Issue 9

THE TALON

GI VI NG OUR READERS A CHANCE TO THI NK, FEEL, LAUGH, AND CONNECT WI TH EACH OTHER.

Visit our webazine at : t het alon.nido.cl

I ssue 9 December 2015

TOGETHER WE'RE BETTER

Ariana Robinson Grade 4

STAFF Ameer Najarali Grade 5

Maya Purcell Grade 5

Nicolas Rios Grade 5

Del Cartwright Grade 4

Gaby Gomez

Christian Wu

Grade 4

Grade 5

Caitlin Duggan

Grade 3

Naomi Templeman Grade 3

Sophia Shaffer Grade 5

Tristan Bohn Grade 2

Vincent Pohr

Grade 5

Emma Garfein

Grade 4

Lena Espinoza Grade 3

TABLEOFCONTENTS TOGETHER WE' RE BETTER

Animals and Nature Pages 6-8 Elephant reserve, bee story, and our first infograph on habitats.

Did You Know

How-To

Pages 1-3

Pages 4-5

Learn about 3D print here at Nido and get the details on some unique gaming options.

Smoothies, fencing, and tennis are all explained in our How To section.

Sports Pages 9-10 Incredible interview about a world class skier and Nico is a big supporter of local soccer here in Chile.

Spotlight Pages 11 - 12 Teachers working together!

Your Vote Page 13

Imagination Creation

Readers-Write

Pages 14-17

Pages 18-19

How do you and your friends work together?

Page turning stories you can't passs up!

Thrilling, true life, stories from two fifth grade writers.

World of Art

Wacky Page

Advertisements

Page 20

Page 21

An short interview with Eddie Vedder from Pearl Jam

Try to find all the changes in the photos.

Thank you to The Talon's advertisers for helping us work towards our goal of becoming self-sufficient.

The comic is back!

Pages 22- 24

Did You Know BATTLESHIP

by Agustina Donaldson (5A) ?Boom! Bang! Yes, I sunk your battleship!? Experience this fun by playing Battleship.

This game was created for the Nido Family Cardboard Challenge using cardboard, some paper, and push pins to show hits and misses. The game pieces were created in a 3D printer, and were created by 4th grader Matthew Chapa (for more information on 3D printing, visit the how-to page of thetalon.nido.cl). You now have the chance to play this game, which can be found in the elementary library.

red push pins just balance into the holes on the ship. The red push pins easily fit into the holes on the rest of the ships. If your opponent?s guess misses, be sure to mark their miss with a blue push pin on your ocean grid. This will be an important if you there is any confusion about guesses between players. So, if you lose count on who?s turn it is, ask your opponent to call out your hits and misses, while you do the same thing. If all is good, you can continue playing the game.

When a player?s guesses sink a ship, it is important that you tell the player which ship they sunk. Read below for a list of names of ships to help you with this. If you sink all of your opponent?s ships, you win.

Game Pl aying Tips Be careful with the push pins. They have sharp points, so don?t poke yourself. When pushing the pins into the board, push them into existing holes. Separate the two boxes so you don?t accidentally move your pieces. Be sure to place your ships so they fit within the grid.

Ship Guide

Even if the game of Battleship was created about 115 years ago, it?s still fun. When it was first created it was so players could plan naval strategy. Back then it was played with paper and pen. Now, you don?t have to do that anymore as you can play our own Nido version, so come and experience the fun!

Game Pl ay First, sit facing your opponent. Then place your ships on your ocean grid (the bottom grid) secretly while your opponent does the same thing. Remember you can?t change the position of your ships once they?ve been placed on the ocean grid.

After placing your pieces, decide who will go first. Call where you think your opponent?s ship is by using the coordinates on the grid (for example ?D9,? as the letter always come first). If your guess is a miss, you mark the miss on your top board by using one of the random colored push pins. If your guess is a hit, you mark the hit on your top board by using one of the red push pins.

Now it?s your opponent?s turn. Remember to call the coordinates by using 1 letter and 1 number on the board, and to keep track of all your guesses on the top board.

When your opponent makes a guess, mark any hits on your ships with a red piece. For the aircraft carrier, note that the

5 holes = Aircraft Carrier

4 holes = Submarine

3 holes = Destroyer

2 holes = Battleship

1 hole = Rescue Boat

HIGHTECHATNIDO Ameer Najarali (5th Grade) 3D Printing, printing in the third dimension. No we are not in the future it?s reality. Guess the best part we have a 3D printer AND a laser cutter in Nido! Yeah I know what you are thinking: A laser cutter cuts with a laser and a 3D printer prints in 3D, but I?m writing this in a different perspective. Machines in Nido The Laser Cutter. A laser cutter is a machine which cuts or engraves with a laser. Yep lasers are not only Star Wars effects. The machine can cut through cardboard and some fabric. Here are some answers of random questions which I thought were interesting.

You use it by drawing something in a software

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HIGHTECHATNIDO Ameer Najarali (5th Grade) 3D Printing, printing in the third dimension. No we are not in the future it?s reality. Guess the best part we have a 3D printer AND a laser cutter in Nido! Yeah I know what you are thinking: A laser cutter cuts with a laser and a 3D printer prints in 3D, but I?m writing this in a different perspective. Machines in Nido The Laser Cutter. A laser cutter is a machine which cuts or engraves with a laser. Yep lasers are not only Star Wars effects. The machine can cut through cardboard and some fabric. Here are some answers of random questions which I thought were interesting.

You use it by drawing something in a software I also Interviewed Mr.Michael Koronkiewicz the I.T. director Integration director to get more information on the laser cutter. Here's what he had to say: What color is the laser? Red Does the laser cause sparks? Yes Is the laser hot? Boil ing, you coul d get injured by t ouching it .

Why did Nido buy the laser cutter? We bought t he l aser cut t er t o al l ow st udent s t o go beyond simpl y designing t hings on a comput er or iPad screen and al l ow t hem t o act ual l y creat e t he object s in real l if e. Somet hing t angibl e is al ways more powerf ul t han an image on a screen.

Does the laser cutter enrich learning? It is amazing t o wat ch a st udent go t hrough t he creat ive process of t hinking, designing, prot ot yping, modif ying, improving and t hen f inal l y producing. St udent s need t o concept ual ize ideas f irst in a 2 dimensional environment (a screen) and imagine how t hese wil l be t ransl at ed int o 3 dimensional real it y. The process is quit e chal l enging and you can act ual l y wit ness t he creat ive st ruggl e and growt h kids go t hrough. These devices bring l earning t o l if e by t ransl at ing t hought s and ideas and making t hem real .

How can a 5th grader use the laser cutter? I woul d suggest having your t eacher get int o cont act wit h Mr. K in t he IT of f ice, Mr. Lazzal a in t he MS l ab. (It has t o have a reason.)

Who has already used the laser cutter and how? Grade K2 engraved t heir animal art work wit h t he l aser cut t er and t hey displ ayed at a showing in t heir cl assroom. 8t h grade st udent s are designing smal l cit y pl anning project s and t hen using t he l aser cut t er t o produce prot ot ypes of t heir ideas.

What is the exact name of the laser cutter? The l aser cut t er is a Ful l Spect rum H Series CO2 Laser Now to the 3D printer. If you want to know EXACTLY how to 3D print with a software called Tinkercad then go to thetalon.nido.cl., and click the How-To (under the FYI tab) page where you can learn how-to 3D print and see some of the products that have been made here at Nido by ES students. The 3D printer is usually a rectangular prism with three of its faces open/ The printer prints with a filament.

The filament can be from metal to chocolate. Here at Nido we use colored plastic. We have two 3D printers. One of the printers can print one color at a time, the other can print two at a time. The 3D printer can print in solids. The plastic is printed by layers.

Eventually you have many layers stacked up together to make a solid figure.

I interviewed Mr. DK the H. S. tech design teacher. This is a bassic summary of what happened.

