an anthology of literary and art work by students from Charlottesville City Schools The Unfinished Jigsaw 2014–2015
an anthology of literary and art work by students from Charlottesville City Schools
Charlottesville City Schools 1562 Dairy Road Charlottesville, Virginia
Cover Art: Carmen Day CHS Grade 9
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Appreciation is expressed to our creative students, teachers, and all others whose contributions have made this anthology possible.
Editor Aaron Eichorst, Fine Arts Coordinator
Editorial Board Jen McGraw, CHS Susan Muse, Buford Christine Esposito, Walker Carol Busching, Burnley-Moran Ashley Riley, Clark Beth Easter, Greenbrier Chrissy Grant, Jackson-Via Ida Cummings, Johnson Cindy Cartwright, Venable
Art Teachers K–12 Jennifer Mildonian, CHS Rachel McLaughlin, CHS Rachel Wilson, CHS (Photography) Marcelle Van Yahres, BRJD Academic Program Desmond Cormier, Buford Samantha Pagni, Walker Eileen Butler, Burnley-Moran and Jackson-Via Evelyn Reid, Clark and Greenbrier Lindsey Ryan, Greenbrier and Johnson Melissa Combs, Burnley-Moran and Venable Aaron Eichorst, ArtQuest Program Specialist
Desktop Publishing Ellen Pitts
Photography Rachel Wilson
Editing/Layout Jeff Suling Ellen Pitts
Deveny Watson CHS Grade 9 The Adjective Jeanne Berthy Jackson-Via Grade 4 Pronoun nce there was a beautiful adjective named Qena Taylor O Sparkling. Sparkling was alone and Buford Grade 8 wanted to put a stop to it! So she went to go modify someone. So one day, Sparkling went Carolyn Barnett, Counselor to the market to find someone to modify. Buford Middle School Sparkling ran over to Banana. “Can I modify 1000 Cherry Avenue you?” asked Sparkling. “No,” said Banana. Charlottesville, VA 22903 “I’m not sparkling, I’m just plain yellow.” So Sparkling ran over to Bee. “Can I modify you?” ear Mrs. Barnett, asked Sparkling hopefully. “Nozzzz,” said Bee. D “I’ve already got striped.” Sparkling was so I have to ask you a serious question: Why do I sad that she almost cried. Sparkling bumped have to stand in for every person, every place, into Diamond. “Can I modify you?” asked every thing, and every idea all of the time? It Sparkling. “Sure,” said Diamond. “Why can’t seems like nouns get too lazy to do their jobs. you?” So the Sparkling Diamond skipped away Why is it that I have to take the place of the happily. subject or the direct object or the object of the preposition? Heck, you could say I have no identity other than being the mighty King Adverbs Noun’s subject. Let’s be honest about this. I have been doing all nouns’ dirty work by being Sereniti Carnes-Ivory Jackson-Via Grade 4 a stand-in. I just want to be me—or myself, depending. I need my own identity, my own life. here once was an adverb named High. High So, this is IT! From now on, we pronouns will was looking for a verb to modify. She saw make nouns do all of their work. They are T ask and said, “Hi ask. Can I modify you?” “No” slackin’! What do you think, Mrs. Barnett? I said ask. Walking sadly away, High then saw need your advice—I am tired of standing in for noisily. “Hi noisily” said High. “Can I modify someone or something else just because they you?” “No thank you,” said noisily. “I can’t be don’t want to repeat themselves (how boring is that?!). What should I do to correct this unfair modified, I already am.” High went strolling in the forest and saw Billy and jumped. Walking situation? over confidently she said, “Hi jumped. Can I modify you?” “Sure you can” said jumped. And Sincerely, skipping happily down deeper in the forest went Billy jumped high. Pronoun
- 1 - Life’s Story The Key to Life Brian Wieberg Janiyah Cutchin Jackson-Via Grade 4 Burnley-Moran Grade 4
ife is like a bird soaring through the air on its magnificent wings, he key to life is… L Life’s like a breeze on a cold day when the sun is behind a cloud, T Life’s like a walk on a sunny spring day when the air is soft and lush, caring for others, Life’s like a playground where there’s very many rules to follow, Life’s like a poem that goes on and on ‘til the end of time, loving each other like Life’s like a pyramid that stays still for thousands of years, family, Life’s like a problem that needs to be solved, Life’s like a seed that grows in the ground for many years. always remembering that you are special no matter what anyone Life thinks. Sabrina Hendricks Walker Grade 6 The key to life is…
ife is like a wheel L-O-V-E L it can stand on its own Give… or function better with others Ellie Brecht CHS Grade 9 Thru rows of flowers, over bright green hills, under sunshine, ive kindness, for you never know who’ll return it over bumps, G Give hope, for it brings to anything some spirit and notches Give patience, for it is what many need Give affection, for it can make weary hearts bleed It can get splinters, Give heart, for some feel scorned Give sympathy, for even the wicked must be mourned but get fixed; fall off the wagon, Give love, for without it one is dead inside Give assurance, for one may want to run and hide but get screwed back on; stray from the path, Give decency, for you never know who’s been shunned Give delicacy, for some are easily stunned but be directed back on track; Give charity, for some don’t have much But when the time arrives, Give warmth, for some are cold to the touch the wheel will break, Give youth, for we aren’t getting any younger wore down by all the adventures, Give knowledge, for some are full of hunger and be done with its journey Give courtesy, for some are weakened with every blow Give sunshine, for we are seeds needing to grow Give time, for there are problems which need to be dealt Give humanity, for emotions need to be felt Give hospitality, for a friend is who you want to be Give mercy, instead of ignoring one’s final plea Give reflection, for some people are worth a second thought Give forgiveness, for some battles aren’t meant to be fought
- 2 - Mixed Up Files Song Henry Heisig Clark Grade 3
amie’s great, Claudia too. J I can’t wait to read the book, whoo hoo!
Claudia’s cool. Jamie’s the same. I’m wondering why they aren’t rich and swimming in a luxurious pool with a lot of fame?
Angel’s a mystery. Mike made her. Why didn’t he get blistery and get covered in fur? (since he didn’t shave for so long)
This is a song about a book. I think you should take a look.
Mya Redd Walker Grade 6 The Unexplained Lily Zanoff Burnley-Moran Grade 4
he unexplained is all around, T in the sky, and on the ground. We don’t know much about the world, about this curse that’s set upon us, by all the evil, by all the greed, by all the warnings we do not heed. Sometimes we don’t understand, why people do things and what the plan is for the future and how will we succeed in that crazy world out there. We don’t know what will happen when the world ends, if we did, James Brown nothing would ever be discovered. Walker Grade 6 That is why most things, are unexplained. - 3 - Chasity Grant I Love Johnson Grade 2 Redford Fisher Greenbrier Grade 1 love books. What Do I Love? I I love trucks. Ricardo Chimal-Martinez I love play dates. Greenbrier Grade 2 I love my mama. love… I love vacations. I my mom because she is kind. I love writing. to feel the warm fire in my shelter in winter. I love playing on the playground. to carve a jack-o-lantern. I love candy. to go to Richmond. I love treats. to watch the fireworks in July. I love almost everything. to go to Legoland because it has pools. all grades in school. playing games at home. The President to feel the wind blow. my brother because he is funny! Lavon Rapp school because it has fun activities. Clark Grade K soccer because I win! wonder how I will do that colors because they are bright. I will try to help people I chocolate because it is brown. These are the things I love.
- 4 - What Do I Love? My Dad Junia Bartholomew Khishon Gray Greenbrier Grade 2 Walker Grade 6
love… e go far in love with all our heart I playing with my baby brother when he W We go infinity and beyond together all day laughs at me. We will always love each other like I love Pop-Tarts watching fireworks go in the sky. You were ever so close, you almost were a Gray coming to school because I can play with my friends. I love how you do stuff out of the blue when I stay with my cousin, so I can hold him. It’s sad how you had to leave so soon going outside and watching the sun. But God makes his choices and he chose you when people smile and are happy. I will always love you as much as a full moon when my mom packs me a tuna sandwich. when people help others and me when we are You are the best sad. I really miss you when my grandmother gives me fuzzy socks on Thanks to you our family is blessed my birthday. Love you so much we’re stuck like glue looking at my old baby pictures. when my mom curls my hair for school. making a snowman in winter. going swimming and camping with my family. playing soccer at recess. My Hero These are the things I love. Rachel Jackson Greenbrier Grade 3
y dad is my hero. He is my hero because M he takes good care of me. He is so nice to me that I can get whatever I want. He is the best hero you can have! When he is sick, I’m his hero. He loves me, and I love him, too. My hero is loving and caring.
My Mom Michael Kromkowski Greenbrier Grade K
love my mom. She is always really nice to I me. When she is nice to me, I feel happy!
Katherine Garcia-Angel Clark Grade 2 - 5 - My Family Grant Patterson Burnley-Moran Grade 1
y dad is my best friend because we like to M play tuffy wuffy. My dad plays basketball and he used to run, too. And he likes to go on a Disney Cruise.
What Do I Love? Eh Klu Paw Greenbrier Grade 2
love… I when my Homney makes eggrolls. when I get to talk to my aunt. a time when I get to go to the beach. a sunny day! Valentine’s Day because love is in the air. my birthday because I get presents. Eleanor Brown Buford Grade 7 a day when I get to eat pizza. my brother because he is funny and cute. a weekend day! when I get candy because it tastes good, and My Grandfather candy has sugar! Tondrae White when I get to have a play date. Walker Grade 6 These are the things I love. adness in the air S and I know in my heart Red Jackson I cannot bear that we can never be apart. Nila Stewart Johnson Grade 4 And even though sadness is in the air our love will never end itting in the house I know we’ll be together everywhere S Mom knitting, because you are my best friend. Brother sleeps, Peaceful abode Our love is very strong Distant from the turmoil of the gang not a thousand miles apart because I know you have it in your palm because you are in my heart.
- 6 - Friendship Ella McLaren Walker Grade 6 ven though it feels like nothing, E no one has necessities, Even though our farm is thriving, like a rat trying to find food, Ruining soil, And time, that no one has the effort to waste, that my dress is soiled, and filthy by the end of the day, But I don’t care, because I’ve got something else, Someone to share it with.
Forever Friends Vivien Wong Johnson Grade 4 Forever friends will Rescue, to keep each other safe, Immediately help when needed, Chase Scott Johnson Grade 3 Encourage each other, Notify, if needed, Do dangerous tasks and more to help their friend.
Alani Green Jackson-Via Grade 4
- 7 - BEST FRIENDS Erica Stratton Walker Grade 6 Believe in each other. Exchange their stuff. Share their food. Tell it like it is.
Find the answers. Rely on each other. Incredibly amaze you at times. Encourage each other. Never stop caring. Don’t give up. Stand by each other.
If I Were President Manal Arbab Greenbrier Grade K f I were president, I would make sure I everybody shared their things. Sharing is good. Markeya Washington Johnson Grade 1
Alex Taylor Burnley-Moran Grade 4 - 8 - The Gingerbread King Ally Peng climbed up the castle wall. We already know Venable Grade 1 that the gingerbread king couldn’t climb very well with his non-fingered hands, so when nce upon a time, long ago in an enchanted they started climbing, the gingerbread king O kingdom, the king was away. He went slipped. And the king opened his mouth to taste to another kingdom. The knights by the castle a tasty treat! With a munch and a crunch, the wanted to make a gingerbread king for him. gingerbread king was gone. They added a little bit of this and pinch of that The End and mixed and rolled. When it was done, they popped it into the oven. When they went to peek, out jumped the gingerbread king! He said, “With a skip and a fling, and a slight of a wing, The Gingerbread Ninja you can’t catch me, I’m the gingerbread king,” Lucas Massaro and off he ran across the floor. Venable Grade 1 He was spotted by the queen. She said, “Come back! You’re going to be my morning nce upon a time, there was a bakery in snack!” But he said, “With a skip and a fling, O Japan. It was a famous bakery because and a slight of a wing, you can’t catch me, I’m they made cookies. One day, they decided to the gingerbread king,” and off he ran. make a gingerbread Ninja. They baked it. Then, Across the floor he ran and ran by the to their surprise he jumped out of the pan. Then princess’s room. The princess saw him and said, he ran out of the bakery and down the street. “Stop! I want to eat you!” He just laughed and He met a dog. Then he said, “Run, run, said, “With a skip and a fling, and a slight of a as fast as you can. You can’t catch me, I’m the wing, you can’t catch me, I’m the gingerbread gingerbread Ninja!” He met a black cat. Then king,” and off he ran out the door. he said, “Run, run, as fast as you can. You can’t He was spotted by the mayor and he catch me, I’m the gingerbread Ninja!” Then he said, “Come back! I want you to be my dessert!” met a real Ninja. The real Ninja ate him. And The gingerbread king just laughed. Oh, he that was the end of the gingerbread Ninja. laughed as hard as he could and said, “With a Lesson: Don’t be fooled by a stranger. skip and a fling, and a slight of a wing, you can’t catch me, I’m the gingerbread king.” Now it wasn’t long until he met the king coming back. He looked down and said, “Let’s Titanic be friends; we look alike.” So the gingerbread Gray Ryan king said, “yes.” The king said, “but my knights Clark Grade 2 are looking for you.” The gingerbread king shivered. But the real king suggested to climb he Titanic sunk, that’s a bummer up the castle wall. TNow it is like a toilet and needs a plumber. Now the real king knew that There were first, second, and third class gingerbreads can’t climb very well with their on board non-gingered hands, but he didn’t say so. When Granted money from the Lord. they reached the castle the knight had no idea The maker said it was unsinkable, but not! what the king was doing. But the king knew A few people got caught, what he was doing. He was about to swallow But now it lays on the ocean floor. up the gingerbread king in a sly way. So they If only it had made it to shore!
