The Ponus Papers 2014 by New Canaan Country School

ponus papers

grade 5

The Ponus Papers 2014 The Arts and Literary Journal of New Canaan Country School

ponus papers

table of contents

Grade 5.......................................................... 2 Grade 6........................................................ 82 Grade 7...................................................... 147 Grade 8...................................................... 168 Grade 9...................................................... 199

ponus papers

grade 5

Jack Almeida

ponus papers

grade 5

Carter Alvord

The Fish

What You Need When You Go Camping

The rod snapped down and I jumped up. Everyone looked at my bent rod in excitement; we knew we would have

On an average day camping, you might hike and go fishing. At night, you set up your camp, get wood and start cooking.

dinner tonight. I kept pulling, then reeling, but the fish kept pulling more line out than I was pulling in. “Finally”

For sleeping, you should have an air mattress, pump pillow, and sleeping bag. In the morning, you make your food and

I muttered to myself, as the fish stopped tugging and was taking a rest. I pulled as hard as I could up on the rod, just

go out to do more fun stuff. When you go camping, there are a lot of things you need to bring, such as food and utensils.

to get the rod more stuck in the fish’s mouth. I started reeling again faster than before but it took me a while because

You need matches, a grill, plates, plastic utensils, soap, etcetera. It would also be advisable to bring some personal

the fish pulled out so much line. I saw the glittery side of the fish as it was being pulled up and it started tugging

items. For example, a map, sunscreen, folding shovel, pocket knife, fishing rod, watch, and binoculars are good items

again but it was too late because all I had to do was reel a little more and the fish came shooting out of the water

to bring. For clothes I would bring a bandana, socks, shoes, pants, rain gear, and a shirt. When I was little, I remember sitting

squirming and wiggling with water dripping off its body. I looked into the fish’s mouth and rows and rows of sharp

around the fire while we roasted marshmallows as the fire gleamed. About a minute after, a marshmallow caught on fire.

teeth were scattered along the sides. Our captain, Captain Rob told us that it was a Grouper and that you mostly

It was my mom’s, and the fire hit a bush which then lit on fire!

don’t see them in this season. He took a picture to email to my dad. He runs an ESPN show and he said that he will

My favorite camp story is a happy one. It goes like this. One day as some kids were walking through the forest, they saw

probably put it on the show. He took the fish to the measurement sticker on the side of the boat. Everyone went quiet

something shiny behind a tree. They went to go see what it was. It was an old jar with something in it. The older one

waiting for the news. He finally announced that the fish was twenty two and a half inches. Sadly since it wasn’t season

said that it wasn’t theirs so they shouldn’t open it, but the little one opened it anyway and out came a genie. He was short

for the Grouper, it was illegal to eat the fish. So I chucked the fish back into the water and it swam as fast as it could

with Egyptian style pants. The genie said he would grant one wish for each of them. The boys thought and thought

away from the boat. It was fun to go fishing in Florida because it was a different kind of fishing.

until the little boy said, “I wish that I had a pony.” The older boy asked for a house that was made out of gold, even the hot tub. When the boys got back to their camp, they told everyone that they saw a genie. I thought this was the best story when I was little, and I told my dad it once I got home. Now that you have heard what to bring, as well as a story, you need to know good camps. I think that Paul Bunyan State Forest is an excellent spot, and hope you try it out one day.

ponus papers

grade 5

Jackson Alvord The S.S Bomber

Captain James responded, “No, never. I’ll give you one million at the most.” “Alright, we will leave you here to die then, and we will break everything!”

“Found anything yet, Jumba?”

Captain James did not like that. He said, “Ok, fine but untie me first.”

“No sign of them yet, Tanker.”

“First, where is the money?”

“It should be in sight in one hour.”

“I have to get it, so untie me.”

“Good, good. Let’s get in the boats and get ready to leave. Bring 12 machine guns, two bazookas

I untied him and then yelled, “Go get it then.”

and lots of ammo.”

“Ok. Here you go. Is it enough?”

“Let’s go, let’s go, it’s going to be here soon.”

I quickly eyed the money, “Yes. Alright, I will be in my room counting it all.”

“Albert, how many men, and are they armed?”

“Sir there are some people who want to talk to you.” Tanker came in and got me while I was still counting the money.

“Yes, they are armed and have 100-200 men.”

“Ok.” I left my room to see who Tanker was talking about. “Who are you?”

“Nothing we can’t handle?”

“I’m police officer Petanceski, and you, sir, are under arrest for a threatening crime and many more.”

“Yes sir.”

He locked handcuffs around us all and we could do nothing. “Where is the money? In the room, over there?”

“Men get on board and ready to attack, we have got a long day ahead of us.”

He walked over to look in my room.

“We are almost ready, sir.”

Then I shouted, “Jump off the boat!” No one will know anything about pirates this time because we got

“Great, get on board. Everybody move! We are almost ready. Everyone move, let’s go!

away and all the money is at the bottom of the ocean.

Hey, did you get the khat?” “Yes.” “Tanker, what do you have for me today?” “I have a 22, a pistol and a machine gun.” “Give me the pistol and the machine gun. Alright let’s head out.” On our way to the ship we ate all our khat and almost half of our food. It took us just over 18 hours to get to the other ship. When we got there we were welcomed with a lot of guns and bombs. It was a rampage for the first ten minutes of the fight, but then we left and waited until night fell. That night we attacked and luckily no one was there. We boarded the ship and took all the silver, gold and weapons. Then we woke everyone up and held them hostage. “As soon as the captain wakes up tell him to see me.” “As you wish, Jumba.” “I will be in the basement. Call me when you’re ready.” “Jumba, he is awake.” “Good.” When I got up stairs I saw Captain James. I told him, “You can give me two million dollars and I will leave with my crew. If not, you will die.” Continued on next page

ponus papers

grade 5

Everett Andersen

ponus papers

grade 5

Sophie Bajaj

Daly Baker

The Story Of Cola

Lemonade

Dear Diary,

This story is about me, Cola Wifrid Oswald. I was the head of the coast guard in the land of the Danes. I greeted Beowulf

Refreshing and satisfying lemonade: the cool citrus

I just woke up from my sixth surgery of the week.

when he came here to defeat Grendel and I bid him farewell when he was going home. After Beowulf left, I started to get

drink touches my tongue as I take a sip. I enjoy the

I looked around at the plain beige walls. I thought that

more attention and I started to get paid more and more.

sweet sensation of both citrus and sugar all mixed

I might see my dad, but I was too weak to even lift my

together in a swirl of delicious flavor. I take a sip and

head. Everything was a blur. The last I remember I was

I was born and raised in the land of the Geats but I now live in the land of the Danes. I was raised very poorly as a child that is

feel the texture of clear yellow liquid go down my throat.

being carried by my Uncle Derek, Dad, and John.

why all of my friends and peers think I am always angry. My father was fifty-three when I was four so he was always grumpy.

The lemonade is so perfect and sweet that there is

All of my body was aching in some way, my arm was

My mother was not old, but she was still mean. I never backed down out of a fight and I was the best on all

nothing else like it. I can see the sun’s reflection staring

bleeding badly, and I couldn’t feel myfoot. I could

of the sports teams I played on. Besides being the best at everything, I was also the most competitive.

up into my eyes as I take a sip. Lemonade, the perfect

only blame pirates.

My father’s name is Cyneheard, and my mother’s name is Aebbe. I only have one sibling and his name is Aelfgifu.

I have dirty blond hair, blue green eyes, and I am about six-one, 165 pounds. I love beer and ale, but most of all, I like

beverage on a warm sunny day. If only I could have it

It was Thursday, February 5, 2014 when they attacked.

playing sports with my friends. Shot put is my favorite sport to play so that is why I play it alot. Whenever I have free time,

every day! I take another sip and pretty soon the glass

My Dad, Uncle Derek, John and I were on a large,

I either sit down and drink a beer, or try to earn some more money. I wish King Hrothgar will give me a raise soon because

is empty! I walk over to the lemonade stand to ask for

elaborate, white boat called Even Keel. My dad had

my family could really use the money.

another lemonade but there is a line. The lemonade

bought Even Keel about three months ago but this was

stand closes. I am so devastated, and I cannot

our first long trip. We were going from South Africa

My goal is to get paid at least seven pounds every week. I am happy with my job and what I get paid but I’m still trying to get

believe my eyes. I walk home and hope to have more

to Singapore, one of Indonesia’s many islands. That

more money than I get right now. Beowulf’s ship was very big and his men were running around like there was a hole in the

lemonade tomorrow.

morning I woke up to a loud crash, I ran towards the

I was faithful to King Hrothgar for seventeen years. Two of those years was when Beowulf was staying in Hall Herot.

ship. They were so wild I couldn’t believe with his crazy soldiers that he would be able to beat Grendel. I was moved from

sound, my heart beating a mile a minute, my diamond

first man to the head of the coast guard fourteen years ago.

necklace hitting me in the face. I ran into the kitchen to

For many years, I served as a member of the coast guard but now I have been upgraded to king since Hrothgar has

find that my dad had dropped three cooking pots while

recently passed away. I have many servants and I pay lots of attention to the coast guard. My coast guard years were good but

making breakfast. I bent down and picked them up,

now I love my life even more now.

placing them on the table quietly. “Thanks pumpkin,” my dad whispered. “You’re welcome,” I whispered back. After breakfast my dad gave me my sailing lesson. He says that it’s a good skill to learn, but I really didn’t see why. “Now look starboard and turn the wheel,” my dad said. Continued on next page

ponus papers

grade 5

Daly Baker

Maya Becker

Continued

“Wait, Dad, what’s that?” I point to three little fishing boats coming from the west.

grade 5

Spring

“Oh my gosh. John, Derek, we have a situation,” my dad yells. “What is it?” Derek asks.

I lay in my backyard, looking up at the sky. Spring was finally here. The air smelled fresh and light, like all the pollution was

“PY,” my dad says.

magically sucked out of it, like someone had stuck a Febreze air freshener to all the trees. A new season felt like a whole

“Really, where?”

new me- fresh, happy, high spirited. Changes were everywhere too, green leaves, flowers lining the ground, and animals

My dad points to the three boats. “Oh gosh,” says Derek. I knew that whatever ‘PY’ stands for, my dad doesn’t

finally coming back after the harsh winter behind them. The sky was perfectly clear and was a light aqua blue. The trees

want me to know what it means.

surrounding me felt like giants circling me, the branches reaching down at me. The sun felt warm on my skin, like a blanket

John came dashing in. “Piracy!”

stretching from head to toe. I didn’t plan on getting up anytime soon. I closed my eyes and tried to empty my mind. It

“John,” my dad says pointing at me.

was very hard. I kept distracting myself by thinking of what fun I was going to have. Finally, I got up and sat on the swing.

“Oops,” he says.

I swung higher and higher; my goal was flipping the swing around the wood plank, but as always I couldn’t reach it.

“Erin, I am not 100 percent sure that those boats contain pirates, but we are in a part of the ocean where there

I continued to swing though, and it felt as though when I got higher I also got happier. Spring was here. The wind rushed

have been many attacks, and until I know that they aren’t pirates I want you to go to your bedroom. Lock the door

through my hair and I felt invincible, happy, excited. I ran inside because I was sick of enjoying the perfect weather alone.

and do not come out unless you hear one of us say ‘PY,’” my dad explains to me.

As I flew up the steps, I noticed the lonely strawberry field in the back of my woods. I’d glanced at it before, but hadn’t

“Ok,” I say. My dad gives me a huge bear hug, and I head to my bedroom. I try to fall asleep, try to let the thought escape

been in it. I ran down the hill to the small bridge that crossed the stream into the strawberry field. I ran across it, making

from my mind, but it won’t escape. I doze for five minutes until the sound of metal hitting metal takes me

sure to step evenly on both side so that the bridge wouldn’t flip. The ground was covered with strawberry juice. I stepped

out of my trance. The pirates must be climbing up a ladder to board the ship. Not long after I made my assumption

carefully making sure not to land in the prickly bushes that surrounded the bridge. I grabbed a plump strawberry and

there was a knock at my door. I listened for ‘PY’ but didn’t hear anyone say it. My heart rate went up drastically,

bit it to it. It was amazing! After a few more, my mom called from the bridge. “Come in,” she called, so I stuffed a few more

I broke out into a sweat, and then boom the door is down and a pirate walks in.

in my pocket, and ran inside.

The door had been opened by a gun; I stood with a blank expression as the last chunks of wood land on the teak floor. I coughed. The pirate came charging at me holding guns and forcing me to put my arms up. “Calm down,” the pirate said with a strong Somali accent. He came closer eyeing my diamond necklace, but when he reached for it, I slapped his hand. He held the gun to my skull. I decided to make a break for it. I could feel my legs moving but my mind wasn’t telling them to. Just as I stepped out of the room I felt a throbbing pain in my arm. I touched it and my hand came out with dark blood all over it. Then there was another pain but in my shoulder this time. The pirate kept chasing me until I was drowsy due to blood loss, and I passed out. When I woke up my diamond necklace was gone and so were the pirates.

ponus papers

grade 5

Maizy Boosin

ponus papers

grade 5

Alex Byrne

ponus papers

grade 5

ponus papers

Amalia Calderini

grade 5

Chris Calderwood

Beach

Space

As I get out of the car, I feel the sand trapped between my feet and my flip-flops. I see the ocean in the distance,

I work for NASA as an astronaut and have been to space more than anyone anywhere. I am proud of this accomplishment,

and I hear the animated sounds of people having fun. The beach is a relaxing, fun place to be. I put on my sunglasses

but I have achieved many other things. I have gone to Saturn and Jupiter, landed spacecraft on asteroids, built a human

because the sun is shining in my eyes. My feet are burning hot, so I quickly lay out my towel and stand there. My mom

settlement on Mars, and most of all, seen so many wonderful things it is hard to remember them all. This is why I am writing

calls my name, ”Amalia,” so I quickly run over to her. My dad is making a BBQ with ribs, hamburgers, and hot dogs.

these things down, to keep my stories living even as I move on, and to let people truly dream.

The water is tranquil, so I decide to go in and swim for a bit. The ocean looks blue with a bit of gray in it. The water gets

I remember one time in particular, the time I built a settlement of 5,000 people on Mars, and kept them living almost

in my mouth and I taste the saltiness. I turn over and look at people having fun and building sandcastles. So I get out

like they would on Earth. This was all the way back in 2,893 A.D, approximately 27 years ago when I was near the end of my

of the water and ask my brother if he wants to build a sandcastle with me. We grab buckets and sand and start building

journeying career and was an experienced explorer/ pilot. Nasa had made plans to send people to live on Mars for about

our castle. My little brother, Octavio, asks if he can help. I say, “yes,” so we get right back to work. It took thirty minutes

a decade but needed one of the most experienced astronauts to pilot the expedition. As I had been working for NASA

to build our gigantic castle. I take a very close look at the sand and I see little sparkles that make me feel like I’m in

for over 100 years, I was picked. We had to make many plans, like how we would get water on the planet and how we would

a magical place. Walking over to my towel, I lay down, closing my eyes. I dream about having many more relaxing days

breathe, but we were finally ready to go.

just like this one, free of any worries. I wake up and hear the sound of people laughing and having fun! The beach is an amazing, comforting place to be!

We took off on a cold, dark, windy day, making it hard for the crowd to see us as we launched off on a truly unforgettable mission. Our electric engines made no noise as our spaceship drifted up off the ground with ease, flying toward Mars at a speed the space shuttle way back in the early 2000s could never have imagined. We communicated with Earth with electric wristbands that could show holograms of earth. We got to Mars one week later, and after fitting ourselves with space suits, we roamed the dusty planet. The next day, we began giving Mars more atmosphere, therefore giving it the appropriate amount of gravity and air. This took the better part of a month, but when we were done, we immediately poured endless amounts of water onto the ground, flooding some places but dampening others. This created oceans and fertile land. We then tried farming this land but after four months, not a bud had peeked out of the soil. We began to starve, little by little until we could take no more, deciding to turn back. Unsure of how much fuel it would take to make a trip back to Earth, we decided to risk our lives to get back home. As we took off, Comet Maxwell came rocketing towards Mars, leaving us almost no time to react. As we tried to fly away, the Comet cleanly wiped out our broadcasting antenna, leaving us unable to contact Earth. We flew for six days without a problem, but when we came within 100 miles of Earth’s atmosphere, our slightly damaged back engine burst. This meant we relied on our front engine to get us through the atmosphere. We would get to Earth, but from then on, we would plummet towards the Pacific Ocean. This did happen, and for one minute we were cascading at full speed toward the middle of the Pacific with fire blazing around us. We hit the water with such impact our ship immediately shattered into five pieces. I was out cold for five minutes and did not wake up until I was fully submerged. Continued on next page

ponus papers

grade 5

Chris Calderwood

Continued

I struggled desperately to get out of my seatbelt, but when I did so, I ran face to face with a squark the size of a truck.

grade 5

Charlotte Callison The Lights Of New York City

(A squark is a mixture of a giant squid and a shark, and trust me, you do not want to disturb it in its home.) I kicked with all my might, but it got hold of my leg. Pulling out my laser net gun, I attacked the Squark. Just as I shot the net gun

I can remember the first time. I think I was three when, all in one day, I visited a huge building full of animals that weren’t

it released a cloud of black ink darker than the night sky with no moon. I felt a tug and a sharp pain. Then nothing at all.

alive but seemed to be, a part of Central Park where animals were alive, and a ride where the giant animals that didn’t

My head lay on a soft comforter, in a room full of light and people, and I soon remembered what had happened last.

bite bounced me up and down. Maybe, at first, it was my love of animals that made me never want to leave New York City.

I saw my wife as my eyes fluttered open, and when she saw me, she gasped, screamed, and fainted. I tried to shake her

Since then I don’t think there is one part of New York that I have not visited. I can remember how my mother and father

awake, but doctors said they would take care of her for now. The next thing I noticed is that I had a slight itch on my lower

(who had spent most of their lives there) navigated the buses, subways and taxis so effortlessly. I wanted to be able

left leg. I reached down to scratch it, but when I did, there was nothing there. I screamed and I started to bawl, but

to do that, too. And I wanted to be as expert on all things New York as they were.

the doctors comforted me and put me to sleep. To this day, I have no lower left leg because of that squark, but I could have paid a bigger price. In fact, from those 5,000

There is something about New York that I find hard to explain. From the minute I get off the train at Grand Central, see the beautiful clock and vaulted ceilings of the terminal, and walk out on 42nd Street, the mystery of what awaits is the most

people on the horrific Mars mission, three survived, one of them being me. I later found out that about 1,000 people

exciting part. All different types of people, rushing and strolling, horns honking, pigeons in the gutter, it’s all just a part

died because of hunger, 2,000 people because of the impact of our shuttle hitting the water, 1,000 people died because

of the experience. I smell the vanilla of the roasting nuts and eat them only to find that the taste is nothing like the aroma.

of injury and sickness, 500 people died because of the back engine exploding, and the rest were never found. Over

I go to Chinatown to see the turtle venders, chopstick shops and temples tucked away from the busyness. Then over to

the years, I have gone back to Mars twice, but I have never, ever tried to settle there.

the Lower East Side where I learn how the first immigrants lived in tenements and how desperate they were to survive here. I go up to Times Square where it is always hard to tell how late it’s getting because the lights are beautiful and constant. Finally, back to the Upper East Side where the doormen remember my mother as a baby and all the neighbors come to greet me and tell me how much I’ve grown. Here it feels like any other small neighborhood. When I try to summarize why I love New York City, it’s easier to put into feelings and harder to put into words. I think the appeal of endless opportunity, seeing something new every day, even when you have been there before, is what makes it so special. In the past eight years, I have learned that the Museum of Natural History is one of the finest in the world, that the Central Park Zoo and its musical clock is a historic part of the city, and that the carousel has been there in various forms since 1871. Who would have thought that all those animals would leave me to want to learn so much about a city?

ponus papers

grade 5

Shane Carbin The Apartment Invasion: in Ellen’s eyes

(We were sleeping together.) I looked up so I could see through the small slit. We saw Mr. and Mrs. Johansen creeping to the door in their nightgowns by candlelight and opened the front door. Then we heard the unmistakable deep, badly accented Danish voice of a Nazi soldier. “Dette er den Johansen lejlighed?”; “Is this the Johansen apartment?” one asked.

Based on an excerpt from Number the Stars by Lois Lowry

“Yes, our name is written on the door, and I see you have a flashlight,” Annemarie’s dad replied, “What do you want? I will never forget the day German Nazi soldiers invaded my friend’s house, which I was sleeping in. It was Rosh Hashanah, and my father, mother, and I were walking to the Synagogue for the Jewish New Year, being careful as ever around the

“I understand you are a friend of your neighbors the Rosens, Mrs. Johansen.” The soldier replied. I snuck in quickly.

guards at every street corner. When we arrived at the temple, the rabbi told us that the information--name, address, and much

“Sophy Rosen is my friend, that is true.” Annemarie’s mom replied, “Please, be quieter, my children are asleep.”

more—about all of the Danish Jews that ever went to that Synagogue was stolen by Nazis. Everyone gasped in horror.

The soldier walked into the apartment. Another one said, “The Rosen apartment was empty, so we thought they were visiting their friends the Johansens.”

We all knew what that meant. Capture, concentration camps, extreme work, death. After hearing about the theft, my parents and I, and everyone around us, became very worried and cautious. I lay on the floor of my apartment, which is right next to my best friend Annemarie Johanson’s (she isn’t Jewish, by the way) thinking about the Nazi soldiers and the terrible dictator of all Europe, Adolf Hitler. “Where’s mom?” I asked my dad, who was sitting in a chair reading De Frie Danske, “The Free Danes”, the newspaper outlawed by the Germans that tells about the latest attacks

“There is nobody here but my family and I, and please quiet down, my children had a long day today,” Mrs. Johansen whispered. “You can look around, we are hiding no one.” We heard heavy footsteps coming toward us. Annemarie walked back to the bed and got under the blankets. “Ellen! Din halskæde! Your necklace!” She whispered urgently. I had completely forgotten about the Star of David necklace I wear all the time. I tried and tried to unhook the tiny clasp, but I had no idea how.

by at nazisterne, the Nazis. “She’s talking to Annemarie’s mom, but you should stay here.” I didn’t complain, and soon I was feeling drowszzzzzz… I woke up to the sound of Father’s deep, stern voice. “Vågn op! Wake up! Come on. You’re spending a while with the Johansens while your mom and I find a safer place to live.”

“Hold still, this is gonna hurt!” She said and yanked as hard as she could and broke the thin chain. Right before the three soldiers walked into the room. The one with the flashlight came in, inspected the closet, and then yelled, “Få op! Kom ud her!, Get up! Come out here!” We sat up and walked out of bed, shaking. They forced us to walk to the living room. “Dine navne, Your names?”

“But…”

Flashlight Man barked.

“No buts. We need to. We will send money for you when we get enough.” He replied.

“I am Annemarie Johansen,” my friend said. I gulped.

I sniffed and said, “But it’s Rosh Hashanah! Mom got a chicken to roast for dinner! We haven’t had any in a year!” He replied with a hopeful, “We will have much more chicken in Swe-, I mean, wherever our new home would be. ” I sighed. “Okay” I reluctantly said.

“Og du?, And you?” He yelled at me. I didn’t know what to say. “Lise. Lise Johansen.” I sheepishly recited the name of Annemarie’s late sister. Flashlight Man turned to the Johansens. “Where did you get the Dark-Haired one? The milkman, or maybe the Rosens?”

Soon I was eating ristet kylling, roasted chicken and potatoes in the Johansen’s kitchen. No one talked, except for Kirsti,

He said in a mischievous and teasing tone. I shuddered. Everyone in Europe knew what Nazis did to Jews, and now the Germans

who chattered and giggled at her newly black stained fish-skin shoes. “Early bedtime, Kirsti. We need extra time for that

knew the names of all the Jews in the area. Mr. Johansen then walked to a bookcase and pulled out a very dusty photo album.

special story I was going to tell you!” Annemarie’s mom said after the dishes were washed.

He flipped through it and showed the soldiers two baby pictures.

“Okay!” Kirsti said excitedly and jumped from her seat and ran to her bedroom, with Mrs. Johansen following closely behind. When she was gone, Annemarie asked, “What is happening? Something’s wrong, isn’t it?” So Mr. Johansen told Annemarie

“This is Kirsten, the little one you saw in the other room and Annemarie on the other side.” He said, then turned to another page and said, “And this is Lise.” The baby in the picture had a little bit of dark fuzz on her head. I smiled. Flashlight Man growled, ripped those pages out of the book, threw them on the ground, and grinded them to shreds with the heels of his spiked boots.

what he had read in De Frie Danske. “Now, off to bed girls. It will be a long night.” We just got ready, and as soon as my head hit the pillow I passed ouzzzzzz… I was awakened around four in the morning, wide-eyed. Annemarie was opening the bedroom door a crack to look outside. Continued on next page

Is something wrong?”.

Then he barked something at the other two that sounded like “Disses hoss hot nikts! Farenzie fort!” and they moved out. Everyone sighed in relief. I got very freaked out by the invasion, and I had a feeling my adventure with the Johansens was long from over.

ponus papers

grade 5

Lily Codd

grade 5

Sydney Coffield

Summer In the summer flowers are blooming all around me, the snow goes away, there are buds on the trees and sun every day the bugs come out, children start to shout and run away, the pool opens up and it quickly fills up, the ice cream truck comes around the corner singing its favorite song to the children and the parents come out to sing and dance along, the animals come out of hibernation and the bees come for pollination, the frogs come from hibernation in the pond and mosquitoes zip along, and thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not it at all, after summer there is fall, bye bye summer, hello fall, bringing happiness and joy for all.

ponus papers

grade 5

Charlotte Connick

ponus papers

grade 5

Grayson Connors

Gymnastics Gymnastics is a skill. It is not just a sport, it is an art as well. Gymnastics is difficult but if you love it, it is easy to work at it to get to where you want to be. There are three types of gymnastic events. The first one is floor. Floor is the main event. You need to know most of the skills on floor if you want to move on to any other of the events. The second event is the beam, which I think is the hardest event. The beam is a skinny board that is a foot wide which is used to do cart wheels and various types of jumps on. The next event is the vault. The vault is an event that requires strength to do. The vault is a large kind of beam. You sprint very hard down a long runway, jump onto a springboard and onto the large beam. There nine levels that you advance through in the world of gymnastics. When you are on the first, second, and third level you donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t compete in gymnastic meets. Levels four through nine you do compete in. After level nine there is level ten and when you reach it, it feels like you climbed a mountain. Reaching level ten is

ponus papers

grade 5

Arjun Dayal My Trip to Schynige Platte

small plaques containing lots of information about their species. These were one of the many things there were to do on Schynige Platte. The final thing I did was to go into this huge coffee shop on the top of the mountain.

It was an exciting summer; I was visiting Switzerland with my parents in August of 2013. While we stayed in a town called

The final thing I did before heading back down the mountain was go and have milk chocolate. I noticed a pathway

Interlaken, we went up a mountain to a place called Schynige Platte. There were many great things about this mountain town.

leading up a hill to this huge coffee shop. It had a wrap-around porch where you could sit outside and have your

One of those awe-inspiring things was the location-on a cliff in the mountains. Another one of the magnificent things was

beverage. I suspected that the coffee would be bad, but my parents said that it was surprisingly good! The inside

the train ride up into the mountain.

looked spacious and full of tables. You could see the tallest mountain Jungfrau, which is also known as the top

One of the most beautiful things about my trip to Schynige Platte wasn’t really about the place, but it was the amazing train ride. There was a small train going right along the cliff. The gradient that the train was going at was really steep— about 45%! This made it very difficult to keep our balance while on the train. Lucky for us, there were benches which we

of Europe. From this big restaurant with a deck, you got beautiful views. It was really nice to be up there. Schynige Platte was one of the most beautiful, nature filled, natural places I’ve ever been to. I would love to go back there again, and do everything I had done last time and more.

could sit on. But, this train trip adventure really paid off because of the views we saw along the way. The scenery that could be seen from the train was spectacular! You could see waterfalls, lakes, and beautiful meadows! The waterfalls and lakes looked like emeralds; they were this beautiful emerald green! Some locals had told us about the lake, but you had to see it to believe it. They had told us that there was some chemical in the water so you could see through it, and gave it its resplendent color. The train ride was beautiful on all perspectives! We couldn’t wait to get to Schynige Platte and see what else it had to offer. When we arrived in this small train station, we were tongue-tied and all we could say was “Wow”! The views were picturesque and the landscape was so lush! There were beautiful 360° panoramic views all over the place! Also on the top, there were some small but cute coffee shops. You could basically touch the clouds! At one moment it had enveloped us in the fog and we couldn’t see a thing! Another amazing view was that we were surrounded by the neighboring mountains. The maintenance that they did to keep everything neat was amazing! They had clearings all over the place so you could take good pictures. It was a lot of fun and it was the most exciting part of the trip. Another exciting adventure that we went on was hiking. Hiking on the top of the mountain was pleasurable. There were a lot of dirt paths for everyone to follow. When you were walking around, there were plenty of clearings to take pictures. There weren’t too many trees on Schynige Platte. If you took your bike up the mountain, you could also bike up there. There were plenty of biking trails for everyone to go on. Most of them led to other trails, where the views were so spectacular that to we kept taking more pictures. But, some were to lead you down the mountain, at a less steep gradient, of course. There were lots of things to do up there! All of the paths were surrounded by flowers. A fourth thing you could do was admire the flowers. There were plenty of flowers to admire. There were variant in types and colors. The flowers that were planted were really beautiful, and definitely worth taking pictures of. There was lots of information on each type of flower. There were Continued on next page

ponus papers

grade 5

ponus papers

grade 5

Catherine Dewey

Grace English

Barney

Tuck Everlasting

My name is Barney McFry. I was born in Romania in the 6th century. I have a brother named Donald McFry and a sister

In the book Tuck Everlasting, the Tucks can’t die. A girl named Winnie finds out about their secret and tries to help them out.

named Cherry McFry. Donald is 13 years old and Cherry is 8. Our whole McFry family loves to watch fights, cook, be in fights,

The Tucks’ secret is that they drank water from a spring in Winnie’s forest and the water made them unable to die.

and win fights! Every McFry ever to have lived has been the best fighter in Romania at least twice. I am the best McFry. Donald thinks he is, but, it’s really me. One day I went to my daily fight in the Romanian Square, and like always, I won. I bowed to the crowd four times and walked out. But then I got stopped by… Beowulf. He was looking for soldiers to help him defeat Grendel. I said, “I can defeat Grendel with my eyes closed, Beowulf! So if you really want me to, I think I could find some time in my busy schedule.” Donald and Cherry then gave up fighting and switched to cooking and started McFry’s Café. They gave up fighting because they knew I was the best because Beowulf asked me to accompany him on his journey to fight the monster, Grendel. I rounded up two of my best friends and started practicing. We fought every day for hours waiting for the day to come. Finally, after a week of training, it was time. We hopped on our horses and were off to fight. It was three nights and three days when we ran out of food. We had to catch deer with our swords because swords were all we had.

There are some good and bad reasons to drink the water or not drink the water. You could become the wisest person that ever lived; never have to plan your funeral or die; you could try out all the different jobs in the world. You could regret it and want to go back but you couldn’t; someone could find out and force you to do tricks and sell the water. You would see all of your closest friends, family, and pets die. The drinking of that water could also hurt the earth. It could increase global poverty, global warming, and would reduce the habitat that a lot of animals need to live. That would happen a lot if many more people drank the water too. I would choose to drink the water at age 11 so that I could be a “kid” forever. I would also work on making something that would counteract the water and make it so that people and animals could be normal again. If you had the opportunity to drink the water would you, and at what age would you drink it?

Later that day, we stopped and made camp next to a tree in the forest. I was sent a mile north to catch fish and bring water from the nearby lake. I walked along the dirty path, kicking rocks that were scattered everywhere. When I reached the lake I stopped and sat down. What a wonderful view! There was a little gap straight ahead between two big mountains. The sunset was set right in the middle about to go down. The sun reflected against the water so it looked like the whole sun. The sound of birds tweeting quickly got interrupted by Murph, Beowulf’s entertainer, who was sent to take the water back. “Where is the water, Barn? Beowulf is going to dehydrate to death and it will be because of you! Come on, Barns! Hurry up!” he yelled. “Here, here.” I said, handing him the gallon of water. “It’s not that hard to fill a bottle of water.” Then he skipped away with his armor clinging together. I walked back to camp and every soldier was on his horse, ready to leave. “Barney, you seem to be late. Come now, get on your horse, we are off to Hall Heorot!” Beowulf announced. Everyone seems to love him, now I know why. He is so persuasive! Someday I wish to be like that. We galloped until we reached Heorot. I could feel the adrenaline run through my body up to my neck and quickly shivered. I was facing Grendel. Grendel the monster! Grendel the killer! Grendel the man-eating psycho! I was going to die. Now, I wish I was working at McFry’s.

ponus papers

grade 5

ponus papers

Sydney Essex

grade 5

Tyler Galante Lacrosse Lacrosse to me is a sport I will always love, even if I mess up or do something wrong that will make me angry. Now you can probably tell that my favorite sport is lacrosse! This sport has many challenges, not only dealing with the equipment but also the skill and knowledge you will need to succeed a sport like this. The equipment is very hard to put on if it is your first time playing. You need a helmet, chest pad, elbow pad, gloves, mouth guard, lacrosse stick and knee pads if you want. Now if you think that is hard to pull off, try playing the actual game. The goal of the game is to get a hard ball called a lacrosse ball into a net. On every team there are two men on defense, which basically is an important force to guard the goal. Then there is, of course, a goalie in front of net. Each position on the field is important but the two main shooters are the attack men. They stand near the goal and are not allowed to go over the line or they are offsides. Middie is a very great position for fast people. They basically play all around the field. The ball is hard and stiff, so that is a big reason why you have to wear all the equipment. There are many types of sticks such as a long pole defense. Usually there are three middies, two attack men, and two defense men. It is a very fast paced game with many substitutions so you don’t get dehydrated. When you play lacrosse you are usually assigned to great coaches that teach you very well if you’re just starting out. Lacrosse is a sport like no other, not only because of its fast pace but it helps bring everyone together and have fun. I practice every day of the week for an hour and a half. I play games on weekends in my town. In school I play games on Monday. I work hard all winter so when spring comes and tryouts arrive, I am ready. That means I work everyday for three hours constantly throwing the ball against a wall and catching it. That is one big thing that makes you a better player. Injuries are common if you’re not wearing the right protection, also if you’re not playing properly. One challenge for me that I had was playing goalie for the first time. I did not really know how, but I knew I had to do it for the team. It turned out that I did really well. It turns out that I did in every position. To play lacrosse you need to love the sport like I do and put a lot of time and effort into it.

ponus papers

grade 5

Riley Gibbons Penalty Kicks and Pressure

I stepped back for a running start and ran at the ball as fast as possible and kicked it with all my might. It sailed right into the upper corner and was a goal! A big smile grew across my face and I jumped up and down and screamed. I had been

My team for New Canaan travel soccer, the U-11 girls black, had made it to the playoffs which were where the best four

so nervous about messing up and was so glad I hadn’t. Ever since the last penalty kick I messed up on, I had practiced a lot

teams in a division compete to win the league. We were playing in the semifinal game on a Saturday afternoon against

and hoped I would get another chance to show myself and my team I could do it. I showed myself that practice really does

Newtown. We had already done two overtimes and were moving on to our penalty kicks. There are two different ways to do

make perfect and helps you accomplish many things. I was so glad that I hadn’t let my team down. I ran back to my

penalty kicks but the kind I was doing was where you get to the end of a game and the score is tied up, you do two

team where I was high fived and congratulated. But it was not over yet so I focused back on the game.

overtimes and if it’s still tied up you do what is called a penalty kick or a penalty shootout. This is where each team shoots

Newtown wasn’t doing very well and was not getting many goals thanks to our awesome goalie, Cameron. Cameron

on the opposite team’s goalie and whichever team gets the most goals wins. The last time I did a penalty kick I didn’t

was doing great and was blocking almost every shot. Things were really looking up for our team. It was the last shot and if

do so well, but I knew that this game was more important than that other game and my whole team was counting on me to

Newtown missed we would move on to the finals. A girl on Newtown’s team ran up to the goal and got in position. I was

get a goal so we could move into the finals. The worst thing about this game was that it was freezing, and at one point in

praying that she would miss. I wanted to win so badly. The referee blew the whistle and she ran up and shot. The ball totally

the game I felt like my hands were literally going to fall off. When we weren’t playing, we were huddled in blankets on the

missed the goal as it went flying to the left. They missed, which meant we would move on to the finals. My team and

sidelines and at halftime we even got hot chocolate. In my opinion on that cold November day it might as well have snowed.

the other New Canaan U-11 girls travel soccer team ran to give our goalie, Cameron, a huge hug. Soon she was surrounded

My coach picked the girls who would shoot, and then we moved and lined up at half field and huddled up for warmth. I have a good kick and play center forward so I was one of the girls that was picked. Waiting on the half field line with everyone watching and rooting for me made me feel very nervous. Even the other U-11 girls travel soccer team was there holding up

by a ton of girls giving her a group hug. Cameron must have been so scared and worried because she had dealt with way more pressure on her than anybody else on our team. We celebrated with some vanilla cupcakes that one of the girls on my team had made. There were super delicious and

signs and rooting for us. I watched my teammates shoot from the half field line and started to worry when one of the girls on

when I was done I wished we had been allowed to have another. We were all so happy and excited that we had won.

my team missed the first shot. I knew how important it was if we won and I really badly wanted to win. Never before had

In a way, it felt like Christmas. But it wasn’t over yet. We needed to get ready for the finals the next day if we wanted to win

I felt as nervous and under pressure as I had been standing there on the half field line waiting for my turn to shoot on that

the whole league. It turned out we tied in the finals the next day so we had to share the title of champions with Ridgefield,

Saturday in November.

the team we played against.