Does the 3D printer enrich the learning? Yes it does because now we t he st udent s can be even more creat ive if t he model is in 3D. The st udent s f ol l ow t he cycl e of improvement s every t ime t hey creat e a model . It is al ways bet t er t o creat e model s in 3D t han in 2D. Who usually uses the 3D printer in Nido? The peopl e who usual l y use t he 3D print er are: engineering and science cl asses in H. S. But we had some M. S. and El ement ary School project s. Usual l y t he H. S. uses it .

How can a 5th grader 3D print at Nido?

You shoul d just cont act someone l ike your t eacher or me.

It has t o be t he appropriat e size. It is pret t y easy t o get a model print ed act ual l y (THE MODEL HAS TO HAVE A PURPOSE AND THE MODEL HAS TO BE SETUP RIGHT)

Continued on page 3...

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What have people already done with these machines in Nido? In our H. S. robot ics somet imes we need part s t o creat e bet t er robot s so we print t hem. Then t here was al so a st udent in H.S. who was part of an art exhibit ion. He want ed t o make a 3D print ed mask, so we print ed t he part s t o make it . It was a big mask. We al so had some 5t h graders who print ed out some model s f or a pl ayground redesign project . The 3D print er Can print pret t y much anyt hing.

Finally, what was the most useless thing that you have printed out? It has t o be t he t rain. The t rain was a 3D model t hat was used t o t est t he machine. It was designed poorl y and it had onl y one purpose t o t est t he machine.

So, that was cool. It is great to know that our school is providing us with top tech. I am guessing all of you want to 3D print something. Here is something that you would love to 3D print: a futuristic car. Guess what, a recent movie used a actual size 3D printed futuristic car model. What would you want to laser cut? I would like to laser cut a picture of me. What do you want to 3D print?

I?m still trying to decide what I?d 3D print? maybe in a future issue, I?ll be able to write about all the amazing creations that students in the Elementary school have 3D printed and laser cut.

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How To HOW-TOBEABETTERTENNISPLAYER

by Gabriela Gomez (grade 4) Has there ever been something that you wanted to learn about, but never had the time to do so? Well, I got to learn how to become a better tennis player recently, and it was awesome. I?ve always wanted to learn this because ever since I first started to learn the game of tennis, I have seen stuff that made me want to learn more. When I started my inquiry on how to be a better tennis player, I had some questions that I knew I needed to know the answer to because of my current skill and knowledge. These questions were: -

-

How does the tennis scoring system work?

How can I warm up before a match so that I?m ready to play?

How do I prepare myself mentally for matches?

What tips do the professionals give to beginners?

The first thing I learned was how to count the points. You might think this is not a very advanced question, but think about it? if you didn?t know how to count the points, then you would be behind in a match and not play as well.

By researching, I found out that scoring goes: 15, 30, 40. If the score is 30 to 30, you would say ?30 all.?

Also, if the score is 15-0, you?d say ?15 to love.?

Pretty cool, right? But that?s not all. I also found out that if it?s 40 to 40, you need to have a tie breaker.

The tie breaker happens when one person scores two consecutive points- then they?re the one who wins.

Another question I got answered by my inquiry was how to prepare myself mentally for matches. The experts say that the most important thing to do is focus on the present. What I mean by this is don?t focus on past or future play. Stay present! Secondly, focus on yourself, not your parents, your opponent, or the referee. Another interesting piece of advice that

I?ll be trying is for before a match: try to focus on other things than the upcoming match. I think I?ll be thinking about ?rainbows?and ?unicorns?before my next match!

Similar to the last question, this question was how should I prepare myself before the match by properly warming up? The experts say that you should first jog for 10 minutes or so, which will increase your body?s speed. After that, be sure to stretch your muscles for at least 5 minutes. Then, do high jumps or start practicing hitting balls. The last thing you have to do is start running back and forth starting and stopping.

After that you can start the match.

To me the most important question was?tips for tennis players?from the experts. This is one of my hardest questions to answer. But, fortunately I found just what I needed.

Some of the tips were: 1)When a string from your racket brakes do not just throw it away. If it is still good it would be worth having it re-strung 2) Practice a lot.

Professionals practice for years to get where they are. If in one class you do great and the second not so good, do not give up. It?s normal!

3) Warm up and cool down before and after a match.

Chill out.

4) Drink plenty of water and eat light snacks like a banana.

5) When you hit the ball, hit it in a waist height. It is easier for the ball to go over the net.

6) To improve your speed you can use a jump rope.

7) If in a match you lose a point DO NOT I repeat DO NOT get frustrated or angry. You will not play better.

To me the most important one was # 1, because if I didn?t know that, I would have thrown my racket away.

Now, all that?s left to complete my inquiry project is to put my learning into action by winning some matches.

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How To

HOW-TOBEABETTERFENCER

by Alex Arthur (grade 4)

MAKEADELICIOUS,HEALTHYSMOOTHIE

By Ariana Robinson (grade 4)

If you would like to learn how to make a frosty smoothie on a blazing hot day, then you're in luck! I happen to know how to make smoothies. For this smoothie you will need a blender that can process frozen fruit.

The ingredients you will need are: 1Ÿ cups frozen raspberries 2 cups frozen strawberries ½ cup of frozen mango

?Boom! Nooooo!? I had just slammed my saber into the top of Thalia?s helmet, and was one point away from total victory. The score was 4 - 3, and It looked like a comeback was in order. Seba sat on the side of the wall and mumbled on about how he had had a trash day (who knows what that is) and debating with Daisuke if they should call the next mini-competition the ?narwhal cup? or letting the winner choose the name. He had just been pummeled by me (5-0) creamed by Thalia (5-0 as well) and had an annoyingly long bout with Daisuke, which ended at 5-3, but only after what seemed like 200,000,000,000 double points which are needed to resolve a close fencing match.

1 peeled orange NOT frozen cut in quarters

I jogged back to my starting

1 cup water

place and held up my sword, preparing myself for the next round. My arm ached and had several cuts and bruises on my arm from Daisuke?s 2nd and final point (a very messy one indeed).

Step 1. You will need the blender out and ingredients ready Step 2. Put the ingredients in the blender and add the water Ingredients must be in order as?

First: Strawberries/ Next: Mango/ After That: Raspberries/ Finally: Orange Step 3. Let the blender combine the fruits until they look like they are all mixed together for approximately 2 minutes.

Step 4. When smooth and thick you may pour it and enjoy!!

You should use a straw.

So if you feel like you need a nice refreshing drink in the hot Summer summer months, then you should whip one of these delicious smoothies up. I think ?Smoothies make the world a better place,? so do your part in making our world better while being satisfied with a healthy treat.

?Ooooooon Guarde? Preeeeee? Aaaaale!? Thalia sprinted forwards. My mind raced. Should I go for the head, block the attack, or jump back and counter attack? I chose the most risky and first option. ?Eat steel vengeance!? I screamed to myself in what was only some little harsh whisper. The second my sword hurtled into the lower part of her helmet, a look of despair swept across her face. A huge jolt rocked my top-heavy armor-coated body. She immediately hissed, but my sword bounced up into my celebration. I ran back and ripped off my helmet.

After these challenging Fencing bouts, I believed I had a lot to learn, and I did. I was winning all the mini-tournaments, but barely. ?There was something I needed to do to get better, but what?? I found myself thinking. When my teacher, Mr. Jason, said we would be starting our own How-To PIPs, (Personal Inquiry Projects) I knew fencing was the topic I wanted to inquire about. The timing couldn?t have been better.

To find out what I learned, and to see the my Prezi I made to show my learning, please go to http:/ / thetalon.nido.cl/ home/ how-to Not e: Parts of this story were partially made up to enhance my How-To piece. No children were harmed in our awesome Fencing after-school activities sessions!

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I

Animal s and Nat ur e

THEELEPHANTRESERVE

By Cecilia Chiarenza(5E) I was tingling with excitement as I started up the wooden stairs. With each step I took, the floor made a gentle creaking sound. I was beginning to speed up as we were about to reach the top floor. Soon, I burst up and ran to see the view! I was expecting to see a forest with maybe a river and a waterfall, but instead I saw grass, lots and lots and LOTS of grass, and some trees, but mostly grass. As I tried to maybe make something out of the grass, I saw a few gray shapes appear in the distance, and then more and more. I glanced up at a sign that said Elephant Nature Park, and I knew that I was in the right place. ?Cecilia, Cecilia, CECILIA!? my mom was calling me. I felt a tug on my arm that brought me back down to earth. I saw my mom give me that ?You are embarrassing me?look, and then signal to where the guide was talking to a bunch of people. A guide and other people? Oh great, I thought.

