The Talon issue 10: Betterment

THE TALON

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

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Final Draft

BETTERM ENT = 10TH A NNI V ERSA RY

bet t erment [bet-er-muh nt] Spell Syllables noun 1.the act or process of bettering; improvement.

2.an improvement of property other than by mere repairs.

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

I ssue 10 Apr il 2016

Ariana Robinson Grade 4

STAFF Ameer Najarali Grade 5

Maya Purcell Grade 5

Nicolas Rios Grade 5

Del Cartwright Grade 4

Ben Rios Grade 2

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 How-To

Did You Know

How-to start a blog Spanish poems, plastic pollution, grandma, and Top Talon moments

page 4

pages 1-3

Animals and Nature Animals galore: okapi, pandas, dolphins, peahen, snow leopards, and recycling pages 5-7

Your Vote You favortie Talon sections and Talon in the classrooms pages 14-15

Sports

Super Bowl 50 Review

page 8

Spotlight Past Talon staff members reflect on their 'betterment' Talon-process

pages 9-10

Imagination Creation

Readers-Write

Nido fiction writers unite in the form of awesome!

EYES!

pages 13-15

Wacky Page Madlib and more Yoda fun! page 23 and back cover

pages 16-19

Did You Know ELINVIERNO

Catalina Muñoz (grade 3) El Invierno ¡El invierno ha llegado!

Nadie sabe como ha pasado.

Fuera la ropa de verano, porque el frío nos ha visitado.

Ponte el gorro y el calcetín, y la bufanda jasmín.

Ponte al lado del fuego, y a la nieve, luego.

Me divierto en la nieve como un yeti en el hielo.

El otoño nos ha dejado, ¡el invierno ha llegado!

ELGRANPAIS Por Isaac Adelsohn (grade 5)

PLASTICPOLLUTION

By Ariana Robinson (Grade 4) Did you know that enough plastic is thrown away each year to circle the earth four times?!!

Well I didn't, and that is why I choose to research more on this problem and write about what I found.

Over the last ten years we have produced more plastic than during the whole last century. Wow!!

50% of the plastic we use just gets used once and then thrown away. Last year Americans used about 50 billion disposable water bottles and recycled not much more than 20% of that number.

Did you know that plastic kills about 1.5 million marine animals each year!!

44% of all seabird species, 22% of whale and dolphin species, all sea turtle species and a growing list of fish species have been documented with plastic in or around their bodies (especially seagulls and turtles because of all the plastic that is being left on the ground).

Colombia, Colombia ¿Dónde estás que no te veo?

Con tu lindo mar y hermosos paisajes.

Colombia, tierra querida.

Tierra de fe y alegría.

Bailando todos juntos como un país unido.

Colombia es buen futbol.

Colombia es buena comida.

Colombia es un millón de flores. ¡Colombia es mi vida!

Con tu buena calidad de vida ¡Ay, Colombia!

Cuanto te extraño en mi vida.

Plastic in the ocean breaks down into such small segments that pieces of plastic could end up on every mile of beach throughout the world. You might not know this but there is a giant floating garbage island in the North Pacific Ocean that is about twice the size of Texas. Animals can mistakenly eat plastic thinking it?s food and it can even end up on our dinner plate!!

To clean up this island of plastic is a big job that the Environmental Cleanup Coalition (ECC) are putting in a big effort to do. We also can make a difference by doing these things: -

You should choose to use fabric shopping bags or reuse plastic shopping bags Bring water in a drink bottle or reuse water bottles from the shop If you don?t already have a reusable lunch box or thermos then you should get one because that will reduce the use of plastic quite a bit.

Cont inued on t he next page 1

PLASTICPOLLUTIONCONTINUED If you like computers then you should go digital!!

Write a link about how bad plastic is and let even more people like me learn about Plastic Pollution Start recycling more but if you must use plastic then use the degradable type If you live in at a beach start a beach cleanup with your community If you can?t do any of that then just spread the news. Talk to your friends and family about it. If you do all this then you have excelled in protecting the environment!

MYGRANDMOTHER'SBATTLEWITHCANCER

by Tristan Bohn (Grade 2) Susan Payne was my grandmother.

She was there ever since I was born. She was a sweet woman who I was lucky to call ?Nani?.

She lived in Utah and I visited her at least twice a year even though I live in another country. Recently she past away after battling cancer for a few years.

She started out with cancer, then it went away, but then the cancer came back even stronger.

Nani was a little bit sad, but she remained calm and she finally was okay with dying. She was okay with dying because she had met a lot

of people and done a lot of things in her life. I hope someday I can say the same thing when I die.

During her battle with cancer, I was unspeakably sad. I cried sometimes and I became angry sometimes. For example: I was angry because I didn't know why she had to die. Another example is, I was crying when I heard that she died. My mom told me the sad news and I felt tears roll down my cheeks.

She was smiling when she died, she was 72 years old, she was holding her husband's hand and she was happy that people love and care about her.

My dad made a photo album about her. I have her compass to remember her. My advice if somebody close to you dies: be calm, think about good memories with them and take deep breaths. I am glad she made me a better person by teaching me to be kind, respectful and responsible. Also, she was always doing the right thing at the right time.

Thank you for letting me share my experience with my grandmother?s battle with cancer.

