Wordworks 2024

Wordworks

Literary Magazine Volume 8

Spring 2024

Editor-in-Chief: Brendan McEachern, Eighth Grade Language Arts

Graphic Design & Page Layout: Megan Joachim

Student Editor: Tuula Hicks, Evelyn Paulsen, Teagan Wood

Special Thanks to the Following Faculty Members for Guiding Our Students in Writing & Art:

Hilary Carvitti, Fourth Grade Art

Meghan Cole, Fifth Grade Language Arts

Samantha England, Sixth & Eighth Grade Art

Katy Gallagher, Seventh Grade Language Arts

Amy Soellner, Sixth Grade Language Arts

Ashley Symonds, Fourth Grade Language Arts

Paula B. Yarnell-Sundermann, Fifth & Seventh Grade Art

Welcome to our eighth issue of Wordworks. This magazine contains one piece of writing from students in grades four to eight. This issue contains 270 writing pieces. Each student showcases his or her writing ability in various prompts ranging from describing art, biographies, book reviews, and fiction, to original poems. To demonstrate steady writing progression by grade, our staff has attempted to keep the author’s voice as authentic as possible without too many editorial changes. Many of these pieces were condensed to “an excerpt” for the sole purpose of fitting into this magazine. I hope the story snippet will give you a sense of the author’s intention. The ultimate goal of Wordworks is to show student writing talent across five grades at The Summit. Congratulations to all of this year’s writers.

Enjoy our eighth issue!

Brendan McEachern

Jacob

Lexy Beyerbach

Eileen Bolan

Ava Boyer

Beckett Brinkman

Castellini

Clements

Emery Cosgrove

Maeve Curley

Darcy de Lacy

Devendorf

Elfenbein

Erbeck

Sophia Lei 47

Evelyn Lorensen 54

Connor Love 14

Josie Lyons 17

Dylan MacDonald 44

Peyton MacDonald 9

Ava Maly 15

Carter Marsh 12

Claudio Matos 42

Emma McCormick 18

Collin McGuire 50

Ella Miele 29

Olivia Miele 7

Austin Miller 21

Landon Miller 40

Lila Miller 11

Anne Marie Misrach 42, 61

Hannah Mitchell 40, 59

Dean Mohan 9

Dominic Montaque 51

Victoria Montaque 52

Robert Montgomery 5

Graham Moore 7

Malcolm Moore 25

Maris Moore 48

Brie Mudzinganyama 44

Lauren Mueller 30

Alex Mulvihill 38

Lincoln Mulvihill 36

Estelle Neyer 12, 57

Edward Neyra 22

Alex Norng 24

Elizabeth Norng 16

Avery Northern 30

Micah Northern 40

Gracie Obiora 26

Immanuel Obiora 50

Stella Ocariz 11

Ethan O’Dwyer 31

Mackenzie O’Dwyer 10

Blake Owens 51

Panika Pal 30

Alicia Palacio-Vega 6

Nicolas Palacio-Vega 22

Luca Pancheri 49, 60

Sofia Pancheri 45

Dallas Parker 51

David Patino 7

Evelyn Paulsen 14

Luke Paulsen 30

Alex Pearce 19

Andrea Pérez Sánchez

Rebeca Pérez Sánchez 21 Hudson Pfeffer 43

Victoria Plattner 15

Zoa Pratt 30

Sophia Pressey 18 Crosley Price 49

Emilio Pruneda 30

Giuliana Rassi 13

Nicholas Rassi 6

Enya Renfrow 20 Caroline Reynolds 26

Richter

Rinehart

Rinehart

Carrigan Sams 15

Ryan Schaaf 12

Sebastian Scharf 27

Valeria Sebastian 49, 58

Madeline Shadoin 55, 63

Alejandro Sharp 5, 60 Alex Simmons 31

Ava Simpson 51

Cléa Sinno 45, 62

Ambrielle Smith 41 Kayden Smith 51 Ivy Sousa 20

Emilia Spreen 53, 64

Benjamin Sprengard 50 Samuel Sprengard 35

Steele 28

Gwendolyn Suder 31 Brian Sullivan 32 Molly Sullivan 47 Sebastian Swan 54

Ari Symonds 44, 64

Cora Symonds 34

Arianna Trimm 7

John Trokan

Louis Uy 33

Lucia Viveros Valdepeña 8

Natalya Wangler

Wirtz

Yarnell

Yarnell

Cover Art

Sterling Allen

Eileen Bolan

Kit Devendorf

Kaliyah Harris

Tuula Hicks

Matti Hoffmann

Amber Kuehnel

Anna Krulcik

Caroline Lavelle

Peyton MacDonald

Anne Marie Misrach

Liam Russell

Andrea Perez Sánchez

Samuel Sprengard Anna Wiltshire

100 Year Rivalry

JJ Castellini, Gr. 7

A rivalry present in Spain for more than 100 years is known as the “El Classico”. It is a match between 2 Spain soccer giants Barcelona and Real Madrid. For years it has gone back and forth ‘ between the 2 teams. You never know who will win because Barcelona and Madrid always sign new stars. This rivalry happens mostly twice a year. When it does, it is fun to watch.

2010 Pakistan floods

Derrick Dion, Gr. 7

The Record monsoon rains began to fall in Pakistan’s mountainous northwest region about July 22, causing flash floods in “Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Punjab, and Baluchistan provinces” (Britannica). But Pakistan’s leaders were different to flood victims, “Rather than staying in the country to monitor the rescue and relief efforts, he went on a scheduled 10-day trip to Europe” (ncbi). Also, the Pakistani government was criticized within Pakistan for its response to the floods for the better treatment given to some areas. This was seen as evidence of governmental corruption in Pakistan. While the aid was provided by the Pakistani government, also by the “United States, Saudi Arabia, and the United Kingdom” (ncbi).

9/11

Santi Dwyer, Gr. 6

On September 11th, 2001, a total of 2,996 people were killed in the 9/11 attacks, including the 19 terrorist hijackers that hijacked the four airplanes. 2,763 people ages 85 and below died after the two planes slammed into the twin towers. These citizens were from New York, Washington, D.C., and Pennsylvania. The repair damage was very expensive, about 1.6 billion dollars.

