Stratford Middle School - The Plume

The Plume STRAT F

FORD

CREATI V

VE ARTS

Magazine June 2012 Issue 5

The Creative Writing Club Silent, smiling students Wing their way Through thousands of words Until that sui generis alights; Eyebrows raised and fingers dancing Words explode on the page Weaving a story like a magic wand While whispers of delight Flitter to and fro.

This is our Creative Writing Club.

Mrs. Castagna March 2012

Stratford Middle Schools 890 Pomeroy Ave., Santa Clara, CA 95051

TABLE OF CONTENTS POETRY . . . . . . . . Page 1—3

Winning

1

Keep Going

School

Fun is Number One

When My Sorrows Conquer

Have you Every Met One?

A Poem

Homeless on the Street

My School

3

2

Flying Free The Mountain The Beauty of Math ESSAYS . . . . . . . . . . Pages 4 & 5

Food: Safe . . . Unsafe? Which One?

4 The Dark Side of the Olympics

Red Wolf

SOPA and PIPA

Science Fair SHORT STORIES . . . . . . . Pages 6-7

How Dreams Come True

6

The Time Machine

6, 7 ART GALLERY . . . .

. . .Page 8

Rose Peace

Sun flower

Gentle Cat

Grey Rose

Shoe Time

Yellow Prose

The Bay Tulips

5

POETRY CORNER Winning

By Austin Bi 7th

Winning, such happiness, is wanted by everyone, Oh, winning is so much fun, There are many things to win, So many places to excel in.

The time you win in that contest, You have surpassed the rest by being the best, Your family cheers you up, While you hold the trophy cup.

The time you win that game, That feeling feels the same, The crowd cheers and claps its hands, As the winning ball lands.

But winning has other feelings too, Such as love, agreement, and rue, You can win a debate, Or you can win someone’s heart’s gate.

Winning makes you feel great, You can even win when you are eight, Do not sit there reading this poem, Starting to win means getting out of your home.

When My Sorrows Conquer

By Sandhya Kunnan 8th Grade

I have lived, I have loved, I have hoped; Times have glittered like gold; I am living, I am loving, but alas, The hope is gone, or so I'm told.

Life can present such sorrows, And all conveys its sting, Such little failures and losses, Are big enough to stab a king.

My sorrows may seem so meager, For better or for worse, Don't judge me, I know the weight, When they make my life adverse.

But moping is like a rocking - chair, After consolement, it gets so old, Rocking will get you nowhere, Or so a friend once told.

So when my sorrows conquer, And kick me like I'm sand, I will stand up and fight, And conquer it in the end.

A POEM Wesley Tsai 7th

School Aashika Korripati 6th

Thought to be a waste of time?

But is it the time that counts Or the education received? ―I have to work all day – again!‖ Complaints of many arise But later comes the smile A+ - honor roll!

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This is a poem It’s not going to be long But I hope you enjoy it Every single tidbit.

This poem will rhyme And is going make sense this time.

This poem will be funny And reading it won’t cost money.

This poem was written by me And Not by he or she.

Now that this poem has ended I hope you’re not offended.

By now you will have known That this thing is a poem.

POETRY CORNER My School

By Shreya Khandewale 6th grade

The Mountain

By Anushree Thekkedath 6th

School is incredibly fun, especially to play in the sun The cool smooth face of a grave stone mountain I love when the day has begun, with little to worry or none Casts itself before the sun Grammar and Literature are especially enlightening A halo of light surrounds the snowy peaks Mrs. Maramba, there to guide us, is sharp as lightening Which melt with grief, melt with grief.

Obviously, she is not as frightening (Phew!)

And buds, long imprisoned by the snow, Debate, drama, and Visual Arts, Mr. Vierra is our man Open their faces to the sun Of Ms. Pina, our Spanish teacher, I am a fan.

And the mountain, heart warmed by the light, These two teachers teach sports as well, smiles, They always have a solid game plan.

And recognition dawns with the sun.

If I have any questions about history, I know who to ask It is spring.

Mrs. Bridges, our History teacher, she can complete any task Historical art projects are very fun, from island posters to a Lain American mask!

Science is always exciting, with our German gentleman, Mr. Weidemann He always knows what I’m thinking – this phenoneman!

Mr. Wiedemann is wonderful, he can do anything, he can!

The Beauty of Math One of the superstars of our school, our PE teacher, Ms. Miller,

By Meghal Gupta 8th Mrs Bhattacharya, our computer teacher, her programming skills are killer These two wonderful ladies are as steadfast as a solid pillar.

