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The Mount Hebron Review
Faculty Editor
Maria McDonald
June 2011
Mount Hebron Middle School 173 Bellevue Avenue Upper Montclair New Jersey 07043
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Table of Contents
POETRY
Anonymous, House 2 Diamante Poem 5
Anonymous, House 2 Patterns 8
Anonymous, House 2 Tanka Poem 9
P C, House 4 Past the Gloom 14
I C, House 3 The Beautiful Bahamas 15
J C, House 5 Ode to Paradise 16
Charlotte Fall, House 4 Spring Time 20
E G, House 3 Recycle 22
Stephanie Hayes, House 1 Push 25
Priya Kaushik, House 2 The Signs of Summer 29
T K, House 4 My True Self 30
Serena La, House 3 Puerto Rican History 31
Charlotte OLeary, House 2 I Am 42
A R, House 3 The Seasons 43E W, House 4 Birds 48
Poem 49
Erik Zeug, House 2 I Am Poem 55
PROSE
Anonymous, House 2 The Almost Last Smile 3
Anonymous, House 5 The Forest of Norbeh 6
Adam Behnke, House 1 On to America from a World of War 10
F B, House 4 Falling In the Dark 11
Rebecca Brownsword, House 2 Dress Code 13
T E, House 1 From Potatoes to Disasters 17
Josephine Emanuelli, House 2 Untitled 19
S F, House 3 Untitled 21
M H, House 3 Alien Earth 23
S H, House 4 Not Alone 26
L H, House 1 My Failure Mission 28
Nicolette Levy, House 1 Lookin like a fool if your pants arent on the ground! 32
G L, House 5 Untitled 33
John Macksoud, House 1 Bread for All 34M M, House 3 Giovannis Journey 36
C O, House 2 The Perfect Classroom 38
Katie OBrien-Smith, House 2 Life Lessons 39
Life Without Warning 40
Grace Riggs, House 4 The Secret Immigrant 44
J R, House 5 Spirits Reconstruction 46
S T, House 2 Excerpt from The Guardians of Olympus 47
L W, House 4 Camp Green Lake 50
The Storm: Diary of a Blizzard 52
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Anonymous, House 2The Almost Last Smile
I dread this day Every year Same day Same things
happen The rst day of school I hate seeing all the
people in my school again, all in one place, all at one
time Id be much happier if I could just stay at home,all day, all year Now as I walk into school, I look around
Everyone looks the same, yet so different Aaron grew a
mustache, Tasha is even taller than last year, and Russell
cut his hair! As I look around, I realize everyones staring
at me Me! Why? Did I change? No Is there something on
my face? God, I hope not Its Tanya I can see her, walking
towards me I feel myself tense up My hands curl up into
sts, my nails digging into my palm I cant move Why
cant I move? II
Hey look, its Rachel! Jeez girl you lost a fewpounds You were like 300 pounds last year Now look
at you, only 90 pounds Is that healthy? I dont think so
Gimme your lunch Youre not gonna need that Youre
anorexic now, arent ya? Ha-ha!
Before I can react, Tanya grabs my lunch and pushes
me to the ground I look up to see the same taunting
scary face I know all too well look down at me It smiles
its cruel smile, and disappears I get up to nd everyone
laughing and pointing at me I am so embarrassed I run
all the way to the bathroom on the third oor No oneever goes up there I run into the stall where I spent all
my time last year I can see all the markings and words I
carved into the walls It brings back so many memories,
so many bad memories I sit on the lid of the toilet seat
and cry I hear the bathroom door creak open and the
sound of footsteps on the tile oor Its Jenni, my best
friend in the whole world She always knows where to
nd me, and what to say I hear her soft knock on the
door, and her soothing voice telling me to come out I do
We sit on the oor of the bathroom, and I cry into her
caring arms
Shh, baby Dont cry She whispers Its just Tanya
Shes a cold-blooded reptile, remember? Dont listen to
her Shes just jealous Dont think about what happened
between you two last year; its the past Just think about
how great the future is going to be Youve changed, you
can handle her
Jenni is right, like always I have changed! So what if
I decided to lose a few pounds, it doesnt mean Im sick
Im a changed person I can get through this!
We walk out of the bathroom, my eyes still red and
teary, and walk to our creative writing class The onlyclass I actually enjoy I can write anything I want, without
people judging me It keeps me sane Jenni leads the
way to our usual seats next to the window She says the
sunlight brings out the natural beauty in our hair I notice
a new boy in the class He is sitting a row in front of me
The sunlight really brings out his natural beauty He is
tan and muscularly built Lets hope he doesnt turn out
to be like Tanya Mrs Lacone walks in with loud echoing
steps The sound of her stiletto heels hitting the oor in a
rhythmic patternWelcome, everyone, to creative writing class I hope
we have lots of fun together For those of you who dont
know me, Im Mrs Lacone
After class I have lunch Tanya used to make fun of
me eating so much, but now she makes fun of me for
eating less I get up and leave Tanya starts yelling at me
Where do you think youre going!? Trying to run
away from me, huh? Like a little baby Well you cant run
from me so you better come back You better come back
right now, if you know whats good for ya!I dont go back She runs up to me, grabs my jacket
and slaps me right across the face She starts cursing at
me and then pushing me into a garbage can I try to get
out of the garbage can but Im stuck, which makes me
even more embarrassed and mad When I get out, I run
to the bathroom on the third oor I sit on the oor and
cry for the rest of the day From then on, I am never the
same
I stop talking to people and ignore anyone that tries
to talk to me I watch as the world goes on without me
I watch as the days turn into weeks, as weeks turn into
months With the constant teasing, I want to die I really
do Its not like anyone would be sad if I did Not even
Jenni I feel like a weight keeping her away from things
she wants I just feeluseless
Although Jenni tries her best to get me to talk, I
wont make a sound I just want her to go away But she
stays with me all day and sleeps over sometimes, to
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keep me company and to make sure I dont do anything
drastic She would be better off without me
Then one day, when Tanya is making fun of me
at lunch, a boy I dont know walks over, and squeezesthrough the ring of people surrounding Tanya and me
Hey! He yells as he gets right in front of Tanya,
Ive seen this go on for too long! Who do you think you
are, making fun of an innocent girl like that? Is your life
so pathetic that you have to make someone who was
perfectly happy the way she was feel bad, so your life
could seem better? And all of you who just watch and
laugh, youre all as pathetic as Tanya! Do me a favor
Get a life!
Tanya stares at him and then me for a second andthen walks away She just turns around and leaves! I am
so stunned; I dont know how to react In the couple of
seconds I sit speechless, I realize that if that boy never
came and told Tanya off, I probably wouldnt have been
around much longer
I dont know anyone who has enough courage to
stand up for someone, let alone me! He gives me a
reason to care about myself again That he cares about
me He reminds me that my life is perfect and I shouldnt
have let Tanya make me think differently I look up athim with tears in my eyes He looks right back with his
beautiful caring eyes
Hi, Im Mike He smiles Im in your creative writing
class I smile back, my rst smile in a very long time
!Stop Bullying For Good!
!Stand Up For Whats Right!
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Anonymous, House 2Diamante Poem (Inspired by Shel Silversteins Where the Sidewalk Ends)
End & Beginning
End
Dark, pittedAmbling, slogging, trudging
Asphalt, smoke, arrow, peppermint wind
Marking, following, striding
Soft, crimson bright
Beginning
The majority of Silversteins poems have a fantastic
sense of humor, but some are difcult at times to relate
to because they are so peculiar and have wacky topics
This isnt technically a bad thing, but I think his writingstyle could have more variety This is why I chose one of
his most unique and famous poems called, Where the
Sidewalk Ends When I rst read this poem, I was quite
confused, but as I started to read each line more and
more carefully, I nally began to understand how deep
this piece of writing is To me, he is saying, why stop
at the unknown, why stop exploring, let your curiosity
overcome your fear, be adventurous and take the road
not taken, for it will change your future He describes
a place where the grass is soft and white, and the sunburns crimson red This is the unknown Then he talks
about a place where the smoke blows black, the dark
streets bend and pit in the asphalt It makes me want
to leave this area behind and explore to nd out what
is in these lands that come after the pits I will follow
these white arrows, but at a slow measured walk and
go beyond where the side walk ends This may be very
inspirational and uplifting to many people One can
choose to travel past the point where the sidewalk ends,
into the unknown Depending on if you stop, turn around
or proceed, you inuence and redirect your future
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Anonymous, House 5The Forest of Norbeh
It was a quiet day in the Forest of Norbeh The sun was
rising and everyone was waking up White Rabbit woke up
and started brushing herself After all, it was the rst day of
school and she wanted to look spiffyRabbit! Her mother called
Mother, Im not done brushing my hair
Well, hurry up!
