunity to any Boyce sixth grader,” said Sherri Garvey, Boyce Middle School gifted/enrichment teacher. “Sailee wrote a poem after researching the life of Holocaust survivor Judah Samet.”
Students in grades six through 12 could submit work in three categories: 2-D Art, 3-D Art and Poetry/Graphic Prose. High school students were also eligible to participate in a fourth category – Essay/Response Paper.
The competition consists of three rounds. In the first, each participating school selects one entry per category to advance. In the second round, judges from the Holocaust Center of Pittsburgh review the school-level winners and select one winner for each of the seven categories. The final round determines the grand prize winner, whose work received the highest overall score.
The contest is open to students from schools in Pennsylvania, eastern Ohio and West Virginia. This year, 18 schools participated.
Notably, Upper St. Clair High School alumnus and author of “The Perks of Being a Wallflower,” Stephen Chbosky, won the Waldman Award in 1986.
Category Winners:
- Essay – High School: Annie Cowan, Hampton School District
- Poetry – High School: Aubri Holland, Seneca Valley School District
- 2-D Art – High School: Chava Naiditch, Yeshiva Schools
- 3-D Art – High School: Hailey McPhilomy, Seneca Valley School District
- 3-D Art – Middle School: Kayla Mager, Springdale School District
- 2-D Art – Middle School: Rebecca Smith, Fox Chapel Area School District
- Poetry – Middle School: Sailee Kumar, Upper St. Clair School District
- Boyce