The Paw Print, Issue #1

The Paw Print

A Letter from the Editors

Dear Wesley Readers,

We are proud to present to you the very first issue of Wesley's student-run magazine: The Paw Print! Our 7th grade Printing & Publishing class decided together to create a space to showcase Wesley student passions. Within you will find poems, sculptures, paintings, photography, sketches, comics, researched articles, and other forms of creative expression.

Our process was an exciting one, and not without its challenges (inclusive of broken art pieces, learning news design platforms, arranging interviews, staying late after school, pushing ourselves out of our comfort zones, and many debates!). With the guidance of Ms. Francis and the help of our friends, we spent hours dedicated to curating this experience for the entire Wesley community. We hope this is the beginning of a new creative tradition at our school. We'd like to continue to encourage all grade levels to participate and submit their work to our next edition. Happy browsing, and please spread the word!!

"I Remember..."

1st grade poetry

Hailey Todd

Liam Olaya

Ida Petrarca

The Commons The Library

Maia Polcsa

Nadia Bass

Oliver Reed

Zayden Dudakia

Music in Sculpture

This sculpture was created to express my love for music. I recreated the stage of Palooza, a musical tradition at Wesley. Palooza is a huge talent show where everyone can express their passions for music, dance, theater, and more. I adore singing, and this is a stage I have performed on several times. I play the piano at a music school called Lark, where choir, sight singing, and theory are also taught. The treble clef sculpture symbolizes this.

Lark is an Armenian music school. Since it is an Armenian school it is particularly special to me because there are not many Armenian schools. It teaches Armenian traditions and music. It was founded in 1989. It was founded by Baron / Mr. Vatsche Barsoumian. Everything I have learned from Lark I try to bring with me to Wesley.

Yo Soy Scott Royce

Madeline Walters, 8th grade

Yo soy Scott Royce

Me pregunto como yo vivía

Yo escucho aviones

Yo veo ángeles

Yo quiero ver mi familia Yo soy Scott Royce

Yo pretendo estar con mi hijo Me siento el amor que mi familia se siente por mi Yo toco baba mi perro Me preocupo por morir en guerra Yo lloro cuando mi familia está mal Yo soy Scott Royce

Yo entiendo que fue mi tiempo Yo digo que buena suerte Yo sueño con ver mi compañero veterano Yo trato de tocar mi familia Yo espero ver mi familia Yo soy Scott Royce

Yo Soy Abuela Elena Chloe Ventura, 8th grade

Yo soy Abuela Elena Me pregunto si mi familia está triste Yo escucho yo queda mi familia Yo veo la luz Yo quiero comer enchiladas Yo soy Abuela Elena

Yo pretendo que yo soy joven Me siento agradecida por mi vida Yo toco las estrellas Me preocupo por mi familia y mi amigas Yo lloro cuando yo pienso en mi familia Yo soy Abuela Elena

Yo entiendo vivacidad es corta Yo digo que yo soy contenta Yo sueño con mi familia, mis hijas Yo trato de estar contenta Yo espero que mi familia está bien Yo soy Abuela Elena

Yo Soy Abuelo Tulio Stephen Goller, 8th grade

Yo soy Abuelo Tulio

Me pregunto donde estoy

Yo escucho mi música favorita

Yo veo la luz en el fin de túnel

Yo quiero pan

Yo soy Abuelo Tulio

Yo pretendo nunca

Me siento un poco nervioso

Yo toco el pecho de mi esposa

Me preocupo por el perro de mi esposa

Yo lloro cuando cerdos vuelan

Yo soy Abuelo Tulio

Yo entiendo que mi hijo tiene tres años

Yo digo que los perezosos son muy tontos

Yo sueño con mis hijos están contentos en América

Yo trato de apoyar mis hijos

Yo espero que mi familia me ama

Yo soy Abuelo Tulio

A computer case is one of the most important parts of a PC The case holds everything together and connects all of the features.

The fans are very important when building a PC because without them due t

This is the computer's processor Processors are very important because they provide the instructions and processing power the computer needs to do its work The more powerful and updated your processor, the faster your computer can complete its tasks By getting a more powerful processor, you can help your computer think and work faster.