A Brother’s Revenge

Maguire Imperial, Gr. 7

“Stop,” yelled Mark as John elbowed him in the stomach. Mark was a 10-year-old boy in the fifth grade who had five older brothers that liked to mess with him. John elbowed Mark again, then he punched him, and followed it up by sitting on Mark’s head while beginning to eat Mark’s favorite bag of chips that he had saved. Mark had to lay there and wait because his brother had clearly already won the fight. He waited until his brother was done eating most of his chips and rolled him off. Then, he ran down to his room trying to control his anger and locked the door so he could do his favorite thing of all, write. He had written thousands of short stories that to him were masterpieces. He never showed anyone his stories because he was a very shy kid. He made some of his stories about his brothers and did not want them to find out about them.

A Dash

Sebastien Cox, Gr. 8

For my Photoshop project I chose the painting A dash for Timber by Frederic Remington. For the painting I chose to turn the cowboys on horses into Messi and Ronaldo running to get a trophy. I turned the background into a soccer field instead of the western sand in the background. I added Messi and Ronaldo are going to get the trophies because they always compete over things, and I showed how both are on horses and riding to get the trophy. A dash for timber was Remington’s first great paintings, A dash for timber tells the story of Eight cowboys (I turned it into 2 cowboys) and some horses galloping forward. Three riders in the painting shoot over their shoulders at a large band of Indians (which I got rid of, but I was going to make them fans.) The title, A Dash for the Timber, suggests the possibility of escape within a forest and the hardships of the past.

Abundance of Gold

Jack Baker, Gr. 8

The gold rush was the abundance of gold in the rivers and valleys for settlers to sell for money. The first sighting of gold took place around the Sacramento Valley in California. Gold was first discovered there in 1848 and many people started to move over. The population in Sacramento went from less than 1,000 to 100,000 non-natives. The people took around 2 billion dollars of metals out of the area and took 750,000 pounds of gold. The first person to discover gold there was James Wilson Marshall, who found it near the Sierra Nevada Mountains in California. He was a carpenter from New Jersey and was building a water-powered sawmill owned by John Sutter. The United States was at war with Mexico and California was under Mexico’s rule and mostly Native Americans lived there. A couple of days later on February 2, 1848 the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo was signed making California a part of the United States.

Adventure of Noah on the Ark

Robert Montgomery, Gr. 6

In the first five days on the ark, I felt how troublesome this adventure would be. On the first day it was noisy because of the animals, but I got used to that. What I did not get used to was the animal smell, the smell was unbearable unless you were getting fresh air. The food at first was plentiful, but we overfed ourselves and eventually had to ration our food and water. Over the first few days everything was difficult, but I knew God had my back.

American War — an excerpt

Jack Geers, Gr. 7

I had seen a lot, but this was when the most people died. Many friends and enemies died. Is this what my family wanted for me? Is this what I wanted to do? It was too late now, all the bodies in the cabin, all the death and blood. In the mist of all of this, I saw something white; it was a flag.

Animal — an excerpt

Anna Cafardi, Gr. 4

To begin with, cats are some incredibly beautiful creatures. All cats have beautiful fur, the colors are simply astounding! All Orange Tabby cats have beautiful orange spots on white fur. Regular Tabbys have all sorts of colors on their fur! As you can see all cats have beautiful designs on their fur! Another beautiful thing about cats is how fluffy and soft their fur is. A cat can have short or long hair, cats with long hair have the softest fur in the world! I know this because my cat Butternut has very long and soft fur. I also have a cat with short hair. His fur is still soft but it is not as soft as my other cat’s fur. Simply put, I think that all cats have beautiful fur!

Animal Cruelty

Alejandro Sharp, Gr. 7

The second reason to help these animals is these animals can influence our emotions and can help those with stress and anxiety. Recent research has shown that having a companion animal can have positive health effects. This is called the “pet effect” by scientists. This is in part due to the Attachment Theory, which states that humans have a need to be attached to or belong to somebody. It has been shown to be associated with lower levels of anxiety and even depression. The association between pet attachment and social support is especially important with older, single, or widowed/divorced people. These people tend to have more attachment to pets and to humanize them more (Kretzler 2). These pets have a major role in our lives and can influence us and our emotions.

Awareness for Cancer

Olivia Miele, Gr. 7

The second reason why cancer needs more awareness, research, and donations is because cancer is only a small portion of the pain patients will go through. Many patients who undergo chemotherapy may experience later health challenges which can permanently impact their lives, and it may not even work depending on what kind of cancer they are diagnosed with (cancerresearchuk.org) (Klein 5). This is downright awful! On top of the actual cancer, they must go through other consequences just to treat the initial disease. Also, people treated with chemotherapy may result in nausea, fatigue, and some girls, after being treated, may not be able to have children (Brophy, 2). This sounds awkward, but really, this is devastating. No matter how long ago their diagnoses may have been, cancer just keeps coming back, like a bad memory. Radiation therapy can cause memory loss and skin change. On top of that, people treated with radiation run the risk of being diagnosed again (Brophy, 2) (cancer.gov). This, again, is horrifying, but also the hard truth that millions of people are facing. This will undoubtedly cause a melancholy experience for these patients. These are all dreadful side effects, but they are real life issues that need to be addressed.

Bahamas

Arianna Trimm, Gr. 6

The Bahamas has a semi-tropical climate. The Bahamas has a population of 407,906 people in 2024. Their natural resources are salt, aragonite, timber, vegetables, lobster, and fish. They mainly export petroleum oils, and their major tourist destinations are Atlantis Paradise Island, Queen’s Staircase, and Nassau (the capital of the Bahamas). The country size is 5,358 miles. The Bahamas have a combination of a parliamentary system, unitary state, and a constitutional monarchy for a government, and the leader is Philip Edward. Shockingly, it has even snowed in the Bahamas in January of 1977. The Bahamas is made up of over 700 islands, their currency is something called Bahamian Dollar (BSD), and they speak English. The Bahamas is beautiful place to visit with a lot of tourist attractions.

Banning Phones

James Finkleman, Gr. 6

Kids should not have phones in school because kids should have a break from their phone. If a kid is on their phone all the time at home, allowing them to have it all the time at school would be harmful. Phones are very addictive, and studies show that kids ages 5-17 should have a maximum of 2 hours of screen time a day for entertainment purposes. If kids had them at home and at school, this would be going over the limit of screen time a day. This could lead to anxiety, depression, and behavioral problems.

Be the Light

David Patino, Gr. 5

I can be the light by being positive and helping others stay positive. I can be the light by building a better and stronger community Another way I can be the light is having a growth mindset and helping others I can be kind and make sure Everybody has a good day. In conclusion I can be the light.