Math – pure beauty I could never ever forget math!!

But with this beauty under the surface Now, I do pre-algebra even when I’m taking a bath.

Not the subject of expression, Last, but not the least, Mrs. Gupta, our principal, So not elegance everyone can see She is so amazing, she’s just remarkable, Her leadership skills and teaching style are unbeatable.

An understanding achieved only by devotion School is definitely fun, especially to learn from some Not ―shallow,‖ ―geeky,‖ or ―literal‖, but true I love how the day is done, with little to worry or none. understanding

Flying Free Caroline Luong & Aashika Korrapati 7th Grade

A little bird stands on a cliff Facing the distant, never ending land But halfway through, the clouds gather.

What’s beyond that line, the bird doesn’t know But its dreams soar beyond boundaries.

Should it go fly? Can it trust its wings?

Or should it go back home And wait for another day?

But then again, it remembers the old days When it sat in its nest in misery, While being helpless to do anything but sit.

So our avian friend straightens its wings, Preparing to lift off.

Feathers shift in the wind, And the bird dives.

Flying, it heads for the clouds, The unknown hidden behind them.

Soaring, just a missile streak to be seen, A little bird breaks through the boundary And becomes a phoenix.

Of the world, of its impacts The significance of every little thing Calculations of their implications Factoring in human senses, perceptions, and limitations Seeing why a word ―sounds good‖ in a certain spot Calculating its connotations - impact on the human brain Understanding of art as well Drawing and calculating equations of different shapes Understanding different curvatures To shade with a perfect, life-like look Math – the basis of these beautiful subjects Then what is math?

Beauty and perfection in itself; precision and elegant understanding; Investigation of life’s mysteries And development of true logic and brainpower

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POETRY CORNER HAVE YOU EVER MET ONE? Anushree Thekkedath 6th Grade

Keep Going Aashika Korrapati 7th

Don’t give up, Don’t lose hope.

Believe in yourself, The key to success.

Striving to succeed, You will eventually achieve.

Don’t give up, Don’t lose hope.

Have you ever met a gringotigoo?

If you haven’t, that’s good for you!

For a gringotigoo plays a dreadful kazoo That rattles your ears, and shakes you up too.

Is there a thing as terrible as a naucet?

There may be one in your closet.

It loves to play with the faucet, And hates the sight of a basset.

Oh, how I detest a shnuffle!

It’s got this awful snuffle; It never walks, but shuffles; And it will steal all your truffles; It’s hard-pressed to find someone angelic like me, I, who will NEVER put a rat in your tea, And NEVER be the man to take a fee Or EVER… wait! Ma’s calling me!

Why, you ask?

Apparently, I’ve set loose a bee!

Fun is number one By: Wesley Tsai 7th Grade

Fun, a great thing to have Fun is a thing that makes you laugh.

If you want to have this sensation Always remember that you do not need concentration.

But how do get this thing called fun?

Play a game and it will come Or read a book under the sky, And go on an adventure that will take you high Playing an instrument will give you great joy Or playing a video game with a boy Participate in sports, and win a game And smile with glee while gaining some fame Go to a party and fun you shall get Or take care of your beloved pet.

But if you want this feeling to never end Go ahead and play with a friend Oh, Fun! It sounds so great!

It’s a thing nobody will hate.

Everybody should have some fun Because fun is number one!

3

Homeless on the Street

By Julie Ahn 7thGrade

A homeless person sat on the street He sat for more than a year.

Days became months And passed into years.

People walked by, spat On his unsheltered head.

One day, he was tired, and he got up To apply for a job.

He worked and he worked, He went back to school.

He dreamed of a company owned by him; To business school he went.

His company grew Became world famous.

He had all he had ever dreamed of.

He gave money to Every homeless person he found.

Growing old and fragile, He still felt unhappy.

Giving all his money away, He went right back to being homeless,, Homeless on the street.

ESSAYS Food: Safe...Unsafe? Which One?

Red Wolf

By Aashika Korrapati 7th Grade

by Amelia Salinas 6th Grade

Okay, now we have to admit that we all have eaten food, but without knowing the contents of it. This unawareness can sometimes be very risky to those who have allergies, sensitivity to certain foods, or those already at risk because of other health problems. First, let us get one thing straight. We are not discussing the problems with fatty foods. Yes, that is important to watch out for, but the existing issue is regarding all the artificial food additives and preservatives.