This is the computer's water cooling unit. When you build a computer you can either use a fan cooling unit or a water cooling unit Fans are cheaper but are louder and less efficient

Sawyer Reed 7th grade

The purpose of a graphics card is to render graphics Without a graphics card, your computer can not display any information, let alone function how you need it To simplify it, the GPU takes data from the processor and works with software to determine where the graphics card places pixels on the screen

This is the motherboard. The motherboard is probably the most important part of the computer The motherboard is the backbone that ties the computer's components together at one spot and allows them to talk to each other. Without it, none of the computer pieces, such as the CPU, GPU, or hard drive, could interact

The power supply is an important component of the computer because it provides the power to all of the other components.

RAM is a temporary memory bank where your computer stores data it needs to retrieve quickly

I interviewed Mr Bland, Wesley's IT technician, to find out more about building PCs. When Mr. Bland was about 8 years old, his dad got a family computer and he enjoyed playing games on them After is dad upgraded to a new computer, he took the old one apart and discovered the hardware parts of a computer, and that is where his love for computers began You can buy a PC for about $600, but with all the new parts necessary for creating a gaming PC the cost can go upwards of $5k. Building a computer isn't that hard to do, but following a tutorial is essential. Mr. Bland said "There's a few different ways to start building, but how I like to do it is pick out a processor first, then match the socket with the motherboard to make sure it's compatible. Then from there I would pick out the case, then graphics card and then the RAM and make sure all of that is compatible. After that, you just need to make sure you have what you need in terms of a power supply Add a case to put it in and lock it all up. " Mr. Bland's favorite part of building a PC is finally turning it on "Building a PC can help kids learn determination, because at the end of the day, if you build it and it doesn't work, you need to troubleshoot It's good practice for problem solving and getting hands on experience in tech" Hopefully, we can all gain inspiration from Mr Bland, and maybe even build our own computers one day!

Sawyer Reed, 7th grade

Meet the CALIFORNIA DESERT

I painted the Southern California Desert because, as soon as you see it, you know where it is located and what it represents. The Southern California Desert symbolizes a lot of great things in stark contrast to what the Redwood Forest does To me, the desert represents emptiness, loneliness, and isolation

andthe REDWOODS

I painted the Redwood Forest because to me it symbolizes wellness, safety, longevity, wisdom, and communication. It is also one of California’s most famous attractions, making it known worldwide.

Char James, 7th grade

Wings of Fire: Queen Annoyed

Once there was a silkwing named Butterfly, waiting in line to see Queen Wasp. She waited and waited, but it still wasn’t her turn.

Then, she saw a silkwing get killed. That made her really scared.

Suddenly, she saw the queen’s robot servant, The Operator. Butterfly looked at the other dragons in line, and noticed that none of them were surprised or scared when they saw it. They just looked at it like it happens every day and it’s no big deal.

Finally, it was her turn. She looked up at Queen Wasp and asked, “Why are you queen?”

“My mom was queen, and she died,” answered Queen Wasp.

“Your mom was a better queen than you,” said Butterfly.

“No she wasn’t. She was a very bad queen,” argued Queen Wasp. “You’re a bad queen,” said Butterfly.

“How do you know my mother? Explain her grave!” said the queen.

“I don’t need to know your mother to know that you’re a bad queen,” argued Butterfly. Wasp was about to kill Butterfly when suddenly…

“I can take care of this!” interrupted The Operator. They chained up Butterfly and flew her to the prison. The Operator looked for an empty spot, then unchained Butterfly, and threw her in.

Butterfly just sat there, trying to think of a plan. She was an animus, so she could just use her animus powers to grab the key, unlock the gray, iron prison door, then fly out and go back to her home in the rain forest with Queen Glory and Kinkajou. But she couldn’t find the key. She was stuck there with horrible, expired meat, and old, dirty, water.

But then, she saw The Operator checking on the prisoners.

They went up to Butterfly’s prison door and entered her mind. Butterfly has never seen a dragon do that before, and so far she did not like it. Finally The Operator spoke, “Is there anything I can get you?” they said.

“The food stinks, could I get some nectarines?” asked Butterfly, regretting she told them. “Oh no, why did I ever tell the queen’s royal servant that?” she thought. "I don't know what they could do with that information, but I know that it can’t be good,” she thought.