- 9 - Magic Box The Magic Box Kiara Bullard Elias Garcia Jackson-Via Grade 2 Jackson-Via Grade 2
will put into my box will put in my box I silky gold hay I a flower that smells like something the softness of orange blankets the speed of the fastest animal whispers of the wind the tooth of a shark touching a tongue
I will put into my box I will put into my box the sound of jaguars sneaking silently a heart that is smiling at me whales humming in their dreams the sound of a wolf howling apples rolling while milk is flowing the drops of dripping ink from a pen
I will put into my box I will put into my box green leaves and ocean the sound of a crying, cuddly kid markers and paper to draw the a million moaning monkeys flags of all countries the scariest snake-eating snail
I will put into my box I will put in my box the sound of maracas shaking a happy head that hates headphones the beat of my brother’s beatbox a mad man muffling madness the pellets of big raindrops the founding fathers’ funny frying pan
My box is fashioned from smooth and bumpy rocks My box is fashioned from the finest gold and silver I shall swim in my box to California. I shall dive into my box in seas of the sweetest thing in the world Flower Valley Harper Ullrich Jackson-Via Grade 1 The Perfect Tomorrow Marcela Miranda Galdamez lower Valley is a beautiful place to be. Clark Grade 3 F You have to cross a bridge to get there. In Flower Valley you can go swimming under f it is a sunny day outside tomorrow, I the bridge. I will go to the pool and have fun. If it is In Flower Valley you can’t litter. raining, I will go outside and jump in the In Flower Valley you can play tag all day with puddles. If it is snowing, I will go outside and your friends. throw snowballs at my friends. If it is very, very In Flower Valley you see bumblebees buzzing hot outside, I will go get a bucket full of water and bunny rabbits nibbling. and pour it on myself to cool myself down. If it Flower Valley is a place to pick flowers all day. is the perfect tomorrow, I will spend time with my family outside.
- 10 - The Magic Box The Story of the Magical Serpents Carter Ford Christopher Mendez Jackson-Via Grade 2 Clark Grade 4 will put into the box, I A seagull laughing at a boar (Translated by Mariselly Hernandez and Seli Martinez) Soldiers playing baseball in 1920 with food plenty The German Flag Spanish Version:
I will put into the box, Se quenta que la serpiente mágica se le Big Ben booming across Bosnia acerco (acento en la o) a un hombre y que lo A Eurassian Mink’s soft fur hechizo (acento en la o) para que tratara mal Red Rackham riding on a Rhino a la gente. El hombre moriría de no hacerle caso. La serpiente le dijo, “Yo le advierto que I will put into the box, Tintin usted morirá.” El hombre corrió, y la serpiente The Partheonon looking at a polygon también corrió y lo mató. Entonces, otro Yellow Yaks yearning Yugoslavia hombre vio a la serpiente y la hechizo (Acento en la o) pero no la mató, sino que la salvó. I will put into the box, Entonces, una mujer vio a la serpiente mágica y Black Bluebirds beating bums la mató. White Waluruses warning warts Fans cheering with Cheerwine English Version:
My box is fashioned from the wood of the baseball The magical serpent went to a man and put a bat of Babe Ruth. spell on him to be bad to other people. The man will die if he didn’t listen. And the serpent told I shall play baseball in my box, with Lou Gehrig him, “I am warning you that you will die.” The and Shoeless Joe Jackson. man ran and then he thought the serpent didn’t catch up. When he did catch up, then he killed the man. Then, another man saw the serpent and he put a bad spell on him, but he didn’t kill him. Instead, he saved him. Then, a woman saw the magical serpent and she killed him.
Day and Night Predator and Prey Judah Baker Damion Parham Jackson-Via Grade K Jackson-Via Grade K
ay redator D light, bright P mean, fierce playing, thinking, reading running really fast sunny morning, black night tiger chasing a zebra sleeping, resting, reading trying to get away dark, quiet scared, frightened N ight Prey
- 11 - Made for Another a frown, she told us that, in order for me Caton Yang to graduate, I would also need three Fine CHS Grade 11 Arts credits. My father, clearly infuriated, couldn’t understand why the school would was born in a world full of expectations, make “Fine Arts” a required credit. After I where demands and hopes trailed along another half an hour of bickering, art class with my shadow, sternly observing my took the place of one of my “valuable” every action to make sure that no mistake classes, a loss that my parents went on and was left uncorrected. My parents are both on about for many days after. I wasn’t sure brain surgeons, every minute of their work a how the class would go, but somehow I felt blessing to the community. For me to be half relieved. as gifted would be a great gain for society; My first day of art class was unlike any my father always told me that, if anything, lesson I’d had before. Fully expecting an “I had to find a way to be useful to others.” introduction to the course and a walkthrough Freshmen year in high school felt like of the syllabus, I was stumped when the I had boulders tied to my back. Mental teacher asked us to sketch our holiday. pressure and physical exhaustion built The prompt was abstract, providing no off one another, stacking higher than explanation to how the work should be done, my textbooks and papers. Each A was yet the other students started immediately. obligatory, “no buts and no Bs.” I never As I sat puzzled, casting glances to complained. All I wanted was for them to neighboring pages, I could feel my hands feel at ease, without having to worry about beginning to sweat. My mind was as the stability of my future. blank as the page before me; I felt lost and Every month or two after dinner, my indecisive. parents and I would have a “talk;” my At the end of class, we were asked to parents would ask questions in turn, paying turn our sketches in. I remained seated as particular attention to my grades and classes. the other students stacked their work on I always gave quick, monotonous answers, the table closest to the door. The teacher hoping that each session wouldn’t drag on. walked over to me and picked up my paper, Towards the end, they would always ask the riddled with erase marks and scratches, but same question, “Have you thought about no distinct image. I struggled to find an what you want to do in the future?” I never acceptable explanation for failing the first looked at them when I answered, but I’d class activity of the year, but the teacher always mutter a “no” or “not really.” only smiled. She took out a red pen from her During the summer before sophomore shirt pocket and wrote an A on my paper. year, my parents brought me to school to Turning to me, she asked for my name, and I talk with my counselor, an “integral part responded with a slight stammer; at the time, of creating a plan for my future.” As each my face was probably just as red as her pen. of the school’s most rigorous courses were Still smiling, she said, “Don’t worry about slotted into my timetable, I could feel my what’s right or wrong; draw what comes to heart sinking deeper into my chest. This mind. You’ll find a way to be happy with it.” was the construction of my concrete road to It was so strange, the idea of starting success, but I was not the architect; I was something without the guarantee of just an observer. perfection. As my parents and I were about to leave, The days continued, and stress found its the counselor stopped us at the door. With home on my shoulder, whispering into
- 12 - my ears. Art remained an anomaly among exactly what they were thinking. I didn’t my classes: challenging, yet a way to free want to look at them. I couldn’t. But I knew my mind. In the short class period it took they expected an answer. When I looked up up, I could forget the tasks that lay waiting once more, I could feel pain searing through for me to complete. It was as though I was my chest as they stared at me. I could see weightless, exploring a domain free of my their pain just as clearly as I felt mine. I parent’s expectations. I did well in class, found it hard to swallow. and the teacher said I had good line control For seventeen long years, I had carried thanks to my steady hands; it’s weird the burdens of their expectation without how qualities you inherit can be used so complaint or neglect. For seventeen long differently. years, I had struggled on the road they had I was surprised when I first started paved with their love and time, knowing that sketching in other classes, quick doodles they only wanted the best for me. But for the whenever my brain had the chance to first time in my life, I had found something wander. My mother found some of them to take away my pain; a pact with a demon scribbled in my notebook, but she didn’t for a short-lived lover. Shackled by the ask about them. By then it was already freedom and hope she inspires, I rip apart junior year, the last full year colleges would my soul in exchange for just a few more see. My time in art class had encouraged hours. my talent and honed my skills; I preferred “Mom, Dad, I’m sorry. I don’t know.” creating new life on pages over drowning in the numbing words of the dead. When I was informed that two of my pieces would be displayed in our town’s local gallery, I was ecstatic. My parents never asked about my art class, so I wanted to show them I was enjoying it. That night, after dinner, I remember trying to ask if they’d be interested in going to the gallery. Their reaction was haunting, an immediate mix of shock and anxiety. My mother and father looked at each other as I spoke. I dropped my sentence. They shared quick exchange without words, then they gradually turned back to me; I didn’t know who to look at. It was as though they were trying to understand something vile that had just been placed in front of them, leaving CHS Grade 10 them shocked and at a loss for words. I felt like throwing up. The moment dragged on, and then my mother spoke, apprehension thick in her voice, “Have you been thinking about what you want to do in the future?” I didn’t answer at first because I knew Lydia Tewksbury Lydia Tewksbury
- 13 - A Plaid Shirt Lena Keesecker Buford Grade 8 A pen, (Untitled, Harlem, New York, 1948, Gordon Parks) that determines the fate of Red.
man of seventeen Two distinct worlds. A in Harlem, New York One on paper, facing the world on his own. one in reality.
A plaid shirt. Opposites of one man, The only with a plaid shirt. source of protection, besides his family. Who wanted to be seventeen, normally, A position, but had to live with his fists. five days a week, leading the midtowners.
A buddy to his friends, a gang leader to the world.
Gordon Parks sees the world through a camera lens, captures, this man’s life.
A snapshot like a fly frozen in a web, one moment in time.
A step back, people watching the fight for power.
Watching a blur of plaid, blood and sweat. Watching their figure head.
The flash, of camera or of fists. Closing in on this man.
A close up. Amanda Haynes LIFE magazine CHS Grade 11 shows their Red Jackson.
- 14 - Stories Told in Just Six Words Mrs. Muse’s Eighth Grade Students Buford Grade 8
“I love you, too,” he lied. • Brianna Avery
Silent night, stars twinkling, we’re watching. • Patricia Quaye
Her world stopped; his kept turning. • Rosalee Kelly Whistle blows. Lucky Shot. We lose. • Yakob Debaere “The usual?” “Not this time.” • Cassidy Underwood Head stuck between a metal fence. • Min Khant Thu Burned the haystack. Found the needle. • Doug Brooks Toy under couch, unseen, dust growing. • Max Weaver “We only sell shoes in pairs.” • Olivia Bryan But she laughed—and ruined it. • Talia Marshall
Geek by day; vigilante by night. • Cole Fairchild An ancient book sat, pages folded. • Elke Payne Where do I go from here? • D. J. Cummings Human life, slowly learning, slowly dying. • John Emery
Concert begins: melodious music; crowd erupts. • Daniel Szabo Sharp, new, yellow pencil—unlimited potential. • Jasper Crum Scary monster, dark room, my mirror. • Lucia Alday-Jover
- 15 - Autumn Elliott Plehn Venable Grade 3 Thanksgiving
eaves falling from trees Maggie Heaphy Venable Grade 3 L Red, yellow and brown are they Pie makes my nose dance ating soft turkey E Warm gravy drizzled on top At this awesome feast
November Olivia Longton Johnson Grade 2 Thanksgiving eaves are falling, Messiah Brown L Acorns dropping. Clark Grade 2 Plants start to wilt. Winter is coming and Thanksgiving as well. n Thanksgiving, I eat lots of yummy foods. Animals begin to hibernate. O My mom cooks a huge turkey in the big Geese fly to somewhere warm. oven. My dad cooks some candy yams, bacon Everything is sleeping and calm. salad, and biscuits. I cook the greens. My sister cooks the fish. My grandma cooks the mashed potatoes. My big brother cooks the stuffing. For dessert, there is pumpkin pie and ice cream. I Frost love my family to come over for Thanksgiving. Naomi Becker-Montambault Jackson-Via Grade 1
rost is on the grass F Frost is bits of ground diamonds on winter mornings Worst Thanksgiving Ever Ike Lowry Burnley-Moran Grade 2
t was Thanksgiving Day when Farmer Max I found out it was the worst Thanksgiving Haiku ever! He saw the turkeys shrinking themselves Nima Tamang with their solid shrinking invention! The turkeys Walker Grade 6 shrunk into a little bug. Farmer Max was so mad because he didn’t have any turkey to eat! oday is so cold T You can hear the crunchy leaves The leaves are so soft
- 16 - All Seasons Haiku Katie Diego-Cruz Enock Luendo Greenbrier Grade 1 Walker Grade 6
n winter, I like to play inside. he clouds come and go, I In spring, I like to play tag. T Like blowing wintery snow In summer, I like to go to the beach. Freezing and chasing. In fall, I like to jump in the leaves.