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How To HOWTOSTARTYOUROWNBLOG

By Tristan Bohn Prescott (Grade 2) There are l oads and l oads of bl ogs out t here! Last year, t hree ot her Nido st udent s and I l earned how t o make a bl og of our own. Mine is cal l ed, ?What is That Trist an??. My bl og is about t hings t hat I t hink are int erest ing and t hings t hat I l ike t o t al k about f or inst ance, my newest one is about soccer and my ol dest is about Cl ash of Cl ans. You shoul d st art a bl og because you can writ e about al most anyt hing you want ! Al so, if you are l ike me, (peopl e t hat l ike t o share st uf f a l ot ) t hen t his is perf ect f or you. In addit ion, I wil l show you one way on how t o make a bl og of your own in 7 easy st eps. I wil l al so give you some warnings of what t o avoid. Remember, you can writ e about anyt hing you want !

But bef ore you do everyt hing I wil l give you some warnings: If you press publ ish t hen t he bl og wil l be f inished. If you put your bl og on publ ic t hen anyone can see t hat bl og. Do not put anyt hing mean in it especial l y bul l ying, put downs and name cal l ing. You must have permission t o make t he bl og and t al k about ot her peopl e. You must choose your f ont and col or wisel y so your viewers can underst and it wel l .

Thank you f or l et t ing me share 1 way on how t o make a bl og. I hope you have f un! I was asked t o do a how t o so I did one.

FOLLOW THESE STEPS: St ep 1: First , you have t o have a gmail account .

St ep 2: Next , you press t he 9 box icon.

St ep 3: Then, you press more.

St ep 4: Af t er, you scrol l down and press even more f rom Googl e.

St ep 5: Af t er t hat , you scrol l down again and press Bl ogger.

St ep 6: Right away, you press t he pencil .

St ep 7: Final l y, you press new post and st art writ ing.

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Animal s and Nat ur e ZEBRA+ GIRAFFE+ HORSE= OKAPI By: Emma Garfein (Grade 4) One warm morning the sun rises over Mount Stanley Congo, Africa. The Okapi mother gets up, with eyes popping open, stretches her limbs, and wakes up her calves. She signals to her calves, time for breakfast she leads her calves to their trail and start a half kilometer journey to find their breakfast. Finally they find a fresh big meal of leaves at the top of a tree and reaches up with its giraffe like neck, ?crunch, snap, crunch, snap? such yummy leaves!

While eating their leaves, they look around, what a beautiful scenic, the birds are chirping, the deer are joyfully prancing, leaping over the rocks. In the valley they are in, the water is streaming down the river making sweet music, with the fish jumping over the rocks splashing water making the other animals perk their ears. Yet the okapis are not seen by the other animals in between the bushes because of their zebra like, camouflaged fur.

After breakfast they go exploring the forest finding bird, frogs, and bugs, some fresh fruit to eat, and jumping around like a horse. After a while, it gets late, and they get ready to head home. What a peaceful, normal day for the Okpapi.

THELITTLEREDPANDA

By Lizzie Arthur (Grade 2) About to be awakened, a fluffed up, tired panda wakes up by the sound of squeaks.

Surrounded in bamboo, the little red panda stretches and waddles into the bamboo forest.

Each bamboo piece is about 5 inches thick.

It leaps over to a young bamboo shoot? NOM NOM NOM! Very very yummy! It goes to a branch and lies down on a branch. Let?s rest!

It wakes up again and wanders somewhere else. Suddenly, A snow leopard darts towards the red panda with sharp teeth showing!!! RUN AWAY!!!

The scared red panda thought, Run, run, run as fast as you can! Did I lose him? Oh yes! I did! I was as scared as a frog getting chased by french men! It?s getting late, it?s time to go home to rest, drink water, eat bamboo and hide just in case.

The red panda knew it would be a normal day. His ears twitched like the grass swaying and his nose was wet .

(Illustration by Lizzie Arthur) 5

BOTTLENOSEDOLPHINSURVIVINGINCHILE

By Eduardo Galindo (Grade 2) One glacial August morning, the sun rises over the edge of the Andes Mountains off the coast of Chile. The beautiful calm squeaks and clatters of the bottlenose dolphins blend with the sound of waves. The soaring snowy mountains in the distance are taller than fifty giraffes put together.

Soon this calm, intelligent animal spots it?s perfect, just right breakfast, a yummy crab crustacean.

The dolphin races towards the crab, opens his mouth, and swallows it down. In an instant, the dolphin understands that the crab is not enough to satisfy his hunger. He sets off to find some more food. A few minutes later, he spots his prey, a deliciously treasured squid. The squid tries to propel away, but the dolphin is too fast. He gets ready to have a tasty meal. Gulp! He devours the squid instantly.

At that moment, the dolphin spots shrimp swimming nearby, but he decides not to eat it because he is already stuffed with food. However, behind the shrimp was a coral reef! The dolphin was thrilled with the coral. For the reason that he had never seen coral before. So he submerges down into the coral reef and begins to hide in it. While he is hiding in the coral he spots a scrap of plastic that catches his attention. He decides to go down there and check it out. But as soon as he gets closer, he gets caught in the plastic. He whistles and moans to his friends for support. His friends dash in a flash to help him. Once he is free from the plastic, the dolphin and his pod race back to their home. On his way there, he is feeling very ecstatic so, he decides to go out, and ride the waves. He gets up on his flukes and starts to surf. Then he leaps out of the water alongside the bulky waves. When he vaults back into the water, he became conscious that he had been left behind! He rushes back to his pod turns off half of his brain, and begins to doze. He keeps thinking about the same crazy old day happening tomorrow.