“Nectarines?” they asked.

“Yeah nectarines,” said Butterfly. “That yummy fruit that is kind of like peaches.”

“Okay. I’ll go get some,” said The Operator as they exited her mind.

“I like the mind entering thingy,” she thought.

Then, a small pink hivewing opened the door and came in, then closed the door.

"Hi, I'm Blossom!" she said.

“Your colors are strange for a hivewing. I like them,” said Butterfly. “Thanks. Not many dragons do. I’m a very rare kind of hivewing. We are very small, pink hivewings, that not many dragons know about,” said Blossom.

“Cool, I’m Butterfly,” said Butterfly.

“How are you?” asked Blossom.

“How am I?! I’m great, I’m stuck in this place with the most disgusting food and the dirtiest water. Why would I ever be happy about that!?” she answered. Then Moonwhatcher opened the door, went in and closed the door.

“Kinsley, join my server. It will be way better than this one,” they said. It was my friend Aubrey, trying to get me to join them on Roblox.

“No,” I said.

“Ok but you’ll regret that,” they said.

Moonwatcher, started breathing fire on Butterfly.

“Butterfly, I killed you. Now you are dead,” they said.

“No I’m not. Leave me alone,” I said.

“Fine,” they said, and finally, left the game.

“Sorry about that. They were just my friend trying to get me to join them,” I told Blossom.

“Ok,” she said.

“Can you help me escape, please?” asked Butterfly.

“Sure!” answered Blossom as she opened the door, and walked out. “Come on!” she called to Butterfly.

“How did you do that?!” asked Butterfly. She was as confused as Blaze would be if she was forced to fight a dragon in battle. Butterfly walked out and then flew out of the prison. But while she was flying, she saw prisoners forced to battle. “Oh no. They’re gonna kill each other! I have to help them!” she thought as she flew down to try to stop the fighting, but suddenly… “Dinner time!” shouted my mom.

“Oh, Aubrey, I have to go. Bye!” I told Aubrey.

“Ok. Bye!” Aubrey responded. I left the call, shut my ipad, and ran down the stairs. While I was eating dinner all I could think about was how fun that role play on Wings Of Fire (early access) was.

Kinsley

A Self Portrait

Natalia Chaparro, 7th grade

If I said where I'm from I would say from Mexico

The country of Leyendas and colors.

Where I'm from, every aspect of my house is a memory. Being there gives me overwhelming nostalgia. It feels like just yesterday when my siblings and I would play hide and seek with all of my cousins.

Where I'm from, every Christmas was a battle deciding who gets to put the star at the top of the tree. It's unbelievable how time flies. I still remember when I was as tall as my dog Nico and we could dance together, every dance was a different princess dress. If I did that now, I'd have to sit and I would be too scared too because he's old.

Where I'm from, the smell of food drags you out of where you are, floating towards the direction it's located like a cartoon character.

Where I’m from, the rain is so strong it scares the soul out of my cats as they run around the house terrified.

Where I'm from, we get more excited for Pan de muertos and hot chocolate that trick or treating.

There are moments when I can close my eyes and trick myself into thinking I'm in my bed sleeping next to my cats every night I slept there I would try to not move too much because I was scared I would kick them out of the bed I always felt so bad for that because there royalty to me so I would sleep in the couch so that they could have my bed all too themselves.

Where I’m from, is a home for many incredible Artists like Frida Khalo or Leonara Carrington and many more.

Where I'm from, they scare little kids with stories like la llorona or la nahuala saying if you don't go to sleep they’ll come back.

"Small things can do big things, if you let them."

Paxton Rogers, 7th grade

by Sonali Singh & Naomi Howard

grade

A Stroll through Italia:

Positano & Roma Enzo Donatelli 7th grade

Origami Wo

Chinye Onyemenam, 7th gr

Creating these origami pieces was easy at first, but when I began creating more pieces it became very challenging. There were several moments where I wanted to stop, but I couldn’t and had to push through. I continued to work on different pieces until I finally finished. Most of the pieces that I made were easy to make because I already know how to make them, but others were more difficult because they were new crafts that I hadn’t made before and had to research how to create. The subject matter of my origami pieces is "uniqueness." They represent the uniqueness of people and the world. I chose this subject because I make origami a lot and it was something that helped me stay calm during the pandemic. I learned how hard it is to stay focused and be accurate when it comes to making origami.