Be with that Person

Graham Moore, Gr. 6

Love is skipping something important to be with the person that you love. Love is giving someone your last French fry, even though you are still hungry. Love is giving someone the nicer room on a vacation. Love is flying around the world to see someone you love. Love is waiting to open your presents on Christmas day even though your family woke up two hours after you.

Beat-Up-Fenden!

Mallory Kaeppner, Gr. 8

“Owen, come on! We have to get to the Beat-Up-Fenden championship!” I grabbed my bag and headed over to Avery. “Sorry. I’m ready.” We headed over to the gym. Inside, the rest of our team was ready to go with their jerseys that had the notorious Fenden McEater on the back. All throughout the gym, the Fenden dummies were lined up, prepared for the game. Avery and I got ready and joined our team. When the other team arrived, we shook their hands and took our positions to begin. The other team watched as the dummies began moving throughout the gym. We all began whacking the Fenden dummies as hard as we could with our metal bats. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Avery whack one of the Fendens so hard it hit the floor on dead mode. “Nice one!” I yelled to her. All of a sudden, another Fenden came whirling at me. I swang as hard as I can, aiming at the neck. When the bat made contact with the Fenden’s neck, the whole dummy almost toppled on crucial condition mode. I continued to whack the Fenden dummy with as much strength that I could muster until it finally clicked on dead mode. I shot my fist up in the air in celebration. Soon, it was the other team’s turn. We watched as they whacked Fenden dummies with extreme passion. When the game was over, both teams anxiously waited to find out who had won the competition. Just then, the score flicked onto the screen. We crushed them! We had killed four more Fenden dummies than they did! We won! The team cheered, and I even stepped on one of the already dead Fendens, crushing its arm! We had done it! We were the official Beat-Up-Fenden champs!

Beliefs

Annabelle Fleming, Gr. 5

Kristen Levine’s book Lions of Little Rock has a few themes. Examples of these themes are friendship, standing up for one’s beliefs, and personal changes. The main character is Marlee. This book is about Marlee and her friends during the civil rights movement. Marlee has a friend named Liz . She also has a crush on J.T. and is very confident.

Benefits

Lucy Viveros Valdepeña, Gr. 7

Reasons why animals benefit us and are worth saving is important to know. Here are the reasons why we love animals. Animals help with our mental health, and they need us too, for our love. Research shows an animal can save someone’s life, so if you save an animal’s life, that animal may save a human’s life too. 15 states have passed laws that animals deserve a loving home. If most of the states or perhaps all passed these laws, imagine how great of an impact that would make. Pets and animals are here to bring good things, not bad things. There are many benefits to pets or animals, so giving them a home and making them happy is worth it. Yes, there might be some disadvantages, that is why you should know all the responsibilities of getting one. If you want to help animals but can’t get a pet, you can still help by donating money to shelters and charities. To end, animals deserve a loving home just like us.

Best Holiday in the World — an excerpt

Nick Cafardi, Gr. 4

Ho! Ho! Ho! You hear at 2:30 am. “Where am I?” You ask yourself. Suddenly, you remember what day it is, Christmas. “HOORAY!” You shout as you sprint to the presents as fast as you can. “Did I get a Lego set? Did I get a soccer jersey? How many presents did I get 14, 20?” I ask myself. In my opinion, Christmas is the best holiday on my list because of the travel and fun, the preparations, and traditions. Keep reading to find out why this super holiday is the best holiday in town.

Best of All Animals — an excerpt

Kit Devendorf, Gr. 4

Did you know that the woods are home to the ancestor of a dog? It is a majestic, furry mammal, the best animal who ever walked on the planet Earth. We all know it’s the wolf. This is my opinion because wolves are caring, loyal, and protective. Keep reading to see why I adore these fascinating mammals. They are truly the best.

Best Part of Me!

Natalya Wangler, Gr. 5

To be honest, I think my hands are the best! Yes, everyone has their opinions, disagree with me if you want to. But if you didn’t have hands (trying not to be mean here), you wouldn’t do most everyday things, and that’s why I love them! In conclusion, I love my hands!

Bird and the Worm

Luke Haughaboo-Giannella, Gr. 5

There once was a bird and a worm who hated each other. The bird could not catch the worm, but sometimes the bird had the worm but the bird always let go every time. The bird finally had the worm and said, “There is no getting away now” but right as they went over the pond the worm jumped and said, “I’m not going today bird maybe you should ask the rat or the owl for help.” But the bird was too stubborn to ask the rat and the owl for help. So the bird did not get the worm.

Blue Cocktail

Hannah Erbeck, Gr. 5

I describe myself as a blue cocktail because I am sweet and salty. I am also very unique, different and unusual. People think of me as sweet and daring but sometimes I blend in and can be very shy around other people that I don’t know very well, just like a fun different drink. Another reason that I am like this drink is because sometimes when people have too much of me they go crazy. In conclusion, I describe myself as a blue cocktail.

Boy Who Saved Baseball

Nikhil Jain, Gr. 7

“The Boy Who Saved Baseball” by John Rittle takes place in the small town of Dillon town and takes place a bit after the Padres were in the World Series so maybe around early 2000s. The protagonist is a 12-year-old kid named Tom who is a baseball player and looks up to a guy named Dante Del Gato who was very good but then for no reason retired and he was from Dillon town like tom. The antagonist is the Dillon town as they would to get rid of the field that the baseball team plays on. Some other important characters are Cruz de la Cruz who is a really good player and Mr .G the coach and Toms dad. The book starts when the baseball team is told if they win, they keep the field but if they lose, they also lose the field.

Bubbly Root Beer

Dean Mohan, Gr. 5

I’m a bubbly root beer. Every time I make a joke someone laughs which is why I’m bubbly. I’m a very mellow and chill person. I’m very likable but I can go from mellow to spicy which means I can go from chill to crazy. That’s why I’m a bubbly root beer.

Building Community

Peyton MacDonald, Gr. 5

Marlee, Liz, and Mrs Nisbett all show building community attributes. Marlee is inclusive, she showed she is inclusive when she saw little Jimmy sitting alone and invited him to sit with her. Liz is communicative, Liz showed she is communicative when she and Marlee go to the movie theater and someone is saying that Marlee shouldn’t be there, Liz with the help of Betty Jean, tell the lady she is wrong. Mrs. Nisbett is empathetic, she shows she is empathetic when she stands up for the colored people. In conclusion Marlee, Liz, and Mrs. Nisbett all show building community attributes.

