Summer Magazine 2011 by Zoe P

St. Jamesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; EPISCOPAL

school

summer

magazine 2011

Preschool Tigers

“Leprechauns” by Ms. Craig, Ms. Chua and Ms. Williams’ Class The Tiger students are always encouraged to expand their imagination and creativity. As part of our celebration of St. Patrick’s Day, the children were introduced to the mythology of the Leprechauns. They were given the chance to artistically express themselves and practice literacy through these unique creations.

Kendall Beffa

Phillip Choi

Sergio Chavez

Eve Epstein

Jack Grossman

James Cook Healy

Fiona Kim Watson Laing

William Lee Finn McConaghy

Alex Morrison

Carl Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Toole 4

Lily Sanchez

Honor Selman

Satine Storer

Audrey Tomlin

Bryce Ware Kiavash Vakili

Whitney Wilcox Margaret Wise 6

Harrison Woertink

Jared Yang

Preschool Dolphins Drawings of the Earth

Victoria Bessant

Oliver Barnes

Troy Chung

Jude De Pastino

Carter Dyson

Max Grossman

Adriana Landis

Vinicius Leus

Colette Lindy

Henry Little

Bennett Martin

Amelia McKinlay

Isobella McKinlay

Weston McMullin

Jasper Meyerson

Chloe Park

Diego Rogers

William Ryee

Flynn Simmons

Matthew Tomlin

Jenna Yeo

Kindergarten

Pig Drawings from Mrs. Vermetteâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Class

My pig went surfing and then we went My pig is playing outside.

Kaiya Brown

down a big water slide.

Gus Cohen

My pig is hula hooping.

Ondine Corsmeier

My pig is trying to flip in the mud puddle.

Jaime Cruz

My pig is having fun.

Jionni Esposito

My pig is on an Easter egg hunt and he really canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t see the Easter eggs.

Lucas George-Ghobrial

My pig is going through a water slide.

Patrick Hindman

My pig loves to have fun with me.

Willa Jackson

My pig is hunting for Easter eggs.

Gavin Kahn Gardner

My pig is jumping up to the airplane.

Maximilian Kim

My pig is playing basketball.

Ryan Kim

My pig is on an Easter egg hunt.

Patterson Laing

Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m at the park with my pig.

Eva Lauterbach

My pig is flying.

Ian Lee

My pig is doing jump rope.

Jiwon Lee

My pig is sees an Easter egg.

Katie Lee

My pig is going to a restaurant and eating pizza.

Fiona Loughran

My pig is on a Easter egg hunt.

Audrey Perkins

My pig does not know that eggs are in the snow.

Quinn Rath

My pig is on the slide.

Kennedy Pullard

My pig is happy.

Richemond Shin

My pig and I like to play volleyball together.

Cassidy Seitz

My pig is on the beach.

Caitlin White

My pig is playing basketball on a basketball court.

Skylar Whitley

My pig is having a picnic with me.

Nathaniel Williams

Summer Drawings from Mrs. Vodreyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Class

Tyler Ahn

Mia Barrientos

Violet Beuscher

June Chon

Cardosia Clifford

Ava-Simone Davis-King

Asher Delman

Roan Fraser

Grace Hutchins

Lily Juda

Stella Kazanjian

Arnold Kim

Colin Kneafsey

Nicole Lee

Louis McKinlay

Lauren Meserve

Grace Nelson

Aiden Park

Jamieson Park

Alyssa-Naomi Pippins

Julianna Savagian 17

William Suh

Henry Wolff

Lark Yoder-Hall

First Grade

Spring Poems from Mrs. Kammula’s Class Spring is Fun

Spring

Spring, Spring, Spring Animals are born Flowers are blooming What more? Grass grows higher Butterflies fly beautifully Rabbits are coming together Bees are buzzing Spring is fun.

Flowers bloom in Spring Bees buzz in Spring Bunnies hop in Spring It’s Easter in Spring

Nora Bustos

The Lonely Man In Spring The lonely man in spring is really, really lonely and he likes to be a phony He saw a bee He saw a bee Now he’s happy he saw a bee.

Ella Carlson

Spring Vacation It’s spring vacation, everyone’s out It’s sprinkling outside so hop out of your bed Eat your breakfast, brush your teeth, go outside Smell the fragrance of the flowers Get out of those stinky showers.

Aaron Cho Spring

Birds chirp Bunnies hop The Easter bunny sells eggs The babies come out Everywhere is Spring Even you have Spring!

Kaelyn Choi Hop

The chicks jump up and the bunnies jump down The alligators swim from side to side The clouds go south and the ducks go north The people go home when dawn comes up.

Chris Chung

Haley Colorado Spring

I like bees Bees are fun and they buzz Spring, Spring, Spring You get to see bees It is beautiful When their wings shine.

Angus Gilchriest Spring Is Here

Spring is here The flowers are blooming The people are out They’re watering their trees And putting seeds in the ground To make life beautiful!

Simone Herman Spring is Here

Spring is here, I love spring It is here! The sky seems like there are no clouds Spring has a fun holiday It’s Easter! Butterflies flutter and bunnies hop Flowers bloom Bees come near and say Buzzzzz I love spring

Ava Horowitz Spring

Spring is fun I wish Spring could last forever Spring is nice I can hear bees go buzz all day I love the rain drizzling outside in the nice air.

Elijah Hull

Spring is fun It is drizzling outside I like spring, it is very fun A baby is born Spring, Spring, Spring I love to splash in the puddles I love spring I like to hear the birds chirp.

Mimi Kaewmanaprasert Spring is Fun

Spring is fun. Spring is cool. I love spring because the grass grows. I love spring because the flowers bloom. I wish spring were all year.

Eric Lee

Sprinkles, Sprinkle

Shine Park

Spring, Spring, Spring! Spring is fun Spring is nice Spring is a season that everyone likes I wish that spring was always here Everything is blooming now People come outside to eat and sing Dogs are sleeping and having fun Spring is cool!

Aris Rachevsky Spring

Spring, it is here The season I’ve been waiting for It’s a very nice season All living things come out.

Sprinkles sprinkle, The flowers bloom every time I look at the time I look at the sun, They bloom before I look down. Spring is fun.

Alex Rice

Spring

Camille Roth

Glen March

The sky is clear The rain’s not near Flowers are blooming with lots of cheer Butterflies are coming exactly this way Bunnies are hopping right towards me I am so grateful for beautiful spring.

Elia Min

The Spring Bunny There was a bunny But he was no ordinary bunny He was the spring bunny The children all called him Easter bunny He gave them candy each year.

Jack Norland Spring

Spring is cool In Spring it gets warmer Spring helps plants grow as tall as they can be Animals come out in the spring The birds make music loud and clear I wish Spring would last forever It is so fun to have Spring flowers will be blooming 20

I love Spring.

Crazy Spring Crazy Spring goes “dingaling” Dumbo flies across the ocean just like the crazy Easter bunny!

Spring Spring, Spring, Spring Spring is nice Spring is cool I love spring Birds like spring Bees like spring Easter likes spring All people love spring

Phoebe Tatton

Easter Bunny Stories by Mrs. Leonard’s Class The Day Before Easter It was the day before Easter and every animal was excited to see the Easter Bunny. But the Easter Bunny was hiding chocolate-covered carrots. All of the animals asked why he was hiding carrots. He said that all of his eggs were disappearing. The animals started to panic and then a crazy French detective dog came. “Bonjour,” he said. “Look up.” The detective dog saw the Easter eggs in a nest and a crow went in the nest and it was a rainbow with all the eggs.

for the challenge. “Boom! Slam! Pow!” The ninja bunnies got them locked up. “Let us out! We don’t deserve this!” said Sparkle. They broke out and beat the evil ones up. They saved the day.

Amaya Hassan-Scott The Easter Bunny

The Easter Bunny

The Easter Bunny was excited because it was almost Easter. The Easter Bunny packed the eggs and hid them all. The next day the children found the eggs and played games. The Easter Bunny was proud of himself, so the Easter Bunny did the same job every Easter.

The Easter Bunny was on vacation in Hawaii. He had so much fun that he wanted to stay a bit more. Now he lives there because it is almost Easter.

Once Upon a Time

Hank Bauer

Tyler Beffa

The Missing Easter Basket It was the night before Easter and the Easter basket was missing. “Oh no!” cried the Easter Bunny. “The Easter basket is missing. Now I have to tell the people in Hollywood that the Easter basket is missing so we can’t celebrate. Goodbye friends, I’m off.” Then they discovered that the Easter basket was just in the bush. When the Easter Bunny got back they told him that the basket was just in the bush. It was a miracle and he was so happy that he started jumping all over the place.

Thea Davidson

The Easter Bunny Once upon a time there was an Easter Bunny. He was on vacation in Hawaii. The day before Easter, Bear, Fox, Turtle, Frog and Mole gathered around to see who could be the next Easter Bunny. The Easter Bunny returned and said, “What’s all the noise?” “Oh, nothing at all,” said Mole. The Easter Bunny hopped along and said “hippity hoppity” with the basket of Easter eggs.

Sofia Ellis

The Silly Easter Bunny The Easter Bunny was attacked by the Evil Chocolate Jellybean Bunnies. “Oh no!” said the baby bunnies. The telephone rang. “Ding ding ding…” The Pink Beret Superheroes came! They saved the good bunny. They evil ones were defeated once and for all. Then the ninja bunnies came. It was even harder but they were up

Eileen Jung

Easter was coming. The Easter Bunny was getting ready to hide the eggs but the Easter Bunny forgot one egg. He went to his house to get the egg. He wanted to hide all of the eggs for the kids.

Victor Kazhokin Easter

Once upon a time the Easter Bunny was going skiing. He then went to the Carnival. Later on he got lunch. He didn’t realize that Easter was two hours past. He said, “I forgot it’s Easter!” He ran back home and got the baskets. He ran to one house, two, three, four, five...one million! Then he was finally done. He hopped in bed and a second passed before he was asleep. He took a five-hour nap. When he woke up he realized that it was only the twenty-third. “Dang,” he said, “I did that for nothing. At least I did it early.” He went to sleep. The next day he knew his work was done.

Santiago Kelly

The Easter Bunny Once upon a time the Easter Bunny’s friends went looking for him. They looked everywhere. Frog said, “I think the Easter Bunny is missing! I’ll be the Easter Bunny!” But he dropped all of the eggs. Then the Easter Bunny appeared. “Where were you?” asked Bear. “Well,” said the Easter Bunny, “I was in my hole.” “Oh,” said the turtle.

Chaerim Kim-Worthington

Easter Once upon a time there was an Easter Bunny. He went to Cancun. He has so much fun swimming. He met another Easter Bunny named Jake and his last name was Paul. He lived in Tennessee but moved to Mexico and never came back. He had a question for Jake Paul. It was, “how old are you?” “I’m twenty-two years old,” said Jake.

Sofia Landis Easter

Once upon a time there was a really funny bunny. He was kicking the eggs with decorations and he was fighting the other bunny. He kept fighting and dropped the eggs on three bunnies. Then he dropped two eggs on two bunnies. The bunnies kept throwing eggs and they kept fighting until all of their eggs were gone.

The ninja bunnies would steal the eggs. The spy bunny did judo on them and saved Easter!

Dylan Park Sam

Once there lived a bunny named Sam. He lived in a tiny house with his family. He always wanted to be the Easter Bunny, but his father was. His father always said that when he turned sixteen he could be the Easter Bunny. Right now he is fifteen and tomorrow is his birthday.

