TEDYouth “The Spark” is about to ignite. The annual conference for middle and high school students will take place this Saturday in New Orleans, with 400 teens from across the region gathering to listen to talks from scientists, designers, technologists, explorers, artists and performers — some of them adults and some of them peers.

The attendees for TEDYouth were selected via online applications. And with the conference just five days away, we wanted to give shout-outs to some students who submitted extra credit. Here are just a few of the amazing songs, poems and videos submitted with TEDYouth applications — run with permission, of course.

Not able to attend TEDYouth in the flesh? Never fear! The event will be webcast, live and for free, on Saturday, November 16, from 11am to 6pm CDT in English, Spanish and Arabic. Or, if you’d prefer to make watching a social event, find the TEDxYouthDay event nearest you. These events are happening all over the world, in the 48-hour period surrounding TEDYouth.

And now, for those stand-out applications…

This anthem is the creation of the TEDivas: Saren McAllister, Natosha Humphrey, Izzie McAllister, Janis McAllister and Cassidy Monk.

Here, a poem from Luis Duarte called, “Why I want to go to the TEDYouth Conference.”

The TEDYouth conference will be lots of fun.
I’m usually used to having to go on a run.
I get to be creative and dance and do new stuff.
I’ll meet designers and scientist that aren’t too tough.
It will be exciting and entertaining and I’ll learn stuff too.
Maybe I’ll get to dance, eat food and see art an artist drew.
I’m sure I’ll get to meet new people and friends.
We’ll all be pretty sad when the day ends.
I can’t wait to get back to school to impress all of my teachers.
TEDYouth conference will help us become awesome leaders.
I really want to go to the TEDYouth conference this season.
I’m not real sure you need another reason.

The “Above Average Joes” — Elyse Gertsch, Kaleb Clark, Joshua Dunning and Cora Gertsch — created a very cool suspense film, which leads into a conference they call TEDMini. Talks included: “How the world isn’t fair,” “Why I want to work with computers” and “How kids confuse popularity and leadership.”

Another TEDYouth song, from the “Charging Bucs,” aka Berwick Nero, Jouan Terrance, Israel Howard and Saunders Briscoe.

Here, a poem from Alyssa Tripps called “Metaphorically Speaking.” 

I lay down
Staring at the ceiling
Thinking to myself
The world is needy
Constantly bleeding
For other people’s empathy
Sympathy, comforting
It’s time for us to step up to the plate
Help them carry this weight
And let them know
Education is bait
To success
We constantly run across
The lost
We see them stuck in the world
They’re stuck in their issue like Jack Frost
It’s time we let the world shine bright
Rudolph
Starting with you all
We’re going to change the world
And this is the first way to start off
Using TED
It’s an earthly med
Healing the world
With a particular ed
It starts off with you
What will you do
I’m going to change the world
How about you

And finally, Mollye Ladner, Sarah Grammar, Emily Overmyer and Brielle Jordan — who call themselves “Those Theatre Kids” — share why they want to be at TEDYouth. Bear joke included at the end.