I will!
After twenty minutes, Rabbit made it to the table for
some carrots and kale It was her favorite
Rabbit, do you have everything?
Yes, Mother
Remember, you are meeting Bear and Turtle at the
tree Be nice to everyone including the new kidsOk, I will! Ugh Parents, thought Rabbit
She walked out of her house with her new backpack
and jacket Rabbit then walked down the road and met up
with Bear and Turtle
You look nice today, said Turtle to Rabbit
Why thank you!
I heard theres a new family in town, said Turtle
Me too, chimed in Bear I think theyre the Toad
family
They even have a daughter our age! Turtleexclaimed
Ick! Toads! said Rabbit Theyre disgusting! They
have warts!
Bear and Turtle exchanged a glance The rest of the
way nobody talked Finally they arrived at school
Hello, everybody! I would like to welcome Toad
Everyone say hello Mr Fox said
Hello, Toad, replied everyone in the class Except
Rabbit
She was sitting there pouting Boy, is she ugly, Rabbit
thought about Toad
Toad, why dont you sit next to Rabbit?
Hi, Toad said shyly
Hello, Rabbit winced as though it was painful to
say hello
During lunch, Rabbit ignored Toad, but Rabbits friends
didnt Rabbit sat alone as if she was too good for them
How do you like it here? asked Bear
Its nice Is Rabbit always this cold? asked Toad
She normally is a little at rst, but eventually shewarms up to you Bear didnt want to tell Toad the reason
why He was too kind to do that to Toad
Oh, well I just thought she didnt like me Bear and
Turtle looked at each other
Of course not Turtle said nervously
Meanwhile, Rabbit was still pouting by herself on the
swingsWhy are they talking to her?Rabbit was becoming
jealous Rabbit walked home by herself that afternoon Bear
and Turtle had gone to Toads
When rabbit got home after school, her mom was
there
How was school today?
Ok Theres this new girl, Toad Shes really ugly Mr Fox
made me sit next to her
Now, Rabbit You know what you just said wasnt very
nice
But its true!
Rabbit, go to your room!
Ughhhh! screamed RabbitThat night Mother Rabbit mixed up a concoction of
leaves and berries It formed a mucky green color She lled
a shampoo bottle with the mixture and switched it with
Rabbits
The next morning Rabbit woke up and took her shower
As Mother Rabbit was preparing breakfast, she heard a
scream
MOTHER! Im green!
Dear, Dear Ill have to go to the store and get
something to get that out It must have had something to
do with that new shampoo In the mean time, get ready for
school
But I cant go to school like this! Rabbit replied
Well you are Period
After Rabbit attempted to make herself presentable,
she walked to the meeting spot Good morning, Rabbit
Turtle smirked Bear let out a quiet laugh
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Turtle and Bear kept talking about how they had
so much fun at Toads yesterday, when they had gone
swimming
When they reached the school, Toad was waiting forTurtle and Bear At recess, everyone kept staring at Rabbit,
who sat alone in the corner of the playground Her friends
didnt talk to her Her classmates made fun of her all day,
cracking jokes like looks like someone took a slip in the
mud or who didnt take a shower this morning
That afternoon Rabbit was lonely again Bear and
Turtle had gone to Toads house
Im home, Rabbit said in a sulking tone
Oh, good dear I have the cleaner
Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!How was school?
Bad Everyone made fun of me
Do you see how you made Toad feel?
Yes Now can I please take a shower?
Yes Oh, and make sure you throw out that other
shampoo
Mother Rabbit knew she had done the trick
The following day, Rabbit walked to school with Bear
and TurtleMaybe Toad isnt so bad after all, Rabbit said
What made you change your mind? asked Turtle
I realized how it felt to be called ugly I didnt like it,
Rabbit said When they reached school, Toad was there
Toad, can we try this again?
Okay Toad was obviously very forgiving
Hi, Im Rabbit Welcome to Norbeh
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Anonymous, House 2Patterns
Zig zag
Criss cross
Checkerboard
All of the above
They are the patterns
On my wrist
Covering up
Forgotten love
They are the scars
Ive put there
To remind me
Of my unforgotten pain
I love the sting
Of steel slicing
Through my skin
Slithering its way through the vein
I hate that
I love it
And love
That I wont stop it
I love the
Red scarlet line
That comes after
the skin has split
I dont believe
That I have the strength
Or the will power
To stop my deadly addiction
So in the
Mean time I
Think Ill have
A little fun
Maybe one day
Ill go too far
But I know
I wont care
After all
No one ever
Said that
Life is fair
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Anonymous, House 2Tanka Poem (Based on Still I Rise by Maya Angelou)
I am not bowing
Nor will I ever give up
I am courageous
And I will hold my head highLike dust, like air I still rise
Maya Angelou wrote many amazing poems They all are
very inspirational and motivational The poem I chose is
called Still I Rise Personally, I believe this is her best poem
because it is beautifully written and gives us strength and
courage through its message To truly uncover the meaning
of this poem, you have to dig really deep I read this poem
several times, and the overall message was, that no matter
what you should continue to stand up with your head heldhigh Also, it tells you, no matter what struggle you face
in life you have the ability to rise above it Maya Angelous
poem reects on human nature and the inner strength we
all have to ght back against whatever life throws at us The
poem has an interesting rhythm Each four lines normally
have an ABCB pattern It ows very much like a song, but
is not as predictable The refrain line that ends in Ill rise
does not always appear in the same intervals Stanzas 1,
3, 6 have it, but the last one uses it a total of 7 times The
poem ends with a triple use of I rise, which makes it like anexclamation point, very strong and positive
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Adam Behnke, House 1On to America from a World of War
Where am I? I said All I saw was black
Wake up! Someone shouted
Who was that? Where am I? Suddenly I woke up In front
of me, were a lot of men I did not recognize any of themOne of them told me his name was Captain
Are you ok? The captain asked His voice was deep and
he frightened me We are almost there Do not worry The
captain told me
What was he talking about?
America is only a couple of hours away The captain
added
I got up slowly and looked around I was in a dark room
with one little window I opened the window and looked
outside I was on a boat and all I could see was ocean Theocean stretched out for hundreds or even thousands of miles
I looked to my left, more water Then I looked to my right Out
by the horizon I saw where the water stopped It was land!
Quickly, I got my head out of the window, rushed out the
door and onto the main deck By the time we reached land, I
was very tired and seasick The crew led all the people off the
ship and onto a strange island
There were only two enormous buildings on the island
When I stepped inside one of the buildings, I saw many
people wearing white, many immigrants, and what seemed tobe security guards I later found out that the people wearing
white were doctors that would have to question me
I stood in a line, waiting to be questioned I had nearly
fallen asleep by the time I was called to be questioned by
one of the doctors There was one doctor in front of me I
sat down in front of him in a big black chair I was very afraid
What would he ask me?
The rst question was very easy, although I did not speak
a lot of English What is your name? The doctor asked
Is Adam Behnke, I answered quietly
Okay then The doctor replied Where are you from?
Why do you want to come to America? He added
Umm I do not know I whispered I did not seem to
remember anything Where did I come from? Why was I
coming here?