Once the guide stopped talking, we started up a hill. For me, it was a great struggle, with tourists pushing past me, their giant backpacks like stones knocking me farther and farther away from where the elephants were waiting for me. Okay, so I MIGHT be exaggerating and I know that I am TECHNICALLY a tourist, but I think to officially be a tourist, you need a giant backpack full of unnecessary amounts of unnecessary things. In my handbag, all I had was a camera, sunglasses, and a packet of bubblemint flavoured gum.

Once at the top of the hill, I heaved a long sigh, and let my long hair cover my eyes like curtains. ?Cecilia come look at this!? my dad hollered from the other side of the hill. I started to walk drowsily to where my dad was standing. I lifted my gaze and what I saw made me jump to life, it was like I had just injected a jillion bolts of cuteness-electricity into my mind... my eyes could have turned to hearts right then.

There, right before me, was a mother elephant right next to her baby! I fell in love with them right away. The guide told us we could pet them, so I dashed over to the baby. I kept stroking its trunk, and the little baby elephant was nudging me gently with its head. Everything around me seemed to freeze. I completely tuned out the guide and all I heard was

a hum. But then I heard, ?yada yada yada yada can knock you out with a single blow from its trunk.?A jolt of fear ran up my spine. ?Wait what!?? I quickly came back down to earth. As I came out of my bliss, the first thing I saw was my dad with his hand in the mother elephant?s mouth. Not completely over my wave of panic, for one second I thought the elephant was eating my dad, but when I saw the smile on my dad?s face and the lack of anyone doing anything to help him, I concluded that he was just doing that for fun.

I took a deep breath and tried to calm myself down, but I tensed as the elephant?s trunk came up and placed itself on my shoulder. I checked for excruciating pain... nope, all clear. ?Okay,? I thought, ?this is a sweet elephant.?

I laughed at myself, ?how could this cutie be dangerous??

But, they say that all good things must come to an end, and before I knew it, I was being pulled away by our group, back to the hut.

Soon after, we climbed up the stairs of the two-story hut and walked out to its balcony. The guide let out a long whistle and a herd of elephants walked lazily up towards where we were standing. It was pretty funny. Two guys stumbled up to the balcony, carrying a large wooden bucket full of fruit. There were chunks of bananas, slices of watermelon, and a few mangos. This fruit was fly infested and all squished together. ?There is no possible way I am eating THAT,? I whispered to my dad. Just to emphasize, I took a piece of gum out of my bag, waved it in his face, unwrapped it, and violently started chewing on it, like saying, ?this is the only thing I will be chewing on.?

My dad laughed and slapped his palm against his forehead, ?You don?t need to eat it,? he said, ?the fruit is for the elephants!? Now it made sense.

Looking forward, I saw the tourists smiling and feeding the elephants. So I picked up a mango and held it up towards the giant, adorable elephant. Its trunk curved and wrapped itself around the mango, lifted it up, and placed it in its mouth. I kept doing this until the bucket was empty. But, when I thought it couldn?t get any better, it did. The guide started talking and of course, I tuned out completely. We walked down a hill, and the elephants followed us.

Cont inued on t he next page...

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THE ELEPHENT RESERVE (CONTINUED) Soon, a river came int o view. The el ephant s wal ked down and st at ioned t hemsel ves in t he river. ?Now,? my dad said, ?we bat he t he el ephant s!? I squeal ed and ran down t he hil l . Now, in my excit ement , I t ripped over a rock and f el l f ace f irst ont o t he ground, but t hat didn?t st op me. I kept going unt il I was knee deep in river wat er. ?What do I do now?? I asked. My dad expl ained t hat I t ake a bucket , f il l it wit h river wat er, and t hrow t he wat er on t he el ephant . It was l ike t he el ephant was doing t he ice bucket chal l enge. Wit hout a moment 's hesit at ion, I picked up a bucket and did what I was t ol d. So, I st ood t here, spl ashing in t he wat er, and I coul dn?t hel p but t hinking t hat t his was t rul y an ast ounding day.

The Chiang Mai El ephant Nat ure park is a f oundat ion hel ping rescue el ephant s t hat were sick injured or mist reat ed. It ?s doing it s part t o hel p nat ure f l ourish, it ?s an ast ounding pl ace and I recommend f or everyone t o go t here.

HONEYBEEADVENTURE

by Cait l in Duggan (Grade 3) Jack was a bee. Just a chubby, happy bee, but his col ony had probl ems. A l ot of f l owers had been dying l at el y. One morning Jack l eaped out of bed t o t he use phone, ?Hel l o John, wake up, we?l l be l at e f or hist ory.? ?Be t here soon,? John yawned over t he phone.

Jack and his f riends f l ew out t he gat e of t heir hive. On t heir journey t hey f ound st ems, pol l en, seeds, and l eaves.

Af t er hist ory cl ass, John picked up a newspaper and compl ained, ?Anot her bee died!?

?This is al l we need?said Bob, John and Jack.

?Let me see?? asked Jack. He read t he headl ine and t hen compl ained

?Can I do pranks wit h it ?? asked sal l y.

?Like t en bees die every day.?

?No? shout ed Jack, ?We?re going t o buil d somet hing wit h it .?

?What are we doing?? asked Susan.

John and Jack hopped in t he car.

John said, ?Let ?s go t el l Susan, Bob, and Sal l y.? John and Jack zoomed over t o Bob and Susan?s pl ace t o share t he news. ?What ?? said Bob and Susan. ?We have t o do somet hing? demanded Jack. ?Meet me at t he hive gat e? said John. ?Fine,? agreed Sal l y who was sl y.

John popped his eyes open. John l if t ed t he phone up, dial ed his f riends?numbers, and bl urt ed, ?Hurry up, wake up.? ?OK? his f riends responded t oget her.

The bees got buzzy. They worked al l night l ong. In t he morning, Jack suggest ed ?Let ?s t est it .?

John put t he jet pack on Bob's back. ?Fl y Bob, Fl y!!? cheered t he ot her bees. Bob t ook of f and pol l inat ed t he pl ant s so f ast you coul dn't see him! ?It works!? yel l ed Jack and John t oget her. The next morning t hey show'd t he jet pack t o t he queen. ?Very good,? t he queen comment ed. ?Yes? yel l ed t he f riends t oget her.

Now t he pol it ician is saf e. Onl y one bee dies a year. and now bees chant ?Go t he f ive honeybees go,go,go t he f ive honeybees?.

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Spor t s EXTREMESKIIER:CHRISDAVENPORT By: Maya Purcell 5B All of us have a hero whether it?s a soccer player or your own parents. Some of our heroes are not known to everybody but all of them are amazing. One of these amazing people is Chris Davenport. He grew up loving skiing and it was always his favorite sport. He has done some really amazing things that I hope I will be able to do when I grow up. I have been really lucky and I got a chance to interview him. He told me some very amazing things. # 1 Maya: How did you get started in your career as a skier?

Chris: I got started in my career as a skier, mainly because my family was all skiers. Both my parents were skiers, my dad was a ski racer. In fact my dad, came to Portillo in 1968 and in 1969 to train because he was ski racing, so I just grew up around skiing and I loved it at an early age. I thought it was something that I wanted to pursue, I wanted to see if I could figure out how to work in the ski industry. As I got older, I kind of, discovered that it was possible to actually make a living out of skiing and I sort of pursued that goal, that direction. # 2 Maya: Why did you decide to become an extreme skier?