Haiku Lendy Enriquez-Gonzalez My Favorite Season Walker Grade 6 Kaijon Sholes Clark Grade 3 when I move I crunch. the winter is so cold, y favorite season is winter because you as I walk in snow. M get to go outside and play in the snow. Do you like playing in the snow? Snow is very, very fun to play in. I like playing in the snow In the Winter because you can throw snowballs. Kaylee Sawyer Clark Grade K
n the winter I like to build a snowman with I my mommy, daddy, and Emmett. Winter Samy Gabramedhin Jackson-Via Grade 2
o flowers growing Fun in WINTER N Chilly, it’s often snowing Cold, icy weather Kendall Wheeler Johnson Grade 3
Warm blankets I Winter n a power outage Nothing but hot cocoa Amin Zakari T Jackson-Via Grade 2 ime to play in the snow Everyone is so excited! hen the sun looked down, Run! Snowball fight! W The white snow sparkled brightly Melting my snowman.
- 17 - Snowday On Its Way Madeleine Jones Venable Grade 3 A Snowball Fight MyShon Flournoy articles rise up Burnley-Moran Grade 2 P water vapor forming clouds snowday on its way t was winter break. I had a snowball fight. I “Nan nan nan nan nan!” I teased my brother. I had my snowball ready to go. I threw the snowball at him. He turned. I threw it in his eye. Then when I hit him with the snowball he screamed. “Ahh!” Mom came out. She said, “Why would you do such a thing?” I said, “We were just playing.” “Then why did you hit Snow Day him?” “Because we were just playing!” Then I Tucker Wilcox stomped in the door so mad. Burnley-Moran Grade 2
oday we had a snow day. I got to go T sledding with a friend. Me and Grant got to watch a movie. I also got to go to ACAC’s warm pool for swimming. I had a very fun day. SNOW is TRAGIC? Emma Kaufman-Horner Burnley-Moran Grade 4
now! S so beautiful, Snow Day so white, Terrence Hopkins but is it a curse? Burnley-Moran Grade 2 You get days off, but when the time comes, oday we had a snow day from school. I for a big opportunity, T got to go to my friend’s house to play tragic makes its debut. video games. When we were done, we went Either there’s a delay, outside. We played eight full rounds of a or feeling blue, snowball fight. Then people buried me in the whatever the case, snow. I popped out and scared people. I had a wherever the place, fun day playing with my friends. is snow tragic?
- 18 - The Snowball Ben Brantley How to Save a Snowman Walker Grade 6 Leo Krahn Burnley-Moran Grade 1 apologize, dear sister, for the snowball I That hit you in the face f I had a snowman, I would build a glass Thrown from my hand I dome under my roof so people could see Yes, well thrown indeed him. I might shrink him so I could fit him in the freezer. I might take him to the first planet. It’s You see, it’s nothing personal very cold there, like -280° F. I spent so much time on it It simply couldn’t be thrown at a tree And wasted. You were within range.
Now, Mother, are you satisfied?
A Snowman Ms. Umbdenstock’s Class Burnley-Moran Grade K
snowman should not go under a tree because squirrels will throw acorns at him. A A snowman should not leave his house. A snowman should not drink hot chocolate. A snowman should not stand by the firebomb because he will melt. A snowman should not touch a knife because he may poke a hole in himself. A snowman should not get by a jet because he will fall apart. A snowman should not be near a fan because he will blow. It can blow him. A snowman should get something cold because he should not get into hot stuff. A snowman should not go near a fire. A snowman should not go to the safari because he would tip over. A snowman should never go out on a sunny day because his left side would melt and the rest would break apart. A snowman should not touch the sun because it is hot. A snowman should not go in a rocket because it is too hot. A snowman should not go in a helicopter because he will fall apart. A snowman should not go under the covers because it will be too hot. A snowman should not drive a car because he would fall down. A snowman should not drink hot cocoa because he might melt. A snowman should never go in a frying pan because it is hot. A snowman should never ride in a car because it is too hot. A snowman should play with a real person.
- 19 - Snow is… Snow Ms. Spears’ Class Stella Goldstein Burnley-Moran Grade K Venable Grade 3
now is… now S beautiful S glittery snowflakes fun falling from the sky to land icy precipitation pretty white cold messy evil. (Snow melts.) Snow Snow falls. Oscar Whitten Snow is… Jackson-Via Grade 2 outside here deep ancing in the breeze, crazy D So white, sparkling in the sun, dangerous Frosty, icy snow. hard fun.
Peter Cagnina Buford Grade 8
- 20 - Big Mountains Snowy Sea Christopher Moses Joelle Norfleet CHS Grade 12 CHS Grade 12
now-covered mountains he snow is falling down S In the valley T But not falling softly Below green trees everywhere Pelting Angrily drowning Stinging legs Biting hands We venture out into it Me in my jeans and heavy jacket All too quickly legs go numb Jeans give no protection One Whole Block We traipse through the storm Our destination the water Snow piles on the rocky shore The water of the bay tosses Grey waves forming white caps under heavy wind The mix of snow and ocean is rare Beautiful Wild Maggie Ford I am captured Jackson-Via Grade K Raw power thrills me Enthralled Coldness makes itself known Legs numb We stumble home
Nilab Sultan Clark Grade 1
- 21 - Camellia Mariamu Majuto Walker Grade 6 Ode to Spring am like a camellia. When a camellia blossoms, I also blossom. Max Oickle I Greenbrier Grade 4 When the cold wind blows, the flower starts pring is here! dancing. The snow is gone. I also start dancing. S What’s this green stuff? When the winter arrives, we both start dying. It must be lawn. But, we both remember that spring is coming. When it rains and pours SPRING When sleepy groundhogs wake from snores When flowers grow from the ground Benji Berthy When out of the house comes a hound Jackson-Via Grade 3 He runs all around the garden. Splendid morning times He starts chasing the fat, yellow hen. Pretty Spring is a happy time. Really awesome When buds start forming on the trees Inspiring When baseball bats start to swing Nature When a cute, little robin starts to sing Spring Gleaming sunlight
If I Had $100… Senijah Rawlings Clark Grade 3 f I had $100, I would take my family and we would go on vacation. I would take my little cousins I on a cruise because they like the water. I would buy them clothes, shoes, coats, jackets, sweaters, and whatever else they want because I love them with all my heart. My grandma will always say, “Never give up. Always dream and believe in yourself. Stay strong and protect your family.” So, I would buy them a house so that they can stay safe.
Bella Burton Venable Grade 2 - 22 - Haiku Massa Johnson (Girl) “Okay, let me get more bird Walker Grade 6 friends to look for parts.” ain falls on the grass Suddenly the sky filled with birds and R the grass is very squishy the trees filled with squirrels with tools and it is too noisy screws and nuts for the bus. (Young man) Well done birds and squirrels! Now I can fix my bus. The Broken Bus The young man got a tray and goes Ms. Pedersen’s Class Story under the bus and fixes his bus. He starts the Burnley-Moran Grade K bus. He says. “Yes, now it is fixed.” He drops the little girl off at her house he little girl went for a walk in the woods. by the creek. T She found an old, yellow bus parked in The End the woods. A young man lived in the bus with a red bird. The young man said (to the girl), “How do you do?” Being a Child of African Descent She said, “Hello, I’m fine. Do you live Leya Doto here in this old, broken bus?” CHS Grade 10 (Young man) “Yes, this is my home.” (Girl) “How did you come to live here?” or the voices of the African Americans that (Young man) “I drove the school bus for F went unheard, they lifted their tongues and a long, long way and then in a snow storm my spoke of rights and freedom. Whether they were bus slipped and crashed into a tree. I have been kindly refusing to move from their seats, or here ever since.” curiously craving the drive of education, they Just then, a nut fell on the roof of the stood silently alone but massively effective. bus. A squirrel ran and picked up the nut and Their silent protests lasted about a day, but were brought it back to his nest in a pine tree. carried on for years to come. (Young man) “Will you please help my For years in the early centuries, they bus?” were tormented by many challenges of being (Girl) “Yes, I will help you. I am good at gifted with the melanin in their skin. They fixing things. I think my friends could help.” fought hard, and they fought well, but sadly the (Young man) “To fix it (the bus) I will fight isn’t over yet. We must continue in their need a wrench and a screwdriver. And some tracks. To provide a better tomorrow, we will nuts and bolts.” work harder for today. (Girl to bird) “Bird, can you get me a Being a child of African descent I have screwdriver?” experienced many struggles of racism, but (Girl to squirrel) “Squirrel, can you go nothing I’ve been through compares to the and get us some nuts and bolts?” hardships that they had faced. Every day I try to The squirrel ran away into the forest. do my part in lifting the weight that racism has The squirrel met the bird in the forest. The bestowed against us. Every day, I ask myself: bird flew to his nest and came back with a Am I doing enough? The fight continues every screwdriver. The squirrel came back with his day, but am I using my best weapons? Truly the arms and cheeks stuffed with nuts. blindfold of racism has been diminished over (Young man) “No, No, No—not acorn time. Though like a disease, if it isn’t treated it nuts. I need tool nuts.” will continue to grow every day.
- 23 - Remembered “Nobody does.” Yemaya Delorenzo-Eberly “I’ll be the first.” CHS Grade 9 “False hope walks hand in hand with arrogance.” he night didn’t agree with me when I left the “Then I am arrogant.” T smoky parlor, and as I stood in the “Maybe so, but you are not immortal.” flickering glow of the old streetlight, I wondered “But I will be remembered!” why that was so. It hadn’t been a long day, at “Why must you torture yourself in such least it had been no longer than any other, and a way.” I couldn’t remember anything of importance I didn’t answer. happening in the distant or near past. I knew “Why does it matter whether or not you how I must look to strangers walking by, one are remembered after you die? You are dead. solitary figure standing outside a crowded pub, You won’t know either way.” pacing in the faint shivering shine of the light. “Wouldn’t you want to make a But I couldn’t care less. My mind was utterly difference?” consumed by thoughts of the night, and the “Who wouldn’t?” nights that had passed, and the nights that still “Then why must you ruin it?” I asked in hadn’t, and the smoke and music that oozed frustration. through the cracks of the parlor door dizzied “Because we won’t be. So many people me into a motionless stupor against the lamp won’t be.” post. I spent the better, and the worse, part of The idea gave me a short pause to the disagreeable night standing on that sidewalk. breathe in the cool, smoky, night air before it But in all the hours that I was there, I came up continued, “You may have children. They will with one intelligible thought. remember you. You may have grandchildren, In the midst of the ill-natured dusk I and if you are lucky, they may remember you realized that in one hundred years, once I was too. Maybe even great-grandchildren. But you dead and gone, I would not be remembered. I can’t be remembered forever.” was leaving no legacy, no lasting imprint on “Why not?” the very foundation of society! I was the mere “You can’t be there to remind others of shadow of a bird as it passed overhead. One you. Minds are fickle and choosey. They can’t or two people would notice it, but they would keep everything in and so with every stranger not be changed for their glimpse of the bird’s that pays a visit, or every math equation taught shadow. Nor would the bird be changed for in school, the minds keep the shiny new things, having been seen. I pondered the idea that I was and the dusty old ones are left far behind.” nothing but a grain of sand in the cement that “Well, there are ways to remember held together the bricks that built the walls of things! Remember people!” civilization. It also didn’t agree with me. But “You can’t help it. One day you will be as much as I tried to fill my mind with other, a dusty old memory. Maybe someday far down less philosophical thoughts, the theory wouldn’t the way somebody will glance at a photograph cease its nagging in the back of my head like of you, and wonder about you. Maybe they will a ballerina backstage itching to lead and twirl think about who you were, what you were. But before her audience. Finally it tired of being then their mind will get bored, and a shiny new smothered and it burst eagerly into the front memory will take your barely sat-in seat.” of my mind. I had no choice but to pay it my I stayed silent and the idea did too. attention. Maybe it had said all it had to. It knew that “You won’t live forever.” It said to me. I knew now. I looked at it from every angle, “You can’t know that.” I argued back. studied it for hours like a polished, well-worn - 24 - river stone, but with the shiny new dawn came Memories of You shiny new ideas and my feeble mind easily Sarah Hale shifted to the newer ideas and with a barely CHS Grade 9 whispered melancholy farewell, the dusty old ou are everywhere, idea that had sat in its seat in the front of my Y You are everywhere, mind for hours let go and let a new idea take its Crowding the head and filling the mind, place. As it faded, I felt a pang, as if an old dear When eyes drift closed and head lulls back, friend had died, but the feeling soon passed, and Fiction turns to fact, as I stood and dusted off my pants, my shiny Some listless tune for a long ago past, new ideas led me home, blissfully unaware of A faint lullaby for the half forgotten, the dusty old memories that I was leaving in my An endless dialogue mumbling on, wake. As scenes sharpen and blur, The graying images that were once bright, A sound becomes a bitter taste, My Favorite Memory Nostalgia cages the heart, A stranger mutters on, Bria Rose Weaving a story of time, Greenbrier Grade 3 Who are you and y favorite memory is when I went to Who have you become? M North Carolina. I went to a big hospital. I saw my uncle in the hospital room. I got to wear a doctor’s suit. I got to go where doctors A Memory get all their supplies. I got to eat dinner with my Zaniah Walker uncle. After I ate my dinner, I got ice cream. I Clark Grade 2 will always remember that in my heart—I will always love my uncle. It also inspired me to be hen I was six years old, I went fishing a doctor. W with my dad, stepmother, and my two little brothers. The only person who caught a fish was my dad and one of my brothers. I was My Favorite Second Grade Memory very mad at everyone, so I asked to get on the boat. I caught five fish, but my brother took two Zoe Kershner of them. So, I took all ten of his and he was Burnley-Moran Grade 2 mad and tried to tackle me, but I moved and he fell in the water. He got madder and madder, y favorite second grade memory was so I helped him get out of the water. He started M writing the ransom note. We wrote the to chase me. When we got back to the sand he ransom note to Mrs. Demchak because we had made me fall, and I was mad. her bag and it was a good time to do a letter writing. We asked, in our demands, for a book and some games. We only got back the games. If I Were President Mrs. Busching and Mr. Spencer played along. Olivia Ramirez-Weaver First we made a web, then we made a rough Greenbrier Grade K draft, and lastly we made a final copy for Mrs. Busching, Mrs. Demchak, and Mr. Spencer. It f I were president, I would help the was really fun! I environment. I would stop pollution. Pollution is bad for the environment.