Cire Portegies

The Lost Easter Bunny

One day the Easter Bunny went to go shopping for eggs. There were none, so he went to another store but there was only one egg there. It was almost Easter so he went to another store and he found enough.

Once upon a time there was a bunny named Addison. She was the new Easter Bunny. She had no idea how to do it so she ran away. Her father was very worried that she would get hurt. Meanwhile, Addison was traveling to Hawaii. When she got there, there was a sign that said “Sad Bunny Hotel.” She went inside and was looking for a place to pay when a bunny said, “What are you looking for?” “I am trying to find where I should pay.” Addison replied. “It’s free,” replied the bunny. “Now that’s great,” she said. Nine days went by and her father was very worried. That day Addison went back. Her father was so happy. “Oh Addy, today is Easter. The children will be waking up so you have to go,” he said. And so she went.

Skye McDiarmid

Lily Richardson

Easter

The Easter Bunny’s Eggs

Jedo Lee

Ninja Bunny Once upon a time there was a ninja bunny that loved Easter. One day Jack Rabbit came to steal the eggs. Then Bunny beat him up. That’s the story of ninja bunny.

Emmanuel Lewis Easter

“Grandpa wake up, it’s Easter. Come and hide your eggs,” said Hopp. “Come on, your children are waiting.” “Please hide them for me,” said Skip. It was Easter and the Easter Bunny was still sleeping. “Oh no,” said Mr. and Mrs. Bunny. “What?” said the Easter Bunny. “Oh, I thought you would never wake up. Let’s hide the eggs!”

Frances McFetridge The Easter Hunt

Once there was a bunny. The bunny didn’t have any eggs. He wanted to have an Easter egg hunt with the children. The Easter egg hunt involved a golden egg and whoever found it would get twenty dollars.

Lulu O’toole

The Spy Bunny The bunny looked for a home to hide eggs. There were ninjas. 22

It was almost Easter and the rabbit had eggs. She asked a bear to watch her eggs and she was off. When she looked back she saw that the bear was trying to eat her eggs. She ran back and said, “Stop! Don’t eat my eggs!” The bear put the eggs down. The rabbit told the bear to go home and she hired another animal. A fox came along and the rabbit said, “Hey fox! Can you watch my eggs?” He said “yes” and she left. When she looked back the fox was trying to eat the eggs. “Stop fox!” She said. She told him to go home. “You’re fired!” Along came Mr. Turtle and the rabbit asked him to watch the eggs. Off the rabbit went, and when she looked back the turtle was not eating the eggs.

Bellamy Ware

The Day Before Easter It was the day before Easter. Everyone gathered around one day–even the Easter Bunny. Then the Easter Bunny said, “Where are the chocolate eggs? This is a mystery.” Then he

looked around and saw footprints. The footprints led to a mountain of rocks. The Easter Bunny sat down on a rock. The mountain opened. He went inside and saw the eggs. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Yes! I have to tell my friends!â&#x20AC;? he said. And they lived happily ever after.

Malcolm Wood

Second Grade

Imaginary Friends and Other Stories by Mr. Dar’s Class One morning my dad yelled so we went upstairs. “Did we get robbed? Did they take the computer?” I said. He said it was much more serious. “It’s my mustache.” He said. “I may never look the same.” We called the police and the police came. My dad looked at the policeman’s nose. “That looks like my mustache!” He said. “I’ve had this for years,” said the policeman. My mom called the TV show Unsolved Mysteries. After that, to cheer him up, we took him to a restaurant. He took one look at the chairs and burst into tears. “Don’t worry, the day isn’t over,” we said. We walked home. On the way home my dad looked at everyone’s face. Nobody had mustaches. My dad said, “it’s hopeless!” We told him not to worry. When we were at home we went to bed. The next morning we went to church. Everybody donated two dollars. My dad got a new mustache. When we got home, our dog had grown a mustache too!

Hazel Berger

I have this imaginary friend named Michael who is always getting me into trouble. Let me tell you about him. He is six feet tall and super strong. He is fire-orange. His fur is fluffy and he smells good, like Axe Cologne. Now–back to the trouble part. One day we were in the swimming pool and you don’t even want to know what he did. There is a really big jump to the swimming pool, so he jumped into the pool and all of the water splashed out!

Jackson Brass

Welcome to Hungry Town. Here we don’t need grocery stores because all of our food comes from the sky. For breakfast I get big, yellow, crunchy eggs and buttery, hard toast from a strong blustery wind. For lunch I had a cheesy, meaty cheeseburger from a cloud. It was delicious. For dinner I got a big, juicy piece of steak from an avalanche and some fries. For dessert there was an ice hail of ice cream.

Gustavo Chavez

Hi! Did I ever tell you about my imaginary friend? He looks human. He smells like smoky pizza, crispy cheese and soggy spaghetti. He tastes disgusting and unsanitary. He speaks normally and hears from far away. If he’s in L. A., he hears all the way to Chicago. His name is Morris. He once learned the word “fire hose”. He thought it was a hose that shot fire and convinced me to make one. When my mom was out, we struck an enormous match and put it in our garden hose. 24

When my mom came to water the plants, it was total chaos. After homework, we were testing a toothbrush. It caused an overload and BOOM! The whole room smelled smoky. After the toothbrush incident my mom never allowed me to play with Morris ever again. He went back to his home, the old playground. I sneaked out to live with Morris, leaving a note that said, “Mom, don’t worry about me. I went to live with Morris.” I went to the playground. The playground was very wet. When I told Morris everything he said, “Don’t blame your mom. I knew her.” I was amazed. Just then my mom ran to me. She finally believed in Morris. She also remembered him from her childhood. After that, we all went home for dinner. We cooked spaghetti.

Jimmy Choi

One morning the doorbell rang. I came to answer it. When I opened it, there was a little tiny man. His name was Lucky. He was furry. He said hello and I said hello. “Do you want to play?” he asked. “Yes.” I said. “Well let’s do it!” We were playing Hide and Seek and I hid under my dad’s desk. My dad got mad. Then Lucky had another crazy idea. “We can bring a toy store home!” So we got a toy store and dumped all of the toys into my house. My dad got mad again. He thought it was just me who did it. He didn’t even see Lucky. Then Lucky had another crazy idea. “We can put a frog in your dad’s pants!” My dad got very mad. Then Lucky said it was time to go home. “Where’s home?” I asked. “At the old mall.” He said. “I want to go with you.” I said. We went to the mall. My dad got worried about me and came to the old mall. Then he said that there was no Lucky. “But there is! You just forgot! And you used to play with him!” I said. Then my dad knew it and they brought the toy store home and lived happily ever after.

Audio Clayton

Have you met my imaginary friend Palooka? In the sunny morning we ate yummy raspberry cereal. We drank hot cocoa and then we went to the park after we were done eating. When we got there, we played in the sandbox. Palooka put clumpy sand into a bucket and dropped it down my mother’s pants! We went back home and played a game of Checkers. Palooka destroyed the new plastic pieces and the board! He

broke them in half. I got in big trouble. I said, “mom it was Palooka! He did it!” Mom did not believe me. She said I was grounded for five weeks. But my father said, “Is that you, Palooka?” “Yes it is!” Screamed my imaginary friend. “I missed you buddy.” Dad said. “I’m glad that you’re Kaiya’s imaginary friend now that I’m all grown up. Bye little guy!”

Kaiya Dale

Once, when I was walking along the street, something amazing happened! A big cloud of dust blew in front of me. When the whirling dust settled, there was a funny sight. There was a colorful parrot, a little bigger than me. “Hi,” he said. “My name is Mobie.” “Hi Mobie,” I said. Mobie dropped a shiny gold coin in front of me. “What’s that?” I asked. “You can ask me for something and I will do it, like wishing!” said Mobie. “You can also fly on my soft, feathery back. I can make myself invisible too. Want to play something inside? You can make yourself invisible too!” “Sure! Let’s go!” I said. He mumbled a few words and was gone! When we were inside my room, Mobie made himself appear again. “Let’s play play-mobile. But instead of using trees, let’s use big green broccoli for the trees.” He said. So we played for a while. A few months later, on a sunny day, I asked my mom if we could go swimming at the beach. “Sure, I’ll be back in a second. I just need to pack some towels and sunscreen,” she said. At the beach, I wished that I could surf on my towel. My mom was worried that I would sink. I jumped on Mobie’s back and flew away! When I told my mom about it a little while later, she was a little mad. But when I told my friends about it, they laughed!

Paulina Drautz

Sam appeared in my fluffy bunk bed in the bright morning. I was playing with my dog when I heard a loud snore. My dog barked for an hour. Sam said, “Let’s go to Mars.” I said, “No. My mom will kill me!” Sam said, “No she won’t.” It smelled super gross. The air smelled like rotten eggs. It was as dark as midnight. I could hear USA rockets. The planet felt slimy and weird. I came home with pink chickenpox. My mom grounded me for a year. I could only eat cabbage and drink water. I tried to sneak out and got grounded for fifteen years! My mom kicked Sam out of the house. She really kicked him!

Chaiya Jeffries

It was a cold winter’s day. I was eating hot tomato soup. Then

I saw an enormous pink and blue person with yellow hair and a bunny-tail. It could breath snow and it felt rubbery and soft. It smelled fresh and clean. Her fragrance was sweet, salty, and lemony. Her name was Cookie. Cookie was the size of a desk. She looked like a bunny. We decided to bake hot frog pies and my dad got mad. Then we made a pool in my bathroom and my dad said that I had to go to my room for the day. Cookie said, “I need a haircut!” And then my dad came in and said, “What did you do?” I did not do it. My dad said Cookie had to leave. The next day I ran away to find her. My dad found me and then said the three of us could go to a movie.

Fleurette Juda

Hi, my name is Sterling. Right now I hear something at the door. Let’s open the huge, brown front door and see what’s out there! As I opened the door, a twenty-foot tall person said, “Hi, my name is Junior.” He smelled like sticky, warm fudge. “What do you want to play first?” asked Junior. “How about Twister?” “No,” I said. “I want to play fake Star Wars.” Junior said, “ok”, so we went to my front yard. We played fake Star Wars and then we got really hungry. Junior’s stomach was gurgling. “Let’s go make strawberry pudding!” I said. So we made some fresh strawberry pudding and left a mess in the kitchen. When my parents saw it, they grounded me. Junior left our house and I couldn’t find him. I decided to run away from home to find him. My parents were very happy when they found me an hour later. Then we went home to watch Junior’s favorite show, SpongeBob Square Pants.

Sterling Kim

Did you ever have an imaginary friend? One dad Homdad burst into my white castle. He looked harmless enough, so it was ok. When he got inside, he asked me if I had a sparkling pool. I said “yes.” “Perfect,” he said. He ran to my pool and I was right behind him. When we got to my pool he asked me to get a long, green hose. When I got back with the hose he said to attach it to my bathroom sink while he studied the pool. I attached the hose to the sink. When he came up the stairs he asked me to put the hose in my parents’ luxurious orange bedroom. “When you’re done with that, I’ll yell ‘water fight!’ and turn on the hot water,” he said. And so I did. When my dad came home I asked him to come downstairs. When he saw the pool he banned me from watching TV.