But for now, he snuggles into the warmth of the ocean and naps in peace to get ready for the next day.

GREENPEAHEN

By Agustina Bravo (Grade 2) It was a calm morning in a sunny and colorful grassland when a peachick cracked it?s egg and started to chirp loudly,mommy peahen started to calm down her newborn chick. Meanwhile, daddy was searching for food deep in the bushes, he was nowhere to be found. Mommy peahen was very worried about him. Little chick was absolutely thirsty.

All of a sudden daddy appeared out of nowhere chased by evil cuckoo hunters trying to mislead them by zig-zagging all over the grassland. ?he sure needs some help,? thought Mommy. She also tried to mislead the cuckoo hunters while little chick waited patiently for the signal. ??Peep, peep??called Mommy. That was the signal! Little chick chirped as loud as he could and thousands of mad bees started to rise from flowers. All of a sudden something absolutely surprising happened.

??Let's get outta here right now!??said one of the hunters.

Once everything was back to normal another big surprise was waiting for them.Back at the nest all the eggs had hatched! the little chicks were waiting for them patiently inside the nest.

Once all of the little chicks were tucked up they fell asleep when they felt the feathers on their cute and little heads. After all, it had been a long and crazy day.

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SNOWLEOPARDS

By Samuel Lowthorpe (Grade 2) Growl! Did you hear that?That was the sound of a snow leopard.

There are only around 5000 snow leopards left in their habitat.They mostly live in the steep, rocky ridges and cliffs of places like Mongolia, China and parts of India.

First, bright and early in the morning for their breakfast they like to hunt for big, wild sheep,guinea pigs, red pandas and ground birds. Snow leopards have been known for leaping over big rivers, ravines and other large obstacles. Snow leopards will kill or attack animals but may get hunted down by human hunters for not being careful. 20% of the population has disappeared in the last 20 years. I know that doesn't sound like a lot, but it is. It is sad that the fact that people wear leopard skin.

FUN FACTS:Snow leopards use their tail not just for balancing but for keeping themselves warm. Some snow leopards can jump nine meters high. Snow leopards can hunt prey three times their size. Cubs are born blind and don?t gain their sight until they are nine days old. When they are two months old snow leopards are fully active. When they are two years old, they are ready to leave their mother and explore the dangerous habitat.

RECYCLING

By Sophia Shaffer (Grade 5) One of our problems at Nido is recycling because few students and not enough teachers recycle. This problem occurs everywhere. In some places it?s not as big a problem, in others you cannot walk down the street without seeing a mound or two of garbage. If we do not try even a little bit then eventually we will use up all the materials in the world, and a long ways down the road drown in garbage. As William Rathje said ?Source reduction is to garbage what preventative medicine is to health.? People throw away 25 billion styrofoam cups every year, and 2.5 million plastic bottles every hour. How to we help you ask? Easy. Just follow these simple steps; first and foremost you eat your food. Next you rinse out your food container and check the bottom to see if it has a 5 in a recycling sign, so you know if it is recyclable or not, if it is you can put it in a bag or other container and wait until you find somewhere to recycle it, you can?t put it in a recycle bin with another thing of a different sort, such as don?t put a plastic bottle in the cardboard bin. Do this now, before it is too late.

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SUPERBOWL50 REVIEW By:Vincent Pohr and Nico Rios (bot h f rom grade 5) Boom! The Panther?s humongous drum echoes loudly through the stadium. KEEP ON POUNDING! The crowd in levi?s Stadium roars.

Pow! The Broncos rush through the tunnel and onto the field with a wild horse carrying a trained cheerleader. The cheer of the orange ocean was like a volcano erupting . The game is beginning. The great game. The prestigious game. The Super Bowl 50.

The odds were against the Broncos, since the 15-1 season from the Panthers was better than the Broncos?12-4 record. The Panthers, who had the best offense in the NFL,were facing off against the Broncos defense(AKA the ?Orange crush II?),which was the best defense of the season. The Broncos had won 2 Superbowls, and Panthers had won 0.d the Cam Newton (Panther QB) had the speed, strength, and skill to win a ring. Peyton Manning (Bronco QB) was well? Peyton Manning, and, with his great season, was ready to win a Super Bowl ring for his family, team, and finger. Luke Kuechly (Panther MLB), the beast from the east, is a pro at blitzing and intercepting. Von Miller (Bronco OLB), the orange outside linebacker was the sole defense leader of the AFC championship winning team, with all his QB sacks and pass rushing.At halftime, the score being 13-7, the Denver citizens enjoyed the magical Coldplay, Bruno Mars, and Beyonce halftime show. With tunes like Formation, Uptown Funk, and Paradise, people from all corners of the world sang along to these huge tunes.

In the fourth quarter time slowed down, and the Panthers got back in the game with an amazing field goal, barely getting past the QB-sacking Von Miller and the dangerous Demarcus Ware. A couple longish minutes later the Broncos?CJ Anderson shoved into the end zone and scored a wonderful touchdown to seal the package with duct tape and send it to Denver, Colorado. Just to put an orange rose and a box of chocolate in that package of theirs. The Panthers ran out of time, and quickly as it began, the great game ended.