Chris: Well I like to think, I like to say that extreme skiing found me. I didn?t choose it. So, I grew up ski racing, and after ski racing, after I stopped ski racing, I started just going skiing, free skiing, like just skiing in the mountain and I wanted to challenge myself so I started skiing more challenging mountains, climbing mountains and skiing them and all of a sudden I was skiing things that people thought of as extreme, but I didn?t really think of them as extreme, I just thought of them as skiing. # 3 Maya: How to you make sure you don?t get hurt while you?re skiing?

manage risk, I mean, skiing?s kind of risky right, like if you do something really stupid or you go too fast down a slope, you could crash right, so you have to ski within your limits, you have to understand what you?re capable of, you have to understand like what the conditions are like what the mountain?s doing, avalanches, rocks, different things that can hurt you and so, I just try to be a good risk manager and understand what I can do and what I can?t do and at the end of the day I want to ski every day, I mean I don?t want to get hurt so I have to be very careful. # 4 Maya: I hope I can beat my dad in a ski race at age 16. What age do you think your kids will be when they beat you?

Chris: Well, we?re very close to that right now, so my son Steon, he?s 14. So I have a 14 year old a 12 year old and a 7 year old. Steon?s very very close to beating me right now so, I think you could beat your dad before you?re 16 although your dad?s a good skier so I don?t know. # 5 Maya: I heard that you climbed the 50 tallest mountain in the US. What made you want to climb and ski those mountains?

Chris: I?ve always been very goal oriented, I like setting goals for myself whether it was goals in school, or goals in my training, and I thought it would be very interesting to try to ski the highest mountains in Colorado, 54 mountains, about 14,000 feet. Only one person had done it and he took 12 years to do it and I said to myself, I wonder if I could do all 54 mountains in 1 year and so that was the goal so I tried to figure out all the logistics and plan and get a good team of people so that I could pull it off and I did it in just under a year. Setting goals and trying to figure out how to achieve those goals is really important.

Visit Chris' website at: chrisdavenport.com

Cont inued on t he next page...

Chris: How do I make sure I don?t get hurt, I sort of 9

THECHILEANLEAGUE # 6 Maya: Did you ski down Mount Everest?

by Nicolas Rios (grade 5)

Chris: I did ski down Mount Everest. # 7 Maya: Why do you come to Chile every year?

Chris: I love this place, it?s magical, it?s got amazing energy. I love the skiing here, I love the people here, the feeling that it?s kind of like a family here in Portillo. I love sharing this place with guests, with clients of mine like, for my ski camp. My family loves it , It?s just a really special place, plus, it?s perfect because it?s the summer for us because it?s summer in the US so, I mean I like summer and I like biking and running but i?m a skier, I love skiing so what better place than Portillo, where it?s snowy and, the skiing?s great and it?s beautiful. # 8 Maya: What recommendations would you give to anybody that wants to become a professional skier?

Chris: Don?t. No,I?m joking, I mean, being a professional skier?s a lot of work, it?really, really hard. It?s not just about being a great skier, you have to have the ski skills, but you also have to have business skills. What I?m doing is a business, you have to be a marketer, you have to be a salesperson, you have to sell your brand, you have to really work hard to achieve a certain level of success where you can actually make a living because it?s a really difficult business and it?s also quite dangerous.

You?ve probably watched lots of soccer games from Europe, but local soccer is a different story.

The 16 teams competing in the Chilean league are: Universidad Catolica, Colo-Colo, Universidad de Chile, Union La Calera, San Luis, Palestino, Uni贸n Espa帽ola, Audax Italiano, Cobresal, Deportes Iquique, Universidad de Concepci贸n, Deportes Antofagasta, San Marcos de Arica, Huachipato, Santiago Wanderers, and O?Higgins.

The players to look out for are: Esteban Paredes, Gustavo Canales, Roberto Gutierrez, Patricio Rubio, Jorge Luna, Mark Gonzales, and Jaime Valdez.

Historically, Colo-Colo is the best team, but other teams such as Universidad de Chile and Universidad Catolica are making very decent competition. There are teams, usually from smaller regions, that are in mid table, such as U. La Calera and Universidad de Concepci贸n. Finally, there are some teams struggling, such as Sanluis and Antofagasta.

I strongly encourage you to lay down in your TV room, get CDF (the channel that broadcast chilean soccer), and watch a good game of ?Futbol Chileno?.

As you can tell, even if someone doesn?t know about another person, doesn?t mean that he or she is not a hero. Anyone could be a hero. And the great thing about heroes is that they inspire you.

They inspire people to do amazing things. Your hero was probably inspired by another hero and so on. I think Chris was a great example of this.

Everyone should deserve to know about him and realize that the things he has done are amazing.

10

Spot l ight

BY GABY GOMEZ (GRADE 4) Have you ever wondered how teachers plan activities and units for all of you? Well, it has interested me a lot, so I interviewed some Nido elementary teachers to get their perspective on working in planning teams.This is what some of the teacher said about how they collaborate with each other.

The high-f iving f ourt h grade t eacher, Mr. Redd, said, ?We pl an what new unit s we might do, we t al k about how t o t each unit s, and we t hink about what t he st udent s shoul d have in mind in t he end of t he unit .?

The ext remel y smart t hird grade t eacher, Mr. Rob, t ol d me what he and his t eam do.?We meet t wice a week, we t ry t o pl an t oget her, t ry t o make sure we are marching t o t he same beat and share f un ideas. We al so make sure nobody is l ef t behind.?

The super hel pf ul counsel or Ms. Mariana said, ?When I do not underst and somet hing I ask Ms. Ana Maria and/ or Ms. Veronica t o see t heir opinion on t hat .?

The creat ive second grade t eacher Ms. Rocio said,?We pl an t oget her, we share resources, and we hel p each ot her when somet hing is not going wel l . We compl iment each ot her.?

11

The wonderf ul and t al ent ed 1st grade t eacher Ms. Tammy said, ?The f irst grade t eam works t oget her pl anning f un act ivit ies and we l earn t oget her?

The posit ive and l oving Spanish t eacher Ms. Pat i said, ?I l ove working wit h t he ot her Spanish t eachers because we generat e good ideas and we can hel p cl ear up quest ions. It is a posit ive experience.?

Af t er t wo years working wit h Mr. Mart in, Ms. Theresa, our t ech t eacher, says, ?Mr.Mart in and I pl an, t each, and l earn t oget her. Wel l t o be t rut hf ul , I l earn a l ot f rom Mr.Mart in on t he t echnical side and I share ideas wit h him about t he pract ice of t eaching. Toget her we make a pret t y good t eam.?

The very creat ive G&T t eacher Mr. Chad said: ?Mr. Jason and I col l aborat e by l ist ening t o each ot her?s ideas. Those f irst , smal l , seed ideas somet imes t urn int o awesome project s because of t he f eedback we give each ot her. I?ve al ways bel ieved 1 + 1 is great er t han 2?

12

Your Vot e

by Maya Purcell (grade 5)

This issue of The Talon's theme is "Together We're Better"

With that them, we decided to go out and ask Nido students how they prefer to work. Do our results back up this issue's claim that "Together We're Better?"

Read the survey's results below and decide for yourself

What do you think about working alone?

Would you prefer working in a group?

What do you prefer? Working alone or in a group?

Based on this survey's results: *Which category was the most preferred category: *By Myself, with one person, small group (3-5 people), or big group (5+ people) *Which category was the least preferred category: *By Myself, with one person, small group (3-5 people), or big group (5+ people)

13

Imaginat ion Cr eat ion BESTSURVIVALINTHEWHOLEWIDEWORLD ANAGENTMCMORSEHORSEAWESOMESTORY

By Pablo Lievano (grade 4) Attention: All my fellow soldiers and army friends at the end of the story you can say I am definitely weird and a bit crazy!

Have you ever done something and you don?t even know why you did it? Well that?s what happened to me!

My heart felt as if it was going to fall out of my chest. My knees felt as heavy as boulders. Each muscle in my body was hurting as if I had fallen from as high as waterfall. I heard sharp claws pounding the dirt behind me. My muscles were feeling as if they had just been teared apart from the rest of my body. Whatever was following me, I was not sure but what it was sure was that it was a big cat because I had heard him purr several times. I had a terrible feeling that whatever was following me was never gonna get tired of running after me. The claws got closer, or at least I heard them coming closer...