This is my life story: As a child, I used to act up a few hours after I ate something with high sugar content. My parents thought it was just me being hyperactive after a sugar rush. Later, they noticed that after eating attractive, colorful sweets, I began to get rashes. Some research was done and it turns out that some people (like me) are sensitive to artificial dyes. I went on a ‗diet‘ for a few months, eating all-natural foods. I then decided that I wanted to eat healthy for the rest of my life.

Artificial food dyes, flavors, and preservatives are not only dangerous to our health, but are also very unhealthy. This is not only for children, I would like to stress. ―Leaving out foods with dyes, preservatives, and gluten have kept me out of the hospital for a long time,‖ said adult S.F. On http:// www.feingold.org, recent studies have shown that 75% of people on this diet have made significant improvement, in behavior whether in school, with peers, or with family. But if that‘s not good enough reason for you, do not do this for others, do it for yourself. Be good to your body.

Cree. Cree. The cicadas drone on throughout the day and long into the night. As the great blanket of night falls upon Alligator River‘s National Wildlife Refuge, a long lonesome howl echoes through the night. A howl on a lower note responds. The howls continue with the drone of cicadas long into the night. The howls are the red wolves.‘ The red wolves‘ area used to extend throughout Pennsylvania, Florida and Texas but their area decreased to one tiny spot near Charlotte, North Carolina due to certain threats, mostly caused by humans. Road accidents, severe weather, and strong storm surges are this wolf‘s main threats. Also, red wolves look like coyotes and are shot by coyote hunters. Furthermore, coyotes and red wolves often mate, producing hybrids that endanger the pure red wolf population.

The mere remaining twenty pure wild wolves were captured and bred in captivity. As of 2007, there is now a population of two hundred seven captive wolves!

The breeding programs‘ successes caused one hundred wolves to be introduced back to the wild.

These solitary red wolves will find a mate for life and will give birth to their young in hollow trees, stream banks, and sand knolls. Then this family will join one or two other wolf families to form a pack. As the cubs grow up they are taught to hunt small mammals, berries, and occasionally, deer or insects.

Right now, the numbers of these wolves are diminishing, so go out and help save the beautiful threatened red wolf!

Science Fair By: Austin Bi 7th Grade

Nearly a hundred students filed into the auditorium accompanied by their parents. The students quickly stood next to their respectful decorated science fair presentation boards. Next to each board, they found an unopened bottle of water. Soon after they had set up their materials, a myriad of parents swarmed the narrow aisles and began asking the students questions. The students happily answered the parents and left their boards so they could go see their friend‘s boards. After the one and a half hours of Science Fair, the students started packing up their materials to go back home.

Science fair is a great opportunity for students to learn. Even though science fair takes a lot of time and effort, it teaches students the skills of writing, presenting, experimenting, and art. Most of the projects have subjects that affect people‘s daily routines, so students can apply their studies to real life. Plus, Science Fair takes up a lot of a student‘s grade, so it mostly can pull one‘s grades up.

Science fair can also be fun. At the end of Science Fair, students go to a large room with many other projects. Here they can understand other scientific procedures and maybe even experiment with chemicals.

Not only is Science Fair is great fun, but students learn many skills that can be applied to real life. Every student should have the opportunity to present a science project and participate in the science fair.

4

ESSAYS The Dark Side of the Olympics

By Allison Yuan 7th Grade

People scream with exhilaration; gossiping crowds cluster on the streets – the Olympics are coming to town. The citizens anticipate the entertainment, which surely will be wonderful. But what about the devastating disadvantages that the Games bring?

One huge and obvious problem presented by the Olympics is that, not only are the costs outrageously high, but they are also notorious for going over budget. Athens, Greece budgeted $16 billion for the 2004 Olympics, yet even that wasn‘t enough. The final cost was $16 billion, ten times the amount budgeted. Four years later, Beijing, China budgeted the same amount of money for the 2008 Olympics and ended up spending $40 billion.

Another problem is the eviction of thousands of citizens. To make way for the Olympic Village (a housing structure for participants), the hosts of the Olympics simply force people out of their own houses and destroy their homes. In the South Korean Olympics, 720,000 citizens, mostly poor, were evicted. The Athens Olympics resulted in the demolition of 2,000 housing units, leaving 6,000 people homeless. The Beijing Olympics brought about the eviction of 1.5 million citizens. Finally, once the Olympics are over, even the Olympic Village itself, which costs about $1.1 million, is destroyed.

Of course, the Olympics have some benefits. They allow many countries to peaceably assemble and create inspiring role models. This is good, but is it worth the losses sustained by the host city? Think about it! Some action must be taken to protect those that suffer because of the Olympic Games.