Half the stadium cheered, and half dropped heads down in embarrassment and shame. The Manning family, from their VIP lookout spot, cheered and celebrated for their wonderful Peyton Manning.

The 50th super bowl was a wonderful experience for us, and I hope you had an equally good time on this special day, and we hope you can have a excellent theme at the next superbowl and the next after that!!

The Broncos defense continued to dominate throughout the 3rd quarter, with ANOTHER interception and and the Broncos got another of their many field goals making the score 16-7, and went into their luxurious locker room with a goofy yet determined grin on their face.

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Spot l ight

By Del Cartwright (Grade 4)

FRIENDSFROM THETALON'SPAST

The Tal on has had many amazing writ ers t hat have l ef t t o middl e school . Do you remember Lil y?s amazing imaginat ion creat ion? Or Takoa and Dan?s det ail ed sport art icl es? So since it is t he t ent h issue of The Tal on and t he t heme is Bet t erment , I want ed t o ask t hem what t he Tal on means/ meant t o t hem and how t hey improved as st udent s, peopl e, or writ ers. I had t he chance t o ask t hem t hese quest ions. This is what t he amazing, creat ive ol d Tal on writ ers said?

?To me, The Talon is a way to share something global or personal with others and to connect with them. The Talon has helped me by improving my research, writing and editing skills.?

Estella (Grade 6)

Estella was a detailed Talon writer that would write many articles in a short time. She was a very productive writer.

?The Talon was a great experience for me, it let me express myself and become of something very important. When I did start writing, I got critical feedback and made me a better writer. The Talon also improved my personality by teaching me how to work as a big team.

I learned various writing methods that helped/ helps me in every project. The Talon is like a great family to me, that can get smaller or bigger. Either way The Talon is amazing.? -Lilly (Grade 6) Lilly was an amazing writer that made articles for many sections of The Talon specifically imagination creation and readers write.

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I think that The Talon helped me improve as a writer and student by introducing me more to working with a deadline and how it felt.?

Liam (Grade 7) Liam was only in The Talon for one year but was always writing jokes and funny articles.

?To me the Talon was a fun way to share my writing with the rest of the community. The Talon gave me a chance to show what I could do.?

Antonia (Grade 5... she moved) Antonia was a nature writer and wrote many interesting and amazing pieces.

?The Talon made me realize that if you can work as a team, it will make you and others around you stronger. The Talon gave me the opportunity to be able to meet amazing new writers and work with them to create the best magazine.?

Dan (Grade 6) Dan was an very detailed writer and made many football and basketball pieces with Takoa.

?The Talon made me realize that teamwork is the most important thing and that many ideas are better than one idea and together we are better. I also learned to collaborate together and work for each other. . I learned many great writing strategies that helped me become a better writer.?

Takoa (grade 6)

Takoa was a very fast writer and made many sport pieces with Dan.

Af t er reading and being hel ped by are Tal on al umni members I real ized t hat t eamwork, working t oget her, and improvement are al l key t hings t o being a part of The Tal on. These Tal on members set a Tal on l egacy of working t oget her, improving The Tal on every t ime, and making an amazing issue.

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Your Vot e

by Gabriela Gomez (Grade 4)

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Imaginat ion Cr eat ion

ROOKYTHEROLY-POLY

By Tristan Bohn [Grade 2] One spring day, there lived a roly-poly named Rooky who was the best climber of his village. He had a strong shell and he loved to sprinkle seeds all around because he absolutely ADORED plants.

Also, he had a variety of seeds in his shell including: tomatoes, oak tree, lettuce and basil leaf.

One peaceful day, on April 18th 2015 at 12:45 AM, after Rooky and his best friends grabbed some tomatoes and leaves from the garden, some big caterpillars pounced out of nowhere and said they were going to take them to Caterpillar Prison for stealing the food that the caterpillars wanted.

But Rooky?s best friends suddenly dug underground and threw dirt in the big caterpillars faces. Then, Rooky snached and threw oak tree seeds from his shell on the caterpillars faces.

Since the big caterpillars were now stuck in dirt and seeds, Rooky climbed and rolled back to the village while Rooky?s best friends dug underground back to the roly-poly village.

A few days later, after Rooky and his best friends gathered some food they saw some tiny oak tree saplings and remembered the victory on April 18th 2015. So every January 13th they celebrated the Victory of Rooky and his best friends.

AWWISTORY

Mons, 1914 Royal Fusiliers We had just been told the news. We were to defend the Nimy Bridge over the Mons Canal. A machine gun post had been set up, a roadblock of overturned carriages and a boat was setup, and some sandbag walls to provide some cover had been laid around our post. A few days later, we pulled a Bavarian Officer out of the wood. He complimented us on our defences, but wished us good luck. He said we?d, ?need it.?

A few days later, We came under sniper fire.

Commander Steele spotted the German storehouse covered by felled pines and camouflage netting.

We charged the post and captured the sniper. We were then charged by Stormtroopers. A runner was sent out to HQ. He came back with the news that the Royal Engineers were to blow up 10 of the 16 bridges. The remaining men stationed there were to report to the Nimy and CondĂŠ Bridges.

Then we heard the marching. They came around in their hundreds- around 500. I was astounded the Vickers didn?t overheat. Then the shelling started.

Mons lay in ruins as a result of the raging battle.