The doctor continued asking questions, I could not
answer any of them He told me to try and think about it
I could not get the questions out of my head Suddenly, I
blacked out I had not woken up, but I started seeing things
* * *
I was hiding I did not know what from, yet, or anythingAll I could hear were guns ring and trucks zooming by I was
outside behind bags full of sand Thats it! There must have
been a war I started running What was I running from? I
realized that I was being chased
Help! I had screamed Bullets ew past me I ran to
the docks but the dock had been smashed to pieces I threw
myself onto a piece of wood oating in the water and I fell
asleep there Germany, I realized I was from Germany during
a war in the countryside It must have been the start of WorldWar II
When I came to, I was in a huge city Soon I realized that
it was London, England I was sent from there to America
because of the war and a German, like me, was considered an
enemy to the British Suddenly I woke up
* * *
The doctor was in front of me Are you okay? He asked
I nodded yes
Are you ready for the questions? The doctor asked,
and I nodded yes againQuickly, I explained where I was from and how I got here
I told him about every little detail I had seen All the other
questions I easily answered, and I answered them quickly too
Finally, when the doctor was all done asking his questions, I
was allowed to leave the building and go on to live in America
I walked out the door and got in line to go on a ferry to
the main land I was very proud of myself in knowing that
now I was safe I made it!
During the ferry ride, I spoke with many other
immigrants and shared experiences and thoughts Many
of the people I spoke with were very nice From the ferry, I
became much more excited to live in America because I saw
the towering building and the wonderful Statue of Liberty
What time is it? A man asked me during the ride
I was very condent with my answer I replied to him, It
is time to start a great new life
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F B, House 4Falling In the Dark
I traversed down the street with Ingrid, Lexi, and Max,
walking passed that certain house, the house everyone was
scared of; I wasnt I thought it was just a perfunctory house,
same as any other house Lexi was scared of it though Shewould never admit it, but every time she walked by it, she
sped up a little
Its just a house I muttered soberly Lexi was walking
a little faster at that moment
She scoffed I know! She lied petulantly, I dont see
why people are even scared of it
Ingrid rolled her eyes, knowing the truth She coughed,
Lexi frowned, and Max shook his head
It sort of is creepy Max said, trying to defend her a
littleYou too? Ingrid and I laughed
You guys are wimps! She said a little obnoxiously
Lexi opened her mouth to say something, but no words
came out
Were not! Max exclaimed, defending himself now
Ingrid laughed again Yeah, we were friends, and I liked her
a lot, but sometimes she got a little too sure of herself and
acted conceited
Okay I said chuckling Lexi suddenly grinned
I bet that you two cant spend a night in there withoutrunning out Lexi said A smile still plastered to her face
Before I could object, guess who runs her mouth again?
Whats the prize? Ingrid grinned
Twenty dollars Lexi replied, grinning back Max bit his
lip, also knowing that this was not a good idea
Are you sure? He asked, frowning The girls nodded
Tonight Nine oclock Ingrid said
Were on! Lexi shouted, and they went their separate
ways Max and I looked at each other, shrugged, and walked
away
That night, instead of my usual ritual of eating dinner,
brushing my teeth, and going to sleep, I stayed up and
waited As the clock struck nine, I walked down the street,
with my hood up, walking toward the house As I neared, I
saw Max and Lexi at the facade of the house Lexi smiled
as she noticed me, and Max gave me a look of sympathy I
didnt see Ingrid though
Wheres Ingrid? I asked Lexi shrugged, but her smile
turned upside down and into a frown Max frowned deeper
We thought she was with you Lexis face turned
white and her eyes widened
I bet shes inside there, going to scare us I said,hoping that was the case Max nodded, in agreement
We should go check it out He said softly, starting
to walk up to the house I followed, but Lexi needed some
coaxing before she walked with us
As we entered the house, a cold breeze greeted us I
shivered slightly I felt bad for Lexi, she being the only girl
among us at the moment It took my eyes to adjust a little,
as it was pitch black I saw Max rummage through his bag
and took out a ashlight He icked it on and light ooded
the hall I thought I saw something scurry across the oor,as the light hit it I shuddered as some cold air swept passed
me Lexi was very pale, and Max was the same, although he
looked a little more in control of his emotions
I dont feel so good about this Lexi murmured
We have to nd Ingrid I said, but frowned Maybe she
wasnt even in the house; maybe she had bailed, and was
just relaxing at home I took out my cell phone to call her,
but there was no service
We should look around, Max suggested Lexi and I
agreed and started searching the houseAn hour later, Lexi sighed All weve found are some
spider webs, rats, bugs, and dust! she complained I
couldnt say anything in return because she was right
We should at least nd a room and settle down for the
night Max said, apparently still in on the bet I couldnt
back out; I wasnt that kind of person; and come to think of
it, Ingrid wasnt either
As we walked through a corridor, I heard a few mufed
sounds from a room
Somethings in there I whispered, as chills went down
my spine Lexis face went completely white and she shook
violently Max stepped closer and tried to open the door
The mufed sound came again and this time, I faintly heard
Help, in the mufe It was Ingrid
Weve got to get in there! Max conducted, through
clenched teeth, as he shoved against the door He broke
the lock and ung the door open He stared at the room
interminably until he ran to Ingrids side She was tied up in
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a corner, with a gag over her mouth He pulled the gag off
and started to untie her
Weve got to get out of here! Ingrid almost hissed, as
soon as her lips could move She quickly jumped upWe started to move, but the door was blocked by a
man He held a knife in his hand and wore the smile of a
sociopath Not so fast he grinned We all stared at him,
horried
Lexi looked earnestly from right to left before she ran
to the side of the room, seeing a door She ung it open, and
ran through, the rest of us close behind her We ran to the
door that lead to the corridor, and pushed it open, hurtling
through the house and to the main entrance The man was
still close behind usIngrid lagged behind us a little, as she appeared to be
injured I tried to go back for her, but the man grabbed her
arm and put the knife to her throat Ingrid stood completely
still
If you dont want your friend to die, I suggest you
give me the money you have, he demanded I had a plan
I took the money that I had in my pocket out and held it
out to him As he reached for it, I held on to my ashlight
He slowly removed the knife and dropped it As it dropped,
I swung the ashlight at his head and we ran to the doorHe wasnt dead, but as I looked back at him, his head was
injured grotesquely He walked to the door and barged out,
slamming the door behind us, sending vibrations through
the house It rumbled The man came to the entrance, but
as he got to there, the house fell in He was buried in the
rubble None of us ever won the bet, but we all never walked
into an old house again
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Rebecca Brownsword, House 2Dress Code
Many schools have rules that students just dont
agree with I am, for the most part, a strong believer in
many rules Dress code rules, however, never make me
happy These rules are ridiculous Schools think thatthe image of students is appropriate and classy Thats
completely opposite of the image Whenever people
dress up as schoolgirls, for Halloween lets just say, they
never look too appropriate Some rules are also enforced
due to distraction Take the rule that girls cant show
their shoulders for example I dont know if Im crazy or
anything, but Ive never heard of someone being distracted
by the seduction of a shoulder Or even the rule that your
ngertips cant pass the length of your shorts Im almost
positive that if a girl or a boy were to wear shorts thatshow a little leg that wouldnt stop a whole math class from
learning multiplication
I mean can you imagine a teacher asking a student,
Why didnt you pay attention today?
And the student replied, I was staring at Lizzies legs
for the entire 80-minute class That would never happen
The worst rule of all is the rule that we cant wear open-
toed shoes because they might be a re hazard Do they
think our shoes are ammable or something? Maybe they
think that someone will step on our toes and break themThe funny thing is that teachers expect us to follow stupid
rules like the No Open-toed Shoes rule when they dont
One day in class, I informed my teacher that she was
wearing ip-ops and therefore breaking the dress code
She responded with, You cant see them These ip-ops
are magical You think you see them, but its just your eyes
playing tricks on you
Due to my love of the subject, I decided to try this out
as an experiment I used the If-Then-Because method she
had taught us It went like this: If I wear ip-ops to school,
then no one will see them because my teacher told me that
The next day at school, I tried out my experiment It
wasnt too successful when my math teacher saw me with
the ip-ops and freaked out
Rebecca, are you aware that you cant wear ip ops
to school? She asked
You cant really see them, you are imagining
something! I responded
No, I most certainly am not! She replied
She then took me to see the principal
Ms Brownsword, he said Are you aware of the
safety violation you have on? No I lied
Im writing you up for having a re hazard on your
foot and the disrespectful tone of voice
What tone? I was just talking
Thats it, young lady! Would you speak to your parents
like that? Were not on the street where you hooligans hang
out and crazily wear re hazards!