Rufus Marcussen

One morning I was eating cereal when Rosalina came through a miniature crack in my purple wall. Rosalina is tiny and soft. 25

She is two inches tall. She is as pretty as a Monarch butterfly. She is sparkly and light pink. She has a great sense of humor too! I heard a little voice that said, “Hi Brontë” I looked under the couch and then over the couch. I went back to eating my cereal and then heard a gentle voice. I looked around the room and saw nothing. Then I heard a loud, booming voice. I looked at my shoulder. I saw Rosalina standing there. At first I thought she was a bug so I tried to squish her. Rosalina flew around the house and I tried to swat at her. I accidently broke the glass cherry that my mom loves! I was grounded all day. Rosalina laughed outside my bedroom door. My mom said, “Oh! Rosalina! It was you!” My mom threw Rosalina back into the crack in the wall and she buzzed away. I said, “Don’t do that to my friend!” I called Rosalina back and she said to me “I’ll glue the cherry back together so your mom will forgive me.”

Brontë Norman

One morning I was eating cold and sticky pancakes when Shelly blew in through my window. She was short–only six inches tall. She glowed in a bright peach light. She said, “Hi! Do you have some peaches?” I said I would check and then brought her some soft, juicy peaches. After she ate them she said she wanted to play a game. I only had two games, but Shelly told me to bring them to her. One of them was Clue and the other was Rough Box of Blocks. We played a hard game of Clue Blocks and then my mom said it was time to wash the dishes. I asked Shelly to help me. I washed the dishes and Shelly thought I had said, “watch the dishes” so she watched them. Shelly pressed a dish and it fell to the floor! My mom said she had had it for twenty years and that I was grounded. I went to my room with Shelly. Shelly asked, “Why doesn’t your mom believe in me?” I said I didn’t know. Shelly said it was time to go so I said goodbye. I told my mom she knew Shelly but had known her as Chiara. “Oh that’s right!” she said. “Let’s find her!” We found her and played more Clue Blocks.

Celine Park

One morning I was eating breakfast. I ate hot bread with nutella. While I was eating, I heard a knock on my door. I went to the door and opened it. I saw nobody, so I closed it and went back to eating. When I started to eat again, I heard a small squeaky voice that yelled, “Hi, my name is Love.” I looked around but couldn’t find the owner of the voice. I felt something funny in my mouth and Love popped out! I saw that she was a little pink flying pony. She said “hi” so I said “hi” back. She whispered in my ear, “Do you want to go to the new park?” I said “yes” so we left. I forgot to tell my mom, so she was looking all over for me. She finally found me and said, in a sad voice, “Don’t ever run off like that!” I said, “I’m sorry.” “Let’s go home,” said my mom. 26

“What about Love?” I asked. “Who is Love?” asked my mom. “You used to play with her too, but you called her Pinky back then.” “Now I remember,” replied my mom. “Let’s take her home too!” So we went home and all played a game together.

Tiffany Park

My imaginary friend’s name is Dudly. He is icy blue, soft, fresh, clean and happy. He is six feet tall with muscles. My father calls him “Fudly” instead of Dudly. If Dudly does something dumb, I’ll be grounded for a hundred years! Dudly and I were playing flag football when Dudly threw the ball and broke the window. Dudley screamed “Igege!” Dudley had a boomerang and broke my mom’s vase. “Igege” he boomed. Next he took a sledgehammer and smashed my dad’s black and yellow truck. “Igege! Igege! Igege!” He yelled. Now I am grounded for a hundred years. Dudley left the house and dad yelled, “Goodbye forever, Fudly!”

Marcel Pullard

Have you ever met my imaginary friend Flarion? Well, he breathes fire. He’s pretty awesome. We play handball almost every day. We are playing handball right now. He used flamethrower, then lavaplume. Then the lawn blew up. My mom was very upset. Then I was grounded for a month.

Rex Rath

It was a hot summer’s day. I was watching TV when Spookly flew right through the door. Literally! “Hi there!” he echoed. He was black with a red eye. I thought he was a ghost. “What do you want to do first, big guy?” he asked. I didn’t know what to say. Finally I asked, “Who are you and why are you here?” “I’m Spookly and I hear that you are bored.” “I am bored,” I replied. “But why are you here because of that?” “Because I help people have a good time,” he boomed. “Ok, so then what should we do?” I asked. “My favorite thing! Garbage Can Robot Battles!” he said. “How do you play?” I asked. “It’s easy. You just build a robot out of garbage cans and we battle. Let’s play! We need a lot of metal garbage cans.” “I have twenty-four silver metal ones. Is that enough?” I asked. “That’s perfect!” he said. “Let’s build some robots.” While we battled, my dad walked out. He said in a serious voice, “What is the meaning of this?” “Umm…I was playing?” I said. “No, I mean why am I not playing?” he asked. So we built one more and played very happily.

Matthew Redford As a child on the Mayflower I have a wonderful life. I can run around all over the ship. Sometimes the sailors yell at me. They are always so annoying! I don’t really like the meals onboard. They are terrible! I want to go to America! I also have lots of friends on the ship. You have to pray every hour. I don’t have lots of toys and I really want to have more. I always ask the cooks to give me something yummy. I like to say “hi” to the guards. Guards are rude because they don’t say anything back. Some sailors found these crazy sticks. They say there will be land but I don’t believe them. We are beginning to have less food so we have to stuff dry meat. However, being on the Mayflower is not that bad.

Luke Riley

Bing Bing and Me It was a sunny Saturday. I was eating crispy eggs. I heard a crash from the window. My small ice-white friend Bing Bing stood on the creaky windowsill. Bing Bing told me he was bored. I decided I was bored as a rock too. “What should we do?” I asked. Bing Bing told me it was fun to fly. I wanted to fly too. If I could fly, my wings would be shiny and blue like Bing Bing’s. I asked Bing Bing if he could teach me how to fly. He said “yes.” He told me just to flap my arms. So I started flapping my arms. Nothing happened. “I have a blue trampoline!” I told Bing Bing. We went to it and I started to bounce. Bang! I hit the big roof. My parents are going to kill me!

Lilah Sitkevitch

Have you ever been robbed? Once there was a family. The mom was getting ready to walk the dog, but when she looked for the puppy it was gone. She suspected the nanny, because she was wondering why the food wasn’t eaten. She suspected the brother because he was screaming “doggy doggy where are you?” Then the dad came home. He was dressed like a hunter. Next, they saw the leash in his hand. The leash led to a wall. They looked around the wall and saw the puppy. The dad said that he told everyone where he had gone but that they didn’t listen, so he left for three hours. They said they were sorry and before he could even say it was ok they started grooming the puppy. They all lived happily together as a family.

Yasmine Vakili

Rule Poems by Ms. Payne’s Class Don’t let an elephant spray you. Never let a bunny jump on you. Never wake a lion. And above all else, never, ever bring a dog to school.

Tate Ahn

Never tell a woodpecker that you are wood. Do not take a chew toy from a dog. Never ask a math teacher for more homework. Never lie to your parents. Never say “yes” if a shark wants you to visit him for dinner. And above all else, you must never, ever eat candy for breakfast.

Valeria Barrientos

Never ask SpongeBob to teach you how to laugh. Never ask Patrick how to do math. Never ask Squidword how to be nice. Never let Mr. Crabs get too much money after he rolls the dice. Never let Sandy teach you karate. Never let Pearl teach you Mariachi. And above all else, never ask Sekai for her TV.

Sekai Beard Jordan

Never talk to a bear. Don’t jump out of the Empire State Building. Never talk about green carrots. Don’t yell at the wall. Never eat leather gloves. And above all else, you must never, ever eat the floorboards.

Anton Becerra

Never go to the middle of the ocean and swim without a suit. Never go to a stranger and ask for ice cream. Do not let a bear tell you where bees live. Never be a shark’s dentist. Never buy an African fish and put your hand in the tank. And above all else, you must never, ever ask me to give you the first dog I get.

Grace Carrington

Never trust an elephant when it has just drank water. Never ask a whale to jump in the pool first. Don’t ask a kangaroo if you can get into its pouch. Never ask a dog to be your date to prom. Do not go taking a bear’s fish, berries, or honey. And above all else, do not ask Morgan for her vanilla cake.

Morgan Collins 28

Never eat a turkey that has feathers on it. Never play hide and seek with a bear. Don’t put yourself in the garbage. Never trust an old woman with apples. Don’t talk to a wolf. And above all else, you must never, ever take a dog from Brooke!

Brooke Crocker

Never ask to summon a monster. Never tell a fortune teller what is coming in the next life. Never kick a lion. Never smack a bear. Never fly when you are blind. And above all else, you must never, ever take a video game from Myles.

Myles George-Ghobrial

Never shout at a shark. Never play with a hungry lion. Don’t feed a crab. Don’t get an alligator. And above all else, you must never, ever ask Juliana to share her Mini-Cheese ice cream.

Juliana Gillett

Never go to a party with a sweater that your grandma made for you. Don’t play makeover with a lion. Never let the bathtub overflow just because your rubber ducky distracted you. Don’t let your dog eat your homework. Never draw on your bedroom wall with markers. And above all else, you must never ask to have my favorite stuffed animal.

Riley Hite

Never eat worms that aren’t colored. Never get a Seeing Eye Dog that can’t see. Never draw on walls. And above all else, never ask Will for his diamond.

Will Hill

Never get close to a squid. Never touch a wire when it is plugged in. Never get close to a woodpecker when you are brown. Never go close to a porcupine. Never fight with a kangaroo. Never eat something brown that’s on the grass.

And above all else, you must never ask Joshua to share his video games.

Joshua Kim

Never eat a drink. Never cuddle with a hungry bear. Never try to go into a tank that says “danger”. Never leave your homework outside. Never go in the sea without swimming goggles. And above all else, you must never, ever ask to turn off the TV while I’m watching it.

Allison Kwon

Never touch brown grass. Never trust a shark to teach you how to swim. Do not let a mouse or a rat guard your cheese. And above all else, never take Mac’s food.

Never swim with piranhas.

Chase Tillman

Never ask a shark to see his teeth. Don’t swim in the Amazon River. Never touch a bear’s claws. Never swim in a tank of sharks.

Thomas Ye

Do not eat people. Do not ask me to dance. Don’t ask me to share my chicken nuggets. And above all else, you must never, ever ask me to not go to the L.A. County Fair.

Matthew Yoder-Hall

Maclaren Laing

Never eat moving pink stuff. Never touch black stuff. Never go in a bathroom when the door is locked. Never let a family of skunks visit you. Don’t let cats and dogs visit you at the same time. And above all else, don’t let Ben borrow your phone.

Ben Lee

Don’t run on a floor if there is a sign that says “Caution, wet floor”. Don’t climb over the fences at the zoo. Don’t go to a random ocean and start swimming. Don’t go and eat something off of the floor. If you see gray triangles sticking out of the water, don’t put your hand in and try to touch them. Don’t grab a random water bottle and drink out of it. And above all else, never, ever eat worms from the ground thinking that they are gummy worms!

Elias Peter

Never ask a shark for his teeth. Never fly if you’re blind. Never kick a tiger. Never ask a cat for a toy. Above all else, you must never touch me!

