ISLAND TREES MEMORIAL MIDDLE SCHOOL THE WRITE STUFF 2019-2020 “Lemons” by, Bella Lin pg. 3 “Christmas Pantoum” by Ava Incendio pg. 34 “Summer Sun” by, Miles Santivasci pg. 4 “Christmas” by Hooria Abid pg. 35 “Sunflower” by, Olivia Cutrone pg. 5 “Christmas” by Violet Chichotky pg. 36 “Summer” by, Isabella Digena pg. 6 “Christmas Poem” by Allie Sackman pg. 37 “Under the Sea” by Sophia Cutrone pg. 7 “Snow Day Pantoum” by Abigail Bassmir pg. 38 “Raindrops” by Sarah Sevo pg. 8 “Peppa Pig” by Jillian Sandez pg. 39 “Flowers” by Hannah Hernandez pg. 9 “Powerpuff Girls” by Kylie Kagen pg. 40 “Ladybug” By Christopher McCoil pg. 10 “Interview of Justin Clark” by Evangeline Caridade pg. 41 “Fifth Grade” by Nayeli Garcia pg. 11 “Life is a Challenge” by Andrew Baker pg. 12 *Cover art by Ava Pinto* “Hope!” by Justine Bunkley pg. 13 “Online Learning” by Trinity Fitzpatrick pg. 14 “The Ball” by Ryan Rieger pg. 15 “My Hero” by Amulya Bhandare pg. 16 “The Final Lap” by Alexander Gelvez pg. 17 “A New Beginning” by Camryn Chase pg. 18 “The Yankees Game” by Matthew Morandi pg. 19 “The Story of Manhattan” by Antonio Negron pg. 20 “Pocono Fears” by Eva Guo pg. 21 “Mess Up” by Jasvindre Bajwa pg. 22 “The Birthday Girl” by Alejandra Reyes pg. 23 “Creature Breach” by Hunter Durham pg. 24-25 “The Forbidden Tunnel of Doom” by Juliana Koo pg. 26-27 “Untitled” by Bailey Keesee pg. 28 “The True Beginning” by Jillian Sandez pg. 29-30 “Thanksgiving” by Luis Mendoza pg. 31 “Thanksgiving” by Michelle Digiacomo pg. 32 “Thanksgiving Poem” by Meghan Fielding pg. 33 Lemons Bittersweet, juicy, fresh, sour Plump, golden, yellow, ripe, strong Rough, bumpy, damp, moist Zest, tart, tangy, acidic, sharp Fragrant, piquant, fuzzy, harsh Sharp-tongued By, Bella Lin Summer Sun Shining in the sky So hot and mighty As the warmth hits my head, I smile in delight I look up to the sky The bright light blinds me So beautiful and great I play in the sunny rays Hours upon hours of fun Nothing beats summer in the sun By Miles Santivasci SUNFLOWER In the hot sun all day, BUZZ! Is all I hear, from busy bees in the hot sun Yellow, tall, and a bee’s best friend In summer they come, and in winter they end Always in the sun the sunflower shines The floral scent of the golden sunflower reminds me of a warm summer day at the lake I can taste the sweet flavor of the sunflowers; dancing through the air Sunflower seeds have a crisp and a crunch, Some people even eat them with lunch By Olivia Cutrone Summer Children playing in the sprinklers “It’s so hot” Ice Cream truck coming down the block “Turn the air conditioner on” Sun, pool, bathing suits, ice cream, beach “Ice cream truck coming down the block” Lifeguards, counselor, ice cream man, bikers swimmers “Turn the air conditioner on” Big, bright, beautiful sun Sun, pool, bathing suits, ice cream, beach “Splash” Lifeguards, counselor, ice cream man, bikers swimmers “Splash” Big, bright, beautiful sun “It’s so hot” Children playing in the sprinklers By Isabella Digena Under the Sea Tropical fish swimming happily “Splash” Big grey shark prowling through the waters “ blub blub” Starfish, scuba divers, coral, seaweed, sand Big grey shark prowling the waters Whales, dolphins, clams, sea shells, turtles “ blub blub” Diving deeper into the deep dark sea Starfish, scuba divers, coral, seaweed, sand “Swish swish” Whales, dolphins, clams, sea shells, turtles “Swish Swish” Diving deeper into the deep dark sea “Splash” Tropical fish swimming happily By Sophia Cutrone Raindrops I Hear the Raindrops thumping On the roof-side The sound is rhythmic, so I Get a peek through my window I see raindrops falling down like the Music notes on a staff. I open my window to Smell the fresh as a cucumber air. I stick my hand outside To feel nature’s creation. I touch some droplets That feel the opposite of what they sound like They sound, they’re cold, I get a taste of fall By Sarah Sevo FLOWERS I hear the wind gust through the I see rows and rows of flowers the most incredible making the petals blossoms you will ever see fly away I taste the sweet bouquet of flowers just by walking across the field I touch the soft and I smell the wonderful gentle petals on all fragrance the the flowers in the flowers spread field across the field By Hannah Hernandez Ladybug