My good friend Meghan Griffiths, who goes to our school and is on my soccer team, was called up to shoot. I watched

Although we were what was called co-champions, we still won the league and we each got a trophy. I’m so glad my

her get ready nervously hoping she would make a goal. Watching my teammates shoot was very nerve-racking. I watched her

team made it to the playoffs and eventually won the league. This was definitely the best team and season I’d ever had in

get ready and set up to shoot. I wondered how much pressure she felt with every single set of eyes on her watching to see

soccer and it was all thanks to my coach, Daryl.

what would happen. I was so nervous and worried for my turn. I wondered what it would be like with everyone watching me. Then the referee blew the whistle signaling that she could shoot. She ran towards the ball and kicked it. It went straight into the goal. I felt so relieved and happy, she had done it. I congratulated her and was glad she had made it. Number three was called which was my number. I stepped off the half field line and started to run to the goal. As I ran, I tried not to look at all the people watching me because I would be too embarrassed. As nervous as I was running up to shoot I was also very anxious. I arrived at the goal and positioned myself. The referee blew the whistle telling me I was allowed to shoot. Now it was just me and the goalie. It was time to erase all of the noise and people and focus on the ball the goalie and the net. Continued on next page

ponus papers

grade 5

ponus papers

grade 5

Ella Green

Meghan Griffiths

Lacrosse

Halloween

Did you know that lacrosse was developed around 1100 AD? It was first played in North America. It was known by

On the day before Halloween, Dory and I were getting ready for Halloween. Dory is my friend. We decided to be Thing 1

several different names, such as “bagataway,” “little brother,” and tewaarathon.” There are many positive aspects to playing

and Thing 2. Dory was older, so she got to be Thing 1. That, of course, made me have to be Thing 2. That day we were at

lacrosse, but the weather has prevented the sport from being played all year round.

my house trying to figure out what route we take on Halloween. Dory claimed that Halloween was her favorite holiday,

Before you play this sport, you need to know the rules of the game. First, you need eleven players. The positions you

but everyone knew that was not true. Every holiday that comes up, Dory says it is her favorite holiday.

can play are goalie, defense, midfield, and attack. The purpose of the game is to shoot a rubber ball into the other teams

“What color wig should we have?” asked Dory.

goal. You use a lacrosse stick to catch, carry, cradle, and pass the ball to score a goal.

“Wait, I don’t care what you think, no offense, we are going to have purple!!” replied Dory. By that point I didn’t even

Now that you know how to play, you need to know what equipment to use. First, you need goggles to protect your

care anymore. “Let’s go make our costumes!” screamed Dory.

face from getting hit. Next, you need a mouth guard to protect your teeth. Then, you need to wear a jersey and shorts with

“Shut up!” yelled Joel.

a number on it, so the people watching and your teammates will be able to identify you. On your feet you wear cleats,

“Whatever,” said Dory. “Perfecto, we are ready for Halloween!” I looked over and saw Dory had finished both

so that your feet will grip the ground if it is muddy out. Lastly, you will need a lacrosse stick. The stick is twenty-eight inches long, and it has netting at the top. There are many positive outcomes of playing lacrosse. For example, this sport keeps you fit. Lacrosse makes your arms

of our costumes! “Wow, thanks Dory. Those look amazing.” “Why thanks, Donald, but next time help out a little bit.” said Dory.

strong by cradling the stick throughout the entire game. Also, your legs get very muscular from running up and down

I knew that was coming. I was daydreaming the whole entire two hours! “Bye, Dory,” I say.

the field. Another positive is that you become a team player. You have to rely on your teammates to pass and catch

The next morning I was up and awake. I went to school and raced back home. By the time I got home, Dory was already

the ball in order to score a goal. Once you know the rules of the game and have the equipment, you are ready to play. The positives of lacrosse are that it keeps you fit and you learn how to be a team player. I can’t wait to get on the field and play!

at my house. “Are you ready to go trick or treating? I am!” We played at my house for hours, and when the clock finally said it was seven, we raced out the door. We set off on the most exciting Halloween of our life. “Do you want to trick on house number 1?” asked Dory. I hated house number 1 but I wouldn’t let Dory know. I decided to forget about my fear and go anyway. Dory ran first, “Trick or treat!!” Suddenly the door swung open and a woman grabbed us by the neck bringing us into her house. “You are mine now,” said the strange woman. Now Dory and I were both screaming. “QUIET, YOUNG CHILDREN, there is nothing you can do about me now. Moahahaha teteetetetetcacacacacalcalclalca.” She brought us into a dark, dark room that was about 4 billion degrees below zero. “Ahh, summer. This is the hottest room in the house, and the brightest” By that time I knew she was a vampire. “You are all mine to eat!!” After that she slammed the door and left with a quick woosh. “Donald, we have a problem!” Dory sounded like she was about to faint. I knew I had to do something. Then I realized that I had garlic in my back pocket. My mom sent me to the grocery store to buy some garlic and olive oil and she forgot to take it from me! Continued on next page

ponus papers

grade 5

Meghan Griffiths

Emma Herdeg

grade 5

Anna Hernandez

Continued

“No need to worry, Donald is here,” I announced with

Dear Diary,

Working for King Hrothgar

We have been traveling for many days. We are

My name is Anna Hernandez. I have one sister who is older than me. I wanted to live in a different village, but she wanted

currently in the Black Sea as we, Swedish Vikings,

to stay in the same village. My wish was to work for some somebody near the village. So I contacted a person to help

call it. I have been on our boat so much; it is starting to

me look at new villages near the old village.

confidence. I thought I had said it too loud so I covered my mouth. “What do you have Donald, what do you HAVE??!?!?!?!” “I have GAAARRRLLICCC!” I told her.

feel like home. It is very rough on our ship,

“How will that help this situation, Donald? Use your

and the sea can be extremely dangerous and bumpy.

at one of the houses, I saw King Hrothgar right there walking down the street. I asked him what he was doing. He too was

brain!” She didn’t understand Halloween. I shook my

There is little food and water, so we always have to

looking for houses, but not for himself. Instead, he was looking for a house for a soldier that was hurt and could no longer

head and told her about vampires.

split it up. We are constantly tired, hungry, and

be a soldier for him. But King Hrothgar still wanted him nearby so he was going to buy him a house, so that they could

sick. Many of us have already died. We are trying

keep in touch.

“You see, Dory, vampires HATE garlic! If we creep in

The real estate agent was showing me the houses in the village and they were looking pretty good. When I was looking

there and stuff the garlic in her face, she will faint! That

to find a new land. The longest we have ever stayed

will give us enough time to get out of there. NO MORE

on land is probably a year; we are constantly

I got a job. But it wasn’t easy working for him. He was a busy man so I had to do a lot of things. After a while, time passed by

TRICK OR TREATING FOR TONIGHT!” I informed her.

on the move. It is getting boring and very tiring.

and King Hrothgar was becoming my friend even though he was also my boss. Then after a while King Hrothgar and

She was a little slow though.

I only hope things will get better soon.

Queen Wealhtheow invited me to eat with them and many other people at Hall Heorot.

“Why would that help, we don’t know any vampires!”

So then I got to talk to King Hrothgar and he was suggesting that I could work for him. I said yes. I was really excited

When they said those words I was so excited, but I kept all the excitement in me. I responded, “Thank you for inviting

said Dory “SHE IS A VAMPIRE!” I yelled. “Vampire over

me.” When I came back to my house in the village I had no idea what to wear. I was so nervous. I was thinking of things, for

here!” I screamed.

example, what if I get there and I’m not well dressed. Then I contacted my sister and she knew a person that made beautiful

“How do you know I am a vampire?” called the strange women

dresses. So I called the lady and she was able to make a dress for me. When I arrived at Hall Heorot, it was beautiful and I was socializing and I was doing really well. King Hrothgar asked me to tell a story. I wanted to say no, but I guess it was

“It’s obvious,” I replied

going to be really fun. Once he heard the story he was very impressed. Turns out it was really fun at the end. There was

“What are you going to do to me,” cried the vampire

nothing to be afraid of. Then after that he kept on inviting me to meals to tell stories.

“I will do nothing if you let us go!” I said fearlessly. “Fine, anything!”

It was an honor to work for King Hrothgar and to be able to tell stories and to be able to hang out and eat meals with everybody. That is how I ended up working for him.

Then we left. Once we got home my mom asked, “Did you have fun?” “NO!!!!” we replied at the same exact time.

ponus papers

grade 5

Ryan Higgins The Case of the Unknown Rhyming One day in Flinternoid

Sam Ives

He found the crook where X marks the spot,

Pirate Story

And it ended up being a guy named Mr. Dot. Detective RT had him tell why he made the town rhyme,

Summer finally arrived, making it the busiest time of year. For me this was a very important time of year because I am

By the way, this story is going to take a pretty long time.

the captain of a ship that would be going out to hijack a ship. I had eight people as crew on my boat. Many of them I

The whole town became annoyed.

didn’t know and most of us were going for different reasons. Two of my crew members, Korfa and Asad, went to earn

Because they kept on rhyming

“It started when I was a teacher and the children were bad,

at really bad timing.

Oh my story is so sad. The problem was that the children couldn’t rhyme,

money to help their families. Many others needed money for themselves. My friend Dalmer and I went to get money for the government to help schools. Our plan was to hijack an oil ship that was scheduled to take a route from Tanzania to Eritrea, around the Somali coast.

Detective Rhyme Time got a call

This to me was just like a crime.

The weapons we took to sea were grenades, machine guns, among others that all together cost about $50,000. They

From the head chief of them all.

So I turned on a switched so that all the words around town,

were purchased for by our financiers, who we would pay back a big piece of our earnings. We had one small speed boat

“We have a problem in Flinternoid,

Rhymed and rhymed, everyone felt like a clown.”

The whole town is annoyed”.

“So where is this switch that you turned on?”

We traveled for four hot days until we spotted her. The Seawise Giant. Our plan was to sneak up behind the ship to

“Why”, said Detective RT,

“The switch is over there, near that small pond.”

catch the crew off-guard. That plan worked until we heard a siren on the boat and firecrackers started shooting at us. We

“Because we keep rhyming, you see!”

that they also provided us.

swerved a lot to avoid the flying objects they were shooting at us. When we got close, Detective RT turned off the switch and saved the day,

Detective RT noticed he was rhyming too,

So these are the last rhyming words that I can say.

so he asked the chief what to do.

“Finally, I can talk normally”, said Detective RT,

“That is why I called you!!”

“So lets go home now Mr. Dot.

“Oh no, what are we going to do, Boo Hoo.”

“Okay.”

the ship started shooting water at us with fire hoses. Dalmer managed to throw a rope on the ship to try to haul us in while Korfa, I, and a few others shot grenades at the ship. When we were hauled in, we all climbed up a ladder onto the ship. When everyone was on board, we split up into groups of two. Our plan was if someone blew a horn everyone would go back to our boat to retreat. If someone had found the captain or crew members someone would set off a firecracker to signal where they were hidden. I went with Korfa. Our plan was to try to find the captain of the ship so we could take the money and control of the ship. We knew they

“Well lets look around for some kind of map,

From that day on the town of Flinternoid respected that

were already retreating because when we got on the ship, they had abandoned attempting to use the sirens. As the sky

oh, look, I found one that will get you

they can talk normally, and Detective RT was

darkened, we finally found the captain’s room except that no one was there. We put on our night vision goggles and

there in a snap!!”

honored by the civilians. Mr. Dot went back to teaching and

searched seemingly all night. We were about to leave to search somewhere else when we heard a rustle from inside a

“Well where is ‘there’ may I ask”,

found a fantastic way to make the children rhyme.

“Just go, stop the rhyming, it’s a very hard task!!

And that is the end of Detective RT’s adventure.

closet door. We immediately looked inside and there were three people under some ship equipment. Unfortunately none of them were the captain. Luckily, Dalmer’s group and the other groups happened to hear us and soon everyone had joined us and was surrounding the three people. Once I was able to look at looked at Dalmer’s group, I noticed that

Detective RT starts his search for the spot,

almost all of them had blood on their clothes. Another thing I noticed was that Dalmer wasn’t there but I decided not to

Where the map will take him, we know not!!

ask why. I spoke little of the crew member’s language, but it was easy enough to tell them if they didn’t tell us who their

The map led Detective RT a long way

captain was we would kill them. It took a long time for them to show us where the captain was. We finally found him in a

But finally he got there, it took him about 3 days.

Continued on next page

ponus papers

grade 5

Sam Ives

grade 5

Jack Johnson

Continued

secret compartment in the basement of the boat. He instantly put his hands in the air to surrender because he knew

Lucky’s Adventure

exactly what we wanted. He showed us where all the other crew members were. When we had them all surrendered we tied all them up except the captain who we made steer the boat back to our village in Somalia. Everything had turned out how we planned. The one thing that didn’t work out was Dalmer. He had been taken by a grenade while trying to gain control of the ship. We gave the oil we collected on the ship to our local government and they, in turn, converted it to money. Altogether, we had made $2.5 million. We gave 15% of our bankroll to Dalmer’s family and a few other of the pirates’ families. We gave the other 30% to the government as we had originally planned, and the last 55% went to our financiers. After waiting two years, we took our hostage crew members from the Seawise Giant to South Africa to let them free. We made them swear not to tell anyone about what happened to them or we would find them and kill them.

There was once a boy named Lucky who always loved adventure. He lived on a big sail boat with his dad. His dad was the captain and all of the crew called him captain Michaels. One day when Lucky was on the deck getting home schooled with Reggie an enormous storm was brewing. Everyone on the ship started to panic and some people even started to jump off the boat. The winds were going to get up to 100 mph and with the sail up the boat would tip over. Lucky was very nervous about the storm too, especially because Reggie jumped off the boat. Lucky had to find a way to save him. Lucky had an idea, he was going to abandon the ship. He would make a raft from the wood that was torn off the boat from this terrible storm. The winds were now getting stronger and he was going to have to pick up the pace if he was going to pull this off. Lucky did not care about leaving the ship on his own and saving Reggie because he did not have a good relationship with his father. He felt that his dad never had time for him and acted like he was invisible, this is why the closest person on the ship was Reggie. So Lucky was now almost finished with making the raft and ready to jump overboard. Finally he was finished and a shock of excitement ran through his body. He then slowly shoved the raft over the side of the boat. The raft flipped over and Lucky would have to jump in and flip it over again to its correct side. He jumped off and was going to save Reggie, but at first he could not find him, he looked all over, nothing. He squinted and he could see Reggie in the distance drifting away. So he started to paddle, faster and faster he went. Lucky began to yell as loud as he could to Reggie “I’m coming Reggie I am coming.” Right when he yelled I am coming Reggie he wished that he didn’t because he didn’t want his father knowing he left. Lucky’s father heard them and yelled back “ LUCKY!!!! Get back here, NOW!!” Lucky did not respond and kept on paddling. When he got to Reggie he felt a sigh of relief and he relaxed knowing he made it to Reggie. Lucky had been worried that a big wave had took Reggie’s life. When Reggie got on the raft Lucky and Reggie very tired from all of the excitement that happened in a matter of minutes so the movement of the water made them fall asleep and the waters got smoother. When they woke up they found themselves fifty yards away from an island. Lucky was just staring at the island they both felt like the luckiest people in the world. Reggie said “well come on Lucky, let’s go check out the island.” So Lucky woke from his daydream and started to head toward the island. When the got to the island they started to gather wood for a fire because they needed to make a plan. Lucky’s father survived the huge storm and was devastated that Lucky was gone. He decided to take the boat to the nearest island in hopes that Lucky did not drown or even worse, eaten by a shark. Lucky’s father got to the island and saw another island in the distance. He then thought that Lucky and Reggie might have drifted there raft there. He decided to go check it out, when he got close enough he saw Lucky and Reggie on land! Once he sailed over to the island he tied up on a tree stump and gave Lucky a big hug and said,” this is my Lucky day.” He then took Reggie and Lucky back to the other island to get them some food and new clean clothes. They then thought that they possibly would want to get a new sail boat and live on it but, they loved this island and it reminded them of when they all reunited. So Lucky, Lucky’s dad, and Reggie bought a new house right on the water and started a new life.

ponus papers

grade 5

Jack Johnson

grade 5

Lucy Jones

Continued

In The Dark The water was beautiful and the air was perfect. It was like I was in a dream. Then it hit me, there was another boat. We have not seen a boat in our entire journey. We must be close to land. The boat was small, but it held a lot more than it should have. It looked like they were heading toward us, probably the people who will lead the way. I hear a gunshot, but I know it was not a gunshot because there were no guns on the yacht. I go and investigate and find that the people in the other boat have machine guns. I feel a warm pair of hands on my back and hear, “You’re coming with me!” I only see black when I wake up. It must be night time. I try to look around but I can only see dark figures. “Hello! Who’s in here?” I say. “Sara?” I hear a familiar voice. “Finch?” “Sara!” The voice responded again. I finally get used to the light and see Finch looking right at me. I was so scared, I screamed. Oh no, I forgot about the pirates. Silence fills the moist air, and outside, I hear loud yells. People just barking at each other, “Why did you push her? She could have died, and we need to find the money.” I couldn’t believe it; they were only keeping me alive for money. Now I was really mad. First, they just take over our boat and then they keep us alive for money. What sickos! I hear footsteps, and then see the white, porcelain door open. The owner of this boat, A.K.A my manager, was Prince William. His wife and I went to high school together, so she talked to the prince got me a job on his yacht. I was really happy, and William and I are very good friends. “So, Captain, where is the money?” Says a pirate that looks like he’s about cry. I think he’s the captain of his pirate group. “I’ll never answer to you,” I told this cry face captain. “Do it, or else I will shoot you!” replied the pirate captain. I look over and see two pirates pointing two, shiny, machine guns at me. “It’s in the safe,” I tell them. “Where is the safe?” “It’s in the main bedroom, but I have no idea where it is hidden.” He turns around and tells some of his crew to search for the safe. I can’t believe it has been two days since the attack. I have been released, but only into another dark room. When they moved us, they put blindfolds on us and led us into this room. One of my men did not trust the man who was moving

Continued on next page

ponus papers

grade 5

Lucy Jones

Continued

Henry Katis Money Man

he was hovering a few inches off of the ground. “Aaaaahhhh!” he screamed. Then he floated back down to the ground. He

I heard the scream and it was louder, and higher, than

Nick L. Nicholas is a nickel who lives with his dog

Nick, not the $100 bill. But ‘Big Spender’ wasn’t wearing his mask anymore - wait... he was wearing his mask but Nick now had

Finch’s scream.

Penny, who is a penny, in a wallet in the Bank of

X-ray vision to see right through the mask. “Wow!” thought Nick, “I can see why you wear a mask - you are UGLY!” “Who are

America. “Hey Penny time to go for a walk,” cried Nick.

you?” cried ‘Big Spender’. “I’m Ni….” Nick paused. “I’m not Nick anymore,” thought Nick. “I’m Money Man!” shouted Nick,

“Ruff,” barked Penny as she bounded into the room.

now Money Man. “RRRRFFFF!” yapped Penny. “And this is Penny,” said Money Man, “my pet dog that should never be near

“Come on Penny,” said Nick as he walked out the door.

a fight. Go away Penny.” “Hmmmpphh,” said Penny, as she slumped off.

us and refused to move, so he was shot. We only heard

looked up and saw ‘Big Spender’ slowly strutting toward him. He looked a little confused though, since he expected to see

the shot but did not see it. I thought it was Finch, but

“Wake up or die,” someone yelled at us. That was our usual wake up call. “It’s 6:23, you spoiled brats” It is our eighth day and we were moved again. This time we actually are in the light but still in a room. We

Nick walked down the street and got a newspaper

hadn’t seen daylight in what felt like forever. The only

from the dispenser. On the front page it said, “Money

problem with this was we had to see the skinny, gross,

Murderer on the Loose Known As ‘Big Spender’.”

dirty pirates. They were horrible! I bet they had never

“Oh No!” exclaimed Nick, “I hope we don’t meet him!”

taken a bath in their life, and they were also terribly

“Hey look, there’s a picture on the back. Wow, even in

mean. I suddenly look to the corner and see a picture

this picture of him, he was still wearing a mask.” Nick

of William and Kate. This must be where the safe is

was so distracted by the newspaper that he didn’t notice

hidden! Oh no, they might kill me if I don’t tell them

the suspicious figure until it came up to him and said,

about it, but they don’t know I know.

“Who’s that? He looks handsome!” Nick looked up.

“Let go of the hostages or we’ll shoot!” Oh my God,

He couldn’t believe his eyes. He was so surprised,

“Why don’t you run off before you get hurt, Money Man,” said ‘Big Spender’. “Why don’t I?” asked Money Man, “because I’m awesome and you’re not!” “Ok,” said ‘Big Spender’, now I’m going to kill you.” Money Man tried to run the other way, but he was floating again. “Ugghhh, why now!” he thought to himself. He leaned forward a bit and shot forward into the sky. “WHOA!” he yelled, as he flew higher and higher. He tried to go back down but he kept going higher and higher. Then he flew straight into a plane and fell, shooting down, down, down back to Earth. He was halfway to the ground when he finally slowed down and started flying again, but he was still going too quickly. He would surely die when he hit the ground if he didn’t slow down soon. Then he slowed down enough so that he could guess where he was going to land. And then he noticed, to his relief, that he was going to land in a pile of feathers, so he stopped trying to slow down. He started going faster and faster - he thought, “This is kind of cool - I can’t even get hurt now because I’m going to land in a pile of feathers.” But when he got back on the ground, he didn’t land in the pile of feathers. He landed on the pavement right next to the pile of feathers. “OOOF!” cried Money Man as he hit the ground. “Why am I not dead?” he asked himself. And then he realized—he was

the Navy is here. All I hear are screams and shooting.

all he did was stand there frozen in fear. It was

Money Man now—he had super powers, he just needed to learn to use them a little better! Then he remembered, “I still need

“Help us!” Shot. “We are in here!” Shot. Finally there is a

‘Big Spender’ himself!

to beat ‘Big Spender’!” So he ran all the way across town to ‘Big Spender’, but he did this within one minute because of his

knock on the door and it opens. A man in a uniform walks

As soon as Nick could move, he sprinted away to

SUPER POWERS! “Hey! ‘Big Spender’!” Money Man yelled. Big Spender turned around to see Money Man, but then Money

in. He shoots both of the pirates who were guarding us

look for somewhere to hide. Without thinking, he

Man realized to his dismay that Big Spender had Penny held captive. Money Man got so mad, he got madder and madder and

and says, “Come with me if you want to live.”

jumped into an ATM machine. As soon as he went in,

madder. He felt like his face was going to catch on fire, he was so mad. And then, part of his face did catch on fire. But it didn’t

he was jerked around and then spit back out. Nick

just catch on fire, fire shot out of his eyes towards Big Spender. Big Spender leaped out of the way, as the fire shot past him and

runs in slow motion. All I focus on is him. He looked like

carefully stood up. He felt taller. He looked down at

just barely missed him. “AAAAH!” cried Big Spender. “I’ll get you next time Money Man!” he screamed as he ran away.

a god. Everything goes back to full speed when I notice

himself, and he was not Nick L. Nicholas anymore. He

outside, there were navy boats everywhere. We were in

was a $100 bill with muscles and Benjamin Franklin!

the dark for more than a week. We are now saved.

He went to take a step forward, but he didn’t go

I immediately fall in love with that man. Everything

anywhere. He took another step, and still didn’t go anywhere. He looked down at his feet and noticed Continued on next page

grade 5

Penny ran over to Money Man and tackled him. “I just got super powers,” thought Money Man, “I can fly, I have super strength, I can shoot fire out of my eyes, and I’m really tough...but I just got knocked over by a little dog.” Then Money Man realized that he was still a $100 bill, and he didn’t know if he could turn back to Nick L. Nicholas. “Wait,” he thought, “If I turned into Money Man by jumping into an ATM machine…” So Money Man tried it - he jumped into the ATM machine, got shook around a lot, and was spit back out onto the sidewalk. Money Man stood back up, but felt shorter now. He looked down at himself and fortunately for him, he was no longer Money Man. He was once again Nick L. Nicholas. “Now I can help the world be a better place, “ thought Nick, as he and Penny happily walked home.

ponus papers

grade 5

James Kontulis

ponus papers

grade 5

Emma LeBaron

A Rainy Day in April Hello everyone, my name is King Hrothgar, King of Denmark. I have a wonderful life, I live in a beautiful castle called Heorot, I am married to a beautiful wife named Wealhtheow, and I have many great soldiers. But the reason I have such a great life and am such a successful king is all because of my father and lessons he taught me when I was a young prince. He was always talking to me about how he made laws and how he built up such a successful army. He was always able to defeat the biggest armies, and the biggest, scariest monsters that ever attacked him. That was until that one rainy day when I was about 16 – in April, I’d say about 19th, or 20th – when my dad and I were having supper and we heard a big huge roar, by far the loudest sound I had ever heard before. My dad in his polite manner said, “Excuse me son, I see someone is trying to mess with me, eh? That is the biggest mistake this beast has ever made in his life. I’ll be back in a few minutes.” And so with that my dad left the dining room and went in the direction of the weapon room. Minutes went by and I just sat there enjoying my tea and cookies. And then 1, 2, 3 hours went by, and still no sign of my dad. I thought maybe he couldn’t find his sword or something. I decided to try to go help him find it. So I went to the weapon room. There was no one in sight. “Dad, Dad!” I said over and over again, still no answer. But maybe our servant Gary knew where he was. So I walked to the kitchen and I saw Gary there. “Gary,” I asked, “have you seen my dad anywhere?” “No, not since I served you supper about 4 hours ago,” he said. Right before I said another word to Gary, I saw the main solider in the army, Fred, come running in faster than I’d seen anybody, or anything run before. “Son,” Fred told me. “Everybody’s life must come to an end, but I am afraid your father’s has come to an end a little too early.” “No! You cannot be serious!” I told him. “I am sorry, Lad, but the doctor just confirmed it,” he told me. “How could this happen?! Wake me up from this nightmare! God, please, oh, please,” I said sobbing. But I did not wake up. “What happened?!” I yelled at Fred. “I do not know who,” he told me, “but all I know is that it was a green scary fat monster. Your daddy put up a really good fight, but then it was just too much for him to handle. The beast stuffed your father in his mouth, and shredded him to bones.” I said nothing. I just ran sobbing all the way to my room and shoved my head in a pillow. The next day we had the funeral outside the castle and although his body was not found, they made a tombstone and put it at the local cemetery. The day after the funeral, I was unhappily named King and have led from that day forward. Although my dad did not live long, he taught me so many good lessons that have made me be a successful king and leader today.

ponus papers

grade 5

Jennifer Llamas Our Raid in France

wasn’t the only reason we couldn’t leave. We had not carried enough food for a round trip to survive, so we had to win. We decided to steal one or two weapons then it would be fair but right as we tried, a mother looked out from the window

December 12, 2014 on one sunny morning we decided that we hadn’t raided anyone lately and that it was about time.

and somehow sounded a loud bell across the whole entire city. We were trapped. I counted to see if we had all of our

We all joined up in what we called Central House and argued and argued about whether or not we should raid France.

crew. “One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine… Guys, we’re missing Bob!” I exclaimed. We hadn’t seen

“We need peace in our world and raiding will not help,” one said.

Bob since the night we got on.

Another said, “We need something to feed our family and some gold doubloons. If we don’t raid, what are we going to do?” “Shush!” I exclaimed. “If my name is Suzan, I do not want to hear one more voice arguing.” I screamed so everyone would know I was being serious! The chief, Frank, and I huddled up and discussed what we were going to do. “We need to invade; we need the gold,” the chief whispered.

We couldn’t stop now. “We will fight!” we all screamed at the top of our lungs. And then another alarm went off higher pitched and so loud that my ears were about to pop. They all arrived with the high tech weapons while we only had swords. We fought and fought while blood ran everywhere. They killed three of our men and injured five because they went face to face with a French man. While we killed none they threatened us to kill another but we surrendered.

“Let’s have them vote because that is the fairest way possible, right?” I whispered back.

Then we saw Bob. We were so joyful to see him once again. He was carrying what appeared to be a mix between

“Okay, hands up if you want to go to France and raid,” Frank said loud and clear. 10 people raised their hands. “And if you do not want to invade France.” 10 hands also raised. We were stuck and had nothing to do. Then of course Bob walked in. “Sorry. I slept in then heard that we were having a meeting. So what are we talking about?” He asked acting very tired.

a gun and a bomb shooter. “I will shoot and kill every one of you if you don’t surrender now. This is a higher technology than any one of yours. If you are not sure, I can test,” Bob said proudly. “Okay, we surrender but do you mind if you just let us keep one coin per person?” the chief of France asked. We were kind enough to do that and we returned with a fortune to split amongst the community back in Italy, and of course

“Well we were thinking of raiding France so we took a vote how many wanted to go to France and how many did not.

Bob got the most.

So what would you like to do?” I said pretending he didn’t come in late. “It’s so obvious we’re going to France!” he said excitedly and it seemed as if he had woken up. “Okay tomorrow night we leave. The people who will tag along are Frank, Chief, Joseph, Philip, Mike, the crew and me. ”I said loud and clear. “Hey I want to go!” Bob exclaimed. “Oh and don’t forget Bob,” I said a bit quieter. Everyone go on and pack everything you need to survive no more.” I yelled and they all left. The night after, we left with everything. We had chosen a yacht to sail on that could hold up all of our weight and it made us look fierce, not that we didn’t already. We sailed for two weeks straight but it was a total disaster. Everyone was fighting and arguing but there was one night where all were nice and all were talking with glee that was the last night of our trip because the next morning we all arrived. The Europeans looked as if they were weak, plain weak but you can’t judge a book by its cover and we learned that the hard way. We were going to attack silently because we had arrived when it was nightfall so we were going to be a surprise. We saw their high tech weapons and we all freaked out. We had no chance. It was too late to give up now but that Continued on next page

ponus papers

grade 5

Logan Maclear

ponus papers

grade 5

Audrey Magnusen

Gelatissimo Gelatissimo is a shop in New Canaan that sells a very unique type of ice cream called gelato. Gelato is the Italian word for ice cream that has an interesting history. The tasty flavors it has makes it melt in your mouth the second it enters. Milk, cream, various sugars, and flavoring such as fruit and nut purees are the ingredients in gelato. Gelato started when people from Sicily and Ancient Rome brought down snow and ice from the mountaintops and served it at banquets. Bernardo Buontalenti, from Florence, invented modern day gelato. Although there are many different flavors, my favorites are stracciatella, amarena and peach. Stracciatella is a vanilla gelato with crunchy chocolate pieces mixed in. It can also be made to be dark or milk chocolate flavor. Stracciatella is like modern chocolate chip ice cream that is a lot of peopleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s favorites. The chocolate in it pulls it all together to make love and memories come into my head. Amarena is a flavor from wonderful, small, slightly sour cherries grown in Italy. The berries are available all year and amarena gelato can be made with milk or water. This gelato is one of the older flavors. Amarena usually takes more than eight hours to prepare. It is all worth it though because in the end it tastes fantastic. Peach ice cream is a very relaxing ice cream because there is only peach flavoring. Peaches are grown in limited places due to climate. Gelato makers use frozen or pureed peaches in the winter. In some Chinese cultures peach is a symbol of long life. This gelato flavor is also many peopleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s favorites. The difference between gelato and ice cream is that they are made differently. Gelato is churned slower than ice cream and made with milk (ice cream is made with cream), causing gelato to be thinner and lower in fat. Ice cream is also served at a colder temperature than gelato, which makes it harder. Gelato and ice cream are similar because they use most of the same ingredients and they have a lot of the same flavors. Nuccia, the owner of Gelatissimo, uses all of the ingredients mentioned above, along with many other fresh ingredients, to make gelato. Nuccia starts making gelato at about 7am every morning. I think Nucciaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s gelato is the best gelato I have ever tasted, and I am sure it is because of the fresh ingredients and the time and care she puts into making her gelato.

ponus papers

grade 5

ponus papers

Charlotte Mayer

grade 5

Madeleine McCarthy

School Cancels Graduation: My Perspective

Skating Rink

When I first read the School Cancels Graduation article, I was glad that it wasn’t my school. That would be

Winter’s cold wrath brings along a wonderful ice rink in the front of my house. I walk along the foot-trailed snow path.

embarrassing not to have a graduation ceremony; it would also be embarrassing to read about it in an article!

Crunch, crunch, crunch. It takes me to a smooth and clear ice rink. The name says it all, it really is an ice rink. Dark, lifeless

I don’t think it’s fair that some students were cheating, and some students were just trying their best. If I were the

trees surround the frozen lake. Their roots are like boundaries, never pass those boundaries. My feet step onto the ice,

principal, I would give the student who started the cheating a big punishment, like summer school. I would give the

and I begin sliding. I sit down onto a log and get my skates out, I begin to put them on my feet. I tie my skates, stand up

students who participated in the cheating a talk, and if they ever participated in something like that again, they

and start sliding. I slide into a universe where nothing can bother me. No sounds or movement. Just a girl in skates on

would get a punishment too.

ice, sliding her way around. Sic, sic, sic, goes my skates. Around the ice is a hard layer of snow. Everything goes quiet.

Some parents made a private graduation so that the students wouldn’t feel bad. I think the school should give the students who didn’t cheat a real graduation. I would feel very ashamed if I participated. I would tell the truth. People should do something about it, and prevent it from happening at other schools. In conclusion, cheating is not fair for anyone in general. If cheating happened at my school, I would do something about it.

I hear the leaves rustle around the rink. I hear footsteps too. I stop. The frigid wind whips, and it makes my face feel like ice is stuck to it. I can’t stand here and freeze so I keep skating, sic, sic, sic. I come to an abrupt stop. The feeling creeps up upon me. Someone is watching, waiting. Should I stay still or keep going? I look out of the corner of my eye. My eyes widen, then shut tight. It’s like they are in lockdown mode. Someone is watching, waiting. I stand still. They sound so loud, but are silent. They move too much, but stay solid as a rock. My ears freeze and, my throat is numb. I suck my breath in. I bite down on my tongue to keep from screaming. My hands and arms stay still. My legs are paralyzed. I hear more footsteps. My heart pounds out of my chest. They are getting closer and closer by the minute. My legs are solid and can’t move. My brain slowly has a run-through of motion pictures. Childhood lemonade stands, school, beach memories, snow memories, everything. Sense dawns me awake, but I notice I am still here. On a frozen lake, doing nothing, acting as if I’m dead. More footsteps come, and my body is running with adrenaline. Someone is watching, waiting. I am terrified, horrified, in fact. If I run, I won’t make it far because I’m in skates. If I keep skating, they’ll catch me. Do I take off my skates? If I do I’m in socks and I can’t run in the snow. Acting dead like this will only work for a short amount of time. He’ll catch me and only god knows what he’ll do to me. I sigh, huuh. This is now when I realize that this is my worst nightmare because someone is watching, waiting, and I can’t do anything.

ponus papers

grade 5

Deyante McKinstry

ponus papers

grade 5

Cate McLeod

The Prince Long ago a prince was born. He had red hair and eyes green like the sea. He was a really weak and frail young boy growing up with people who teased and laughed at him. The way the boy and his friends grew up was that you had to be brave for everyone to know your name, so no one knew his name and treated him as if he did not exist. The prince’s name was Peta. Although Peta recognized his weakness, he thought it was strange that no one wanted to talk to a prince as handsome as he. Peta grew up with no friends but a very lavish lifestyle. He had four siblings to play with at home, two boys and two girls, but no one else. Peta’s parents, King Arthur and Queen Silda, knew what the situation was but paid no attention to it, or to Peta. One day Peta walked up to his dad and said, “Papa one day I’m going to be just as strong as you! You’ll see!” then he walked away. Although Peta said that to his dad, he wasn’t sure it would be possible. Peta grew older and older and by now he was 25! Peta’s brothers all died from a dragon attack and Peta survived along with his 2 sisters. Soon Peta was going to be king and one day he said to his Papa, “But who shall I marry?!” His Papa replied, “Son you shall to travel forth to the castle of Rosetta, There is a lovely princess waiting for her prince charming, but there is the dragon, the dragon that killed your brothers. You shall kill him.” Peta paused, “but Papa I-.” His father interrupted him, “Peta this is your chance to show your bravery.” The next day Peta set off. He traveled for 9 days and 9 nights and then he arrived. Before crossing the bridge he thought, “shall she be beautiful enough for me? Do I really want her?” Erasing the thoughts he stepped on the bridge, slowly crossing and there lay the big red beast, as tall as the castle! Peta unexpectedly wasn’t scared! He charged toward the dragon and stuck a sword straight into its foot. Then he pulled out another sword and stuck it in the dragons other foot. The dragon got angry and fierce. One last time Peta jumped with all his might and planted the sword straight in the dragon’s heart. The dragon collapsed and fell over the bridge into the lava. Peta was excited and said, “I knew I could, I told them all!” He ran inside the big castle and ran quickly up the stairs to his love. He ran and slammed the door open, but Peta was confused. There was no beautiful princess. There stood a cow chomping on the pink fluffy covers. Peta was furious! He took another sword and slashed it straight into the cow. “My prince?” said a voice behind him. It was his princess. He ran to her and planted a kiss on her lips. Peta asked, “Will you marry me?” “Of course!” she responded, “I’m princess Astart.” Peta replied, “Great we shall be married in 9 days and 9 nights!”

ponus papers

grade 5

Cate McLeod

grade 5

Dillon Mims

Continued

Mikaela Shiffrin

SNAP

Mikaela Shiffrin is the the daughter of Eileen and Jeff Shiffrin. She was born on March 13, 1995 in Vail, Colorado. Now she

There once was a boy who could make anything happen by snapping his fingers. If the sweets were out of reach….snap. If his

alternates from Colorado to New Hampshire. She started skiing when she was 2 years old. She goes to school at Burke

father couldn’t catch any fish...snap. And if the sun was too hot outside his window… snap.

Mountain Ski Academy. Mikaela is the youngest skier on the U.S slalom team and at the Olympics. In 2011 she became the

But he could only control his magic, if he was in control of his emotions. If he was sad, or mad, or scared his magic would

second youngest American skier to claim National Alpine Crown. She became the second youngest U.S winner of an alpine

control itself. If a book landed on his foot...snap, it would become an anvil. If a rat got in the house… snap, it would become a

World Cup behind Judy Nagel. She posted the fastest time at the World Cup and secured 3rd place. She skis giant slalom

lion. And if he lost his favorite toy… snap, it would disappear forever.

and regular slalom. She never gave up on her dream of going to the Olympics until it had been done. She is a role model

Instead of teaching him to control his magic, his parents shielded him from the outside world. “Mamma why can’t I play outside like the other boys?” he asked. “Because no one else has your special magic powers. If the world sees what you can

who is determined to follow anything she puts her mind to. “It’s my art. It’s like a puzzle or a painting or music. When I ski, it’s like a song. I can hear the rhythm in my head, and when I start to ski that rhythm and I start to really link my turns together, all of a sudden there’s so much flow and power that I just can’t help but feel amazing. That’s where the joy comes from,” Shiffrin said. One of Shiffrin’s admirers said, “Mikaela’s journey to the top of the mountain is what they call a succession of not mere

do, there is no telling what they will do.” Like most boys, the he was not satisfied with this answer, and he began, to devise, a plan. That night, that warm summer night, the boy waited until all he heard was the howl of the wind, and the tick-tock of the grandfather clock, and the pit-pat of a small mouse in the wall. The boy began down the stairs through the hallway, into the kitchen, and almost through the door when……..“Honey, did you hear something?” He forgot he was making noise… snap, but it was too late! “What are

coincidences.” Shiffrin is the kind of person that pushes people to do their best and inspires them to do new things. She is changing

you doing!?” said his father. “Nothing!” He yelled but his parents saw right through him, and before he knew it, his parents

our history at such a young age and she is changing it in a form of sports, unlike others who do it by music or acting

grabbed him and tried to force him back upstairs, but before anyone could do anything… snap. And in a thick, gray smoke,

like Shirley Temple. Mikaela Shiffrin is a great athlete, has good sportsmanship and also inspires people to live how they

his parents disappeared.

want to live and be who they want to be. That is enough to claim TIME Person of the Year.