Harry Robbins

Never feed an alligator. Never ever eat fire ants. Don’t put gum in your hair. Don’t flush your head in the toilet. Don’t put yourself in the South Pole. 29

Third Grade

Poems by Mrs. Creganâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Class

Jimmy Choi

Janis Choi

Adam Chun

Nicole Chun

Ana Cohen

Evelina Corcos

Holly Fouche

Jordan Franklin

Christine Hahn

Madison Huggins

Kate Hutchins

Jasper Johnson

Ethan Kim

Nicole Klar

Yoohan Ko

Nathan Lee

Catherine Malanga

Joshua Mira

George Phillips

Nicholas Worsoe

Oscar Youd

Shape Poems by Mrs. Kuramotoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Class

Nicholas Chung

Starr Andrews

Khalil Dodson

Julia Eschenasy

Dominic Esposito

Patrick Hastings

Collin Mackey

Jahslyn Holloway

James MacPherson

Nicholas Houndalas

Kaylin Kim

Olivia McIntosh-Adams 35

Lily Nelson

Chris Song

Liam Norrix 36

Alexandria Savagian

Irene Park

Erika Reghanti

Penelope Thornton

Markus Takei

Jack Wells

Fourth Grade

Limericks and Verse by Mrs. Castañares’ Class If Cars Could Talk

City Sounds

Get yo’ junk out my body! Yo’ always drivin’ me! Yo’ act like I’m yo’ toy! I’m worth money And yo’ not funny. I’m so tired of yo’! Yo’ always listen to that Jazz! It’s so annoying My bro’ can’t stand it! Yo’ beep me like I’m some kind o’ noise maker! Just get yo’ junk out my body!

Noisy traffic zooming by Zipping down the busy street Vans, taxis, buses, trucks Zip, honk, screech— CHAOS! People everywhere Waiting for buses, Waiting for the light to change, Waiting to buy hotdogs off the grill, Tapping, singing, talking, yelling, sizzling— CHAOS!

Luka Becerra Old Man

Old man hears Chicka-chicka-boomcrash “Oh, those teenagers!” Old man hears Waaaah! Tippy-tap Waaaah! “Oh those little kids!” Old man hears Whooo-wooo honk beep! “Oh those awful cars!” Old man hears Click-clack jingle-jangle “Oh those people in the room below!” Old man hears Whistle thrum echo echo echo Old man sighs “Oh when will it ever stop!”

Isabella De Mori Dog Town

Beep! Vroom! Clickety-clack! Rumble, grumble, crunch, sha-zap! I bark at trucks I bark at a bus! I hear the cars Go rush, rush rush! My owner’s shoes go tap-tap-tap This city beats a doggy rap!

Emma Redford

Kameron Christian STOP!

Honk, honk, beep, rumble Hear the noises of the city jungle Cars, buses, bicycles zooming See the sights of the city moving Creaking, crackin’, rushing, tappin’ Hear these sounds keep the city rappin’! Zoom! Zoooom! CRASH-BAM-BOOOM! Hear a Ford crunch a Honda on a Sunday at noon! Were they all in a hurry to get to heaven? All these noises go on 24/7! Cars yelling, “Move, Move!” Buses smoking exhaust cigars Smell up the world and tick off the cars I’m in a dream in a dream in a dream In a world without cars! Mmmm …the air smells so good … Ohh, no! Now I’m back on Wilshire and Western.

Will Cook-Healy Shopping

Squeak, tumble, rumble Scared, busy, bossy Her shopping bags have too many things. Bracelets, boots, high-heeled shoes Sweaters, suits, and iPods, too Her shopping bags have too many things! Too many things, such bossy things Too many tap-tap singing things Too many tap and sing “Sha-boom!” They’re tapping and singing to me 39

Squeak, tumble, rumble Scared, busy, bossy Her shopping bags have too many things.

Delana Lewis Hot Pocket!

I’m change in a pocket, Pocket that’s hot! I’m sticky and wet From bubble gum Bubble gum! Sticky mess, sticky mess! That’s what it is! I’m change in a pocket Who used to be able to Jingle, bingle, dingle But now I am all sticky and wet Sticky and wet From the bubble gum, bubble gum I feel so icky and sticky Sticky and wet From chewed bubble gum, Wet bubble gum, Pink sticky, pink sticky mess Bubble gum!

Angele Klein Bad Day

I was stuck in my car In a jam of traffic I’m lookin’ at the buildings The designs are graphic I hear near Jamba Juice Smoothies are blending Workers are mending The mail is sending The traffic breaks apart Near a museum of art My car finally starts Passin’ a K-Mart Boom-ba-doom-ba-boom-boom Klack-a-tack-a-pack-mack Toon-a-toon-a-boon-koon The sounds hurt my ears I put my headphones on I start sheddin’ tears ‘Cause there’s a sad song on Outside there’s a commotion I’m too busy cryin’ 40

Then I hear a SMASH!! On my car jumps a lion! Escaped from the zoo? Lookin’ really weird Looks like it has a beard Oh no! Don’t break through My windshield! Don’t you dare brmmmmmmmpphhh…

William Richter Elevator

I’m a mall elevator I’m one mall tall My brother elevator Is skyscraper high He works for the office He hates all the noises In the office building, He hears um um … Whistle, crunch, hum Over and over AGAIN! But me? I hear people Having a good time Echo, rattle, echo, rattle splash, crash, tink, clink And many other sounds All at ONCE.

Abigail Park

Traffic Jam Honk, Honk Traffic jam! Stuck in my car Nothing to do But hear the annoying Sounds of CARS! The annoying, squalling, stalling sounds The scraping, grumping, gasping sounds Of cars. Stuck CARS!! Honk honk Traffic jam! Stuck in my car Nothing to do But hear the annoying sounds of trucks! The annoying, yelling, whining sounds The grumbling, screaming, thrumming sounds’ Of trucks! STUCK TRUCKS!

Jonathan Chong

Policeman High on my horse At Wilshire and Western I hear the cars Splashing in the thunderstorm Hear the rain droplets Smash against the streets See them turn Into tiny droplets High on my horse At Wilshire and Western I see people rushing To get out of the thunderstorm Hear people’s shoes Smack the ground Watch people come And go

Jessica Lane Save Me!

Stretch, smile grin She puts on her locket I watch her day begin I’m the jingle in her pocket And when she starts to run Down to buy a stick of gum I’m thinkin’ SAVE ME! Lunchtime comes I’m in the cashier’s hand SAVE ME! But of course I come back I’m change in her pocket Dinner time? She drops me On the dresser in a rush Now it’s time for bed And a good night’s “Hush!” Stretch, smile, yawn She puts her jammies on I watch her day end I’m SAVED again!

Chanya Jeffries City Song

On Wilshire and Western The sounds of cars ding Or howl or beep or bang The building doors slam Or bang or bash or bam The sounds of people talking Like the song of rain Tik-tok, tik-tok BOOM!!

Out of nowhere cars come Honka-honka down the street Fire engines speeding fast Chasing them fast and faster Then time stopped On Wilshire and Western

JJ Mansour

Don’t Expect It To Be Quiet Here Wilshire and Western day Speeding, racing Honk! Clash! Honk! Clash! Chevys, Hondas, BMWs pass Boom-chicka-bash! Boom-boom-bash! Man with an iPod Earphones in his ears He’s dancin’ by the trash With a boom boom bash! Hiss Hisssssssssssss— A red bus stops Shuffle, slide, and he finally hops On the 720 to Downtown Wilshire and Western night Silence is a stranger Everything’s still loud! LOUD!! LOUD!!! Neon lights, flashing signs, sirens Wee-ooh! Wee-ooh! A fire engine races Races and chases Chases the fire down

Jack Riley

City Pigeon On the cold rainy street I plant my wet pigeon feet Picking at the seeds At the cold rainy seeds Beee-eeep! Honk! Flutter! Flap! Flatter! All the other birds Around me scatter And I? I fly-up to a lamppost And wait in freezing drizzle For the Crunch! Wheeze! Jingle! Rat-a-tat! For the jingle rat-a-tat Of the traffic! All the cars jingle All the cars mingle with a Splash! Crack! Splat! The seeds are crushed! Flap, flutter, flap! 41

Flitter, flop, heave! Discouraged and hungry Many cold friends leave Perhaps I should, too Whoo-whoo! Whoo-whoo! But I’m a city pigeon Yes, I’m a city pigeon Jingle! Bonk! Jangle! How could I leave here? I know this traffic tangle Because I’m a city pigeon! Oh, no, I can’t leave here! No, no, I can’t leave here! I’m a city pigeon! Yeah, I’m a city pigeon!

The man in the sun I see people Buying, buying, buying Vanilla and chocolate so cold … I am the man The man in the sun I smile in their eyes As they walk on home Licking, licking, licking Licking their melting cones Melting, melting, melting Melting in the sun I’m so sorry But I can’t help

Luisa Drautz

Joseph Koo

Summer

It’s Making Me Batty

On a hot summer day In the city of L. A. Kids go play In the pool Splish-splash Splish-splash On a hot summer day In the city of L. A. Kids all sing when Ice cream trucks ring Jingle-jangle Jingle-jangle On a hot summer day In the city of L. A. Grown ups still rush To the Metro bus

Honk! Honk! Honk! Cars are yelling everywhere Yak! Yak! Yak! People beeping here and there Screech! Screech! Screech! Buses braking at the curb Ring! Ring! Ring! Bikes are ringing all the time There’s lots of pollution There’s no good solution It’s making me batty The streets are so crazy It makes a confusion It’s not an illusion I just want Everything to STOP!!!

Kenadi Kaewmanaprasert

Edwin Nah

I am the man The man in the sun I see people Waiting, waiting, waiting Waiting for something cold … I am the man The man in the sun I hear people Crying, crying, crying Crying for something cold … I feel sorry But I can’t help All of a sudden an ice cream truck sings! I hear people screaming , “Yay! Hooray!” I am the man

Comments on Sacramento/Coloma

Man in the Sun

I was taught how to pan for gold. You dig up some dirt and water with the pan. Then you shift the pan in little circles for a while until all the dirt and water are gone, leaving some gold. I also learned that if you respect your friends, then they’ll respect you. If you’re kind to them, they’ll be kind to you. Every nice thing you do for your friend they’ll do for you.

Charlie Carrington

My favorite activity at Coloma was earning beads. I liked thinking and answering the questions with my Sierra City group and earning beads for getting the answers right. One of the things I learned about was the different kinds of plants

on the mountain. One of them is the fairy-lantern. It’s called a fairy-lantern because it looks like a lantern and because a fairy could live in it.

Ashley Garibay

I learned that when you are living away from home with friends, then they get hyper, overexcited, and sometimes homesick. And when we were playing basketball with another school, it turned into a REAL competition. Girls were yelling their school’s name, and the boys were shoving. We won 2-0 because we only played for 5 minutes, but Nolan’s mouth was hurt, and the other school said it was our fault. In the second game, Dr. March made everything more in control, and we won 8-2. During the game a player from the other school shot a really nice 3-pointer, but one of their girls thought we were shooting, so she shook the hoop and the ball didn’t go in.

Austin Lee

I learned that if another school doesn’t have much diversity, their kids might not know that every race should be treated equally. I learned that you should always listen to the end of a story, and that you should never do something stupid even if your friend is doing it.

Cole Harris

When we got to the hotel, I took a nap first. Then I made up a dance, and Jessie was laughing like crazy. Then I showed my other roommates, and everybody was laughing. Good thing we had a radio for music! In the hotel room it was like a dance comedy show. We were trying to be quiet. One thing I learned about mining is that miners would bring a canary to the mines. They would bring a canary because it would sing, and if there was not enough oxygen in the mines, the bird would stop singing. If there is no oxygen, the miners would die. What I learned about friends is that your friends care about you, and if you miss your family, think of your friends as family. It can be really fun with your friends away from family. It’s like a huge slumber party!