- 25 - Monsters Using its claws he gripped my shirt and pulled me off of the bed. All I could think of Kiki Dowell was the fact that my last few minutes in this CHS Grade 9 world were spent in the claws of an ugly beast “Grrr!” The thing pounced on me while my mother got her precious beauty sleep. causing an ear-splitting scream to leave my The thing threw me into his mouth, mouth. swallowing me whole. And forever there I stay. “Mom!” I cried knowing it was only a matter of seconds before the creature made its final move. “Go to sleep, John,” she moaned exhaustingly from the room next to mine. The Sombrero Monster “Mom, help me! Mom! Mom!” I Shahad Almolhem screeched at the top of my lungs. Buford Grade 8 My door flew open with a bam as it hit the wooden wall beside it. Suddenly the tight (Inspired by Wandjina by Unknown) pressure on my chest where the thing had placed its paws was now gone. My mother stood in the he monster of the dead and deceased doorway, exhaustion and anger radiating from T impossible to believe her being. Her breath was heavy as her chest spends its time spreading fear and trepidation pumped up and down furiously. making people dread the worst “What,” she gritted her teeth to keep with eyes like roaches from yelling, “do you want?” he can see into your soul “Th-there was a monster, Mom,” I and even with no mouth panted, trying to catch my breath. “I swear. It he can devour you whole was big w-with claws and a tail and bad breath he accessorizes his head with a sombrero made and —” of needles “I don’t see any monster, John,” she to pick away at your skin stated while glancing around the room. and send you screaming “B-but it was there! I swear I’m not he loves to kill and hunt his prey lying, Mom!” but he will never take his last breath “You probably saw a monster in your he has no official form, but black spots roaming dreams. We can talk about it in the morning if around him you want but for now it’s bedtime,” she sighed, and he can evaporate into thin air exasperation clear in her tone of voice. then arrive again, “But Mom—” I tried to say but was cut with no intention off as she left the room, slamming the door shut other than to eliminate behind her. many have tried to fight I scooted further back into my bed as but all end up dead a tall, dark figure rose from the area where my and worst of all mother stood only seconds ago. The monster he thinks its justice tilted its head, slowly making its way to me. I that getting rid of the humans who have done cried for help once again as the thing opened its wrong will make it right grimy jaws revealing rows upon rows of sharp but he doesn’t know that he’s the monster we all teeth. Instead of receiving help, all I got was have nightmares about, another shout from my mother telling me to go and as long as he thinks what he’s doing is right back to sleep. he’ll never think twice about taking another bite.
- 26 - when i dance (Witness Poem) Witness Book: Elodie Price Hesse, Karen. Witness. USA: Scholastic Inc., 2001. Buford Grade 7 My Butterfly poem: leanora sutter Frost, Robert. My Butterfly.1915. Bartleby.com.
- 27 - Neva Boyd Clark Grade 1
Kenneth Tabilas Walker Grade 6 Dominique Robinson Walker Grade 6
- 28 - Cake Jamonnie Johnson Jackson-Via Grade 3
weet, delicious S icing, baking, eating not just for birthdays dessert
Hershey’s Kiss Grade 6 Walker Lydia Ma Greenbrier Grade 4
ook at a chocolate kiss of perfection, L Hear the crackle of the glorious wrapper coming off, Lauren Schofield Smell a smell worthwhile, Taste it and savor it, Things I Don’t Like Feel like you need another one. Mason Divers Greenbrier Grade 2 Cheese Puffs omething I don’t like to eat is jalapenos. I S don’t like to eat very spicy things. Nathaniel McKee Jalapenos are good to some people, but I never, Clark Grade 3 ever want another one. I’ve tried them, but I don’t like them. love the sea of orange and all the cheesy I goodness. It heals my hunger. I dive into the bag like it is a giant pool, I Like Many Things all because I am very, very hungry. Landon Neal Greenbrier Grade 2 like eating crispy chicken. I like seeing I funny dogs run around. I like learning Embarrassed math. I like sleeping in my bed. I like when my Shanell Afriyie grandma makes yummy key lime pie. Jackson-Via Grade 1 I don’t like some things, like getting really wet. I don’t like wet, squishy snow in my mbarrassed is like a banana. It’s sad; it’s shirt. I don’t like getting bruises from riding my E mad. You just feel like falling down scooter. because people can see all of it, like falling off But, my favorite things are funny an edge. It is just like a banana that just got monkeys. I like it when they slip and eat eaten. bananas. These are a few things I like and dislike.
- 29 - My Heart Leonardo Chimal-Martinez Greenbrier Grade K
love my heart. It gives me energy. Also, I it can pump blood through my body. I love it.
My Favorite Body Part Josue Hernandez-Cruz Patrick Daly Jackson-Via Grade 4 Greenbrier Grade K
I Love like my brain because it helps you to I think, and it also helps you to listen, Reid Douglas too. The brain helps you to feel things and Greenbrier Grade K touch things. The brain is a helpful part of your body. love my brain because it helps me I remember stuff. I love my mouth because it helps me talk to people I know. I love my heart because it tells me when I’m tired and when I’m not tired.
Walker Lloyd Buford Grade 7
- 30 - Hannah Winstead CHS Grade 11
My Body Caleb Swanson Greenbrier Grade K
love my body because it does I everything for me. I love myself because I do everything for me. I love my brain because it tells me what to do. It tells me: Do you know what to do? I say yes!
Raini Sabin CHS Grade 9
- 31 - Four Men in Combat I Am a Bald Eagle Max Sweet Madison Long Johnson Grade 4 Venable Grade 1 our men in combat, F fighting horribly. am a bald eagle. I feel happy when I fly Turmoil happening in souls. I over the USA. I see lots of things. I think Deep, strong, and painful that I am free. My nest is big. I want to fly The dead lying peacefully away and I can fly as high as the sky. I have a While loud screams sound. wingspan that is 7–12 feet long. A beautiful horse posed on the ground. Love is absent, Only silent stillness Inside the bleak and hollow cave.
Four men in combat, fighting horribly. Clouds of past memories Once four friends Until a fateful day, When each killed another. Sadness, anger, and bitterness No winner emerges War succumbs to peace.
If I Could Make Something Disappear Grace Duffy Johnson Grade 3 f I could make anything disappear, it would I be sadness. I want the world to be a happier place. There would be no fights if everyone agreed. All would get along and there would be peace in the world. Molly Ottinger Johnson Grade 3 My Dream for the World Isabelle Park Johnson Grade K y dream for the world M Is that everyone has a home, Is that everyone has clothes, Is that everyone has clean water.
Xinmeng Zheng Walker Grade 5
- 32 - Airforce Savannah Marsh Clark Grade 4 ou started in 1947 YTaking the battle to the Heavens Pilots like all veterans They just keep an eye on things from the sky Across the sky you fly keeping us safe We thank you from Earth to space If the pilots are told to commence A lot of enemies will die Air Force, a great line of defense Thank you, thank you, thank you all to the Air Force
Hero Forcey Learmonth Johnson Grade 2
want to be an army man when I grow up. I I would wear a nice uniform and fight for justice in all the countries of the world. I would be brave. I would work as hard as I could and would be a hero. I would make the world a better place and try to make people happy. Savannah Wood CHS Grade 11
Acrostic Coast Guard Veteran Poem Leander St Ours Clark Grade 4 Very bravely defend our seas Every Coast Guard has done well The water is safer thanks to you Everyone is protected thanks to your bravery Rivers, lakes, streams and ALL bodies of water are safe, thanks to you Aircraft carriers to protect the air, battleships, cruisers, and destroyers to keep the waters safe Nothing will get past these totally awesome defenses. I salute you.
- 33 - Beautiful Lights Purple Ella-Mae Price Hana Inazu Venable Grade 3 Venable Grade K olorful sky sways Lauren monster lives in a Lauren house! C Aurora Borealis A She is PURPLE! She hits me all the time. sky dark with colors She does not let me come in her house. She loves the song Let It Go! She eats PURPLE Happy food. Devante Dowell Clark Grade 2 What Is Green? appy is blue Mia Tyree H Like playing Sharks and Guppies in PE Burnley-Moran Grade 3 and also like school reen is the wet morning grass It reminds me of the time I first went to Clark G and the swaying of the trees School and the cool country breeze. It makes me feel excited like shopping at Game Dill and cucumber have a lovely green taste, Stop basil and hazel have a lovely green sight. It makes me want to run! Green is a feeling of angry and mad. CHS Grade 12 Bri Jordan - 34 - Color Gallery
Anton Haag Buford Grade 7
Grasen Davis Johnson Grade 4 Academic Program BRJD - 35 - CHS Grade 12 Kierra Ward Kierra Ward
Anna Ford Amanda Haynes CHS Grade 10 CHS Grade 11
Rachel Manto CHS Grade 10
- 36 - Ellie Fore CHS Grade 10 David VanDyken Clark Grade 2
- 37 - Ta’miyah Eubanks Burnley-Moran Grade 2
Melvina Gboley Johnson Grade K
Mick Wade Jackson-Via Grade K
- 38 - Tre Coles Harper Tidwell Walker Grade 6 Walker Grade 5
Mia Read Greenbrier Grade 2
- 39 - Valeria Quezada-Romera Clark Grade 2 Venable Grade 2 Venable Lauren Inazu Clark Grade 2 Ariana White Venable Grade 2 Venable Annie Fruscello
- 40 - Nick Givens CHS Grade 10
Isabella Ciambotti CHS Grade 12
Rosemary Boatner-Doane CHS Grade 9 Sophie Dukes CHS Grade 10 - 41 - Cade Young Buford AQ 7
Jayvion Clark Burnley-Moran Grade 4 - 42 - Naomi Becker-Montambault Jackson-Via Grade 1
Maggie Winter Jackson-Via Grade 2 - 43 - Ethan Busching CHS Grade 11
Chloe Jacoby CHS Grade 9
- 44 - Nasiyah Lewis Walker Grade 6 Claire LeBlond CHS Grade 11
BRJD Academic Program
- 45 - Elizabeth Bambury CHS Grade 9
Zoe Webster CHS Grade 10 - 46 - Bailey Whitfield Walker Grade 5
Kadaizhia Randolph Walker Grade 5
Aidan Hockett CHS Grade 10
- 47 - Elaina Pierce Burnley-Moran Grade 1
Amya Rodriguez Clark Grade 1
Julia Minnerly Johnson Grade 2
Meg Gist Walker Grade 5
- 48 - Jackson-Via Grade 1 Jackson-Via Greenbrier Grade 1 Khaliyah Massie Hunter Walker Buford Grade 8
Margaret Lather Rebekah Zafra Greenbrier Grade K - 49 - Amalynne Hairston Venable Grade 4
Anton Weder Venable Grade 2
- 50 - The Power of Music An Ode to Music Grace Gilbert Morgan Antes CHS Grade 11 Walker Grade 6
trapping tunes can change the mood he instruments of string start giggling, S From one of happiness to one of pain. T from the tickling sensation of the bow.
