St. Bernard Prep School student, Jesse Schaffer, along with Elizabeth Schweers represented St. Bernard at the district Poetry Out Loud competition on Friday, December 5th, at the University of Alabama in Huntsville. Schaffer, a junior at the private boarding school in Cullman said, Friday was a special day in several ways. It was the anniversary of the death of my baby sister for whom my poem was written. It is also the birthday of Mrs. Couch, the teacher who encouraged me to enter the contest.?

Schaffer competed against twelve other students in the district, and won first place in original poetry during the competition with his poem titled, A Breath of Grace. I wrote this poem one evening about an event that will remain forever in my mind. Schaffer continued, Eleven years ago my little sister, Abbey Grace, was still-born. The poem recants hearing the two words shes gone, and feeling the heavy hearts our family shared.

Couch has worked with her freshman and junior students since the fall of the year to prepare them for this competition. I jokingly told them that my best birthday present would be for one or both of our entrants to win or place at District since the competition was on December 5th.

Couch said Schaffer did an outstanding job and his first place honor was well deserved. He presented his poem with such heartfelt emotion; the audience was sobbing and dobbing their eyes. Schweers memorized three poems and competed in the anthology recitation event. We are proud of Elizabeth for her representation of St. Bernard. She will be back competing next year. She has the talent and drive to succeed.

Schaffer won first place in original poetry, and was awarded a check for $100 and a $1,000 scholarship to the University of Alabama-Huntsville. He will compete at the state level on February 28th in Montgomery, Alabama.

Could you post that poem for me please? I would love to read it all.

Once he has competed at the State Level, I feel sure he will share it with all. It is wonderful. Maybe he will youtube it.