Madeline Kang

On our nature walk on Thursday I learned about the Manzanita tree, which is also called the “refrigerator tree” because it is cool to the touch. This is only one of two of its drought adaptations. Another fact is that it can turn all of its leaves toward or away from the sun according to how much sunlight it needs. Its name means “little apple” in Spanish.

Charlotte Roessel-Evans

St. James’ Seals by Mr. Duggan’s Class

I chose a picture of kids joining hands across the world. I chose to do that because St. James’ is a very loving school.

Ashley Biggs

I chose friends to be around the world because there are a lot of friends at St. James’. I also chose the world because St. James’ is a community and nobody is left out in any way.

Roxanne Cowan

The husky represents our school mascot. The 1968 represents when the school began in an apartment. The wings and angel represent the children.

God is on my seal because I know St. James’ worships God and prays to him. I chose to put a husky because I see it a lot at my school.

Stephenie Cho

Benjamin Chun

One of my symbols is a husky. The husky is the mascot. I also put the year the school was founded on my shield, as well as wings, which stand for holiness.

In the background there is the apartment that St. James’ first started in. There is also the St. James’ mascot, the husky. At the top of the seal there is the date, 1968, because that is when the school was founded.

Khari Cousins

Katriana Galloway

I chose the year 1968 because that was when St. James’ was founded. I also chose a pencil because that is what kids write with. I put a paper with an A+ because in school kids get good grades.

I chose to put a husky because the husky is our mascot. I also put a shell because St. James’ collected them and traveled all over the world with them.

One of my chosen symbols is the husky because the husky is the St. James’ mascot. I also chose the U.S. flag because St. James’ is in the U.S.

Some of the most visible parts of the seal are the cross and the pencil. The pencil stands for education. The cross stands for the holiness of the church.

I chose a husky because it is the school mascot, and a pair of angel wings because St. James’ students are nice and holy.

I chose the husky because it is our school mascot. I also put the cross because the church

Dillon Kneafsey

Sebastian Ko

Matthew Hite

Jewoo Lee

Joseph Lee

believes in Jesus.

Joshua Lee

I choose to put a book on my seal because a book represents education. I also chose to put 43 stars because it is St. James’ 43rd anniversary.

Caylin March

Some of the great symbols I chose to put on my seal are the children and teachers. The two angels represent peacefulness.

Caleb Quiroz-Hansen

I chose a husky since it is our school mascot. I also chose a shell because St. James’ was associated with the sea.

Mira Marlink

I decided to put a husky right smack in the middle, howling at the moon. It represents bravery. I also put a bunch of stars in the background to represent all the bright people at St. James’.

Alexandra Mollo

I chose a playground because our school is fun. I drew people in a classroom because there are many students at St. James’ because it is a great school.

August Roth

I picked a playground for a symbol because that’s where all the fun happens. I also picked a pencil because we use pencils every day.

Nolan Smith Robinson

I drew a pair of angel wings, representing that St. James’ was a Christian. Beneath them, there is a chapel and an American flag.

I chose to put a husky because it is the St. James’ mascot, and because it is a fierce and strong animal.

The tests stand for knowledge. The husky is the school mascot. The angels remind me of holy and religious things.

I chose DeBell Hall to symbolize the school’s beginning years, and I chose the shell because of the many miracles St. James’ did on his trip to Spain.

The first symbol I chose to put was the husky, because it is our school’s mascot. The second symbol I put is a book, which stands for all the great students

My shield has a husky, our mascot, angels, which stand for all the good children, wings, shells, which stand for St. James’, and children.

Sarah Wagner

Colin White

Sirus Wheaton

and teachers.

Olivia Wolff

Aubrey White

Leyla Zapata

Fifth Grade

Catalina Art by Mrs. Jeffriesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Class

Skylar Andrews

Jordan Bedikian

Phelan Clifford

Kiana Conn

Ethan Fabricant

Rachel Ferrera

Isabella Franco

Brittany Hong

Hays Johnson

John Kustin

James Lee

Sora Lee

Cameron March

Kayleigh McDiarmid

Steven Medrano

Sung Hyuk Moon

Eunice Ra

Hana Takei

Jordan Trester

Olivia White

Perrin Williams

Essays by Mr. Krueger’s Class The Crazy Night That crazy night in Catalina, everybody was screaming. At the tent site, each tent had its own problem. Some had bug problems, others had spider problems. There was even a tent with a rat in it. Almost every second someone came out of his or her tent with a problem. It was sort of funny in a way. Thankfully, my tent didn’t really have any problems. That night was a crazy night.

Hazel Berger Catalina

I’m going to tell you about my trip to Catalina. We all met up at school on Monday, April 25, 2011. After about ten minutes we got on a bus that took us to Long Beach. We waited about two hours before we got on the boat. Then we were off. There was a bottom part of the boat and almost half of the Fifth Grade went there. They were playing a movie (Happy Feet). My friends Jenny, Michelle, Tiffany, and I were sitting at a table eating snacks, playing games. Michelle started to feel sick so she went outside with a barf bag while Jenny and Tiffany took our stuff up. We came back to check on Michelle because she was really sick. We all went upstairs and sat in the back row. We fell asleep after thirty minutes. Before we knew it, we were at Catalina. We got all of our bags out and took a little walk. We went to a picnic table and ate our lunch. Then we took a hike up to Cherry Cove. We sat down and got our tent mates. Mine was Grace. We took another little hike up to our tents. Grace and I picked a tent next to Mrs. Jeffries, Michelle, and Linda. After awhile we got dressed to go snorkeling. After we went back to our tents and most of the girls took a shower. We ate dinner. Then it was time to dissect a squid. With some squid parts we made a bat ray. Then we went back to the tent and slept.

Kaila Dodson

My Piano Recital While waiting for my Friday night piano recital I was very nervous. I knew what I was going to do but I didn’t know how I was going to do. When I went in I bowed and started playing. At first I thought I was going to make a mistake while my arms and legs were shaking uncontrollably. However, I slowly eased into the flow of the song. I played beautifully with no mistakes. Then I was finished. I bowed, walked out, re-entered, bowed again for an encore and finally walked out to a side door and entered the audience, all the while hearing thunderous applause! It was satisfying! A week later I was very anxious to get 50

my judging results. I stood there, hoping. Then I entered my piano teacher’s room. She saw me and went to get the test results. When she got back she came and hugged me! She said I’d been accepted to a school recital that only four percent of the 1,600 people that go to Colburn School for Music make! I was so happy! When my dad came I told him and he had a big grin on his face. Now I will do a school recital on May 22 at the Colburn School for Music, which is the best and most prestigious piano school in California. I practice everyday for the recital. The piano piece I played and will be playing again is Dr. Gradus by Debussy.

Spencer Geller Catalina

One part that I enjoyed at Catalina was the kayak. I have been kayaking before, but it was more fun with my friends. It was so much easier putting on the life vest than putting on the wetsuit. When we went kayaking, my partner was Andy. The kayak was a lot heavier than what I expected it to be. When I got into the water, I started to paddle to David. I really wished there was more time than just twenty minutes. I think this was one of the best parts of the Catalina trip.

Samuel Glicklich Catalina Poem

Swish, trickle-trickle, swish, trickle-trickle, swish. The paddle gently caresses the water, lifting up, and setting down. The steady beat of the paddle quickly lifts your spirits. Merely a bright splash of color in the middle of a deep blue spot. A heavy weight in your hands now feels like a feather. Your eyes search for something to look at, but instead are met by the flow of water, the different shades of blue. The ripples breaking down and recollecting, and the gentle push of an unknown friend. A colossal blue ocean is so delicate, yet so steady and strong. When you say the ocean is blue, how can you know for sure? Yes, it might appear blue, but all it contains is color. Fish, seaweed, rocks, sharks, kelp. To think…you can float above an unknown world, unaware of what’s below.

Addie Gruszynski Catalina

When I went to Catalina we hiked to Cherry Cove. I had fun snorkeling and kayaking. The food was good but the tents were small. We did a lot of activities at night and in the day. The trip was seventy percent good and thirty percent bad.

We snorkeled on the first day. Snorkeling was fun but the wetsuit and the happy strap were horrible. At night we did the squid dissection that was fun. The next day we snorkeled again. I think they should change the happy strap to the “annoying strap”. I liked kayaking more than snorkeling. I got the hang of it once I got in the water. The food overall was good. It was so good and we even got a poster for zero food waste. That is what happened in Catalina.

Andrew Hong Catalina

One of my favorite memories from Catalina was kayaking in the beautiful ocean. The great thing was that you didn’t have to put on the wetsuit. Kayaking is one of my favorite water sports. It was a little hard to all line up our kayaks together, but once you got the hang of it, it was fun. It was hard though. The highlight of that memory was Gabe and I singing while we were waiting to be called.

Grace Johnson

My Trip to Catalina My trip to Catalina this year was amazing. We did snorkeling, kayaking, squid dissecting, hiking, and we visited the marine labs. This all took place in a small cove named Cherry Cove. Everything was fun, but my favorite memories involved being a food runner and playing dodge ball. At Cherry Cove you eat family-style. Let me tell you, the food was great! I was a food runner at breakfast and dinner on Tuesday. Being a food runner was fun, but it was very complicated. At breakfast, the guys at my table ate lots of sausage, especially Ty. At dinner, they served fried chicken. Personally, I am not a big fan, but it was still pretty good. When playing dodge ball at Cherry Cove, protect your head. I was hit three times, at least twice by Cami. This game was fun too. The best part was when I was the last one left. I lost by a headshot, but I still got two people out. This trip to Catalina was a once-in-a-lifetime experience. I will remember and cherish the memories forever.

Wylie Kasai

My Trip to Catalina Our trip to Catalina Island was awesome. We did different types of activities. We snorkeled, kayaked, dissected a squid, and went to the lab to see fish and other sea creatures. My favorite activities were kayaking and dissecting the squid. When we went kayaking I was scared at first because we kept on thinking that I would fall over. But, I got the hang of it and did really well. Paddling is harder than you think it is. After kayaking, my arm hurt really badly. Gabriel and I dissected a squid together. It was disgusting at first but I kind of liked it. I

thought it was so cool. Our squid was a girl and we named her Alfreda. Then we went to the lab and we got to see some Garibaldi and other fish. Then we saw the touch tank and got to touch sea slugs, scallops, sea hare, sea urchin, sea stars, sea cucumbers, hermit crabs and sea snails. I was tent mates with Erin. We got a tent right next to Ms. Rodrigues. Many people moved because there were rats, spiders and mosquitoes. When we got on the boat on Wednesday, April 27, I got seasick and fell straight asleep. The other people were watching Toy Story. Michelle was upstairs sound asleep just like Kaila, and I was sleeping downstairs. Jenny was the only one awake. Before that we had eaten a weird lunch. We ate sandwiches, apples, apple juice, chips, and Oreos. It was good because when we came back to school it was so hot. I went to find my little brother, Arnold. I missed him so much. That is how I spent three days in Catalina.