Without his parents there to stop him the boy left the house for the very first time and walked until he found a small building. He went inside and sat down. It was a restaurant. He noticed people eating so… snap, a sandwich. The woman at the

Key Dates

Questions

table next door screamed. “What’s wrong?” the waiter asked. “The… the…” she stuttered. “Yes?” said the waiter, confused.

• 1995—Born March 13

1. What do you think she meant in the quote?

“The boy, there!” At that second every single eye was focused on the boy. “Hey!” The waiter yelled, but it was too late…

• 2011—Made World Cup debut

2. What school does she go to?

snap. The boy was gone.

• 2012—Won her 1st World Cup race

3. Who was the youngest U.S winner of an alpine

• 2013—Competed in 1st World Championships • 2014—Went to the Sochi Olympics

World Cup? 4. What was the name of the NBC show called she was featured in? 5. What kind of skiing does she do?

Miles away the boy appeared instantly, he ran for hours until, “Hey you!” a police officer called. In the dark, the boy looked like a criminal. The police officer fired his gun, the boy panicked and did the first thing he could think of… snap. The bullet turned to dust. The police officer’s face went gray. The boy smirked. BOOM... Snap... BOOM...Snap...BOOM...Snap. The police officer quickly realized he was no use on his own and called for backup. “Hey look I got a… uhhh… a wizard or something I don’t know… anyway I need backup!” In a matter of minutes fifty police cars and about a hundred policemen were all upon the by. “Proceed with caution, he is just a kid.” said the chief of police. That command lasted about five seconds. In no time at all weapons were being fired, but Continued on next page

ponus papers

grade 5

Dillon Mims

Cassidy Nash

Continued

the boy stumbled, slipped, tripped. All the weapons were down and handcuffs came out. The chief walked through

grade 5

My Fluffy Puppy, Brody

the crowd to the boy. The boy was trapped between the chief, and a wall. He was scared, very scared and his back was against the wall, he had no choiceâ&#x20AC;Ś snap. A huge puff of gray smoke expanded and no one could see what had happened. And then, the chief saw, where there used to be a boy now was a stone image of one with one hand up, as if he were to snap. And to this day, on those warm summer nights when you hear the howl of the wind, and the tick-tock of a clock, and the pit-pat of a small mouse, legend says that you can hear the fingers in that carving snap.

It was exciting yet scary when I was meeting our 4 month old puppy, Brody. He lived in Illinois but took a plane to Greenwich, CT so we could pick him up. He was 8 inches tall and 11 inches wide. I imagined him as light small and super cute. I thought that he might be scruffy and bite, or nice, soft and lovable, and I would have been fine with any type. Once we walked in to the assistant breederâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s cottage, we immediately knew it was the right place. It smelled of dog food and an awful stench. My mom said that if Brody smelled like that she would regret getting him, but I knew she was joking. The woman called Brody but he did not come. She got a treat, and then Brody came very slowly trotting out. When he saw us, he tried to jump but failed. He was timid at first but then turned into an energy ball He was so sweet and pretty small just as I imagined. He was not that much body and mostly fur. I loved his tiny nose. It was pink and soft and I also loved his big brown eyes that were filled with curiosity. As he jumped into my arms, I felt a rush of excitement. He started licking me and pawing at my shirt. My 8 year old sister Alice, who is in 2nd grade, was sitting next to me and was smiling more than she ever had. My dad was now super happy that we got a dog and Brody was super happy too. He was licking me and I was hugging him. I was cuddling Brody in my arms. He was so fuzzy and he was so light and fragile to hold. A rush of happiness ran down my spine. I am so happy we choose Brody out of all the Goldendoodles. Our dog has so much hair that we have to reach down a mile to find his body. I thought that he would not have as much fur as he did. I felt so happy and overjoyed when we got our fluffy puppy. He has a tangerine colored hair and a little pink cute tongue. Brody was literally jumping into our lives with love, licks, and happiness. We all loved Brody and we all promised our lives to him. I am so happy that we got Brody. The special moment between me and Brody was a super-cali-fragile-isticexpi-ali-docious experience.

ponus papers

grade 5

Phoebe Naylor

Hannah Nightingale

The Dreamer

who lost her shoe. He showed me the whole castle, from

Bridge Jumping

the golden ballroom, to the golden kitchen. Finally, he “Goodnight mom,” said Ava. “Goodnight sweetie,” said momma with her soft smooth voice. My eyelids shut.

brought me to a bedroom. It was beautiful and it was the

The sweltering heat beams down on you as you stand

I felt like I was floating around in a bubble, a bubble getting bigger and bigger, giving me more and more space

first room not completely made of gold. The only thing

on top of the stone bridge for your first jump. The sign

to float around in. I opened my eyes, expecting to see my room, but it wasn’t my room. Instead of seeing my slightly

gold in the room was the door. I stepped in the room.

next to you used to say, “No jumping off bridge”,

chipped pale lavender walls, my furry white beanbag and Squiggles, my tiny dog sleeping at my feet, I saw blackness.

The bed was—shifting in a way. The floral aqua covers of

but now with the work of spray paint it says, “Please jump

Now at any other moment I would have been scared and frightened, but this moment was like no other though. I was

the bed turned into my plain white comforter. Slowly the

offbridge”. When you are about to jump, you turn back

happy and calm. I closed my eyes again and continued to float along. I drifted back into sleep.

room completely changed into my bedroom. I swirled

to look back at the safety of the street, unsure. But your

Seconds later, I opened my eyes again only to quickly squint and shut them tight. I tried to open them but the sun or

around to see if the guard was still there. He had left and

friend is there, urging you to go. You turn back around,

was it my lamp - something was so bright that I couldn’t open my eyes. Slowly I opened them and closed them until my

had shut the golden door. It was the only thing left of the

but are still unsure. Your feet scrape the rocks that make

hazel eyes were adjusted to whatever was so bright.

grand bedroom he had showed me.

up the ledge. You are about to give up once more and

I got up out of my…wait! The space where my bed was had turned into a bright green towel with a rainbow umbrella

Suddenly, I started spinning around. I couldn’t stop

head for home when you feel hands pushing on your

just above it. Shocked, I lifted myself up off the warm towel and looked around. I saw nothing but white smooth sand

the spinning, but I didn’t want to. While I was spinning,

back. You start to fall and squeeze your eyes shut

everywhere and water as blue as the sky, crashing on to the sand. The water, each time crashing on to the beach and

my pointer finger started to shoot out beautiful golden

tightly, not knowing what is going to happen next.

being pulled back, seemed to get closer and closer. At any other time, or any other place I would have darted off of that

sparks. The sparks looked like they started to take

A second later, you open your eyes to find yourself

beach super fast. Who would want to stand still as the water is getting closer and closer to your head? This was different.

control of themselves. They spun around me, in perfect

floating in the cool, refreshing water. You look up to see

The water seemed to have control of its self. I let the water come closer and closer to me. By the time it was at my neck,

unison with me. I looked at my feet. They were covered

your friend smiling down at you. Then she falls, the water

another wave crashed over me. It wasn’t a rough hard crash, but it was a smooth slow crash. I was completely covered in

with some of the golden sparkles. The golden sparkles

blue, bright soothing blue. To my surprise I drifted off to sleep again.

on my feet slowly drifted up to my head until I was

I opened my eyes once again. I thought I would be completely transported to another…whatever this was again but instead, I was still underwater. Instead of me waking up in my yellow nightgown, I was in a gorgeous white sparkly dress.

completely covered with them. They slid off me and vanished.

There was a silky gold satin bow tied at my waist. It was super long and flowy at the bottom and went way past my feet. It

I looked at myself in my white-bordered full length

was covered with sparkles, but instead of tacky three-year-old Halloween costume sparkles, there were elegant sparkles.

mirror. I was wearing my same nightgown but it wasn’t

It was the prettiest gown I had ever seen. I had nothing on my feet and the dress was surprisingly comfortable.

sandy, or wet. It was just my plain, yellow nightgown. I

I looked around in the aqua water. I saw a grand castle. It looked like it was made of pure gold. I started swimming

tucked under my covers and turned at an angle so that

towards it. I was never a good swimmer. I needed those “little kid” floaties so I preferred not to swim at all, usually just

I could only see the wall where the golden door stood.

to save myself the embarrassment.

As I started to close my eyes, the golden door began

Now, I was gracefully gliding through the ocean instead. I didn’t even think about breathing; it just seemed unnecessary. When I got to the castle, a guard escorted me in. No words were exchanged. I looked him up and down.

engulfing her with a welcoming gesture.

to turn into my pink door. My eyes were now fully shut. I smiled and fell asleep.

It looked like he came straight out of the Nutcracker play. He looked like the Nutcracker that fell in love with the princess Continued on next page

ponus papers

grade 5

ponus papers

Leila Pearson

grade 5

Diego Pepe

Pirate story

The Battle of Hastings 1066

On a boiling hot sunny day in June, three pirates thought of a plan to rule the world. They lived on an island called

The year 1066 was an important year because it changed the history of Europe. When King Edward died, he had no heirs to

Wonton Island. On the other side of the island a family, my family, was going camping on Wonton Beach. We were setting

replace him so Harold, Edward’s son in-law became the new king. Harold had two enemies though. One was his own brother

up our tent when I ran off into the woods to get some firewood. It is always boiling hot during the day but chilly at night.

Tostig, and the other was William, the Duke of Normandy. Some people say that Edward chose William to be the next king.

The pirates were very famous. There was Captain Pebbweeno, Sir Jose, and Wedee the Pirate. They were tired of going to jail so they thought long and hard and they finally came up with a plan, their best plan yet. We were by the fire. “Honey, you stay here. We are going to get dessert from the tent,” Mom said.

They also say that Harold made a solemn oath that he would help William become the next king. Others say, William forced Harold to make the oath. One day, an unusual thing happened. A comet appeared in the sky and people thought great changes were coming. Some

“Okay, Mom.”

people were frightened by this because they thought that something bad would happen. In September of 1066, there was

All of a sudden I saw three shadows emerging from the woods. They were pirates. I realized they were the Amazons.

bad news for Harold. Three hundred ships landed on the shore of England led by Tostig and the king of Norway. Harold was

The next thirty seconds happened so fast that no one knew what actually happened. The Amazons took everything—gold,

caught off guard because he was expecting William, the Duke of Normandy to attack instead. Harold and his army had to

jewelry, and me. Then everything became black.

hurry to where Tostig and the King of Norway landed. They fought this battle on the Stamford Bridge and Harold won a great

When I opened my eyes, I saw three pairs of eyes staring at me. I could not figure out what they were. Then everything came back to me. I was in the Amazons lair. “Perfect, we got the girl. Now we need to commit the crime.” one of them said. “Yes.” another said.

victory. Tostig and the The King of Norway were killed in the battle. Harold’s army killed and wounded so many people, that the survivors of Tostig’s soldiers only needed twenty-four of their three hundred ships to get back to Norway. Meanwhile, William was getting prepared for battle. He had many knights and weapons. Harold, on the

“Should we tell her our plan?” the third asked.

other hand was not prepared for another battle. His men were tired and wounded and lots of them were killed in the battle on

“No,” replied the other two.

Stamford Bridge. Just three days after Harold’s army fought in the battle, William the Duke of Normandy landed in England.

The next thing I knew I was carried away to someone in my neighborhood’s house. They told me to stay there and

Harold had no choice but to march up and face William and his well prepared, well rested, well trained and fierce knights. On

distract the family. The only reason I did this was because they told me this family had stolen their treasure. I was not sure if

October 13th, at nine o’clock, the Battle of Hastings began. William’s army usually battled on horseback and Harold’s army

I trusted them but I just went with them. I distracted them very well. They were so amazed by me, like I was the only kid

battled on foot so it was going to be hard for each side because on foot, you can slice horses legs easily and dodge swords or

on the face of the earth.

any weapon. On horseback, you had an advantage because you can trample people with horses. It was pretty even at first but

When we got back I saw they had stolen all of their jewels. I needed to escape. When they went to sleep I crawled out

then William had a genius idea. He pretended to retreat. William’s army retreated down the hill until they were out of sight.

of their bedroom and walked on the beach. Pretty soon I saw my tent. The fire was still going. I climbed into my tent where

They waited a minute and charged right back up. Harold thought they had retreated and they came storming back up the hill

I was showered with hugs and kisses. I kind of liked it. My mom called the police who arrested the Amazons. We went

and fought Harold’s army. At one point, it was looking like the momentum had shifted to Harold so William called for the fake

home and I lived a normal life again.

retreat again. This attack tore Harold’s army apart and William won the Battle of Hastings. King Harold was hit hard by a horse and was killed in the battle. William was crowned King on Christmas day, 1066. Everyone lived in peace and William was a good king. Everyone will always remember the Battle of Hastings in 1066 because it changed the course of European history.

ponus papers

grade 5

Morgan Raabe Sun

grade 5

Georgia Rivero Falling in Saratoga

Finally it was our turn to do the first hunter course. I love hunter courses and Barney does too. We started jumping, flying over the jumps, avoiding the pools of mud that invaded the sand lined ring. We were doing fine until we had

Slow and swift on the shore, the day is done and it is

It was a wet and misty day and I was standing outside,

to maneuver our way around the biggest mud puddle of all. I had to make a quick decision, inside or around? I chose

sinking to the floor.

looking at the ring I would soon be riding in, in Saratoga

around—the wrong decision. Because of this mistake Barney had to slow down, although it was a small jump and it

Springs, New York. This was the second week of this horse

was downhill Barney made the decision not to clear the gate.

You know it will return tomorrow, but you are still a little bit scared. The colors, the thoughts all drifting through you head.

show, the second week of my first show on Barney. Even

He slowed gradually and eventually came to a halt. He had stopped but I was still leaning forward, ready for him

though I had only ridden Barney for a few months, I loved

to jump. That’s why when he put his head down I slid onto his neck. Then I was on the ground. Then instead of

and trusted my bay* pony. This was also my first A rated

turning and walking away from the jump and me, Barney walked in to the jump knocking it over almost completely.

show. I was excited and nervous. We had had a good first

He then decided to step over it and onto my wrist. I don’t remember him knocking over the jump but I retrieved the

week and I was hoping for an even better second week.

information from the jump on the ground and other sources. I don’t exactly remember him stepping on me either but

You know that you are drifting to sleep, the colors in the

There were lots of horses standing around us walking,

I know it happened because even though it did not hurt I started crying because I was shocked.

slits of your eyes.

getting tacked up or getting ready to go into the ring.

It is beautiful, the sun. You are tired from a long day and find yourself really tired.

You see darkness and you know that you are asleep.

When it was time for me to warm up, I got on Barney

But the colors still race through your mind.

and walked into the warm up ring. I was nervous that I was

Purple, Pink, Green, you see while you sleep. You wake up the next day and smile. And you can almost see the enormous ball smiling right back at you.

going to run into someone because everyone was going

I slowly got up, clutching my wrist while Andrea, my riding trainer, came rushing over to me. At the same time Ali,one of the older girls who rides, jumped over the ring’s fence and went to catch Barney who had wandered off at a leisurely pace. Ken, Andrea’s husband and my other riding trainer, also went towards Barney. Andrea walked me over to the others and we all walked out of the ring together. Ken called an M.T. to make sure

in different directions, but Barney was not because he had

my wrist wasn’t broken. The M.T. turned out to be a very nice lady. She checked my wrist by pulling on all my fingers

done this many times before. I was working hard to keep

and pressing on my hand and wrist. Every time she tugged or pressed she asked me, “Does this hurt?” Each time

Barney a safe distance from the other horses because

I said no. She told us it was just a bruise and gave me some ice. Ken then told me I should skip the next hunter course

Barney is very social and loves to say hi. We had one close

but if I felt better by the time everyone had taken their turns in the hunter courses and it was time for the flat classes,

call when we passed too close to a tall blond girl on an

I could compete in those two classes.

orange and white paint horse. Barney tugged on his rein

I ended up competing in the last two classes and doing well. This was not my best show but it was not my worst.

and tried to visit. I tried my best to keep his head forward

I was proud of myself for getting back on and trying again. I think getting back on made up for falling off. As the old

but he is stronger than me and he succeeded to get a few

adage says, “You have to get back on the horse that threw you.” And as the plaque in the barn says, “No one

inches closer. The girl glared at me the rest of the time I

ever notices how you ride until you fall off.”

was warming up. After that, we warmed up with a few little crossrails* and I left a distance between the girl and me.

*Bay—a brown horse with a black mane.

Once we were warmed up, we had a few crossrail classes*.

*Crossrail—a small jump made up of two poles crossed over each other to form the shape of an x.

Then came the hunter courses*.

*Crossrail Classes—a class in the short stirrup division made up off just crossrails. *Hunter Courses—jumping courses made up of gates and walls.

Continued on next page

ponus papers

grade 5

ponus papers

grade 5

Adam Rizvi Leo Messi Leo Messi was born on June 24, 1987 in Rosario, Argentina. When he was 8 years old he was noticeably smaller than all the other kids on the field. Later that year he was diagnosed with a hormone deficiency (when you have trouble growing and are noticeably small). He grew up in his two older brothers’ footsteps and played soccer with them. When he was 13 his family moved to Barcelona with little money when Messi received a contract from FC Barcelona. The contract stated that if he agreed to come and play at their youth league they will pay for his medical conditions and would give him the hormones he needs to grow taller and to become a pro soccer player. At age 17 in one of his first games as a pro he scored his first goal. It was not only just a goal, it made history. He became the youngest player to ever score a goal in FC Barcelona history. Also he is known for being a great soccer player on the field and a great person off the field. He has his own foundation called the Leo Messi Foundation. This benefits the world and everyone because it helps kids and young adolescents in high risk situations. These are some of the many things Leo Messi is known for. Growing up Messi’s family was very poor and could not afford the hormones to make him grow bigger. He had to make a big decision if they should stay in Rosario or move to Barcelona and accept the contract. They decided to take the contract and move to Barcelona. There Messi got the injections he needed and became a really successful soccer player in the youth league and the pros. Leo Messi said, “Every time I start a year I start with the objective of trying to achieve everything without comparing it to how I’ve done in other seasons.” This is a very important quote that means to never compare something you did from one season to another so you are open to achieving more things in the coming seasons. There are also quotes about Messi too. Diego Maradona, former Argentinian soccer star, said, “I have seen players who will inherit my place in Argentine football and his name is Messi. Messi is a genius and he became an even better player.” Leo Messi should be the Time Person of the Year because he overcame a hormone deficiency and became one of the greatest soccer players ever. Also he benefits the world by helping kids and adolescents in risky situations and is such a great soccer player and has done so much for his team. He had some obstacles in the way but with hard work and perseverance you can achieve anything like Messi did.

Continued on next page

ponus papers

grade 5

Adam Rizvi Key dates

grade 5

Alexis Rodgers

Continued

Pirates

• 1987 Messi was born in Rosario, Argentina • 1995 diagnosed with hormone deficiency

First, let me tell you about my life. My name is Ishino Villa. I was born January 7th, 2003. I have no mother because she

• 2000 recruited by FC Barcelona to play on the youth league to pay

died of polio when I was three, so I don’t really miss her. All I can remember is that she had long black hair like me.

for medical treatment

My father owns a yacht named Sea Queen, and we are on it now, sailing on the coast of Mogadishu, Somalia. It has a pool,

• 2005 became youngest player ever to score a goal on FC Barcelona

a spa, a waterslide, a dining hall, a tennis court, and my father and I each get our own room. We also have servants,

• 2009 team won the champions league,La Liga title and

and I get a nanny from America, named Ruby. Ruby is like a mother to me. We play all sorts of games like The Game of Life,

the Spanish super cup title

Monopoly and our favorite, Scrabble. Ruby has long, blonde, wavy hair. It reminds me of the calm Indian Sea with a slight breeze in the air.

Questions 1. Where was Messi born? 2. What is a hormone deficiency? 3. What year did he become the youngest player to ever score a goal in FC Barcelona history? 4. How old is Messi right now? 5. Which year did his team win the La Liga title,the champions league and the Spanish Super cup title?

I am only scared of one thing, pirates.You know, the ones with the yellow teeth and peg legs? I have never really seen one, but my daddy has. He will never tell me what they look like though. I am just guessing what they look like. “Storm!” Daddy screamed. “Take cover!” I looked up at the sky, not believing my dad, and sure enough he was correct. The clouds were dark as smoke and then thunder came rolling in like marbles dropping from my hand onto the ground. As I lay on my bed, I thought about pirates again. Would they attack our ship? Would they kill me? Would they take over our ship and leave us stranded on a deserted island? The horrible thoughts swirled around in my head like a whirlpool. “Ishino,” Ruby called from outside my door, “do you want to play Scrabble? The storm is over.” “Come in.” I answered tiredly. “How long has it been since the storm ended?” I asked rubbing my eyes and yawning. “About five hours and six minutes.” Oh, I forgot to tell you Ruby is very exact. For example, she never says its 6:00 when it’s really 6:04 or she always says the exact cost of the things she buys. She once bought a bag of candy for me and she said it was $4.38 instead of $4.00, like a normal person would say. “So do you want to play Scrabble or not?” Ruby asked in a slightly impatient way. “Oh, of course,” I forgot about her question for a minute. The next morning I had Chef Louie’s delicious crepes. I love how the strawberries turn the whipped cream pink. I took a bite and the juice dripped out of the corners of my small mouth. I walked onto the deck and asked Daddy, “What are we going to do today?” “I don’t know,” he admitted. “What do you want to do?” “Explore!” I shouted excitedly. I love exploring with my daddy. Daddy and I stood over the railing and looked up at the sky, the birds and the beautiful ocean. The breeze blew in my long glossy hair and I could tell it was going to be a perfect day. “What are you making?” Ruby asked. “I am making a story for Daddy. It’s called Exploring. I put in all that I have learned this past summer exploring with Daddy,”

Continued on next page

ponus papers

grade 5

Alexis Rodgers

Jack Sanders

Continued

I explained to Ruby.

grade 5

Hatchet Newspaper

Katherine Scarborough Perseverance

“Well, it is time for bed time. It is two minutes past nine” “Darn,” I said disappointedly. “Goodnight, Ruby.”

Yesterday, search crews found a boy, Brian Robeson, in

Even through the hardest races you have to make it

“Goodnight, Ishino.”

the Canadian woods. Search crews had given up looking

through,

The next morning the air was hot and sticky. It was one of those kinds of days where you feel like a helpless mosquito stuck

for the child a month ago. Somehow he survived a plane

You missed your lines, you missed your queue.

on fly paper. The sun blazed and not one person wanted to do anything, not even swim. I didn’t see an animal in sight, and the water looked as hot as we did. The sun beat down on my back and cooked it while I was trying to get some air outside on the deck, but outside wasn’t any better.

crash, in which the pilot had a heart attack and died. “I was trying to look for a lake to land the plane, but

Just try your best and help your score, And you won’t feel bad anymore.

the plane ran out of gas and started to go down,” Brian

“Hey, look Daddy.” I pointed. “There’s a little ship out there.”

recalls. Robeson had taken over the job as the pilot and

Soon, soon you won’t be last,

“Let me take a look.” I handed my dad the telescope. His jaw popped open.

flew the plane! “Luckily, I saw a lake out of the corner of

And you will go past.

“What’s the matter?” I asked in a concerned way.

my eye and turned to the lake and landed.” After the pilot

Maybe to sixth or fifth,

“Get back!” He stammered.

had a heart attack, and Brian flew the plane into the lake,

But you have more energy to give.

“What is it?” I cried.

the pilot was sitting in the lake, still strapped in the seat.

“Pirates! They’re heading our way!” Dad said in a panic. Pirates, I thought, my biggest fear. I am going to die. Yes, I have decided I am going to die today. No matter what happens, I’m going to die. I started to run. Everyone ran. The boat was full of chaos. The next thing I knew I was getting punched in the eye by a pirate. To my surprise he did not have an eye patch or a peg leg. He was a skinny, dark skinned man with a gun in his hand. A gun! He gave me a dirty look, squeezed my arm, and pulled me down the hallway. I could smell smoke and all I could see out of my right eye was blood. However, that didn’t matter right now. All that mattered was that dad was ok. Finally, the pirates dragged us all onto the deck. Then it happened, a moment that I will never forget. The pirate shot

When the plane started to sink, Brian crawled out of

Then the next day you will be up front,

the plane and swam to land. He then figured out a way

Ready to do the biggest stunt.

to survive. Brian’s mom prayed that he would be found.

Make it up to second place,

“I was so worried, but he ended up being safe!” she said

And before you know it you win the race.

with joy. After living in the woods for many months, Brian was saved by a rescue crew. Brian said his lifestyle was rough in the first few weeks, but once he eventually figured out

my dad. Everything went silent, my jaw dropped, and I got sick on the pirates foot. He said some nasty words and punched

what he had to do to survive, life became manageable.

me in the elbow, however, the thing that hurt me the most was I never got to say goodbye. Then a small, tight smile

After being released from the hospital, Brian is back to

spread across the face of the pirate that killed my dad. That was too much for me. I couldn’t help myself; I walked over to the

living a normal life in his hometown.

pirate. To my surprise no one stopped me, and I whacked him as hard as I could across the face. I then stepped back and took a look at my damage. No harm done. Just then I felt two sweaty strong hands lift me up from under the armpits and throw me into the tiny, beat up row boat along with Ruby who had been thrown in after me. The Sea Queen’s motor started up and it slowly made its way off. “What do we do now?” I asked Ruby. “I don’t know.” Ruby said. I lay my head in my hands and started to cry, and Ruby did the same.

ponus papers

grade 5

Janse Schoonmaker

ponus papers

grade 5

Ryan Seth

My Special Ability It all started when I was sitting up in my cherry blossom tree. It was a cool, windy evening and somehow, this breezy day was feeling irregular. In reality, my life is a fairytale, birds gliding through the thick, mellow clouds, an imaginable scent of roses that carried through our valley for miles and miles never ending, and the fire, which was the most magical of all, its soft, but blazing rage of light, shimmering through nightfall and beyond. Here I was, wondering what is wrong with me while my life is a land of beauty. Well, I figured it out when someone grabbed me by the left heel, pulling me downward to the warm, moist soil below me. Instead of landing on the soil, I was knocked out and placed into a large sack. I rose at dawn, not realizing where I truly was. I heard a loud voice and was convinced where I was. Just to confirm, I looked between the metal bars in front of me. As I looked through the cold, circular poles, one of the pirates glanced at me and headed to the captain. While a large part of me was afraid, I felt confident and brave too. You might be wondering why these unusual feelings occurred to me. Well, there was a message that was coming from the inner crust of my heart, telling me that this was a start of an adventure. I have never been in an adventure even though there is always some type of magic in the air. What I am really trying to say is I have never been in a real adventure before! I have never faced something so complicated that could risk my life. The pirate came back, but this time with an unexpected visitor, the captain! I still remember the first phrase that came out of his mouth. “Your ability.” My ability is a secret which I’ve never told anyone about which is why it really gave me a fright when those exact words came flying out of his mouth. I did not know how it was even revealed. He gave me blank pieces of paper for me to work on. I started my special talent. I went on and on, transforming the pieces of paper into a whole new world. Paper after paper, my pencil kept running out, creating the special language formed from my head. Each paper was different, with major amounts of pencil marks and stains on each one. I continued this work for about five days. After that, I had had enough of this. It was midnight. I knew it was time for my plan to begin. I used my talent to create myself in my jail cell. It was a painting of me, in bed, some of my pillows between the mattresses and covers to fake my body shape. I used the long pin in my hair as the key to open the divider between captured and free. I slowly walked out of my cell. I slid past everything until I was at the edge of the boat. The scent of the ocean breeze was gliding with me. It reminded me of the birds soaring through the sky, that amazing sight which was all the way back home. Very suddenly, I dove into the water. One of the pirates came out, never expecting to see me in the water drifting away. He shouted for the captain. I took a deep breath and went under the cool, clear, water. The captain must have thought that the crewman was so foolish. I could see a bloody and surely dead man in the ocean behind me. I was safe. I swam back to shore, exhausted. The birds were chirping extra loudly today. They must be cheering for my return. I came back to my cherry blossom, watching the sea flowing away. In the distance, there was a ship. I smiled to myself. That was a real adventure.

ponus papers

grade 5

Meghan Sisk

ponus papers

grade 5

Charlie von Stade

Holidays! Holidays are unforgettable journeys that can leave you feeling good, bad, unhappy, overjoyed and a variety of other ways. One of the most memorable holidays I look forward to is Christmas. I get together with my 18 cousins at my grandparents, house and we have a blast! When I get to my grandparent’s house, I hear kids screaming, “They’re here, they’re here!” It takes about five minutes to greet everyone. For two hours or so all the cousins play fun games while the parents are chattering. Then we all have a big family dinner together. There are about 24 holidays in one year! That means 24 days of cheerfulness while spending that time with your family. I ask myself, “Could it get any better than that?” One of the good things about holidays is that you probably do not celebrate all 24 of them. When a holiday does come around, it is treat. Not that I know of. Every holiday you honor someone or something. Take the 4th of July for instance we honor America! Maybe someday there will be 25 holidays in a year because we will win an important war. Is it really all about the presents, or is it about waking up early to see if there are Easter eggs downstairs or presents under the Christmas tree? What is it about? It seems like holidays are gone in a bat of an eye. It is about valuing the time with your family, and you are so lucky to be here on planet earth. They are about making unforgettable memories that will stay with you for a lifetime and, hopefully, passed on to another generation.

ponus papers

grade 5

Talbot von Stade

ponus papers

grade 5

Katharine Stoker

Emma Swirbul

Seasons Changing

Candy

Spring

As soon as I step outside, I can feel the wind twirling around my body, and I can feel the sunlight shine right on my

Candy is one of the best sweet treats after dinner.

“Chirp, chirp!” the birds say to me and I know it

skin as the wispy grass underneath tickles my feet. In the fall, I see the leaves changing to colors: tangerine, cherry blossom,

There are a variety of different candies, such as, Jolly

means “Wake up! Wake up! Spring, spring is here.”

and dark yellow. I can hear the birds chirping about where they are headed as the cool temperatures take over. The fall

Ranchers, gummy bears and many other tasty treats in

What does spring mean? It means snow melting, no

is the start of hibernation mode, and it is the last time before I see the trees reaching tall with their branches stuffed with

many different flavors. The main ingredient in all of these

more heavy jackets, birds in the morning, and so much

snow like a stocking full of presents. While bouncing on the trampoline, I see the sports ending and taste the warm

candies is sugar. Although these candies may taste good,

more. Spring means setting the clock back an hour.

cocoa that I’ll be having plenty of during the cold months ahead. As the sun shrinks back to the silver moon, I smell the

they might not be the best to put into your body. There

Spring means wearing sweatshirts instead of jackets:

smoke of fires, and the summery flowers begin to darken. While the shorts are tossed away, I remember the oven hot

have been many studies that show how bad these sugars

that’s what spring means. In spring, snow turns to rain

summer weather and the sweet flavors of cool popsicles on my tongue. After the gradual change, the ground becomes

are. All of these sugars can cause cancer and also feed

and cold turns to heat. The owls appear in the night and

piled high with snow, and I see the bears coming out to protect me, feeling the comfort of the snowy blanket below.

cancer so it can keep growing. Have you ever had a candy

the birds fly across the sunrise. Each season has its own

As the smoke twirls up from chimneys, I smell evergreens and maple syrup that will soon sweeten the season. That rich milk

that was just too sweet and wondered why? Well that one

colors that represent it. The spring colors are green, red,

chocolate taste in my mouth spreads the feeling of warmth and the aroma of candy all around my body. The tree’s branches

ingredient that makes your candy too sweet is corn syrup.

and sometimes yellow, but mainly green like the grass

look depressed as the wind sways the trunks back and forth, some even falling, waiting to regrow in the spring. I feel that last

There are two main reasons of why corn syrup is so bad

that grows in the spring.

breeze of winter when the snow swirls around my face, shielding me from everything. While the plants ripen and the grass is

for you. First, the corn that the syrup is made from has

revealed, I jump outside and feel the warm rain drip onto my face that ,meaning that spring is finally here. As I step onto the

Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) which means that

of it as flowers, rain, sun, and the first warmth since the

field barefoot, I feel the cool grass underneath me smush as I run outside. While I pull open the window, I see the tiny drops

the corn seed has had chemicals injected into the seed so

beginning of fall. One of my favorite parts about spring

of dew balancing on the wisps of grass, glistening like diamonds. I stare out the window, seeing the teeming rain hitting

they can spray pesticides all over the plant, but it won’t die

is playing outside and not being so cold. Spring is not

against the roof, sounding like pebbles landing in a tin. The taste of lemonade and ice cream wash over me as I stare at the

unlike the weeds. The second reason is when the syrup is

too cold and not too warm. Spring gets warm so we can

clouds. While the Memorial Day flag sways in the distance, I can feel the sand under my feet, and I can feel the water rushing

being made other chemicals get into it, like mercury. Once

wear shorts, we can eat popsicles outside, and we can

over them and creating something new each time. While I slather sunblock on for the scorching sun, I can taste the salt of that

the mercury is put into the syrup it can’t be taken out, and

do our homework outside. We can start taking care of

crystal water right ahead as I suck on the ice melting in my mouth. As soon as the nights get darker I know that the summer

once it gets inside of your body it never gets out. Even

a new garden. Spring is one of my favorite seasons just

is winding down, and I realize that it’s time to put away the bathing suits and get the coats. As I catch that last firefly and

though candy is so bad for us, we still eat it, and we need

behind summer. Another one of my favorite parts about

see that last firework explode, I realize that the school year is almost here. As the leaves change from green back to

to find a way to have some self-control when it comes to

spring is skiing. Spring skiing is some of the best

tangerine, cherry blossom, and dark yellow, I see the sun fading back to the mountains where it once lived and hibernated.

candy. It also has to do with advertising and the company

skiing I know. We should enjoy spring, laugh during

makes the candy look so good and yet when you get the

spring, and have fun during spring. Spring is

candy in reality, it’s not as good. This is why candy is

wonderful and fabulous!

Spring is different from all other seasons. We think

so bad for you.

ponus papers

grade 5

ponus papers

grade 5

Teddy Truwit

Brian Villalta

Dark Day

Pirate Attack Story

On a dark day, with the wind howling as if it were a wolf, rain showering down on the streets, and the neighborhood filled

One lovely morning, I boarded my ship called the Nigel Flower. I boarded with my crew, which was Arjun, Shane, Anna,

with sorrow, came the confirmation that he was dead. It was only a matter of time before the thunder which started right

and Jennifer. All of a sudden, I remembered a great tradition my tribe and family had. “Alright crew, my plan is to attack the

away with loud Booms! The thunder, unlike segregation, would decide to take a break for ten minutes, then like

Island of the Blue Dolphins, one of the most beautiful islands on Earth…but it won’t be beautiful for long.” “There was

segregation, it would soon come back again with even louder reverberations! It was the longest storm that had ever hit

a war between us and them. They won the war, killing over 900 people, including my parents.

our neighborhood. The storm, which started with slavery, continued with segregation and discrimination. But then, it was gradually stopping. Even though the storm had stopped, the sadness that filled all of our hearts had not. We mourned night and day, wondering why he was dead, why he had been assassinated. We all thought we were each guilty for not speaking

“Today is the day where I will avenge them and represent our land of Nigel Town!” “That’s a great idea! I’m up for it!” said Anna. That day we sailed and continued on for four months. We had packed a lot of sweaters and jackets, a lot of food,

up. Some of us, the most devastated by this tragedy, didn’t have the will to live. We knew we could do nothing, however,

and a portable wireless microwave. When we finally got to the Island of the Blue Dolphins, it was March 21, 2014. When

because, sadly, not everyone thought this assassination was a tragedy. Most importantly, it wasn’t a tragedy even to

we immediately saw about 2,000 men guarding the island, we knew that this was already a problem.

our own government. We all hated James for killing him. We were relieved when we heard he was sentenced to prison for 99 years. The hatred

“Arjun! Shane! Anna! Jennifer! Get the cannons ready!” I yelled. We all shot our cannons at once, but the guards didn’t feel anything! “OK, crew! Now your job is to get down from this boat and fight them with these knives and spades!” I carefully

would start again. We were hated for helping. When he was alive, we were still bullied but not nearly as much as it had

put the knives and swords in their hands. When they got down, the guards immediately started attacking! I was very worried

been before. I had noticed and was questioning if he actually softened people’s hearts and made them believe what is

about what would happen to my crew. My crew killed about half of the men, but then they struck back and they were bruised

right, that blacks are equal to whites. But it was 1968 and the main thing on my mind was - would discrimination ever

and scarred really badly and none of them could even fight anymore! I was so mad that I got the portable cannon and I shot

stop? Conditions for blacks were getting noticeably better, but change was happening slowly. The blacks were paid less

about a million times. BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

in every job, even in the army. They were constantly called names. Segregation was all over the South. When would it change?

The cannons were firing like crazy! All the men were burned and dead!

Then in 1969 it hit me like a rock, segregation was finally stopping. It had begun five years ago. The Civil Rights Movement

“Mwahaha. That was easy,” I said as if my crew were worthless and useless.

was just gradually changing, and I hadn’t noticed that the change had occurred until 1968 when he died. He had had a

“Oh my, captain. I never knew you could do that,” said Arjun.

huge impact on the U.S. because he changed the way people thought about inequality. He had changed the opinions of

“So we defeated the guards?!” asked Jennifer.

even the most stubborn people who were strongly against blacks. He was the final touch to the Civil Rights Movement.

“Indeed. Now our goal is the citizens on this island. Hold the cannons Anna and Jennifer. We are going to need them.”

I wondered what was next or who was next. Q: Who died? A: Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

So we barged in like crazy lunatics who had been in an attic hiding in a corner for seven years. “Hold it! I see someone that I think is special and famous.” It was Rihanna and Karana! Rihanna is a singer and Karana is the girl from the book that is based on this island. Now, they were my main goal. Anyone who was on this island will be defeated and I was determined. I like Rihanna’s music, but I am going to have to defeat her. So I went up to her and I said, “Hello, Rihanna! How is your day today?” Rihanna stepped back as if I was a freak and fell off the island into the water and drowned. Arjun took care of Karana by using the force to push her into the water too. We all chanted, “Arjun, Arjun Arjun Arjun, Arjun, Arjun, Arjun Arjun Arjun Arjun, Arjun, Arjun!” Continued on next page

ponus papers

grade 5

Brian Villalta

grade 5

David Wagstaff

Continued

“Why thanks,” Arjun said while taking a bow. I turned around because I wanted to see the pathetic citizens running for their lives but I didn’t see them! “Arjun! They

Viking Paper

have escaped! Crew, let’s go find them!” I shouted. We looked for hours and hours and hours and hours in the bushes and

Hi, I’m Cuyler, which means “archer or bowman”. I am a 15 year old Viking. Today I woke up very early because my little

caves, and we finally found them in a ravine. The second the citizens saw us, they were frightened. Their faces were as red

brother is sick, and I have to take care of all of his chores AND all of my chores. I hate doing chores, but my mom and dad

as a tomato and all the children were crying. The men and women remained brave.

need them done. My dad is the head of a clan for the Swedish Vikings.

