<html><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html charset=us-ascii"></head><body style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space;" class=""><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 10pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;" class=""><b class=""><font color="#000099" class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt;" class="">POETRY OUT LOUD SONOMA COUNTY CONTEST<o:p class=""></o:p></span></font></b></div><b class=""><font color="#000099" class=""></font></b><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" class=""></span><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 10pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;" class=""><b class=""><font color="#000099" class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt;" class="">FEBRUARY 13 - 6:30 - 9:30pm<o:p class=""></o:p></span></font></b></div><b class=""><font color="#000099" class=""></font></b><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" class=""></span><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 10pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;" class=""><b class=""><font color="#000099" class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt;" class="">The Glaser Center, 547 Mendocino Ave., Santa Rosa<o:p class=""></o:p></span></font></b></div><b class=""><font color="#000099" class=""></font></b><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" class=""></span><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 10pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;" class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt;" class=""><b class=""><font color="#000099" class="">ADMISSION IS FREE!! </font></b><o:p class=""></o:p></span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 10pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;" class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt;" class=""> </span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 10pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;" class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt;" class="">Why are students all over the county memorizing and practicing their oral interpretations of great poems? Because its Poetry Out Loud season! <o:p class=""></o:p></span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 10pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;" class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt;" class=""> </span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 10pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;" class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt;" class=""><b class=""><font color="#000099" class="">Poetry Out Loud is a national recitation program for high school students, founded by the National Endowment for the Arts, sponsored in all of California by the California Arts Council and California Poets in the Schools and in Sonoma County by the Sonoma County Community Foundation. Students select poems from a large online anthology and deliver heart-felt, often mesmerizing renditions. </font></b><o:p class=""></o:p></span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 10pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;" class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt;" class=""> </span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 10pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;" class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt;" class="">The county winner will advance to the state competition, in Sacramento on March 12 and 13. The winner in Sacramento will advance to the national championships, to be held in Washington DC on April 25 and 26.<o:p class=""></o:p></span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 10pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;" class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt;" class=""> <o:p class=""></o:p></span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 10pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;" class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt;" class="">There is no cost to the school or the students to participate.<o:p class=""></o:p></span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 10pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;" class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt;" class="">The schools involved this year are: Analy, Casa Grande, Creekside,<o:p class=""></o:p></span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 10pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;" class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt;" class="">El Molino, Elsie Allen, Healdsburg, Maria Carrillo, Piner, Rancho Cotate, <o:p class=""></o:p></span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 10pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;" class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt;" class="">Roseland University Prep, Santa Rosa and Sonoma Academy.<o:p class=""></o:p></span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 10pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;" class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt;" class=""> </span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 10pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;" class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt;" class="">Sonoma County has one of the most active participation rates in all of California. <o:p class=""></o:p></span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 10pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;" class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt;" class="">Phyllis Meshulam 707-829-0787<o:p class=""></o:p></span></div><div class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt;" class=""><br class=""></span></div></body></html>