Tiffany Kim

The Catalina Field Trip The whole Catalina field trip was cool, but this is the best part. On the last night, Tuesday nigh, a girl was brushing her hair and she freaked out because she saw a rat in her tent. Everyone in the girls’ section started screaming and running all over the place. Mrs. Jeffries then gave us permission to move to different tents. Every one of the tents had a 3-cot added to it. I asked my friend Corrie if I could sleep in her tent. Someone had taken my other cot so I could not move mine and so I had to sleep with Corrie in the same bed. It was lots of fun and surprisingly we slept well. We slept head to toe.

Linda Krejci Catalina

When I heard we were going to Catalina, I was preparing for some serious exercise. We climbed on a bus in the morning, drove to Long Beach, and boarded a boat. Our boat (The Catalina Duchess) was a large white and red boat with two levels. I spent most of my time on the lower deck. It was very bumpy inside. By the time we had reached the island, everybody was accustomed to the waves. We docked in the harbor and walked to Cherry Cove. At Cherry Cove we snorkeled, dissected, and ate. All of these activities were fun, especially the snorkeling. After a long three days of fun, we headed back onto the Catalina Duchess. We all had a great time.

Tommy Lane Catalina

On the second night of my trip to Catalina, I moved my cot into Olivia and Kaila’s tent because I was too scared to sleep in my tent with the spiders and mosquitoes. When it 51

was time to go to sleep, I wasn’t able to sleep because there was too much silence in the girls’ camp. Then I heard a small noise. It was quick footsteps that made the leaves crunch, but I knew it couldn’t be one of the girls’ because they were too quick. I was so scared that I wasn’t able to move. “Olivia?” I said in a low voice. “Yeah?” she replied. “Did you hear that?” “Yeah.” “I think it was a fox!” “Give me your hand!” With her last words, I reached out my hand to grab hers, and whenever we heard the noise, we would squeeze each other’s hands so hard that it would almost cut off our circulation. That was one of the coolest and scariest experiences from my trip to Catalina.

Erin Lee

A Lesson in the Wilderness On April 26, which was our second day in Catalina, I learned not to sleep in a tent in the middle of “almost” nowhere. That night I suddenly heard a scream in my friend’s tent. Then, I got out of my bed and rushed over. I was the sixth one to get there. There, I saw a huge rat that was almost six inches long. The rat’s tail touched my friend’s leg and ran away into a hole. It was the biggest rat I have ever seen in my whole life. I was grossed out and worried it would come into my tent. It was a very scary and gross experience.

Jenny Lee Catalina

We got on the boat to Catalina. It would take a good thirty minutes. We had it all planned out. We would settle in at the cozy tent site, then go snorkeling with comfortable wetsuits. After that we would sleep in warm beds. In the morning we would go on sturdy kayaks. Not! This was the real plan. First, we would get on a boat where everyone would throw up. Next, we would go on a thirtyminute hike to the campsite. Then, we would sleep on prison cots. After that, we would go snorkeling in itchy wetsuits. The next morning we would go on beaten down kayaks. But that was the beauty of it all. The whole purpose of the trip was to try something new. We would really get to know each other. John and I had tons of fun, just messing around. Catalina was the experience of a lifetime.

Ty Mahar Catalina

I arrived at school early in the morning. My class was going to Catalina Island for two nights and three days. When the bus arrived to drive us to Long Beach, our class waved goodbye to 52

the parents and we were off to Catalina. When we arrived at Catalina, we took a hike to our campground. I met my tent buddies David and Tommy. David, Tommy, and I became great friends. That day we went snorkeling. It was fun but the wet suits were very hard to put on. The second day was better because we played dodge ball and went snorkeling. That night, the girls were screaming and kept me up all night, but it was okay. The last day we went kayaking and it was the best activity of all. I had trouble at first controlling the kayak, but when I got control of it, it was fun. When we packed up, I was a little disappointed that we were leaving but I was mostly happy because I had had a great time and I will never forget this trip.

William Paek Catalina

Catalina is an awesome island. When we were first informed about Catalina, I thought it was going to be super easy, but I was wrong. First of all, I picked the tent that had a huge hole in the front so the cold wind burst in through the tent all night. We got to go snorkeling twice, on different days. The first time was my favorite because I saw a bat ray, a school of small fish, and a beautiful orange Garibaldy. Even though the second snorkel wasn’t my favorite, it was still very interesting. After, we dissected a squid. I did this with Tiffany who was one of the only girls that really interacted with and touched the smelly squid. After listening to their directions, my counselors asked for four volunteers. As soon as they asked this, I instantly raised my hand. They said there were four things you could do with the gooey thing that looked like a bat ray. Then the counselor picked me to do the last thing. She told me to stick out my tongue. I did as she said and had a gross squid part on my tongue, and turned to the class while everybody said, “eeeeeewwww”. On the last day of camp, we went kayaking. We even got to go out of the cove. It wasn’t that interesting to me. I went back to camp after kayaking to get all of my stuff but an animal had gone through it!

Gabriel Peter Catalina

I had a good time on Catalina Island. My favorite part was when we were doing the labs. Labs consisted of many fun activities. We went to a room where we learned about invertebrates (animals without backbones). We got to do an exercise in which everybody took off a shoe and the group leader had one of the shoes in mind. Then we broke the shoes into groups until we found the correct shoe. It was fun, and we finished that station talking about a creature without a backbone. We also got to see an octopus and many other animals. We got to touch various animals, like sharks, sea hares, sea slugs,

sea urchins, clams, and star fish. The third station was where we learned about kelp. There were tubs of many kinds of kelp and we got to make pictures of them. That was a lot of fun. Finally, to finish the labs, we ended with a game of jeopardy, and the game was based on the things we learned. It was really exciting, plus we won!

Corrie Phillips

The Boat Ride Over When no one should really be up, I woke up at the ungodly hour of 5:20. Half awake, I stumbled into my dad’s car and we drove to school. After we got there, everyone stood in line for fifteen minutes, waiting for everyone else to get to school. Then, we finally got on the bus. I tried to fall asleep. After a few unsuccessful attempts, I looked up and saw that we were almost at the marina. When we arrived, our boat was there and I was a little shocked. My brother told me it was bad, but not this bad. We waited on the dock for an hour. We played cards and waited for all of the other schools to come. The boat ride over was full of swells and many people got sick. When we got there and got out luggage, we started the long hike to Cherry Cove.

part was when I jumped off of the kayak. I jumped off and came back up. Soon, other people fell and jumped into the water. Although it was cold, it was very fun. It was kind of a mess when I was kayaking so fast that I couldn’t tilt. I went faster and faster. Then I crashed into Phelan’s boat. Later, Andrew laughed at me for not being able to get up onto the boat. When we got off our kayaks, I regretted jumping into the water. In the end it was a very fun trip. I look forward to going again.

Andy Si

David Rich Catalina

When we went to Catalina, on April 25 through 27, I had so much fun. We went there by boat (of course). I threw up three times because I had seasickness. My friends Kaila, Jenny, and Tiffany took care of me. Around halfway, all of us began to take a nap. When we were almost there, we woke up. We got off the boat and walked for a little while to go the tables where we would eat lunch. I had subway. My sandwich was all soaked. I couldn’t really eat it. After lunch, we went on a hike to get to Cherry Cove. The boat landed at Two Harbors. The hike was about one and a half miles. It was not that long, but it seemed like it. After we were done, our teachers separated us into groups. I was kind of disappointed because I wanted to be with my best friends, but at least I got to be with some other friends. My tent mate was Linda and I had a good time with her. My favorite part of Catalina was kayaking. We kayaked on the very last day due to scheduling. At first, I was landing near the rocks. Ms. Rodrigues, our science teacher, was telling me to “toe to butt” and “butt to toe”. Sarah, our counselor, told us to do that with the paddles. (You’ll find out when you go to Catalina). Then I got the hang of it. I was sad that we had to go home. Other than that, I was glad I went to Catalina and I had so much fun.

Michelle Seung Catalina

On April 25th through the 27th, the Fifth Grade went to Catalina. We had a very good time. The most interesting 53

Sixth Grade

Essays and Poems by Mrs. Dummett’s Class Jane Goodall; A Life Among the Chimps The job she longed to do was to observe the monkeys. Men said, “that’s a man’s job, it’s not for you.” She knew that she could do it, and she already had a start. She was going to Kenya, to visit her friend Marie. She got a job with a primatologist, who was named Louis Leakey. She traveled through Africa, in search of animals, When finally she found a chimpanzee, in a small town named Gombe. After staying for awhile she started a research center a couple years later. She started the Jane Goodall Institute and spread her knowledge around. Her career had lifted up, and never came back down. Chloe Carrere McCollum Street After Dark During the day, McCollum Street is alive. Cars go up and down the steep hill, and many people walk their dogs. At night, however, McCollum Street is dark and silent and peaceful. As I sit on the front porch, I can hear the crickets sing. Sometimes I hear the call of a mockingbird. Other times I hear a dog barking. When an ambulance screams its siren somewhere in the city below, I hear lots of dogs barking. Most exciting of all is the wild howling of the coyotes. Sometimes I can see one or two walking past, their eyes wary and searching. My street is empty at night except for an occasional car going up or down hill. The headlights cast eerie shadows on the trees and sidewalks. The towering oak tree right in front of our house looks even more colossal at night than it does in the day. The streetlights dimly light up the sidewalk and the street. A breeze rises from the bottom of the hill and gains momentum as it sweeps over McCollum Street. In the winter I shiver from the breeze. In the summer I am grateful for the coolness that it brings. My street echoes in the night. I love to shout “hello” and hear my voice echoing. My street is quieter than most in Los Angeles because I 54

live in a gated community. Hathaway Hills is a beautiful place to live. The security guard keeps watch while we sleep cozily in our beds. McCollum Street is a wonderful place to dream. I am lucky to live on such a peaceful street. Brian Chung My Street at Night Bronson Avenue is not busy in the daytime, but what happens at night is extraordinary. I’ve lived in this neighborhood for ten years. There is a middle school two blocks north from where I live. During the morning rush, students arrive at school. Once they enter the school building, the street is generally quiet. Who really knows what goes on in everyone’s home at night? There may be people watching TV, making cookies or doing their homework. My block is filled with rows of well-kept California Craftsman style houses. At the end of the block there is a public library, which is directly across the street from a quaint Catholic church. I love to hear the tranquil sounds of the church bells ringing every hour. There is a lovely Spanish bakery on the southeast corner of the street. The magnificent symphony of smells fills the air during the day and evening. But there is another side to this neighborhood. In the dead of night the neighborhood takes on a different atmosphere. I often hear the loud, deafening sound of police sirens, the cars’ engines as they race up and down the block. Sometimes I see a blinding white light from the helicopter overhead in the sky. The vibrations from the aircraft shake and rattle our windows and doors. My neighborhood is not known as a crime prone area, however, on any given night unlawful acts may be committed. This is due to the randomness of crime in a major city. In spite of any commotion on the street, my neighbors are very diligent in the act of keeping each other safe. If there is an incident occurring outside our homes, neighbors phone one another to make sure we are all safe. We do our best to protect each other. If each community member participates in keeping his or her neighborhood safe, then there would be no contrast between the neighborhood in the daytime or at night. Kennedy Daniel The Job That’s Never Done On a chilly Sunday morning, I stepped outside to see the beautiful sunrise. Suddenly, a shock of cold hit my body. I

did my chore, then sprinted up the porch and back inside my house. The trash was emptied! After a round of TF2, a digital game I love, I was told I had to take out the trash. Shortly afterward, a disgusted look appeared on my face. After about two minute of arguing with my dad, I realized I still had to take out the trash, so I grabbed the bag and swung it over my shoulder. Right then I smelled the worst, most rancid odor of my life! After clutching my nose for several moments, I didn’t want the bag on my shoulder any more! But I continued on with the rigorous task, lugging it down the porch steps. When I finally reached the trash bin, I shivered and emptied the contents of the white bag carefully. We try and use the bag liners two more times instead of once. As I was pouring the trash in the bin I saw brown banana peels and half-eaten pizza slices. I also saw cat litter, and curdled something, which I’m guessing was very old milk. The last things I saw were shriveled up apples, black soy milk cartons, canned peaches, old socks, a battery and a hunk of ramen noodles. Usually my parents recycle old batteries so I don’t know why that one was in there. It was the worse job ever! What’s even worse? It has to be done over and over! It never ends… John B. Hammond Marie Curie Marie Curie How smart was she? She studied science and radioactivity.