“Anna! Jennifer! This is your time!” They were going to shoot the cannon at them. The citizens were screaming and trying

We have pigs, sheep, cows and chickens. I have a dog named Atli. He is a black and white dog with brown and grey

to run for their lives. They ran and they hid in a ravine. They were frightened to see us. Suddenly, the citizens got out of the

splotches. Our farm is in the middle of the town, and it is really big. We grow wheat, corn, lettuce and many kinds of berries.

ravine and into a giant ship that they had built many generations before. They had escaped off to another island.

We sell some baby animals, jewels, weapons, clothes and other items. We also grow herbs and veggies. Most of our meals

One of the citizens yelled, “Hurry up everyone! Board the ship! We will not be coming back to the island ever again!” So they left forever. Everyone on the Island of the Blue Dolphins was far off somewhere else and the island was never talked

consist of vegetables and meat from our own farm. Life is hard because you might lose a loved one. There aren’t any medicines except for herbs. We start working at sunrise

about again. This time we defeated them. Not in war, but in a situation that was so scary. I, the captain of the Nigel Flower,

and end before sunset. You can get hurt very easily and die because there is no medical care to help you survive. No

was now very happy that I now have the land to myself and the crew. Hahaha, we needed some terrain anyway (smiley face).

medicines plus no good doctors equals death. In fact, my brother is getting better each time my mom comes to check on him and bring him his herb medicine.

Which reminds me that I have to go do my chores. Oh, my chores are: •

feeding the animals

•

sweeping the floors

•

taking our horses out for their daily run

My brother’s chores are: •

brushing and feeding the horses

•

moving the horse poo to the “compost”

•

cleaning the animals cages

•

Oh, I have to go do my chores now.

So, bye! From, Cuyler

ponus papers

grade 5

ponus papers

Lauren Walsh

grade 5

Elizabeth Woodberry

Seasons

An Adventure of Puckdundun and Furry Pants

Summer is one of those seasons that you can’t get a hold of because it comes and goes quickly, just as every season does.

“It’s a party! It’s a party!” I hollered when I woke up Saturday.

Summer memories last within you for the rest of your life. No chilliness, no snow, no cloudy skies, just beautiful sunshine,

“You’re crazy Puckdundun.” My bozo brother replied.

shining down on you. Every minute is a delight, going to the beach, swimming and most of all having fun. Summer only

“Who cares. You’re stinky. I want WAFFLES!” I yapped back.

lasts three months until school starts once again, but fun things don’t last forever, so treasure these months. In summer,

I decided to go make waffles ‘cause who doesn’t love waffles? No one. Duh! When I went down stairs my mom was

I have the best time of my life. I don’t have to worry about homework. All I have to do is let loose and have fun. From bonfires on the beach on Block Island to singing with my friends on the way to the ice cream shop, these memories are ones that I will never forget. Spring has its own delight, just like every season does. The joy of almost getting out of school and having not too many

already making waffles. “WAFFLE PARTY!!!! WAFFLE PARTY!!!! WAFFLE PARTYYYYYYY!!!!” I shouted as loud as I could. It must have been really loud because my friend Furry Pants texted me saying: “I heard you said it was a waffle party. I wanna come.” “MOMMY!!!! FURRY PANTS IS COMING TO MY WAFFLE PARTY!”

chilly days as it gets warmer is a wave of relief. Light rays of sunshine coming through the trees when I wake up get me ready

“ You’re lucky I made extra waffles. When is she coming?” Mom questioned.

for a great day of school. Running as I get off the bus, so that after my homework, I can play outside in the sunshine.

Just then Furry Pants walked in.

Planting flowers on the weekends and watching them bloom all over my backyard and playing soccer with my siblings brings

“Yo,” She greeted.

a smile to my face. These again are memories I will never forget.

“Yo,” I called back.

Fall has its special moments as well. Watching the leaves turn all different colors such as red, orange and yellow and then fall is a beautiful sight. Going to your school on the first day and asking your friends what they have done over the summerand where they went or if they just stayed home and enjoyed the sunshine is exciting. Making leaf pile, so your

“WAFFLES!” We both yelled. “I am very happy you didn’t get stuck in a rainbow,” I said because Furry Pants is a unicorn and she has gotten stuck in a rainbow a few times. Luckily, I am a monkey so it doesn’t happen to me.

siblings, and, of course, you can jump into them and throw them in the air in a sea of red, orange, yellow and a tiny bit

“I am too!” She agreed.

of green on the edges, is fall fun at its best.

Then we both ate about 100 waffles and started being hyper.

Winter is one of those seasons that a lot of people wish would go away, but I disagree because if you look outside your window you see white, fluffy snow covering the earth like a big blanket. That is peaceful. After you see this wonderful sight, you don’t care about what others think. Sledding tracks and snow forts galore take you outdoors in the cold. Seasons come and go, just like everything else, but every one of them is a treat. I am glad I get to experience all four!

“Bouncy, bouncy, bouncy, bouncy bouncy bouncyyyyyyyyyyyyyy! Happy happy happy day!” We hollered. We decided to go outside and be cray-cray! I was doing back handsprings all over the place and Furry Pants was doing front handsprings all over the place. “You know,” Furry Pants wondered. “Yeah,” I said. “It would be a lot more fun if we had a bouncy castle or a trampoline so we could do flips and go more crazy,” Furry pants pointed out. “OMG! That’s like the best, idea, EVER! Wait, one problem. How are we supposed to go all the way to a store where they sell bounce houses and pay for them?” I asked. “Hmm… maybe your mom can take us or my mom or dad.” Continued on next page

ponus papers

grade 5

Elizabeth Woodberry

Dania Zein

Continued

“Maybe but I wanna go now.”

grade 5

Forever Family

“Okay let’s go!” “Okay! Toys R Us sells them. Let’s go there.”

The thunder boomed, the lightning flashed, and bittersweet raindrops plunged from the sky, hitting the muddy grass

“Totally.”

with a splash. Inside the small stone house, things were very similar. Harsh voices could be heard from miles away, and salty

So we set off for Toys R Us. We decided to bounce all the way there because it was not very far.

tears hit the tile floor like bullets. During the fight, ten-year-old Timothy slowly devised a plan in his head so he wouldn’t

“Finally! We’re here!” I shouted.

have any more fights with his mother. He would run away into the gloomy, slushy woods next to his house. After his mother

“Excuse me,” Furry Pants chimed to the guy that runs the store.

fired the last insulting shriek, he had made up his mind.

“Uh yeah,” The worker guy replied.

Timothy left early the next morning, so his mother could not hear him leave. As he walked into the forest, he was starting

“Where are the bounce houses?” Furry Pants asked.

to have second thoughts. “No, I have made a commitment to myself and I never break my promises,” he muttered to himself.

“How would I know!” The dude smoldered.

Timothy stopped in his tracks. “What was that noise?” he said to himself. He continued walking. Then the tall pine trees

“Dude! You realize you work for this store right? You get paid to help us!” Furry Pants explained.

started blowing dangerously and the rain started pouring harder and harder, as if weeping. There was a dark and shadowy

“Chill, you’re not being cool. Cool is the way to go, man. Now, exactly what store do I work for? I don’t remember,” the bozo hippie guy said.

figure gliding out from between the trees. The rain fell even harder, and then it stopped. The sun slowly started to shine and Timothy could see that the figure was just an old woodcutter who was felling

“Whatever, we will find them ourselves, Furrs.” I declared as we walked away.

the trees. The woodcutter invited Timothy to his humble home and Timothy graciously thanked him and took him up on

“Cool! I found some!” Furry Pants exclaimed.

his offer. He met the woodcutter’s family and decided to work for them. He was so intrigued by the work that he was doing

“But which one should we get?” I pondered.

that he lost track of time. Timothy lived and worked for the wood cutter for about 2 years. The family became richer and

“Let’s get this one ‘cause its happy”

richer, and Timothy became stronger and stronger.

“Yeah!”

Then, a life changing moment came to Timothy, and it came with one simple question from the woodcutter: “Do you want

We got out our money and realized we didn’t have 300 bucks to pay for it!

to live with me for the rest of your life?” At that moment, he realized that if he said yes, he would never see his mother again—

“Oh no, oh no!” We worried.

never ever. Fights or not, his mother was his family. His “Forever Family.” “I’m sorry, sir, but I have my own mother at home

Then, I thought of the best idea ever!

and she probably misses me. She is my Forever Family.” explained Timothy. The old woodcutter and his wife understood.

“There is another happy bouncy castle for only $100. Who cares that it’s not as big? We just want to bounce

“But if you are going to leave,” said the woodcutter, “please take this to remember us.” The woodcutter handed Timothy

and do flips!” I informed Furry Pants.

a small, round, piece of wood with carved round letters displaying ‘To Timothy, for his years of hard work’ and then they both

We bought it and ran to my house as fast as we could.

started tearing up. On the back, it said ‘From the woodcutter.’ “You may go now,” said the woodcutter sadly. As Timothy

“Mommy! Mommy! Look what we got!” I yelled.

took his final steps in the little hut, he looked back and said, ”I will always be with you,” and walked back through the

“Oh, that’s where you two were! Remember to ask me next time.”

sunlit forest towards his home. “Always,” he thought.

“We are gonna go bounce!” We hollered. We bounced and bounced and bounced until Furry Pants had to go home. Whenever Furry Pants comes over, we bounce and flip all over the place. We are awesome!

As he came into the clearing where his small house lay, through his tears, he could vaguely make out the shape of a gaunt and frail woman sitting in a rocking chair and knitting on the front porch. While taking a few more quiet steps towards his home, he saw the woman get up from the chair and start running towards him with tears streaming from her faded brown eyes. They both wept with delight and hugged until the end of time.

ponus papers

grade 6

Henry Alpaugh Boston Boston is the best place you could ever be There is lots of entertainment and fun On the coast of the wonderful blue sea All day long, shining is the yellow sun

There is lots of good food and sports visible Lots of great hotels and resorts to stay When I am there, feel my stomach rumble The weather is always like it is May

There is lots of beautiful parks to walk in When walk â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;round the streets, Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m always amazed When you are there, you forgive all your sins You walk in the streets at night and star gaze

Boston is the best city in the nation Because it is a great spot for vacation.

ponus papers

grade 6

Austin Andersen

ponus papers

grade 6

Shane Baldwin

ponus papers

grade 6

Kevin Barnard

Finley Bean

Marc Belak

Moms

Surfing

Top Gear

Mothers can be helpful and very nice

Surfing, my favorite sport, is peaceful.

Jeremy funny with cars to race

Loving and always there for you no matter what

It feels just like the waves were made for me.

Doesn’t know where he wins,

They give good advice when you roll the dice

So lucky for the chance, it is so blissful.

Tries to go as fast as an ace,

Moms are extra kind when you get a cut

When I glide with the swell, I feel so free.

Hopes no explosions bring him to the trash bins!

Moms are lots of fun and can be great

The waves power me so well, like rockets.

James so serious with a great mind

All moms are cool and usually funny

Living in the moment, no sense of time.

Always is smart but has never won;

Moms will be there for you and never hate

Carving lines, in the wave’s hollow pockets,

Must modify his cars with pieces he finds.

Since they are nice they could call you honey

My mind traveling through space, pure crisp, fine.

Just make sure he doesn’t drive into the sun!

But sometimes they get argumentative

But when the wind and the waves grow, fear kicks in.

Richard the Crazy never thinks.

They can be annoying and very mean

Getting caught inside, the white foam surrounds.

Wherever he goes he must look good;

Mothers can be extremely tentative

Gasping for air, blood oozing from my shin.

Zooms everywhere but never misses a wink,

Moms are annoying and act like a teen

Water all over, everywhere I look pounds and pounds.

And will never drive a car with a wheel of wood.

Mothers everywhere are nice and cool

Surfing, a sport of its own, is awesome.

Top Gear so great and interesting:

Mothers are great and happy and they rule

All things stop, time slows down, surfing blossoms.

They’re the rats in your car that must get infesting.

ponus papers

grade 6

Ellie Boeschenstein

ponus papers

grade 6

Pete Bonczek

ponus papers

grade 6

Merrill Bright and Sofie Pazsto A Visit to the Pharmacy

“September, I thought you aren’t allowed to drive yet?”

Chapter 1

She shrugs, and slumps back in the seat. I grin, and we drive to CVS. When we get there, I say,

“Deal, December. Do you want the Advil or not?”

I open the refrigerator as slowly and quietly as I can making sure not to wake up December. She had a tough time last week

“Decie? You ok for ten minutes?”

at the hospital and I didn’t want to disturb her. I grab the milk from the top shelf of the fridge. As I touch the carton, the cold

She nods, and says, “Can you leave the keys in here in case I get cold?”

cardboard reminds me of December’s hand while she lay in the hospital bed. The ice freezing feeling sends chills up my spine.

“Of course.”

I set the milk on the counter next to my blue glass bowl. As I walk to the cupboard to get some cereal I hear footsteps coming

“Did you put my backpack in the back?”

down the stairs. “Good morning, Sunshine,” I say to December. She looks at me sarcastically.

“Yeah.”

“Where’s mom?” she asks.

“Okay, my phone’s in there; I’m going to go get it,” she says.

“In town.”

As I walk across the parking lot, I see a man with a dark brown coat and a black winter hat on his head.

“Dad?”

“Good morning!” I say. The man walks by not

“At the office.”

saying a word.

“Oh…” “Would you like some breakfast? I could make you some Mickey Mouse-shaped pancakes if you want,” I say trying to cheer her up.

Chapter 2 I shove my backpack over, and grab my phone. I found it. Finally! As I start to climb back over the seat, I feel the

“No, that’s ok. I’ll just have some cereal.”

pang in my lungs and fall back onto the floor of the car. God, that kills. I start to get back up, when I hear the

“Ok, if you say so.” I grab another bowl from the bottom shelf and set it next to mine. I pour cereal into both bowls and then

car door open, and the engine starts. Everything is wrong. The way the door slammed. September would never

the milk. Then I pull open a drawer and grab two spoons. “Here ya go, December!”

slam it like that. I start to say, “Sep?” But I realize that is stupid. I know it’s her. I climb back over the seat, and the

“Thanks,” she says in a low voice. A couple minutes pass, and as December puts a spoon of cereal into her mouth, I see her grab her chest and scrunch up in pain.

car slams to a stop, and I fly forwards, screaming. “Who are you?!” the voice in the front seat shouts. The voice is deep, and rough. A man’s voice.

“Are you ok?!” I say frantically patting her back. She is coughing up some of her cereal. “I’m fine, I’m fine!” she says trying to catch her breath. “It’s just my stupid lungs.” “Are you sure?” “Yes, yes I’m ok!” I stare at her for a couple seconds then hug her tightly. “Just making sure. You’re my little sister and I don’t want anything to happen to you.” “Thanks, Sep,” she says in a faint voice. “Oh, that reminds me! We have to pick up some Advil for you from the pharmacy.” “Ugh. Do I have to come?” “Yes. I’m not leaving you home by yourself after that incident with the cereal.” “Fine.” We go outside to the car. I toss her bag into the back and help her get her cart with her oxygen tank into the passenger seat.

Continued on next page

ponus papers

grade 6

Elizabeth Campisi

ponus papers

grade 6

Caroline Collins

Why Should We All Have to Suffer? One day I was in Cross Country and we had just started stretching, counting to twenty for each stretch. The drill is the teacher says the odd numbers and the rest of the class says the even numbers until we get to twenty. But as we started doing one of the stretches and counting to twenty, one student started shouting out random numbers. That made my coach mad, so he told us all to run up and down a hill twice because of this one student. I thought to myself that it was unfair that the whole group had to run hills because of one child’s actions. It’s not right for the team to be blamed for something we didn’t do. Also, what is the teacher or coach trying to teach the students by doing this? Are they trying to get us all mad at the student so he won’t misbehave again? I think trying to get a group of kids to use peer pressure to make a student to behave, while teachers are there, is wrong. Children have to deal with enough peer pressure. Adults shouldn’t encourage it. Also, the children who get in trouble for something they didn’t do feel bad too, and now an activity that once was fun is just causing anxiety. In short, when dealing with disruptive students, the punishment should be for that one person, not everyone. I think that there are better ways to handle situations like this. An option is to have the one child who is disruptive suffer the consequence. This allows the other students to continue with what they were doing. This will create less peer pressure and make whatever activity is happening fun instead of stressful. Another way is to tell the student to stop and give him a warning that if he keeps misbehaving there will be consequences. I feel talking with the child who is unruly is better than involving a whole group of students, which just causes bad feelings for everyone. In conclusion, I believe that if a teacher or coach has all the children suffer the consequences over one person’s actions, it will create feelings of pressure for all involved. It can affect the relationship students have with each other and make an enjoyable activity no longer fun. Managing students’ behavior should be the responsibility of the teachers, not the students. We have enough to worry about.

ponus papers

grade 6

ponus papers

grade 6

Molly Connors

Jessica Cramer

Hayden Critchell

There is an Afterlife

Seasons

The Rough Seas

A fear that runs deep inside someone’s soul.

Winter is powerful, ready for more

My ancestor’s bravery and strength reside

Never knowing when the time will be theirs.

Spring is eager for the flowers to bud

in my heart and soul.

In their heart they are left with a black hole.

Summer is gentle; birds ready to soar

From the waves that crashed onto the shores of America,

They are paralyzed by this thing that scares.

Fall eager for coldness, tripping in mud

To the blood and tears shed during the grueling journey

towards freedom,

Leaving behind the ones that they adore.

Chirping soon dies; ground covered in frost

Their courage will remain with me forever.

The life that they had is taken away.

Snow is a melting; ground covered in seed

The end comes too soon and closes a door.

Fresh fruit growing seems too much will be lost

A whole life spent avoiding this dark day.

Leaves thrown ‘mongst the pavement seems more than a need

Sometimes they try to understand the why.

Is there a place of peace and joy past this?

Fresh cocoa brewing; lemonade being sipped

The chance there is even more when you die.

As the seasons change, my life rearranged

So much magnificence that life you won’t miss.

Spring cookies are made, some chocolate dipped When months end, I notice I’m changed.

Death is nothing of significant fear. For there is a whole other world out there.

ponus papers

grade 6

Henry Dale

Helen Culpepper A Dead Man in Spring

WAR

Lay cold in the ground,

You are a hungry monster with no pride

Above bees buzz, birds feed kin,

You are the eater of all loyal men

Why canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t I join in?

Waiting for happiness, mouth open wide You are the killer again and again

Sweat, Blood, and Gore to men thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s what you are The ripper of children from parents the same Taking loved ones away, always so far Crying and dying, you are to blame

But children these days play games about you They talk about, play with and mock your crying Hoping they will kill how others now do While Parents are crying for childs dying

You killed our children who now are no more The dark killer of loved ones, you are WAR

ponus papers

grade 6

ponus papers

grade 6

Diana Degnan

Maeve DeGulis

Spring

Gymnastics

It was early, way too early to be up during spring break. It was one of those mornings when the sun just peeks

In my floor routine at gymnastics, the last tumbling pass was a round-off back handspring back-tuck. I had known

through the shades, creating splashes of light and glimpses of tiny rainbows sprawled lazily across the

how to do the other parts for a long time, but the back-tuck was new this year. I learned it at the end of last year and

floor. It was one of those mornings that just seems to pull you out of bed and down the stairs, even when all

could do it by myself. Then the mellow summer came, and I didn’t practice it that often. I became scared of the

you want to do is grab a stuffed animal and fall back into bed. It was one of those mornings that no matter how

back-tuck and soon terrified. Gymnastics is as much a mental sport as it is physical, and some of the older girls at my

hard you try, you won’t be able to go back to sleep. So I got up, and I went downstairs. My slippers made

gym are so scared of something that they get a mental block. I didn’t want that to happen to me. Here I was standing

a soft thump, thump, thump as I padded quietly down the stairs. Everything was quiet and still. Even the

on the corner of the floor at gymnastics at the point in the routine right before my back-tuck. In the past couple

sun and sky hadn’t fully woken yet. It smelled like clean air and coffee. The coffee scent was so strong that

months, I managed to will myself to do it with a spot from my coach but hadn’t done it by myself in almost a year.

it seemed like I could taste it. I felt as good and warm as a cup of hot chocolate tastes after a long day

Here I was; my coach was standing there ready to grab me if I fell. I didn’t know if he was going to spot me or not.

of skiing or sledding. It was the perfect morning to a perfect spring day.

I tightened my ponytail and counted to fourteen in my head, like I always do. I felt the adrenaline rush through my body. Before I could chicken out, I felt my feet push off the floor. I was off. Even though I could smell the chalk and hear the faint yell of my teammates cheering in the background, I was so focused that everything was basically drowned out. I was here and now: first hand, second hand, snap down, back, hands, snap down, and finally it was time for the back-tuck. I went out on a limb and flung myself into a flip. I did it. My coach didn’t spot me! I was so happy and I could hear the cheering.

ponus papers

grade 6

Griffin Dewey

Ian Delehaunty Books

Prey

The page is turning, the story begins

Coming out for food

The world starts to fade, the sound is blocked out

After the long, cold winter

Pick up a book, youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll forget all your sins

The hunter watches

Books will teach, no matter what theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re about

Dungeons and Dragons, war and mystery Books take you places you may never go Discover the secrets of history The seeds of education, you will sow

But sometimes man misuses the power They will try to use them to gain control Soon death will come and start to devour Taking hold of you, consuming your soul

Books are amazing and filled with good will But be careful, they can murder and kill

100

101

ponus papers

grade 6

ponus papers

grade 6

Hunter Essex

Jack Ferm The Time I Went Skiing The wind chilled my face as my ski instructor and I sat on the chair lift. It had to have been windy enough to blow us down the mountain if it weren’t for our heavy gear and skis. We finally reached the top, and I shivered at the beautiful yet frightening mountains surrounding Jackson Gore. We skied over to an even higher mountain called Okemo; it was over one thousand feet higher than Jackson Gore. We boarded the chair lift, and it cradled us back and forth as if it were to lull us to sleep. By the time we reached the top of Okemo, the wind made an eerie sound like the kind you only expect to hear in the movies. We started off with an easy trail named Mountain Road; it was a path that was relatively flat but had at a slight angle to get some speed. My instructor and I sped through the trail easily. We finished the trail and headed onto a terrain park where you can do flying stunts, turns and three-sixties, but I decided to play it safe and stay on the ground. Then I saw a giant half-pipe going straight down; it seemed like instant death. I saw my instructor do it like a pro. I watched him, like a hawk stalking a mouse, and observed every movement so I wouldn’t mess up when I went down. He reached the bottom and motioned me to try. I reluctantly looked down to him, unwilling to do the half-pipe. The wind pushed against my back as if it were mocking me, laughing and saying, “You can’t do it.” Then something struck me, and I thought, “I have to get down some way.” I let the wind push me forward; I went up and down the half-pipe having so much fun. When I thought I finally got the hang of it, I was already at the bottom. “That wasn’t so bad after all,” I said, and we went back up the mountain and had tons of fun.

102

103

ponus papers

grade 6

Sarah Gallagher Alien Invasion

Charlotte Gehring

grade 6

Carter George

Peace

While I was sitting in class on a cold, winter day,

You have power to bring hope, love, and dreams.

I was day dreaming as I often do. Instead of paying

You are relief to soldiers and families,

attention to the exciting grammar lesson, I was

You are always something all countries need,

doodling some birds that I had just studied in

You protect people from more tragedies,

Mr. Maliakal’s science class. When I looked up, I noticed something very strange outside the window. I was startled by a loud hovering noise. When I looked over toward the window, I saw an alien-like figure standing pressed up against the glass.

You pave the way for new beginnings, You make poverty and strife end, You prevent us from sadness and killings, You help countries make relationship mend,

Mrs. Taylor looked scared and told all the frightened students to move away from the classroom windows. Ms. Myavec abruptly stopped teaching and screamed in a high-pitched voice, and moments later, Mr. Johnson arrived and offered his killer pinkies for protection from the alien intruder. Soon after Ms. Myavec’s deafening scream and Mr. Johnson’s heroic rescue, the alien spoke softly. The class became

However peace doesn’t all act swiftly, War can be over in just a second, War does end a cruel tyrant’s rule quickly, War prevents death and killings with weapons. You always fight for dominance with war. Yet we still hope for you forevermore.

friends with the alien after we found out his mission was to learn English and not destroy 6T. The alien, nicknamed Steve, became part of 6T for a few weeks and mastered the English language. Now that he had completed his mission, Steve returned home to teach English to his fellow aliens on planet Lolita.

104

105

ponus papers

grade 6

Bobby Gibbons

Julia Graham

Sophie Gribin

Drums

Sonnet

Birthdays

My absolute favorite thing is drumming.

All cats start out as a kitten,

Birthdays are a sequence that flow and flow

When I am really bored I start a sweet beat.

Small and tiny balls of fur.

The candles on the cake of course will blow.

After I play I just can’t stop humming.

Some sleep in mittens,

And you decide to invite all your friends

Sometimes I find myself tapping my feet.

Asleep in the their bed so sure.

As they have traveled all around the bend. And after the cake, comes time for presents

I like it when I can play a cool song.

Then those kittens grow up,

All your friends have brought something pleasant.

I can play really fast because I am strong.

And become young tall cats.

And you think about it a lot and say,

It is the best when others play along.

Not as tall as pups,

Well please just hear and listen for today.

Music’s pretty great I’ve played for so long.

But they are surely taller than bats.

The real present that I receive from all, The true gift you bring me, my heart not small.

When I can’t play a song it makes me mad.

When a cat grows old,

When the birthday is absolutely done,

Sometimes it is easy sometimes it’s hard.

It hobbles around the home.

The picture in the sky: the setting sun.

I get annoyed and it makes me sad.

Not able to run in the cold.

If the song is hard it gets me off guard.

All they can do is comb their fur, just comb.

At the end of the day, comes time to sleep, Thoughts of my true friends leave me dreaming deep.

106

Banging the drum is extremely fun.

Even though aging happens to all in a share,

I wish to someday play for everyone.

I care for all the stages of a cat, I care.

107

ponus papers

grade 6

Will Hall-Tipping Tavern Life in the Renaissance This was the slowest year we have ever had; it’s different not having our parents around anymore. It’s the arrival of fall; the leaves are starting to alter into different colors of red and orange. We will get a visitor now and then, not very often that is. My name is Luigi; I am 16 years-old. I live and work in our tavern with my sisters Luca, who is 14,and Lorraine, who is 15. Our close family friend, Jacobo, who is 27, owns the tavern because we are not old enough to have the deed. He kind of acts like

James Hudson

grade 6

Ashley Humphrey

Laughing Laughing is great and comes after a joke, When I’m with my dad I laugh a ton, My dad is great and a funny English bloke, I laugh with my dad when we are having fun.

Laughing puts all of us in a good mood, Everyone likes a giggle or two, Infectious laughter is as good as food, Laughing can bring joy from out of the blue,

a father to us. There is also a grogwench by the name of Elisabetta who works with Jacobo. Our great grandfather built this building with his bare hands from timber and stone. In his mind while he was building this tavern, I think he knew that this building would become a family business, and I guess his dreams

But laughing too hard is not always good, It can be cruel we should remember that, Sometimes laughter can be misunderstood, It’s better to laugh with than laugh at.

were accomplished. There always will be a part of him here. This place that we call home does not have very enjoyable living quarters. The ceilings are low with chips

Aside from the bullying laughing is great, It is the best thing I know to create.

and have cracks. When we go to bed at night, all we can hear is the pitter-patter of water dripping inside from the roof, but we don’t have the money right now to fix it. The walls are old and beaten up as if someone took a mallet and smashed them, but it’s all we have. Working in the tavern is not an easy job. I can’t remember the last time I got a full eight hours of sleep. When our parents died, we did not have many resources to help us; we barely got by. Financially, we are not very well off, but my sisters and I know that our parents would have wanted us to try as hard as we could. Even though we do not have much, we still manage to get through every day.

108

109

ponus papers

grade 6

Emma Hunter

110

ponus papers

grade 6

Niamh Jones

111

ponus papers

grade 6

Dylan Koo

Win Lane

Books

Still I Rise; Louis in Jail

Books are great because they are fun to read

You may toss me in that ugly jail,

They can give you knowledge and tell stories

With those sticks of hate and shame,

Books give you information to succeed

You may pay no heed, to my very needs,

They can hold very precious memories

but still, like death, I rise.

grade 6

Sloane Latimer

A book can hold knowledge of the future A book can hold memories of the past

Does my awesomeness upset you?

Reading books is like a cool adventure

Why are you obsessed with distaste

You wonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t stop until you get to the last

â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Cause I act like a King of Tarine

A bunch of books are about history

And think like a killer machine?

A couple of books are about English A bunch of books are about mystery

Just like waves and like tides

A lot of books are written in Spanish

You are my prison, yearning to rise

The knowledge in books holds the key to life

Just like death pouncing high

And even sometimes about afterlife

I rise, I rise, I rise!

112

113

ponus papers

grade 6

Cameron Lawrence

Alexandra LeBaron

From a Skier’s Perspective

The Ocean

That dog won’t shut up

The sea has a mysterious power

Even though the burqa may seem to offer protection against the hazards of Afghanistan, it also imprisons the woman

Grass is too wet to play

The sun on the sea is like liquid gold

sheathed by its layers. The burqa feels like a prison because it shrouds the whole body. Not only does it cover a woman

Why can’t winter stay

Many are afraid; they crawl and cower

physically, but it also covers a woman’s identity, shielding her from the intimacy of relationships. Burqas cover a woman’s

But I’m not scared—I’ll love it ‘till I’m old

Casey McCall Is the Burqa a Prison or a Protector?

originality, forcing upon them physical, personal, and social limitations. All women wearing burqas look exactly the same. Some people would say that the burqa offers protection. It is said that many men in Afghanistan throw acid on or harass

Water and sky like intertwining hands

women who aren’t wearing burqas. If a woman chose to wear a burqa, it’s possible that she might avoid the violence often

No matter how long, its grace won’t worsen

directed at women who oppose the burqa. People who believe that the burqa offers protection think that it keeps women

Waves pushing up on the pearly-white sands

safe not only while out in society, but at home too. At home, relatives sometimes harass females for not wearing a burqa.

The sea cuts to the heart of a person

When a woman wears a burqa, she might keep herself safe from the critical eyes of male relatives. In spite of these points, there are many good reasons that prove that the burqa is a prison and should not be worn, despite some measure of

But the ocean can hold you in its grasp In the sea, people’s lives come to an end

safety that it may or may not provide. The burqa takes away a woman’s identity. It does not show any distinguishing features on the body making the woman

Push above the surface for their last gasp

under the cloth obsolete. Even someone’s eyes are obscured as a result of a screen in front of the eyes. The burqa surrounds

Some can say they were drowned by their best friend

the head and loosely falls down to the ground. It blocks the body’s shape. The burqa makes a dramatic statement in Afghan society: a woman’s identity is less important than this social tradition.

Though the sea holds much evil in its dark In our hearts, it will always leave its mark

Not only does the burqa cover a woman’s identity, but it also subordinates any women wearing it. The burqa symbolizes a time when women were considered second class citizens. Women wearing burqas are always reminded of their past. Men are no help either. They consider women who wear immodest clothing to be worthy of punishment. Many men in such societies consider how a woman dresses to be more important than who a woman is. All women wearing burqas are subject to subordination and discrimination. Finally, the burqa negatively affects a woman’s health. It blocks sunlight, which causes lack of Vitamin D. Vitamin D strengthens your bones. Without it, your bones would be weak and feeble. The burqa is also a very uncomfortable piece of clothing. It also limits breathing and blocks the mouth from getting direct air flow. Not only does the burqa affect physical health, but it also affects mental health. 16% of women in Afghanistan, who wear burqas commit suicide every year. The burqa is not something you want on your body because it is uncomfortable and bad for your health. A woman’s originality and identity are stolen by the burqa. In addition to that, the burqa subordinates all women wearing that. Also, the burqa creates physical hazards to most women wearing it. All of these reasons add up to the fact that burqas shouldn’t be worn by women in Afghanistan or by any other women in the world.

114

115

ponus papers

grade 6

Brynn McClymont Roll of Thunder Hear My Cry

stated that blacks should “never impute dishonorable intentions to a white person.” This means that black people were very restricted with what they could say to whites, but that whites could say anything they pleased. So while

Imagine being a black girl growing-up during the Jim Crow Era in Mississippi with little understanding of racial inequality.

Lillian Jean could call Cassie whatever she pleased, Cassie had to speak to Lillian Jean in a specific manner. The rules

Cassie Logan, the main character in Roll of Thunder Hear My Cry, is just that girl. A ten-year-old daughter of the Logans,

in the Jim Crow Era clearly show that while everything was separate, barely anything was equal.

Cassie is a fiesty protagonist who struggles to understand her role as a black girl living in a racist society. The Logans are one of the only black families that own their own land. Most other black members of their Southern community sharecrop on the

white children and the schools for black children were run at separate facilities. An example of a Florida state law during the

wealthy white owner’s land, and are subjected to violence, poverty and laws that favor whites. Roll of Thunder Hear My Cry by

Jim Crow Era stated, “The schools for white children and the schools for negro children shall be conducted separately.”

Mildred Taylor takes place in the Jim Crow Era, but the story is influenced by other time periods of slavery and the Civil Rights.

This law is unfair because the white children would get all the new materials and after all the materials were worn down to

Slavery was a time period between the late 1400’s and 1800’s in which whites “owned” blacks. Black members of society were not provided with basic rights. Bob Ledbetter, a slave, said, “I never went to school an hour in my life!” In Roll of Thunder Hear My Cry, which takes place in Mississippi, a state known for its huge plantations and large number of slaves, there were

the point where they were almost unusable, the black children would get them. The Jim Crow Era did not afford blacks many more rights than the slavery era. The Civil Rights Era was a period when blacks started to get their power back by protesting for freedom, and showing

separate schools for black children and white children. The schools run for blacks were usually run-down and had barely any

that they should be allowed equal rights in an integrated society. A college in North Carolina initiated sit-ins at a segregated

supplies. Even though there were schools, many blacks were uneducated because they were too busy helping in the fields.

Woolworth’s lunch counter in Greensboro to protest segregation. Similarly, in Roll of Thunder Hear My Cry, the Logan family

Similar to slavery, in Roll of Thunder Hear My Cry, picking cotton came first. Also, in Roll of Thunder Hear My Cry, the black

parents agonized a group of people who would boycott the Wallace store because they did not like the way that

kids that did go to school had to start school in November and end in March because they couldn’t go to school during cotton

the Wallaces were treating them or the other black families in the community. Boycotting the Wallace store was a good

season. In contrast, the white children went to school from August to May. Even though the Logans lived in an era after slavery

idea and similar to protests that took place during the Civil Rights Movement. As time passed, more and more segregated

and owned their own lands, the way of life for most blacks hadn’t changed much.

places got integrated, but not all was better.

Slavery was a time period when white people treated black people as if they were property. Because of this view, slaves

During the Civil Rights Era, opportunities began to open up for black citizens. As new jobs became available for blacks

were often mistreated. Slaves were poked, prodded, and sold like livestock at auctions. In addition, slaves were not paid. They

because of new laws enacted after successful protesting, black citizens were finally able to gain more money and become

worked for long hours each day and any crops that they produced were sold by their white slave owners. Whites profited off

more successful. Blacks started to prove that they were able to do everything that white people could do. In Roll of Thunder

of the hard work of their black slaves. In Roll of Thunder Hear My Cry, the white people had control over the majority of the

Hear My Cry, Uncle Hammer owned his own car, had a successful job and was on the wealthier side of the population.

town’s black citizens. For example, many black people sharecropped. Sharecropping is a system in which a large land owner

He proved that blacks can have excess money and have power in society. Blacks started to stand up for their independence

allows farmers to live and work on his land for rent. Because the rent was high, sharecroppers weren’t able to make money. The

and become more successful. By the end of the Civil Rights Era, black citizens rose above the oppression they faced since

land owners, who were almost all white, profited a lot. Slavery was a period of American history during which blacks suffered.

the United States beginning..

They were treated horribly and denied basic rights

Roll of Thunder Hear My Cry is influenced by the three time periods, Jim Crow Era, Slavery, and Civil Rights Era, because

Similar to slavery, there was a time period called the Jim Crow Era. During this era, the U.S. Constitution stated that the two

116

Schools during the Jim Crow Era were hardly equal between races. In Roll of Thunder Hear My Cry, the schools for

they show how blacks were treated throughout the hard times. Slavery was a horrible period, and even though it was thought

races “were separate, but equal.” For example, there were separate schools, churches, water fountains, sections on a bus, and

that Jim Crow was better because blacks were supposed to have “equal rights”, it was not. Black people started to rise

many more situations. Roll of Thunder Hear My Cry was set during the Jim Crow Era and provided a glimpse about how blacks

up against racism during the Civil Rights Era. The Civil Rights Era changed the world forever, and we will never forget how

were not treated fairly. For example, in Roll of Thunder Hear My Cry, Cassie had to apologize to Lillian Jean, a white girl whose

brave black people were to stand up to the white people, which the characters in Roll of Thunder Hear My Cry

father believes strongly in segregation. She was forced to apologize because she did not call her “Miz”! One Jim Crow Law

demonstrated perfectly.

Continued on next page

117

ponus papers

grade 6

ponus papers

Megan Meyerson

grade 6

Taylor Mitchell

The Night’s Wish

Roll of Thunder Hear My Cry

Long ago, in a time only remembered by the rolling hills and rushing streams, there was no difference between Night and

Could you imagine living in a country where you were treated poorly simply based on the color of your skin? In the slavery,

Day. The Night was not a shade darker that the Day, but there came a time when Night began to long to be as beautiful

Jim Crow and Civil Rights Eras, blacks were judged harshly based on their skin. The book, Roll of Thunder Hear My Cry, is

as its shadow. The Day saw the Night’s vain and ignorant folly, but the Day could not stop the Night from wishing to obtain

about a black family living through the Jim Crow Era. Even though the main character’s family, the Logans, are respectable

its shadow’s beauty. So the Night spoke to a wise old wizard, and asked him to grant his wish. The wizard agreed to

land owners who work hard and live during a time period during which they should be guaranteed “separate but equal”

help the Night and began taking the light from the Night, and adding elegance to it instead. Finally, the Night was as black

rights, victims of a society that denies them basic rights. Mildred Taylor’s writing of the book touches upon the three time

as coal. It was during this time that thievery began: in the black secrecy of the Night.

periods of African American history: Slavery, the Jim Crow Era, and the Civil Rights Movement.