That was the end of that; I was written up and had
to serve a detention for basically wearing a lighter on my
foot, or at least thats what my detention slip said Thepunishment wasnt that hard, but it goes to show that
if your teacher ever tells you that youre imagining her
wearing ip-ops, shes lying
The most popular dress code rule boys break in school
is the sagging rule Sagging, for those of you that have
never seen a teenage boy in their whole life, is when a boy
pulls his pants down to reveal his boxers When I looked
up sagging on Urban Dictionary, they referenced that
people in jail started the trend I know all sorts of kids that
compare school to jail due to the harsh rules Just like whenpeople wear black to express their sadness, teenage boys
wear their pants low to express the feeling that they are in
jail instead of Spanish class Maybe if we got a little more
freedom, this epidemic of sagging pants would never have
happened
The worst part about all of this so-called-dress-code
that teachers love enforcing is that we dont even have
written copy of it, not on the district website or in our
planners Maybe this is why no one listens to the dress code
Its hard to follow the rules when they dont actually exist
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P C, House 4Past the Gloom
You stare down and I wonder Do
you see the true me? Will you see past
the deep gloom? The fake gloom that will
try to ll you But you have the power toresist; you wont be obliged to follow
Resist the power that can contaminate
your heart and many others There wont be a
compromise because you can resist
In the beginning it can be sweet and fun
just like cotton candy Then
you begin to see past the rigorous fake gloom
Its like turning over a chessboard and all you
see is black A deep meticulous, concerning black
I know that you have the power to resistYoure fortunate to have the ability to see
past the gloom To differentiate the true
from the fake
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I C, House 3The Beautiful Bahamas
The sun warms my sun-kissed skin The cool island
breeze ows through my hair making it a silky river I look
up and smile as the large green palm trees dance in the
wind I see the crystal clear water Running on the sandcareful not to stand too long in one spot, the sand like re
I catapult myself into the water SPLASH! The small silver
sh swim around me Try to catch oneit slips through my
hands, like grains of rice I race the sh, come out of the
water and lay on the wet sand I look up, sigh and say, The
Beautiful Bahamas
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J C, House 5Ode to Paradise
An escape from yesterday,
A passage before tomorrow,
Paradise awaits our worries
Where the clouds have lifted, and all the skies have been left blue,The bright sun seeming as irrevocable as the day to come
The sandy shore an entrance to the cooling waves;
Calming as everything else becomes irrelevant
Paradise is the sanctuary to a fretting mind,
And the refuge to an aching body
A short ideation of a perfect world
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T E, House 1From Potatoes to Disasters
It was a sunny, Tuesday morning when Patrick
OFlannery landed at an airport in San Francisco,
California He was called next in line to review his
immigration papersNext! Called the lady behind the counter Patrick
moved up in line Name please, asked the lady
Patrick Patrick OFlannery from Ireland Patrick
explained everything else needed He received his card,
grabbed his bags and left the airport
Once Patrick was outside, he found his family waiting
for him by a car His wife and two kids had come a few
months ago to buy a new house, car, and to start their
new life in America
Patrick, His wife calledDaddy! His two kids exclaimed
They all exchanged hugs and got in the car
They were a nice family and their new life had begun
well Patrick was assigned a job for when he got to
America Soon he would start his new job as head chef at
Mr Bakers Sweets and Treats Bakery
Dont forget that your job starts in two days,
Patrick, said his wife at dinner
I will be ne I have known Mr Baker forever, said
PatrickWill we get free cakes and stuff? Asked his son
Yeah, will we daddy? Asked his daughter
I dont know It is up to Mr Baker, I guess Patrick
told his two kids
That night everyone went to bed, except Patrick He
had to do a little work before bed He opened his laptop
and opened the Internet On the news section he saw
that for the past three days there had been earthquakes
on the north and south poles Patrick didnt worry and
went to bed
Briiing! Briiing! It was 7:45 when Patricks alarm
sounded He quickly got up and threw on his cargo
shorts and his work shirt Everyone else was up having
eggs and bacon for breakfast, but he just grabbed a cup
of coffee and ran out the door He got in the car and
drove off It took Patrick about fteen to twenty minutes
to get to Mr Bakers place He slowly walked inside The
bakery opened at nine, so the only people there were Mr
Baker and his son
Ah, Patrick Youre here, said Mr Baker This is my
son, Eric You two will be working together
Great Lets get going! Exclaimed PatrickIt was his rst job in America and it was great He
always loved to bake and cook, especially for a good
cause After work, he received permission to take home a
few treats, so he did He brought it home and the family
ate some for dessert Everyone slept long and hard
with full stomachs and the taste still spreading in their
mouths
The next morning was Friday, the day Patrick didnt
have to work Everything was calm The kids were
watching cartoons and the parents were on computersworking Then all of a sudden the power went out and
then immediately came back on The television was
playing an emergency broadcast
This is not a test If you are on or near the coast,
you must evacuate immediately to the nearest safe
house WARNING! WARNING! This is not a test! Evacuate!
Evacuate! Said the robotic voice
Get the kids in the car, said Patrick
Lets go kids, his wife said calmly
Within minutes, there was a large crashing noiseand everything started to shakehard The car zoomed
off into town Then a huge rock hit the safe house about
three miles away The sky grew dark and gloomy as it
started to rain, sleet, snow, and hail This was one of the
worst sights Patrick had ever seen Then he thought,
why had I come here? It was only two months ago when
every potato had died off in Ireland, ruining his chances
of survival, the same as the rst potato famine did all
those years ago to his ancestors
* * *
It was 6:45 pm when Patrick went to get some
potatoes for dinner Once he got into the garden, he
pulled up a potato and it was rotten He tried another
rotten; and anotherrotten He called next door to his
neighbor, Christopher Patrick asked about the potatoes
and Chris said his were rotten too He tried his other
neighbor, Kathy Her potatoes were no better Patrick
realized that his family should move America was always
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an idea for the family They discussed the idea at dinner
He decided to let his family leave rst so that he could
clean out the house, then he would join them
* * *Now what was he to do? He turned the wheel
quickly, spinning the car away from San Francisco
I have an idea of where to go, Patrick announced
Where? Asked his wife
My parents house in Nevada, Patrick answered,
but rst we save the Bakers
Patrick hit the gas towards Virginia Avenue In
minutes, he had the Bakers in the car He headed for
Nevada The car was shaking while being pelted by ice
and ying debrisThe road in front of them was pulled up forming a
ramp Patrick made the jump Hours later they reached
Nevada He drove towards New Street Up ahead was his
parents house The disasters of the earthquakes hadnt
reached Nevada
Now Patrick and his family could really start their
new life in America
THE END
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Charlotte Fall, House 4Spring Time
Spring is a time of serenity and peace
Spring begins at the end of winter
Snow melts with the shining sun
Sunshine beams down in millions of raysShining down beauty all through the day
Singing birds chirp aloud
Singing songs of happiness and love
Stings of bees on your feet
Surroundings of blossoms blooming into leaves
Standing tall, trees grow green
Spring then turns into summer
Summer starts and the heat builds
Swimming pools begin to ll
Sandy shores are as crowded as everSunlight grows brighter and brighter
Shrinking and drying the grass till its lighter
Sunny days begin to die
Sending cooler days on the y
Summer ends and turns into fall
Sadly, ending the heat and
Sadly, having to end this warm poem
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S F, House 3Untitled
A cold, night wind rushed through Fred Snoopers
short blonde hair The young boy stood in his place, not
moving an inch He stayed still as if something was going
to happen He felt in his heart that an important eventwas meant to take place that night At rst he thought
that he was crazy, but then he remembered a dream he
had a few months ago
* * *
At the start of the dream, everything was normal
Fred nished his walk from school and approached his
red front door He opened the door, hung up his coat,
and briey greeted his mother before going out into the
backyard to play with his new puppy He went back into
his house to get the dogs bone As he turned aroundto get the toy from a nearby table, he caught a glimpse
of the window He saw plumes of smoke rising into the
air He ran out into the yard Quickly, the smoke cleared
and Fred was eager to see what was behind the mask of
smoke At rst Fred didnt see anything, then he heard
a soft rumble, as a spark appeared out of thin air and a
piece of paper uttered to the ground He imagined that
whatever had released the smoke was an invisible shield
He picked the paper up and tried to read it The message
seemed to decode itself in some places At rst, Fredthought that it was weird, but later he remembered it
was a dream and anything could happen in dreams
ComeEarthJune 15WillowBrick
was all that was in the note
* * *
That was the dream that stuck with him He
wondered now what it could have meant Could he
have decoded more if he actually had time to study the
message? Not just in a dream Now it was June fteenth
and he was standing at the corner of Willow Avenue and
Brick Street He suddenly understood The person who
wrote the note was coming to Earth on June 15th to the
corner of Willow Avenue and Brick Street
Wait, coming to Earth? Wouldnt a person already
be on Earth? Fred thought, Its an alien!