Marie Curie mourned his death at the cemetery and took over his job at the laboratory. She was supposed to be the head professor, but since she was a woman they moved her down the line. There she was, assistant professor. being moved down the ranks did distress her. But when she went to teach, all on her own, all the students’ minds were blown. Martin Haynesworth Margaret Thatcher A loud applause came when they announced Margaret Thatcher as the Prime Minister. She went home to announce her victory to her beloved children and her husband.

She met a fellow named Pierre in France. and they would talk science, probability and chance.

Many people wanted to cut education, but Margaret wanted to cut milk instead.

And when they married in 1903, they were the happiest couple that you would ever see.

She was the only woman in the history of the UK to serve as leader. Vanessa Herrera

They started working together, and in time, they discovered a new element called Radium. “Radium, radium, we struck radium!” Years later, while coming home from work, Pierre, from France got hit by a car.

My Street At Night The night can make almost anything look creepier, duller, and more alarming than during the day. Even Disneyland can look perilous in dim light. W. 62nd Street is no exception. My street is not the stereotypical perpendicular street with geometrically correct houses- my street is quite the opposite. W. 62nd Street has many miniature hills and curves. All the houses are unique in the fact that they all are either a different hue, form, or dimension. My house is a one-story, cream-colored house with a complex design. In the day I love my street, but I am extremely grateful that I hardly ever have to go out at night. In the day, W. 62nd Street is bright and full of fun. My 55

sisters and I relish riding our scooters and bikes down our street. Our neighbors are kind and considerate. Our neighbor, Rosa, bakes us cookies and brownies. She also came and welcomed us when we moved to W. 62nd Street in late June. We can just run about because our street is extremely safe and protected. My street is pleasant in the day, but W. 62nd Street at night is a completely different story. W. 62nd Street is typically hushed except for a few vehicles. The street would be jet-black if it was not for the scattered, brilliant streetlights and the vehicles’ headlights that could easily stun a couple of deer. Cars and motorcycles zoom past our house at full speed at all hours of the night. My next-door neighbor has three or four gigantic pine trees that obstruct the view of the moon, which makes the street dark and eerie. The good thing about my street is I can see some of the tiny dazzling stars and constellations. My street is untroubled, unlit, and very safe. W. 62nd Street looks mysterious. It is so muted that the street seems vacant. Also, because of the way the houses and street are formed, they cast uncanny shadows on the street. I enjoy the tranquility of the street. The look of the street is what alarms me. There are angular shadows, subdued lighting, and cars. The advantages outweigh the disadvantages. I do not contemplate dangers like robberies because the street is quite safe. My family and I love our house on W. 62nd Street, even at night. Chasia Jeffries The Gentle Breeze The gentle breeze blows into my face makes me feel calm. The breeze follows me everywhere from town to town and I hardly ever notice. Priscilla Kang Eleanor Roosevelt Being extremely shy, she feared everything. She was afraid of entering a room where her mother talked with her friend. Having her parents dead, she was discouraged, but she fought through life. She was well educated. She later met her cousin, 56

Franklin Roosevelt and fell in love. They married and had six children. Becoming the First Lady of the United States, She stood in for her paralyzed husband and made public appearances on his behalf. She held 348 press conferences and worked with the Women’s Trade Union League. Ellie Kim My Street in the Dark I listen to the barks of the dog next door. I feel the sharp, cold wind blow by my face and lift up my hair. This is the scene from the front steps of my condominium. The church diagonal from our home is barely seen from our home. The church is pretty big and there are lights that surround it. I can also see the tip of the towering sign that says “Kentucky Fried Chicken”. The KFC is tall, made a little bit like a tower, but at night it is hard to spot. “Mmmm. KFC.” I say quietly. The only sounds in our tranquil neighborhood are barely noticeable. I usually hear the clacking of skateboard wheels as teenagers skateboard on the sidewalk. As I lay down, ready for sleep, I always hear those slightly annoying skateboards. Another sound is the barking of dogs. There are dogs in my condo and in the house next door. I am used to hearing the occasional bark at anytime of the day. And the last sound? Cars. Noisy cars that zoom by on the end of the road. Of course, I wouldn’t say that they are tranquil, but it doesn’t happen that often. Now, I have to admit that my street isn’t the most interesting or the most enjoyable, and it can be a little boring at times…but it is quiet and calm and I, most of the time, like it that way. If you go on the rooftop of my condo you can see the whole neighborhood. You can see the dimly lit houses and apartments all around. You’ll notice the bright lampposts here and there. If you stay up there for a while, you’ll notice the few number of cars driving along the road. The tall trees in the front of my condo wave in the darkness. Across the street are houses with loads of advertisements on each door. When you go into the parking light you can see the drainpipe on the ceiling that leaks a little when it rains (it needs to be fixed). On some occasions I can see a stray cat prowling around the gate near the huge garbage can. There are not only trees in front of my home, but all over my street. They are not as huge as the ones in front of my home, but there sure are a bunch of them. Some are full with leaves, while others are almost barren. At night one can hardly

notice the difference. Grass is abundant too. It is everywhere on the sidewalk, and in some places on my street you have to step on the grass to get to the other side. I like having the trees around because some have low branches and I enjoy climbing up and sitting on them. Our quiet, peaceful neighborhood is a wonderful one to live in. And although other streets may be livelier, I still say “home sweet home”. Lynn Kim Someone I Admire As we grow older, we find someone to look up to. Everyone has someone they admire. Most of my friends admire movie stars, famous people, or athletes. The person I admire the most is neither world-famous nor a multimillionaire. I save my admiration for a special woman whom I call my mother. I admire my mother for many reasons. First, she is dependable. Next, she has overcome many obstacles in life. Finally, she has devoted a lot for me in my life. I admire my mom first and foremost for her dependability. She does such a wonderful job educating me so I can grow up to be a wonderful person. Throughout the ordeals of my pre-operation, operation, and post-operation, my mother was with me all the time. She took me to the numerous appointments, which took forever since I had to take many blood tests, x-rays and I had to see many specialists. I also went to countless doctors. I even had an MRI. Obviously I was scared by the whole experience, but somehow I felt protected from my mother and she gave me the courage to get through all the difficulties. I was to receive an injection that would deliver intravenous fluids while my mom went downstairs to get some food to eat. Since she was not there with me I wanted the nurses to wait before giving me the shot. When she finally came I was not afraid. My mom slept with me while I was in the hospital and aided me when I was in a wheelchair or on crutches. Spending time with my mother was not only enjoyable but a necessity. As she was trying to calm me down one time, I remember her telling me of her own hardships. She came to America when she was in the Sixth Grade. One of her biggest obstacles in life was learning the English language. She could not speak fluent English, yet she overcome her shortcomings and received an extraordinary education. Another obstacle that my mom faced was the fact that she had to live with seven other children; two brothers and six sisters. She was the middle child who clearly did not get much attention from her parents compared to her other siblings. Yet somehow she wiggled her way to Oxford University, a wonderful college in England. When I look back I realize how far I have come. I wonder how much I would have accomplished without my mother’s aid. She had funded me to go to numerous schools that are both wonderful and erudite; for example, St. James’

Episcopal School. She is like the foundation to my existence because she supports me all the way. When I was first learning to ride a bike my mom taught me and most of the time caught me when I fell. I am the only child. I guess my mom wanted to give to me what she did not her receive in her childhood; undivided attention. I always took my mom for granted but writing this essay has somehow taught me to look back and realize who I really admire; my mom. She is trustworthy, brave, and has faced many hardships. Most importantly, she has raised me to become the young lady that I am today. Tiffany Kim Cleaning a Junk yard As I stared at the disheveled room that I was about to clean, I felt a tinge of hopelessness. I have a big room that I had neglected and there were heaps of items lying around. I scanned the room, thinking of where to start. It felt like looking into a junk yard: filled with so many things that it was hard to comprehend. My room was a mess! There were toy Matchbox cars scattered on the ground, clothes, and other miscellaneous objects lying around. I decided to start on my area rug, which was littered with many toys. I plopped down onto the ground and stared for a moment at what I was going to clean. Then I started my work. My area rug had been given to me on my eighth birthday. It was a carpet that showed a beautiful picture of a hill. However, it had become almost invisible, covered by all my toys. I started with step one, which was putting the toys into two main groups– toys that I would play with most and least often. This was a tedious task because there are many toys to be grouped and so little time, and I had that constant pressure of my parents coming into my room to look at my unsatisfactory work. I went through each and every one of my toys, and I made two piles. Even though it sounds terrible, this was the only easy part of the cleanup process. After organizing the toys, I go onto the tricky part, or step two, which is finding a place for all my toys. The main problem is that there is never any space to put the toys. My shelves are always crammed and packed with books and toys. The tabletops have been clustered with many things that need to be thrown away. I then rummage through the items on the tables and choose which ones I would keep and which ones I would throw away. This is difficult for me because I have a tendency to keep many unnecessary things. Finally, I finish step two by thinking of a way to order my toys, then placing them in the pattern I have thought of. I then go on to the last step, step three, which is composed of three parts. I admire, become motivated, and then continue working. After finishing the first section I have been working on, I step back to admire my work. It felt good to clean what seemed to be impossible to organize. My admiration, however, quickly subsides and is instead replaced with motivation. Even though I have only finished a small 57

part, the rewarding feeling makes it worth it. I move onto the next section and the whole process starts over again. Brennan Lee A Chore That Never Ends I have many monotonous chores during the week. One of my many never-ending chores is cleaning my room. I clean my room thoroughly every day. I make my bed early in the morning before I leave for a long day at school and then dance. When my parents wake me up at seven o’clock every weekday morning I get out of my bed and find heaping piles of wrinkled clothes scattered on the cream-colored carpet. I think to myself, “I wonder if my parents will notice if I just stack the clothes in a pile on my bathroom floor.” Of course, they would notice immediately as they walk into my room to see if I have woken up from a long night of sleep. I rush to put on my uniform, comb my tangled hair, and brush my teeth. After I have done all of these thing and I am ready for the day, I have to clean my room, which is the worst chore in the universe. I start by picking up several pairs of jeans and folding them on the unsteady shelf, or, if I am running late to for school, I will stuff them in a pile on my closet-shelf. After this, I pick up my shoes off of my white tile floor, which later I will have to vacuum. The final items I have to clean up are jewelry, hair bows, dog hair bows, and dog toys. I know it seems strange to have dog toys in my room, but when I have a fifteen-week-old puppy, I can never have too many toys for her. As I finish cleaning my once disastrous room, it suddenly feels good to have cleaned it all by myself. Then suddenly I realize my now spotless room will be messy again by the next morning. I think to myself, “Back to work!” This chore never seems to end. Halston McMurray The Moon and Sun As the moon shines brightly in the middle of the night nature takes a rest. But as the moon goes down and the sun comes up, it’s a brand new day for nature to start again. Dorien Meilleur Cleopatra The Queen of the Nile, born in a season most vile, Cleopatra, born in 69 B.C. Her father was Ptolemy. In 41 B.C. 58