Strums of an acoustic guitar The woodwinds start singing their graceful Can release endorphins in the brain. music, their tune like a flying butterfly.
Images of heartbreak and love All percussion players start to hit their drums, Can be conjured from a tune. they are like karate fighters hitting a punching bag. While slow, raspy melodies Make any listener swoon. Saxophones had begun their smooth tune of jazz, along with the piping oboe starting to sound with For music is the cleanser their tone of smooth silk. By which the soul becomes new. I take a short breath before I have to play again, Strong waves of glorious sound while I listen and look at the tiny dots on the Performed by only a few. pages.
Music has such an influence, Sometimes I wish I could put the heavenly music It is able to change a day. into a jar, and listen to it whenever I wanted to.
However this begs the question, But since I can’t, What is music without emotions for it to prey? I guess live music is good enough for now.
Caroline McLellan Buford Grade 7
- 51 - The Performer As the final notes ring out, the audience is Tilden Fernandez left awed. CHS Grade 9 Then, as on the rise, Thunderous applause resounding where tanding there, on the stage. clear notes were a moment before. S Standing there, on the stage. The lights glow behind him, He still stands on the stage silhouetting him against golden light. Not having moved since allowing the concluding note to end A lone music stand, in front of a lone figure. His hands still ready to coax the violin to The audience watches, silently life again. Waiting to hear him. As the spectators cheer, he relaxes He raises the instrument His violin returns to resting in front of him Bringing it from at rest to his shoulder And he takes a small bow. He breathes, then begins. After the show he sits backstage, thinking. His hands move together, He is happy with his performance, Working in harmony to create something And he is happy that he was able to spread beautiful, his love of music with others who adore And help the instrument sing. it too. His bow moves, drawing the string; As his fingers dance on the neck of the instrument, His whole body sways to the music.
He leans forward as the music rises. His eyes are closed now, as he concentrates, And on his face in the smallest of smiles.
The tune slows, the notes each blending together, Building on each other, each supporting the next; And together forming a melody.
The musician plays lovingly, Holding each pitch almost longer than it should be held, Pouring endless emotion into each movement.
The song comes to a climax— Zoie Napper The violin singing spellbindingly higher Buford Grade 8 than a soprano’s voice. The violinist’s face closed in concentration.
- 52 - The Audition Claire DeGuzman Burnley-Moran Grade 4
t was the day, I the day I had to play, for it to go my way, to get my part.
It was my turn, my stomach started to churn, but all I had to learn, was to show my performing art.
Onto stage I went, mistakes I was trying to prevent, I got to my place, it was my descent, and then the music was a start.
It was my cue, and all I had to do, what the others did too, was to show how good we are.
I did what I needed to show, I was about to blow, because I didn’t know, was I up to par? Ana Kendrick CHS Grade 10
Alan Mendoza CHS Grade 12
- 53 - I Want to Be The Harp Rosie Teran Lopez Ryan Wilkins Greenbrier Grade 1 Johnson Grade 4
want to be a pop star because I will get lots umming sweetly, I of dresses, and I will be famous. I will get a H The wind whispers to a big apartment and walk the runway. I will sing wolf lots of songs at concerts. I will have lots of fans. Run and find the boy I want to be a famous pop star! Lead him to this pleasant harp Here, he will find What he has been searching for.
My Music Box Lucy McLellan Greenbrier Grade 3
ne of my special objects is my mouse O music box. The mice spin around and do dances. It is special because my great- grandmother gave it to me. It reminds me of her. It also plays very pretty music. It is a good song to dance with (ballet). I can practice all the moves I’ve learned with that music. The music box is one very special thing I have.
Just Like Henry “Box” Brown Isaac Kenner CHS Grade 9 Owen Royster Burnley-Moran Grade 1
A Boy Named Bob f I were in a box like Henry “Box” Brown, I Zeniah Richardson I might be feeling sick. I would feel hungry Clark Grade 1 and get a headache. I might feel dizzy from being upside down. I would try not to be loud. little boy was named Bob. How far would you go to be free? Would you A He said he was really sick. mail yourself just like Henry “Box” Brown? He stayed home. He played video games. He was not sick at all. His mom made him go back to school.
- 54 - The Game Aidan Peters Burnley-Moran Grade 4
nto the field O Into the dugout To the mound Across the green grass Inside the stadium Over the wall
Underneath the lights Past the field By the runners Upon the dirt Against the wall From the ballpark
I PLAY BASEBALL
Jesse Owens Hailey Preuss Greenbrier Grade 2
n the Olympic Games in 1936, Jesse Owens I was the only black player on the team. Laura Holt Boom! The gun shot, and the racers ran. Jesse CHS Grade 11 Owens was in the lead. Jesse won! “Yay! Yay!” the crowd cheered. In the long jump, Jesse flew through the air and won another gold medal. I Am It was time for the 200 meter. Boom! The gun Eh Nay Soe shot. Jesse was in the lead. He went faster and Walker Grade 5 faster and faster. He won! Now the 4x100 meter: Boom! The racers ran off. The crowd went wild. am a boy who loves soccer “Yay, you can do it!” yelled the crowd. The I I wonder how computers work other runners tried to catch up with Jesse. They I hear my big brother playing guitar in Thailand couldn’t! He won his fourth gold medal! and Virginia I see two elephants in Thailand playing I want war to stop I dream about playing soccer for Real Madrid I am a boy who loves soccer
- 55 - Going to New York and a Red Bull Game Forever Ago Augus Munro Zoe Moreland Clark Grade 4 Walker Grade 6 ur class should go on a field trip to a MLS O soccer game. My friends and I love hat seemed like forever ago, soccer. We always debate who is the best, Messi W my husband left, or Ronaldo. I think Messi is the best, but really to help raise our sinking ship. I just want to go to a MLS Red Bull game. It Although it had just been last year, would be so much fun! My friends and I would it seemed like forever ago. be cheering. We would have lots of memories and souvenirs. We would take so many pictures Forever ago my husband left, and get so much food and drinks. Then, we leaving behind his old hopes would go on to tour New York, and we would in a small bag, go to a special place for lunch and dinner. for later. . Forever ago my husband left.
BASKETBALL Forever ago my husband left. Now, I sat with our two boys. Nicalas Motley Two and three I think they were. Walker Grade 6 But I had been long gone Bouncing basketballs forever ago, Airballing assist when my husband left. Stealing, shooting Kicks KDs Just today, I received a yellow letter. E A telegram it was called. very exciting fan It sat in my hand Traveling team staring at me, Balling buckets with angry, red eyes. Alley-oop assist Because, it was forever ago Long lines when my husband left. Like Lebron Dread filled my face as I teared through the paper. Devil’s Backbone Carefully, with shaking fingers, I opened the note. Elsa Miller Hoping, it wouldn’t be forever Johnson Grade 2 ur covered wagons were coming close to until my husband returned. O Devil’s Backbone in Oregon. I had heard stories about this dangerous part of our trip. I The words sank into my heart, started to shiver with fear. The wagons in front and reality gave me a swift kick. of us were wobbling and shook. My aunt’s When I felt the tears slip down my cheeks, wagon tipped and her quilt fell down the cliff. I I didn’t care as I once had. was so scared! I trembled. The rocks beneath us Because, my husband had left forever ago, began to fall. Our trail guide knew the way and and he would never return. luckily steered us in the right direction. I was so happy when our wagon train later made it safely across. - 56 - A Lonely Path The Way We Stand Georgia Trainum Walker Grade 6 Ari Pyle lonely path I may walk Walker Grade 6 A broken dream y feet started to sweat A A broken struggle M I almost fell I was trying, It used to be smooth trying to show them, It used to be wonderful show them how strong we are But something tore it apart I felt my heart drop, the look they gave me, It tore apart the love that was once here It made me cry inside. It tore apart all the people who used to walk this path Why me? It tore apart everything and now I am the only I would tell myself one who walks this path “If looks could kill we would be goners,” my co-worker had scared me out of my suit A lonely path that I may walk. I felt as if my justice was more though I will show them, show them my power The Lonely Road our power Reagan Weaver I stepped they Walker Grade 6 did too t’s always been a lonely road, We were ready. I but I promise I will help you through, don’t worry about the others, Ready to show them our power. the only thing that matters is you.
It’s always been a lonely road, don’t do anything you shouldn’t do, you have people who care, Where I Roam oh please keep carrying through. Destini Monroe It’s always been a lonely road, Walker Grade 6 please listen to me love, I promise it gets better, he abandoned sidewalk is where I roam just look up to the doves. T I walk on this sidewalk every day This is the sidewalk where there are no trees waving back at you Empty and Alone They stand still Zoe DeGuzman I’m waiting to see a person at the end Walker Grade 6 But still no one appears taring down into the street I’m a figure that no one knows S No commotion but the wind I will die alone Not one sight but the troubled gray sky Until that day comes As the only one to be seen This abandoned sidewalk is where I will roam No one else by my side To savor the depressing stroll Of a walk down the street With me.
