International Haiku Competition 2025
Through the past school year, our students have worked hard on writing pieces of haiku poetry for both national and international competitions.
The international haiku competition has been running for quite a few years now with students in schools across Europe putting forward their work in the English language. Schools in different countries decide to take part when they are able, which means that some projects involve many more than others. Even though 2025 turned out to be one of the smaller ones in that regard, we are delighted that the competition went ahead as usual and that we were able to mark its conclusion with a special event held at Gimnazija Vič. On 23 May, students from our school joined with those from Gimnazija Pula in Croatia and Državni Znanstveni Licej Franceta Prešerna in Italy to celebrate the creative work that had been put forward through the year.
When they arrived at our school, the delegations were able to enjoy some refreshments before being taken on a tour led by several members of our school's promotions group. Then we had the pleasure of listening to some readings of work by Kim Dominko Slak. Kim is in her final year of study with us and over her four years has produced an impressive range of poetry and prose. Her work has appeared in numerous publications prepared by our school and she has competed in creative writing competitions all around the world.
The next part of our event involved the presentation of certificates and prizes for those whose pieces of haiku had been judged to be especially good by this year's panel. From the hundreds of entries, about thirty were given commendations and seven were selected to get special commendations. This final group stood out for their original ideas and impressive use of the English language.
Many congratulations to all those who were shortlisted. Those who received the special commendations were:
- Vito Rabar
- Marija Poljak
- Jarne Horvat Juntes
- Anej Košorok
- Lina Dvojmoč
- Kim Dominko Slak
- Katarina Lucija Pernarcich
After a delicious lunch in our school canteen, we were treated to a haiku presentation by Mr Edin Saračević and Mr Dejan Pavlinović , both of whom are celebrated writers of haiku as well as being mentors of our competition. The audience appreciated the chance to hear some of their work as well as learning more about the creative process. To conclude, there was a general discussion about the importance of expression in these ways as well as how people can improve their writing style.
Events like these take a lot of work and preparation behind the scenes and we would like to thank all of the project mentors involved for their dedication and enthusiasm. A special thanks must go to Blanka Klobučar and Tim Gallagher from our school's English language department who were responsible for organising the event and to the students who took part in the presentation through the day with their performances of both readings and music.
Everyone involved was delighted by the success of the project this year and we all look forward to seeing how the competition goes forward in the years ahead.