Cleopatra met Marc Antony. She wed her brother, her advisors outlawed her, she raised an army, but they never fought her. She and Caesar, went for a cruise up the Nile But his empire was falling, All the while. In Tarturus she met Marc Antony. She made sure he fell in love. She understood just how helpful he could be. Antony dies, and Cleopatra commits suicide. Putting an asp to her breast she finally puts herself to rest. Tom Norland S.E. Hinton My tools are paper and pencil, for I am an author. I was not a man, just a girl, when I wrote my first book The Outsiders. It was about gang fights and violence, inspired by the real thing. I wrote many others: Rumble Fish, Tex, and The Puppy Sister. My books then made it to the silver screen. Only four did, but that was good enough for me. I am now a mother and a wife. This is my wonderful life. Jay Park, Jr. Fall Fall is nature’s gold. Brown leaves fall on the ground. They are everywhere. Camille Solo

Joan of Arc She was born in DomrĂŠmy, A small French town, and was devoted to get Charles crowned. She was a virgin, and a good Catholic but hated the Brits and their great many tricks. She thought she heard voices from many a Saint. And ran away to where? The great Vaucouleurs. Then she went to the besieged OrlĂŠans and raised a siege in just three days. She crowned King Charles after clearing the way, to the old and occupied City of Reims. She had success after success until she hit a Burgundian Duke and his fortified Paris. Without Joan France would be nothing but a land of trees. David Wagner

Poems by Ms. Munro’s Class Paradise The moon was a coin of steel against the sapphire sky, The stars were pieces of sunshine within the clear moonlight, The sand, grains of brown sugar falling from a tall, tall jar When the waves came splashing, spreading, bursting And everyone came racing onto the treasured beach

Heaven Corona

Feeling of Flying The sun was a sphere of glory, Above the evergreen pines, The clouds were light, puffy pillows On the blanketed sky, The brown, dry dust was smoking, As people cheered and shrieked, Only six more people in line, ‘til it was my turn, my turn to fly A wire as elevated as the trees, A colored rope to draw, A harness strapped to my waste, To guide me into the heavens, Like a bird I will soar, I will soar, Four more people (people, people) ‘til it was my turn, my turn to fly.

Eleanor Hammond The Hunt

PART ONE The sun was the heart of the fire above the dry grasslands. The hills were buckets of dust that blew on my neck and hands. The breeze was a whistling stream that took over the air. When the lions came a-prowling -the fierce ones came a-prowlingthe lions came a-prowling and waited for a kill. They’d a bright gleam in their eye, a huge mane at the head, Strong legs of mighty power, and sharp teeth ready to rip: They shone with never a stain; their hair was gelled with beauty. And they crouched with a look of hunger, Their body aching of hunger, Their throat burning of hunger, within the arid trees. And sitting in the filthy car barely taking a breath, I watched as the lions crouched behind the tall, dry grass. My eyes were gigantic spotlights, my hands were drenched with sweat, But I watched with pure excitement. 60

With profound, pure delight. I sat apprehensively waiting, for the hunt that went into the night. PART TWO No one moved at dusk, or the next two hours that came. And at the stroke of midnight, when everything was blank, When the moon was a silver coin, inside a pitch-black pocket, A gazelle came walking-walking-walkingThe pretty deer came walking, grazing where the lions stood. The beasts were making no sound, not even the slightest breath, But the only thing you could hear was the hunger in their chest. Then, they crouched lower to the earth, into the shadows of the night. And out of the thick, dark bush, they sprung with all their might! A cry shattered the silence. The deer fell down in pain. It tried countless times to get up and run away. But in the dead of night, on the cold, vast plains, The more it struggled to get up, the less it was to gain. At last the game was over. Everything was done. The hungry lions crowded round the fresh meat that they’d won. The grass was stained with blood and not a breath escaped the deer. The hunt was over now, and the outcome was severe. But after this, heaven knows, many more will come, For the lions will still be prowlingProwling-prowlingThe fierce ones will come prowling, waiting for the kill.

Eva Hilton

The Beach’s Mood The sound of waves was a crash on the highway in the fiery sun. The calming waves were a rocking chair that relaxed me until I had no stress. The cold water on my skin was a freezing mood on the vast sea. The gentle sea may look calm but it is a bountiful mystery that you can only dream of.

John Kim

Oxnard Wind

Hunted with never a failure, It ate with never a failure under the moon-lit sky.

The sand was a blanket of warmth beneath the blazing sun, The clouds were great white beasts pushed by the mighty wind, The grass was a torturing whip striking against my skin, The wind grew stronger and stronger whipping sand in my face, I was forced to the ground like a servant begging for it to cease.

Jane Lee

I crept to a wonderful spot hidden among the dunes, All of the sides were guarded by the everlasting green, The wind could not reach me for I was buried beneath the grass, Just as I thought I was soothed from the burns of the darting grain, The wind broke through and whipped me making me dart across the forever moving sand.

Rachel Lee

Conor Kneafsey Falling on Ice

The ice is a broken window under keen metal blades The cold is a frozen sheet wrapped around my limbs The noise is a thick wall, blocking the exit And I go galling, crashing, I go sliding, across the crowded ice-rink.

Deborah Lee

Riviera Oaks The breeze was a vicious whistle, Under the dark gray clouds, The trees were monstrous shadows Creeping up to me, The street was a pit of silence curving up the hill And the silver car came ridingRiding-riding The silver car came riding, up the dark green hill.

Jackie Lee

The Panther Its growl is the reason for terror echoing through the night, Its body, a mass of muscle, creeping until daylight. It sneaked and scowled at everything that came across its path, And the panther came running-running-running, The fierce panther came running, with it face showing its wrath. Its sleek black fur all over, coal black eyes to match, Its face locked in a grimace, its teeth made to catch. It hid with never a failure, no one could see it, oh my: It scared with never a failure,

Swimming at the Beach The sun was a flood of bright light above the towering trees. The swimming coach was a speck away on the vast beach. I was a gentle wave in the splashing tides. And then I came paddling, Floating, paddling. I came swimming proudly up the coast of the beach.

Misty Night The snow was a blanket of glitter atop a bed of ice, The forest was a curtain of darkness hiding the misty night, The lake was a silver coin dropped upon icy ground, And the stars were shining faintly, Faintly, Faintly, The stars were shining faintly through the misty night.

Sloane Leipzig

The Stallionâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Storm The raindrops were piercing bullets against my cold, bare skin. The thunder a stampede of mustangs, charging atop the hill. My steed a mountain, muscle that glared at the mysterious moon The lightning shatters, shatters, shatters, Shatters the deafening silence along the grassy cliff. The wind was a sea of death, whipping my hair and neck, The sky was a cloak of darkness hiding the nightâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s bright stars. His eyes were hazel pearls, rolling in fear and rage. My mount rearing, bucking, stomping, Rearing high in the moonlight, hooves crashing along the wind.

Katie MacPherson

Fishing in New Orleans The sun was a fierce scorching of flame Against the outlines of clouds The ocean, a freezing cold blanket, Shining below my feet. The pier was a moldy form of crust, Towering high above me. Then the fish came swarming, Crowding, The vicious ones came snapping, Around my rusty boat.

Paxton McMurray

Sky Tower The clouds were a wide, gray blanket covering the blazing sun Sealing the joyful warmth inside, leaving the cold without. The ball of fire was covered so there was no joyful light But Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m still happy looking, Looking, Looking atop the tower.

Kameron Nelson The Field

The sun was a coat of warmth over my glowing face, The field was a sea of color with flowers in every place, The sky was a chorus of angels dancing in the breeze, When the family came riding, riding, riding, The family came riding through the tall oak trees.

Luke Trester

Crashing Waves The cold water was a demon of horror across the dark horizon The sun was a giant ball shining across daring seas The sand was a layer of torture clutching the drowning boy And the waves came crashing, booming, bashing The endless waves came crashing onto the frightened boy

Quentin Wise

The father had worn-out jeans, a paint-stained long-sleeved shirt, The girl a ruffled tank-top and a flower patterned skirt, The boy a navy cap and dirty black pants, The mother and a small dog yapping, a small curly dog yapping, A soft golden dog yapping, chasing after lines of ants.

Hollywood Hills

The Dance Recital

Maxwell Zucker

Caroline Somes

The curtains were a band of policeman, separating the crowd from the stage The plastic stars on the ceiling were shining glints of rage The dancers were ice sculptures, frozen with fear When the parents came rushing, rushing, rushing, The eager parents came rushing in through the empty door.

Alex Tandon Hawaii

The sun was a ray of heaven above the peaceful water, The palm trees were a towering giant upon the gentle clouds, The water was a sheet of warmth over the sea creatures, The waves came crashing, Crashing, crashing, The wild waves went crashing onto the warm shore.

Jade Taylor

The Camping Trip The night was deathly cold, above the frozen snow The trees were huge giants rooted to the frigid earth My tent was a lush oasis in a desert of ice When I heard the tent raiders inching, creeping, prowling, Up to my canvas hut I heard the monsters gather round, they clutched the plastic 62

cover They shook with the force of a thousand quakes, and ripped it with delight When I crept out, armed with my light, They vanished, Figments of my mind

The sun is a blistering stick prodding the back of my neck. The sidewalk is gray lava, burning holes in the soles of my shoes. The street is curving into a beautiful painting, When cars come speedingSpeeding-speedingSpeeding through the Hollywood Hills, skimming the tip of my arm.

Library with Ms. McNamara “What do you like most about the Library?” “Books, of course, are the most enjoyable things in the library, but there was a project about the Dewey Decimal System where we acted and rapped. Also, the dedications for us make me feel that we are honored by the community in St. James.” Ellie Kim “I just like checking out a book and reading it on the steps.” Stephanie Cho “What I like about this library is that we can come and read during lunch if we donʼt want to play outside.” Vanessa Herrera “My favorite thing about the library is all of the amazing books. I love to read.” Chasia Jeffries “[There are] a lot of good bookmarks for the books you read.” Riley Hite “When I ﬁrst came here, I didnʼt know how to read very well. Every time I come to the Library, I get better and better at reading.” Anna Cohen

“What I like most about the Library is when authors come and visit, like when Jack Prelutsky visited. He is my favorite poet because he wrote lots of funny poems.” Yoohan Ko 63

Art with Mr. Danenberg

Alyssa-Naomi Pippins, Kindergarten

Luisa Drautz, Fourth Grade

Shine Park, First Grade

Glen March, First Grade 64

Hana Takei, Fifth Grade

Kameron Christian, Fourth Grade

Spencer Geller, Fifth Grade

John Kim, Sixth Grade

Charlotte Roessel-Evans, Fourth Grade

Nicholas Chung, Third Grade

St. Jamesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Episcopal School 625 S. St. Andrews Place

PHONE

Los Angeles, CA 90005

WEB

(213) 382-2315 www.sjsla.org