I present to you a map of the world, beginning with Wesley and ending with the entirety of our globe. These drawings represent perspective and growth, one of Wesley's themes of the month this year. I began by sketching the Wesley School as a tiny building and then drawing the city of Los Angeles around it. I worked my way out from there, with California, the United States, and then the other continents, taking pictures as I added new phases. Growth is not just physical, as children grow up, but also about expanding your perspective of the world and understanding of things. Having a global awareness is something I hope to inspire in others and continue to take with me as I grow up.

James Cripps, 7th grade

Where I'm From Dante Abrahamian, 7th grade

If I said I was from Longridge Avenue, where all the neighbors go door to door and ask for candy on Halloween, would you know where I am from?

Where I am from, during the 4th of July the city from the view of my window is like a light show in Vegas. The stars disappear from the sky and then reappear the next day.

Where I am from, the city is a bomb about to explode because of all the people. Where every step you take you see peoples' homes under the freeway with towering mountains of clothes all around.

here I am from, you can hear the whispers of the exercise loving neighbors walking on the street. The whispers then turn into voices, then conversations, then you hear them like a rooster at the crack of dawn. Where all the houses and apartments are inches away from each other, slowly inching closer.

Where I am from, food never runs out. The food always comes from the freshest places with the freshest catches. But only when we are starved do we understand how valuable this piece of meat is to us.

Where I am from, every drive to work is a new experience, the fire hydrants act like watering holes for someone on the R.V. lined streets. The frequency of opening the valve is our metronome

Where I am from, Armenian culture is celebrated throughout the house. It becomes the fire that makes us thrive. The way we dance, to the way we eat, it is the way we live.

A Modernization of Starry Night

Gabriel Burns, 7th grade

Vincent van Gogh's original masterpiece "The Starry Night" depicts the view out of his window in a small village of Southern France. With this drawing I sought to modernize that view by capturing the polluted LA landscape that we often see out of the windows of our city.

Sports N' Fun

Sports can teach you many things. Teamwork is one of the most vital parts of team sports. Teamwork can build friendships. Exercise is also important whether you are a growing kid or adult, as it can help with both your physical and mental health I grew up playing sports and decided to capture the fun of one of Wesley's games for all of you

Wesley's 4th grade girls basketball game against Lawrence was a wild one. The game started slow in the first quarter, but definitely picked up towards half time. Wesley played an amazing defense and moved the ball on offense Coming out of halftime, Wesley came out with intensity and was determined to win There were 2 minutes left in the 4th quarter and Wesley was down by 1. The level of intensity skyrocketed for the players and parents. Wesley got the ball on offense and was passing it around waiting for the right shot. Finally, Grace Thompson shot the ball and made it! All Wesley had to do was play good defense for the last 30 seconds, and they did! Wesley won 11 10 Both teams played well but Wesley came up on top According to Mr Campy, “Both teams fought well. At one point it looked like Wesley was overmatched, but they found a way to come back.”

Grey Henderson, 7th grade

29 The Flora of Los Angeles

Violet Robinson, 7th grade

These are some flora typical of Southern California that I come across often while hiking. I captured these particular photos while hiking the Arroyo, and on the way home I even saw a deer. Ivy covers almost every inch of this hike, and there is even poison oak present. I came across a flower called the sacred datura, which is large and white and beautiful. I saw another flower called Telegraphweed, which has a green stem with fuzzy things on top and yellow flowers. There is also sugar bush in Arroyo, and cenchrus setaceus, a green plant with purple fuzz. Another plant that is plentiful is the karee, which is very flat and thin. While not all these flora are native to SoCal, they have become very common. See if you can spot one next time you are out and about!

Airplanes Explained

Max Greenberg, 7th grade

The Yakovlev Yak 110 does falling leaf maneuver in the sky: The Yak 110 climbs 90 degrees upwards for several hundred feet while using its props and CJ610 Jet Engine.The Yak 110 stalls and falls for a few seconds before regaining engine power, pulling up and completing the stunt.