- 57 - A Perfect Grain Talia Marshall decided to send another degrading wisecrack Buford Grade 8 toward Zhaleh. “Hey, guess who didn’t win the music competition?” This was quite a touchy (In which Zhaleh Blocks out the Haters) subject for Zhaleh, as she had won the music competition every year before this, but had nce, a long time ago in Persia, there lived lost her nerve this year. So, she continued her O a girl and a boy, named Zhaleh and work, and Bahram, no longer seeing the fun of Bahram respectively. They began as friends, insulting her, continued his, until he had an idea. but their friendship eventually turned sour. Zhaleh would have been happy to continue to “Hey Slow Zhaleh. If you think you’re be friends with Bahram, but time went on and so great, I challenge you. Whoever can harvest they grew apart; Bahram beginning to insult the most grain approved by the Fieldmaster Zhaleh with his scornful comments. He chose to when the sun reaches its highest point will have point out faults—Zhaleh’s and everyone else’s. their salary given to the other for the rest of the He built up his confidence by lowering others’. week.” Eventually, Zhaleh went out of her way to avoid Bahram—in the marketplace, on the streets— “Deal.” She replied without looking up. everywhere. “GO!” He answered, grabbing a handful Soon they came to the age when they of stalks and thinking it was impossible for him were to begin working in the fields. The to lose to a girl. Fieldmaster set Zhaleh and Bahram working next to each other, which was a very unfortunate The sun climbed in the sky, Bahram decision. Zhaleh began to harvest the durum using his “superior” method, and Zhaleh using her way—carefully severing one stalk of wheat her method. Soon, Bahram looked up and the from its roots, placing it neatly in her basket, sun was above him. “STOP! SLOW ZHALEH! and once she had a small amount, sitting to pull STOP!” the grains from the top, and once more placing them in her basket. She saw the plants as friends Bahram had filled two baskets with grain that she didn’t want to harm. Bahram on the and Zhaleh had only half filled one, but she was other hand, had another way, which he, as was not worried. They each carried their respective his custom, thought was the best and the most baskets to the shade of the Fieldmaster’s hut. efficient. He grabbed a handful of wheat, pulled as hard as he could, and ended up with small “Hello Fieldmaster,” Bahram said, his grains filling his basket much faster than Zhaleh voice like smooth honey, “We were wondering did. if you could examine our harvests and see which Looking into Zhaleh’s basket with a one of us has harvested the greatest quantity of sneer, Bahram proclaimed, “Wow. You spend high-quality grain.” forever harvesting each individual grain and you still can’t get a full basket? You’re so slow.” “As you wish, Bahram,” the Fieldmaster replied, as he was a friend of Bahram’s father, Zhaleh, having heard these types of and Bahram’s father had also given him some comments many times before, gave Bahram her money. winning death stare and continued her work. He stood still for a moment, trying to mimic the “Look at her’s first,” Bahram said, glare he had just witnessed, but couldn’t. So, he giving Zhaleh his joke of a death stare. The - 58 - Fieldmaster took Zhaleh’s basket from her and found a dead end, gasped as he combed his fingers through it. he climbed right back out. i can’t climb out. “So many perfect grains! Why, they i can’t escape. are all perfect! How do you do it?” He handed not from this town. her basket back and took one of Bahram’s. He it’s got me locked up so tight began to scrutinize it, dropping cracked grain not even harry houdini could escape. after bruised grain to the earth, until only one wish my momma was here. remained. Taking his other basket, he did the bet i wouldn’t feel quite so trapped if she was. same. “Congratulations Zhaleh,” he proclaimed, she always did have a way of lighting up a “You are our best grain harvester yet! And you, room. Bahram,” he looked at Bahram, “are our worst sure could use that light. harvester yet!” it’s getting pretty dark down here. and momma always did shine brightest in the And thus, Zhaleh learned to live the life dark. of the most respected person in the community, maybe with her help and Bahram never forgot that “Haste Makes i could spring free of my chains. Waste.” just like harry houdini. but i am not harry houdini. and momma is not here. Witness Poem Cleo Engle Leanora Sutter, Harry Houdini Buford Grade 7 there’s a magician, www.thegreatharryhoudini.com www.biography.com/people/harry-houdini-40056 movin’ all over the world, www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/houndini/timeline/index.html? goes by the name of harry houdini. PHPSESSID=f45ba702674262685e677ce215130367 word is he can escape from anything. wonder if he knows how lucky he is, to be able to escape. he came over to america when he was young. Where I Am From from hungary. Chris Nocks he escaped from there all right. Walker Grade 6 ran away from home when things got bad. am from cleaning is key. escaped. I I am from where you pick up the slack. came home after he found a way to make I am from when one gets in trouble, all do. money. I am from sports and staying active. helped support his family. I am from eating right. they didn’t need to escape. I am from no sweets, only on occasion. whenever things got bad again. I am from going on vacations. he found an outlet. I am from visiting family for the summer. an imaginary way to escape. I am from don’t mess with someone, you won’t kept on doing it. get none. started making money. I am from cooking and becoming a man. kept supporting his family. I am from room staying straight. kept escaping the bad. kept growing famous. when he hit a wall,
- 59 - My Cutie McPluffikins Cole Fairchild Buford Grade 8
aia always was different. Her eyes bulged she was—a funny, independent, smart, bossy, N out a little, she had this long scar running imaginative, curious girl who, to me, was just down her chest, she talked with a weird muffled like everybody else. voice, but she was always garrulous. Despite her constant talking, she never seemed to learn as Naia taught me a lesson that it’s okay to fast or understand things like other kids could. be different: to look different, to act different, Ever since preschool, she spent about two hours to learn differently, to be socially different, a day doing homework, and at times, she acted to be different, period. As I got older, I also peculiar and different. Naia is my sister. She has learned all these scientific facts that doctors Down syndrome, which to some means she’s and other spit out in rote: Down syndrome is a weird or odd; others might call her retarded. chromosomal disorder in which there are three chromosomes on the 21st pair, etcetera, etcetera, Growing up with Naia, I never saw her etcetera. All the objective information could as “different.” She had her imaginary friends, rattle on and on, but I wouldn’t care. Naia is the Kakachuna and Kakabuli, and always had same Naia whom I’ve always seen and known. nicknames for me It doesn’t matter like “You’re my if it’s Naia having Cutie McPluffikins” conversations with or some other her imaginary concocted name like boyfriend, that. I remember Fredrick, or her when we were very getting the whole young, Naia worked family together on a phonetics to act out The workbook that was Sound of Music, accompanied by a or her getting in recording to improve trouble for saying her pronunciation the F-word. Many and help her with memories flood in, speaking. She would sit at the table, put her Amechia Faulkner like her winning headphones on, and speak along with the taped Burnley-Moran Grade 4 the family spelling voice: “Ham-bur-ger. Bi-cy-cle. Tel-e-vi-si- bee or her passing on.” After she was done with each lesson, I her 9th grade history SOL. These are those small would do the same words just to compete with moments in time when I know that Naia will her and show off. At that point, I was naïve always be the different sister I cherish and love. to the discrimination and prejudice for those who had disabilities. As Naia and I got older, I began to notice her “friends” forsake her and others who gave her weird stares. Naia ßbecame more isolated, all because she was “different.” Through that stage in my life, when I began to see the disparities between other children and her, I loved her and accepted her for who
- 60 - The Bee Bees Selena Roberts Avery Stavitski Burnley-Moran Grade 1 Burnley-Moran Grade 1
nce there was a bee, he was a very strange ees buzz around the water fountain. When O bee. He took a bath in a mountain. All B bees need a water break, they stop at the the other bees thought he was weird. He was water fountain. But one day the bee went and he very sad. Then one of the bees made him happy died in the water fountain. But he was okay and again. lived happily ever after.
The Bee Maya Figueroa Burnley-Moran Grade 1 Ode to Mendeleev and His Table Nikolas Dillery ne day a little bee was born! And Walker Grade 6 Odo you know that bees can fly when ou may ask who is that guy, they are born? He had no friends. One YYou may ask what did he do, day he saw a rainbow! The rainbow saw Well I know both, the bee! The bee said, “ Would you be my Oh his accomplishments, friend?” The rainbow said, “yes”! Oh his holy achievements, You and your table have sparked my interest, To me you are as important as water and food, Your table is talking to me, Every day and every night, Why Schools Should Have Cell Phones Giving me knowledge as I sleep and as I read, Anywhere and everywhere you guide me, my friends, Tyla Chester Without you I don’t know what the world could do, Clark Grade 4 Oh, Your table, chools should have cell phones because Your combination of two, kids need to have a faster way to contact S If only, their parents rather than lining up at the If only, school phone. The teacher could take away I could see you alive, the phone if it was distracting the student. Before you fell down, The kids could silence their phones to avoid Before you came down with the horrible Flu, noises. The cell phones could also help them Going down the river of death in your Canoe, learn, and when the students are taking tests, At least you remain in your table, the teacher could put them in a box. When The table that is everywhere, everyone was done testing, they could get As important as food and drink, their phones back. I think that if teachers just It is a being with the wings of hope, had a box that said phones or cell phones on With elements important in everyday culture, it, they would have control but not too much Oh how I love you and your table Mendeleev. control. That way students can learn and get an education and still have their phones and fun. That is why schools should have cell phones. - 61 - Boat on the Bay Malcolm Brickhouse Walker Grade 6
he boats on the sea are what I loved T Bobbing up and sinking down Coming back and leaving again Anywhere is not a limit for them From the harbors in Seattle to the rivers in China From the Atlantic Ocean to a backyard pond Riding on the water like a jockey on a horse Going and going until no land is visible And the boats on the sea go on forever Having fun all the while Breathing in the salty air Across the ocean where all they hear is silence By the ports where the city people look and stare And they keep on going and going and going Emma Hendrix And the journey starts over again CHS Grade 12 The Brook Quinzyah Blair Elisabeth Scharf Venable Grade 1 Walker Grade 5
he brook is a brook of great magic. When T you sit near it you are taken on a journey through fantasy and real life, through thoughts and contemplations, for the birds in the trees and the cool, clear brook send you into your own swirling galaxy of thought. You go to the beach and get washed over with waves of contemplation. You climb a mountain of problems and suddenly you get to the top. It helps you to think and to ponder your questions.
You sit on a branch in a tree in a garden and ponder the things you don’t understand. You can think over the disagreements that you have had while the brook rushes along, and you can think over sad things while the brook trickles and flows. You can think of the anger you felt earlier today while it THUNDERS and POUNDS on the rocks at the bottom. The brook is a good place to go when you want to relax or to float in a galaxy of thought. - 62 - Molecules Max Armengol Venable Grade K olecules, groups of atoms, stick together. The School Garden Water molecules and penny molecules M Alejandra Flores are different so they stick in a different way. Johnson Grade 2
t the school garden, there was a beautiful A breeze. There were plants everywhere! River Some plants had flowers and some did not. Anna Pohl Some plants had edible food on them and Greenbrier Grade 4 looked yummy!
rystal clear, The garden was so pretty and quiet in the C Flowing softly, smoothly, morning. I touched the stem and the leaves on Going on and on, one plant. Then I smelled it. The plant was so Sounds of rushing water, clean and fresh. Going fast, going slow, But always moving, Being outside was better than inside, even Flowing through my fingers, though the logs weren’t very comfy. I didn’t Going away, away… mind. It was a very sunny day. It was a good day! Jackson-Via Grade 4 Jackson-Via Julian Jackson
- 63 - My Special Place I Am a Tiger Carlos Herzog John Davison Greenbrier Grade 1 Greenbrier Grade 4
y special place is the zoo because it has right as an orange star, M lots of animals. There are plant eaters B On the hunt for vulnerable animals, like rhinos, hippos, giraffes, zebras, elephants, I live in the cold flatlands of Siberia. gazelles, wildebeests, and ostriches. But, that It snows a lot. is not all that you find at the zoo. There are lots I prowl in the dark, black night. of predators like cheetahs, leopards, crocodiles, I am a tiger. hyenas, lions, tigers, and snakes.
Wild Room I Am a Cheetah Josephine Tubbs Menard Ulibas Clark Grade 3 Greenbrier Grade 4
f I could design a room, I would make a am a cheetah. I secret, wild room. When you walk in, you I I am spotted black like a Dalmatian. would see a lot of animals playing in a huge I am yellow like the burning hot sun. jungle/family room. You would see a big, old I am the fastest land animal. Redwood tree with lots of animals taking care of I protect my cubs with all I’ve got. it. If you walked close enough, you would also I catch my prey. see stairs and a door high in the tree, although I eat gazelles, so they stay away. it would be really hard to see. When you go in I look to see if any enemies are near. the tree, you would see a huge bed with lots of I might be fast, but I still get tired. fluffy cats and dogs. If you go down the stairs, I have a powerful heart so I can stay strong. you would also see stables with horses in them. I have specialized muscles so I can run like a Lastly, there would be a room that has a paint flash. holder and lots of paints to use. My secret, wild I am a cheetah. room would be really fun!
When I Grow Up When I Grow Up Eliza Miller Kayla McCowin Greenbrier Grade 1 Greenbrier Grade 1
hen I grow up, I want to be a veterinarian. hen I grow up, I want to be a veterinarian W I will help animals. When I do, they W because I like pets. I will learn what will like me. Aksel will be my assistant. He will animals need. I will work at the animal hospital, bring the animals in. I will start after I go to but first I have to graduate from college. college.
- 64 - Chick and Chicken Caris Garcia Jackson-Via Grade K hick C soft, sweet tweeting, eating, peeking fuzz, claws, wings, feathers walking, roosting, crowing sharp beak Chicken
DOLPHIN Frances Reynolds Greenbrier Grade 3 Dancing round through the rushing waves! Over them with a big jump! Lounging in the warm water, Pivoting in the strong ocean water, High and low. Here I go! In the rushing water, over the hills even farther. Now I need a nap. Alondra Trujillo Walker Grade 6 SEALS Presley Thompson Ocracoke Island Johnson Grade 1 Sofia Wallace Greenbrier Grade 3 Sliding Eating seaweed y favorite place is Ocracoke Island. On A M Ocracoke Island, I see blue-green water ttacking fish and red crabs. I taste salty water when I fall into Laying in the corals the crashing waves. I feel hot and cold at the Slippery same time. Hot on the sand, cold in the water, but then I get used to it. I also see surfers surfing in the distance. I feel excited to jump into the The Fish crashing waves when they come toward me. Melisa Usmonova When I swim in the waves, I feel water passing Burnley-Moran Grade 1 by me. I feel happy in every way. I can’t wait to go back to Ocracoke Island. here was a fish that finds a flashlight. The T fish played with the flashlight all day.
- 65 - Poppleton the Pig Pigs Ben Carter Raelyn Trent Greenbrier Grade 1 Greenbrier Grade 2
ne morning, Poppleton asked his friend if n animal I can write about is a pig. I like O she wanted to go on a walk with him. A pigs because I like bacon. Pigs are very After that, he went to her house, and they different than dolphins because pigs live in mud, played. and dolphins live in the ocean. Pigs are pink. The next day, Poppleton went to the city They mostly live on farms. I really like to write church for a while. He liked going to church. about pigs. His friends were there. Later, he went home and watered his plants. The next day, Poppleton went to the city Too Many Wishes library. He went there every week. It was his favorite thing to do. He read many books at the Tayah Shanks library. Burnley-Moran Grade 1 After the library, Poppleton went to a pizza restaurant. It was really good. After eating, f I could wish for anything I would wish for he went home, and then he got in bed. I bunnies, bunnies, and bunnies. I would have too many. I would sell all except for two. One bunny would be cute and one not cute.