I saw a smashed pumpkin, an overturned supplies cart and a runaway Pickelhaube. Then, After 8 Hours of combat, just 100 meters away from the dastardly enemy, we withdrew.

I injured: my small intestine and my skull. I was sent to Hospital for 2 years, and, then when I?d finally recovered, to the Battle of the Somme.

by Alex Arthur [grade 4] In Memory of my Great-Great Grandfather Killed in a Raid on the German Trenches By a Booby Trap Ypres, 1914 And All Others Lest We Forget

I was stationed in the town of La Boisselle, once a quiet little town in the French countryside, now a pile of rubble and a few old pieces of kit scattered and buried in mud, British, French and German Alike. I saw a ?Rosalie? Bayonet and a Mauser Gewehr 98 as I rode past on my steed ?Black Betty.?

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AWWISTORYCONTINUED... ?BOOM!? As I trotted along, a shell landed say?

12 FT Away. My horse bucked and I flew off.

The Second-Lieutenant dismounted and helped me up.

When I got to the nearby trenches, I was put on look-out duty in ?Gordon Alley.? A German raiding party crawled over and into the trench.

Having manned the Vickers at Mons I had a Lewis Gun and warned them off with a few bursts.

Then I was to report to the Field Officers post.

It was quite the journey amidst all the chaos.

The officer asked me if I saw anything unusual.

I said not, although one of the soldiers had a small, metallic tank on his back and a strange nozzle connected to it. He told me it was a gun that spat flames. A ?Flammenwerfer,? he said they called it.

Then he showed me the most prized army footage of the Germans using them at Verdun.

It was a devastating weapon.

It was only when I got back to the trenches, that I had my first look at the dugouts. A massive maze of tunnels and a few bunks. As I came in, a mist started to radiate around me. ?Phosgene Gas!!!? Somebody screamed. I remembered we had been told to put on the new ?Gas Masks? we had if this ever happened.

I ran out of the dugout that was attached to the trench, and fumbled through my bag. My fingers burned and were blistering. My eyes stang.

Then came my first taste of battle. We were to go over the top at 0.800 HRs following 4 days of constant shelling and Gas Attacks. Finally, the Royal Engineers?tunneling companies blew 2 of the Biggest Mines this war had ever seen At Y-Sap and Bettendorf. Then the whistle blew. The ground was still shaking when we climbed over the top. This was clearly the moment of truth...

To see more, go to thetalon.nido.cl...

BEYONDTHELIMITS,THEWATERREALM

by Ryder Whipperman,(4F) Yoav Gurstein (4F) and Cole Raleigh (4E) Once upon a time there were three 10 year old boys, Ryder, Cole and Yoav. Yoav had an orange afro and wasn?t scared of anything.

Ryder and Cole had blonde hair, but Cole was scared of everything that is new and people say are dangerous while Ryder was very adventurous. They all wanted to go bungy jumping together at a place called Beyond the Limits.

They were driving in a yellow taxi and talking about how exciting it will be. ?I think it will feel like flying? said Ryder, in a rather deep but excited voice. ?I agree? said Cole in a higher, much more excited voice. When they got there they saw a deep, dark hole.

When they saw it they got even more excited about it and wanted to go bungy jumping as soon as possible, so that they could get a closer look at the hole. They got on their harnesses and were ready in 5 minutes as they attached all of the safety gear for this daring adventure they were about to undertake.

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BEYONDTHELIMITSCONTINUED... ?This is going to be awesome?

Yoav said in a slightly lower voice, just as excited as Ryder. ?You know it is? said Ryder as he was getting hooked up to the bungee jumping cord. ?Do you want to go at the same time or separate,? said a high pitched voice. Ryder turned around and saw that it was the tour guide. ?We prefer to be together,? they all said at the same time as they got hooked up for the adventure that awaited. ?Ready,? said the high pitched voice again. ?Yes!? They all answered at the exact same time. ?Then JUMP!?

They all jumped at the same time.

They heard the cord making a few noises, it sounded like the cord was about to snap, so they looked up at their cords and saw that it only had a single small string holding it together. Just at that moment, as they watched the small string break they started screaming and flailing their arms. As they fell, they got farther and farther away from the light from above. Quickly, they looked at the rope, it looked awfully like someone had cut it.

Before they knew it they were falling about 100 mph down into the hole. They all started to scream as they fell at break neck speed

through the hole. Suddenly the end of the hole came and they got knocked out from the rocks that they landed on.

They should have been hurt, or worse. Little did they know that this was the first of many strange things that were about to take place.

They awoke, hardly damaged, flying just above the ground. They looked around and saw a blue hole in the ground. One thing you should know about these boys, is that they are VERY adventurous and are never afraid to have an adventure. So, in spite of the crazy situation they found themselves in, they all decided to let their curiosity be their guide. ?Are you thinking what I?m thinking?? Ryder asked them as they all stared at the blue hole in the floor. ?If you?re thinking that we should go into that blue hole thing then, yes!? Said Yoav. ?Are you ready for an adventure??

Cole asked. ?YES!!! Who wouldn?t be?? Yoav and Ryder answered. ?Then let?s go!? Cole said. And as soon as they took one step closer to the hole it started glowing Green. ?I think it?s calling us? Ryder said as they gathered around the hole. ?ONE TWO THREE!!!!!!!? They all screamed as they jumped into the green hole. Suddenly it felt as though they had got squeezed through a small, tight tube as they

travelled through the hole, it took what felt like 2 milliseconds.