Building Community Around Cincinnati

Forrest Cloran, Gr. 8

We are currently working on our capstone project and leaning about building a strong community of people. When we are working on our capstone we are encouraged to be more involved in our community. On the way to school every morning I see you greeting all of your students to school that day and every time I see you out front of the school it is just a great way to start the day because everyone is part of a community. We were supposed to pick a organization who builds community and this was the first thing that came to mind was you and your school building his community. Thank you for your kind consideration of this. In the coming days I would like to meet with you.

Burst of Joy — an excerpt

Anna Hartmann, Gr. 4

Have you ever felt that sudden burst of joy when you found out that your favorite book was being turned into a movie? Then, after you watched it, you were so disappointed because it didn’t live up to your expectations? I certainly have experienced that. Unfortunately this happened for me with “The Witches”.In my opinion, the book was way better than the movie. Keep reading to find out why I think the book was superior.

Bus Trip

Christian Basler, Gr. 8

As I entered the Metro Bus, I sought out a seat. The only available seat was next to a man with a jet-black hoodie. As I glanced over my shoulder, I could vaguely see that he was playing some sort of game on his phone. I wanted to say something, but he was giving off signals that he wanted to be left alone. When we were downtown, we took the streetcar to take longer commutes.

Buying Land

Mackenzie O’Dwyer, Gr. 8

The Louisiana Purchase was when the United States bought land from France. The land went back and forth from Spain and France so at the time of the purchase France owned it. The two explorers that helped them get to this point were Meriwether Lewis and Lewis Clark. Thomas Jefferson sent them on an expedition to explore the western land. They bought 828,000 square miles (about twice the area of Egypt) of land. Doubled the size of the United Staes. The United States economy and environment really benefited from this. They had enough land for people and farming. They made this purchase on April 30, 1803. The land was worth $15 million. The land is now made into 14 different states. The states include Louisiana, Arkansas, Missouri, Iowa, Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, some of Minnesota, New Mexico, Montana, Wyoming, and Colorado. Overall, the Louisiana purchase really help the United States grow and expand.

California

Bennett Fager, Gr. 8

The California Gold Rush, which happened between 1848 and 1855, was a huge event that changed the lives of thousands of people and had a huge impact on the US. When John Sutter said, “There is more gold in the world than I ever dreamed of. I have seen it with my own eyes.” in 1848, he was not exaggerating. The discovery of gold in California attracted people from all over the US. The Gold Rush created immense economic opportunities, not just for those who found gold, but also for businesses that supported the miners. People who moved to California, known as the ‘49ers, because most of them arrived in 1849, had wanted to find gold and become wealthy. While a few did find a lot of gold, most did not. However, the way more people got rich of the Gold Rush were those who supplied goods and services to the miners.

California Gold Rush

Stella Ocariz, Gr. 8

The California Gold Rush started in 1848 when people living in Sacramento discovered gold nuggets. After the Mexican American War, when they signed the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, James Wilson Marshall and John Sutter made a shocking discovery by finding gold flakes in the American River. They tried to hide it, but people found out and went crazy going into the mines to look for gold. People from all over came in search of gold. President James K. Polk made an announcement regarding the discoveries. He said, “The accounts of abundance of gold are of such an extraordinary character as would scarcely command belief were they not corroborated by the authentic reports of officers in the public service.”

Cambodia

Parker Adams, Gr. 7

In 1975 communist insurgents known as Khmer Rouge take control of Cambodia. (Ngoun 2023) They claimed that “2,000 years of history” had ended. (asiasociety.org) In other words, this spokesperson meant that the Khmer Rouge wanted Cambodia to break with the past and start doing new customs. This began a new era for Cambodia known as “year zero.” In 1976 Cambodia is renamed Democratic Kampuchea and legalized its communist government. (bbc.com) Fighting starts in Vietnam in 1977 and shortly after Vietnam invades Cambodia. (bbc.com) In January 1979 the Vietnamese take Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia. Pol Pot and Khmer Rouge are forced to flee to the border region with Thailand. (bbc.com) In 1981 the pro-Vietnamese Kampuchean People’s Revolutionary Party, also known as the VKPRP, wins the election, but the people refuse acknowledge their new government. Hun Sen is elected as new prime minister in 1985 but Cambodia remains to be plagued by warfare. In 1989 all the Vietnamese troops withdraw leaving Cambodia in shambles and marking an end to the “year zero” era.

Cancer Persuasive Essay

Lila Miller, Gr. 7

Chemotherapy is the use of different medicines to treat or kill cancer cells. Chemo can be used to decrease the size of a tumor before surgery, help other treatment such as radiation work better and lessen pain or other symptoms. Chemo can be given through iv, pill/liquid, or injection.

Caring for Dogs

Amber Kuehnel, Gr. 7

I think you should care about dogs because they can help you with your mental issues as a good friend. Dogs also helped me. When I was little, my grandparents and I used to visit my great-grandmother. I loved it there. One day I found out that the neighbour’s had a dog his name is Charlie. I really like him. In the beginning, only my grandpa and I went for short hikes. I loved that because I got to spend time with a dog. Something you must know is I never had a pet. We kept visiting them. But on day when I was 10 years old, my grandparents planned a longer hike. There were a lot of steep hills, at first, I did not want to come along, because I knew it was going to be hard. But when I heard that Charlie was going to come, I did not even think and just came along. I was excited to finally do a long hike with him, but when we came to the steepest hill of all, I just did not think I would make it up there. But when Charlie keep running up and I saw how easy it was I kept going and, in the end, I finally realized, it was not as hard as I thought it would be. And in that situation, you can see that a dog gave me mental support. That also shows a bond between a human and pet.

Cepheus

Kayla Dwyer, Gr. 8

The words “Manifest Destiny” came from John L. O’Sullivan. John was an editor of a magazine that helped with the Democratic party. He wrote many newspapers and magazines that weren’t very popular until 1845. In 1845, he wrote the words “manifest destiny”, which created popularity for the magazine. After the publication, many thought the phrase was confusing. They thought these were ordinary words in a magazine, but others thought there was additional meaning. In the Summer of 1845, France and England were challenging the Americans expansion. O’Sullivan stated in the magazine that the United States needed to acquire Texas in order to continue American expansion. Europeans were against this and O’Sullivan protested that they were interfering with American affairs. He began to gently voice a complaint rather than start an argument. When O’Sullivan again published the words “Manifest Destiny” on December 27,1845 in a newspaper column, it was then these words became extremely popular. In the newspaper, he refers to a fight with Great Britain over the Oregon Country. Some people cared about the fight more than others.