Fred was very excited, imagining what this creature
could look like, what its voice would sound like, and what
its language would be like His thoughts were interrupted
by a loud rumbling noise that rattled Freds eardrums
The same plumes of smoke like in the dream poured
out and then drifted away, but this time, under the
smoke was a compact car The car had no extraordinaryfeatures and looked like any other small car that could
be parked on the street The driver came out of the car,
came around to the back, and opened the trunk It was a
few minutes before the alien noticed Fred When he did,
he rst jumped back in surprise The alien named Bob
had lime green skin, was about ve feet tall, with mostly
human-like features and structure
Hello My name is Bob I am so sorry I didnt
notice you when I was getting out of my car and
getting settled, said the alien I work for the Yenziliangovernment I am the English professor for the country
of Yenzil It is really an honor to meet you He shook
Freds hand
Bob said he was emigrating here from his country
to achieve his lifelong goal, to live like and with the
American humans
Fred brought Bob home and Bob was brought
in by the Snooper family Bob and Fred became very
good friends, as well as classmates, teammates,
and workmates Bob went to American schools andgraduated college Fred and Bob created bonds between
Yenzil and the United States More citizens in Yenzil
moved to the United States People in the US also
moved to Yenzil Fred and Bob brought together two
nations on two different planets and helped both planets
by doing it
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E G, House 3Recycle
Dont think youre cool
Cause you dont recycle in school
Its bad for the environment,
Bad for the earthIs there a purpose?
Ill say it with rmness--
Its just worthless
Not to
RECYCLE!!
Do you benet
From not having etiquette?
As people might say,
If you dont recycleI think its crude, as well as rude,
To toss a clean can
In the garbage can
Im just saying,
Its time to start playing
Do your part
And we can start
A revolution
To
RECYCLE!!
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M H, House 3Alien Earth
Something in the distance seemed oddly familiar to
Carl and Eric They were space explorers It was nally
the New Year, 2500, and theyd been traveling since the
year 2475 on a mission to nd life on distant planetsThey saw a blue and green blur in the distance It looked
as if it had some plant life and water on it but they
couldnt be sure They would have to go down and take a
peek Carl eased the Explorer 45, their home for the last
twenty-ve years, into the eerily familiar atmosphere
Looks kind of like Earth, huh, Carl? said Eric
Oh man, wouldnt that be horrible, if weve made
one big twenty-ve year u-turn?! joked Carl But he
wasnt laughing
Eric looked on in disbelief It really did look likeEarth There was water all around and a few giant
landmasses that looked like continents
Carl was concentrated on those continents because
that was where he needed to land He pulled back
on the throttle as they zoomed through the planets
atmosphere Up ahead he saw what he was looking fora
at, plateau-like spread of what looked like black dirt
Carl slowed the ship down until it seemed like they were
just hovering now
Kicking up a lot of dust Feels like were in a blackcloud, said Eric
Youre telling me! Cant see a thing! Yelled Carl,
over the enormous sound of the engines Carl couldnt
help but think they sounded like they needed a tune-up
All of a sudden, there was a tremendous jolt and
everything went dark for what seemed like an eternity
As the lights ickered back on, the thick dust outside
the windows began to settle Eric and Carl crept up
to a portal window and peeked out There was bright
sunshine beaming through the window, making the
particles of dust oating in the air look diamond-like
Carl was thinking, I hope its warm sunshine out
there cause its getting freezing in here He checked the
temperature gage on the instrument panel It showed 22
degrees Fahrenheit in the ship Something must have
happened to the heating system when they landed He
was afraid to push the button that would show them the
temperature outside What if it was 20 below! Theyd be
doomed!
As they stepped out of the ship, they were greeted
by warm sunshine Carl sighed in relief As they began
to look around, they found themselves in a weird metalcomplex No, not a metal complex A playground
It looks just like the one my kids played on,
said Eric Do you think that we actually did make a
mistake? Then Eric remembered something
It was back when they had accepted the challenge
Their boss wanted to look for other planets as the
aliens that had come in the twenty-fourth century had
suggested They had left directions to another planet,
although left no description of what it was like Carl and
Eric had both loved astro-travel, as it was their job tosupervise the shipping of food, water, and oxygen to
alpha-centuri Most said they were crazy to make this
trip, but they had thought it was a great idea The day
before they were to leave, Erics child had given him
an organized list of every playground on Earth as a
present An odd one but still, a present just the same
There had been a lot of time to spare on the trip, so Eric
had memorized a picture of every one This playground
denitely was not on the list, and he saw a sign saying
that it was the playgrounds 50th anniversaryEric said slowly, I dont think we are on Earth, Carl
What?!
Well, you know about the playground list my son
gave me before we left? This wasnt on it
Eric and Carl were confused They gured they had
landed on the new planet and decided to explore They
came across a neighborhood with houses and then heard
a sudden bark
Get back here, Spot! You are having a bath whether
you like it or not! yelled a lady Then she saw them
Hello, Sirs We get many aliens around here, but we
have never gotten people before!
Eric and Carl were amazed The lady took them in
for a few weeks, and they learned much about the planet
they were on It turned out to be a version of Earth
but in the year 4000! They learned all about how the
environment had been xed, and economic problems
solved Eric and Carl found out about many future
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inventions and even became US citizens again They
were amazed by how free they were to become a citizen,
as there were no tests; they just had to sign up
The New Year occurred on January 1st just likeEarths, and they decided to make a long distance call
home A VERY long distance call indeed! This was one of
their inventions that they were very excited to try out
Their boss picked up
Hello?You are coming home?Okay, you can tell
us everything when youre back10 years, I presume
No?OK, but be careful
They had told their boss about the teleportation
methods that had been invented on the new planet They
were purposefully vague though because they wantedto show everything to Earth personally They stepped
up to the teleporter stand, said goodbye to all of their
newfound friends, and clicked the Earth button on the
controller They waved as they moved up and then began
moving at 300x the speed of light Within three hours
they were home
What happened? said their boss
Well they said in unison, Here is our story
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Stephanie Hayes, House 1Push
Push is the word
Its how I feel
You wouldnt understand unless youre like me
Sometimes I wanna give upI want to take a break,
But I cant and you know that
You cause the problem,
You are the problem
But why cant you be the solution?
My life revolves around the square root of x
I know helium, hydrogen, and beryllium
I can do a geometry proof without a blink of an eye
Ive been pushed so far Ive had to lie
I can spell Bureaucratic
Dramatic
Climactic
Problematic
A squared plus B squared equals C squared
What about lmnop squared?
I know the structure of an atom,
The protons, the neutrons, the electrons
Sometimes I wish the world would stop around me,
But I have to bear on
Dont push
What about me?
What matters to me?
Does anyone care?