The Night was happy for a while, but then he began to long for light again, so he went back to the old wizard for help.

The unfair treatment of blacks was the worst during the Slavery Era. During this time period, slaves were taken away from

The wizard let out an exasperated sigh when the Night asked him for light. The wizard explained that the spell he had used

their families and sold to whites. Slavery was an era when blacks were kidnapped from Africa and bought by whites in the

to rid the night of light was irreversible, but he did have the light in a bottle, so the wizard applied the light to the Night’s

United States. Roll of Thunder Hear My Cry references this time period because TJ, a poor black boy who lives near the

sky in small droplets, and they became the stars. Then the wizard created a bright beacon with many droplets, and it

Logan family, is thrown in jail even though the Wallaces, a racist white family who lives in town, were also guilty of committing

became the moon. All this light reduced the amount of thieves, but did not eliminate them. For this reason locks were

the crime. Instead of arresting all people guilty of the crime, TJ was held entirely accountable and members of the local KKK

invented. The Night learned his lesson and did not seek supreme beauty again.

planned to kill him as a punishment. This harsh reaction related to slavery because whites had more power in society. That example shows the inequalities of a black citizen living in both the Slavery and Jim Crow Eras. Whites had more equality and freedom, so they earned more money and had more land. The whites during the Slavery Era owned black slaves like property. That meant that white land owners did not have to pay the black slaves on their land. In the town the Logans lived in, blacks were not slaves, but many were sharecroppers. Sharecroppers are farmers rent a small piece of land on a land owners plantation. The land owners usually profit by taking most the sharecroppers harvest and selling it for a profit. Almost all sharecroppers were very poor, while the white land owners continued to make money. In Roll of Thunder Hear My Cry many of the characters were sharecroppers. T.J. and his family were sharecroppers and very poor. The Logans were considered unusual because they were one of the only black families in their town to own their own land, which the local white land owner was angry about. Even though there was no real slavery in the book, blacks were still treated like they were slaves. Another era throughout history was the Jim Crow Era. Laws have changed over the years and some of those laws that were changed were ridiculous. Jim Crow laws were laws that were made up by whites and forced upon blacks. Roll of Thunder Hear My Cry references the Jim Crow Era because it took place in a town that had strict laws for blacks. An example of one of the laws was to not wink at a white woman. In the book Mr. Berry winked at a white woman and, because of that, he and his family got badly burned by a mob of angry citizens. None of the whites who burned Mr. Berry were ever arrested. Every black had to follow those laws and face terrible consequences if they disobeyed them.

118

Continued on next page

119

ponus papers

grade 6

Taylor Mitchell

Continued

Even though the U.S. Constitution said that black and white citizens were “separate, but equal,” nothing was equal.

grade 6

Eloise Morgan Snorkeling

In the book, Cassie, the book’s main black character, was asked to go to the back of the line at a store, even though she was there before the white people. It was a rule that no matter how many whites came after a black, the whites would always be

I jump into the crystal blue water

served first. During the Jim Crow Era in this country, blacks also had to go to the back of buses, restaurants and other public

I look through my goggles at the stingray.

places. Even though the Constitution stated that blacks should have equal rights, blacks were always treated differently.

I look at my dad, he looks at his daughter,

The Civil Rights era was a time period when black finally fought back and demanded equal rights. People did boycotts,

I know I should get out of its way.

sit ins and marches for peace. An example from the book was when the Logans and others boycotted the Wallace store because they were racist and thought to have been part of the mob that burned the Berry’s home. During the Civil Rights

My dad taught me to go under the sea,

Movement, many blacks also boycotted stores, like Woolworths, which wouldn’t allow blacks to sit at the counter for lunch.

And touch the sandy bottom of the reef.

A boycott was a popular way to protest blacks’ rights during this time period. The Civil Rights Movement was a period of time when blacks finally fought back and gained rights. When the blacks

The rainbow fish and rays all looked at me, I followed him, held his hand, he’s my chief.

“fought back” and did marches, sit ins, and boycotts, they usually did it peacefully. Other groups during this time period, like the Black Panthers, used violence if necessary. One scene in the book showed when the Logan children fought back

But the ocean can harm in many ways,

against the bus driver of the white school bus. The driver usually tried to splash the Logan children on their walk to school

A piranha school swam under my feet.

and get them muddy. So the Logans dug a pit in the road so the white bus would get stuck. That relates to this time period in history because they stood for what they thought was right. The Civil Rights Movement was an era when many people

Jellyfish, sea urchins, eels and stingrays, Although it is dangerous, it is neat.

came together to make our country more peaceful with all the different colors and races. Throughout our country’s history, blacks have been treated unfairly. Whites had the power for hundreds of years, but that didn’t stop blacks from working together to demand the same equal rights as whites. It made some willing to fight harder.

I love to snorkel all over the place. I hope when we snorkel, I’ll see your face.

Now the United States has a black president. The blacks were successful in the end, even though many gave their lives during the fight.

120

121

ponus papers

grade 6

Sydney Mouzon

ponus papers

grade 6

Timmy Murillo

The City My mom and I went to New York City. Except for a field trip, it was my first time going to New York. When we arrived to New York, it was freezing cold. It felt like I was in Antarctica. I wore a sweater, hoodie, thick jacket, hat, and thick, fuzzy boots. While I waddled around New York, the first shop I went to was Starbucks. I got a Vanilla Bean Frappuccino with raspberry, and my mom got a hot chocolate. It took about 10 to 15 minutes to get our drinks. When we walked out of Starbucks, the next store that I saw was Toys R Us. It had a huge sign, so I really noticed it. When we walked in, all I saw were colors: green, pink, orange, yellow, blue etc. Then I turned my head, and I saw an enormous Ferris wheel in the store. It had all sorts of cartoons on it such as Scooby- doo, SpongeBob, Popeye, Cat and Dog, Despicable Me, The Fairly Oddparents, Monsters Inc., Mr. and Ms. Potato, My Little Pony, Barbie, and M&M’s. I was so excited that I might have taken 25 pictures. I could smell all of the candy and goodies that were in the store. Every room had its own theme. The first room was a Peep room; Peeps are little marshmallows covered in colored sugar. Nothing else on that level blew my mind, so we went to the bottom level. “ Ohhh my gosh!” I screamed. It was the dinosaur from Jurassic Park; it was huge but not as big as the Ferris wheel. The dinosaur even roared. My Mom and I stood there for fifteen minutes and watched it stomp and roar at us. I told my mom that if my brother and sister were there, the dinosaur would have terrified them. After we saw the dinosaur, I was so amazed that I didn’t want to see anything else but the door. We took the escalator up to the middle floor to walk out the door. I begged my mom to go on the Ferris wheel the whole time we were in New York City. And even though I never went on the Ferris wheel, I still had one of the best times of my entire life.

122

123

ponus papers

grade 6

Mimi Ndokwu

Nina Parker

Sofie Pasztor

We All Love Candy!!!

Memories

Hungary

OMG! I love candy.

There is only so much our minds can hold.

We raise our flag way up high,

They are sugary and sweet,

Our friends, love, and laughter we’ve come to know.

We’ll never let those bullets fly,

And all those sweets come in handy.

We lose the memories when we get old.

We march proudly up the hall,

And when we eat candy, isn’t it a treat!

And some we feel could never be let go.

Because you communists are nothing at all. You lift your guns ready to fire,

There are lollipops, Tootsie Rolls, and Blow Pops.

We can relive the moments of glory.

But our voices combine and we call you a liar.

Yum! Candy is good!

We look back on triumphant days and nights.

We hear a bang; you go down.

When I eat candy, I go “shuh- bop-pop!”

We close our eyes to see an old story.

So let’s go celebrate and tell the whole town.

But, I can’t eat Sweet Tarts. I wish I could.

Blank minds are painted with beautiful sights.

I love Nerds, Jolly Ranchers and M&Ms.

But we don’t want to remember some things.

I wish I could have all the candy in the world.

The darkness that lingers forever more.

Candy today may not be as good as it was back then.

An awful memory, the pain it brings.

A piece of candy is like a golden pearl.

Many thoughts haunt us; they make our hearts sore.

Doesn’t everyone love chocolate?

Nothing can change the power of our minds.

To buy candy, never forget to tell your parents,

We recollect memories of all kinds.

“Get out your wallets.”

124

125

ponus papers

grade 6

Jeffrey Pendo Revolution In Novels

dictator since 1980, out of office, but he and his ZANU party are power hungry. The citizens of Zimbabwe want Mugabe to be arrested. They started a movement for democratic change in 2005, but as usual, Mugabe

“Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable.”-JFK. In the book, The Rock and

wouldn’t give in. In the 2008 election in Zimbabwe, Mugabe was running against a South African with plans to

the River, young Sam is an African American living during the Civil Rights Movement who is exploring violent and peaceful

make Zimbabwe a great country. Mugabe and the ZANU party knew that Mugabe might lose, so they rigged

methods of revolution. In the book, The Year of Impossible Goodbyes, a girl named Sookan is living in North Korea and

the votes, making Mugabe president yet again. The citizens of Zimbabwe are fighting back with all their might

taking part in a rebellion during the oppressive Japanese occupation of the 1930s. Currently, in Zimbabwe, there is a dictator

to defeat Mugabe. They aren’t just sitting around. They are taking steps to stop tyranny. They won’t succumb

named Robert Mugabe who is oppressing his citizens, rigging elections so that he always wins and hiring people to kill

to regulations like characters in The Year of Impossible Goodbyes. Also, they’re using different methods of

anti-Mugabe citizens. He and his ZANU party are horrible leaders who are destroying Zimbabwe. However, his citizens are

revolution like characters in The Rock and the River. The citizens of Zimbabwe are using tactics from both

starting a revolution like the ones that occur in these two novels. The theme of revolution guides the plots of these two

books and they have proven to be helpful. While they have yet to oust Mugabe from office, with a revolution

novels and mirrors the current anti-tyranny movement in Zimbabwe.

brewing in this country, change will come.

In The Rock and the River, revolution is expressed vividly in the text. “All I saw was people, as far as I could see. I thought

Revolution is what makes these two novels so interesting. Not only are they historically accurate, but they

everyone in the world had come to Washington, that we were celebrating the end of all protests. I couldn’t imagine that

connect to the real life situation currently playing out in Zimbabwe. All revolutions are different, but they share

there was anyone left in the world to hurt us” [Page 145]. This text example shows that people can join in massive groups and

the same goals: change. Without revolution, societies would stay the same. Because of revolutions, blacks

overcome oppression. In this moment, Sam thought that peaceful revolution is best. Another example from The Rock and the

were able to achieve equal rights, Koreans were able to finally conquer the Japanese, and Zimbabwe is taking

River was, “Breathing hard, I lifted the gun from the pavement, stood up, and pointed it at the man choking Stick. ‘Let go!’”

steps towards reclaiming their country from a tyrannical leader.

This second example shows that people can be ready to take action and make a change. In this moment, Sam thought that violent revolution is best. These two events show that revolution takes many forms. In this book, the main character struggles to find which method of revolution, peaceful or with arms, will lead to the best outcome: racial equality. In The Year of Impossible Goodbyes , the main character’s country has been occupied by the Japenese, who treat the Korean citizens horribly. The Korean citizens are denied basic rights and many, in their own ways, try to rebel against the Japenese forces that have invaded their villages. “Mother grabbed Aunt Tiger, pulled her inside, and said harshly, ‘Stop that! Stop it! Don’t let the Japanese have your soul. We can’t let them make us crazy. That is exactly what they want.’” The first example shows how people can know what the enemy is doing and try to rebel by not succumbing to the enemy’s expectations. A second example of revolution in The Year of Impossible Goodbyes was, “I had heard that once you were in the south, the Russians and the North Koreans could not shoot you, even if you were an escapee. But we still ran.” This example shows how determined people can be to get out of bad societies. Even though Sookan knew she was safe once she was across the border, she still ran because she hated North Korea and its Japanese occupants so much. These two events show how people can be very eager to escape to safe places, which is why they start revolutions. Similarly, the citizens of Zimbabwe are very angry. They have tried several times to get Robert Mugabe, the country’s Continued on next page

126

127

ponus papers

grade 6

Gabrielle Perreault Speech Hi, my name is Gabrielle Perreault. Today I am going to share a speech that I wrote about how we would all benefit from an earlier dismissal. All of us have homework and after school activities. It’s hard to do these things when we get home past 4:00 o’clock. An earlier dismissal would help. If we were to be dismissed at 3:00 PM, students’ lives would improve tremendously.

ponus papers

grade 6

Desmond Pratt Basketball Basketball is the best of all the sports From the three-point shots to the crazy dunks I get so pumped when I step on the court And I look so cool in my baggy trunks

Emily Riccardi The Rock and the River “Black power is giving power to people who have not had power to determine their destiny,” said Huey Newton, one of the founders of the Black Panthers. The Black Panthers were a group of black revolutionists who wanted to achieve equal rights for blacks. They were a group who

1. More time for homework 2. More time to bond with our classmates

My favorite player is Lebron James

led this country’s Black Power Movement, which took

3. More sleep

He is the most talented in the world

place during the Civil Rights Era of the 1950s and ’60s. The

All of us have stressed over homework at one time or another. We would all have less stress if we had an earlier

I enjoy the way he dominates games

book The Rock and the River is about two brothers, Sam

dismissal because we would have more time to do our homework. It would also let us look over our work better and take

When he takes over, it makes your skin curl

and the Non-Violent Movement, blacks who protested for

our time while doing our homework. Having more time to do our homework would also let us study better for our tests and would help improve our grades.

and Stick, who were involved with both the Black Panthers

NBA players are so athletic

equal rights through peaceful methods. The black power

With an earlier dismissal we would have more time to devote to bonding with our classmates. This would improve

To the quick and small, to the strong and tall

movement in The Rock and the River depicted a more

our social confidence and would build lifelong friendships. By having these close bonds with each other, we would work

You cannot deny and must respect it

effective method for achieving equal rights for blacks

together more successfully on group assignments and projects.

That NBA players can flat out ball

The Non-Violent Movement took place in the 1950s

As students, we need more sleep. Having an extra hour in the afternoon would allow us to go to bed earlier. Kids our age need 10-12 hours to sleep each night, which we are not getting. Without the proper amount of sleep, studies show that kids can have mood swings, cognitive problems that impact their ability to learn, and a difficult time paying attention during school. Too little sleep negatively impacts a student’s performance. By taking away 5 minutes from every period and small amounts of time from other things, NCCS could dismiss us at 3:00 PM. Earlier dismissals will overall yield better student results.

in America.

Nothing matches an intense game of hoops Schooling other teams, just me and my troops

and 1960. The movement was a group of peaceful protesters that did not use violence. The Non-Violent Movement included many protests like the one in Selma, Alabama, the Montgomery Bus Boycott and many others. The Non-Violent Movement fought for blacks, by helping to achieve rights. They wanted everyone to be equal. The Non-Violent Movement did not believe in guns or any form of violence. They would sing, march and peacefully protest. While the Non-Violent Movement was not as effective as the Black Power Movement, they still brought attention to racism. The Black Power Movement was a less popular form of revolution during the Civil Rights Era, even though it

128

Continued on next page

129

ponus papers

grade 6

Emily Riccardi

Continued

made an important difference. The difference between the groups was the Black Power Movement was a group of

grade 6

Zach Rothwell O Glorious Flappy Bird

protesters that sometimes used violence if a white hurt them. The Black Panthers taught children about class struggle and black history. The public image of the Black Power Movement was negative because they carried guns around

O Glorious Flappy Bird

with them and were considered violent. The founder of the Black Panthers said, “The power structure depends upon

Flying between the pipes

the use of force in order to get rid of the gun it is necessary to take up the gun.” The Black Power Movement was an

By far the most preferred

inspirational movement during the Civil Rights Era because they taught blacks that it is ok to fight for a better life.

Of all the people under stars and stripes.

The Non-Violent Movement was depicted in many ways in The Rock and the River. Sam and his father, Roland, characters in the book, were involved with the Non-Violent Movement. Roland worked with Martin Luther King Jr., who insisted that change be achieved through peaceful methods. Sam helped Roland with his work and accompanied him to demonstrations and speeches. Martin Luther King Jr. visited Roland, had dinner with him and collaborated on speeches with him. A few of the main characters in The Rock and the River were inspired by

We were all enraged when you were cruelly removed From the app store to use After you were disapproved, But we realize our mistake and are in the blues.

the Non-Violent Movement. The Black Power Movement was reflected in The Rock and the River. The characters, Stick, Raheem, Maxie and

O, lost leader

Sam were involved with the Black Panthers. Stick is Sam’s brother, Raheem is Stick’s friend and Maxie’s older brother.

who may have flown to Saturn!

In the book, Raheem is part of the Black Panthers, Stick is the leader of the group and Sam and Maxie work at the office and help with the work. The Black Panthers also held a free breakfast at the local school for kids that were not

We will set up an altar for your return.

fed at home. The members of the Black Power Movement carried guns and sometimes pulled them out to scare harsh whites if they were trying to hurt them. The Black Power Movement played an important role in the book. The Black Power Movement in The Rock and the River depicted a more effective method for achieving equal

Please return to us. For we are in a great fuss.

rights for blacks in America. I feel that The Black Power Movement had better ideas than the non-violent movement, because it started programs to help the under-privileged and also taught classes about the history of blacks in America and Africa. While the use of violence wasn’t usually necessary, they contributed greatly to our country’s fight for equal rights.

130

131

ponus papers

grade 6

Carolina Salvatore Spring Morning I woke up to the sound of birds chirping and the bright, yellow sun in my eyes. It was like the birds were

Teddy Schoenholtz

grade 6

Sophie Smith

Doom A lurking figure among the dark sky He will wait at your doorstep every night

yelling at me, “Wake up! Wake up!” I thought this had to

He will wait for me but I will defy

be the first sign of spring. After the longest, coldest, and

Do not worry there is nothing to fright

hardest winter of my life, spring was finally here; nothing could make me happier. I opened the shade just a crack

We are the defiers that defy death

and could see the leaves on the trees starting to make

We are one whole that will overcome doom

their way back to spring time. It had been forever since I

The cowards will take their last shaky breath

had last seen them. Only a few trees however had leaves.

When doom strikes he will put you in a tomb

It was like being at a sleepover and waiting for your other friends to wake up. The one thing that I didn’t see was

But doom punishes the worst of them all

a speck of snow. That alone was a miracle! Even if the

He doesn’t only kill your dearest

grass looked yellow with a mix of light green, I don’t think

The evil are afraid to fight; they are small

that I’ve ever been happier to see grass. The sky was the

Doom kills enemies that are the clearest

bluest I’d seen it in a long time and without a cloud in the sky. I wondered if the clouds were hibernating. This

We have to live on to face doom himself

ordinary morning felt like Christmas; I couldn’t wait to get

If we must face doom we face doom itself

up and start the day! As I pressed my nose against the window, the warmth shone through the glass and hit me right in the heart. I could feel it everywhere in my body: up through my feet and into my head. This wasn’t the feeling of a heater; this was much better than a heater. This warmth was inside of me.

132

133

ponus papers

grade 6

Nick Sosnow The Rock and The River: After the Final Chapter The day after Stick’s funeral, I went to school for the first time since Father was hurt. It was really awkward; all the kids were gathering around me like I was the president of the United States. They were saying stuff like, “I’m sorry for your loss,” and, “Welcome back, Sam.” Then I went to my classes and did all the usual stuff I did in school. After school, I tried to look for Maxie at the steps to walk home with me, but she was nowhere to be seen. I had not even seen her the entire

ponus papers

grade 6

Celia Sotirhos

Jack Sparks

Ocean

Water

The ocean winds are what makes me feel free

Water, something that surrounds all of us

Sand plus waves are the best combination

Water is an element full of peace

The sea is the key to tranquility

I step in the water and I am joyous

Trips to the beach are perfect vacations

In water, my emotions are released

The sea is like a mirror clear and still

Water shoots through rivers and cuts through rocks

You see your reflection in the ocean

Water reflects the glow of the warm sun

Calm sounds of waves crashing upon the sandy hill

Breaking waves crash upon the large brown docks

The sea sways in a steady, still motion

Little crystal drops falling one by one

But a cold, dark place can be the ocean

But it can be a demon, dark and cold

And the tide can bite and pull you down under

Grabs your leg and drags you into its depths

The waves can sway in not a nice motion

It surrounds you, watching your death unfold

And the sea is deep, and loud like thunder

The mass pressure pushing against your chest

The ocean is what can unlock your soul

Water is a gift, gentle and kind

the beach is hot not like in the North Pole

But also from it, your death can unwind

school day. I started to walk back to my warm and comfortable house. Maxie was waiting for me at my house; she had a handkerchief in her hand. She looked like she was a little bit upset about something. “Sam, I have some bad news to tell you,” she paused. In my mind I had a river of ideas flowing through my mind about what could happen. She continued, “Raheem and your father have died.” “What!?” I said, immediately bursting into tears. Two of my friends and family had died. “They died because of the police officer,” said Maxie. I was sulking so hard right now. “While you were at school, Roland and the rest of the remaining Panthers had a meeting, and police came down and shot all of them including Roland, Raheem, and Leroy.” As I ran inside to find my mother, I could instantly hear loud crying coming from all places in our house. My mom was clearly heartbroken. It looked like there was a funeral inside our home with Mama’s closest friends. She saw me and hugged me so hard. I was the only person in our family left and that was important to Mama. Mama said to me, “It’s going to be okay,” although I knew that it wasn’t. I had a devastating month. I knew it was only going to get worse for me though. The Panthers were gone; my family was gone. It was only my mother and me left. I ran up to my room and prayed that Father, Raheem, Leroy, and all the other people that were dead would magically come back to life. Then I said to myself, “Why them and not me?”

134

135

ponus papers

grade 6

William Staniar

Nate Stevens

The Game

Failure

You may strike me out in baseball

Running on the beach

The Harlem Renaissance was a time period in American history, following World War One, when people began to have an

with fastballs, sliders and curves.

The kite still scraping the sand

open mind about black culture. Harlem is a neighborhood in upper Manhattan between 110th-155th streets and was better

You may throw me out at second base,

Dragging behind me

But, like the dust, I rise

Haley Strom Duke Ellington

known as “The Capital of Black America.” Talented black artists, writers, musicians, political activists and more moved to Harlem to take part in this new movement. Duke Ellington was a musical figure during these years and spent time living and performing in Harlem. He was considered by many to be the best composer, bandleader, and recording artist of his era.

Does my batting stance offend you?

Duke Ellington’s musical life started with his parents and a piano. Duke Ellington was born on April 29, 1899 in Washington

You look like you’re going home soon.

D.C and lived with his mother, Daisy Kennedy and his father, Edward Kennedy Ellington. Edward made blueprints for the U.S.

You play like you have won,

Navy and was a butler for the White House to make extra money. Both of Duke’s parents played the piano, so when Duke was

your confidence so soon.

seven, he became interested too. He was a soda jerk at the Poodle Dog Cafe after school. A band played there sometimes, and Duke was asked to join every now and then. He wrote “Soda Fountain Rag” while working there. For his musical talents,

The score is 3-0 you,

Duke was offered a scholarship at the Pratt Institute in New York City. He ended-up attending Armstrong Manual Training

but we are not done yet.

School to learn about visual arts. Just before he was set to graduate, he dropped out to become a professional musician.

The bats go pop pop pop! The game is not done yet.

This led to his fame. Duke Ellington’s adult life improved his career. As a jazz musician of ragtime, minstrel music, tin pan alley tunes, blues, and more, he had started his musical career in a small places. In 1923, he moved to New York City and by 1927, he had lots of fans and a band at the popular Cotton Club. Duke was known for his flashy clothing that he bought with money from performing at broadway, performing on radios, and more. He married Edna in 1918, and they had their only son named Mercer, on March 11, 1919. He did not have an ordinary life, however, he had the life of a famous musician. Duke had many accomplishments in life and even received awards after his death. His first well-known songs were three minutes then later became known for writing songs for other settings like for ballrooms, comedy stages, night clubs, movie houses, theaters, concert halls, and cathedrals. He received twelve Grammy Awards, nine while he was alive and three after his death from the years of 1959-2000. He created his own band which had improvising and many instruments. In his band, The Washingtons, there was a new member named Blubber Miley, and he used a plunger to make a “wa-wa” sound with a trumpet. Some of their songs that they were most famous for included, “It Don’t Mean a Thing”, “Caravan”, and “Jeep’s Blues.” He performed in Europe and everyone enjoyed his performances. He received the medal of freedom and Continued on next page

136

137

ponus papers

grade 6

Haley Strom

Continued

made best selling albums. The Washingtons were

Charlie Tait Metal Monkey Bars

grade 6

Kara Ventura Jumping for the First Time

a very successful band during this era and beyond. Duke Ellington helped improve the Harlem

Callus on fingers

Renaissance because he invented a new sound and

Falling to the brown wood chips

created a sound-track for the Harlem Renaissance.

My knees turn bright red

“Come on, Bullseye!” I clucked to the pony I was riding, trying to make sure he didn’t stop short and throw me over his neck. It was my first lesson at the Wilton Riding Club, and I wanted to make a good first impression. I had been really nervous before the lesson, because I didn’t want to do something wrong. Charlotte, my new teacher, instructed me to ride

His music was popular among all Americans, black

around the ring a few times, going over poles on each short side. I had done this before, so it wasn’t a big deal. I had no idea

and white, because it was so unique. The pieces of

what Charlotte was about to tell me to do. I was nervous, but excited, about changing barns. At my old barn, I hadn’t been

music were all very different and included lots of new

learning anything for weeks, so now I was riding at WRC. I was happy that maybe, I would finally learn something.

sounds. He had 6,000 pieces and 2,000 of them were

“Alright, you can take a rest for a moment. Just walk for now.” I sat deep in the saddle I was using and pulled slightly

jazz. Though he died from lung cancer in 1974 at age

on the reins. I panted a little and my shirt was sticking to my back, not to mention my pants on my legs. To all of the people

75, he had a positive impact on the society and had a

who think riding is a breeze, try posting around a ring four or five times in a row with the sun beating down on you.

“reputation that increased from death,” meaning that he will always be remembered. Duke Ellington is an influential, talented, and accomplished man from the Harlem Renaissance. He had many achievements and forever changed the world

“Good boy, Bullseye!” I panted quietly. I gave him a pat. I could feel his lungs heaving on my legs, and I could see sweat moistening his neck around his mane. We were doing well together, even if we were both getting a workout. My nerves had calmed a little, and I was feeling pretty confident. The heat had lulled me into a relaxed but alert state. I pushed my helmet down a little and scooted forward in the worn saddle. Charlotte saw that I was ready and nodded to me. “Okay, you can change direction, circling left now.” Bullseye and I turned in a circle, and walked the other way. “Can I see

of music. Even now, people consider him to be one of

your jump seat?” Charlotte asked in her funny accent. It sounded Australian, and it made her extra likeable. I sat up into

the most important artists in American history. He will be

what I had been taught was a jump seat, and Charlotte almost laughed.

remembered forever, not only because of his music, but

“That is not a jump seat! Is that what you had been taught at Larkspur?” I nodded and laughed a little. Charlotte then

because he showed all citizens during this racist time

showed me the correct way and said, “Now trot that around the ring a couple times, going over the poles, and then jump

period that black men and women were talented and

these two jumps.” I felt a wave of shock wash over me. I had never jumped before, or even dreamed of trying it so soon.

worthy of respect and equal rights.

I suddenly had a nagging thought tugging at the back of my mind. Did Charlotte know I couldn’t jump? What if she thought I could, and I completely messed up? Not only would that be embarrassing, but Bullseye or I could get seriously hurt. “So, I just do jump seat and go over the jumps?” I asked tentatively. “Yep. That’s all you do,” Charlotte nodded and reassured me. Okay, I thought, I can do this. Nothing to it. We got this. I was doubting myself, but I knew I had to do it, so what was the point of being nervous? I nudged Bullseye to a trot, and shortened the reins to lean into jump seat. I felt like butterflies were fluttering around my stomach, and I could hear my heart pounding in my ears. Two more laps, then one and a half, and then it was only one, and suddenly the jumps were almost right in front of me. As we rounded the last turn, a voice inside my head was screaming, stop, Continued on next page

138

139

ponus papers

grade 6

Kara Ventura

Continued

grade 6

Chuck Warren

stop, stop! But another voice was pounding through my brain the words, You can do it! Everything seemed to become slow motion, and all I could hear was Bullseye’s hooves thudding, my heart thumping, and each of my breaths. As the jumps sped closer, I leaned into the correct jump seat. The first jump was right in front of us. Then Bullseye leaped. I felt an extraordinary soaring sensation, as if for that moment, Bullseye and I were one giant bird gliding through the air. My laugh broke my nerves in midair. As soon as Bullseye’s front legs touched the ground, the world snapped back out of slow motion. I could no longer hear the blood pounding through my ears, and for a tiny moment, relief flooded my mind. I could feel it rush throughout my body. But then, Bullseye decided that jumping just wasn’t enough. So he started cantering. I felt another, different wave of immediate shock. “Whoa, Bullseye! Whoa!” I had just enough time to lean forward back into jump seat before we were flying over the second jump. After we landed again, we continued to canter until I mustered my strength and pulled him back to a trot. “That was soo cool!” I laughed. I was so proud of myself and so excited! It was one of the best moments of my life so far. After that first jump, I kept working at it until I could jump smoothly without my head snapping back, and without butterflies in my stomach. Later, I worked more on cantering and learned how to sit deep into the saddle and let the horse’s motion guide me. Jumping for the first time, so unexpectedly, showed me that some things are only scary at first, and that if you believe in yourself, you really can do whatever you want.

140

141

ponus papers

grade 6

Mimi White

142

ponus papers

grade 6

Louis Williams

143

ponus papers

grade 6

Bo Zeigler The Comedy of Errors: After the Final Scene

ponus papers

grade 6

Catherine Ziac The Claws of Roses

After the commotion about the two sets of twins, the reunited family went into the Abbey to discuss their lives apart.

Beautiful roses grow

First, Emilia and Egeon talk about the boat. Emilia talks about the very stormy night. She describes how the wind

Their thorns rip and tear my skin

was whipping the clothes on their body and how the waves were rocking the boat. The twins of Ephesus wince at the story;

my blood drips rose red

this is the first time they have ever heard it. Emilia describes the unstable mast that they tied themselves to and the disastrous results. All of the twins are astounded. The Syracusan pair is finally hearing what happened to their mother. Everyone is in tears. That night as Antipholus of Ephesus is sleeping, he has a nightmare that he is separated from his family again, including Dromio. He wakes up sweating and on the floor with his sheets ripped apart and strewn about. He quickly runs to his mother’s room, only to find her missing. Her bed is made, her clothes are not in the closet, and her shoes are not under her bed. He sprints down the halls of the silent Abbey to his father’s room. His room looks the exact same as Emilia’s. Now very frightened, he runs to Antipholus’ room. As he runs, he tripped over a loose floorboard. He flies through the air, and he lands on his face. Everything goes black for a second. One moment he is laying on the floor, and the next moment he is in his bed, drenched with sweat. He realizes that it was just a series of dreams. He saunters over to his parents’ bedroom to find them soundly sleeping. He goes back to his room and cries. He cries for his brother and mother. He cries for his father and Dromio. He cries for himself. He now understands the life his family members went through, and he slips into bed and falls asleep. Egeon goes into Antipholus’ room to wake him up. He told Antipholus of Ephesus to get his wife and Luciana because they are leaving for Syracuse. On the way back to Syracuse, Antipholus talks about how he was naive to not notice that they were his twins. After all, he was searching for them. Once they land, Antipholus of Syracuse walks out first. They all greet him with respect. Everyone is glad to see him. He receives many hugs and some kisses. When he finally is on his doorstep, he lifts the mat to find the keys and open the door. He sits down on the dusty couch. Back on the streets Antipholus of Ephesus is walking, and many people are saying, “Wow, I thought I just saw you.” He responds, “Oh brother, not again.”

144

145

ponus papers

grade 6

Teddy Zinn Four-Square Sensation

ponus papers

grade 7

Emily Barnard Untitled

When I was at school on Monday, I was playing foursquare on the black top. I felt so happy that I had a break because

Leaves drop to the ground

I could get some fresh air. The line was moving quickly. It was so fast that it only took one minute to start playing.

Falling slowly from the trees

When I got in, I started to get people out. I moved from d square, to c, to b and then a. I called the rules and served it,

Dancing in the air

but Ian got me out right off the bat. I tried to make up an excuse to stay in, but all I heard was, “Get out!” When I got back in line, I started to eat my snack. It was so tasty and yummy because it was a brownie. I could smell it even when it was in my pocket. I went through the line again and saw Zach in square c. I knew he was going to try to slam it and get me out, which he did. Again, I went to the back of the line and started eating my brownie until it was done. I looked down and realized that it was gone. “Oh well,” I said. The line started to quicken, and I was in for the third time in five minutes. That is quick for foursquare. The ball was served, and I got out again. I get frustrated when there is an alliance to get the person in d square out, but I also do it so I should not be complaining. Thankfully the square was all fifth graders. They called taps to head, which meant Ian was our only hope. Ian went up in d square and slammed the ball so far that Charlie, in square c, had no chance of getting it. It was then my turn to play. The ball was served, but then the bell rang. That happens to me all the time. It is always frustrating, but it was still a fun recess.

146

147

ponus papers

grade 7

Emily Barnard

Continued

grade 7

William Byrne Autumn Leaves are on the ground A breeze is against my face Colors surround me

148

149

ponus papers

William Byrne

150

ponus papers

grade 7

Continued

grade 7

Lucinda Carroll

151

ponus papers

grade 7

Portia Cummings Autumn Leaves flow in the air Falling from the swaying trees Moving gracefully

152

153

ponus papers

grade 7

Alex Galik

154

ponus papers

grade 7

Griffin Grise

Christina Halloran

AUTUMN HAIKU

Zamboni summer

I hit the ball hard

Melts away last yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s defeats

Breezing through the green, cold grass

Fresh October ice

Sprinting down the field

155

ponus papers

grade 7

Nicole Humphrey

156

ponus papers

grade 7

Turner Ives

157

ponus papers

grade 7

Caitlin Lefferts

158

ponus papers

grade 7

Jackson McManus

Anya Mohindra-Green

Fall

Autumn

Baseball playoffs start,

Cool air, bundle up

The fans, the crowd, the cheering,

Hot chocolate and pie, yum!

One hit ends it all.

Falling leaves rain down

159

ponus papers

grade 7

Jack Neafsey

ponus papers

grade 7

Grady Norton Leaves Leaves are amazing They fill up the autumn sky Earth looks beautiful

160

161

ponus papers

grade 7

Mimi Pastor

162

ponus papers

grade 7

Cam Raker

Whitney Rintoul

AUTUMN HAIKU

The frigid snow falls,

Red leaves crinkling

the flowing water turns to ice.

Falling from the trees above

Heat, a memory

The crisp wind building.

163

ponus papers

164

ponus papers

grade 7

Virginia Smith

Tyler Swirbul

AUTUMN HAIKU

Jumping in leaf piles

Orange, red, they fall

Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m covered in ticks and bugs

Twirling down, they race snowfall

Going inside now

They soon get buried

grade 7

George Thompson

165

ponus papers

grade 7

Audrey Trussell

grade 7

Chris Zegarra

Autumn Autumn comes around Winter coats start to come out Chilly breezes blow

166

167

ponus papers

grade 8

Anna Bean

Jeffrey Basta We’ve thought this way for so long

But how will we know for certain,

But what if it’s the other way?

Entering each belief with a blind faith

What if we are wrong?

Till that moment when your days are done. I guess we’ll have to wait

Is North up?

But what if we were wrong?

Is South down?

Well by then it may be too late.

Are we sure it is not The other way around?

We’ve thought this way for so long But what if we are wrong?

Even viewing Our planet from space We cannot truly see Its real face

Maybe there is other life In the viewable galaxies. Humans knew that The Earth was flat, didn’t we?

We laugh at people in the past And how misinformed they were. How do we know that people Will not do this to us in the future?

What religion is right? Into which shall we take the fall? Is it a god or gods with unlimited might, Or are there no gods at all?

168

169

ponus papers

grade 8

Gabriel Byan

ponus papers

grade 8

Seve Calderini

Elizabeth Casey

Clashing Universes

The Last Time…

I am the offspring of scholars,

The last time I saw you

merchants, physicists, architects,

We hugged so tight

seamen, laundry boys, housewives,

We said our goodbyes

lawyers, coal miners,

And left for the night

poets, dreamers... I have seen my father’s exertion, climbing up the never ending mountain. Forging a path for his legacy, conceptualizing the future with every step. Holding up the dumbbell society has place on him, “immigrant.” I have heard my mother’s soothing voice. Guiding me through the maze that is life. In my darkest hours, she comes. Tales of a titillating past. Images rush through my head, her voice surges through my mind. Relax. Mother was a worker. Sweaty hands, palms, making contact the anvil of labor, never ending cycle. I was born in the spark of romance, two worlds clashing into one. Centuries of legacies welded together with the intangible object that is love.

170

171

ponus papers

grade 8

Grace Consoli Disconnect and Reconnect Donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t worry about the likes The amount of followers Number of retweets Filters on your photos Just try to Disconnect and reconnect

172

173

ponus papers

grade 8

Matt Dormer

grade 8

Ari Fleuriot

Ode to New York Why Why torture us with solid lineups and then fail so miserably, Punish us with horrible comment after comment Hire a man who learned more about basketball in his interview than in his career Stand on the outside looking in Have a bad point guard who puts up more assists than the entire team Sign a head case who canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t shoot for his life Why do you hate us, New York? Why?

174

175

ponus papers

grade 8

Katharine Foster

176

ponus papers

grade 8

Chase Glover

177

ponus papers

grade 8

Sophie Graham

178

ponus papers

grade 8

Lucy Hudson

179

ponus papers

grade 8

Lila Kirchhoff

180

ponus papers

grade 8

Zach Liston

181

ponus papers

grade 8

Jack Megrue

182

ponus papers

grade 8

Dana Mills

183

ponus papers

grade 8

Scout Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Donnell

184

ponus papers

grade 8

Sam Parmelee

185

ponus papers

grade 8

Alexandra Schwartz

186

ponus papers

grade 8

P.J. Sensbach

187

ponus papers

grade 8

Blake Sommi

grade 8

Victoria Song

School Who cries for summer? The end of the school is quite a bummer

Sweetly I remember, Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s beginning in September

188

189

ponus papers

grade 8

Victoria Song

Continued

grade 8

Ben Sosnow Baked Potato The warm football comes out of the oven Easy to split, so soft and tender inside Spread the sour cream inside for maximum taste Add crunchy bacon inside, spread cheese on top Fills the void in the stomach Yummy Â

190

191

ponus papers

grade 8

Kate Tapscott

192

ponus papers

grade 8

Felicity Taylor

193

ponus papers

grade 8

Ryan Ventura

grade 8

Kelly Wappler

Golf Ball You put me down I start to frown You start your swing I hear a ding Wind rushing by As I fly The world spins round I hit the ground I start to roll Towards the hole I feel a drop A sudden stop I hit the pin You hit me in To the cup You pick me up

194

195

ponus papers

grade 8

Kelly Wappler Don’t Look Back, You’re Not Going That Way

grade 8

Continued

Lost

Empty Canvases

I like to get lost in things

One look at you

I think we waste too much time

In movies

And I knew

On the silly things

In books

That we had different views

In characters

Because you hate being you

Wishing

In music

And

Complaining

But especially

Every

Hoping

In your eyes.