Chairlift

Estelle Neyer, Gr. 6

I took the chairlift up. I was happy that I found Clairice for Santa and that I met Frosty the Snowman. I was sad too. I missed Clairice, and Santa still had my hat that Clairice was in, but I didn’t really care about that. The chairlift was at the top and I skied home. When I got home, my hat was at the door! I picked it up,went inside, was jubilant to see a little note! It said, Dear Estelle, Clairice is for you. While you grow big, she will stay small. She will remind you when you are older to remember your childhood and never stop believing. -Santa closed the note and put it back in the hat. I heard some jingle bells in the sky, and I didn’t even have to look up to know who it was.

Changes

Ryan Schaaf, Gr. 5

Marlee changes a lot in Lions of Little Rock and her learning to talk regularly is just one challenge she faces. At the beginning of the book she rarely talks to anyone, even her family. By the time she rides the plane back to Little Rock at Christmas time she has progressed enough to talk to the flight attendant. At the end of the book she talks up against Red and Mr. Dalton and even convinces Mrs. Dalton to speak up too. In conclusion Marlee changes a lot and by the end of the book she can talk very cleanly to strangers.

Chase — an excerpt

Carter Marsh, Gr. 4

Another reason why Chase is the best is because he is also extremely playful. One way he shows his playfulness is by playing monkey in the middle. One time when my mom, Cam, and I played monkey in the middle, Chase went back and forth back and forth but sometimes he falls off. It was like the game would go on forever. Another way Chase is playful is he loves to fetch with a ball or a toy. One time I threw a ball so far that it went into the woods and Chase went to fetch it. Even though it was scary in the woods, he still went to go get the ball. I doubt a fat, chunky dog would go get a ball that far in the woods.

Children’s Freedom

Sabrina

Diaz, Gr. 6

Parents are frequently worried about scheduling their children’s events and establishing “proper” bedtimes. This can create a sense of confinement, which frequently results in resentment against parents/guardians as well as the home life of the kids. Going to sleep will be associated with negative thoughts and could potentially stir up conflict within the family. Conflict tends to arise in a family setting whenever a parent/guardian creates a new rule without talking to their kids about it first. While it may be okay when the child is younger, tweens and teenagers are becoming more independent. Parents should give their children options, especially when it comes to their own bodies and well-being. Kids are capable of listening to their bodies, and it often seems like adults forget that essential fact. If the parent/guardian is uncomfortable with letting their kids make choices for themselves, they should talk with the children and see what their thoughts and opinions are on the matter. Usually, they have valid reasons to consider that many stubborn people overlook. In conclusion, parents should stop worrying so much about taking control over their children and let them have some freedom.

Christmas — an excerpt

Ava Geers, Gr. 4

Imagine sitting by the fireplace listening to the pops and crackles of it, while looking at snowflakes and frost sticking against your window, all while trying to look at the sparkling snow on the trees and watching your favorite Christmas movie. You’re waiting for your mom to finish baking cookies for Santa. While all of that is happening, you still relax. It’s the best time of the year, Christmas! In my opinion, Christmas is the best holiday because of all the sparkling decorations, all of the family traditions, and the bright presents. Keep reading to see why Christmas is the best time of the year.

Cinnamon Girl

Lily Fecher, Gr. 8

My locker is right next to hers, so every morning when she walks in with a frown on her face, I say hi. She doesn’t say anything, but continues to look down at the ground. As she opens her locker, a warm breeze of cinnamon rushes past me because of the cinnamon sticks she had in her locker. She put them there because that’s what her dad called her, cinnamon girl. I know she misses her dad, even though she never really met him. She has photos of him and her mother posted on the inside of her locker, neatly placed with magnets instead of tape, so that they don’t rip. I wish that I could comfort her. I wish that I could go to the park with her on a cool autumn day and hug her while she was wearing her dad’s old flannel. I wish I could make her smile, the way she smiled before everybody tore her to the ground.

City Gospel Mission

Easton Griffin, Gr. 7

Annually City Gospel Mission serves 110,000 nutritious meals and provides more than 42,000 safe nights of shelter. They also provide 450 families with nice thanksgiving meals for thanksgiving dinner. City Gospel Mission is a homelessness shelter that gives, food, beds for people to sleep, and offers programs to all the homeless. If they got 1000 dollars, they could buy more beds and food to help more homeless people to keep up and continue City Gospel Missions magnificent work.

Civil War

Giulia Rassi, Gr. 6

The Civil War was a war that took place on April 12, 1861 and went on for four years. The people involved in the Civil War were the Confederate states and the Union states. This war ended up happening because states wanted their rights to choose to keep slavery or to get rid of it. The Civil War didn’t just occur in one area; it was all over the entire United States but most of it was fought in Virginia and Tennessee. Over 3 million people fought but more than 6,000,000 people died. In the end of the war, the Union won and defeated the confederate states. After that they created the United States of America and there was no more slavery.

Colors

James Hodge, Gr. 6

The reason I chose these colors are because they are special to me or describe me. The red on my shield describes that I’m a warrior and I don’t back down even when there is a huge problem. I am also a warrior in sports because I like to go against people that are better than me to get better. The blue on my shield stands for how I am loyal, and I stay loyal. There have been points in my life where I have had the chance to play on different teams, but I stayed loyal.

Community Matters

Abby Kroner, Gr. 8

When I was younger, I thought community was just the people you go to school with and the people in your street. But I later realized that that is far from true. I have learned in the past few years that community is everyone around you. These are those you go to school with, the team you play soccer with, the people on your street, our family and friends, and all the people who come whenever you need them. These people have taught me how important it is to impact those around you through your actions and helping the community around all of us.

Community Reflection

Sydney Koo, Gr. 5

Each year we get a new community, we lose a grade, and gain a new grade. Our community is stronger when we accept those who are new into our community. The definition of community is a group of people living in the same place or having a particular characteristic in common. Community is important because it’s what brings us together for things like neighborhood events, or being with your friends. Community is like a Jenga tower. If you take out an important piece of the tower, it falls. The same thing can happen with a community. If one family that connects the whole neighborhood gets removed, then some things might fall apart, like events and gatherings.

