Athenian classes have won The New York Times’ Year In Rap Contest 4 out of its 5 years. The sophomores in US History begin the year by looking back on the previous 365 days’ of news. In one class period, each class worked together to craft a poem of rhyming couplets capturing the year 2015 in an original rap. This year, two of Athenian’s entries were among the 11 winners from over 800 entries.

Take a look at Athenian’s 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012 entries and contest winners, too.

Winner: Jackie, Rosie, Annie, Kyle, Diego, Ashna, Maria, Sofi, Avrah, Robby, Catherine, Cailin, Jonathan, Josh B, Josh T, Josiah (US History)

Twenty-sixteen made us laugh and cry,
Keep reading below and soon you’ll know why:
We lost Princess Leia, Willy Wonka, and Snape
Stop with the videos- we get it, you vape!
Throughout the year, we watched in agony;
Brussels, Orlando, Nice – we saw tragedy
The Obamas’ priorities were global education,
But Melania never learned about plagiarization
As Black Lives Matter took the nation by storm,
Quarterback Kaepernick refused to conform
The Dakota Access Pipeline was heavily debated,
Celebrities joined in because the project was hated
Britain left the EU 52 to 48,
Trump won – will Americans now emigrate?
Michelle’s moving lessons won’t pass us by
Remember:  when they go low, we go high

Winner: Gopaal, Chika, Henry, Olivia, Haley, Anne, Ginger, Jenna, Avery, Jason, Sydney, Jin, Darya, Liam, Derek, Z, AJ, Bryan (US History)

2016 was a crazy year to say the least,
And ISIS continued to prevent world peace.
Even though Hillary won the popular vote
Donald Trump now has a reason to gloat.
Mosquitos carry Zika, tiny bugs aren’t a joke,
But in 4 new states it’s now legal to smoke.
Seventy-five years since Pearl Harbor was bombed,
Obama and Abe apologized for what their countries did wrong.
Harambe being left on the rocks to bleed
might be worse then the Warriors blowing a 3-1 lead
Britain left the EU leaving Europe in dismay,
Assad and the rebels left Aleppo in disarray.
The deaths of celebrities such as Prince, Carrie Fisher, Muhammad Ali left people low
All across the world people played Pokemon Go
Far, far away, two black holes collide,
Waves were detected when a chirp rang inside.

Lulu, Sravani, Kamcee, Kate, Olivia, Alina, Kaitlyn, Ben, Justin, Hannah, Blake, Noah, Jade, Sam, Grant, Siena, Nick G, Nick W (US History) 

Rain drop, drop top
2016 has come to a stop-stop
In Orlando Florida 49 Pulses cut short
‘Cause LGBT people Omar didn’t support
Dakotas halt construction of the oil pipeline,
we witnessed the downfall of Clinton and Vine
Kaepernick took a knee for police brutality;
Keith Lamont Scott, and many more casualties
Bombs from planes create Syrian ditches
Warriors throwing games like the Cubs throw pitches
Melania gave a speech we all know Michelle did
Politics dragged – like Harambe did the kid
And don’t forget Hamilton, the show that swept the nation
Got a record breaking 16 Tony nominations
Man buns, memes, and dabbing continue to roam
These trends need to die and Pokémon go home

Mojoyinoluwa A., Will C., Ellie C., Vikrant G., Karthik G., Rosalie K., Jerry L., Julian M., Isabella M., Jack M., Tyler M., Evan R., Matthew R., Amanda S., Chris V.  (US History)

We say goodbye to Obama after eight historic years
Clinton is Trumped, bringing half the country to tears
Planet Pluto, no longer a stranger
and as of now, pandas aren’t living in danger
The death of Alan Kurdi is a tragedy of its own,
now the war torn Syria has become a hazard zone
A choker trend reached an all-time high,
as contouring served as the ultimate disguise
Samsung has a really bad year, phones exploding everywhere
while Apple kills off their jack as if they don’t even care
The Cubs celebrate their first win since 1908
while the Brazilian soccer team suffers a much darker fate
In 2016 we lost so many great artists
Rest in Peace to all those departed

Alisa C., Toby C., Hemen D., Savi D., Dara G., Karen H., Lauren H., Yevhen (Jake) H., Jolene K., Michael K., Jackson M., Vincent P., Jennifer S., Mark S., Jacob V., Yifeng (Steven) Y. (US History)

2016 was an elevator, with many ups and downs
Freedom had a price, while hate was making rounds
In the land of the free and home of the brave,
Clinton v. Trump sends the nation into rage
We’re still fighting Zika, Flint’s flooded with lead
Yet with cancer tests and transplants, humanity’s not dead
The cosmos, now mapped, full of gravity waves
While bats’re drinkin’ nectar in shadowy caves
Samsung catches fire, VR and drones take flight
Cyberterrorism and hacking become a public plight
Phelps and Biles winnin’ metal at the Games
Broncos, Cavs and Cubs, takin’ pride in their names
Princess Leia and her mother, in death honored
Wonka, Snape and Bowie, heroes’ talents squandered

Brad A., Rahul A., Emily A., Aidan C., Trang D., Mackenzie H., Lilly H., Chloe K., Hannah M., Kylie P., Charlie R., Joseph S., Thuan T., Sophie T., Sally V., Hannah W., Sunny Y. (Vietnam Seminar)

2016 is one we’ll never forget
An auspicious leap year leaves us with regret
Although the Cubbies broke the curse of 108 years
The end of Muhammed Ali brought us to tears
May he rest in peace with Comrade Castro
Don’t forget Bowie, music fire as Tabasco
Top celebs like Kim K and Wintour
Lit up the MET carpet in crazy couture
Samsung tried to create a virtual reality
Now phones blowing up is just a normality
Britain’s exit shocked the world to the core
Obama drops the mic and is President no more
Look into the future with the US polarized
Gotta try and see through each other’s eyes
In 2017 we hope for the best
Even as humanity is put to the test

Abant B., Cameron C., Courtney C., Abigail E., Monty G., Nadia K., Zoe K., William L., Caleb M., Will M., Lily N., Evan S., Oliver S., Timmy T., Olivia W. (Vietnam Seminar)

Russian hacking sent the public into a fury
Virtual reality being bought in a hurry
The UK voted Brexit and problems have arisen
The Feds arrested Chapo and put him up in prison
On his way to the grave is Fidel Castro
With Bowie, Prince, and Cohen in tow
Muhammad Ali remembered as a great swinger
Float off now butterfly; now that’s a real stinger
Chicago Cubs ~ no more World Series drought
Team USA winning day in, day out
Zika made everyone in Rio freak
Injustice at home brought riots to the streets
A twitter warrior; many called him unfit
And now a Trump presidency has the nation split