A few seconds after that, they arrived in what looked like the clouds, though it seemed quite impossible because they were just underground. They looked around for a second and saw a man dressed in blue with huge white wings and a red helmet, with one green eye and one purple eye. ?Who are you?? they all asked as soon as they saw him. ?I am the Sky Lord, king of the Sky Realm. And you three are the chosen guardians to protect all of the realms. To protect all of the realms you will need to collect all of the scrolls. There are scrolls in the Water Realm, the Nature Realm, the Lava Realm, the Thunder Realm and the Realm of Darkness. You have to go to them in that order to save the Realms.

When you reach the Realm of Darkness you have to defeat the Dark Lord and to get you started take these Skylets? he said in a deep voice as he handed them small things that looked like DS? then continued ?Your Skylets will appear with one picture from each Realm which is a powerup. You can have a Sky powerup? he boomed as a picture of wings appeared on their skylets. ?My powerup will give you the ability to travel to the different Realms. I know this is a lot to ask of you, but will you protect us from the Dark Lord?? He said in his usual loud deep voice.

They thought for a second and then exchanged excited looks ?Of course we will? they all said.

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Reader s-Wr it e

DOGFIGHT

lay flat. I looked across the street.

Standing there was the dog next to it?s owner. He still glared at my dog his eyes burned with fury.The owner hit him in the back and he lowered his head in shame and he walked slowly away. He glanced at my dog his lips curled back in a snarl. It seems so long ago but I still remember the look in both dogs eyes._____________________

ByCaitlin Duggan (Grade 3)_______ One day when I was walking my dog, I heard a low growl. My heart stopped dead, my legs twitched to run, and a chill ran through my body. A fierce german shepard stared at my dog! I ran to my mom, the dog was still standing there.

For a second he looked like he didn't know what to do but then suddenly...it sprang, leaped and charged at my dog.______________ Rage and strength showing in his eyes now. I glanced at my dog. Her fur stood up and I could see her eyes widen with fear.

My mom grabbed the leash, and I ran to a bush. I tried to climb the bush, but fright running through me made my arms and legs useless. I could hear screeches, whines and scared barks mixed with fierce barks. I struggled to climb up the tree. I risked a look backwards.

In that instant, the dog looked like it was charging at me then it turned back to my dog and leaped! My dog sprang back. Suddenly it all grew silent... is it over I thought. ?Caitlin come out,? I heard my mother's sweet voice call.

I sulked back to the area where the dogs were fighting. My dog?s eyes were filled with fear and her hair stood up to the end. I smiled down at her and patted her on the head.

She seemed to know she was safe and she almost smiled back. Joy filled her eyes again and her hair

THEEYESOFBRAVERY

By Eduardo Zuniga (Grade 3) It was my first day of school. When I walked in everything at Nido seemed giant. I felt so tiny when my dad and I walked into the elementary building. ??No dad I won?t go??I exclaimed in a childish voice. ??Don?t worry you?ll have so much fun,? my dad responded. ??No! I won?t go!??I said stubbornly.

The teacher came through the classroom door and I hid behind my dad?s leg. They started talking.

My body shook, my hands were sweaty, and there was a knot in my stomach. Through my dad?s legs, I glanced a tiny bit into the classroom. I wanted to go back home. I thought of escaping from my dad, through the hallway, through the campus, up the long stairs, past the guards, out the front gate and finally to my house... but that would be too hard.

But then something that would change everything happened. A boy who looked curious to know what was going on, stopped painting (messy things that didn?t exist), and walked to the doorway to get a closer view of me hiding behind my dad?s legs. The first

thing I noticed in this curious boy were his eyes. They were brown like mine. When I looked into his eyes it was like looking at friendship. His eyes were full of confidence and fun. Actually, his eyes gave me enough bravery to leap into something new, to try, to go to K1A. I entered the classroom with my new friend Santiago, as if I had known him all my life. We passed by the teacher like she didn?t even exist.

Even though he left in first grade, for me he is still here and will always be here, in my heart, filling me bravery. _

LILY'SEYES

By Claire Gillen (Grade 3) I was sprawled on the bed of the strange apartment my family rented just for the day before the big move. It was my last few hours of living in Virginia and I laid on the bed thinking about when Lily would get there. When suddenly my mom called ? Lily's here!?

I immediately jumped up and sprinted to the front room, and there she was, my best friend for life coming to say goodbye to me.

We had been friends since kindergarten in Ms. Kaperts class.

We?d only been in the same class once, but we always played together at recess with our other two friends Sonja and Sophia. We had gone to summer camp together. The camp was called Knights of Columbus Camp. We had made lots of memories there.

Like the time we made matching necklaces in arts and crafts.

(Continue next page...)

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I greeted Lily at the door, grabbed her hand, and lead her into the room I shared with my sister. I yelled to my sister, ?Get out Katrina!? ?Okay, okay!? My sister exclaimed.

And left.

Lily and I talked, laughed and played for a while and before I knew it Lily?s mom called ?Lily we have to go!?

My friend and I went to the front room. We hugged and she said ?I?ll miss you.?

As I looked into her beautiful blue eyes I knew she was telling the truth. A tear rolled down my cheek as we parted.

As she walked down the hall I remembered all the times we had together. I just stood there for a minute then I ran down the hall after her, but it was too late. I knew I was going to see her again, but I couldn?t help remembering those beautiful eyes and how they twinkled in the sunlight.

