Connecticut Student Writers Volume XXX 2018
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Connecticut Student Writers Volume XXX 2018 Connecticut Writing Project- Storrs Staff Director Editors-in-Chief Jason Courtmanche, Ph.D. Susan Laurençot Marcy Rudge Graduate Assistant Kaylee Jangula Mootz Section Editors Marcy Rudge (K-3) Undergraduate Interns Alex Rode (5-6) Alyssa Grimaldi Kelly Andrews-Babcock (4, 7-8) Julia Stobbie Peggy Smigel (9) Molly Tricomi Elizabeth Simison (10) Amy Nocton (11) Submission Selection Committee Kim Kraner (12) Jane Cook Danielle Pieratti Elizabeth Simison Erika Karwowski Jennifer L. Norman Brittany Carrier Diane Ayer Maureen Messier Lindsay Larsen Ted Richmond Cynthia Morrill Alex Rode Becca DiPinto Vicky Nordlund Kathi Gudmundson Barbara Greenbaum Valerie George Kim Kraner Liza Escott Sara Skubal Bridget O’Connor Joanne Peluso Lauren Shafer John Wetmore Emma Smith Peggy Smigel Sandy Geres Meg Bakken Kelly Andrews-Babcock Paul Hanusch Alyssa Grimaldi Table of Contents Foreword Kindergarten Humpback Whales David Harbec 3 The Zoo in the Sky Graham Gietzen 4 Growing Carrots and Flowers in the Rain Barbara Nannini 4 My Grandpa’s Cabin Graham Gietzen 4 The Woods Logan Rose 5 Who Am I? Graham Gietzen 5 First Grade Owen Goes to Space Noah Jangula-Mootz 7 Ice Cube Abigail Vargas 7 Waves Emmet Pendergast 7 Ella Loves Bikes Abigail Purviance 8 Going to Silver Lake Kyla Lunding 8 How to Take a Shower Kimberly Cournoyer 8 Second Grade All About Cats Coraline Mihalko 9 Great Pond Emory Andrews 10 Winter Fun Greyson Kalajian 11 Magic Show Eden Shapiro 11 The Rainbow Amelia Eichner 11 Amy Elizabeth Urban 11 Third Grade Fall Leaves Amalia Baird 14 Rocket to Uranus Aubrey Griskus 15 The Green Blob Lilly Gionfriddo 15 The Amazing Planet Neptune Avery Bronzo 16 December Andrew Alemany 18 Heart of the Ocean Kristina Kreft 18 Fourth Grade I Want to be a Dragon Pragnya Jois 20 Murderer Shae Meile 20 Fall Ball Eric Richmond 21 Magnum Opus Jack Reynolds 21 Lunch Troubles Gracie Gleason 22 Peanut Butter Charlotte Christenson 24 Tap Shoes Maya Louis 25 Fifth Grade Taken by Snow Kate Littler 26 George Matthew Gladstone 28 Strides Forward Brooke Strauss 29 Sammy’s Song Olivia DiFilippo 31 The Lost Memory Sadie Smith 34 I Am From Saramentada Sanon 35 ii Sixth Grade Broken Olivia Piri 36 The Invitation Stella Mahlke 37 Being Brave Erin Scroggins 41 Free Fall Haley Evans 41 Jupiter Maggie Berling 43 Wall Angelina Wisdom 43 Seventh Grade The Little Tin Rattle Lily Helpinstine 44 The Murderer and the Bone Sara Raghavan 46 Embracing Change Lorelei Rich 48 August 25th, 2016 Meena Behringer 50 Iguana King Jacqueline Schmeizl 53 Challenging Books in a Game of Chess Sophia Murrihy 54 Eighth Grade Strange Fruit Hannah Fluckiger 56 A World Between Worlds Alexa Esparza-Finsmith 57 Beauty Shaped by Pain Danielle Toppa 58 My Mason Jars Saige Landrie 58 To Hope Alice Youtz 60 The Rose-Colored Dress Ava Gross 61 Ninth Grade Coffee Shop Crush Andrea Kingrey 64 Friendly Fiona Carley Simler 65 Hot Fire Remus Green 67 Hiraeth Fiona Busch 68 Trouble in Paradise Carley Simler 68 In the Belly of the Beast Elyssa Grogan 71 A Sailor’s Reflections on Inner Turmoil Cormac Nocton 71 Embers of Glory Hannah Swimm 72 Tenth Grade Greetings Rachel Charron 74 Rose-Tinted Mirror Abby Lateer 75 The Orange Tree Ashley Portillo 77 I Ask the New Generation Chelsey Jara 79 Holy Man Abby Lateer 79 The Stars of the Jungle Casandra Hernandez 80 To the Tortoise Ellis McGinley 80 Temporary Margo Shuteran 81 To My Mother (Seasons) Ellis McGinley 82 Gypsy Mothmaggeddon Sophie Spaner 84 Eleventh Grade Flint Cassandra Eppler 86 My Papa’s Hands Emma Hazel 86 Do I Contradict Myself? Olivia Flaherty-Lovy 87 The Little White House Mia Rhodes 88 Counting Pennies Selena Muniz 90 Juno Savannah Rice 91 iii Twelfth Grade Galaxies Apart Azya Thornton 93 Investigative Kindness David Hettinger 94 The Lexmark, 2022 Model Julia Pezzano 95 On Being a Woman Mae Santillo 97 A Prayer for my Sister: After Yeats Jaclyn Mule 98 The Lament of Orpheus Mairead Kilgallon 98 Honorable Mentions 101 Teacher Recognitions 109 Special Thanks 109 Artwork Front Cover Oscar’s Neighbor, Stella Mahlke, Schaghticoke Middle School Happy Family Megan Song 3 Family Sylvia Raczkowski 5 Self Portrait Helena Glordano 6 The Brown Dog in the Blue Room Michael Huang 9 Silhouelephant Andrew Garfinkle 14 Abby Abby Ditzel 19 I Want to be a Dragon Pragnya Jois 20 The Magic Sunrise Claire Abbuhl 21 Writer’s Workshop Abby Ditzel 23 Winter Wonderland Maeve Browning 26 Nine Lives Elsa Nocton 29 Sunrise in the City Ava Zagami 31 Hidden Faces Ruby Montañez 35 Flying in the Wall Andrea Nystedt 36 Torn in Two Nicollette Chu 40 Realistic Woman Liliana Boutin 43 The Winter