SOPA and PIPA

By Caroline Luong 7th Grade

5

SOPA and PIPA: two bills that have met high resistance from the public and were temporarily put on hold after a massive Wednesday protest on January 18, 2012. Websites of all popularity participated in this protest, excluding its supporters. Opponents of the bill include Wikipedia, Yahoo, Google, Reddit, GoDaddy, and Mozilla.

Why have these bills attracted so much attention? First, let me explain what they are. SOPA stands for Stop Online Piracy Act. PIPA stands for Protect IP (Intellectual Property) Act. Their purpose is to help stop the selling of pirated or counterfeit goods like music, videos, and medicine that can be found on the Internet.

The bills allow the Attorney General to shut down any suspected website until it has finished its search. It completely affects the website, not just the one violating user. The General could shut down the sites, and companies would not be able to transmit funds or information until it is freed. Opponents say it‘s like ―using a hand grenade to take care of a gopher problem.‖ Most are concerned about a restriction of free speech, protected by the First Amendment.

Proponents argue that these bills will protect industries and children. Online piracy causes loss of millions of dollars for industries. With the bill, industries like the music and entertainment industries will be saved from online piracy. Many proponents of them accuse opponents of exaggerating consequences, which is also true.

Many people oppose these bills. Others support it.

Think carefully about your response.

SHORT STORIES How Dreams Create Images

By Julie Ahn

From his head to his toes, Eric Steel felt achy.

He lifted himself up off the ground, ready to fight again. He felt like his body had just gone through a grinder machine.

This morning, he had been a normal kid, on his way to school. Unfortunately being a passionate person, when he had found a worm on the ground, he picked it up. The moment his finger touched the worm, everything went black. Now, here he was in a cave, fighting something he could not see. He had lost two of his senses: sight and smell.

As he got back up, he started punching toward the sound. It seemed useless. Then suddenly the monster halted. Everything stopped and turned dead silent- A little too silent. He waited, ready to lash out. Before he knew what was happening, he felt himself falling, then he hit something hard like a boulder. Again all went black.

On waking up, he slowly turned his head and looked around. In front of him, spread as far as he could see, were the most beautiful red tulips and bright yellow dandelions. Pulling himself up to his knees, he noticed what looked like a plate. Yes, there among the flowers sat some food that looked so delicious he wanted very badly to smell.

Gingerly, he reached out to grasp a cupcake,

but a pain like spike grinding into his arm stopped him. Looking, he saw a seeping wound made by the monster he had fought. Then he noticed some leaves sitting near the food. Carefully lifting it to the gaping wound, he made a perfect bandage. Then, grabbing a morsel of food, Eric wandered around aimlessly, trying to figure out what this all meant.

His aimless rambling brought him to a shaft of sunlight that made a perfect round spot on the ground. He tested it softly with his right foot.

Nothing happened, so he stepped inside. Suddenly, as thought someone had turned on a switch, he understood. The sight loss represented the sorrows that blinded him and the beauty of the flowers brought back his vision. The loss of smell represented his giving up on doing the things he wished to do. The monster represented the fears that got in his way of success. Every time Eric blacked out, he was free of the monster‘s presence.

Now, Eric knew that he must find ways to relieve his fears in order to be happy and successful. ―Thanks for the therapy session, Mr. Hoover.‖ ―Anytime, Eric,‖ replied the therapist.

The Time Machine

by Christopher Yip—6th Grade

Happily eating a burger at home, Bob came across an odd device. The cold, gray cylindrical metal machine had a panel of weird green red lights blinking on its top and a screen, with an antennae on top. Bob decided to take it to his friend, Joe, who was an expert on metal cylinders with blinking lights and buttons.

On his way, the machine suddenly slipped out of his hand and hit the ground with a thud.

Strange beeping noises blurted out, then ―Countdown beginning. One hour thirty minutes, forty-five seconds, three nanoseconds to go.‖ Bob was puzzled by what this machine would do in one hour, thirty minutes, forty-five seconds, and three nanoseconds, but he just picked it up

and continued on his way.

He got to Joe‘s house without any further problems, and knocked on the door. When Joe opened the door and saw the machine, he got really excited and started poking at the machine. ―This is a strange machine. I think that it might self destruct or something.‖Barely watching the time, they got some tools together and were about to take the machine apart when it started to beep again and blurted, ―T minus ten, T minus nine, T minus eight,‖ and so on until it got to ―T minus one, T minus Zero.‖ Then, the machine started to glow blue. Bob and Joe watched with wonder as a beam slowly turned and focused on them. Then, before they knew it, Joe and Bob 6

SHORT STORIES found themselves tumbling through space for what seemed an eternity. Then, just as suddenly, they thudded to the ground.