KOALAEYES

By Keira Simon (Grade 3) I can?t wait to pet a koala! They are so adorable and cuddly, I thought as I jumped up and down in the line to the koala exhibit in Featherdale Wildlife Park in Sydney, Australia. My mother stood next to me holding my hand, ?I wonder if they will allow us to hug the koala?? I asked her.

My mother looked down at me trying to hold her excitement, ?I

don?t think so,? she replied.

A few minutes later, the ranger told us, ?Ladies and gentlemen, please be careful. If you want to pet a koala you can. Only pet the part which is just under the koala?s leg.

And if the koala tries to sniff, you step back because we don?t want that friendly sniff to become a bite.?

After that she showed us an enormous bite about as big as a mouse on her inner elbow. It was as red as a blood.That must have hurt, I thought.

My heart skipped a beat . My palms were moist and sweaty.

Questions started popping into my head. What if it bites me? What if it scratches me?I was suddenly paralyzed as the line moved forward by five people. On second thought, I might not want to go to the koala exhibit anymore. I whispered under my breath so nobody would hear me. But it was too late to turn back. Half an hour had passed, my mother and I were going to be the next ones to pet a koala. Finally, the ranger directed us to a koala. It is even cuter when you are right next to it. I decided to pet it. I just touched the koala?s grey fur with my fingertips when suddenly I remembered the terrifying sight of the koala?s bite. I took a step back as my mother was trying to get a picture of me and the koala. It was almost time to go.

After much hesitation, I pet a koala for the first time in my life. I gazed into the koala?s eyes. They were as blue as the sky with an inner layer of jet black.They were a perfect circle that sparkled brightly in the sunlight. Looking into the koala?s eyes was like looking into a world of calmness the opposite of what the ranger said about koalas. From that experience, I learned that even cute animals like koalas, polar bears and dogs can be ferocious.

KITTENEYES

By Nico Duggan (Grade 3) I was walking back to the hotel in Uruguay. We were returning from lunch. Just then in front of the hotel I saw a puny little kitten that meowed with delight and had BEAUTIFUL yellow eyes!! ?Look mom!? I said Look at the kitten!? ?It?s adorable, but unfortunately we have to go now,?she said.

I looked at the kittens eyes one more time and gave it a little pat on the head. ?Bye,? I whispered.

She let out a whine of disappointment. ?Meow?? it meowed.

I wanted to scoop it up in my arms and take it home, but I didn?t.the next day I saw the kitten again, then I became friends with the kitten and gave it crackers for food.

Though I never saw the kitten again, I still remember the kitten when I picked her up in my arms and I could feel her warmth on that rainy afternoon. But what I remember most was her eyes filled with worry,and when I picked her up in my lap, happiness filled her eyes and I could feel her purr with delight, she was happy. And so was I.

17

LEON'SLUCKYEYES

By Naomi Templeman (Grade 3) It was a sunny day and I was going on vacation. Suddenly I heard someone shouting my name, ?Naomi, Naomi!?

I turned around to see my friend, Paloma. She was running towards me. Eyes full of surprise. She said, ?Come with me!!?

So I went to ask my mother. She said I could play for a little bit.

We ran down the hill, greeted my neighbor as we ran past her house, and sprinted to the park.

That?s where I saw it. Yellow and floppy ears, a dog. I thought it was a stray dog. Then I cried, ?Come!?

And that little dog started trotting towards me!!!

Then the dog slowly lifted up his paws and touched me with them. I could see his eyes looking at me, beautiful brown eyes, with a little twinkle in both of them, happiness, beautiful happiness in his eyes. Then I noticed the time, it was almost time to go.

So I raced up the hill and the dog followed every step, like a loyal dog who?s been trained for a LONG, LONG time. When I arrived home, the taxi was already loaded. We were driving to a horse camp for vacation and I hopped in the taxi and we were off!!

One week later, we were coming home and I decided to look for Banana ( that's what we

decided to call him, for now.

AND we did not adopt him yet) so I went, I asked some other friends if they had seen him, they said he went to the other park, so I went there, he was not there. I started heading home in disappointment. Then I saw a yellow fluffy thing. Then I saw him, my dog. I ran towards him with excitement. He was furry and oh, so cute. We went to my house. I asked my mom if I could play with him in the back of our house. To my surprise she said? ?YES?. yay yay yay yay yay!!!! I ran, he ran. I talked, he barked. IT WAS FUN. Then it was time for dinner. We gave the dog some food. ( Left over from when we babysitted another dog) the dog ate it like a kid who has a HUGE sweet tooth!!!!! I am glad he liked it. I found his eyes staring at the bowl and licking it, waiting for more. Then we let the dog back out front of our house. He barked at everyone that passed, even the GUARDS!!!!! My dad went outside to bring him in. The next day we decided to adopt, let me repeat, ADOPT the dog. We went into the living room to name him. My mom said he is like a leader and we found a horse named Leon and he was the leader of the pack?

We decided? LEON.

KITTENEYES

By Caileigh Hiten (Grade 3)

makes you want to slouch and search for shade. The sun was beaming down on the countryside. I was melting as I pulled myself to my friends house. When I eventually arrived at the house I slumped myself down on their couch and slowly started to relax and cool off, but my relaxation didn't last for long. Soon after I arrived they were already calling my name. ?Caileigh! Caileigh!? my friend called, ?we have a surprise for you!?