Joshua Cassell CHS Grade 9
- 66 - A Neat Animal Shani (a poem) Givanny Fitzgerald Max Frazee Clark Grade 1 Venable Grade 4 his is a “Tylosauras.” It eats fish. It was a (Inspired by: Shani mounted on a vulture) T hundred feet. It also ate dinosaurs that fell aying yes, Saying no. in the water. S You’d better lie low, you never know what I’ll do
Punishing and rewarding, I know what you’re doing, So don’t hide from me. Untitled Eliza Smith Walker Grade 6 don’t mean to cry, but the tears keep coming. I Never sure if what they say is true Shame fills my heart Emptiness kills my soul Cut me like a knife Underestimating the power of their voices Iman Harrison-Hughes Ruby hate is in their hearts Buford Grade 8 Entropy is my life. Lizard Views After the Storm Neva Boyd Clark Grade 1 Marietta Feigert omeone left the lizard house open. I went to Walker Grade 6 S the gym and I saw a lizard in the he water has destroyed everything basketball hoop! T dead or alive Someone left the lizard house open. I went to from great big faucets pouring their hearts out the art room and I saw a lizard who one harmless drop started the flow thought he was part of the drawing! then another Someone left the lizard house open. I went to finally gushing out the library and saw a lizard who thought think it started with one small teardrop. he was on the cover of the book! Someone left the lizard house open. I went to Dinosaur Do Over the clinic and I saw a lizard trying to go Alex Abrams-Garrett into the light! Burnley-Moran Grade 1 Someone left the lizard house open. I went to f we had the ability to bring back dinosaurs, the cafeteria and I saw a soup hot tub I should we? No! If we did, they would eat us with the lizard inside! humans. At least some might be plant eaters. Someone left the lizard house open. I went to But we don’t know for sure. But that’s the pro. the music room and I saw a lizard This is the con. They would eat us. I’m never playing the cymbals! going to be on the group of people wanting the But the best part of all was the lizard bathing in dinosaurs to come back because they would eat the hot tub! us! - 67 - Reptiles Gus Tingley Snakes Burnley-Moran Grade 3 Violet Craghead-Way he important thing about reptiles is that Venable Grade 4 T they are more awesome than video games. They come in many, many types. They are (Inspired by: Rainbow Serpents, Australian, Gun- usually pretty small. They can be very, very big. nartpa, c. 1921-2001) But the important thing about reptiles is that they are more awesome than video games. hose two troublesome snakes you see T they are looking for prey just like me As their slithering tongues Yellowstone Bird just started all of the fun oh they are waiting to eat me Olivia Pemberton Walker Grade 6 As I weep in despair limbing up, up towards the sky they climb up my chair Wispy, white clouds in a dome of Thinking they’re going to gobble up me C bright blue they ask me out to tea I look down at the tiny people like ants I guess that’s why those troublesome snakes Below me the snake of the river winds went up to my hair across the green landscape Diving down, lightning fast, the wind Then I thought since they asked me out to tea whipping past me they weren’t going to gobble up me Towards the glinting of sun on water Now I guess I was wrong Like jewels spilling from a pirate’s chest ‘cause I don’t belong Past the rushing waterfall that stumbles over and there’s no more world to see logs And leaps off the lip of rock to the pool below Flying over the surface, my wings skimming Snakes the water Ava Bright Seeing my fluorescent colors reflected back Venable Grade 3 at me
reepy brown C Interesting, smiling, overlapping The Cardinal Flew Snakes are scary Jayla Turner Laying, intertwining, twisting Venable Grade 1 Creative, powerful Snakes ne day a cardinal flew high in the sky. Then O she flew to the nest. Then she went back out. She found a blue jay and said, “Would you like to join my journey?” “Yes!”
- 68 - The Bird Graham Stevenson Jackson-Via Grade 3 Cruising on a cushion of oxygen tempting to obtain a fish in the grinning ocean. Then abruptly, at the blink of an eye, the falcon plunged down into the water with a roaring SPLASH! It seizes the distracted fish and concentrates on making it back to the nest and offers the food to the yapping birds. The warm-blooded skin of the bird, throbbing in the heat of the sun, bakes He spots a predator and defends the nest by pecking furiously at the cruel lion (king of the jungle)! He won the battle and safely returned to the nest. After the long day, the babies fell asleep under the dancing colors of the sky.
Richard Harden Walker Grade 6
- 69 - Puppies Paige Sandidge Greenbrier Grade 4
am a puppy. I have a lot of I energy when people pet me. I eat whatever is on the ground. I love kids so much because they’re just like me. I am scared of taking baths. I love to get dirty. I am happy when all the kids are home from school, and they play with me. I am sad when they are gone and leave me in the cage. But I still love them. Elke Doby Buford Grade 7 Dog and Cat Gabrieal Lane Jackson-Via Grade K
og D soft, scratchy laying, jumping, eating puppy Roxanne, kitten Penguin scratching, playing, chasing black, white The Time I Got My Kitten at Willow McEligot C Greenbrier Grade 3
was really excited when the day came for Piper Carter I me to get my kitten. There were lots Greenbrier Grade 4 of different kittens: a sleeping black kitten, a wiggly kitten—I called him Jello—twin kittens, and an older kitten that was almost full grown. I saw a kitten that had black, white, gray, orange, yellow, brown, and almost every color a cat can be. I knew she was the cat for me. When I got home with a box, the other cats were not sure what was in the box. Later, I let them see what was in the box. They were a bit jealous. The cats adjusted to a new kitten, and everything turned out great.
- 70 - PANDA Jasaunya Harris Dear Diary Greenbrier Grade 3 Kay-C Pornillos Pandas eat bamboo, Burnley-Moran Grade 3 And they live in China. ear Diary, Nice and tasty bamboo for them. D Do you know pandas are in the family of dogs? We just got back from the market! First, And pandas are black and white. we went to trade with this guy whose name was Romeo. You say it like this: Rome-ee-o. Anyway, we traded him some wheat for a pot that looked awesome. It had one of their gods The Wild Herd on the front. We put our goods in it! The next Alice Hoskins person we traded with was a woman named Burnley-Moran Grade 2 Aris or something. We traded her some pottery we had made, not the pot Romeo gave us. She “Neigh!” I woke up. What was that noise? It was going to use it for some of her children’s could not have been Crunch, my horse. I put clothes. Then Romeo gave us this thing called a my clothes on and went downstairs. I looked receipt. He gave Aris another receipt. around. I heard the dishwasher running from The last person we traded with was when Dad washed the dishes. “Creak,” I opened a man who was giving away tickets for the the door… Crunch, crunch, I walked along the Colosseum. He said he would trade the tickets rocky path that led to the barn. Crunch, crunch... for some food. We traded and got to go to the I did not see anything. I looked around the Colosseum! There was this fighter named Ret. landscape… The sun was rising. I saw a little, He and another gladiator named Rie fought and black speck. I thought, could that be a horse fought! Ret ended up winning when Rie gave up making that noise? Later that morning: “Can and ran away faster than a cheetah, or it looked I ride Crunch out to the valley?” said Brook. like it! Then we went back to the bush where we “What for, little Brook?” “Oh nothing, just were staying and had a good night’s rest. sightseeing.” “Ok little Brook, but promise you ain’t gonna get yourself in trouble.” “K, Pops,” Your writer, said Brook. Crunch, crunch, she walked on the rocky path… “Neigh!” I heard it again for Kay-C the second time today. It must be a mustang, I said to myself. I ran to the barn, got my saddle, and ran to Crunch’s stable. “Wait, I forgot two A Foal things.” I grabbed the reins and the saddle Linden Yates blanket. I threw myself onto Crunch’s saddle. Venable Grade K “Ya, ya! Go Crunch!” Thump, thump, I kicked Crunch’s stomach. Crunch ran rapidly down the baby horse is a foal. When it gets ready to road…thump, thump. A get up on to its feet, its feet wobble. Then it starts to walk.
- 71 - What Once Was Here Anders Clark Walker Grade 6 hat once was here is not anymore. Abandoned Street W It ain’t never comin’ back. Gone forever, lost to us all, Julia Smith Ain’t never ever comin’ back. Walker Grade 6 What once was here is not anymore. e were waiting, in the lonely street, There one second, gone the next. W but, we didn’t know what for. And I’ve searched ‘round the globe, Maybe we were waiting for someone, It ain’t never comin’ back. or something. What once was here is not anymore. But we waited, A life and we realized that, A job we were all novels, And more, our pages stained with the fingerprints, Lost to the world. of either our lovers, or loneliness. What once was here is not anymore. Nobody seems to care About things that are lost.
After they are completely gone. The memory up and disappears. What once was here is not anymore. And when we have things We never really notice them until they’re gone. The novelty wears off. The human mind couldn’t care less about things long gone. What once was here is not anymore. What does anything mean to us? Nothing matters. Nothing is significant, Until it’s gone. I should know. Nobody cared about me, either. The Ghostly Street Lexi Wilkins Johnson Grade 4 hy the ghostly street W has been abandoned for years? While we have roamed it, Centuries have passed. Isabella Ciambotti We are still here now today, CHS Grade 12 Hidden and afraid. We wish for freedom. We need our carriage riders, Rising to heaven.
- 72 - Brain Storm Marquis Massie Jackson-Via Grade 3
Rage of the cloud on the world of Earth a sound wave of electricity striking the ground uncontrollable fast and 54,000 degrees of heat and sometimes purple lightning is a powerful burst of electricity negative charge at the bottom thousands of people are struck by lightning every year light strikes usually last around 1 or 2 microseconds the fast yellow bolt that is as hot as lava hits the ground sometimes people some fields some houses but all bolts are the same all are shocking thunder is caused by lightning from top to bottom then the air scatters and then regroups it would make a shocking sound that we call thunder
Hurricane Soren Arbelaez Greenbrier Grade 4
ind, slash, rain, rain, rain, rain W Hissing, blowing, throwing Streaking, striking, straining Ripping, tipping, tapping, tearing Scaring all of us
Tayah Shanks Burnley-Moran Grade 1 - 73 - The Sun, the Trees, and the Wind Helen Gehle CHS Grade 9
he sun, the trees, and the wind, she decided. TThey were the three parts of the world she would keep. She was okay with bargaining away the others, even though the flowers and the rain were hard to part with. She painted it in her mind, the clear trees, tall and protective. A graceful wind whispering amongst them. Then the sun suspended above, glowing nurturingly upon the land below. She felt herself floating down into the forest, her hair and dress flowing and rippling around her, until she softly landed on the moss. Tendrils of breeze curled around her hands, lifting them to the sky, and spinning her, spinning her back to reality. Back to the stuffy car tightly parked amongst many others Back to the smell of gasoline and salt. Next to her lay her sister, all curled up and with pleasant dreams floating in the air around her, catching in her wild, curly hair and lashes and surrounding her, acting as a shield to hold the world at bay for a little longer. She sighed and made her decision once more. The sun, the trees, and the wind.
Name Acrostic Poem Saniyah Ashby Clark Grade 4
Smiley Amazing
Nice Incredible Young Active Happy
Claire DeGuzman Burnley-Moran Grade 4
- 74 - Over the Hills Jin Oishi Burnley-Moran Grade 4
ver the hills O under a tree a man sits down the man the keeper of keys the honest man the trustworthy man lays full of joy sees the sky the clouds the cumulus clouds he sees a boy a young youthful boy and waits over the hills under a tree
Leo Vasquez Venable Grade 1
Gaia Sorensen CHS Grade 10
- 75 - My Albanian Necklace If I Were an Indian Deonit Roshaj Tymirra Gaston Greenbrier Grade 3 Clark Grade 2
y favorite object is my Albanian necklace. f I were a Powhatan Indian, I would make M The necklace is gold. It looks like the I clothes. I would show people I am confident Albanian flag. My dad brought it home when and make food. I would live in a longhouse. I I was seven. Albania is really different from would paint pictures of different deer, bears, America because there are different foods like and rabbits. I would go hunting and break down pita and flee. Pita is kind of like a sandwich wood and trees. I would dance with my family with crust on the back. Flee is kind of the same members and sing for the spirits of God. I would thing, but it’s in strips. Albania is awesome go in the woods to fight a bear and bring them to because their sunflower seeds are better than my longhouse and share with my family. I want America’s. to be a Powhatan Indian so I can be strong and powerful. Raja Receiving Visitors Yuhan Huang Venable Grade 4
aja was sitting on the front porch. Two or R three men came and gave an animal to their king for the gift. The king got happy and gave them some gold. He had a big castle. In the castle there was a monkey named Hanuman and he was praying to god. After four days, the demon came and attacked the kingdom. The king didn’t know what to do. Just then Hanuman came and saved the kingdom and the people in there. The king got happy again and gave him a magic power and made him king of the monkeys.
Special Place Tyrell Ntenda Salma Gutierrez-Majia Burnley-Moran Grade 1 Buford Grade 8
love Africa because it has a lot of places. Too Many Wishes I South Africa is far away. I was born there. Calvin Shullaw I love Africa because my grandma lives there. I Burnley-Moran Grade 1 love Africa because my uncle lives there. f I had too many tree houses, I would be I happy. But everybody was mad at me so I was actually a little sad. So I got a crane and destroyed some of them.