Its everyone
My parents,
My friends,
My teachers,
And everyone I know
They all want to push me
They want to take me up one level
Too far,
But sometimes I want to scream to the world
And say,
Stop
Dont push,
The door says pull
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S H, House 4Not Alone
Sophie, Sophie! Wake up sweetie! Mommy has to
go to the hospital, my mom said in an urgent voice
She kept on inching I could tell she was in pain, then I
realized: she must be having her baby soon! I sat up inbed and grabbed my stuffed animals She waddled out
of my room and went down the stairs as fast as possible
I followed her and tried to get the blur out of my tired
eyes As my dad helped my mom get out the front door,
I slipped my shoes on Make sure you close the door,
Soph! My dad shouted back at me
As I stepped outside into the late-night air, I looked
back at my house, smiling When I get back, Im going to
be a big sister, I whispered to myself proudly as the car
backed out of the drivewayWe pulled into the Goldbergers driveway and I kissed
my mom goodbye The Goldbergers are close family
friends and one of their daughters, Katie, is my best
friend Aunt Trish welcomed me at the door and blew a
kiss to our car, which was already pulling back out of the
driveway
Uncle Peter was in his robe drinking tea Are you
excited for your new sibling, Sophie? he asked
I was about to say, Yes, but Aunt Trish told me I had
to go back to bed because it was so late She broughtme up to Maggies room because Maggie was sleeping
in their bed Katie and Claire were in the next room over
and I could hear lullaby music coming from their room
How could that help them sleep?I thought The music
made me think of Jesus and him being all bloody on the
cross I shivered With Teddy in my hand, I climbed into
bed with thoughts of Jesus
It seemed like hours passed, but I was still staring
at the ceiling wondering if I was a big sister yet At last,
Aunt Trish came to check on me Having a hard time
sleeping, Soph-a-loaf? You must have lots going on in
your mind right now, she said
Aunt Trish, can you read me a story please?
She nodded her head and pointed over to a small
bookshelf I picked a Barbie Rapunzel book and a
book called Welcome To The World, which I thought
was perfect for the occasion Barbie Rapunzel was
like the movie that I have of Barbie Rapunzel, what a
coincidence! The other book was just as I thought it
would beabout new babies Aunt Trishs voice made me
tired and I nally drifted off to sleep
I woke up the next morning to the familiar soundof my dads voice I ran downstairs to the kitchen Aunt
Trish, Uncle Peter, and Daddy were all standing around
the table smiling at me Do you want to see a picture of
your new baby brother? Daddy said smiling I HAVE
A LITTLE BROTHER! I screamed with excitement He
brought me downstairs to Uncle Peters ofce On the
computer, he showed me the cutest creature I have ever
seen in my life I was so happy I thought I might burst
Even though something amazing happened to me,that day I had to go to school, like any other day My dad
dropped me off as I sang, I have a new baby brother I
have a new baby brother, the whole way there
With two pictures of the newest edition to our family,
Daniel, I walked into the school building When I got to
my classroom I ran to my kindergarten teacher, Mrs
Vascimini, and said, I have a little brother I am a big
sister now! She was happy for me and gave my dad a
hug
I was jittery all day and couldnt wait to go visit mymom at the hospital I didnt even say goodbye to Mrs
Vascimini when my dad came and picked me up I ran to
the car, picturing holding a baby, and not just any baby,
but my baby When we got to Lenox Hill Hospital in New
York City, I tried to take in everything, from the sick to
the healthy and the doctors to the patients When we got
to my moms room the only thing I saw at rst was her
Then I saw little arms jerk up so I ran over and looked
down at my new baby brother I smiled at him, then at my
mom and my dad I was so happy! After so many years
of being an only child, I actually had a sibling! I spent the
rest of the day at the hospital holding Daniel, snuggling
with my mom, looking at Daniel, and watching PBS on
the TV
When it came time to leave I started crying I dont
want to leave, I pouted My mom had to stay overnight
to recover but I just looked at it as having a sleepover for
no reason To make me more comfortable, my mom had
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my dad bring Daniel over to her bed With me on one side
and Daniel in her arms she sang me our special night-
night song Mommy loves Sophie Daddy loves Sophie
Daniel too Ebby too Mommy loves her Sophie Daddyloves his Sophie Yes we do Daniel too Ebby too That
was the rst time Daniels name had been in the night-
night song It was also the rst time I got a sibling And
lastly, it was the rst time in my life I was not alone
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L H, House 1My Failure Mission
Right now, I am sitting in jail, thinking of all the things
I want to do when I am released That is, if Im released
The glass wall of my 12x8 inch terrarium reminds me of
the plane window I am talking about the plane I ew onto get here to the US I stowed myself away in a little
girls uffy, pink jacket hood If you are confused, allow
me to explain
I am a phootu bug My homeland is in Japan, very far
from where I am now I was sent here by the FIBI (Federal
Insect Bureau of Investigation) to complete a mission Yes,
it was a dangerous mission and I knew it from the start
* * *
Srg Pluto, we have chosen you as head of this
troop to go on a mission You must bring back a palmtree seed We also want you to do research over a course
of a few months on the palm tree to see if it will thrive
in Japan You will y on Air Japan to Florida Good luck
and dont get caught, said the chief executive of the FIBI
stify with no expression in his bulging eyes
I packed up my expensive, miniature, leather Roach
briefcase, spray painted my wings and exoskeleton black,
and was on my way
At the airport I found my gate by walking on the
ceiling since it would be hard to navigate through all thehuman feet After scanning the waiting area for the right
hideout, I decided on a little girls uffy coat I could hear
the lush uff calling my name
Quickly, I got comfortable and waited to board the
plane The plane had personal TVs, so during the ight I
watched Elmo with the little girl The grumpy guy in the
trashcan reminded me of the chief executive
Finally, after hours of Elmo and trips to the
disgusting bathroom, the little girl and I arrived in the
land they call Florida A quick y away from the airport,
I saw my rst palm tree I didnt see anyone around
so I ew over to the tree, which was just outside a
restaurant called Burts Burgers I took a bite of the palm
Wow! It was delicious! I kept eating more and more
Unfortunately, when I am happy an unpleasant smell
comes from me It is what happens with all phootu bugs
Ahhh! Someone screamed Look what is on my
burger! At the time it sounded like bergaa So I didnt
understand It turns out, what I thought was a palm tree
was actually a burger A person trapped me in a box and Istayed in the box for a long time
* * *
So here I am, in a terrarium I want to get out but
I dont know how I think I am in a lab being tested and
observed There are other bugs and reptiles around me
I keep hearing things like, What bug is this? I think it is
from the Middle East I havent seen it before
At night, the great escape occurred A snake had
somehow opened up her tank and got us all free With
much stealth we crept out of the lab Some insects choseto stay in the US I, on the other hand, said, I am out of
here!
I hid in another hood on the way back This time
I ew Continental and watched Dr Phil Back home in
Japan everyone wanted to know where the palm seed
was I said, I dont have it If you want it so bad, you can
get it yourself Even if I got demoted down to a desk job
because I didnt complete my mission, I still learned what
a burger is and that there is a nice little burger place
around the corner from my ofce!
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Priya Kaushik, House 2The Signs of Summer
The sun shining bright,
The birds take great ight
These are the signs, the signs of summer
Plants start the season safe in their beds,Making others turn their heads
These are the signs, the signs of summer
Spectators marvel at the beautiful, the wondrous, and the fruitful
These are the signs, the signs of summer
Its so very hot
And mosquitoes, theres a lot
These are the signs, the signs of summer
The dewdrops, they all gleam,
The children, they all beam
These are the signs, the signs of summerAnd it will never be a bummer
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T K, House 4My True Self
Will I ever know or grow accustomed to who I am to be?
When I look into the mirror,
I ask, What purpose have I here?
And truthfully and solemnly, I tell you here and now,I dont know who my true self is, or what life holds for me
Will I ever know the reason for my birth?
When I think of my tomorrows,
I ask, What path am I to search?
And peering at my image, in the mirror staring back,
The answers to these questions seem to tantalize the task
Will there ever be a time when things are crystal clear?
When I look into the mirror,Will I know the person there?
My life an empty canvas, waiting to be sketched,
I only hope my days are lived with love and not contempt
Will I ever realize there is no need to know?
When life is but a traverse,
A journey to be told
And just to be remembered by friend and foe alike,
As the girl who left the mirror,
In search of her own life
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Nicolette Levy, House 1Lookin like a fool if your pants arent on the ground!