Complicated

Evelyn Paulsen, Gr. 6

Love is very complicated, and it means many different things to many different people. For me, love means many different things. Love is the way your dog always stares at you with worshipful eyes. It means caring for others even if no one is watching. It is trying to make the world a better place, knowing once you’re gone, no one remembers you. Love is also the way your little brother always wants to go on roller coasters with you and how your pets always love you, no matter what.

Connecting Houses

Will Fox, Gr. 8

Heading into the evening, I was a little tired from the day, but I was excited for what was to come in the night. We built all connecting houses. I was connected to John, Kyan, Jack, and Christian. It wasn’t too hard to construct the houses. For dinner, we walked 1.5 miles to the gas station and taco truck. The walk was not bad at all. The tacos were very good, and I really enjoyed them. I liked the firepit. It was warm and good for making s’mores. It was also constructed very well. I think that Willa’s story was very cool. It was nice to hear her opinion after she had experienced homelessness. The overnight experience was better than I expected. It didn’t feel like I was sleeping in a box until the neighboring box broke and there was a giant hole in it the rest of the night. This meant that there was cold air blowing directly on my head the whole night. I have some more empathy for the people who are experiencing homelessness.

Connor Love’s Family Tree

Connor Love, Gr. 6

I think that knowing your family history is important because if you do not know where great-grandparents are from then you also might not know stories from them. Knowing stories from your grandparents is good because then you can pass down the stories. The people that I interviewed for this essay are my maternal grandparents. If you do not know your family history, then your kids will not be able to tell their kids and so on.

Country

Tory Plattner, Gr. 4

The country, on the other hand, is a peaceful place where there is clear air and wealthy people. They live in big, grand houses surrounded by lush green grass. The way that I know these people are wealthy is because there are servants doing gardening and hanging up the laundry to dry. Also Morisot used soothing colors to represent the country, very different from the colors she used to portray the city. She used colors like green, pink, blue, and white, which creates a feeling of calmness and peace. When staring at this painting, I can close my eyes and almost feel the soft breeze of the wind and hear birds chirping in the trees. Morisot painted not just a picture, but the peaceful feeling the countryside creates.

Cow and the Rabbit

Ava Maly, Gr. 5

One day, a cow was eating grass when a rabbit hopped over and started collecting flowers. The rabbit knew that the cow was scared of everything, so he thought that it would be fun to scare him. So the rabbit decided to make up a tale to tell the cow. The rabbit sighed loudly so the cow could hear.“What is wrong my friend?’’ said the cow. Oh, I just am very scared, said the rabbit. Why? Said the cow. Haven’t you heard of the creepy creature that roams the forest? He just moved in. WHAT? Said the cow who started to shake. Oh yes, he loves to eat at any time of day. He will eat any kind of animal. He is the largest animal in the world. I heard he once ate an elephant! The cow ran to his house and locked the door. The rabbit laughed. “Everyone knows there is no such thing as a creature like that.” Later that day, the rabbit heard the cow talking to all the animals about the creature that rabbit told him about. Everyone was scared. The rabbit thought this was hilarious. One night, the animals planned to capture the wild animal. When the rabbit heard this, he was scared that everyone would find out and he would get in trouble, so he hid in the forest.

Creative

Carrigan Sams, Gr. 5

Creative, kind, optimistic Lover of musical theater, Harry Potter and vanilla milkshakes Who wonders who she will be when she grows up, Who fears heights when she doesn’t feel safe Who feels happy when singinWho cares about the health and safety of family and friends Who dreams of being on Broadway Who wants to be remembered for being kind.

Crown Win

Jake Heekin, Gr. 7

Keenan let his horse hide in a bush until the fight was over. He looked at the map and realized the storm was about to catch up to him. He fell on the guy’s box and stole his wall and did the Mongrall Classic hitting him 200 in the head. The guy had 3 medallions and now Keenan had 4 medallions. During that fight, 15 people had died. It was now the last four kids. Keenan sniped one making it a 1v1v1. He let them fight and 3rd partied the guy to get the winin the game.

Cupcake vs. The Brain

Kyan Gatewood, Gr. 8

Once upon a time there was a Pitbull named Pretty Pink Fluffy Cupcake. Unlike other dogs, he could think and act like a human. But unfortunately, this abnormal ability comes with a great cost. Pretty Pink Cupcake was diagnosed with cerebral palsy which means his cerebral motor cortex is not functioning properly. This makes it difficult for him to exercise, which is detrimental to the temporal lobes and prefrontal cortex in his brain. Luckily, Cupcake’s owner, Dave, makes sure he gets enough sleep and good nutrition which both allow the neurons in his body to communicate effectively. On Cupcake’s daily walk (or rather roll since he is in a stroller) Dave took him to the park. While walking along the lake, Pretty Pink Cupcake saw a kid with cerebral palsy just like him! Then, Cupcake starts to wonder. Why do I have cerebral palsy? So, the next day he goes to a class about exploring brain functions. There, he learns about all the parts of the brain and their functions. He was especially interested in the motor cortex, as this part of the brain Cupcake was not functioning properly for him.

Darkish Light Blue

Piper Kropp, Gr. 5

My eyes are the best feature of me. My eyes are darkish light blue. My eyes shine in the sun, they’re glowy, and in the summer they turn light blue. My eyes leave an afterglow when I look in the sun then look away . My eyes can win the staring contest sometimes and I can open my eyes underwater. My eyes suit my eyelashes and they match my outfits. The darkish light blue suits my hair color blond. In conclusion that’s why the best feature of me are my eyes.

Deadly Deception

Hadley Carlson, Gr. 7

Ava was almost there when at the last step, CREEK. She really needed to go. She heard the killers running from downstairs. Ava ran to a room hoping to get out of a window or hide. The windows wouldn’t open so she got an old wooden chair and broke the glass to escape. She was only on the 2nd floor, so it wasn’t that much of a jump. It looked higher than it was when she looked down. She knew she had to jump. Ava heard the killers checking all the rooms and knew they were getting close. She frantically grabbed onto the window and jumped.

Deep Friendship

Colin Kline, Gr. 5

This paragraph is about friends. First, the author says that friendship can be more than skin deep and I agree with this because of personal experience. Next, friendship examples in LLR consist of: Liz and Curtis, Marlee and Liz, and Marlle and Little Jimmy and those friendships like Marlee and Liz. Lastly, Marlee says, “I like him a lot I said, though I think of him just as a friend.”