An airplane needs a fuselage, wings, cockpit, engine, propeller, tail assembly, landing gear and a power supply. At the front of the wing, air splits and the air pressure on the top of a wing is reduced. The pressure increases and the air accelerates down at the back. All of this generates lift. A propeller and its blades are very similar to wings. In fact, their blades are essentially spinning wings. The fuselage is the body or the shape of the aircraft. It is the core aspect of the aircraft, and it serves many purposes. The landing gear is what ensures the aircraft can land and take off from the ground.

Wesley: A Portrait Mabel

Johnson, 7th grade

This is Wesley's rather new mural dedicated to Mr. Ernie. This mural was made in the summer of 2021. This idea was made by the senior admin because they wanted to honor Mr. Earnie for all that he did for our school. Ms. Singletary sketched it and then Wesley partnered with an organization called Muralism. Muralism painted the design onto our campus. Now we have a beautiful remembrance of Mr. Ernie, our former HoS.

This is Wesley and FUMC's Fountain Courtyard. This area of our campus provides a peaceful and relaxing place for everyone to enjoy being outside.

This is FUMC's bell tower. The bell tower was one of the first things that was ever built on our campus. The bell tower is estimated to be about 60 years old.

This is Wesley's library. Believe it or not, the library used to be connected to the church and held all of the church books in it. You might have noticed the fireplace, and this was actually used to have fireside meetings when it was cold outside.

This is Wesley's Peace Poll. Our Peace Poll is considerably new. It has 49 plaques on it, each with the word " peace " in a different language. Every year we add 1 3 new plaques to the poll. This year we added Ukrainian and Filipino.

The is Wesley's Donor Wall and is a new addition to our campus. The donor wall was in the works for a long time. Finally last summer the donor became a reality. The donor wall lists and recognizes all of the families that have contributed generously to the school.

Luke Evans, 2nd grade

Julian Dickinson, 5th grade

Kinsley Leavitt, 3rd grade

Tyson Smith, 2nd grade Audrey Waldman, 6th grade

A Day in the Life of an American Preteen Andrew Osborn, 7th grade In-N-Out

NFL

Ramen The Mall

Hiking

The Monarch Butterfly

Maisy Cook, 7th grade

The monarch butterfly is the most studied butterfly in the world. Their orange wings with white dots for borders and delicate black lines make them extremely recognizable. Apart from living in the United States, they also live in Canada and Mexico for the winter. The male monarch butterflies have a black scent spot on one vein for each back wing, while the females do not. Females have some black scales on their back wings instead of a black scent spot As of July 2022, the monarch butterfly has been classified as endangered. Monarchs are being killed because of pesticides such as toxic neonicotinoids, and herbicides in milkweeds, which is their food source. The population of monarch butterflies has decreased between 22 and 72 percent If monarch butterflies go extinct, a lot of plant types will be unable to reproduce drastically without the monarch butterfly. The monarch butterfly's life span is about six months. Their migration is during fall so you will see flocks of them preparing to settle down for winter. Sometimes, even with extended lives, if they leave in March they probably will not make it back. During their travels, they mate so that when their babies are born, and when the parents die, their kids will finish the trip. When they finish their trip, which is during late October to February, they go into a shingle effect The shingle effect is when one butterfly lays their wing on top of another butterfly. This method helps them keep each other warm They also cluster together in the branches of giant eucalyptus trees.

The Pismo Beach Butterfly Grove

I recently visited the Pismo Beach Monarch Butterfly Grove, which is 177 miles from Los Angeles. The experience was amazing and enjoyable! I thought around this time of year there wouldn’t be any butterflies, but I was extremely wrong. Every branch of a eucalyptus tree was full of hundreds of beautiful monarch butterflies. The environment was calm and quiet. I was able to experience the magical feeling that butterflies bring to the soul. The Pismo Beach Butterfly Grove is one of only five sites that has counted 10,000 butterflies each year. This place is a vital part of the butterflies migration process, so that they seek warmth from

Harlow Howard, 2nd grade

I like Wesley School because it is fun. It gives you time to eat. It gives you something to do.

The Wesley School is a kind place that I really love.

- Jack Brandenstein, 1st grade

Sadie Malamut, 3rd grade

Sienna Scurry, 3rd grade

Josie Fernandez, 3rd grade

Genevieve Hetzner, 3rd grade