Wow,wow,wow? I?m missing the important part: How did I get into all of this ? Ok here comes the interesting part (maybe it?s weird I don?t actually know)!

I was going in my weekly hunting trip in the jungle. (Who goes to the jungle 500 KM away from home just for hunting? Well in the world many people can do that, but that isn?t the point). I don?t know why I even go hunting because the best thing I?ve ever caught was a tiny deer.

Well,well,well let's not get away from the point. Hey, by the way I forgot to introduce myself- my name is Mc Morse, Agent Mc Morse Horse. (P.S that is my code name, my real name doesn?t have anything to do with this crazy adventure). I am a spy for the U.S army but I?m in my vacation right now . Ok now let?s start with the weird part.

I was hunting in the middle of the jungle, I had my compass with me so, I was safe or at least I thought that. I reached out for my compass. It was in my pocket. I got my hand into my pocket and felt it. I took it out. It wasn?t the compass. It was my box of practice hunting bullets. At that moment I started to turn around and see if it had fallen in the path I had just walked by, well it wasn?t a path it was only a little space without trees. With my compass lost I had to guide myself with the sun, but I did not know ! Wait a sec if the compass was lost? I?M LOST, TOO !!! I couldn?t believe what I had just noticed. I was so mad at me, at the world, basically I was mad at the universe!! I felt completely destroyed by the inside. I was, yes I was. It was starting to get dark. I saw something that looked like a cave. That could be my place to

stay for the night and it's better than sleeping in the cold night. I could make a fire to keep me cozy .

First I got some sticks for the fire. When I did the military training I learnt that if you make a fire in a cave all insects would go out . When I went hunting I always took my pocket knife just in case. My pocket knife was really advanced it even had lighter! With that it would be way easier to make a fire. I was going to make a bed out of dried grass, but suddenly I noticed something terrible. There was hardly any light left. I got my lantern out of my pocket and started to get dried grass. When there was no more light, I finished.

When I went into the cave it was cozy because of the fire.

First I got a piece of string that was inside my pocket. After that I cut it into 14 nearly equal pieces. When that was done I made some bunches of dried grass and tied them up, just like a boat.

After that I got my pocket knife out and tried to knit a cushion with the knife, but the only thing I managed was to cut all the grass pieces and nearly cut my finger. It was really uncomfortable but it would make it. As I tried to sleep thoughts started to fly around my head. Was I ever going to get found? Would I get out of this crazy jungle?

When I woke up and I heard a purr. What was that? Wait a second, only cats purr, and I?m in a jungle. Suddenly I felt a warm breath in my face ? Some time later I saw a big pair of emerald eyes ... What was that? So back to the point what cat could it be? Well it?s obviously a wild cat, but those emerald eyes reminded me of an illustration of a book ? suddenly It came to my mind it was or a tiger or a puma. I started to get up. I thought that with a little fire sparkle it would go away, or at least back off. But that was one of the worst things I had ever done. The sparkle didn?t make the whatever that was go away, but instead I accidently lit the fire again and nearly burned my arm badly. But it was ok.

Now when that happened I didn?t even care about my arm.

All that I cared about was that puma. What could I do? I started to panic. Suddenly I had this weird but cool idea! I was going to get my gun and shoot to the air. Yes that sounded like a great way to make him go away! So I tried it , but however this time I had precautions so the rock that fell down wouldn?t hit my head but the puma?s head. As soon as the stone had stopped falling I looked .Yes he had gone! So I ran for my life ,but oops! I slipped with the grass. Well anyway no big deal I got up and kept on. Oh no! Puma alert, puma alert red code.

So that was when I started telling the story, but however the story isn?t yet finished.

This is t he end of part 1 of t his st ory. To read t he rest , visit t het al on.nido.cl , and cl ick on "Nido Writ ers."

14

THEEVILICING

By:Emma Garfein (grade 4)

Tomorrow was Carrot Day a day when all bunnies celebrate the day that carrots were invented! ?Bye honey, by Bunbun!?yelled Papa Bunny in a hurry to get to work. He ran out the door with his white lab coat on heading across town to his science lab. Due to his rushed exit, he forgot to put away his evil potion and it still remained on the kitchen counter. It looked very innocent next to the liquid sugar, but the potion was very powerful, and very evil. ?Bye!?replied Mama bunny ?Eiu!? yelled Baby bunny Mama bunny started making the carrot flavored icing for the carrot flavored cupcake and realized that she was missing the liquid carrot sugar and decided to ask Bunbun, her two year old daughter bunny, to bring the sugar. ?Bunbun? ?E!? he replied as she played with her blocks. ?Can you bring me the liquid sugar from the kitchen counter?I am busy blending the carrots!? ?ya!? he yelled and ran to the counter, but without noticing which jar contained which thing, he accidentally brought the evil potion to his mother!

Many hours later, the city was in shrieks? ? ? ? .it was just Bunbun(somehow) and 22 other bunnies surviving hiding in the sewer. Bunbun was mad, more than mad, angry, wait, even more, he was furious! Since his mom was taken over by the icing, but especially that she was the first one taken over he just wanted revenge!!!!! ?Wets gi siov ter itir burnis!!!? yelled Bunbun in baby language (Wets gi siov ter itir burnis!!! means: Let?s go save the other bunnies!!!) ?Yeah!? yelled the other surviving bunnies back to him (since they had babies they understood what Bunbun said) All of the childrendads agreed that they should risk themselves by attacking the icing & it?s servants with fruits.

So they secretly went to the market and bought fruits without letting the icing & the others hear them.

All of the bunnies crept up to some of the servants and thru fruits at them? ? ? ? ..one by one the servants were getting destroyed turning into their normal selves again.

Now, it was just the icing left to be destroyed(DUN DUN DUUUUUUN!!!!!!).The bunnies had no more fruits left.

The bunnies had no other choice than to? ? ? .. eat the icing!!!!!!!!

They jumped and tackled the icing and started eating ?It actually tastes good? said one bunny stuffing his mouth with more icing

?Thank you Bunbun?

?Yeah! it tastes like carrot!? yelled another bunny

?Ya? he said and ran back to his room

?This was worth it ,Let?s finish this icing off!? they all yelled

Mama Bunny put the evil potion in the mix without checking the label since she was in a hurry to make lots of cupcakes for all of the bunnies.

Soon they all went home and just made muffins for the party and continued their life without caring about what happened.

When she finished the orange icing, she put it in a bowl, & then on the kitchen table and started to make the cupcakes.

Suddenly, the evil potion began to take action the first evilly action was when the icing crawled out of the bowl? ? ..(DUN DUN DUUUUUUN!!!!!!)

The icing oozed on to the table, dripped down onto the table and on to the place mats. CHOMP!!!! went the icing eating the table (since it was a big glob of icing). ?Aahhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!? screamed Mama Bunny while frantically waving her arms in the air.

She had never seen such an evil sight! She grabbed the rolling pin and hit the icing three times.The icing?s eye?s turned bright red and growled, the icing jumped in the air and landed purposely on Mama Bunny's head and took over her brain and hypnotized her to be her servant to take over the other bunnies?heads.

One by one they took over more bunnies?heads.(DUN DUN DUUUUUUN!!!!!!)

DISNEYLANDADVENTURE

by Briana Perez (grade 4) ?Why did I let my parents convince me to come to Disneyland!? Screamed 5 year old Elizabeth. ?Mom, why do we have to come here?? Complained Elizabeth. She remembered the last time she went to an amusement park. It was horrible, the only rides they had were baby rides, Elizabeth shivered at the thought. ?Well, we thought that you would like the rides? Mom said hopefully. ?Rides schmides? she whined. ?Well, we can buy you gifts? ?Fine,? sighed Elizabeth.

After a lot of walking and complaining. Elizabeth and her parents finally arrived at the diner for lunch.

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DISNEYLANDADVENTURECONTINUED....

Elizabeth saw how happy the other kids were and suddenly she sat up straighter. Well, I guess I?ll try some of the rides Elizabeth thought. Maybe I?ll go have a head start at the rides.