Picking themselves up, they began to look around, wondering where they were when the machine announced, ―4000 AD.‖ Then the lights went out and the machine stopped humming. Joe looked at the machine and it suddenly hit him, ―The batteries went out, Bob. What are we going to do?‖ Bob looked around, seemingly unconcerned and exclaimed, ―My, how things have changed! I just wish I had my camera with me!‖ Joe shouted, ―Bob, this is terrible! How will we get back? Don‘t you care what happens to us?‖ ―Look, Joe, we‘ll figure it out. Just enjoy the view from this building we‘re on. Skyscrapers are everywhere and people fly around in hovercrafts. Oops!

Here comes one now.‖ A boy close to their age flew up to them and skidded to a halt right beside them. ―Who are you? Where are you from?‖ ―We just arrived via this machine, but the battery died so we can‘t go home,‖ Bob explained. ―What is a battery?‖ The boy furrowed his brow, perplexed. ―Look, man, we need to talk to an authority.

Could you take us to the city‘s mayor?‖ asked Joe politely.

The boy motioned for them to jump on behind him, and as soon as they did, he took off. In what seemed like seconds he had landed them outside the City Hall. Looking up at the building, Bob started to count the floors, and their new friend, realizing their wonder exclaimed, it is a small building of only 9,876,543,210 stories.‖ He then took them to the guard. ―Sir, these boys are strangers that seem to have suddenly appeared out of nowhere, and they wish to speak to the mayor.‖ ―Certainly,‖ replied the guard. ―Take them up to the 9,876th floor.‖ The three boys rode the hover craft up to the floor indicated and found the mayor ready to listen.

After listening to Bob‘s story, the mayor said, ―We don‘t even use batteries anymore! How low-tech and simple the people in your world must be! But, don‘t

7

worry. I will do what I can to get you back.‖ Joe explained to the mayor that he just had to find something with DC power so he could charge the batteries with a charger that he always had with him. The mayor directed the boys to the source they needed; however, the plug would not fit into the advanced sockets, and the socket in which it fit was for devices that used ACDCA power, the most powerful type of current known, so the charger exploded in a flurry of white sparks and red-hot cinders.

As they sat wondering what to do, Joe noticed that the holograph projector announcing the weather was had an interesting forecast. ―... and tonight, there is a 100 percent chance of rain and lightning.‖ Suddenly Joe knew what to do. ―All we have to do is put an extremely tall metal pole on every tall building within two square miles, connect a wire from the pole to the time machine, program the time machine to go to 2012 AD, and we‘ll be home!‖ The mayor agreed they could do this since he really wanted them to leave – after all they were from 1000 years ago, and had no business messing up his world.

Bob and Joe waited for what seemed like hours, and there still wasn‘t any lightning. Just as Bob was about to declare that the weather report must have been wrong, lightning struck a building a mile away.

Zapping the pole, the lightning continued on down the wire to the machine and it began to glow blue once again. Again, the beam flashed over Bob and Joe, and quicker than they could even think one thought, they were back in Joe‘s workshop. ―Wow!‖ exclaimed Joe, ―This machine has caused too much trouble! We must smash it! It has to be vaporized, and the remaining parts must be thrown into an active volcano!‖ Together they got hammers from somewhere in their shirt pockets and were about to smash the machine when the boy with the hovercraft who had helped them, suddenly bounced out from behind the machine and shouted, ―Don‘t smash my TimeTravel 987,654,321 Special Edition! It is my only chance to get back home, and it cost me 999 quintillion dollars!‖ So much for that! The man zapped himself back to whatever time period he had come from, and Bob and Joe resumed eating their burgers.

ART GALLERY Rose Peace

By Julie Ahn 7th Grad

e Shoe Tim upta

Gentle Ca t

By Emily D 8th Grad o e

hal G

By Meg ade 8th Gr

The Bay Mahdulika Ghata 7th Grade

Tulips

Two-Faced

Gupta

By Meghal 8th Grade

By Shana Mathew 8th Grade

os e Grey R Do

Emily e ad 8th Gr

Sunflowe r

By Ewan M 7th Grad cGarvey s

Yellow Prose

By William Hu 7th Grade

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GO STRATFORD