THE MOONSTONE LOCKET

by Emma Cuschieri

As she walked down the stairs to the kitchen, Luna realised that her house was unexpectedly quiet. Usually the morning was chaos, father making breakfast, mother setting assignments for Luna to complete at home, since she was home schooled, and the cats yowling for breakfast. Today it was... still. Luna walked into the living room to find her father so he could make her some breakfast. No one was in there. Blinking a few times, Luna took a good look around. Her eyes bulged out. The place was an utter disaster! The books from the shelf were scattered on the floor, their pages ripped out. All the photos that sat on the mantlepiece were smashed on the floor. Luna was about to sit downbutjumpedupimmediatelywhenshefoundthesofaswereslashedopenwithallthestuffingcomingout.Luna ranintothekitchen,whichwasjustasdisastrous,platesandbowlssmashedonthefloor,cupboardsflungopen,and foodthrownoutofthefridge.

“Mother?!” she called. No answer. “Father?!” No such luck. She also called her cats, just for good measure but they didn’t answer either. Panic started rising in her head. What had happened to her house? Where were her parents? Had someone come in? Suddenly, the house didn’t feel safe anymore, the only place that did was her room in the attic.Sothat’swhereshewent.Onceshewasbackinherroom,shecurleduponherbeanbagandhadagoodthink. Someone had definitely come into her house last night. But who? And why? And how come she didn’t hear them? How come they didn’t find her? Then she realized, the passageway to the attic was so small, no one could come up! Andeveniftheycould,thetrapdoorwassocamouflagedintotheceiling,theywouldn’tevenbeabletofindit! Lunaalwayswonderedwhyherparentsencouragedhertosleepintheattic.Itwasalmostasiftheyknewthismight happen, and they wanted to keep her safe. The thought struck her. Why else would they want her to sleep in the attic? It wasn’t as if they didn’t have enough rooms, there was a spare one downstairs. If they knew this would happen, then they should have told her! Maybe, they left a clue for me. Luna thought. It couldn’t be hidden downstairsbecausesomeonecouldfindit.Ithadtoberighthereinherownroom.Butwhere?Lunacheckedallover her room in all the hiding places. There must be somewhere I’ve never checked, Luna thought. She jumped up and started running round her room, checking under beds, in wardrobes, around her desk, everywhere. After about ten minutes of looking with no luck, she sank into her beanbag feeling crestfallen. It had to be somewhere almost invisible...orcamouflaged.Thewordhither.Itmadeherthinkofthetrapdoor,thatwascamouflaged.Lunalookedup attheceiling.Theplasterfromonesidewaspeelingoff.

At first, Luna didn’t take much notice, but looking at it again, she got more and more curious. She grabbed a chair that sat by her desk and heaved it onto her bed which she (with quite some difficulty) shoved under the spot where the crack was. She climbed up on the chair and carefully peeled off the plaster. It came out in her hand almost immediately. The wooden boards underneath it looked normal, and Luna was about to climb back down when she realised something queer. There, between the gaps of the plain old wood was the corner of something that looked like paper, poking out. Luna snatched it out from between the wooden boards. It was an envelope. She jumped off the chair and sat on her bed looking at the plain, innocent envelope. With trembling fingers, Luna ripped it open and stuckherhandintoseewhatwasinside.

She pulled out two things. The first thing was a tiny parcel wrapped in tissue. The second was a note. Luna unfolded the paper and read; “Dear Luna, by the time you receive this letter, we will be gone. We could not explain but the locketcan.Believeit,whatitwilltellyouistrue.Itwilltellyouthetruthaboutyourself.” https://fb.watch/hBy4LqVShf/

Taking a deep breath, Luna ripped open the tissue paper and revealed the golden talisman. She put it in the palm of herhandandtookagoodlookatit.Itwastimetofindoutwhatreallyhappened.Whoshereallywas.