She waited until her parents started talking to the waiter. At that moment she jumped out of her chair and left her parents talking to the waiter. After a lot of wandering around Elizabeth found an interesting ride, Splash Mountain, which she read as spoosh moontin. Sense she was only 5, she wasn?t a big fan of reading. She headed in and found a short line with a family of three at the end. Well, I guess I?ll join them Elizabeth thought. The family was finally at the head of the line. A fake plastic log came floating on the water. Elizabeth was so excited and surprised, she leaped in with the other little girl. The ride started going up and Elizabeth and the girl started to argue about who had the better spot in the log. As the plastic log went up the argument grew worse and worse. The ride got to the top and it stopped but the girls didn?t. The parents were only worried about the picture that the camera on the ride takes on the way down. So, they said, ?girls stop You?ll ruin the picture so please smile.? Elizabeth didn?t smile. She really wanted to ruin the picture and upset the girl. On the way down Elizabeth had the time of her life but she didn?t really show it. She was screaming, ?why did my parents convince me to come to Disneyland!? Finally, after tons of screaming the girls arrived at the end of the ride. The other girl looked like she was going to vomit but Elizabeth had so much fun.

Especially that the picture was ruined.

While Elizabeth was walking out of the building she found a stand that said maps. She thought it would be a good idea to have a map so she wouldn?t get extra lost. Elizabeth opened the map and found a place that was called ?It?s a Small World.? ?Its sounds fun, nope baby rides ?, Elizabeth groaned.

But she found a ride that made her smirk. Pirates of The Caribbean which she read as Pirates of The Cirbain.

Elizabeth loved pirates. She followed the map and found the ride. The line for this ride was a bit longer than the first, but it seemed worth the wait. She joined a different family who seemed a little bit nicer and there was a boy and a girl. Once the little wooden boat came up Elizabeth sat down next to the nice looking boy and girl. But when the ride started moving the little boy and girl started fighting. Elizabeth got slapped in the face but it was worth it. She got to see pirate ships and she got to watch the kids fight. It was really funny to watch the argument.

When Elizabeth hopped out of the ride. She was embarrassed from laughing so much. Elizabeth reached into her pocket for the map, she couldn?t find it ?ugh? she groaned ?it must have fallen out? Elizabeth sighed.

One last ride before I go back, she thought hearing her stomach growl . After a lot of roaming around Elizabeth found the perfect ride Indiana Jones. Elizabeth watched all the movies and memorized the theme song, how bad could it be. The people operating the ride thought Elizabeth was too young for the ride, so she snuck in while the operators were busy. On this ride there were only adults but Elizabeth didn?t care. She hopped on a cart and it started moving.

Elizabeth felt like Indiana Jones. The little cart passed giant hairy spiders, scampering cockroaches, and at the end there was an enormous boulder chasing them. Out of all the rides, Indiana Jones ride was her favorite. Elizabeth was thinking about everything she did as she walked out of the ride.

Suddenly, out of nowhere her parents came running straight to her. ?Where have you been?

We?ve been looking everywhere for you!? Elizabeth?s dad exclaimed. ?What were you thinking!? gasped Elizabeth mom.

There were so many question Elizabeth?s head was spinning, and she totally forgot about her parents. ?Should I start from the beginning?? ?Yes? declared her parents. Elizabeth told her story to her parents. Elizabeth?s parents decided to always go back to Disneyland under two conditions: Elizabeth had to make sure she didn?t lose the map, and she needed to be back on time.

THEMALLCHASE

By Ameer Najarali (Grade 5) ?So today at 11:45 pm?? he asked. His hands trembled as he waited to be screamed at. This was gonna be a awesome plan, him and the gang were going to make the crime of the century. ?CAN YOUR MIND EVEN KEEP ONE SMALL PIECE OF INFO! HOW IN THE WORLD DO YOU EVEN THINK THAT YOU ARE BEING HELPFUL! 11:30 pm. in the mall.? The other barked. It was 4 o?clock am. The gang was in a huge stolen truck planning their crime. The truck was a rusty, old, truck.

Although this gang stole the truck in perfect conditions the gang will wreck anything you give them.

Cont inued on page 17 16

9 hours later? Forget about the gang for now because this is another story. Only for now... Peter, not such a cheerful person I would say, infact I?ll even say that he is a extremely negative person. He can't stand people annoying or teasing him. He is one of those people who would scream at you only for accidentally shoving him. The worst part is that he detests his older brothers.

Anytime he had a chance to scream at them he would. That?s not all he has a horrible temper and he will rage as fast as the speed of light. And unfortunately for Peter It was one of his older brothers birthday. So he was forced to go to the mall (which he hated) no exceptions.

As Peter and his brother?s friends were in the car heading to the mall Peter asked,?Mom, why in the world does my brother has to have his party in a mall??whined Peter. His mom ignored him because she knew that Peter was soon going to go BOOOM! (Or explode with anger.)

Peter felt as if he entered a nightmare when he entered the mall.

People shoving, extremely loud people, and worst of all his brothers and their friends teasing him. Although Peter is so negative in the inside he didn?t want to mess up his brother?s party.

His brother?s friends were all invited and he didn?t get to invite anyone. ?Hey, hey dummy your heads so small that it has no space for a brain!? Peter jumped and did a 180o spin. He couldn?t believe what his brother?s just did. They just lit his anger?s dynamite stick. ?HAHAHAHAHAHA!? cried both his brothers. Peter felt a boiling fire going up his lungs. ?You?re so small that even a toddler ant can beat you up!? One of his brothers screamed at him. His face was starting to turn red.

Blood red. Super natural red. Suddenly he felt the people stop shoving him. He felt people starting to stare at him.

Peter felt a knot in his stomach. Like as if he swallowed a rock.?Look mommy, a kid with a red face?, said a little girl.?Oh mommy he looks like he is crying?. If you have felt extremely embarrassed you know exactly how peter felt. If you?ve never felt this way then you?re lucky.

Next something which most of kids would have done: mission evacuation. He couldn?t handle it anymore. The constant agitating from all sides was too much. ?There?s one way to handle this,?

Peter thought, ?get outta here!? Peter ran so fast, but very fast, faster than you think. At least faster than most of the people there.

Peter could see his brothers friends underneath the blurry cover in his eyes. He didn?t care if people shoved him. He just wanted to escape. He looked back at his parents he couldn?t believe what he saw. They didn?t even realize. He burst with anger. He ran.

Adidas, Nike and Reebok flashed through his eyes as he bolted past the various stores in the massive mall. He was running too fast to even realize what was coming. He looked back, his parents were too far away to see. Then, it happened: SWOOOOOOOSH!!!!!!! He felt wind crash his face. Peter went out of control, in mid air for a fraction of a second. He put his arm in front of his body.

The impact was extremely intense. He felt an explosion of pain all over his body. He had no idea what had just happened. He felt blood in his arm as he tried to stand up. he felt too weak to even walk. With his mind full of regret Peter kept running. Peter wanted to leave the the harsh cruel world he has been living in.

Peter looked back again as his parents shrunk. Have they even noticed? He asked himself. His arm was so red and purple and every color between because of the blood it reminded him of a horror movie.

Peter stayed hidden from his family until 11 o?clock pm. and of course Peter?s parents finally realized that Peter was gone. So, she called the cops, and instead of chasing money taking robbers and dirty criminals, there were cops looking for the kid. Peter still felt

very regretful but he didn?t want to get caught. He was still mad and he did certainly not want to see his family.

Remember that dialog from before about those robbers? If you don?t, read it again, because you will need to get some background information. No questions asked.

Peter finally made up his mind and left his hiding place. He started to venture around the mall. He couldn?t see anyone. Suddenly he heard a extremely loud speaker: PLEASE EVACUATE THE MALL?.

Everyone was panicking and running all over the place. Peter heard gun shots. Luckily no one got hurt. The people were crashing into so many things. Worst of all is that Peter had no idea were he even was and could the cops forget about him?

Meanwhile Peter?s parents were panicking like most of the other adults.?My son, my son!? cried his mother as the cops were trying to calm her down.

