• A photograph of the front of the John Fitzgerald Kennedy birthplace and surrounding houses on Beals Street

    John Fitzgerald Kennedy

    National Historic Site Massachusetts

"What John F. Kennedy Means to Me" Annual Essay and Poetry Program

An author of a winning essay stands to receive recognition from the crowd.
 
Rangers teaching lessons on the life of JFK

The 27th annual "What John F. Kennedy Means to Me" Essay and Poetry Program kicked off the week of April 25th with class visits to the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, where 84 3rd grade students from the Edward Devotion School in Brookline students explored exhibits to learn about John F. Kennedy's family background, political campaigns, and the highlights and accomplishments of his presidency. The following week, students visited the birthplace where they took part in an inquiry- based tour of the president's boyhood home and neighborhood to uncover stories that help explain Kennedy's rise to presidency and his enduring belief in people's power to affect change.

With a wealth of primary-source based information in hand, students returned to the classroom to begin writing essays on what John F. Kennedy means to them. With essay writing underway, park rangers then visited classrooms to lead poetry writing workshops to help each class produce a poem that captured their impressions of the neighborhood boy who became president.

Class poems and winning essays, selected by students through blind peer review, were revealed on May 27, 2011 at a well-attended public ceremony in front of the presidential birthplace. During the ceremony students shared their impressions of the president, expressed their personal goals with respect to community building, and were encouraged to realize their own potential as leaders and citizens with the power to shape the world.

Use the links below to access class poems, a photo of the 2011 essay winners, and winning essays from 2011 and 2010.

 
One photo shows a student writing his essay in the classroom. The other two photos show students celebrating after their essays were chosen as winning essays.

2011 CLASS POEMS

"All About JFK" by Ms. Albertini's class

"JFK Memories" by Ms. Driscoll's class

"The Importance of JFK" by Ms. French's class

"Kennedy's Time" by Ms. Nilan's class

2011 WINNING ESSAYS

Photo of essay winners

Ms. Albertini
Jasmine Li, runner-up
Max Siegel, winner

Ms. Driscoll
Maeve Tyler-Penny, runner-up
Lucie Beau, winner

Ms. French
Taeyeon Kim, runner-up
Zebulon Erdos, winner

Ms. Nilan
Sidonie Brown, runner-up
Isidora Beslic, winner


2010 CLASS POEMS

"A Very Important Man" by Ms. Albertini's class

"The Wonderful JFK" by Ms. Baumbusch's class

"The Courageous Man" by Mrs. Bordieri's class

"Kennedy Can!" by Ms. French's class

2010 WINNING ESSAYS

Photo of essay winners

Ms. Albertini
Jazmany Olivera, runner-up
Jedhi Lee, winner

Ms. Baumbush
Alicia Meshulam, runner-up
Tiana Laing, winner

Ms. Bordieri
William McCormick, runner-up
Shaniyah Clouden, winner

Ms. French
Steve Kim, runner-up
Deborah Yoder, winner

 
 

Images on this page courtesy of NPS, Kennedy NHS. Second photo from the top by Matt Teuten. Photos in the photo gallery are by Matt Teuten and Joel Veak.

Did You Know?

John F. Kennedy at six months old.

The United States declared war against Germany on April 6, 1917. One week later the Boston Red Sox beat the New York Yankees 10-2 on opening day in New York. The next month, on May 29 at 3:00 in the afternoon, John Fitzgerald Kennedy was born in the family’s Brookline home.