Do you follow the dress code? Because if you do, and
you are a guy, that means you dont sag And if you dont
sag, and you are a guy, than you are not cool
If you are a guy, you must sag You must! Theres noavoiding it The only way you can truly achieve coolness
is if your pants are hanging about halfway down your
butt Dont worry, youll get used to the breeze
And if you sag, this means you really have to pay
attention to what you wear underneath those pants
No more tightie-whities for you! (And no more going
commando, either No one wants to see your crack of
dawn Trust me on that one) No, if you really want to get
the full effect, you have to get boxers, and wear them up
to your belly button And not just any boxers You haveto get brightly colored or patterned boxers that draw
attention to yourself Anything yellow with blue whales
on them should be ne Or blue with red polka dots on
them Both are perfectly acceptable
But the only problem with sagging is that instead
of buying big, baggy jeans, you must buy slim leg jeans
about three sizes too small, so that while wearing them,
they do not completely slide right off your butt They
have to t enough so that they cling to the areas where
your butt is actually covered by your pants, but notcompletely wrinkle at the bottom, where they are met
with basketball sneakers that will never actually see a
basketball court (they might get dirty if they are actually
used)
Unfortunately, some teachers dont agree that
sagging is cool Some say its icky Others say its
disrespectful Some are so offended that they may even
force you to pull up your super cool pants and tie them
with an impromptu belt made of string Look out fashion
industry: strings arent just for bikinis anymore!
Sagging is a form of expression Another form of
expression is how you walk Most people walk with their
feet forward, taking evenly sized steps But once you
sag, you learn that this way of walking is completely
impossible Because the crotch of your pants are down
by your knees, you are forced to walk like you are
competing in a three-legged race with yourself And now,
you can walk down the hallway in all of your gangsta
coolness while waddling around like a penguin And then
youll join up with all of your other sagging friends and
look like penguins that seriously need to get on the nextight to Antarctica How cool is that? Its a major chick
magnet
Now what does this mean for the rest of the school
(AKA the girls)? Are they supposed to sag? Should they
be saving up for pants that just dont t right? I hope
not Because if they are, look out Gap clearance section
Youre about to be sold out of boxers
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G L, House 5Untitled
You know what I love so much about middle school?
The dress code The dress code is the rule that makes
the most sense in middle school In fact, it makes so
much sense that the administration makes us come toschool every day in what feels like boxes that cover up
our entire body, from head to toe The dress code is the
most fun thing about middle school because if you poke
even a millimeter of a nger out of your box, you will get
suspended for disrespecting the teachers Isnt getting
suspended fun?
Another great thing about the dress code is that
we can learn so much at school while the dress code
controls our lives, because we have these cool hearing
aids attached to our boxes so that we can actually hearwhat the teacher is saying outside of the thick box
So on a typical day at school, my cute outt consists
of lab pants that are so long on me they cover my feet
and a long-sleeve shirt with a turtle neck that goes all
the way up my head, completely covering my hair Its
cool because I cant even have eyeholes to at least see
the people around me That means I have an excuse for
bumping into people, which can be dangerous But even
if ve kids go to the hospital each day, its okay because
we still have the dress code to look forward to every dayThat reminds me about the shoes we get to wear
We can wear these really stylish sneaker-boots that
cover our whole calf and our toes To make them even
more comfortable, the teachers give us extensions
to put on them so that they go all the way up to our
chests and sometimes even our necks That will make
us warm in the winter when we sit in the over-heated
classrooms The best part about the shoes is that we can
feel comfortable in our own skin, because those are the
only shoes we are allowed to wear, and everyone wears
them Any other shoes that we wear will be taken off and
thrown into a nice, happy re burning in the ofce
So even if my shoes are covered up by my long
pants, what really makes me feel condent is my
collection of shirts that are three sizes too big for me
and three sizes too long on me, making the perfect
enormous shirt, covering my whole upper body This
makes it extremely easy to write and type, because my
shirt helps my ngers grip the pen or keyboard keys
Sometimes I feel that I dont have to wear pants with my
shirt, because it is so long But of course, that is out of
the question because I have to wear pants that at leastcover my feet Another great thing about the pants we
wear is that we get to wear them all the way up to our
waists Sometimes, if we wear our pants up to our chests
or our necks, we get extra credit from the teachers who
congratulate us for taking such a risky fashion step
Writing this makes me love the dress code even
more I forgot the icing on the cake Teachers dont have
to follow the dress code Of course, this is really fair
because teachers work the hardest and deserve a reward
for their work On a typical day, some of my teacherscome to school in mini-skirts and belly shirts, and the
ofce waves at them as they walk by Sometimes, they
are really daring and they wear meat dresses like Lady
Gaga, only to get looks from the kids and high ves from
the other teachers The funny thing is that when they
wear shirts that cover three quarters of their arm, they
get looks from the other teachers and high ves from
the kids So yes, the students and the teachers dress very
differently After all, the whole point of middle school is
to be different and have your own independent soul thatisnt controlled by others, right?
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John Macksoud, House 1Bread for All
Our story begins in Worcester, Massachusetts It
was the early 1930s and the Great Depression had just
broken out One neighborhood was hit especially hard by
the economic downfall All businesses in the area had toclose down All businesses except for the bakeries that is
People needed bread just as they always had and
the Depression did not change that Those who had
any money at all would limit themselves to only the
necessities, and bread was one of them If one was
looking to buy bread in this neighborhood there were
two places you could go; you could go to Gold Crown
Bakery or you could go to City Chat Bakery The bakeries
were very different
Gold Crown was a massive, well-oiled machine Theowner, John Macksoud, had scores of workers produce
loaf after loaf of delicious high quality bread Not only
was it popular amongst the neighborhood folk but also
amongst the people in the rest of the city Every food
store in Worcester seemed to buy their bread from Gold
Crown It was an extremely successful and prosperous
business and owner, John Macksoud, was rolling in
money
City Chat Bakery, odd as it may seem, was actually
right across the street from Gold Crown It was a small,unassuming little store Despite this, it had a warm
comfortable feeling and was run by an Italian immigrant
who had come over in the 1920s; his name was Francesco
Papale Francesco had been a baker back in the old
country and his bread was just as good, if not actually
better, than the bread made by Gold Crown - and a bit
cheaper too It was almost exclusively immigrants that
came to his bakery to buy his products and listen to the
Italian opera music that echoed through his shop as he
worked along with his few employees Francesco was a
genuinely nice man and always put others, especially
his family, rst He took great pride in owning his bakery,
which brought him and his loved ones enough income to
get by, but not much else Francesco and his family found
joy in simply spending time together and didnt mind that
money was sometimes scarce City Chat Bakery was an
undiscovered jewel living in the shadow of Gold Crown
Both bakeries, even though they were not put out of
business, suffered from a decrease in customers Almost
everyone in the neighborhood had lost his job The bread
they used to buy from Gold Crown had simply becometoo expensive Even City Chats bread was over the price
range of many
Often, hungry former customers would gather
outside of Gold Crown and beg John for just a small bit
of bread for themselves or for their loved ones John
would look them in the eye and ask a single question
Have you any money? The people would shake their
heads How can you expect me to give you bread if you
havent got any money? How do I make a prot off of
this? John would say Go! Leave my store! Stop takingup space so the real customers can come in!