The ladybug flies through the air Under sunny skies of blue The soft grass is green and smells sweet I hear the birds tweet in the tall trees with rough bark, And smell flowers The ladybug tickles my hand when I pick it up Spotted and red, tiny and crawling I count the tiny black spots and hear the buzzing of bees It is time to eat ice cream So sweet “Ladybug, want some too?” My baby brother runs to see and screams in delight We watch the fluttering wings as the ladybug flies away. We hope it will come back and visit some day. By Christopher McCoil Forever believe in yourself Inspire others Friends will fight for you Thank your teachers for everything they do Help others when they need you Gain confidence in yourself Respect others Anyday people need you Do good things Every accomplishment is a road to new beginnings By, Nayeli Garcia Life is a challenge Life is a challenge- meet it Life is a gift- accept it Life is a sorrow- overcome it Life is a tragedy- face it Life is a mystery- unfold it Life is an opportunity- take it Life is a promise- complete it Life is a struggle- fight it Life is a goal- achieve it Life is love- love it Life is adventurous- have fun Life is a duty- perform it Life is a game- outsmart it Life is a beauty- praise it Life is great- make something good of it So life is a celebration- eat, laugh, and do meditation By Andrew Baker HOPE! “Hope!” You may think I’m stealing that from Barack Obama, but it makes me feel positive. Positivity is really important, and not everybody is very good at it, but I try to be. Right now I’m in quarantine because there is a disease called Coronavirus, and my family is trying to stay as safe as possible. There is no school, and I miss my friends, playing basketball at recess, and even waiting for the lunch bell to ring. Sitting at home is really boring. I hope that this ends soon. Staying hopeful isn’t always easy, but always try. By Justine Bunkley Online Learning Online learning is not much fun Regular school is number one School is hard on the computer Thankfully my friends and teachers act like a tutor Can’t wait to go back to school The Coronavirus is not cool Schoolwork on paper is the best Now we have to use our Chromebooks to take a test Although we get to sleep in Seeing my friends at school takes the win by Trinity Fitzpatrick The Ball On the ride home, I thought, “I will never forget today.” It was September 4th, 2019 and I was going to a Yankees game. I was going to get out of school early because the game was at 4:00 and there would be traffic. The ride was about 2 hours. When we got there a worker asked, “Where are you sitting?” My dad told him our seats. Turns out he had Judge’s chambers tickets. We traded tickets. “Allright!” My dad exclaimed. When we got to Judge’s chambers we got a Yankee robe and a foam gavel. When I got the robe I thought, “Now I have a new way to torture my brother.” A couple of innings went by, and I was shown on TV! We didn’t see it live until one of my dad’s friends took a picture of us on his TV. “I can’t believe it! I really can’t believe it!” I exclaimed. When the 9th inning was about to start , I was at the right field wall anxiously waiting with some other kids. It is common that before every inning Aaron Judge would give a fan a ball . Every game I went to I hoped that that fan was me. Aaron Judge was just about to give a fan a ball. My dad lifted me up and I luckily got the ball. “I couldn’t believe it,” I thought. The Yankees won that game. When I got home, I put the ball on my bookshelf. After I put it on my bookshelf, I went to bed because we got home very late When I was in bed, I wondered, “Was this all a big dream because I have never had a day like this?” I was so eager to tell all my friends. The next morning I got dressed and went off to school. When I saw my friends, I told them what happened on the best day of my young life. From here on out, I will keep and cherish valuable things. By Ryan Rieger My Hero A lot of people love superheroes like SpiderMan, Batman, Captain America etc. Sometimes we even wish that they were real. But we actually have lots of superheroes in real life who are normal people like us who deserve a lot. They are doctors. A doctor’s job is to restore and cure people´s health.