A few minutes later everyone managed to escape. Except, of course, our dear friend Peter. ?Get all the stuff you can see! Take it ALL! If you see anyone knock ?em out! I won't take any chances!? growled the leader of the gang to instruct them.

Outside the cops were surrounding waiting for the robbers to leave. ?10 of us have to enter the mall to trap them!? commanded the chief policeman.

Back inside the mall Peter ran back to his hiding place.Tears were running down his pale cheeks for the second time this day. He knew he was going to die. Death he thought is to unpleasant for anyone to handle. He peeked out of the hiding place. He was going to escape the mall without being seen. He was confident.

He started to dash down the luxurious hall. But when everything seemed right I am sorry to say but Peter was fried. He saw a shadow which seemed to be way, way bigger than him, by the way.

He looked back and heard an echo, like the sort of noise that you would hear when you drop something in your basement. He courageously continued to sprint towards the exit and his heart was pounding like a TV show drum roll sound. Soon after that he heard a faint whisper. Peter was too scared to even look back, to even peek at the horrific figure behind, so he continued. Next peter felt a heavy thing that was grabbing him.

As he was kicking and panicking he managed to say ?HELP ME! LET ME GO!?All this noise caused some attention so some police were heading to the crime scene ?Shut up dumb kid?, growled the figure. Then Peter kicked the thing in the stomach. He let go Peter and now when Peter escaped he felt the pain of his arm striking him again. He started to run but this time it felt even faster than before. Lucky for him Peter saw the police. The police ran past him and managed to grab the robber. ?Me and my gang will come back?, said the robber as he and his gang were getting handcuffed. ?YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO REMAIN SILENT?>. Growled a police.

Later the police took the gang to jail and Peter too his parents.

When Peter saw his parents he burst to tears and so did his mom. ?You promise me that you will never hide like that??, asked his mom. And he didn?t., kind of?

8 years later... Peter, was not such a cheerful person I would say, in fact I?ll even say that was he is a extremely negative person. He can't stand people annoying or teasing him before. He is one of those people who would scream at you only for accidentally shoving him before. But he has changed because of a robbery. He has learned why to stop to be negative. Just for some life risking reason. And best of all is that he is good friends with his brothers.

Anytime he needed to scream at them he didn?t. He learned the lesson of being positive.

17

Reader s-Wr it e

CRACK!

by Sohpia Shaffer (grade 5)

?I can?t reach it!? I muttered under my breath. I jumped up, reached out, and I thought I had reached the monkey bar but as I opened my eyes and it was slipping and sliding out of my sight. After what seemed like forever, I hit the ground. ?Crack!!!?

When I landed, I knew it had been more than just a regular fall. I opened my eyes and tried to get up, but as I tried vainly to move I had to lean on my left arm. As I leaned on it, I collapsed onto my back panting and wincing as pain that burned like fire shot up my arm. Suddenly I was not aware of anything but my arm as the other arm swung to cradle it. As I looked at it, I suddenly knew, something was wrong.

Amidst all that pain, I heard feet coming my way and I looked up to see a young face looking down at me. ?Help.? I said weakly. Her eyes opened wide, she nodded seriously and ran off towards the summer camp main office.

About two minutes later I heard more feet coming around the corner. It was the nurse lady, the main teacher, and the same girl.

The nurse sent the girl away and then eased me onto my feet. ?I think something happened to this one,? I told her, pointing to my painful and injured arm as we made our way across to the main office.

effort at comforting me by giving me some warm chicken noodle soup: the perfect food for anytime anyone ever is not feeling well! This attempt to make me feel better was working. Slightly. Fortunately, he didn?t stop there. He told me, ?your mother is in Washington, but she?ll be home in two days. She called me earlier and told me that she misses you, and she tried her best to be home by this Thursday.

It didn?t work out with her business though, so she?ll get here by Friday.

Although I really missed my mom, his words made all the difference in that moment. He came over to sit beside me. I leaned against him ?Now let me see your arm.? He said, and I held it out to him. ?Ouch? I said. He gave me a children?s Tylenol and told me to rest. I fell asleep almost instantly because I was so tired!

Three hours later I woke up, but I didn?t feel much better. My Dad told me, ?I think we should go get that checked out with a doctor.? ?My arm?? I asked, yawning. ?Yes.? he said. When I hesitated he looked at me with a look that said you know you need to. ?Fine,? I agreed, ?but I still don?t want to.? I hated going to the doctor.

When we got there, the nurse took me in and sat me down in a chair. My dad followed. She took out a clipboard and said ?So, what happened?? My dad launched into the story of how I fell. When he finally finished, the nurse told us that the doctor would be there in a minute, and so he was.

When he came in, I noticed how kind his face looked as he smiled at me, and I actually considered letting him look at my arm. He pulled up a rolly chair and sat beside me. ?Hi, i?m Dr. Feinblatt, and you?re Sophia right?? When I hesitated he asked ?Well, are you?? ?Yes.? I mumbled.

Once we got there, she had me sit down, and lay my arm out on the table. As I did this, the nurse went to the freezer ,grabbed some ice, put it in a sock and laid it on my arm, as the assistant called my father. As I waited I heard the assistant talking to my father on the phone urgently. ?Oh please let him get here soon.? I thought. Although it seemed like forever, it was really only twenty minutes before my Dad arrived. He hurried through the door anxiously and then I jumped up, dropped the ice with a thud, ran to my father and gave him a one armed hug.

After that, he picked me up and took me home where he put me to bed with a pillow under my arm. He topped off his

?Good.? he responded. ?Because I was starting to think I had the wrong patient.? ?Yeah.? I laughed half-heartedly.

As he looked at my arm, he poked and prodded it for a while until he finally asked me if it hurt in a couple of specific places. ?Ouch!? I said when he touched my wrist bone. ?That?s the spot.?, he told me.

He had his assistant take a couple of x-rays and once they were printed, he told us my arm was broken. Next thing I knew, I had only one arm to use, because the other was wrapped in a pink, fiberglass cast from my wrist to past my elbow. Everything was harder from then on; eating, going to the bathroom, playing, sleeping, and even reading. But, at least I was on the mend, or

so I thought.

About one week later, I was scheduled for a follow-up appointment with Dr. Feinblatt. My mom was home by this time, so both my parents and I went to the doctor?s office with me. Dr. F took an x-ray just to be sure my arm was set correctly.

Once the x-ray had been developed, my mother got to take a peek at it before the doctor was available. Suddenly I heard her exclaim, ?I?m not a doctor, but this is NOT right!? And from right behind her, another voice said, ?true, that is definitely wrong?.

It was Dr. Feinblatt, who agreed that the bones had not been set correctly. I had been smiling before, but now, I was not. Dr. Feinblatt and the nurse walked back through the doorway to the office, speaking rapidly. Once they had ceased talking for a millisecond, my mother cut in and asked, ?what?s next?? in an anxious voice. ?Surgery?, responded Dr. F. Two days later, my parents and one set of grandparents went with me to the hospital.

It was time to get ready for surgery. I was terrified. I had never had a surgery before.

When the nurse told me I had to change out of my clothes into the hospital gown, I refused and kept on refusing until my mom eventually convinced me that my arm wouldn?t get fixed unless I did my part and got into the gown. I was okay with the gown, but not with the blue, shower cap over my hair; it was so uncomfortable!

They put me in a bed and rolled it down a hallway into a pre-op preparation area.

There was a lot of waiting.

A large man walked up to my bed, wearing surgery scrubs. He looked a little like Santa Claus, as a doctor, which I pointed out to my mom. Dr. Santa turned out to be my anesthesiologist which means he would use special drugs to put me to sleep for my surgery. He was funny and nice; I liked the Santa doctor. Then Dr. Feinblatt came in, explained what would happen in the operating room, I was given something that would make me fall asleep and that was that. The rest was pretty much a blur.

All I can remember was Dr. Santa was telling me a story about a fox, before I fell I sleep. I have no idea how the story ends. I woke up with my family around me, and different cast on my arm, this time, I really was, truly, on the mend.