Joanna Raczkowski 43 Grayness Mingyue Zha 44 Embrace Meena Behringer 48 Vase and Flowers Rebecca Huang 50 Eyes of the Burning Ember Riya Bonde 52 The Beauty of Nature Audrey Finn 54 Untitled Adriana Ordaya 55 277 Main Street Julissa Mota 58 Ponder Grace Gianquinto 59 Streetscape Isabella Busch 63 Untitled Brenda Flores 64 Heroes Sophie Spaner 73 Rising Sun Sydney Soucy 79 The Fresh Air of Freedom Carly Barry 85 Grim Reaper Sophia Reid 93 Smiling Tree Sairah Sheikh 100 Back Cover Man, Michelle Mulé, The King School iv Forewords “It’s none of their business,” said Ernest Hemingway, “that you have to learn to write. Let them think you were born that way.” To an extent, Papa Hemingway was right. There’s a lot to learn about writing, on the other hand, (and he wouldn’t like being disagreed with), I think he’s very wrong. Yes, your teachers have shown you the process of revision and maybe have exposed you to stories, poetry, and art that you might not have stumbled upon yourselves, but the truth is, most of you were born writers and artists. This is evident in the work you submitted and by the work published in this magazine. While someone can teach you the mechanics and conventions of writing—characterization, poem or plot structure, setting, or imagery—art doesn’t come from this alone; art bubbles up from our bellies. Your stories and your poetry, drawings, and photos are not about conventions and mechanics; your works reflect the art that lives inside you. So, Papa Hemingway might have known a lot. But he didn’t know everything. ~ Susan Laurençot and Marcy Rudge, Editors, Connecticut Student Writers Magazine 2018 I never made it to my 10th, 20th, or 25th high school reunions, but I made it to my 30th last year. It was terrific to see so many friends I hadn’t seen in so long, but there were many guys I never would have recognized if I had passed them on the street. Some had aged well. Many had not. Some had gone through difficult times while others had attained impressive professional heights—like state senator! Connecticut Student Writers magazine celebrates its 30th anniversary this year, and like my classmates, it doesn’t look much like it did in 1988. That issue had 850 submissions from the students of 42 different teachers, published 45 writers, awarded no honorable mentions, was 74 pages long, and was typed up by one secretary named Doris using a manual typewriter. There was exactly one piece of art on the cover. The novelist Wally Lamb, who was still a high school English teacher in Norwich, was one of the 18 judges. This year’s issue received 1,670 submissions from the students of almost 400 different teachers, published 78 writers, awarded over 400 honorable mentions, is 118 pages long, had over 30 judges, and includes more than 30 pieces of art. It was typed up and laid out by a graduate student and three undergraduate interns on two desktop computers. We don’t know who among the judging teachers may someday be a famous writer—but South Windsor English teacher Danielle Pieratti did just win the Connecticut Book Award for Poetry last year! The event—which includes the contest, the magazine, and the Student Recognition Night—has grown tremendously over the years. In just my 12 years as director, the number of students, teachers, and family members who come to Jorgensen each May has more than doubled to about 1,000 people! We are thankful to all the teachers and family members who support the student writers, and this year we also thank the Connecticut Young Writers Trust, which dissolved but left its remaining assets and its mission to our care. Their support made possible the printing of the magazine itself. And we also thank the UConn English Department, the Early College Experience program, and the Thomas Dodd Research Center for their support of this year’s keynote speaker, Matt de la Peña, who in 2016 won the Newbery award, a Caldecott honor award, and the National Council of Teachers of English Intellectual Freedom award. Most of all we want to thank the students themselves for sharing with us their ideas, their vision, and their creativity. Keep writing. You might be amazed to see where it brings you in 30 years! ~Jason Courtmanche, Director, Connecticut Writing Project 1 2 Kindergarten Happy Family, Megan Song, Annie E. Vinton Elementary School Humpback Whales David Harbec, Annie E. Vinton Elementary School Humpback Whales eat krill. Humpback Whales have a blowhole On the top of their backs. It shoots water out! Humpback Whales live in the ocean. They like to be in a group. It is called a herd. You might see them when you go out to the sea! 3 The Zoo in the Sky Graham Gietzen, Northeast Academy Arts Magnet School One windy day, I was flying my penguin kite at the park.