I ran up the stairs and find myself in a dimly lit hallway where my friends are waiting for me. As I reach the other side I'm speechless, I can only make out one word, ?KITTENS!!!!!!!?

I could not believe what I saw.

Six twinkling pairs of eyes stood before me. One pair tired, one enthusiastic, one lazy, and three beautiful blue sets of eyes. One pair sparkled like diamonds, one duller than a dark night's sky, and the last one, well, like nothing else. ?I like the lazy one,? said their dad. ?I like the tired one,? said their brother. ?I like the one that?s so enthusiastic,? said Stella. ?I like the one with the sparkling eyes,? said Perla. ?And I like the one whose eyes are duller than the night?s sky,? said their mother. ?Which one do you like Caileigh?? ?I like the one whose eyes are like no other eyes you have ever seen. Which one do you like Mom???I like the blue eyes, the red eyes, the sparkling twinkling kitten eyes!!!!?

It was a scorching day in Chicureo. The type of day that 18

I'LLBEHERE WITHYOU

By Lena Espinoza (Grade 3) ?What the heck! How could you forget the keys inside the house!? I said. ?Yes, I did forget the keys inside and I never forgot them.

Besides I've got proof, see nothing no keys!? replied Mom in a frustrated tone.

As we searched mom?s purse there was nothing to be found in that dark night. We stood there locked outside as the bright moon rose into the sky.

We stared at the phone to find out who to call. Just at that moment, Mom had a great idea, the best one you could imagine.

She said, ?Hey, why don?t we call Fran, she has an extra set of keys for herself so when she needs to come inside, she doesn't need to ask us for the keys.?

But when the sound came from the phone, we heard tears and desperate wailing. We just knew something that never happened had happened.

What?s going on? I thought.

Then just at that moment came out the frustrated voice, of my dear nanny, Fran. She told mom, ?Boss I am to weak to help, I fell and I don?t know what happened. I think I will wait in line at the public hospital.?

Mom then replied, ?How could you do that? It?s too long what you need to wait in a public hospital, you better come with Lena and me to Clinica Las Condes and be checked by a good doctor.?

Hours later, Fran was swept up by the invincible power of the medicine. Suddenly, her eyes popped open with surprise. As she looked up at us, we saw the pain in her eyes. Deep and dark, right into the coldest shadow of pain and sadness. We could see tears just sitting there, going down her face, with pain and sadness. Suddenly, my heart sunk into that deep, dark shadow and the only thing I thought about was the pain, the terrifying moment Fran was going through. At that moment I sat on the bed and said ??Yo estare, aqui a tu lado siempre Fran.?

This section of The Talon asks readers to express themselves on a particular broad topic. Because of space limitations, we're unable to print all submissions. You can see more Readers Write pieces on our website: t het al on.nido.cl We encourage you to write on our next issue's topic: A PERSONAL STORY. This includes a personal incident, a memoir, or a personal narrative. Send it to : t het al on@nido.cl

EYES Blue,green brown eyes My eyes always shining down the bright sky Green like the grass,brown like dirt And blue like the sky We can be able to look because of our precious eyes The white shiny stars in the the dark night The big smile on your friends or family The blue sparkly water with the amazing creatures Some are big ,some are small ,some are short ,some are long Everyone has eyes Eyes are the door to your soul ,to your surrounding Eyes eyes are everywhere you just have to look.

By Paula de las heras (Grade 3)

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Wacky Page By: Benjamin Rios (Grade 2)

M A D LIBS

One chil l y night in Egypt , a pack of ________________ , ____________ searching f or ol d jewel ry in a (adject ive) (animal ) pyramid suddenl y spied t he scariest t hing ever! The jewel ry bandit s were shaking, t eet h chat t ering.

The bandit s huddl ed t oget her wit h f ear. They spied a___________________ t hat was f inishing it ?s (cut e animal ) midnight snack of camel _______________ .They were so scared and t hat ?s when t he __________________ (part of body) (emot ion adject ive) pol ice came,t hat were chomping down on ____________________. It was a miracl e t he pol ice came! (crunchy t ype of f ood) By t he t ime t he pol ice f ound t hem t hey were covered in___________________due t o t he ancient mummy (icky t hing) vomit ed on t hem.The pol ice were so annoyed when t hey had t o put ___________ on t hem. They arrest ed (f ood) t hem and when t he pol ice vomit ed on t he sand t hey cl eaned it wit h t he mummy?s bandages. But , t he mummy came al ive and scared t he bandit s and t he pol ice of f icers. But t hen t he mummy f el l in a pit so a\ an ___________________ in t he pit at e t he mummy and t hen at e Af rica and t hat ?s t he end of a (animal )

JOKES

very happy st ory.

Q: What did t he grape say when it was squeezed?

WACKY PAGE CHALLENGE Ben Rios wrote his first MAD LIB for The Talon. He planned, added his humor, and inserted 'fill in the blanks' when it fit. The Talon staff challenges you to write your own MAD LIB . Share it with your friends, show your teacher, or send it to thetalon@nido.cL. Your MadLib could be published!

A: Not hing it just gave out a l it t l e wine!

Q: How do you make a t issue dance?

A: Put a l it t l e boogie in it !

Q:why did t he boy eat his homework?

A:because his t eacher said it was a piece of cake 20