Freckle

or Regretting.

Scar

Rain

Because the past has passed Let it go. And the future is the future Full of things we do not yet know.

Pimple When I watch the drops fall down the window It reminds me that It’s okay not to be okay Because even Mother Nature

You

Stretch mark

Has tears rolling down her cheeks.

Birthmark And Bruise Makes you blue You think of them as flaws, don’t you? But that’s not true.

You haunt me like a ghost Never leaving my mind

You were born an empty canvas, and each mark is proof you grew. Each mark is paint splattered on you.

I am often nostalgic For the times when you were mine I see you in my dreams But when I awake from the blinds letting in sunshine It hits me that without you I am not fine.

196

197

ponus papers

grade 8

Marina Yu SONG POEM (Said from a guy to a girl)

grade 9

Clare Armstrong Nellie When I think of Nellie, I picture her wrinkled hands fitting the last pieces into a puzzle. I picture her humming under her

Baby Don’t Cry, I’m so Lucky to have you

breath as she scans the finished piece for any mistakes. I can picture all these small moments, but what stands out is what she

Every day I think about you ‘cuz you’re the only thing that keeps me going

says while these moments happen. Nellie can always be found working on puzzles. That’s where her friends now go to talk to

I’m your Peter Pan and you’re My Lady

her, and where family now knows to meet her, even when she forgets they had planned to be there. My great grandma is now

Please Don’t Go I can’t live without you

95, and lives in an assisted care home. Arthritis has recently caused her much pain and a decrease in the ability of her hands,

I’m like a Machine fueled on your love

and her memory has deteriorated greatly, but the one thing that will never decline is her desire to work with puzzles.

you’re the Black Pearl I’ve been looking for So please don’t make it My Turn To Cry because I can’t go through this again Baby don’t go because I’ll have a Heart Attack If you go

Although her memory has started to fade, her past experiences are still clear, and she reminds me of them every time I visit. Because of the distance back to Oklahoma, these visits have started to become more infrequent, but the pleasure that both of us get out of them remains the same. I walk into her new home with a sense of change—it wasn’t long ago that she moved

I’m like a Wolf howling at the Two Moons in the night

from the house she lived in for over twenty years. This was the house that I learned to love and enjoy. Each time we go back

I Growl and Let Out the Beat at those that make you cry

to the South, the visits are shorter, but Nellie always tells me to sit and chat with her while helping her complete a puzzle. It’s

My Angel, our History will never change

this time, even in her new home, in which I learn the largest lessons. Nellie’s location has changed drastically, but I know the

All those memories we had will never fade

lessons and stories she tells never will. The advice she gives me varies; sometimes it is just stories of her childhood, sometimes

Yet you still ask me What is Love to you?

it means much more to her, and other times, she relates back to her current puzzle. All of these topics interest me, even if they

Don’t you understand how much I care?

have been repeated due to Nellie’s loss of memory. I used to spend a lot more time with my grandparents and Nellie, but out

Now I’ve waited months and months for you to come back. Now the First Snow is here and you’re The Star that I have been waiting see Now I wait for that Miracle in December to come so maybe I could see you one last time.

of all the time spent, I remember the times at the puzzle table the most. Through the years, she has kept two puzzles in her possession that are very important to her and have become more significant to me. Every year, she brings them out and tells me the story behind them. One was given to her after graduating the sixth grade, her last year of formal education. Nellie was very poor growing up, so this puzzle was handmade by her parents, but it is one of her most prized possessions. The other puzzle is cherished even more and was given to her the day of her wedding. This one is now missing so many pieces that you can barely see the old picture of the Native American Reserve land that she lived on at the time. She always brings this puzzle out with obvious care, and each time it reaches the table, she tells me, “Patience isn’t always about achieving something afterwards, it’s about the obstacles you face trying to get there.” This phrase is said the same way at the same time and will lie vividly in my mind forever. We always complete both of these puzzles, and once again Nellie will tell me, “Patience is not having all the pieces fit where you want them to.” This advice has also stuck with me, and I continue to think of this advice on a daily basis. Nellie will be remembered for many different accomplishments and traits in her lifetime, but to me she will always be an advice-giver, a storyteller, and one of the people I admire so greatly.

198

199

ponus papers

grade 9

David Ball Beanie, Wells, Margot, and Kate were going on an excursion to Chile. They had been wanting to go on this trip for a long

I ask that no one panics, please, so that we can do the best we can to land safely. Thank you”

time, but they couldn’t find the time. Beanie had organized the trip just last May because they all had two weeks off after

“You ok, guys? It has been a rough day,” said Beanie.

Christmas this year, so they decided to take advantage of it.

“We are trying our best to stay calm,” replied Wells. “Do you know if we can survive this?’

The flight attendants walked down the aisle to make sure everyone’s seats were in the upright position and their tray tables were stowed. After they checked everyone, they buckled themselves up , and the plane started to move. Faster and faster. The plane picked up speed and was soon in the air going up. It was soon up in the air and leveled out. “At last, we are on our way,” sighed Beanie.

“It is difficult to say. I mean, we don’t have a working right propeller, but the pilots have done a good job keeping the plane level,” responded Beanie. “I bet we will be fine, though.” “Guys, I just talked to the flight attendant. We are currently 5,000 feet high, but we are descending quickly. Get in your seats with your seatbelt on; we might encounter some turbulence,” spoke Beanie while putting his seatbelt on. “I’m sorry this isn’t

After about and hour of being in the air, the plane started jerking side to side, and up and down. This came out of nowhere.

the exciting trip to Chile that we were hoping for.”

The plane was shaking viciously. People were screaming and some were crying. Beanie and Wells’ faces had become solemn,

“We just got very unlucky for this to happen to us,” responded Kate.

and they were bracing themselves against the seat. Beanie was known for never getting upset or shaken by something.

“Yeah. Hopefully we will land safely, and maybe take a boat to Chile next time,” said Margot. They all laughed.

Meanwhile, Margot was screaming because she wasn’t a fan of planes to begin with, and now she was scared. Kate looked

The flight attendant went over to the four friends and told them the situation. “We are now 700 feet above ground, and we

like she was going to throw up. Then, just like that, the plane had stopped shaking, and returned to flying smoothly. It took

are descending quickly. You guys need to buckle up and brace yourselves for an emergency landing. We will be landing in

everyone a second to realize that the turbulence had stopped. Once everyone had realized that they were safe, the cabin

Florida. We have about a 50% chance of landing this safely,” said the pilot.

erupted with clapping. Once the clapping died down, the pilot said, ”Sorry about that; we went through a rough spot there.

“I wish that this didn’t happen. I was so excited for Chile,” said Wells.

That looks to be all the turbulence we are going to get today. It will be a smooth ride from here to Santiago.”

“Yeah, the white water rafting seemed really cool,” said Margot.

“That was certainly something,” began Wells. “I thought we weren’t going to make it out of the turbulence.”

“Also, I heard that they have a really interesting culture,” said Kate.

“I wasn’t too sure myself,” answered Beanie. “We should all probably get some rest. We have a long day ahead of us.”

“I spent a long time planning this trip, so it is disappointing not to be able to go,” said Beanie. “I always wanted to go to

Beanie got his pillow out from his bag and rested his head against the window. He soon fell asleep. Wells also curled up in his

Florida, though.” Everyone on the plane braced themselves with their head and arms resting on the seat in front of them.

seat, and fell asleep. Kate and Margot were engulfed in a movie. They each had one ear bud in and were intensely watching.

The plane started to shake. They were getting lower and lower, faster and faster.

The four of them relaxed like this for about an hour.

“Wells, Kate, and Margot, I couldn’t have asked for better friends,” said Beanie. They all agreed that they would be best

“What was that?” asked Wells, who had woken up.

friends forever.

“I don’t know. It seemed to be some sort of clunking noise,” responded Beanie.

The plane swerved to the right, shaking violently. Then it swerved to the left. It was as if the pilots had no control over the

“Yeah, that’s strange. It sounded like something snapped.” At that moment, the plane dipped and swerved right. Everyone

plane. Beanie looked out the window and saw that they were about 75 feet from the ground, in a big open field, getting lower

who wasn’t wearing a seatbelt was knocked out of his or her seats. Sirens and red lights were flashing throughout the cabin.

and lower. He braced himself, and squeezed the seat in front of him so hard his hands became red. He closed his eyes, as the

People were panicking. The pilots were struggling to keep the plane level, so it kept on swerving. Calmly, Beanie looked

plane was about to hit the ground.

around trying to find what had caused this to happen. He finally saw what it was. His face went white. The right propeller had been snapped off of its hinges and was dangling in mid air. As Beanie gathered his thoughts, the pilots were able to figure out a way to keep the plane level and descending at a lower rate. The pilot began to speak over the intercom. “We have experienced some problems with our right propeller; therefore, it no longer works. We will be able to stay level for a good amount of time, but we will be forced to make an emergency landing.

200

Continued on next page

201

ponus papers

grade 9

David Ball

grade 9

Paloma Blandon

Continued

Mama Peri When I think of Mama Peri I feel her soft hands—the hands that have held mine as they progressively get larger. Those hands have held so many hearts and so many fading memories. When I was younger those hands would scare me; Mama Peri was so powerful, a force of nature, and I? I was a meek, little girl. Whenever I would go to visit her, she would grasp my hands, the inexperienced hands of a young child, in her wise, wrinkled hands that had seen so much life, and tell me something— a story, a saying, a prayer. She would tell me about how much hope she had for my brother and me, how we have so many opportunities that she never had. Mama Peri grew up in a small town in Nicaragua called Jinotega. She was the second oldest of four sisters and one brother. She was poor, as most people in Jinotega are, but she was bright. Mama Peri married my Abuelo when they were young. My grandparents were hard working people; unlike the majority of the poor in Nicaragua, my grandparents were able to come to the United States of America. The first time they traveled here was for my Abuelo to go to college in Florida to earn his Bachelor’s degree. While he went to school, Mama Peri would take care of my father and make money for her family. When they first arrived, she took an eight-week, intensive English program—she graduated with the highest marks in her class. Every day as she took care of my father, she would be repeating phrases or new vocabulary to herself so she could better the chances for her children. After she learned English, she found a job working in a bookstore; it was her favorite job in the whole world. Often when I visit her, she will tell me stories of the people she worked with and how they adored her. She holds my hands and explains to me how hard she worked so I can live a fortunate life. I have never been more grateful to another person in my entire life. In her old age Mama Peri is starting to lose her memory. This past winter, my family went to visit my grandparents, and we were startled to see how forgetful Mama Peri is. But she never forgets to hold my hands and tell me stories. It is so often that I, too, am forgetful—I forget how lucky I am to have an amazing support system of family and friends, how lucky I am to go to a wonderful school, have a warm house and eat three meals a day. Mama Peri makes me remember—with her hands grasping mine, she reminds me of all the work those hands have experienced, all the people saying she couldn’t do it, all the people who questioned her accent or English ability. She is reminding me that I am lucky, because my hands will never have to scrape away at the same hardships that hers did. It is unrealistic to think that those hands will always be there to comfort me. Mama Peri, however, will always be there, for she has left such a visible mark on my life.

202

203

ponus papers

grade 9

Paloma Blandon

grade 9

Nick Byrne

Continued

“HEY, what is going on…?” Everyone in the Tavern turned to look at the same time. “Oh my gosh…!” “The force field! It’s going down!” yelled a soldier of the City of Retroga. Indeed, it was falling. “What on Earth..?” Edward gasped under his breath. Jessica, the Unit Leader, acted quickly: “Troops, follow me! Be ready for combat; this is not a drill!” Jessica knew the horrors that were to follow too well. Retroga was her second home, after Longstine. She was the only survivor; everyone including her family was either found dead or missing. “We are leaving in two minutes,” said Jessica. Edward was adjusting his coat when he heard two other soldiers in a unit near him talking to each other in whispers. “Why does this happen? The Demons are appearing everywhere!” a man said while clutching his hair. “Do you want Retroga to be consumed too? You know what happened to Longstine will happen here if we don’t act!” “Longstine?” asked the man. Edward intervened. “It’s a place in Hell’s Boundary now. It was her home,” he motioned to Jessica. The units all left at once; some were running through streets, some over buildings, and some entering the sewers. He was running right behind Jessica over rooftops, scaling walls and leaping gaps between buildings. As he was running atop the buildings, Edward remembered how hideous the demons were: muscular arms and legs, and armor covering their body. A variety of weapons, any color or skin, and the one unmistakable feature they all shared: their glowing yellow eyes. “We are headed to the eastern side of the city,” Jessica relayed to her unit after getting off a communicator with an intelligence unit. “There are a large number of demons there.” All of a sudden the roof gave way, and the unit fell down. As Edward looked up, he saw that many types of demons were starting to line the opening above. “Get ready!” ordered Jessica as the demons poured in. It was less than a minute before no one but Jessica and Edward were still able to fight, yet only one demon had been taken out. More demons started to line the broken roof. Jessica wiped some sweat off her brow. “I won’t let Retroga get consumed. Thank you for everything…if I die,” Jessica started to walk up to the demons that were surrounding them, took one last look back, and smiled. “Look out!” yelled Edward. Jessica fell to the ground with a thud, her blood splattering all over the floor and on Edwards’s shoes. The demon inside opened its eyes. Edward’s blood started to boil. He was shaking violently as his vision went in and out. His hand started to glow as he brought it up, reaching out to the demon, and closing his eyes. Edward reached to the sky, and a sword appeared out of thin air. He grasped the sword in his hand and opened his eyes, which were now yellow. A surge of power swept through Edward’s body. He lost control. By the time the murderer blinked, Edward was eye to eye with it, and it had a sword in its stomach. Three demons were knocked backwards after another strike. He started to move at a pace which made him look like a streak of brown darting around the room. Sparks were flying everywhere, and one by one the demons fell.

204

Continued on next page

205

ponus papers

grade 9

Nick Byrne

grade 9

Continued

After three minutes, the demons had all retreated, or were badly injured. Edward ran over to Jessica and dropped to his knees, releasing the sword. He held her wrist, but felt no beating. Tears started to stream down Edward’s pale face, dripping to the floor and mixing with Jessica’s blood. A voice from behind Edward spoke. “How impolite! After all of my hard work setting up this trap, you go ahead and survive! Where are your manners?” The demon inside was getting closer. Edward turned his head, and his rage erupted, the demon ripping out from his body. The full extent of his powers took over. A black curved mark resembling a tattoo started to spread all over his body, then solidifying onto it. “My name is Bruce… Pensler, Jessica’s uncle,” said Bruce sharply. Edward picked up the sword, and slowly stood up. “You are like me, Edward, for I can control that sword too,” said Bruce as he raised his hand to the air to retrieve his own sword. “You’re a very special case, though. You have the powers of the three legendary groups of beings. The Humans, the Swordsmen, and… the Demons that expand Hell’s Boundary. I control only the power of Humans and the Swordsmen, but I wanted more power. After I saw what they could do in Longstine, I knew I needed a way to get hold of them. You see, I am very manipulative, so I am now the commander of the demons!” yelled Bruce. “You don’t control all three powers in one body like I do. The result is not just a great combination of strength, but a new power is unlocked when the three combine in one vessel. The Mark of the Hero. A black mark resembling a tattoo which gives the body unimaginable power,” said Edward. “I am aware. By now, I assume you know I let the force field down, and tha-“ started Bruce. “DIE…” whispered Edward into Bruce’s ear as he slashed at Bruce’s chest. Bruce fell to the ground. Edward started to walk over to Jessica as a rod of metal in the ground ripped his pocket, letting a ring still in its box fall out of it. The ring slipped out of the box and clattered against the marble floor. The ring had engraved on it: Jessica, will you marry me?

206

207

ponus papers

grade 9

Campbell Connors Every time I see a golden retriever, I can’t help but think of my grandmother. For as long as I can remember, she has always

Whenever he sees me or my sisters, he greets us with that dog smile and has these adorable whimpers like he hasn’t seen

loved animals. I can’t tell you how many emails about animal rights or just cutesy pictures I have gotten from her. Sometimes

us in years. Every time I see him, I am reminded of my grandmother. He came out of a bad place much like my grandma and

I can’t help but laugh. It gets creepy at some points. But I also can’t help but love her for it. Besides, she’s such a strong

still remained strong and loving. My grandma has taught me to forgive and forget, love those around you, and that one can

woman she can do whatever she wants. She has defeated a possibly fatal disease twice.

overcome the toughest of challenges. Much like her golden retrievers, I try to follow in her footsteps. Much like her golden

When I was relatively young, she was diagnosed with breast cancer. At her ripe age I was almost certain it would be the end

retrievers she is loving. Much like her golden retrievers, she can overcome the toughest of challenges, and much like her

of her. I didn’t really know the severity of it. She was able to survive it, however, and it would not be long until she fell ill once

golden retrievers she tries to make the most out of every day. Just like the dog who was convinced there was buried treasure

again. This time she had hepatitis. We still do not know how she got it. She was in bed for months, incredibly sick. Once again

under the trampoline, she never gave up, much like the two dogs she had when I was a baby she stayed by her family, and like

she was able to move past it.

the dog that has come back from the brink, she has too.

I think the reason why I associate golden retrievers with her is because of all the goldens she has owned. From the time I was born, she always owned a shaggy, blond retriever. The first ones I met were Coach and Cameron, only a few years older than me. They passed from cancer when I was only five or six. Next was Hogan. He was the reason I wanted a dog so badly when I was little. He was always doing something incredibly stupid, such as looking for something under my grandmother’s trampoline. He did this over and over again, but was always pulled away from the spot where he dug before he could finish. I still have suspicions that something is buried under there. He passed away when I was 10 or so, once again from cancer. My grandma was close to not getting another dog after him. She loved him far too much to replace him. But as months turned into a year and the spot where Hogan dug became covered in grass, she decided it was time to move on. She got a young rescue dog by the name of Tisbury. I remember the first time I saw him. He was probably bigger than a deer. A massive dog, really. He was up to my mid torso at the time. I was terrified of him at first. He wasn’t necessarily friendly to strangers. His first greeting to me was a nasty snarl and loud barking. But months went by and he got used to me. When I was about eleven or twelve something happened I won’t soon forget. Me, My sisters, and our dog were spending the night at my grandparents. I was upstairs watching TV when I heard barking, yelping, and a scream. I rushed downstairs to see my dog cowering in the corner, my grandma clutching her arm, and my grandfather pinning down Tisbury. Apparently the two dogs had gotten into a fight and in the process of trying to break it up, my grandmother was bitten on the arm. I was confused and thought he would have to be put down. My grandmother, being the kind, strong, and loving woman she is, forgave the dog. It was a few months later when Tisbury was the cause of my Guinea Pig’s deaths and I needed to use what she taught me to control myself. Sure, they were just little rat like creatures that ate way too much but I loved them. Thank god I was not there when Tisbury’s instincts kicked in and he attempted to eat them, killing them both in the process. It’s been two years since then and as I should have, I forgave the dumb dog. He really didn’t know any better.

Continued on next page

208

209

ponus papers

grade 9

Abby Conway Babysitting Nightmare

Again, no reply. Paige then knocked again and when nobody replied, she busted the door open, and nobody was there. She ran all around the house, screaming “Lucy!” and no one replied. She knew this was some game of hide and seek Lucy was

“We won’t be back too late!” screamed Mrs. and Mr. Crosby as they scrambled out the door. The Crosby’s babysitter,

trying to play, so she just went out and started playing with Sydney and Michael again. She assumed that, after a while, Lucy

Paige, who was sprawled across the couch at the time, sat up straight and waved good-bye. All three children, Sydney,

would return, but she never did. After about 20 minutes, Paige started to get extremely nervous and began to frantically look

Michael, and Lucy, sat watching the latest episode of Drake and Josh. Paige sat up and headed towards the kitchen to start

for Lucy. She called all of the neighbors and asked if they had seen her. No one was any help to her. While trying to act like

making dinner. As she scanned the pantry, hoping to find something that was easy to make, she laid eyes on the Annie’s Mac

they were nervous, Sydney and Michael were trying to figure out what to do next.

and Cheese; this was something that anybody could make. She took the pasta out of the box and started to boil water.

They decided that instead of going one at a time, they must both go at the same time to really scare Paige. Paige was too

As she stood in the kitchen making dinner, she heard the kids all whispering and laughing. She knew something was up

busy freaking out about Lucy missing, that they really didn’t need a huge exit plan. They just left and met Lucy at their meeting

because they never got along.

spot. After looking so hard for Lucy, Paige returned to where the kids were playing, only to find all of the kids were gone. She

The children were planning on pulling a large prank that night. Paige was a pretty gullible person, and she wouldn’t be

knew these two kids were much too smart to get lost, so she jumped to the conclusion that they had been taken. She looked

too mad once she found out, so she was the perfect victim. They decided their prank would make Paige believe there was a

all over the house for clues but nothing was different. She started running outside and screaming for them. It was already very

kidnapper in the house. They would all disappear one by one, and by the end of the night, she would be so scared that they

dark, and she was so scared, not only for herself, but also for them. The part that frightened her the most was the parents’

were all gone.

reaction when they came home and couldn’t find their kids.

“What if we just told her to leave?” exclaimed Lucy.

Paige was contemplating whether to call the police or not. She knew that since they had only been gone for thirty minutes,

“Yes, because most babysitters will just get up and leave on command, Lucy,“ replied Michael with a mocking tone in his voice.

she could not say they were missing. If they had been taken, the kidnapper was long gone by now. But how did they get in?

“We don’t necessarily need to get her out. We just need to get her preoccupied while we sneak out,” Sydney declared.

Sydney and Michael were outside, so they wouldn’t have to get into the house to take them! What about Lucy? How did she

Downstairs, Paige was lying on the couch, still thinking about how odd it was that the kids were not fighting. Typically by

get taken? After about an hour of pure panic and frantic looking, the kids decided that Paige had experienced enough terror

now she would already be breaking up multiple fights about who had the remote or who beat whom at Wii. “They must be

for the night; however, they were not just going to walk through the front door. No; they were going to scare her and pretend

up to something,” she thought...”Up to no good.” She checked on the pasta and it was not done yet so she decided to

she was the next victim. Quietly, they tiptoed up to the house. They started making noises around the house. “Who’s there?!”

check her Facebook.

Paige shrieked. She ran upstairs as fast as she could and hid. When they knew the coast was clear, the kids came inside and ran

“Okay, so who wants to go first?” asked Sydney.

up to where they believed she was hiding. They opened the closet door, and they could see the transformation from fear to

“I will!” offered Lucy.

delight in her face when she saw them. Of course, the children were laughing hysterically at her reaction, and she then realized

The kids jumped downstairs, following the scent of the cheesy mac and cheese. Paige got up from her computer to the

it was all a prank. The kids were then saved by the bell as they heard their parents opening the door.

sounds of the kids’ feet on the stairs. She took off the pasta and served it. The children gobbled up their meal very fast, because they wanted to start putting their plan into action. As soon as the last kid finished, they all ran off. Paige followed all of the kids outside. After a few minutes of jumping on the trampoline, Lucy began to hold her stomach. Paige was concerned, but the other kids knew this was the cue that Lucy was trying to get out. “Maybe it’s just that you have to go to the bathroom?” asked Paige as Lucy ran inside. Michael and Sydney urged Paige not to follow Lucy, as she might want her space. Paige agreed and the play resumed. After about fifteen minutes Paige started to worry. She went inside to check on Lucy. She knocked on the bathroom door but nobody replied. “Lucy, are you okay?”

210

Continued on next page

211

ponus papers

grade 9

Abby Conway

grade 9

Maddy Culpepper

Continued

Kehan I take a deep breath. The air around me is cold, dead, unmoving. My eyes crack open. I look out at the city below me; I can see everything from my vantage point. Icarus stretches out around me, a city once of 20 million, but whose population was reduced by 97% in one week. The city lies inside a massive underground cave that stretches higher than the tallest mountains. A cave large enough for 400 battle ready airships to fly and still have room for 40,000 more. Beyond our city floats a lake. It had a name once, but I’ve forgotten it. The lake is wide and long enough for someone standing at the tallest point in the city not to be able to see the opposite side. Lanterns, like little worlds of their own float on the lake’s pitch-black surface, attached to fishing canoes. The silence around me is scary. No one lives in this section of Icarus anymore. As I make my way down the metal plated stairs, in between the bronze and steel buildings, I can see what the Siege did to my home. Huge tracks of the city are gone; nothing left but charred and blacked remains. Great remains of missiles and gas transporters lie like spears thrown from a giant, piercing the city’s hide. What’s left of the buildings is old and torn, some tilting, some that have fallen completely over. I jump to the side to avoid shrapnel sticking straight up in the street, and take a hard left turn so I don’t have to walk down the path with the shadows. The shadows of people vaporized by bombs so quickly, they didn’t even know they were dead. The true horrors of war. Dong, dong. Micasha que morrria. Seso shakah morrria. Salem maken icken throw sha. Seso shakah morrria. The Song of Ends, a prayer song, rings in my ears as I move towards the main street. This section of Icarus takes me one or two hours to reach walking, and is slightly better looking. People have rebuilt here, and prayer flags and colorful scarves are tied like ribbons around buildings. In some places gold relics and art are visible, and the signs of war have been removed. Yet the source of the music is hidden and the only way someone would be able to spot the small groups of figures making their way out of the ground, was if they knew about them. The Empire hunted this religion well, so much so that beneath this street and the surrounding houses lies the last mosque in all of Icarus. “Ig, Ig!” Running towards me is a short blond haired girl, with curly, unruly hair and lose fitting, colorful clothes. “Hi, Anna,” I say, turning my head quickly to see is anybody else is on the street. My short brown locks whack against my neck, and the only long part of my hair, a single brown strand woven with colored string and bits of metal, hits my collarbone. Anna doesn’t know how to keep a secret or speak a whisper. I need to get away from her as quick as possible, before she attracts the attention of unwanted listeners and worse—soldiers. “Oh, Ig, you should have heard, Father Reverend gave a speech about peace and loving and having hope in the future—oh Ig, it was incredible! I was so relaxed by the end of the prayer session, I just have to tell you, it’s unbelievable! The sense of Continued on next page

212

213

ponus papers

grade 9

Maddy Culpepper

grade 9

Continued

wonder- Ig, you need to convert,” Anna chats animatedly to me, her head bobbing up and down, her hands making excited gestures. I wince. People around me turn their heads towards the sound of her high pitched voice. “Mm-hm. Yes, Anna.” I say, trying to extricate myself from her grasp. “Oh, but Iggy, I know how you hate religion--you used to go on and on about it when I was a shop keeper at the Bazaar, but, Iggy, being a priest is incredible. You have to join.” And become part of the religion whose war killed 19.4 million people? “No thank-you Anna, I really should go, I need to reach the Bazaar—” More people are turning their heads, watching with narrowed eyes. “Oh, you and your ‘need to do this and need to do that.’ You’re always on the move Ig. Seriously, you should try—” Then I catch sight of purple. The dreaded, horrible purple that soldiers wear. I panic, and shake her off as fast as I can, running away as her awful voice yells out “Huh? Where ya goin’?!” Finally I slow, my face dead pan. I’m trying to keep a growl from parting my lips. The Nenking religious sect was the reason for the Siege. The Empire attacked us in order to get rid of ‘infidels’, as they called us. As if the entire population of Icarus was part of one religion. The Nenking fought back, of course. But they were no match for the Empire’s might. Yet, instead of surrendering when they knew there was no hope of victory, they fought on. No problem for them. They believed that if they died in service to the religion, they would live forever on in heaven and in glory. But what about the rest of us? What about the rest of the nine million people not affiliated with their religion? And Anna, blabbing her mouth like she doesn’t care, making a scene and not worrying whether we both get caught by soldiers and killed. Her type won’t last long in these streets. I can’t wait until the soldiers capture her. It’s bound to happen now that she has converted. The thought of Anna converting still gives me pause, and sometimes I do consider converting as well. I used to believe in a God. It was no specific faith, but I did believe in another worldly being. Something up there had to have made down here. Otherwise, what was the meaning in life? But I lost my religion the day my family died. And I found out that there is no meaning in life. There is no way I could go back to that way of thinking, not after what I’ve seen and done.

214

215

ponus papers

grade 9

Thomas Dale Vanished

nose in attempt to prevent the sneeze, and thankfully it worked. Ron waited a short while until he thought it was silent, so he

The sound of his neck quickly and violently snapping was the most bone-chilling thing he had ever heard…

Ron was hiding behind.

proceeded to try to flee again. The men in suits knew there was someone nearby for sure now and slowly approached the tree

It was January 3rd, 2006. ‘Twas an average morning for Ron. He was taking his walk through the woods when he heard

Ron was beyond frightened, bringing himself to tears. The men came around the tree and startled Ron. Two of the men

something unusual that disrupted his peace. He was startled by the screeching of wheels approaching. Ron found the nearest

grabbed his arms, and the third led them back towards the car. Ron was expecting the men to speak to him in the dialect he

tree and tried his best to not be noticed by the vehicle. There had never been anyone else in these woods when Ron walked,

did not understand, but they spoke perfect English. One of the men asked Ron what he was doing in these woods. Seeing

so this was quite frightening to him. As he hid behind the tree, he tried peeking his head around to see what this was all about.

what had happened to the first man who refused to answer questions, Ron quickly but nervously responded, “I…I walk in

Ron was shaking. Shaking so much some of the leaves fell off of the tree. Thankfully this wasn’t noticeable. The screeching of

these woods every morning.” The men exchanged looks, and then one of the other men asked, “What did you see?” Ron was

the wheels came to a halt. A sleek black Escalade was parked in a small clearing. Ron noted the black triangle that was where

slow to find the words, and the man asked again, this time more aggressively, “What did you see!?” Ron nervously responded,

its license plate letters would’ve normally been. Three men got out of the car dressed in full black suits with black sunglasses

“I saw…I saw you asking that man some questions, that’s all.” The men exchanged looks once again, and it was making Ron

and slicked back hair. The men opened the trunk and removed a tarp, covering the floor. Underneath was a large body bag

very nervous because they had done this right before they snapped the other man’s neck. Frantically swiveling his head, Ron

that the men lifted out and dropped to the ground with a thud.

asked, “Who are you people anyways?” The men all responded, “We are part of an group with more power than you could

Ron was intrigued. His shaking had ceased. He was so frightened he could not move, could not think, and could not feel

fathom. That is all you need to know.” Ron was completely lost at this point and just nodded his head to this new information.

anything. He watched as the men in suits pulled an African American man out of the bag and sat him on the bumper of the

The men asked Ron to come with them. Ron absolutely refused, but when the men grabbing his arms tightened their grips, he

car. They asked him a number of questions in some dialect that Ron could not understand. The men in suits were getting

complied. They brought him into their black Escalade and put a bag over his head.

frustrated and threw the man off the car and onto the muddy earth below.

After an hour car ride, which felt like days to Ron, the car came to a halt and the men got out. They brought Ron out of the

Things were heating up now and Ron was still in a trance. He began to regain control again and questioned whether he

car and through a set of doors with the bag still over his head. They walked through about five more sets of doors before Ron

should call someone or not. As ideas unraveled in his head, the events he was hiding from were escalating rapidly. The men in

heard a light switch flip on, and he was sat down into a chair. The bag was removed from his head and a shining light that was

suits were slowly walking in a circle around the man on the ground. They were peppering him with questions, and the man on

right in his face blinded him. Once his eyes adjusted, he looked around and found himself strapped down to a hospital chair in

the ground refused to answer. Soon enough the men in suits looked at one another and exchanged head nods. They formed

a room with the three men and a man in a lab coat. Ron felt as though he was in a dream. He told himself over and over again

a triangle around the man. Each grabbed a part of him. One grabbed his lower chest, one put his hands around his neck, and

that this couldn’t be real. After a few moments of letting Ron adjust, one of the men said, “Sir, what you’ve witnessed today is

the last man placed his hands on the sides of his head. After exchanging more nods and glances, the men each strengthened

at the highest tier of confidentiality, and we cannot take any chances.” “What is that supposed to mean?” Ron asked. “That is

their grips, and the man with his hands on the man’s head forcefully and quickly tweaked the man’s head to the left. There was

all you need to know,” another one of the men said.

a sharp snapping noise that made Ron cringe and clench his teeth. He wasn’t watching at this point.

Ron did not like this familiar phrase. Immediately the man in the lab coat walked over to a mechanism set up above Ron’s

Ron hadn’t moved a muscle since he first hid behind the tree. He thought maybe he was seeing things or that his mind was

head, and the man in the lab coat slowly started to lower the mechanism. At this point Ron nearly fainted. He simply could not

playing games with him. He suddenly got a dose of reality and decided to try to slip away while the men in suits loaded the

put together the pieces of what was going on. The mechanism lowered and fit snugly on Ron’s head. Next, eye covers were

now limp body into the car and under the tarp. Ron moved too soon. The second he took one step, the leaves underneath his

lowered down and all Ron could see again was darkness. The man in the lab coat walked back over to a control system, flicked

foot crackled as if they were taunting him. Ron caught the attention of the men in suits.

a few buttons, and flipped a switch on. The mechanism lit up, and Ron started to feel some vibrations. Ron knew for sure know

Helpless and lost, Ron was nervous and felt that overheating feeling you get inside you, but he felt hotter than ever before. He was sweating. His adrenaline was pumping and he didn’t have a clue as to what to do. The men in suits had paused in

that these would be his final moments. His life flashed before his eyes, and then he lost consciousness. “Is he out?” asked one of the men. “Yes,” replied the man in the lab coat, “He won’t remember a thing.”

what they were doing when they heard the noise, but proceeded, thinking it was just an animal. Ron waited a moment, but just when he thought he was in the clear, he felt a sneeze coming. Frantically, he held his finger up horizontally underneath his

216

Continued on next page

217

ponus papers

grade 9

ponus papers

grade 9

Shea Delehaunty She moved like a ghost, fluid and graceful, arms swinging at her sides. She took a step as I watched, her bare foot seeming never to touch the mossy ground. I could not see her face. I had never been able to see her face. It was shrouded with shadows cast by her impossibly long hair, dark and pin-straight, falling nearly to her knees. As she walked, her hair shifted with her, imitating the folds of her virtually sheer white dress. As she stepped again, I followed. It felt as if I were walking through honey. My hair and clothes stuck to me and the air smelled sickly sweet. I wanted to see what was around me that might scent the air in so unappetizing a way, but I could not pull my gaze from her back. She stepped and I followed. I knew naught where we were going, only that we treaded an unknown path towards an unknown destination in an unknown land. We walked for what felt like hours. There were many times when I tried to call out to her, but the words always got stuck in my throat. I could not speak, only walk. We ambled down the path that I could not see until my legs felt as if they would collapse with one more step. It was then that I managed to tear my gaze from her back. I looked up and past her, eyes widening at the tremendous white wall stretching before us. It soared upwards to the sky and extended to the left and right. I could not see the end of it no matter which direction I looked. Set directly in front of her was a huge oak door. There was a giant golden knocker that I could not have reached even if I were standing on top of four people. She took a step forwards to the door and my gaze was drawn back to her willowy figure. If I had been able to make a sound, I would have gasped, for as soon as she placed a single pale hand on the warped oak, the doors began to swing inwards with a groan. Slowly, very slowly, she began to turn. I was transfixed as she pushed her dark curtain of hair slowly behind her ears. Just as the cascading locks began to part and reveal her face, the dream ended.

218

219

ponus papers

grade 9

Julia DellaRusso Finally, the day had arrived. Lauren was starting a new school in a new country and everything was different. She walked in

“Why don’t you think she is human?”

through the front doors and stood. She felt her stomach turning. Lauren started walking down to the room number that she

“It’s really weird because I’ll see her in one spot one minute but the next minute she is gone. But no one believes me on

had received in the mail. As she walked down the hallway she could see people staring at her and whispering about her. When she arrived at her homeroom, she stood, not knowing what was going to come out of it.

“You know what. Yesterday in class I got this weird sense from her. Well, you know what we will figure something out

“I’m Ms. Walsh,” Lauren’s new teacher said. “Everyone, this is Lauren, she just moved here from America. Lauren you’ll be sitting right there next to Shannon.”

together! Oh by the way my name is Lauren. What’s yours?” “Hailey.”

Lauren walked right to her seat and sat down. Shannon gave her a nasty look.

Both girls started keeping close eyes on Shannon for months, until they both realized that an option was that Shannon

Shannon leaned over and said to Lauren “Just because we are sitting next to each other doesn’t mean that we are going to be friends! I don’t want to be friends with an American creep. Who knows what disease you brought over.”

could’ve easily been a vampire. “How will we catch her and know for sure that she really is a vampire?” Hailey asked.

Lauren was sat in shock not knowing how to respond.

“We will figure it out. Don’t worry,” Lauren replied.

‘This is just great. I haven’t even been at school for ten minutes, and I already have an enemy, and I hate school!’

That night, Lauren decided to text Shannon to finally get to the bottom of this. Was Shannon really a vampire?

Lauren thought.

“I’ll get it” Lauren yelled from the top of the stairs.

After a few periods it was time for lunch. Lauren headed to the lunchroom. Lauren started feeling anxious. She didn’t know anyone and the lunchroom was packed. Lauren started walking around the lunchroom, looking for a place to sit. After a few minutes of looking Lauren gave up and headed to the girls’ bathroom. She sat in the stall and quietly ate her lunch. Everyday

“I can only stay for twenty minutes what do you want?” Shannon said at the door obnoxiously with her arms crossed. Lauren slapped Shannon across the face. Shannon started hissing and started to open her mouth and fangs started to grow. Shannon grabbed hold of Lauren’s shoulder and pushed her back against a wall.

when Lauren got home from school she was alone. Her parents both worked and her brother had soccer practice. When she

“Don’t touch me ever again!” Shannon yelled.

got to her room, which was usually perfect, with no mess and a perfectly made bed there was a mess. It looked like someone

“I knew it all along you’re a vampire. Why do you hate me so much, though?” Lauren asked

came into her room and was trying to look for something but she didn’t know what and Lauren’s window was wide open.

“Because it was an American who made me into this. Do you think I wanted to be like this? Now every American who comes

Someone had ripped the screen and broken in. Lauren quickly looked around her room, seeing if anything was missing, but, everything was still there.

to this school I’m going to turn into a vampire, and now it’s your turn.” “HAILEY NOW!” Lauren yelled.