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THEGARGANTITA

by Maya Purcell (grade 5) I was sliding down the mountain uncontrollably and I was freaking out. I was soon out of breath and I was still going down. My mind wasn?t working.

All I could think was that I was going to die. My dad was screaming something but I was too far away to understand him.

8 minutes earlier, I was riding up the lift. My mind was still spinning. The lady down there had told me that my dad was waiting for me at the top. Why did he make me wait so long for him?

That was all I could think on the boring, long way up to the top of the ski slope. At a distance, I could see snow and tiny black figures quickly racing down the mountain, I couldn't wait to join their numbers and race down the cold, white, frosty mountain.

When I finally got to the top, my dad was waiting for me. I started to say, ?Why did you make me wait? ? but he stopped me by saying, ?Hey, do you want to go down that slope you really like, the Gargantita?? ?Sure,? I had responded at the time but if he had asked me while I was sliding down out of control, it would have been a definite no.

The Gargantita... A slope that sends shivers up my spine every time I passed it. A slope so steep, if you made one mistake, you would fall the whole way down and there would be a very small chance that you would get out of the slope without an injury. This would be especially true on my first time going down it. It is so narrow that if you turn too much to one side, you?ll crash into the wall, roll all the way down, damage yourself or your equipment and it wouldn?t end up well.

While we were walking towards the slope my mind was racing. That day had been confusing and I couldn?t wait to start skiing. I looked at the floor.

Something was different. This wasn?t the way. Then, the answer suddenly came to me. I jumped up with happiness but once I did, I froze with fear. I was going to the other slope. I started to panic. I wasn?t ready! ?I can?t do this,? I told my dad. My heart still racing.

?Sure you can, you told me that you wanted to,? he encouraged. ?I thought you meant the other chute!

Not the Gargantita! You know I freak out when I try to ski in narrow places! I can?t turn and then I crash into the wall!? I pleaded. ?Oh come on, you?re overreacting? my dad said, just as he started racing down the steep, narrow passage. ?Wait!!? I shrieked. I took a deep breath. I would have to do it. I felt like I was going to melt. Well, at least melting wouldn?t be as painful as dying while falling down the slope. My feet felt like they were on fire. I called my dad one more time but he was too far down. Before I could stop myself, I was going down the mountain at full speed. ?Hey, this wasn?t that bad!? I yelled, but I had spoken too soon.

As soon as I had said it, I hit a jump. It might?ve been a small one but it didn?t feel like it when I collapsed on the landing and started going down. My worst fears were coming true. I was sliding out of control down the Gargantita!

I desperately tried to hang on, keep my balance, and not fall. I had a distant feeling that my arm was about to fall out of its socket, but I payed no attention to that, only my own fear. I could faintly hear my dad trying to catch up to me, trying to stop me but it was no use. I wasn?t going to stop any time soon.

feeling that, ?if I can make it out of the Gargantita alive, I can do anything,? that brought this sensation over me.

My dad thought it was a bad idea to immediately start skiing again, but I just ignored him. We skied the whole afternoon and when we went back inside I felt amazing. That was until I started getting ready to go to bed.

That night I had smiled when I told my mom the whole story. She didn?t find it funny, but I sure did.

That morning, when I woke up, I was sore. Plain sore. I was grumpy and my arm was stinging. We were supposed to get ahead on the day but I was feeling terrible. I told my dad about it but he took a look at it and as it didn?t look so bad, he thought I was fine.

When I showed it to my mom, she found out it was getting really swollen and I felt like a bee had just stung me.

They rushed me to the doctor at Portillo ( the hotel).By then I felt like it would hurt less if someone just chopped off my arm.

You might think that I was crazy. I even think that I was crazy. At first I was just scared, which is normal, but suddenly I was excited. I remembered that it was my first time to ever brake my arm and get a cast and I somehow found it exciting. Though now, I?m happy that I was excited because it helped me get through it all. When I think back to it now, I find that those two days were one of my favorite days I?ve ever lived through. It was a day where I went down the slpoe I had always been scared of but it was also the day where I got my first cast. And with all of the excitement, I also didn?t get hurt. A perfect day.

When I finally slid to a stop, I felt sore.

Very, very sore. I just lay there waiting Don?t forget to take chances! If you do, for dad to come. Whenever I tried to it could end up being your favorite sit up I felt a pang of pain hit me. day, just like me.

Mostly in my arm. When he came I had started feeling better but not completely. It had started to snow lightly. I felt miserable but suddenly I realized that this This section of The Talon asks readers to express was great. I love when it is themselves on a particular broad topic. Because of snowing! Seeing the flakes space limitations, we're unable to print all submissions. You can see more Readers Write pieces falling cheered me right up. I on our website: t het al on.nido.cl We encourage you was feeling much better, my to write on our next issue's topic: A PERSONAL STORY. dad was about to come over This includes a personal incident, a memoir, or a and I couldn?t wait to start personal narrative. Send it to : t het al on@nido.cl skiing again. I felt great somehow. I guess it was the 19

Wor ofOFAr TH EHISlTdORY HIPtHOP EDDIEVEDDERINTERVIEW

By Del Cartwright (Grade 4) Last month I got an amazing opportunity to interview the lead singer in a band named Pearl Jam. His name is Eddie Vedder. If you don?t know Pearl Jam, they are a rock band from Seattle, Washington in the United States of America.

Pearl Jam performed on November 4th in the Chilean National Stadium (Estadio Nacional).

Before the concert Eddie answered a few of my questions.

How has your music changed after having kids?

One thing is that I write songs faster now, so I don?t have to spend as much time away from them. Another is that I like to record their songs and I love the way they write words. They teach me!

Do you make your music with your band or by yourself? And how do you make the music?

I like to record all the instruments by myself sometimes and write the whole thing on my

own? .but it?s even more important to be able to work well with others and achieve a good song together!

My favorite song is ?Wish List?. If you were to rewrite it now, what would you wish for?

I think a lot about how I wish people had more tolerance for people that they think are different from them...more accepting of different cultures and customs. The other is that I find myself wishing for all humans to be very aware of the environment and doing everything we can to let us survive on this planet for a long time.

I grew up not knowing much about Pearl Jam, except for some of the songs my mom and dad listen to. After I interviewed Eddie and read his answers, I really connected with him. For example, he has a big heart for the environment, so do I. He works well in a group, and he appreciated people from other places and countries like I do.

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Wacky Page

FINDTHEDIFFERENCE

By Ariana Robinson and Delfin Cartwright

Lets see who can find the difference!! There are 10 differences. Can you find them all?

Our one

Original one

4FUNTHINGSTODOWITHFRIENDSWITHOUTSCREENS

By Naomi Templeman (Grade 3)

I Am Your Friend

So are you looking for some stuff to do with your friends without using screens this summer vacation? Well you and your friends are in luck! Read on for great vacation ideas.

First, make sure there are 6 or more of you.

Second, put everyone in a circle with a chair at the end. Third, pick someone to be in the chair. Fourth,

Get Crazy wit h Music!

First, you want to go to a place where there is nothing fragile around so that you don?t accidentally bump into while dancing.

Second, get one of your family members to turn on the music and take a video.Third, plan a dance that you are going to dance to. Last but not least? DO THE DANCE! HANDY HINT: you should put the music on speakers.

Three Legged Trampol ine Jump First, you need a trampoline and a rope. Second, tie the rope to your leg and to your friend?s leg.Third, jump on trampoline in circles for as long as you can.

pick someone QUIETLY to tap them on the shoulder and say ? I am your friend?. Fifth, the person in the chair turns around and tries to guess who it was.

HANDY HINT: try to make you voice not like your own voice and make the guesser have 2 or 3 guesses Draw and Guess First, GO GET SOME PAPERS AND A PENCIL!! Second, make sure you have 6 or more people. Third, split them into two equal groups. Fourth, Draw something or guess what it is before the other team. first team to get the correct answer is the WINNER! HANDY HINT: Try to draw something easy.

HANDY HINT: try to get a big trampoline, also try to jump at the sametime.

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JOIN THE FUN !

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