- 76 - Alan Mendoza CHS Grade 12
Tale of the Cannibal Drum Many have touched me Alden Dent with their calloused work-worn hands Johnson Grade 4 human blood held me
held potential Sounds of fear thundered I many things I could become my beating was certain death new life surged through me Souls perished and fled
I lived in jungle Death trailed for miles using resources I found all who saw me long gone animals helped me blood-shed shores remain
As I grew older Nothing escapes me my destiny became clear As I peer into men’s hearts I would be a drum All knowing and wise
Now I am ancient My story shall turn deftly built by an old man from slaughter to mass sadness on distant beach sands in infinity
- 77 - Don’t Fall In Nicole Milanovic Death at El Goloso CHS Grade 9 Sarah Gunter CHS Grade 9 t’s a feeling I it’s an emotion immortality lies on the foot bed of a car. it’s an act it’s held in a rollei camera, it’s something that but not for the holder of the camera, you attempt to describe. for Taro is the holder. The feeling is unique and and in a split-second crash quite simple actually, her own mortality slipped away. it occurs very often, and the feeling can be very dark her square-framed pictures as your stomach suddenly starts to twist are godlike immortal beings into a tight knot that cannot be undone. frozen in black and white, The feeling gets worse, that outlive their taker, tighter, as the power and endurance for Taro is their taker start to leave your body. and her photos, You feel weak, alone, you start to wonder, shout testimony of her legacy. you start to whimper, while the answer starts to slither closer, life is cruel to those who expose it only feeling a drop disappointment and Taro did unflinchingly, coming out of one eye, evading fate behind a viewfinder. landing on your cheek as it quickly disappears. war is not glory Another drop disturbs the silence, it is chaos. more keep anticipating, and Taro died at age twenty-six until you realize you’re all out. in a cesspool of chaos. The stress and disappointment all pause, and you want to keep shedding the tears but, death finally found Taro they quickly fade away. as she clung to life at El Goloso It’s called love “did they take care of my camera” the heartbreak, and distrust. and then nothing. The source to that is always love. death did not make her a hero Unforgivable, choice of profession did. unmentionable, because going in she knew all it does is break you the frontline spares no mercy until you’re all gone. for a war photographer. Don’t fall for it, just don’t fall in.
- 78 - The Jar and the Egg Sydney Lewin the drop hit the egg Buford Grade 8 and where it hit, a web of cracks bloomed forth. (Inspired by Rainbow Serpents, Unknown) they lengthened and widened. the snakes did not know from where they came, and for back then, there was merely a silent slowly whiteness the egg which stretched in every direction. cracked the snakes wove through it happily for a while, open. twisting and swirling through the endless blankness. amid the shells rose tall trees and mountains. a shimmering ocean spread around them. yet soon the snakes grew sad. a glowing sun lifted itself from the wreckage. they could not determine why they had mouths, from the nooks and crevices animals crawled if there was nothing to taste forth. and why they had ears, if there was nothing to hear the snakes found that they were surrounded no and why they had tongues, longer by whiteness if there was nothing to smell. but by green and blue and brown and it was beautiful. and so the snakes decided to create something to taste and hear Saint Jerome and smell. John Yates Johnson Grade 4 somehow they knew what to do. aint Jerome S Born in Rome they found a space where the whiteness was Translator of the Bible. thickest and they breathed it in A lion’s savior until their bellies were round Friendship kindled and they could only move very, very slowly. Unlikely pair and companions. then they lay and slept for many days. He wrote Life was sad and bitter when they woke Empty. the snakes stretched their mouths wide and from one came a huge egg, Skull on the table white with splotches of brown and black. Red blankets covered him from the other came a smooth white jar, Annoyed and listless was he. filled brimming with water. Changing the language of the Bible slowly the snakes tipped the jar For all to read and from the rim a single droplet fell. Songs of him were made Love found. - 79 - The Language of Stars Eleanor Hilgart Outer Space Walker Grade 6 Oscar Martinez Le stelle… Greenbrier Grade 4 those divine bodies pace has been discovered, but not all of it. emitting S The outer planets, such as Jupiter and an incandescent glow. Saturn, Twinkling in the night sky, Have never been discovered by mankind, humming Only seen with the telescope. an enchanting, ensnaring tune. But, what if we could discover those Les étoiles With spaceships or drones, Shining with an A world with futuristic means. unearthly, beautiful light. I will have to wait, Bathed in their radiance, But I can live them in my dreams. I indulge in the glorious sensation. Las estrellas More beautiful Clay Bright Buford Grade 8 than the sun, they are diamonds on the dark blue collar of night. Brightening the twilight, gleaming, shimmering, blinking a Morse Code message. The stars…
Amelia Earhart Postcard Diamond Keyes Clark Grade 2 Dear Family, I flew from Newfoundland to Londonderry. It was a daring challenge. I arrived thirteen and a half hours later. I was the first woman pilot to do this. I was not going to be a passenger anymore. I felt challenged, but I knew I could do it.
Sincerely, Amelia
- 80 - Pluto Tatum Daves Greenbrier Grade 4
ark and cold, D No light, There is nothing bright. The sun is only a star from here. It is little and small, Not big and tall. It is Pluto.
Sky Pioneer News Article Eva Floyd Clark Grade 2
melia Earhart was a famous pilot. On
AMay 20, 1932 she flew by herself over the Morganna Villaman Atlantic Ocean. She flew from Harbor Grace, Buford Grade 8 Newfoundland. It took thirteen hours to make the flight. She landed in Londonderry, Ireland. Her mission was complete. The reason she Sun made the flight was that she wanted to be a Charlotte Dubendorfer pioneer and fly the Atlantic by herself. Jackson-Via Grade 3
Big, fiery ball made of little fiery balls bursting with excitement, but if Day and Night they stop, everything stops. Sun is a living Tyus Shelton thing with nothing to stop it. It has 8 children; Greenbrier Grade 1 Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune + Pluto (a dwarf planet). The learned about day and night. It takes 24 sun has other brothers and sisters. Its home is I hours for the earth to orbit the sun. The the Universe. It has six bodies. Sun brings life to moon orbits the earth while spinning. One one of its children (earth). The sun spits flares. hundred earths can fit over the sun. I learned The sun has a few nephews. The moon hides about diurnal and nocturnal animals. A bat the sun once in a while (which we call an sleeps during the day because it is nocturnal. eclipse). The sun is 4.5 billion years old. People are diurnal usually. We do not sleep When it stops, we’ll stop. We’ll hopefully during the day. We sleep at night. find another home before that. Cold, dark, sad dying sun
- 81 - Peaceful Suffering Caroline Thompson I Want to Be Walker Grade 6 Alice Thompson emains of a torn cotton dress dancing in the soft breeze, Greenbrier Grade 1 my life is fading away, R want to be a pediatrician to help at last, all is peaceful, quiet. I kids get better when they are Tattered cloth and flesh rising and falling, sick. I want to work in a doctor’s red with fresh, warm blood, my life almost at its end. office. I want my mom and dad to see me do my work. I will treat my Each... patients well and not hurt them. I Breath... will work hard on my job! Steadily... Slowing.
If I Were 100 Years Old When I Grow Up Ann Thompson Helena Plaza-Ponte Johnson Grade 2 Greenbrier Grade 1
f I were 100 years old, I would live in a hen I grow up, I want to be a spy. After I grand house. For fun, I would play chess W college, I will become a spy. I will work with my grandkids. I would have a pet dog at a spy agency. I want to wear black clothes. I named Blade. I would have tea parties and will go to a training school for spies. would enjoy seeing my friends and family.
When I Am 100… We Are… Memphis Walker Rebecca Lerdau Clark Grade K Walker Grade 6
hen I am 100, I will be in a band. I will e sit on a shelf, W live in New York. W We are to be seen, not heard,
If I Was 100 Years Old… We are told to stay silent, Parker Yaniglos when we try and speak up, Clark Grade K We are delicate, f I was one hundred, I would have a cane to be treated with care, I and glasses. I would have fake teeth. I would watch the news on TV. We are only an object, in their collection,
We are women.
- 82 - Had Tea, Had Tea Weed Seeds, Weed Seeds Noelle Williams Kaz Shinozaki Venable Grade 2 Venable Grade 2 hen the Owl and the Pussy-cat lived happily he next morning there was a big warning, T on the island of Chapily. T from the worm. There, they met a walking Bill tree He yelled, “A storm! A storm!” who would kill for a cherry. So, the Owl and the Pussy-cat He also liked to go to sea Sheltered under the Bong-tree and sometimes he had tea, There under the Bong-tree had tea, The Owl felt three seeds on the head. “Bong- had tea, seeds!” the Owl said. and sometimes he had tea. The Pussy-Cat said “I think they’re weed seeds.” “Weed seeds” “Weed seeds” A Duck, A Duck “I think they’re weed seeds.” Lauren Inazu Venable Grade 2 From You, From You he Owl and the Pussy-Cat went back to sea. In their beautiful pea-green boat. Annie Fruscello T Venable Grade 2 They still had their honey and plenty of money, wl said to the pussy, “I am sorry for as long wrapped up in a five-pound note. as we have They went back to land, O Carried our rings and been married where they met in a band, I have been thinking about our love.” and found that they be in luck, “Just lay down and I for they’d have a beautiful newborn Duck! will give you a rub.” A duck, A duck, “No, I think that one day, I might just fly away,” “Okay I get it, but what shall we do A beautiful newborn Duck. Maybe I can just fly away from you, From you, From you I Am… Maybe I can just fly away from you.” Punam Tamang Walker Grade 6 am a happy girl! A Krepe Monster I I wonder if this world will be better someday Aidan Kelty I hear music from America and also Nepal Venable Grade K I see my family and best friends I say people need to help each other krepe monster is undr my crtin but he liss I dream about drawing and painting red and pink A undr mi bed. It is a fone monster! Becas flowers he loves to eat chicin. I am a happy girl! A creepy monster is under my curtain, but he lies under my bed. It is a funny monster! Because he loves to eat chicken. - 83 - The Sculpture of Ruth Ruth Seli Martinez Scarlett Austin Clark Grade 4 Venable Grade 4 (Inspired by: Ruth by Chauncey Bradley Ives) nce upon a time there was a sculpture that O was named Ruth. One night the sculpture t was a normal day and I was making a of Ruth came to life. She came out of her I wheat crown when the wheat poked me sculpture and said “l am so glad that I am out and I stumbled back onto my dog. He started of that sculpture, I was dying in there.” Then running into my house and I could barely she took the crown of King Tut. But then King breathe because he was running so, so fast. Then Tut came to life and saw how pretty Ruth was he suddenly stopped. I was so relieved I could and he asked her to marry him and she said yes. breathe again. I got off my dog and felt a shiver Then they got married and they had two babies, down my back and I had the feeling I was being Tut Jr. and Ruth Jr., and Ruth never went back watched. Then, something pushed me forward into a sculpture again. into something big again. I could barely breathe. Again, it was taking me somewhere… RUTH Niharika Pathak Venable Grade 4 Marco Polo’s Lost Book Molly Ottinger (Inspired by: Ruth by Chauncey Bradley Ives) Johnson Grade 3 walked to a dark cave, following an ancient Reeds of wheat I Italian map. An old coffin was lying near the back wall. I was searching for Marco Polo’s pon her head U original copy of his book. I creeped slowly to The plants will always bow the coffin. On top of it was written, “I never Her kindness will always stay told half of what I saw.” I opened the coffin and peeked inside. There was Marco Polo’s body with his arms crossed over a very old book. I carefully uncovered it and brought it home. The Princess Nilab Sultan The next day, I took it to an international Clark Grade 1 museum. It was Marco’s lost book after all! I became famous! I celebrated by riding in a here once was a princess. She was wearing gondola. I often go to the museum to look at my T a yellow dress. She lived in a castle. There glorious discovery and to read it. was an evil king who took the princess. He put her in the dungeon. Her parents found out that she was gone. Her parents cried. There was a Twilight brave prince. The prince got on his horse and he Ev Wellmon started looking for her. He found the evil king’s Johnson Grade 3 castle. He got off his horse and started looking lowly getting dim, for her. He climbed into the window. The king S My shadows fading came down and he started fighting the prince. away, The prince won, so he got the princess and took Bright stars her home. emerging.
- 84 - CHS Grade 11 Jenna Warren Jenna Warren - 85 - Claire LeBlond CHS Grade 11 Real Beauty Talia Smith Burnley-Moran Grade 4 eal beauty lies within R Everywhere, in everyone Real beauty is not how you look, In some it lies deep, in others It is who you are, you It beams through their actions Always you, forever you, Real beauty is loving, caring, and kindness Love it, cherish it Always, never sometimes You only have one chance, That is Real Beauty - 86 - Mia Tyree Burnley-Moran Grade 3