By Traci Newell

Twenty-nine Pinewood students will be published poets this fall.

“I had a very unique class this year,” said Diane McGinley, fifth-grade teacher at Pinewood. “They were very excited about poetry.”

Once McGinley realized her students’ passion for poetry, she sought positive ways for her students to showcase their work. She selected Creative Communication Inc., a Web site that promotes writing contests for children.

Her language arts class wrote poetry throughout the year. Each student submitted his or her favorite poem from the portfolios, and 26 of McGinley’s students will have their poems published.

“I think they were successful because we spent time every week looking at poetry,” she said. “The students memorized and wrote a poem every week. Through the process they really found their own voice for poetry.”

The poems will appear in “A Celebration of Young Poets,” a poetry anthology published by Creative Communication Inc. due out in the fall. The editor of the anthology, Dr. Thomas K. Worthen, said that Creative Communications publishes fewer than 50 percent of the thousands of poems submitted.

In addition to having the student work published, Pinewood will receive the Poetic Achievement Award in recognition of the number and quality of the entries accepted. The honor is presented to the top 10 percent of schools that entered the contest.

Sixth-grader Christina Eliopoulos and fourth-graders Victoria Carroll and Courtney Copriviza also submitted poems selected for publication.