The next day at school in homeroom Shannon whispered to Lauren in an obnoxious voice.

Hailey came running into the room with a hammer and hit Shannon in the head.

“I heard someone broke into your house yesterday. I hope they didn’t take anything.”

“Did you get it on tape?” Lauren asked

Lauren had no idea how Shannon knew about it Lauren hadn’t told anyone what happened.

“Sure did!” Hailey said excitedly.

The next day when Lauren headed into her usual lunch room spot, the girls’ bathroom, Lauren saw someone sitting

The next day the two girls brought the disc with the video on it and gave it to the principal and Shannon was brought

on the ground in the stall she usually sat in and heard crying.

into a science laboratory where she was carefully examined.

“Um, excuse me, are you okay?” Lauren asked.

“You know what you two? You guys aren’t as bad as Shannon said. One of the girls at the lunch table they were sitting at said.

“Yeah I’m fine!” the girl replied as she opened the door.

The rest of the table started to agree. Since both girls had done such a great job with figuring out what was wrong with

“Are you new, too? I usually eat lunch in here, too, because I’m new and I have no one else to eat with.”

Shannon so easily and quickly. The local police department kept calling them to see if they could help solve cases, which of

“I was new last year. But it was really hard for me to make friends because of Shannon. She has some kind of mean perk to

course the girls agreed to and both became junior detectives.

her. I don’t think she is human,”

220

how I don’t think she is a human but, everyone thinks I’m crazy. “

Continued on next page

221

ponus papers

grade 9

ponus papers

grade 9

Henry Elkind The Signed Check Somewhere in the suburbs of Brooklyn, New York, a man sat stroking his mustache in a room dimly lit with a bare bulb hanging down from the ceiling above. “We don’t have any money,“ he said into the phone, taking a sip of his bourbon in a glass tumbler. As he listened to the voice on the other end, he began to grip his glass tighter and tighter. “Yes, Boss, I will. Ok, boss. I’ll do my best,” he spoke timidly into the phone. “WELL SOMETIMES YOUR BEST ISN’T ENOUGH!” The words from the phone rang in the room leaving an air of animosity hanging among the shadows. Finally as the voice stopped, he dropped the tumbler onto the floor, glass shattering across the cool tile. “Pick that up, will ya?” the man said, slamming the telephone down onto the receiver on the table next to him. He sat there mulling over the fact that he needed to get his boss three million dollars by Friday, or he might lose his life in a matter of days. A different man came with a brush and dustpan to clean the broken glass, and then returned to the shadows of the room.

222

223

ponus papers

grade 9

Jason Gold The moment ski boots are taken off, there is an instantaneous sense of comfort. They were skiing in Telluride, Colorado,

The Brick Wall

during Christmas vacation. It was cold, yet enjoyable because of the weather conditions. After a couple days of riding the corrugated, compacted, and groomed slopes of the front country, they decided to try the difficult terrain of the backcountry

Joel: Jake and I were skiing for half an hour at most when I started to regret our mistake of splitting up with Alyssa and Andy.

despite the arduous journey to reach the destination. The four friends, Joel Barlow, a school teacher, Jake McCaughey, his

I wondered how they were doing. I questioned if their side of the mountain was easier or, perhaps, more strenuous. Most

friend and a businessman, Alyssa Granby, his friend from college, and Andy Marks, a long-time family relative and science

importantly, I thought of the worst possible scenario: someone getting hurt and our inability to find and save them.

teacher, were going to stay at an observatory called Alta Lodge, which is 15,000 feet above sea level in uncharted territory. From there, they could ski the beautiful backcountry, full of fresh power, unpolluted air, and pure nature.

Alyssa: Andy and my side of the mountain looked less steep and didn’t entail jumping off cliffs or traveling through chutes. After

“That was a spectacular day of skiing,” concluded Alyssa.

only about forty-five minutes of skiing, I began to wonder how Jake and Joel were doing. Were they hurt? Were they at the

“That’s for sure. It looks like the sky is about to open up,” continued Joel.

bottom yet? Were they enjoying the experience? Now, however, I started to feel deeply contrite about our decision to split up

“I can’t wait to ski tomorrow. There will be an abundance of powder and we will be skiing in the backcountry,” Jake stated.

and ski different paths. Before I knew it, we were at flat ground.

After pulling off their tight boots which confined their feet for the day and packing their skis and other necessary gear, they ventured to the bottom of the trail where their guide was waiting along with three snowmobiles.

“Wow!” exclaimed Andy. “We did it!”

Subsequent to meeting their guide, Sam, and having a quick conversation, he announced they were leaving momentarily.

“Yes, great job,” I replied. “See that monstrous rock up there?” “Yeah, why?” Andy questioned.

The rumbling of the snowmobile engines commenced, and they started up the windy trail with Sam in front, then Joel,

“I think Joel and Jake will come around that corner, because we could see the opposite side of it when we stopped with them.”

followed by Jake, Alyssa, and Andy. All of the aspen trees were weighed down like a diving board with a diver on it. In fact,

“I think you’re right,” Andy stated. “But let’s see.”

Andy was once hit by a crash of snow. Soon, though, the sun began to trickle through the clouds. Now, the group could see the exquisite aesthetics of the Rocky

Joel: The moment I saw the gigantic rock sitting in front of us, I heard a loud rumble and a shift of something behind. I stopped, and then Jake did the same, for he heard the same noise. I turned around and saw the incomprehensible, the unthinkable.

Mountains: snow capped mountains, vast areas, and pure tranquility. After a turn to their right, the guide pointed out that they were now very close to their destination. Very soon, they had finally reached their lodge.

“Avalanche!” I screamed.

Complemented by small stained glass windows, the dwelling was made of huge tree logs with gigantic windows on all sides.

Jake followed, “F***!” We both continued to ski until we were past the rock, then dropped to the ground, tried to hold on, and inflated our backpacks.

Of course, the roof had hundreds of pounds of snow resting on it; on the contrary, the fact made it blend into the nature. As

Alyssa:

their guide opened the door and started to show them around, all of the guests were blown away. There was a couch, a small

We were staring at the rock when I heard a prolonged, thunderous crash. Immediately, I looked at Andy, and he glance back.

kitchen, five beds, a bathroom, and even an indoor hot-tub, which was off to the side and in the ground. Their guide toured them throughout the house, and showed them where the cooking devices and food were located.

Then, the avalanche sneaked around the corner and was visible to us.

Afterwards, they prepared their meal.

“Holy flubernuggets! Look at the avalanche! That’s horrible,” I exclaimed. “Oh no. Call the rescue team. I will turn on my beacon,” Andy wailed. “That was the route Jake and Joel were taking.”

As they sat down they heard an ominous crash in the distance.

A helicopter arrived on scene and dropped team members to search for our two missing friends. I couldn’t imagine the pain

“Oh. My. Gosh. What was that?” questioned Jake. “Don’t worry about it,” urged Joel. “It’s just a small avalanche.”

they were going through under the snow. I couldn’t even compare it to the agony I was feeling.

They enjoyed their meal, played cards, and then went in the hot-tub. By 8:30, they were sound asleep, dreaming about the

Joel: It felt like someone threw me into a brick wall, but it was much, much worse because I continued to move backwards. Before

ensuing day. “Good morning,” the guide uttered as Joel and Andy entered the kitchen. “How did y’all sleep?”

I could think further, something snapped, my skis ripped off, and I blacked out. Continued on next page

224

225

ponus papers

grade 9

Jason Gold

Continued

grade 9

Christopher Jessup Two Passions, One Mindset

“Very well, very well. Have you looked out of the window yet? There must be thirty inches of fresh powder,” Joel continued.

Figure-toi que pendant que je faisais de la voile, le vent a

“This might just be the best day of skiing in our lives,” commanded Andy.

commencé à devenir plus fort. Alors, j’ai commencé à avoir

After drinking coffee many cups of coffee, eating toast, and packing protein bars for the day, the group of skiers put their ski

peur. A ce moment-là, le mât du bateau s’est rompu et

Whether it’s Christmas, Easter, or simply a short excursion

mon père, moi, et l’instructeur de navigation, nous sommes

between her many endeavors and extremely intensive

tombés dans l’eau. Nous étions au milieu de Long Island

schedule, Enzii, my sister-in-law, is a person whom I greatly

Sound. Alors, j’avais trés peur parce que je pensais qu’il y

admire. One gets a true sense of Enzii through her fashion.

avait des requins sous moi! Heureusement, l’instructeur a

Whether it is her hair or clothing, she clearly expresses

réparé le mât et nous sommes allés au rivage. Bref, j’ai eu

that she is a creative and interesting person. She wears

une expérience que je ne vais jamais oublier!

small shoes that shine and coordinated dresses or pants

boots on and dug out their skis from the snow at the front of the house. “Thank you so much for guiding us up here,” Joel insisted. “This was great.” “Yes, thanks again,” Jake, Andy, and Alyssa replied. “It was my pleasure,” assured Sam Riverway. “Have fun skiing today. I will bring your extra gear back to your hotel in Mountain Village. Oh, but wait! Do you have the avalanche equipment?” Andy admitted, “Yes. We each have a shovel, a beacon, a probe, and our backpacks have two inflatable pockets.” “Sounds great,” approved their guide. “See you at the bottom!” The four friends were to walk three hundred yards up and over a small hill in order to start skiing. After a short distance away from the house Joel decided ,“This looks like a great place to ski from.” “Oh, yeah. This is awesome,” continued Jake. “Oh, no,” backfired Andy. “I’m not going down that way. It looks like a seventy-five degree angle, and there are chutes, rocks, and small cliffs to jump off.” “Yeah, same here,” approved Alyssa.

everywhere she goes. Sometimes when she comes to visit us in Connecticut, her hair is long, and other times it is short and styled. Originally from Shanghai, China, Enzii has gone on to study at premier fashion institutes in both New York and London, chosen out of hundreds of students to study in a very selective and highly intensive program.

“Fine, if you and Andy want to ski over there, then you can. However, we are going to start here,” Joel exclaimed.

Even though Enzii works endless hours on her multitude of

Andy responded, “See you at the bottom!”

projects and gets less than an hour of sleep each night, she

“Wait,” started Alyssa. “Put your beacons on, just in case.”

always has great energy, showing that what she is doing is

“Okay, okay. We will,” Joel reassured Alyssa and Andy.

not work for her, but a passion she is nurturing. This comes

Alyssa and Andy ventured toward their starting point; meanwhile, Joel and Jake got caught in a conversation and forgot to

through because not only does she work with fashion, she

do something very important... In addition to the fact that the slope was very steep, there were a myriad of chutes and rocks, which needed air or brute proficiency to complete. “Ready to go?” questioned Joel. “Yes sir,” Jake retorted. “Let’s do this thing!” They began to traverse the slope and make tight turns because the powder was so thick that if one went slowly he would sink into the cold, deep snow. Soon enough, Andy, Alyssa, Joel, and Jake were all enjoying their respective slopes down the face of the mountain. Nevertheless, something transpired which would not be forgotten for the rest of their lives…..

lives it through her style of hair and clothing. Enzii understands the importance of hard work and commitment to one’s craft. She is a true artist and loves what she does. When one loves something as much as Enzii loves her fashion, it comes through in everyday creative expression. When I first met Enzii, I was extremely shy, as I was young. However, there was something about her that I could tell was different from the strangers I usually meet. Her vibrant smile and wonderful personality just glowed. Over the

226

Continued on next page

227

ponus papers

grade 9

Juju Lane

Christopher Jessup Continued

years, I have really gotten to know Enzii, and she has

Figure-toi qu’il faisait froid dans la forêt. Alors, j’ai

gotten to know me. Today, we are extremely close. I am

décidé de faire un feu de camp. J’ai pris mon allume-

often drawn to people from different cultures because

gaz et j’ai allumé ce feu. À ce moment-là, l’herbe a

they have different ways of looking at things. I love

pris feu et la flamme a commencé à voler. J’avais peur!

understanding more about Chinese culture through

Heureusement, j’ai trouvé de l’eau et j’ai éteint le feu!

her, an area of study in which I have great interest.

Bref, j’ai presque commencé un feu de forêt!

I even attempted to teach myself some of the language

Quelle soirée!

through a silly app I purchased on my phone. Spending time with Enzii is also enjoyable because she has a great sense of humor. When we are together, we laugh harder than we both probably laugh in an entire year! Both Enzii and I have very acute senses, a trait that is closely related to our artistic passions. As a result, we pick up on nuances and mannerisms of people. We are on the same wavelength. I find Enzii to be a remarkable person, and this is made evident through her great style and fashion. Spending time with Enzii is invaluable to me because she is as supportive of me as I am of her. I am able to communicate with her in a way I do not feel I can with many other people, for we are both artists. She exemplifies the hard work, determination, and commitment that are needed to accomplish her ambitious goals. I strive for these same qualities with my music. Enzii provides inspiration.

228

229

ponus papers

grade 9

Juju Lane

Continued

Jack’s Anthem

grade 9

Luke Leasure The dirt road was getting bumpier as roots and rocks became more abundant. The forest became thicker around them, and the sun seemed to shine less. They came to a deserted clearing, and it was known that this is where they would separate. A

You could tell that he was home when that whistle echoed through the house. No matter the activity—washing his hair or

small, deteriorating sign was held to a tree by one rusty screw. It read, “Lone Peak- 11 Miles.” The boys dismantled their packs

toasting his bagel—a whistle was the perfect accompaniment. The growing sound of heavy footsteps could be mistaken for

from the horses and tossed them on the ground, causing a cloud of dirt to fill the dim and musty air. Old Man Elliot, who had

someone else’s, but the whistle indicated that my brother was approaching. Late at night, when I tried to get to sleep, I would

just placed a thick cigar in his mouth, was eager to wish his grandchildren good luck. “Now you hear me, kids. You got to get

hear Jack whistling down the hall, sharing his joy with whoever heard it. His grinning face and endearing clumsiness were also

you self back safe and don’t let you self get no scratches cause that will put mother in a fit, now won’t it? And keep an eye

vital parts of Jack’s persona, but his whistle set him apart from any equally lanky teenage boy. That whistle made me smile

on them bears and snakes and especially on them clouds for that lightning.” The boys could only nod and say “Yessir” in the

against my will, even if I was in a bad mood (and yes, I was the moody kid in the house).

eager anticipation of heading off into the woods on their own. The dad let the boys go and he and the Old Man watched

Jack’s whistle was an expression of his happiness and love of simply being alive—that said, until he reached middle school, Jack knew only the kindness of the world. He thought that people were good and kind; he had not yet encountered the

them as they began their two-week trek. “They best be watching that lightning,” The Old Man mumbled through his cigar. The boys were silent while hiking. They kept their head down, watching their feet, careful not to trip on any roots. The trees

cruelty of life. But kids can be cruel, as my brother learned. It was heartbreaking to watch the hard shell form around Jack,

around them grew thicker and formed what seemed like a cave above them. The distant sound of the horses’ footsteps grew faint

the sweetest person I’ve ever known. But he never stopped whistling, and this embodies the innocence he once had, and the

and dissolved into the ambience. More time passed as the rhythm of the two boys’ feet continued on. When Peter looked up

sweetness he still has, although it is more guarded now.

again, he noticed how far they had come. The ridge was now directly to their left, meaning that their campsite was within yards.

When my brother left for boarding school, the first few months were a stark, startling silence. The house seemed gloomy without him, and I missed the whistle that had kept me awake so many nights. I was still glad to hear that he had brought his

After peeling off the trail, the boys engaged in the familiar routine of setting up camp, getting water, and cooking dinner. The irritating sound of Peter’s watch awakened the boys early the next morning. Although half asleep, both brothers

whistle to school with him, (and was actually considering starting a whistling quartet with some friends). Nonetheless, I missed

productively packed their backpacks and ate breakfast without any complaints as they both knew the importance of leaving

his aura of calm and contentment: I really missed Jack. When he comes home to visit once in a while, the house is filled again

camp in a timely manner. Being that it was around three in the morning, the forest was dark and eerie. Simon looked up to the

with his cheerful atmosphere. Earlier this year, I actually learned to whistle myself. Maybe I was trying to fill the void that had

sky to notice that not one star was visible and that light clouds had painted the sky. “Hey Peter!” Simon shouted, “Take a look

formed in his absence, but whenever I whistle, I think of my brother and the joy he shares with that sound.

up at them clouds. What do you think?” Peter turned off his headlamp to get a better look at the sky. After a few moments of gazing, Peter replied, “Just some clouds, nothing much at all. Probably just for some snow or wind cause they aint that puffy. I don’t think it’s anything to be troubling yourself over.” Peter switched his headlamp back on and began hiking. Simon followed behind him, keeping a worrisome eye on the clouds. The soothing rhythm of footsteps began once more. As they boys hiked on, the darkness became dawn but the clouds did not change. They remained like a sheet of cloudy ice looming over them. It was cold, very cold. Nothing to hinder the boys, of course, but they knew that the cold was a harbinger of harsh conditions. Periodically, snow would fall on the boys and stick to their boots and face. But the boys hiked on, assuaged by the simplicity of the sounds of their footsteps and the wind. As dawn turned to day, the sun had not yet broken through the clouds to brighten the mountains. It remained a pale grey, which made everything seem increasingly bland. The boys had made great progress; they had left the foothills of the peak and had begun the ascent up its steep face. Exhausting and grueling as it was, the thrill that came with being in harsh conditions made the boys even more excited. As they broke through the tree line and entered the steeper, more treacherous alpine tundra,

230

Continued on next page

231

ponus papers

grade 9

Luke Leasure

grade 9

Continued

the wind and snow got worse. With each step, they would be blown a little bit to the side. The snow was not only coming

but the older brother retorted, calling him weak and powerless, and saying that the Old Man would never call him a man. This

occasionally now, but instead, it came in a constant flow that peppered the boys’ raincoats. Steeper and steeper the mountain

caused Simon to push on, as well. If there was one way to prove himself to his brother, it would be to keep hiking through

became. So steep, in fact, that they could no longer see the peak. After about two hours of hiking, it came time for a break.

conditions and reach the peak.

The boys huddled near a large boulder to seek protection from the elements. The temperature was dropping even more, so

The brothers were stuck in the moment; the adrenaline and determination to reach the peak had made them num to the

the boys threw on another layer. Peter checked his map and looked at his surroundings. “Bet we’ve done around a third by

conditions around them. The wind was blowing around 50 miles per hour, the snow was so thick that they could not see ten

now. Not too much more steep stuff until it flattens out a bit. Best we get going, though, conditions is gettin tough.” Simon

feet in front of them, and the lightning was murderously close. The crashing and booming of the lightning would startle the

nodded his head and threw on his pack. Right before they returned to the ascent, a distant rumble sounded from the west.

brothers with every strike. Any truthfully experienced mountaineer would have known to turn back long ago. While the rain,

Peter and Simon glanced at each other. “Ay, Peter, that was thunder, yah?” Simon hesitantly question. “I didn’t see no flash.

snow, and lightning caused chaos around them, the boys pushed on. And just then was when it happened. There was a large

If it is thunder, it’s way, way off. Maybe round seven miles. Don’t need to worry about nothing that far off. Could’ve been an

gap between two boulders. Peter, being much larger than Simon, was easily able to hop across this obstacle. Simon was not so

avalanche or a rockslide or something like that, too.” They nodded in agreement and continued hiking.

fortunate. His right foot lost all grip on the rock and his legs twisted awkwardly while he fell. Simon’s shin smashed against the

As exhausted as they were, nothing would stop the boys from reaching the peak. The snow and wind might have slowed

corner of a large granite slab and a brutal snap was heard by both brothers. Simon let out a distorted shriek of both terror and

them down a bit, but they couldn’t have cared less. After about ten minutes had passed since the break, another rumble was

pain. Peter went back to his brother and screamed, “Get up! Can’t expect to get to no peak with you laying on your face!”

heard. This time, it was much louder and closer. “Peter, we best be heading down if we see any of that lightning.” Simon

Simon moaned and turned over, revealing his horrific injury. His shin was snapped in half and his knee was bent in the wrong

warned. “Nah, we’ll be fine,” Peter assured. Simon, though, was still hesitant. “Peter, you heard Old Man Elliot. He warned

direction. A pool of blood was forming on the rock slab beneath him.

us about that lightning. He said you best get to cover if you hear it coming!” Peter was becoming agitated by Simon’s

Peter had come to his senses. The determination and adrenaline were flushed out of him and he knew what a horrible

nervousness. “Now you listen. The Old Man is screwy, yah see? He can’t tell the difference between a cow and a horse if you

situation they were in. On top of a mountain in snowstorm with lightning crashing around them, Peter knew what a horrible

bet him two grand on it. If you think what he was saying was the slightest bit straight, then fine, go on down the mountain

mistake he had made. He wished he could have heeded the warnings of the Old Man and his brother, but now he was paying

by yourself. I’m going to the peak no matter what the Old Man warned.” Peter turned back up the mountain and began his

the consequences. He stared at the ghastly injury and knew that there was no way he could fix it. Simon was coming to his

steady pace again. Simon was reluctant, but he didn’t want to be thought of as a coward for backing out. He admired his

senses, as well. He began to scream and curse at his brother, “You Idiot! You fool! I warned you of this and so did the Old

brother and would rather be obedient to him than to cause any problems. Simon knew how determined Peter was; in a sense,

Man. Why can’t you listen? Now you’ve got us on the top of this cursed peak with no help or nothing! What are you going to

he was too determined.

do now, huh? You can’t just push through this one, can you?” Simon screamed in both agony and in anger. Tears flowed out of

The terrain had leveled out a bit, and they had come to a boulder field. No matter how fast a hiker you are, the boys knew that boulder fields take a while to cross. They could see the peak off in the distance at the end of the boulder field, veiled by

his eyes and blood continued to drip onto the stone. Peter could only stand there in the wind and snow, recalculating all of the errors he had made and wishing he could only

the dark clouds. As the boys hiked through the rocks, lightning was striking closer and closer. “I bet it’ll pass around us,” Peter

go back. He knew that he couldn’t stay up there in the lightning. It was only a matter of minutes before they would be struck.

proclaimed. The boulders were getting bigger and bigger. Some were the size of cars, and some of the large ones were even

He also knew that there was no way his brother could get down. There was no way to splint the leg or make a stretcher. The

the size of school busses. They were slippery from the snow, too, making the hike even more treacherous.

thought of his brother dying had creeped into his mind. In a panic, he thought of anything he could do, but came to no

Contrary to what Peter had hoped for, the storm was moving over them. Strikes were so close around them that the boys

conclusions. It was in this situation that Peter acted upon an instinct, the instinct of survival and self-interest. He prioritized his

would be blinded temporarily. As the clouds swirled around them, the wind and snow picked up and battered the boys

own wellbeing and safety over that of his brother. Knowing well enough that his brother would die, Peter stumbled back down

relentlessly. Peter pushed on, though. His arrogance was taking him too far. He must reach the peak; he could not live with

the mountain without looking back, leaving his screaming and distorted brother on the top of Lone Peak.

himself if he didn’t. Rain and hail began to fall, and the boulders were dangerously slippery. Simon pleaded Peter to turn back,

232

233

ponus papers

grade 9

Bobby Leonard

ponus papers

grade 9

Maggie McManus

Some people have fathers who like to watch baseball on the TV. Some have dads who like to do manly things. My dad is

Missy, my grandmother, loved to paint. Whenever I visited her house, I was fascinated by how amazing she was and how

different. Although he lacks a full beard, a red plaid shirt, jeans, and a large belt buckle, my dad is a lumberjack. With

graceful she was with the brush. She had a room full of paints, brushes, easels, pencils, and so much more, that I loved to

a chainsaw in hand and 1980s protective googles on his face, he can, and will, cut any log in sight to make firewood.

play with. When she passed away, my family and I went through her basement and took many of her paintings. They hang

He’s now 55, and some people think he’s crazy. So do I. I can still remember when he picked me up from a hockey game an hour away from home. We had just won the game, and the team rushed out of the locker rooms and into their cars with smiles

throughout our house, and I always think of Missy when I walk by them. Every time I went to her house she would have a different craft for us to do, but I will always remember the time I made my

on their faces. As my dad and I were going to our car, we noticed a three-foot long piece of wood that was nice and dry. When

first, and only, really good painting with her. We were in Florida, and she brought out some of her supplies, and we started

we finished putting my stuff in the car, my dad grabbed the log and stuffed it on top of all of my gear. We both went home

working on the birch trees we were going to paint. She showed me there was so much more to painting than just using a paint

with a smile on our face, but for different reasons.

and a brush. We used a toothbrush, all different types of paint, and a hairdryer. Every day when I see this painting hanging in

Being a lumberjack in Darien, Connecticut, isn’t easy. Sometimes, when duty calls, you just have to be there to respond. After Hurricane Sandy, our road was blocked by several downed trees. These weren’t ordinary trees, they were full-grown trees

my room I think of my grandmother and all the good memories I have of her. For my birthday this past year, my grandfather sent me a box of all of her supplies. He had saved them for years, waiting for

that were alive and strong when they fell. This event was no match for Connecticut Light and Power, or any other service.

the perfect time to give them to me. The box had all different types of tools, paints and paper, used and unused. I saw the

My dad rose to the occasion and cleared our road by himself, at 7:00 AM on a Saturday.

skinny brushes used to paint the details of trees and the stiff brushes for the grass. It feels wrong going through the box and

During Hurricane Irene, our family came home from spring break to see our 100 foot pine tree lying on the ground, just a

taking materials out and using them, but I know that Missy would want me to enjoy it. Going through the box brings back so

mere 5 yards from our house. This tree had roots so deep that when it fell, the tree created a 4 foot deep trench. Our family

many memories of doing crafts with her or watching her paint. Although Missy isn’t here anymore, I am reminded of her all

was considering hiring a professional to come in and remove the tree, but according to my dad, “When you can save a few

the time with her paintings throughout my house and the things she has given to me.

grand AND get the firewood, why not do it yourself?” And that is exactly what he did. He spent the next week of spring break cutting the tree into smaller pieces. I did help, of course, but a small hand-saw was no match for his chainsaw. In our neighborhood, he is a local father. To me, he’s a hero. All this hard work is burned in the winter. Literally. Our family uses the wood my dad collects for fires in the winter. In the off season, the logs spend several months inside a shed becoming as dry as they can be so when winter comes, the wood burns long and bright. Having a profuse amount of firewood is especially helpful when my mom is averse to turning up the heat. This object, firewood, has become a symbol of work in my house. It is universally known that on a weekend, if he is not playing golf, my dad is outside cutting up fallen trees and making new firewood. It seems as though no tree stands as an obstacle to my dad, as long as he has access to a chainsaw. When my dad retires, I know he’ll have a safe landing and a backup job as a lumber jack if needed.

234

235

ponus papers

grade 9

Will McNear He had never been more scared in his entire life. Perhaps this moment was the beginning of his end. Thoughts of his family

Francis looked at his father, who was still standing tall while reloading his musket. “Shoot…Shoot Francis!!” and Francis just

rushed through his mind, along with thoughts of regret. He was Francis Jones. Francis stood frozen in his tracks. The cool

blinked, shouldered his musket and looked down the barrel. His hands, shaking with fear, could barely keep his gun straight.

breeze passed right through him. He looked out onto the field from the safety of the forest. Surrounding him were the sounds

He saw the British soldier he could kill with one simple pull of that trigger. The sweat on his hands encumbered his grip of the

of muskets being loaded and swords being drawn. Men were praying for help from one whom they may see soon. Along

rifle, but Francis adjusted. Then, the British soldier that Francis was aiming at turned to point his rifle at Francis, and then, out

with all the noise, Francis stood still. His eyes showed more fear than could be described by words. He kept trying to remind

of the very natural human instinct for survival, Francis pulled the trigger. Time seemed to be passing in slow motion. Francis

himself of what he was fighting for, things that he had never experienced before. These thoughts of freedom and liberty

could nearly feel the mechanics inside the gun working. The flint hammer slowly ignited the priming powder, which sizzled into

drove him and other men to fight and possibly die so that one day their children would have a free and independent nation

the main charge. Then with a small explosion, the lead ball was sent steadily down the barrel and out into the air towards its

of their own. Francis had never killed a man before; could he do it? What would it be like? Then, he could hear the faint, yet

final destination, the redcoat. The ball struck the soldier with such impact that he flew backwards towards the hard, cold earth.

unmistakable sound of British drums beating like his own heart, fast with anxiety.

Francis let out a small tear, but still stood straight. He felt sad, but he was also glad that he had finally done it. Then Francis

“You ready son?” Francis’s father called out to him.

truly felt what he had done; he had killed a person. Francis sat down on the ground while the blood-stained grasses swayed

“Uh, uh yes sir.”

around him. He had completely drifted away, in his mind, from the gunfire and death that surrounded him.

The sound of Yankee drums then began to beat and then the sound of the soldiers’ footsteps that Francis followed. They emerged out of the forest into the field where the sun, brighter than ever, shone onto the steel the men held. They kept

Francis’s father quickly glanced over at him. As he looked into his son’s cold blue eyes, he could see that Francis was a different person. He would never be the same.

walking, and then there on the horizon were the unmistakable British redcoats. The sight of the redcoats nearly made Francis stop in his tracks. “You all right, Francis?’ “Just a bit worried father.” “Don’t worry; everything will be all right.” His father’s comforting words were just enough to push Francis forward. They were getting closer and closer until the drumbeats felt like minutes apart. He could feel himself getting dizzy, and sweat was creeping down along his brow. Then, then the beat stopped, and Francis felt as if his heart had too. He thought of all his preparations for the battle; did he have his ammunition, rations, and musket? Then he realized he had missed one thing. He had forgotten to load his gun. He quickly reached for his powder horn to pour gunpowder down the cold, steel barrel of his musket. His hands, shaking with fear, could barely complete the task. Then after the powder came the ball that he hammered with his hand straight into the barrel and rammed it down to sit on top of the gunpowder. Under the conditions, this easy task felt to be the most challenging one he had ever performed. He primed his musket, and then he wondered if he could even kill a man. Francis stared at his hand; could he perform such a task? Francis thought of a family grieving at the death of the soldier Francis would kill. Then “boom!” and the first shot was fired and then a barrage of musket balls tore down men beside Francis, and blood spattered onto the grass around him. Continued on next page

236

237

ponus papers

grade 9

Will McNear

grade 9

Alex Mitchell

Continued

I heard shouts and screams coming from behind me while I sprinted, panting and pondering, wondering if they would find me, if they would kill me. The sweat from around my ears had turned into tears. I had just realized what had taken place. But it had to be done. It wasn’t right. I couldn’t live with what he had done to my father, to my family. I just hope Mama will be okay and she won’t worry about me when this is all over. Would they kill her if they knew it was me? Would they kill Teresa and Isabella? I still can’t believe what I had done; I still can’t believe that Francisco, my friend, my dear friend, had been killed. Slain by the hands of the man we call a leader, who we put our faith in to take care of us and help us through our struggles. Now he is a dead man. The cries of terror were getting farther and farther away. I was almost there. I had almost reached the destination. I had been running for so long I could no longer feel my feet under me and my vision had started to get hazy. I looked far ahead and right there was a cornfield. I had to stop, or else I know I would injure myself and would surely get caught. The cornfield was close and I pushed myself to go on. Finally I had made it to the cornfield and, with a sigh of relief, hid. I was weary and I just wished that I could return home to our small cottage, but this would no longer be an option. I cut down some of the corn stalks and started to make a bed out of them. This made me remember when Gustavo, Francisco, and I used to harvest the corn with my abuelo, when our family still had our fortune, until he took it away. Our nation’s own prime minister stealing from his people. Killing everyone that opposed him. Most of them praised him, but some of the people, those who were not brainwashed by his speeches and arguments, would not give in. Those people are probably dead, but I have avenged them and my father. Now he is dead. Suddenly I remembered the task at hand. I had to get to Gustavo. He was waiting for me with his vehicle. I started to move, but as soon as I gotten up, I fell. My ankles were in agony. I knew all that running wasn’t good, and I knew we should have had a different rendezvous point. But at the time when we planned it, it seemed so easy. Just in and out. But it was much more than that, which is probably why Francisco had died. I crawled even faster. Every time I thought I had come to the end, there was another ear of corn to destroy my hope. I heard yelling and men stomping. They were getting close. I felt scared, terrified, like I had seen a ghost. I started to feel dizzy and my arms started shaking from all the crawling. The police were now covering the field and I heard helicopters flying around. I decided to take up the corn stalks and cover them over the top of my body so no one would see what was under it. I crawled slowly and cautiously. I felt like I was in the army, sneaking up on my enemies, yet my enemies were sneaking up on me. At this point, everything was hurting. I had started getting blisters all over my hands. My feet were bleeding, and I felt as if I had sweat anymore, I would die of dehydration. Continued on next page

238

239

ponus papers

grade 9

Alex Mitchell

Stella Noels

Continued

I looked up and there I saw what I had been longing to see: trees. They looked like they were about a mile away, but

grade 9

“Sweets! Come over here! I think I found something,” Bart yelled as he pushed the tree limb out of his way.

crawling it felt like 1,000 miles. Inching forwards every few seconds. I knew my vision was failing me because every time I got

“You found it? You found the body?!” replied Sweets, running in the direction of Bart’s voice.

closer, the trees had gotten much farther. The yelling of orders grew louder. I had advanced to a path in the middle of the

“Yeah, Yeah I found it. You might want to come over here…”

cornfield and about 10 yards away to me were the police. They were turned away from me and were walking away from me.

The Two men hovered over what looked like the outline of a body wrapped in some sort of black tarp floating at the surface

I let out a sigh but I realized how loud I had been. The police had instantly turned around, but I was nowhere in sight. I had jumped back into the other half of the field.

of a pond. “Ugh, Yuck. It smells pretty darn disgusting out here,” Sweets commented as he held his nose shut. “You don’t say…”

I was surprised no one had heard the rustling, but I kept moving. One of my legs was broken. The impact of the fall from when

replied Bart, whose eyes were fixated on the body. “I say we pull it in, Sweets. Headquarters is going to want to know about

I had jumped forced my leg into an upward motion, snapping it. With one leg broken, blisters, cuts, and what felt like a pound

this one…”

of corn stalks on my back, I fell to the ground. With all the strength I had left I looked up. A bright yellow light shone in my face.

They stood at the edge of the pond and reached out with their hands and pulled the body in. A red pool of blood now replaced what had previously been the tarp. “Looks like this was done pretty recent, right boss?” said Sweets. “Yeah…Make sure you don’t step on anything Sweets. There may be some valuable evidence here. We’ll walk around after to scan for clues. Alright, Sweets help me unwrap this guy. Headquarters was right. They thought something was gonna be here. They were right, Sweets. Man they were right. ” They put the bloody, black tarp on the ground and started to unwrap whatever was inside. The tension in the air was palpable, as the layer covering the body became thinner and thinner, until soon only one layer was remaining. “You do it boss! I’m not trained enough! You got this one!” Sweets said plugging nose, as he slowly backed away from the body. Bart rolled his eyes and hesitated for a second before quickly ripping off the last layer of the tarp. All of a sudden, an oppressive and intolerable smell filled the air, the smell of rotting human flesh and bones. Bart ran so fast backwards that he lost his balance and fell over a tree branch, landing in a pile of watery mud. “Sweets! Help me up! Let’s wrap that thing back up and get out of here!” Bart screamed. However Sweets was too busy examining the body he had tuned out everything else, and he was only focused on identifying the victim. “Bart, Bart I know this guy! It’s Martin! Martin Johnson! He’s a cop! We worked together when I was just starting out!” “You know this guy?!Do you know who might have wanted him cut up and mutilated like this! Look Sweets. They even cut his watch into pieces… Looks like a nice watch too!” “Oh, I know who’s done it boss. I’ve seen this kind of thing before. It was Jangles.” The last words slipped out Sweet’s mouth in such a way that they implied that whoever this Jangles was, he wasn’t to be reckoned with. Continued on next page

240

241

ponus papers

grade 9

Stella Noels

Alison Norton

Continued

Bart slowly got up to his feet, a ghostly expression on his face. “Jangles. The key man. He’s part of that gang! They say you

grade 9

If anyone was ever looking for my grandfather, there was one place you could find him, sitting in his huge leather chair.

can hear him coming because you hear of jangling of keys, but it’s really just the sound of his knifes on his belt clashing against

He was either reading the newspaper, or just sitting there thinking about something in his old age. Growing up, I would always

each other.”

remember sitting on his lap surrounded by the big brown chair and pulling at the newspaper he always had by his side.

“Yeah Bart…But I say we find Jangles, and we bring him in. I’ve seen too many innocent men die because of him. It’s time someone took a stand.” “All right Sweets. Let’s get this body back to the car and sweep the area for any clues.”

I would open it and, barely being able to read, try to take in all the tiny print on the huge sheet of paper. When I finally gave up, he would flip to the comics and we would look at the pictures for hours. Years passed and the health of my grandfather deteriorated, but when visiting California, we would always run into my

After they brought the body back to the car, Sweets and Bart began their search of the pond and the surrounding area.

grandparents’ house and go straight to the living room. It was predictable that he would be sitting in his chair. A sickness took

“BART! BART! LOOK!” Sweets urgently whispered while pointing to the other side of the pond. There were two men

over his voice and some of his ability to move, so this chair was where he stayed for most of his days. I grew older and outgrew

standing right at the edge of the pond, where Bart and Sweets had just found and took the body.

his lap and coming back to visit him grew harder because of his sickness. I could no longer communicate with him and when

“Sweets! Maybe they’re looking for the body! Maybe those are Jangle’s guys!”

we would visit, it was hard for him to leave the chair. Months passed, and living in Connecticut, we would only hear about his

The two men standing on the other end of the pond looked like members of the Menace of Destruction. Both men had

condition growing worse, but were not there to see him.

tommy guns strapped onto their belt and were dressed in fancy suits. Bart and Sweets could just make out what the two men were talking about. “Listen, Tony, boss said that the body was dumped here. There must be some sort of mistake. If we don’t come back with a body we might as well consider ourselves dead meat,” one of the henchmen exclaimed. “Yeah, you’re right about that one. But we could always say that we couldn’t find it.”

When we weren’t visiting him in California I could always picture him in his big, brown, leather chair, with the footrest pulled up and the backrest pushed back, just sitting there reading the newspaper. The news finally came one day and my mom told me that my grandfather was no longer with us. At the time I was only in 6th grade and the news, although sad, wasn’t shocking. I had heard for months that he was not doing well and only had weeks, even days to live. Now, every time we visit my grandmother in California, my siblings and I sprint up the cobblestone pathway and run

“Yeah, I guess. Let’s just dump this stuff that the boss told us to and get out of here.”

straight for the living room. Although the chair is empty, it resides in the same place and brings back many memories

Bart and Sweets then saw the two men lift a big black bucket and dump the contents into the pond, immediately

of my grandfather.

making it pink. “What on earth did they just put in the pond?!” Whispered Bart. “I’m not sure…but whatever it is, I don’t think it’s good…” replied Sweets.

