Connecticut Student Writers Volume XXII May 2010 Connecticut Student Writers Volume XXII May 2010 Connecticut Writing Project Storrs, CT This publication was produced by the Connecticut Writing Project-Storrs. Director Graduate Assistant Director Jason Courtmanche, Ph.D. CSW Design & Editor Shawna Lesseur Writing Intern & Copyeditor Program Assistant Benjamin Miller Sharlene Smith Editor in Chief Nadine Keane University of Connecticut Department of English 215 Glenbrook Road Unit 4025A Storrs, CT 06269-4025 Office: (860) 486-2328 Fax: (860) 486-9360 [email protected] http://www.cwp.uconn.edu Cover art by Paul Courtin, Kindergarten, from Annie E. Vinton Elementary School. Table of Contents Foreward ........................................................................................................................................................................... 4 Elementary School, Grades K-5 Poetry ........................................................................................................................ 5 “Warming by the Fire” – Ayanna Barreto-Vasco, Annie E. Vinton Elementary School, Grade K ... 5 “The Magic Crystal” – Sergei Moscardelli, Annie E. Vinton Elementary School, Grade K ................ 5 “Snowflakes” – Harrison Moss, Annie E. Vinton Elementary School, Grade K ..................................... 5 “My Dog Audrey” – Caroline Vlach, Latimer Lane Elementary School, Grade 1 .................................. 5 “Quiet Snow Stars” – Shannon O’Charek, Frank M. Kearns Primary School, Grade 1 ....................... 6 “I’m a Butterfly” – Kathryn Damato, Anna Reynolds School, Grade 1 .................................................... 6 “Diamonds” – Jalah Cooper, Clover Street School, Grade 2 ........................................................................ 6 “Encyclopedia” – Bart Codd, South School, Grade 2 ...................................................................................... 7 “Stars Are Bright” – Sophie Duplock, South School, Grade 2 ..................................................................... 7 “A Note To The Birds Outside My Window” – Sophia Meyers, Kelly Lane Intermediate School, Grade 3 ............................................................................................................................................................... 7 “Box #1” – Elliott Moberly-LaChance, Kelly Lane Intermediate School, Grade 3 ............................... 8 “Summer” – Aidan DeBrincat, Annie E. Vinton Elementary School, Grade 3 ....................................... 8 “Rain Forest” – Alexis Klimaszewski, Elizabeth Shelton Elementary School, Grade 4 ..................... 8 “My Mother and Yours” – Shermeen Khan, West District School, Grade 4 ........................................... 9 “I’d Like To” – Rebecca McCord, Kelly Lane Intermediate School, Grade 4 .......................................... 9 “Brook” – Rachylle Hart, Washington Montessori School, Grade 5 ....................................................... 10 “Awakening” – Julianna Pestretto, Kelly Lane Intermediate School, Grade 5 ................................... 10 “Thought” – Emma Sammons, Regional Multicultural Magnet School, Grade 5 ............................... 10 Elementary School, Grades K-5 Prose ........................................................................................................................ 11 “What I saw on a Walk” – Alexander Semenza, Annie E. Vinton Elementary School, Grade K .... 11 “First Time Swimming” – Priyanka Sapkota, North Street Elementary School, Grade K .............. 11 “If You Eat a Color” – Brendan Raynor, Annie E. Vinton Elementary School, Grade K ................... 11 “My Trip to the Ice Age” – Alexander Viar, Philip R. Smith Elementary School, Grade 1 ............. 11 “Santa’s Naughty List” – Mackenzie Farquhar, Killingly Memorial Elementary School, Grade 1 ............................................................................................................................................................. 12 “My Own Pet” – Natalie Williams, Colebrook Consolidated School, Grade 1 ..................................... 12 “The Crash” – Tiago Frazao, Tashua School, Grade 2 ................................................................................. 12 1 “The Hurricane” – Amanda Rodrigues, East Farms School, Grade 2 ..................................................... 13 “A Small Moment” – Nolan Ward, South School, Grade 2 .......................................................................... 14 “My Journey” – Olivia LaRosa, Philip R. Smith Elementary School, Grade 3 ...................................... 14 “Snow Day” – Taylor Armstrong, Roaring Brook School, Grade 3 ......................................................... 15 “A Horse Show to Remember” – Jenny Wadhwa, West District School, Grade 3 .............................. 