Dehumanization

Elizabeth Norng, Gr. 8

The first type of dehumanization the book portrayed was through isolation. The Nazis would separate families from each other and the rest of society. The town of Sighet, where Elie lived, excluded the Jews and forced them to live in ghettos. Along with that, their properties were taken from them, and so were their rights; even their interactions with non-Jew citizens started closing. “Men to the left! Women to the right!” Eight words spoken quietly, indifferently, without emotion. Eight simple, short words. Yet that was the moment when I left my mother.” This is an example of isolation; the Nazis separated the women from the men, which also resulted in the separation of mothers and sons. This type of dehumanization made them lose their sense of identity and belonging.

Differences

Evan Williams, Gr. 6

Love is a spectrum. There is a difference between loving somebody and being in love with somebody. When you love somebody, you don’t love them just because of their personality. You love them because of how they dress and how they look. Also, when you just love someone that means that you aren’t in a permanent relationship. Another thing when you just love someone is you can stop loving that person and love another instead. When you are in love with someone you are taking that person on how she or he is no matter what they look or dress like. When you are in love with someone you are married to them, and you are committed to being with them for eternity. And even if you break up you still love them no matter if they go with another person

Discovery of the New World

Grace Golden, Gr. 8

The Viking Theory is the most common. It is known that the Vikings discovered the Americas, but we do not know if they were first. We know that the Vikings came from Greenland through their writing and their sagas. According to the Greenland saga, a group of Vikings came across North America and their ship was blown westward off course (Britannica). There is a theory about a group of Muslim-Chinese discovering the Chinese 71 years before Christopher Columbus, but this is not as popular as other theories because there is no direct proof. However, North and South America specifically could have been discovered by the Polynesians first. Traces of sweet potato which was native to America led historians and Scientists to believe that they had the earliest encounter with America (npr). Although the sweet potato is very solid evidence that the Polynesians were first, we also know that Christopher Columbus came across the Americas. Around 1497, Christopher Columbus reached what is believed to be the San Salvador Island (Britannica). John Cabot, an Italian explorer, landed in Canada. This was not until 1497, which was after Christopher Columbus. However, were the Vikings before Columbus?

Doctor Pepper

Houston Griffin, Gr. 5

If I was a drink, I would be a Doctor Pepper because I am nice and sweet and don’t get mad at others,and I am nice to others too. I also am refreshing and don’t give others a hard time and I make your day better. You can also find me at lots of places like at sports, piano, school, at a friend’s house, or at home. I am also caffeinated and have lots of energy and can be crazy. These are the reasons that if I was a drink I would be a Doctor Pepper.

Dog Caring

Josie Lyons, Gr. 7

Every day dogs are getting murdered and killed every minute of the day. They are also not getting cared for and abused in such horrible ways. For example, dogs in kill shelters are not getting feed daily. They are sitting in their cages filled with piles of poop. They are bony dogs that are sick and in need of medical care. Those dogs are neglected. They are decaying in their cage. They do not know how to act around other dogs and humans because they just sit in there cages all day. If they can never play with them. But My furry Valintine lets the dogs play, people can pet the dogs, walk them, and give them treats. If you walk in a kill shelter and see a dog one day, the next day they might not be there.

Dogs — an excerpt

Maeve Curley, Gr. 4

Did you know that my house is the home to the most incredible animal in the whole entire world? Of course I’m talking about dogs who, with their playful personalities, have just completely captured my heart. In my opinion, these fascinating furry animals are the best animals in the world because they are smart, friendly, funny, and talented! Keep reading to see why these amazing furry animals are the best animals in the world!

Dolphins — an excerpt

Cole Rinehart, Gr. 4

Finally, dolphins are really acrobatic. One reason they are especially acrobatic is that they are extremely fast. One reason that they are really fast is because they don’t have a backbone. That makes them aerodynamic, like a jet plane. If dolphins are in trouble, zip! They’re out of there! Another reason that dolphins are acrobatic is that they have a strong body, so they can flip and do cool tricks. They can jump randomly out of the water. Their body is made out of cartilage. That makes it even harder and cooler to do. This is why dolphins are really acrobatic.

Doubling the US

Gael Huguet, Gr. 8

In 1803, Thomas Jefferson bought Louisiana from France for 15 million dollars. This doubled the United States size. People moved west for cheaper land and more access to supplies. They wanted a better life and access to the expanding railroad. They had many terrible experiences on the trail. The westward expansion began in the 19th century, starting in 1803 and ending in 1890. This all took place because of the Louisiana Purchase. When the deal of the Louisiana purchase was settled, the country of the United States grew twice the size of what it was. The women were able to have jobs if they did not have enough money to feed their families or take care of their homes. It was known that the black women faced many challenges because of the amenities. Some struggles I would face if I were a pioneer traveling west of the United States would be missing my family and exhaustion. It would be hard working and having no rest all day without food or drinks.

Downfalls of Learning a Foreign Language

Emma McCormick, Gr. 6

Students should not have to learn a foreign language. It is a waste of hard work and effort. In the future if kids are not taught a foreign language, stress and anxiety will go down. Many students will have less homework which means they can be more focused in class. Outside of school, they will not have to worry about as many other things. So, although learning foreign languages can be both a beneficial and fun experience, forcing students to take classes as a mandatory requirement offers no real benefits and causes stress. This takes time away from important classes and opportunities and can add unnecessary expenses to an already expensive education.

Dreams

Kalle Gatewood, Gr. 5

She is funny, sweet kind, and thoughtful She is a lover of Taylor Swift, traveling, and gymnastics She wonders how they make electric cars She dreams of becoming an entrepreneur and meeting Taylor Swift She fears breaking a bone and getting a disease She cares about her family, her friends, and her gymnastics career She feels happy when doing gymnastics , getting Starbucks, and going shopping. She wants to be remembered for being kind, sweet, and a good gymnast.

Dynamic

Sophie Pressey, Gr. 5

In the novel “The Lions of Little Rock”, Marlee is a dynamic character who matures throughout the story. Marlee grows with her friendship, overcoming personal challenges, breaking stereotypes and prejudices. These themes are a very important part of this book that pulled me in, and I hope they will pull you in too.

Eagles — an excerpt

Sophia Filatova-Ash, Gr. 4

You probably know who rules the sky. A fearsome bald eagle flies above the mountains. In my opinion, these incredible birds are the most splendid creatures in the world because they have been a part of my family for generations, they are the symbol of the USA, and they are great hunters. l hope after you read this essay about the stunning bald eagle you’ll see why they are supreme animals.

