SCVi Competes in First Grand Slam Competition

This past fall, all SCVi 9th-12th grade learners participated in the Get Lit Words Ignite curriculum, claimed a classic poem, wrote a response, memorized both, and performed in our first school-wide slam this past February. Six poets were chosen to represent our school at the 5th Annual Get Lit Classic Slam held this past Friday, April 30, in the LA Theater Center.

The six poets — Bristol Biggs, Avery Bowen, Gabriella Cario, Zach Riesenberger, Kianna Teachout, and Valaria Tinoco — practiced for weeks with Coaches Cheryl Sena, Jody Blinn and Kevin Story. The Get Lit Players sent a coach, and the acclaimed iLEAD NoHo team helped SCVi’s team prepare for Friday’s quarterfinals at the LA Theater Center. The day was charged with energy and the team performed well, placing third in their heat. One of our poets, Avery Bowen, had the honor of presenting her response to her classic poet, Rachel Kann.

In the afternoon, we supported sister school iLEAD NOHO at the semifinals heat and cheered when they advanced to the final CLASSIC SLAM. Forty SCVi learners and parents boarded a bus on Saturdaynight to support them at the Orpheum Theater in downtown LA. Four finalist school teams recited powerful response poems that addressed the social issues our learners face. Each poem resounded off the walls of the theater and resonated with our learners. At the end of the night, we cheered for sister school iLEAD NoHo’s performance that brought the house down and earned them first place for the second consecutive year.

We look forward to next year!