16 “A Cold Adventure” – John Targowski, Tashua Elementary School, Grade 4 ..................................... 17 “The Man Who Painted the Sky” – Taalia Morgan, Long Lots School, Grade 4 .................................. 19 “Under the 18.5 Hole” – Will Zawilinski, Kelly Lane Intermediate School, Grade 5 ....................... 19 “A Good Dog” – Daniel Schenk, Tootin’ Hills Elementary School, Grade 5 ......................................... 21 “A Heart the Size of the Sun” – Collin Sitz, Charles Barnum Elementary School, Grade 5 ............. 22 “East Haven Beach Waves” – Gianna Michaelson, Buttonball Elementary School, Grade 5 ......... 23 Middle School, Grades 6-8 Poetry ............................................................................................................................... 24 “Running” – Celine LaTona, Kelly Lane Intermediate School, Grade 6 ................................................ 24 “Frightened, Worried, Alone” – Ambria Capson, Memorial Middle School, Grade 6 ...................... 24 “Fly Fishing” – Natalie Paiano, West Woods Upper Elementary School, Grade 6 ............................. 25 “CT River Expedition” – Matthew DelMastro, Smith Middle School, Grade 7 .................................... 25 “Wonders Unflolding” – Serena Lotreck, Tolland Middle School, Grade 7 ......................................... 26 “Still in My Heart” – Christian Santa Maria, Memorial Middle School, Grade 7 ................................ 27 “Facades” – Andre Caldwell, Windham Middle School, Grade 8 ............................................................. 30 “My Life, by Teddy Roosevelt” – Hannah Hudson, Rochambeau Middle School, Grade 8 ............. 30 “I Am From” – Kathryn Shafer, Irving Robbins Middle School, Grade 8 .............................................. 33 Middle School, Grades 6-8 Prose ................................................................................................................................. 34 “Memories and Preparation” – Hannah Beilinson, Rochambeau Middle School, Grade 6 ........... 34 “Reflections on Being Cinderella’s Daughter” – Alyssa Grimaldi, Kelly Lane Intermediate School, Grade 6 .............................................................................................................................................. 35 “The Chocolate Thief” – Michael Doyle, Reed Intermediate School, Grade 6 .................................... 35 “Semper Fi” – Conor Ellis, Henry James Memorial Middle School, Grade7 ........................................ 38 “The Survivor” – Savannah Higgins, Elizabeth C. Adams School, Grade 7 ........................................... 39 “A Soft Muzzle To Kiss” – Tessa Teardo, Memorial Middle School, Grade 7....................................... 40 “Mistaken by Imagination” – Brett Fox, RHAM Middle School, Grade 8 .............................................. 41 “Ms. Grayson” – Tatiana Varanko, Woodbury Middle School, Grade 8 ................................................ 43 “My Valentine” – Jessica Lipponen, Henry James Memorial School, Grade 8 .................................... 45 2 High School, Grades 9-12 Poetry ................................................................................................................................. 46 “Gray of Memory” – Sarah Jacinto, Arts at the Capitol Theater, Grade 9 ............................................. 46 “Shot Through the Soul, Scarred Through the Heart” – Victoria Bilcik, Brookfield High School, Grade 9 ............................................................................................................................................................. 46 “Battle on the Turf” – Maddi Nicholson, Simsbury High School, Grade 9 ............................................ 47 “Matriarch” – Laura Salvatore, Bacon Academy, Grade 10 ...................................................................... 47 “The Carollinian in Me” – Hailey Aguero [a.k.a. Kit Kat Watson], Newington High School, Grade 10 .......................................................................................................................................................... 48 “Sustained Living” – Thomas Hart, The Gunnery School, Grade 10 ...................................................... 48 “Music of the Earth” – Lily Fleisher, Granby Memorial High School, Grade 11 ................................. 49 “Ferns” – Cara Dorris, Glastonbury High School, Grade 11 ...................................................................... 50 “Song of Myself”– Nakia Jones, Cooperative Arts & Humanities Magnet High School, Grade 11 ............................................................................................................................................................................