Some people just left Some protested and said that
they had been Johns customers for years and deserved
a little in return for their support Others simply broke
down and started to cry John couldnt care less about
these people; all he cared about was money
After a while, Francesco started to notice what John
was doing He felt sorry for the hungry people, and one
day he could not stand it any longer He exited his shop
and approached the group of people John had justdenied bread He invited them over to his bakery, and
gave them something to eat The people were grateful
and found Franciscos bread to be the best they had ever
tasted They insisted on repaying him in some way, but
he insisted they did not
Doing a good deed needs no reward Francisco
would tell them in his thick Italian accent
When John saw what Francesco was doing he was so
amused that he decided to confront Francesco about it
How will you make any money? John asked
between bursts of laughter
I wont, but its the right thing to do, replied
Francesco
John walked back to his store laughing hysterically,
and wondering how anyone could be so foolish
Francescos acts of kindness became a common
event and the news spread People started to love his
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bread, and him
When the depression nally began to come to an
end, and everybody could afford bread again, John
expected everyone to buy Gold Crown bread as they hadin the past He was shocked to nd that Francesco, who
had nearly gone out of business from all of his kindness,
had taken all of his clientele
John was shocked He wondered how this had
happened The reason should have been clear to him
John had ignored all of these people and Francesco had
taken them in They were repaying his kindness Soon
City Chat Bakery replaced Gold Crown as the number
one bakery in Worcester Francesco continued to be
generous and kind but his family never had moneyproblems ever again
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M M, House 3Giovannis Journey
Wake up, Giovanni! Were in America, mother
yelled He could barely hear anything over the boats
engine, as his mother yelled at him to get on deck
Giovanni was glad to escape the intense heat of thelower decks in July He pushed his long brown hair out
of his eyes, straightened his shirt, rubbed his tired eyes,
and ran up the stairs to get on deck Mother was already
there holding his baby brother, Marco, and pointing
frantically at the Statue of Liberty
She saw Giovanni and said, Look, look Its the
Statue of Liberty! She went on to explain how great
their lives in America would be, but Giovanni wasnt
listening He was still staring out in awe at the big green
lady, fascinated by its size and statureWow, Giovanni said Thats amazing! He stayed
on deck as the boat passed through part of Manhattan
and he was swallowed up by the huge buildings One by
one they passed by, buildings higher than they had ever
seen before Giovanni was blinded by the sun shining in
through the cracks in the buildings
It took about an hour for them to dock at Ellis
Island The whole time, his mother and Giovanni were
talking nervously about whether or not they would get
in to America Also, they wondered where they wouldgo Finally they got off the ship and Giovanni fell to
the ground, his legs weak from not being used in two
months His mother led the way as they walked towards
the giant reception area
They waited for an hour or so and then they started
getting scared Giovanni tried to calm his mother, but he
was just as nervous What would happen if they didnt
get into America? Where would they go? Back to Italy?
Those were some of the questions oating around in his
head as their name was called
Mrs Bonuchi, the clerk called and Giovanni led
the way to the desk His heart was pounding so fast he
thought it might leap out of his chest
Are you going to enter the country? The clerk
asked and Mother replied, Yes, with her Italian
accent Then came a ood of questions that my mother
answered either Yes or No to Finally we were passed on
to the examination and after an hour of rigorous testing,
we were passed on out of Ellis Island and into America
The family spent the next few weeks settling intoa small, poor Italian neighborhood on the east side of
Manhattan They were the hardest weeks of Giovannis
life He had no friends and barely spoke any English
Then on the seventh day, a Tuesday night, it happened
He was in a dream Back in Italy at his house They
were enjoying dinner and all of a sudden there was
gunre bursting through the windows His father, tall and
strong, rushed them out the back door and told them to
ee to the woods and use their money to go to AmericaThey started running and Giovanni realized that his
father was further back trying to protect them Then,
as if out of nowhere, a bullet sliced through the air and
landed in his fathers chest His last words to Giovanni
were, Go while you still can
Giovanni woke up in a sweat, screaming for his
father, but he quickly realized that his father was gone
He felt alone in America, abandoned by his country,
father, and mother
A month after his breakdown Giovanni started
school He walked in shy and unsure of himself The
stares that he got from being the new kid were almost
unbearable The disgust being directed at him for being a
greenhorn was shown by everybody, except one boy
Hi, the boy said
Hi, Giovanni replied, surprised by the boys Italian
accent
You seem like you are new here and I just wanted
to say welcome to a fellow Italian immigrant My name is
Joey Whats yours? The boy asked
Giovanni, he replied
Nice name, the boy said and instantly they were
friends
He was from Italy and had arrived one year earlier
than Giovanni This was very helpful for Giovanni
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because they could speak Italian instead of Giovannis
broken English Although the other children were
mean, he had a friend and Giovanni was very grateful
for that They would talk about futbol, or soccer (as theAmericans called it), and they would play outside Joey
even introduced him to other boys in school No longer
did Giovanni feel abandoned Finally, he felt at home
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C O, House 2The Perfect Classroom
Ah, I can see it nowthe perfect classroom Teachers
and administrators have dreamt of this for years The
students are doing exactly what they should be and
following the rules Here is my Utopian Classroom:Today is a big review day at school The students are
reviewing for their nal exams that are coming up and
the teacher is getting ready for a big day The students
come in Wow, every kid looks amazing Pants belong
below the waste, exposing pink and purple polka-dotted
underwear Everybody knows you need these to learn
How are you going to learn about the Pythagorean
theorem if your pants arent where they are supposed
to be? Its impossible When learning, it is necessary to
give your butt a little fresh air The current generationof authority needs to teach these kids to be civilized
Everybody knows that unless you see pink underwear
sticking out of somebodys pants, you cant learn
Teachers banned sagging so that the students would
start sagging and start learning Everybody knows that!
The students each sit down in their seats Half
of the students pull out their cell phones So far, so
good, the teacher whispers to herself She knows that
now that the students have their phones out, they will
start sending answers to a test to their friends whoare currently taking it That is why cell phones are an
important part in the learning experience If kids are
allowed to cheat, they do well If you cheat, you win That
is the motto of this classroom and also the motto of
the countrys government If students do well because
of cheating, only good things are happy Students who
would normally fail get much better grades Isnt that
what learning is all about? If you learn to cheat, you will
be more successful Everybody knows that the people
who do well are the ones that learned to cheat from
the beginning How do you think George Bush won the
election in 2000? If he hadnt learned these valuable
skills in the wonderful Texas public school system, we
wouldve had someone reasonable as our president Just
another regular honest, uncorrupt president Who wants
that? The teachers of today need to raise people that will
lie, kick, and punch to succeed
The last important ingredient to this utopian
classroom is chewing gum It goes without saying that
everybody in the classroom walked in with gum in his
or her mouth Later on, the teacher looks over andnds little Johnny rolling on the oor with both hands
on his neck This is nothing unusual The teacher walks
over and nds four empty packs of gum in Johnnys
desk He is such a dedicated learner He chews pack
after pack of gum so he can concentrate on his
studies As hes being loaded into the ambulance, the
teacher thinks about the glorious things this country
will accomplish with this distinguished student as the
next great president She then looks over at the child
not chewing gum, texting, or sagging, and knows thatits okay; not everybodys perfect
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Katie OBrien-Smith, House 2Life Lessons
I believe that everyday should be lived as your last
That you should never forget your past
That you should always look ahead
And never leave anything unsaid
Always stand up for whats right
Always stand up for yourself in a ght
Always believe what you say
And enjoy every single day
Because today could be your last
And all you leave with are your memories of the past
You leave everything else here
Even your loved ones that you hold so dear
You dont know when your life will cease
So live everyday in peace
Never settle for less than your best
Because life is the ultimate test
Never say never
Make every moment last forever
Dont take for granted all that you gotAnd forever teach the life lessons you were taught
Dont throw away what you know is good
Never not do what you know you should
Give everything all you can
Always shoot for a ten
Make whats wrong right
Sleep soundly every night
Try not to doubt
Instead, try and venture out
You are you
You get to choose what you do
No one can make your choices for you
Cause you cannot undo
Dont be afraid to sing
Dont be afraid to do anything
Be proud of who you are
Because you are everyones superstar
Tell everyone how much you care
Live isnt fair, and they might not always be there
Make new friends, and keep the old
Dont repeat something personal you were told
Be brave, stay strong
Keep calm and always carry on
You have the right to be alive
And you always have the strength to survive
These are life lessons to learn
To you, they most denitely concern
Life is a work of art
And you play a very big part
Knowing these lessons will get you far
They make up who you are
Teach these to your friends and family
These lessons are of universality
So again I say to live everyday as your last
To never forget your past
To live by these life lessons that make up who you are
Because you are your very own superstar
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Katie OBrien-Smith, House 2Life Without Warning
Life, its unexpected Its not something you know
is going to happen before it actually happens Its a
surprise
When youre in your mothers womb, do you actuallyknow that one day you are going to leave that place? The
only place youve ever been? Ever known? No, of course
you dont In fact, you most likely dont know much of
anything
Then, all of that changes
One day, you feel yourself being pushed Then, soon
enough, youre crying and a doctor is holding you and
cleaning you off You were perfectly happy inside your
mothers stomach, but now you feel air for the rst time
as it lls your lungs Such a sudden change must feel soweird
Of course, we dont know
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