Luna dug her nails into the side of the locket and with a satisfying ‘click’ it popped open. A picture fell into her lap. She picked it up and gave it a good look. It was her. There was no doubt about that. The same coal black hair, the same silver eyes, the same half smile she puts on when someone takes a picture of her. She was sitting on the lap of an elegant lady who was sitting on a throne. There was also a man in the picture, grinning broadly at the camera. Thesepeoplewerenotherparents.Lunahadneverseenthembefore.Maybetheyweresomedistantrelatives?Luna flippedthepictureoverandreadwhatwasontheback.

‘King & Queen Hesperus with their daughter, princess Luna.’ Luna’s eyes bulged out. She was no princess. There was nosuchroyaltycalledHesperuseither.Thinkingthepicturewasalie,shethrewitdownonthebedandlookedatthe talisman. On the front there was a design with stars and planets swirling around it. At the back there was a black moonstonewithwritingengravedunderneathit.Thewordsweretiny,soLunawenttofindhermagnifyingglass.She read,DearestLuna.Youareourqueen.QueenoftheMoons.Don’tdoubtit.Thisiswhoyouare.

Luna’s head was spinning. She couldn’t think straight. Then it hit her. That’s why the intruders ransacked her house! That’swhyherparentsinsistedonkeepinghersafe!Theywerelookingforme.Luna,QueenoftheMoons.Thisiswho Ireallyam.

Thisisme.

The true Spirit of Christmas, video taken during our visit at St Vincent De Paul where our Ethics students shared someChristmaskindnessandhappinesswiththeElderly.

If eyes could speak then, one could easily say that our visit to St Vincent de Paul Residence was a success. Just before Christmas, a group of Ethics Students together with Teachers and Learning Support Educators went on a visit to an Elderly's home. It was a lovely experience and happiness could be seen in everyone's eyes. The Elderly sang with us and although some of them were bedridden, they really enjoyed it. We gave them Christmas cardspreparedbythestudents.

Kindness is so rewarding! One fine morning, Year 8 students of Ethics were addressed by Isabelle & Hazel from 'TheMaltaHumanRightsCentre.'

They explored the function and process of discrimination, onboththeinterpersonalandsocietallevels.

They discussed specific incidents of antigypsyism, antisemitism, discrimination against LGBTIQ+ and racism, using as a starting point the thoughts and experiences of five young people. They gained insight into the terms used to describe different forms of discrimination. The students were challenged to reflect on who has influence in situations where discrimination occurs and what they themselves would advise in a particular case. They worked with a model called the ‘Discrimination machine’. This breaks down aspects of discrimination: how we see ‘other people’, how grouping and judging people is part of discriminationandwhattheeffectsofdiscriminationare.

In March, all students taking Ethics were addressed by Silvia, from Island Sanctuary. Students listened to stories about abandoned animals attentively, especially the story about 'Zoya', a dog abandoned at Island Sanctuary where it stayed for 4 years until it was happily reunited with her family.

Students understood that a pet is for life and a commitment.

The Ethics Department is proud of all students and know thattheywillbecomeresponsiblepetownersoneday.

E-TWINNING

- LISTENING TO FRENCH SONGS

GIVE ME 2 HULA HOOPS, I'LL PRESENT MY FAMILY

FRIENDSHIP NOTES - SPREAD THE LOVE IN FRENCH

PREPARED CHRISTMAS CARDS,

- FINALLY THE ANSWERS ARE REVEALED

Geography

Lessons At Mrc Middle School Naxxar

Geography is the study of places and the relationships between people and their environments.GeographersexploreboththephysicalpropertiesofEarth’ssurfaceandthe human societies spread across it. They also examine how human culture interacts with the natural environment and the way that locations and places can have an impact on people. Geography seeks to understand where things are found, why they are there, and how they developandchangeovertime.

Thefollowingpicturesweretakenduringthisscholasticyearduringthegeographylessons with the year 7s and year 8s. Students had the opportunity to use different resources like maps,atlases,jigsawpuzzlesinteractivegamesetcc….toexploregeographyinafunway. An outing was also organized for one year 7 class at Piscopo Gardens were students had theopportunitytolearnaboutdifferentplantsandanimalsandhowtheyadopttodifferent environments.