242

243

ponus papers

grade 9

Alison Norton

grade 9

Continued

If anyone was ever looking for my grandfather, there was one place you could find him, sitting in his huge leather chair. He was either reading the newspaper, or just sitting there thinking about something in his old age. Growing up, I would always remember sitting on his lap surrounded by the big brown chair and pulling at the newspaper he always had by his side. I would open it and, barely being able to read, try to take in all the tiny print on the huge sheet of paper. When I finally gave up, he would flip to the comics and we would look at the pictures for hours. Years passed and the health of my grandfather deteriorated, but when visiting California, we would always run into my grandparentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; house and go straight to the living room. It was predictable that he would be sitting in his chair. A sickness took over his voice and some of his ability to move, so this chair was where he stayed for most of his days. I grew older and outgrew his lap and coming back to visit him grew harder because of his sickness. I could no longer communicate with him and when we would visit, it was hard for him to leave the chair. Months passed, and living in Connecticut, we would only hear about his condition growing worse, but were not there to see him. When we werenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t visiting him in California I could always picture him in his big, brown, leather chair, with the footrest pulled up and the backrest pushed back, just sitting there reading the newspaper. The news finally came one day and my mom told me that my grandfather was no longer with us. At the time I was only in 6th grade and the news, although sad, wasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t shocking. I had heard for months that he was not doing well and only had weeks, even days to live. Now, every time we visit my grandmother in California, my siblings and I sprint up the cobblestone pathway and run straight for the living room. Although the chair is empty, it resides in the same place and brings back many memories of my grandfather.

244

245

ponus papers

grade 9

Ian Sanders A man opened his hazy, blue eyes and stared up at the grey morning light above him. He saw the distant clouds of smoke

Suddenly he was back in his home in Dresden, screaming while his dead mother’s body was taken away. The terrible school in

from the burning German fields and heard the faraway sounds of gunfire. This was just another day of misery and war for

Berlin and his cruel and abusive father were coming back to him now. These evil memories overtook him and he screamed, a

Anton Fischer, a young German corporal. He pulled himself out of his dugout and looked around. Everything, including Anton,

loud piercing, blood-curdling scream. He kept running, racing around corners after the phantom soldier. He felt as if somehow

was muddy and waterlogged.

his pain and memories would recede if he was able to catch this enemy. Anton fired his gun at the soldier but his bullets

The pungent smell of gunpowder and rot overwhelmed his senses and caused his eyes to tear. Rats scrabbled around the

seemed to curve around him. He did not care where he was going all he knew was that he must find and kill this ghost. Then

sides of the trenches and climbed over dead bodies looking for food. Anton blinked and muttered, “Mien gott!” His whole

the world slowed down, he saw the soldier only a few feet in front of him. He pushed on, running wildly at the enemy. He was

division had left in the night, leaving him alone. This was an occupational hazard of being a soldier of the failing German army.

finally able to grab onto the soldier’s rough woolen coat and flip him around. At that moment all the anger and pain Anton

He had been drafted from Dresden two years ago and hated the war. The German army must have withdrawn in the night, and

had been experiencing drained out of him replaced by a chilling sensation of horror. For, when the soldier was flipped around,

when his unit left, they thought him dead. Anton swore and looked out toward the English line. He could see British helmets

there was no face. Only a skull, a white, bleached grinning skull. Where the eyes were supposed to be there was only a vast

moving back and forth about a mile away. The British troops were close enough to shoot him down if he attempted to run.

darkness that Anton felt was piercing his inner soul. He fired his weapon point blank into the phantom, but the bullets just

Anton could surrender, but his commander had always told him that the British would torture him; giving up was out of the

passed right through. Only then did Anton realize that there was no way to kill this demon, for it was no mortal being. He froze

question. He deduced that the only way to remain alive was to use the trenches. He hated those things. They were terrible,

with an expression of horror on his face, for he suddenly knew that this evil thing was death. This was the end of his life, and

dirty, evil things, things that stunk of death and depression, but they were the only way out, the only way to freedom. He put

Anton’s eyes widened in surprise. The Skull slowly opened its empty jaws and laughed, a deep, booming, diabolical laugh.

on his helmet, grabbed his rifle and set out into that awful world. Everyone was gone, but remnants of their departure lay

Anton screamed, for the laugh filled his body, and it pained him greatly as all of the worst memories of his life came back to

scattered: helmets, food tins, gas masks, and other detritus. He kept walking at a brisk pace, making sure to keep his head

him. Until it all stopped, the pain was gone, the phantom was gone, and all that was left was a small stinging in the center of

down and away from the sniper’s searching eyes. A loud thumping noise sounded, followed by silvery canisters that hit the

his chest. He looked down and he opened his mouth to scream once again, but no sound came out. Anton Fischer lay dead in

ground close to him. He knew what they were: shells of mustard gas. They could suffocate him in seconds. Anton struggled

the trenches, a British bullet in his back.

with his gas mask and managed to pull it on right before a yellow cloud drifted and engulfed him. The gas burned the skin of his hands, but his mask was working, and it did not reach his lungs. He wandered on through the trenches looking like a strange giant insect. The yellow noxious vapor drifted mystically around him. Anton was afraid. He was alone in these trenches, but it did not feel that way. He clutched his rifle and continued on, through the gas, through the dead, and through the trenches. The gas that had plagued him for the hours he had walked began to dissipate. Eventually it drifted away, and Anton tore off his mask and took large deep breaths of the fresh air. He looked up into the cloudy sky and prayed that he would make it out of this hellish place alive. He kept walking until he came upon a command bunker and ducked inside. Anton checked a map of the trenches lying on a table. He had already gone most of the way to the end of the trench line. Eventually they would end, and Anton could hide in the woods. He would attempt to make his way back to the main German army. At least that was his plan. Through the mist and rain, he saw something, a glint of a bayonet, in the distance. He looked closer, and he saw a dark shape and a dinner plate like helmet. Someone was in the trenches with him! He dashed after the figure, adrenaline pumping through his veins. Through the rain, mud, bodies, and ruins, Anton Fischer ran, desperate to catch up to this mysterious figure. He did not know why he was doing this or why he was running so fast, but he just kept on going.

246

Continued on next page

247

ponus papers

grade 9

ponus papers

grade 9

Billy Schulz Grandpa’s Throne

The Storm of a Life

We never considered grandpa to be blind. He could feel your warmth, smell your presence, hear your movement, and

If only we had listened to them. “Keaton, inspect and examine the rigging, cables, and ropes and make sure we’re not

even recognize your mood. He had all the abilities of an average person, yet he was unable to see the world around him. My

forgetting anything of significance.” It was what seemed to be a clear day, and the oncoming weekend seemed to include

grandfather, whom we called Au Papa, did all this from his magnificent golden-green chair that sat in his living room. From this

impeccable weather, or so we thought. The trip was centered on August 15th, for a first time sailing trip from Florida to

chair, he told stories, opened Christmas presents, cracked jokes, pet his seeing-eye dogs, and enlightened his family. While

Bermuda. We had been planning this trip for the past year and a half, and it was the final day of preparation. The three of us

grandpa passed away over seven years ago, his chair remains, untouched, unharmed, and unmoved.

disregarded everything people said about a possible hurricane due to it being hurricane season. Whenever someone told us

My grandfather lost his sight in a lab accident while working for Union Carbide. While working with a dangerous chemical, an explosion blasted his eyes with a dangerous chemical, resulting in the loss of his vision. From that day on, he relied on seeing-eye dogs, family members, and canes to find his way around. Many people would see blindness as an obstacle

to reconsider, we acted as if we couldn’t understand what he or she were trying to tell us. As I carried the last of the necessities onto the boat, we waved farewell to the peaceful shore and looked far into the distance. “Why don’t you look at that, ” said Keaton. “We’re an hour before schedule. At this point we may be able to catch some

too difficult to overcome; my grandfather used it as a tool for happiness. Without his sight, he was able to develop other

wind before we encounter the current.” Keaton was my younger brother. Ever since we were little we had dreamed of going

senses further than most others. His sense of hearing, smell, and touch became monumental in his perception of the world

on an expedition like this. Never did I imagine that the time would come. Along with us was our family friend Connor. Out of

around him. If blindness took anything from my grandfather, it was his independence. Instead of wandering around town on

the three of us, he was the most inexperienced sailor.

weekends, my grandfather found refuge in his great, green chair. With legs propped up on a footrest, dogs by his side, and

Hours passed and night was upon us, and I looked up to see the dark, ominous clouds rolling in our direction. The sails on

tea in hand, he would tell stories of his life in Germany, immigration through Ellis Island, and even his discoveries in science,

the boat were rapidly blowing from the strong winds picking up each minute. The one thing I could think about was what my

such as his help in inventing the laser. For the ten years that I knew my grandfather, I always enjoyed sitting on his lap or

family had told me at home. “Be careful of a storm. Be prepared. Be safe.” These words were the only thing floating in my

learning from his stories. Today, I am reminded of these moments whenever I see grandpa’s chair.

mind at this point. I looked over and heard Connor and Keaton chatting and hastily running around trying to get all of the

In 1968, a miracle occurred. After a successful procedure, my Au Papa regained his sight. Amidst all the joy, however, he learned that his sight was only temporary; after about nine months, he would become permanently blind. This news crushed most of my family. Nonetheless, my grandfather made the most of his six months. He was able to see his children, including my father, for the only time in his life. He was also able to finally see his wife, my grandmother, for this short nine months. In that time, he created relationships with his children, to the point where his sight could not influence his love for those around him. Au Papa was able to witness many of his children’s achievements, including sailing victories, music productions, and games in the backyard. One night, while dancing with his wife, his nine months expired, and the world turned black; everyone was devastated. While this did not hinder his ability to be with his family, everyone was aware that he would never see again. Ever since he lost his sight for the second time, Au Papa was limited in his ability to complete many activities. By the time I was born in 1999, my grandpa spent most of his days in the great, green chair in his living room. Seven years of memories with my grandpa are centered around that chair. During family gatherings, everyone would sit beside Au Papa, in the sofa or on the soft carpet; grandpa would sit in his chair. When I think of the curious, funny, and brilliant man that was my grandfather, I imagine that great, green chair. Today, that chair lies in the same right-hand side of the living room, motionless and empty. Nonetheless, memories of Au Papa remain in grandpa’s throne.

248

Phoebe Slaughter

most essential supplies needed. Rushing to the storm radar, I soon perceived that in fact, a hurricane was coming our way. Never had I seen the sky so dark. All of a sudden I heard Connor scream. Rushing over to see what the problem was, I glanced up and soon realized that the strong wind was slowly taking apart our sail, but at this point, there was nothing we could do. The sun was almost completely gone, leaving us with practically no light. “I have a feeling this isn’t going to go away for a couple of days, “ remarked Keaton, “We’ve only just seen the beginning.” There was a nervous tension growing in the air. I was trying to steer the boat while Connor and Keaton helped with the sails, but at this point, it looked as if it could only get worse from here. The amount of mental and physical strength it took to keep calm was unbearable. I needed to stay relaxed but on the inside I could not control myself. I wasn’t focused on making it to Bermuda anymore; I was only trying to center my mind on our safety. Keaton was in a state of panic “The waves LOOK AT THEM. They are roughly 25 plus feet. I can’t even stand up without being knocked ov…” Keaton stopped midsentence as we all watched the sail come ripping in places and shreds of it drifting into the air. The boast slowly lost balance and began thrashing even more side to side than it already was. And then it Continued on next page

249

ponus papers

grade 9

Phoebe Slaughter

grade 9

Maddie Smith

Continued

happened. The boat being jolted from the wind caused Keaton to be thrown into the air and pummeled into the freezing,

Noah dodged and weaved around enemy bullets, running to the safety of a big rock on the other side of the road. He

threatening water. Grasping on to the railings, Connor and I attempted to look for him but I couldn’t see him anywhere. It was

ducked behind it and then waited for the incoming fire to stop. Soon, he made a run for a wall of rocks and trees, but the

too dark and stormy to see whatsoever. The thunder and lightning along with the rough waves created the loudest noise I

enemy was upon him again. Noah made a move and was soon safely behind the wall. “Phew,” he thought to himself. It had

have ever heard. Frantically I was searching where my brother could be. The faint “James, James, James I’m over here,” calls

been a close escape.

were ineffective because I couldn’t see him anywhere. He was lost at sea, stuck in the middle of nowhere. The current and

After catching his breath, Noah looked around at his surroundings. He was behind a rocky ledge and below him stood a

waves were pushing us further from his location. His screams were almost completely gone. I was unable to hear the cries of

small slope leading towards the enemy. The rocks encircling him were huge and protective. All of a sudden, he stood up and

help from my brother. In an attempt to save him, I tried to jump in, abandoning our sailboat, leaving Connor in hope he could

walked over to a large rock near the opening of the circle. Seeing a dark hole and a large opening, Noah was intrigued. He

stay below deck. But this was the second worst decision of the trip.

was about to go and investigate when he heard calls from home. “Noah, honey, time for lunch!” His mother called from inside,

Before I jumped in I made sure to grab a flare. Jumping into the water, my body tightened up and felt like it was about to freeze. It was unbearable. It was undeniably freezing, and the strong waves thrashed back and fourth. Because of this I was

ending his reverie. Noah sighed and returned home, determined to explore the cave after his meal. Noah headed back out that afternoon, this time pretending he was a pirate in search of lost treasure. He counted thirty

separated from Connor and my brother. I didn’t know what to do. The only thing I knew was that I wouldn’t be able to find my

steps west and twenty steps north, and soon he was back in the cave that he had found earlier. Remembering the total

brother again. So from this point I shot the flare knowing that there must be a boat in the near location. Luckily, a group of

darkness of the cave, he had brought his explorer lamp and now turned it on, illuminating the shadowy cave walls. Noah

fisherman on their stable boat saw my flare, blaring in the sky and they knew that someone was in trouble. “My my my brother.

followed the dark path through the cave, hearing a distant dripping of water growing closer and closer. All of a sudden, the

Where is he? I’m not going home without my brother,” were the only words I could speak when they found me. I was just

cave opened up.

hoping that they may have passed him on their way to me but they didn’t. They rapidly grabbed me on the boat and took us

He was in a huge cavern. A small but steady trickle of water fell from cracks in the wall on one side, but when he looked over

on shore because they knew that the storm was only getting worse. But the only thing I could think about the entire boat ride

to the other wall Noah was truly shocked. A humongous pile of treasure sprawled across an entire side of the cavern, piled on

was I never would see my brother again. If only we had listened.

top of itself and encompassing the whole floor and the wall next to it. Noah walked over and slowly began to sift through the mounds of shiny loot. He found necklaces, silverware, rings, and huge stacks of money! After looking through the whole pile, Noah ran straight home to tell his mother. However, when he came in through the back door, he heard his mother in the middle of a hushed telephone conversation. Noah pressed his ear to the back of the kitchen door so he could hear parts of what his mother was saying. “They robbed the Robinsons, you said? Her grandmother’s ring is missing? They hit four houses on this side of the street last night?” Noah’s eyes opened wide. “Well, I’ll make sure to lock my doors. Thank you Mrs. Green.” Noah got so excited to try to solve the mystery of the robbers that he ran outside immediately to hunt for clues, completely forgetting to tell his mom about the treasure he had found in the cave. He hunted all around town, but found nothing. Noah slumped down on a park bench, exhausted and still no further along in his case. Everyone always told him he was too young to be a detective and solve mysteries, and he had wanted so badly to prove them wrong. Suddenly, however, he thought of a clue. Seeing some of the other second graders playing army, Noah was reminded of the cave he had found. He jumped up and ran to the cave to search for clues. He walked in, worried that the treasure might somehow have disappeared, but surely enough; the pile was there and bigger than ever. Noah walked over and examined the pile again.

250

Continued on next page

251

ponus papers

grade 9

Maddie Smith

grade 9

Continued

This time, however, he saw a paper on the ground near the treasure. The paper showed a map of his street, with red x’s marking some of the houses. Noah grew worried as he noticed a black circle around his house. Suddenly, Noah froze as he heard footsteps in the cavern. He heard gruff voices growing louder and louder as the men grew closer to the cavern he was standing in. Noah saw a small tunnel in the opposite wall, and decided to try and hide back there. As the footsteps neared, two men carrying lanterns emerged through the entrance of the cavern. They were close enough that Noah’s ears could easily pick up their conversation. Noah could hear the man on the right giving the big man on the left directions. “Yes, we’ll hit that house I’ve circled and then we’ll hop on the train out of here with our stuff in these black bags.” Noah gasped as he heard their plans to rob his house, and sat terrified to move while they piled their loot into black suitcases. Soon, he heard the men’s heavy footsteps leaving the cavern. Noah took a deep breath and tried to formulate a plan. He had to catch these robbers by himself, and be a hero to the town. Just then, a shiny piece of metal caught his eye. He walked past the treasure and noticed a pile he hadn’t seen before. There, behind the jewelry and gold, neatly stacked, was a row of guns and knives. All Noah’s life he had dreamed of using guns like these. He had dreamed of becoming a policeman or a soldier and yelling, “Put your hands up!” to stop his enemies. However, now he trembled at the shiny metal that stood in front of him. All of a sudden, he lost it and ran home to his mother. “Mom!” he cried, running in the door. “Mom, come quick!” His mother came running in, thinking that he was hurt. The whole story tumbled out of Noah’s mouth in a rush, as tears streamed down his face. “Noah! Why haven’t you told me this before?” His mother asked. “I just wanted to be able to solve it myself,” Noah said, trembling. He hugged his mother tightly as she called the police. Suddenly, they heard a crash outside. Noah and his mother ran and hid in the closet while the robbers entered their house. Noah began to shake slightly, his breath coming in short gasps. The image of that tall pile of shiny weapons still tormented his brain. He held his breath as he heard the footsteps grow closer and closer to the closet where they were hiding. Hearing the sirens of the police cars coming down the street, Noah jumped up in surprise. He hugged his mother, knowing they were both finally safe.

252

253

ponus papers

grade 9

ponus papers

grade 9

Katie Somerby The Routine The creaks on the stair’s floorboards echo through the house, each step signifying the person behind the step. There never was a day when my father hadn’t tucked me in to bed. Whether I was conscious, unconscious, or faking an appearance of sleep, I could always rely on my father tiptoeing as silently as a mouse into my room every night. The knob on the door twisted to the left, causing the door to unlatch and release light from the hallway into my obscure room. I sat up from my bed in shock, feigning that I had no recollection of who it was. I had “realized” that it wasn’t one of my nighttime terrors, but instead my dad. Knowing I was awake, my dad whisper shouted, “Cho (a nickname he has forever called me)!” I wriggled in excitement. My dad turned my bedside light on, and I grinned to the point where the dimples in my cheeks hurt. In preparation for telling me a story, he poised his hands perfectly in front of the light, so that the light reflecting against the wall contrasted with the color of his hand. Using his fingers and the occasional sound effects, it was obvious that each story was well-thought out and bursting with imagination. Each finger danced across the wall delicately like a ballerina prancing across a stage. His range of choices for protagonists was deer or alligator. Personally, I preferred the deer due to its much more gentle actions compared to the vicious alligator. Each story was dramatic and interesting, for a toddler of course. My father’s fingers were stiff yet elegant in each movement of the story, depicting the plot perfectly. When the stories were over, the end of the day had come. But it wouldn’t be long until I listened to these stories again. For every day, every night, I could count on the irreplaceable noise of my father’s footsteps creaking up the stairs, and the creatures reentering my world.

254

255

ponus papers

grade 9

Lily von Stade The Scariest Moment of My Life

it came. There was a huge bump and everyone banged up against the seat in front of them. These bumps continued for three minutes as I was wondering how my little brother was doing in one of the small airplane bathrooms by himself. Then, the

I have always had a phobia of planes, but what happened to me that day confirmed my fear and made me promise myself

biggest bump of them all came, and I watched as the back of the plane, from the exit seat back, separated from the rest of the

never to step foot on a plane ever again. My brother, parents, and I were in line to get on the airplane as the voice of a man

plane. A loud, frightened shriek came from many of the people I was sitting with. As soon as I felt no more movement, I knew

at the front desk came over the loudspeaker.

the plane had stopped, but the pain had not. I felt a throbbing sensation in my knee and head and reached up to where the

“I would like to let you all know that we are having technical difficulties with the plane, but we should have them fixed in half an hour so take a seat and relax.” Many groans came from the crowd of people waiting, but we all obliged and found our seats. Half an hour later the same man came back on the loudspeaker and confirmed that the plane was good as new and ready

pain in my head was. Bringing my hand down in front of my face, I noticed the blood covering it and immediately started to feel queasy. That was when I realized my brother was in the part of the plane that had flown off the back. “Mark is back there!” I said frantically to my parents. I didn’t even get a response but a faint moan. I realized there was

for us to board. Planes were something I did not feel safe on, but I was excited to be going on vacation so I tried to put the

nothing they could do at this point, but they were not dying, and neither was I, so I decided to go find the other part of the

nervous thought out of my head. As soon as the plane was ready for takeoff, I started shaking, as usual.

plane and rescue my brother if I was able to.

“Charlotte, settle down,” my mom instructed. Again I tried to put the thought out of my head, but I was unable to do so.

I found the back part of the plane about 300 yards behind and could not tell any movement coming from inside. There were

I put my headphones on to listen to music and attempt to calm myself down. As the music blared in my ears, I closed my

cords, bags, and people scattered everywhere, but I ignored this and climbed to the back. To my relief I found the door of

eyes and tuned out the sound of the airplane. Suddenly there was a loud beeping sound that I was sure wasn’t normal. The

the bathroom open, but to my dismay when I looked inside my brother was dead.

feeling I got when I opened my eyes startled me and brought me back to the reality of my surroundings. I could feel the plane descending at a much faster rate than I was used to, especially because we had just taken off and there was no reason to descend. Before I had more than a second to reflect on what was happening, another one of my senses kicked in, and I caught a faint smell of something burning. I frantically questioned my dad, “What is happening?” He gave me an unknowing shrug and held tightly onto my mom, who he was sharing a row with. My heart beat loudly in my chest and the feeling I was experiencing was not one I had ever felt before. I searched for the arm of my brother to hold on to but saw he was not in his seat. Then I realized he must have gone to the bathroom when I was listening to music. “Dad, you need to go get Mark. He went to the bathroom,” I told my dad. “Not right now, honey, it’s way too dangerous and I’m sure he’s just fine back there,” my dad replied. I wasn’t too convinced and I found myself also upset my dad was blowing my brother off and worrying more about himself. I had not even taken the time to look out the window. I was sitting in the middle seat and had to strain my neck to look over the window seat to be able to see outside. I was appalled that we had almost made it to the ground when I saw the miles of trees outside the window. Almost all of the plane crashes I’ve heard about took place on the water, so I hoped the fact that we were crashing into trees was a good thing. Then again, any place a plane crashes is deadly and dangerous. I looked around to the faces around me and saw them all mumbling words and praying to themselves and looking as if this was the end of their lives, which it very well might have been. Everyone whom I could see was sitting rigidly in their seat. Finally Continued on next page

256

257

ponus papers

grade 9

Kai Walker Figure-toi qu’en été mon père, mon frère, mon oncle,

Memories are Forever

et mon cousin, on fait du camping à Georgian Bay. Ils on

was our trip to Canada in the fall five years ago. Renting a cottage in the woods, nature was our only company. Every night we would build a fire and with a cup of tea, sit silently and enjoy each other’s company. No words were needed to show how much

utilisé la boite d’allumettes pour faire un feu de camp.

As I sit waiting for him the world doesn’t move.

we loved each other. There was never such a thing as awkward silence between us, for the silence was the proof of our love.

Mon cousin a oublié un ouvre-boîte, alors mon père et

Everything is hushed, no animals dare to make the tiniest

My best memories are with him, I’ve even forgotten what my life was like before we met. Every day was a new adventure we

mon oncle étaient fous parce-qu’ils en avait besoin pour

sound, for they know it can confuse me. I’ve been waiting

shared together with smiles and laughs.

ouvrir les boissons. Heureusement, ils ont utilisé une

years, sitting patiently, hoping for the day he’ll walk back

pierre. Ils avaient besoin une lampde poche pour ouvrir

into my life.

les buissons. Mais, il n’avaient pas de lampe de poche,

The slightest noises startle me, making me think it’s him. I feel my heart begin to race while my stomach does flip-flops. I adjust myself on the chair so my legs look longer and I look taller. Finally, putting my most darling smile on, I wait and expect

My–our–house has grown cold. The once beautifully

him to walk in any second, but he doesn’t. This has only happened a few times. Luckily, I can now tell the difference between

alors ils ont utilisé une lantern. Finalement, ils ont monté

landscaped yard with flowers the colour of the rainbow

la tente et ils ont vu le coucher du soleil. Bref, n’oublie pas

and trees as green as the ripest lime used to be the talk

l’ouvre-boîte.

of the street. Now the only time our yard is mentioned

creak. I don’t look up thinking it is simply a raccoon making her way to her nest. Little did I know it was him. He had finally

is to complain about its unpleasantness. Animals have

returned for me. As I look up, I don’t recognize the man standing in front of me. He no longer has the youthful look in his eyes

managed their way into the kitchen, living room, and

or the smile I once loved. When I ask him where he’s been he replies with a shrug, muttering about someone else he found. I

bathroom, while I only dare to stay in the bedroom.

ask him why he’s here. It takes him a while to think. He says he wants me back. I tell him if he wants me back he should at least

I know he wouldn’t want me changing anything while he’s

act like it. Again he shrugs and tells me he loves me and to come with him. He begins yelling and cussing at me, grabbing me

gone; besides, four years isn’t that long. But I think our

by the arm as he tried to drag me out of the room. But I know better, this is not the man I fell in love with. I fell in love with a

house is beautiful. I’ve learned to love the overgrown and

man who loved me and showed how he felt. This man standing in front of me, screaming at me, is not him.

dead scenery. When it first began to change I thought

animal sounds and humans. But today is different. I have a feeling today is the day he walks back into my life. As I adjust myself in my seat, I hear a small

I have finally come to realize what had happened. I was in love with the memory of him. All the amazing times we shared will

he wouldn’t want to return. Luckily, I know otherwise,

only ever be memories. And they blinded me. Since my realization, I’ve been living a peaceful and happy life. I’ve managed to

his brother came for a visit and told me so. His brother

redo my house and forget about him. I understand that the memories will always be glued in my mind. But that’s okay, now I

visiting took a lot of weight off my shoulders, finally letting

know that memories stay the same and people change.

me wait in peace; no longer having to worry about the greenery. That was two years ago, he hasn’t come to visit since. He probably thinks I’ve moved, but he’s wrong. I will never move without him. Even if it takes him another five years to finally come home to me, I won’t leave because I love him and he loves me. When he returns home we can finally start recreating some of our best memories. My favourite in particular Continued on next page

258

259

ponus papers

grade 9

Kai Walker

grade 9

Robert Williams

Continued

Watercolors

The Box

Every day, I thank my grandmother, whom I call Abuela, for introducing me to the visual arts. Since the age of seven,

The box had sat there for ten hours. His gaze was unbroken. He had sat perfectly still, listening for the phone or doorbell.

I have been interested in painting and drawing, but it wasn’t until this year when I began photography. Growing up on Grand

Nothing had happened. Finally he had enough. Grabbing the box, the man walked out the door. As he walked down the

Cayman with Abuela, I was able to talk to her about her watercolors and learn her techniques. She is famous for her watercolor paintings, and it was always my dream to be known just like her. Some days, I would spend my time staring at her pieces wishing I could paint as well as she; trying my best to make my art like hers, I attempted to copy her artwork. Abuela has a great passion for the environment, painting, and her family. She will do whatever it takes to make her family

street, he could not help but be overcome with sadness. He stopped outside the door of the local police station. It was a quiet Sunday, and the station was nearly empty. He reached down to his waist, finding a gun tucked into his pants. As the two men walked towards him, Milun Petrovic could increasingly hear the tone of the conversation. Not good, he thought to himself. The violent pull on the passenger door confirmed his suspicions. Vinny slumped into the seat and slammed the door shut, letting out a sigh.

and friends’ lives better, even if it includes a little tough love. She is a strong supporter of the National Trust in Cayman, where

“What happen out there?” asked Dobrasin, his English tainted with a heavy Serbian accent.

she goes to meetings to help better the community and environment. She spends every day on the beach, swimming, walking,

“The boss wants it done tonight.” Milun stared vacantly at nothing particular. “I told them ten times! I told them we needed

or playing with her dogs, taking in everything nature has to offer. When it comes to painting, she can go off for hours driving around the island in search of the perfect scene. When she finds her perfect scene, she will spend hours completing her piece. The most important thing in Abuela’s life is her family. There never comes a time when she would rather do something else than spend time with her family. She always makes an effort to come up and visit for Grandparents’ Day and attempts to take place in any family activities. One thing I will always remember about Abuela is that fact that she isn’t afraid to give you her honest opinion. She wants the best for her grandchildren and is willing to say whatever it takes to make you a better person. Tears may be shed, but at the end of the day, all that matters is the fact that she cares and shows it through tough love. Not only do I admire her passion, I also admire her artwork. Abuela is a well-known watercolor painter in Cayman. Her artwork is beautiful, enveloping her personality. Watercolor painting is very free, just like Abuela. With watercolors, anything can happen. The colors can blend into each other or they can be perfectly painted in a straight line. When watercolors are smeared and free-flowing, I think of Abuela and her crazy but fun personality. If the watercolors are painted to precision, I think of her more professional and strict side. No matter where I go in life, I know I can always look to my grandmother for inspiration. Whether I need inspiration

more time. More equipment! More men! This isn’t a kid’s birthday party, for Christ’s sake!” “Calm down,” Milun interjected. “We can do it. We just have to make it simpler. Old fashioned.” Vinny had a look of disbelief. “Are you joking? We’ve been planning this for over a month! You can’t seriously think we can pull this off… What about the guards? What about the whole neighborhood?” “No problem. Like I say.” Milun shifted his overcoat, showing a large pistol tucked in his pants. “Simple.” “We’re supposed to make this look like it never happened! We can’t go shooting up the place!” Vinny was clearly exasperated. “We go now.” Milun put the Mercedes in drive and pulled off the curb. Their destination was several miles out on the island, but they first needed to stop at the safe house. Vinny looked over at Milun. His eyes were like lasers. They stared straight ahead, and his gaze seemed to go on forever. “Vinny, we here.” Milun parked the car on the street and the two jumped out. Milun took out the keys to the dilapidated house and unlocked the door. Milun called out, expecting to hear a response. But the house remained silent. Turning on the lights, he found the room void of people. “Where are Nikko and Danny?” Milun asked Vinny. “Like I said, we got no one to help us. If we had more time…” Vinny tailed off, grabbing a Berretta and clips from the rack. “Grab the shovels. Looks like were gonna be doin this alone.”

for a painting or simply need to remember my passion, Abuela comes to mind. As I grow older, I wish someday I will be able

Milun dug around the room, scrounging up two beaten up shovels. “Vinny. We go over plan now.”

to paint just like Abuela.

“Ok, but make it quick. We gotta head out soon.” “It is simple. We wait for guard to leave. Climb fence. Find it. Then leave before new guard come.” Vinny smirked at Milun’s plan. “Wow… that’s genius.” Vinny’s voice was laced with sarcasm. “You got better?” “Ok…Let’s go.” Milun drove the speed limit, not wanting to attract any unwanted attention. They arrived twenty minutes early. Parking across the street, Vinny gazed at the sign. Roosevelt Memorial Cemetery. Looking at his partner, Vinny again saw the piercing

260

Continued on next page

261

ponus papers

grade 9

Robert Williams

grade 9

Grey Ziegler

Continued

eyes. He shrugged it off, but it just added to his moral confusion.

I heard footsteps behind me. Too scared to turn around, I picked up the pace and began to walk faster. So did the footsteps.

“Look!” Milun exclaimed. “The guard is leaving early!”

Faster and faster and faster, I was running now. I could hardly breathe. My heart was pounding against my chest. Soon enough,

“Perfect. That gives us plenty of time.” Hopping out of the car, they scanned the area. The near-full moon failed to

it was going to explode. My feet were slapping against the ground and ringing throughout the neighborhood. I came to

punctuate the thick layer of leaves, but there was an eerie glow hanging in the air. The cemetery was often chosen by the very wealthy, and as such, the security was very high. Motion sensors surrounded the fence, and cameras around the property fed back to the guard’s house. But there was one factor that was unpredictable: the guard. Their target was fairly close, only a minute’s walk. Upon reaching their target, they examined the headstone. It was faded, but Milun could make out a long Italian name. He had no idea who it was, and didn’t want to. “Let’s get digging. We don’t got all night” Vinny grabbed his shovel and made a stab at the grass. The weather had been extremely dry the past few weeks, creating a dust like consistency in the dirt.

a stop and turned around. I closed my eyes and shouted,“ Who are you? I give up. Take me, I can’t run anymore.” I had given up. I looked up and opened my eyes. There was no one in sight. I brushed through the clouds of fog and found only the abandoned streets and myself. There were no more footsteps but my own. There is no way it’s just me. I swear I heard something. Am I crazy? I thought to myself. I was almost home. I knew I had to walk one more block. There it was again, the sound of someone else’s footsteps

“Hey!” shouted Vinny, “I think I hit something! Help me out here.”

haunting the streets. The street lamp flickered and burnt out. I saw a dark figure in the misty air, slowly, but not closely,

Milun lumbered over to Vinny and looked down. It was made out of wood, and they could only assume it was a coffin. After

walking behind me.

clearing out the dirt on top, Vinny motioned for Milun to lift it out. “Can you do it alone?” “Yes. I can do.” Milun grabbed a handle and pulled. He struggled to get it moving, but eventually succeeded in sliding it up the side. Vinny

I sprinted around the last corner, ran inside and locked my door. I skipped every three steps up to my room. This staircase seemed longer than ever. I flung my bag across the room and leaped onto my bed. I was shaking with fright. My breath was staggered and my heartbeat was out of time. What if he followed me home? Is he outside? I thought to myself. I finally gained

pried the lid open cautiously, as if defusing a bomb. As the latch broke, the two exhaled. Slowly, Vinny lifted the lid up. Inside

the courage to get out of my bed. I carefully placed my feet on the floor. The old, wooden floors creaked beneath me. I quietly

lay a full human skeleton. Vinny was aghast. Glancing at Milun, Vinny, for the first time, saw a glint of guilt in his eyes. Their

took tiny steps closer to my shut shades. Without time to think I ripped them open. No one was in sight. I crept back into

objective lay under the hand of the skeleton. It was a wooden chest, about eight inches in every direction. Milun reached down

my bed, turned out the lights and lay awake for a while. Finally, I drifted off into a deep sleep.

and pried the skeletal hand from the box. He dragged it out and set it down gently on the ground. “Should I open?” asked Milun. “Sure, what’s the harm? But we gotta be quick. The new guard’s comin’ for his shift soon.” Milun lifted the lid and was instantly paralyzed with shock. They were speechless. Neither spoke for several minutes. Finally, Vinny broke the silence. “C’mon, we gotta go. Grab the box and let’s get outta here.” He spoke with a broken voice, barely discernible among the cricket’s chirps. Milun lifted the box up and they made their way to the exit. There was no time the rebury the coffin. The operation had gone flawlessly. To their knowledge, not a single soul had witnessed the action. Vinny had been instructed to leave Milun with

Beep, beep, beep, beep, beep. Silence. I shut off my alarm. I leisurely stumbled into my shower and cherished the warm water steaming off my body, for I knew I had to get out only minutes later. I heard the footsteps again and again. They wouldn’t go away. I turned off the shower and swung open my curtain. No one was there. “Sweetie, is everything okay?” My mom said. “Yeah, I think someone followed me home last night.” “Aw, sweetheart, we live in the safest neighborhood. Everything will be just fine,” she said with such a warming voice. The pit in my stomach faded away. Night had come back again. The day went by too quickly. I ran home from school, the whole way this time. Disturbing my

the box at the safe house until further notice. It was only one o’clock by the time they reached the house. Vinny said nothing

mind was the familiar sound of footsteps. I sprinted as fast as I could, ran upstairs and was safe. I crept into my bed and shut

and sped off, leaving Milun alone.

off the lights. I was so happy for this moment; sleep keeps you hidden from all of the evils, I continued to tell myself.

Ten hours later, Milun stood in front of the police station. He stared ahead, aimlessly, with eyes that had seen more than most could imagine. Pulling his gun from his waist, he lifted it up to his head. For the first time in Milun Petrovic’s life, a tear rolled down his cheek.

“Oh no. Come on, fall asleep, fall asleep.” Suddenly I heard breathing. It was deep and slow. I wasn’t alone. I was too afraid to come up from my covers. They were my protectors. I knew I had to face whatever was there with me that night. Continued on next page

262

263

ponus papers

grade 9

Grey Ziegler

grade 9

Continued

I threw off my sheets to find a man standing in the corner of my room with a dark mask and hood. I screamed at the top of my lungs, louder than I ever had before. “Lyla! Lyla! Lyla! Lyla!” someone was yelling in my ear. “Lyla, are your nightmares coming back again?” It was a lady I had seen before. She was wearing a white doctor’s suit. She had an old nametag. Some of the letters were faded, for what I could see it read, “Sarah”. “Who are you?” I was so confused. “Oh, sweetie, it’s just me, Sarah.” The walls in this place were plain white. No pictures hanging. Everything was colorless. There were rusty bars on the windows. I sat up. I was on an uncomfortable and spring-supported cot. It smelled of old clothes. I touched my hand to the bedside table. Brown dust printed onto my fingertips. “You were doing so well, Lyla. You fell asleep too late. Now your dreams are back,” Sarah said. “Sarah! I was just at home. I just got back from school! There was this man in my room! It wasn’t a dream!” I yelled. “Do you know where you are, hon?” she questioned. No, not exactly. Maybe I was in the doctor’s office. “Yes, the doctors office,” I said firmly. “Oh darling, no. You are in the ByBerry Mental Hospital, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.” “No, no, no, no, no, no. I was just in my own bed. How long have I been here!?” “Five years sweetie. You’ll go home soon.” I couldn’t stay here any longer. I needed to leave. It was stuffy and I couldn’t stand it. I looked in the mirror and saw a crazed young girl, not myself. A tear began to spill over my bottom eyelash. I sniffled. The tears rushed down my face. I was crazy. There was nothing I could do now. I sat down and got back in my cot, and swore I wouldn’t fall asleep again. I realized that sleep wasn’t my protector, but my enemy. Sarah came around that night to tell me to sleep well as usual. “Good night, Lyla. Sleep well,” she said. “Good night, Sarah.” I sat there and let the night pass by. My eyes were wide open. They were burning and getting tired. “I won’t fall asleep,” I said aloud. I won’t fall asleep. I won’t… fall…. a…sleep.. I won’t fa-…

264

265