Educational Program

Lilly Yarnell, Gr. 8

Shantytown is a educational program where students are encouraged to sleep out side to bring awareness to homelessness. I knew that homelessness was an issue. But I didn’t know that so many people were on the streets. Preconceived ideas? Yes, I was scared going on the streetcar and metro because I thought it was a bad place. I was excited that we were going downtown but I was a little scared of what we were doing. I put all my items down and knew that this was really happening.

Elf

Alex Pearce, Gr. 5

I am writing to apply for the job of Health Trainer. I believe I am qualified for this job because I am very passionate about sport and exercise. I would do it all day, everyday if I was able to. I think it is very important to be healthy and I make sure to eat healthy food everyday. I have experience helping others learn new sports skills for example in soccer and tennis. I attend the Summit Country Day School and feel that my strengths are that I am kind, athletic, and I work hard. I play soccer for Summit and Cincinnati United, Basketball for Summit, Tennis at Camargo Tennis Club, and Swim at the Cincinnati Sports Club. All of these teach me lots of skills and keep me healthy. I love sports. I feel I am the best person for the job because I think that I am a qualified sports person as I have played sports for many years. I like to help people so I would like to do this job. I look forward to hearing from you.

Emerson’s Personality Shield

Emerson Kaeppner, Gr. 6

While I did not base my shield off of particular memories in my life, I’ve obviously gotten to learn more about myself throughout my life, I can reflect on less intense scenarios for example, taking care and playing with my neighbors who are much younger than me and maybe playing hide and seek with them and steering them away from the road or other people’s property and acting like a motherly figure to them. Or maybe doing team-building activities and being loyal to my team and being a leader. I’ve grabbed evidence from my life and generalized it to just me and part of my personality and sometimes, I get to reflect on it and draw it on a piece of paper or put it in writing. Just like now.

Empathy

Vivienne Kline, Gr. 5

I demonstrate empathy a lot. When I see someone who is feeling down or unhappy I will go and make a connection to how they are feeling and see if they are okay. I try to help others when they are crying or sad. One time one of my friends was eating alone and I detected she was feeling sad, so with compassion I went over and sat with her. Another time was at recess when one of my friends was sad so I gave her a hug and said everything will be ok. I feel like that benefited her and her confidence in many ways. In conclusion I think I am overall pretty empathetic.

Evening at School

Caroline Gehring, Gr. 8

I was excited heading into the evening. I felt as if Shantytown was just starting! I was at the doctor for the first part of the cardboard box home building, but I later joined my box buddy, Maren, and we made the ultimate box. It had two rooms and windows in the middle so we could see each other. It even had a bedside table for food. We walked about a mile and a half to the gas station. I got tacos from Humberto’s, and they were amazing. The firepit was probably my favorite part of our camp because it was warm and relaxing. We met Willa Jones, and she gave a very empowering speech. Then we went to bed. I was a little cold around my feet, but otherwise it was fine. It was fun sleeping in a box with a friend and a box town with so many classmates. You could feel the sense of community. I got around 7 hours of sleep, and when Maren and I woke up, we realized we were the first. I have so much empathy for people experiencing homelessness the second I got to my house. I am very thankful for this Shantytown experience.

Expanding Westward

Tyler Gier, Gr. 8

The belief that the U.S. would expand westward was the most logical at the time. The idea to expand northward toward Canada or southward toward Mexico were, whilst certainly possible, largely illogical. Canada was a British Colony and the U.S. had recently lost trying to invade Canada (Greenspan 2023). Attacking the British once again was more difficult than going westward, and the British did not own land directly west of the U.S., so expanding west wouldn’t trigger another fight. The French had sold their land to the U.S. in 1803, so the U.S. already owned more land to the west (Office of the Historian 2024). Spain did hold land to the south and west of the U.S., and whilst we could have gone southward, invading there would have started another conflict. With Britain/Canada to the north and Spain to the south and only Native Americans to the west, the answer seemed simple to everyone at the time. Another aspect was that the U.S. was a rapidly expanding nation. The United States’ population grew by an estimate of 321% from around 5.3 million in 1800 to 17 million people by 1840 and it wasn’t slowing down.

Eyes

Ivy Sousa, Gr. 5

My best feature is my eyes. One reason my eyes are my best feature is because they are basically the same color as my mom’s and grandpa’s. In conclusion, my eyes are my best feature.

Facing Fears

Belle Yang, Gr. 5

All the characters in the novel The Lions of Little Rock all developed themselves in the story. They have friendships, face fears, and overcome their fears when there is breaking stereotypes and prejudices.

Family

Michaela Bell, Gr. 5

Who loves her family, farm, nature, and pets. Who has brown and blonde hair and blue and green eyes. Who is tall, lean, strong, independent, beautiful, polite, funny, intelligent, and athletic. Who feels we should save the environment and earth. Who enjoys hanging out at my farm and with my family. Who wonders about everything and if dreams have deeper meanings. Who dreams of flying. Who fears losing everyone close to me, bees, my home, and the outdoors. Who cares about animals, nature, books, family, and school. Who is happy when I am outdoors, playing with my friends, and hanging out with my family and pets. Who wants to be remembered for being very smart, a good student, and kind.

Fangs — an excerpt

Enya Renfrow, Gr. 7

We both raced to the dining room, almost crashing into servants walking the halls. Vlad beat me there and took the coveted seat close to the heater, forcing me to sit on the cold side. He stuck his tongue out like a child, and I barred my fangs with all the anger I had. “Children,” father warned, his eyes still roaming the pages of his book, and we both stopped, neither of us wanted to be on the wrong side of his anger and disappointment. He set his book down and smiled at the both of us warmly as our food was set down. Vlad pounced on his steak, and I stared at him judgmentally as I picked up my fork and knife. “So Amber, how was your visit with Sasha today?” Father asked, clearly forcing himself to be polite and biting out Sasha’s name.

Fanta

Luke Jenkins, Gr. 5

I am Luke and my drink is Fanta. I am happy like the carbonation bubbling to the top of the can. I am sometimes angry like a sour orange. I’m also like the sugar in Fanta and going crazy in sports. In conclusion, that is why I am like the drink Fanta.

Fatalness of Hurricanes

Sophie Daniher, Gr. 7

During Hurricane Ian, more than 5,000 homes were destroyed, and more than 13,000 suffered from severe damage (Lee 2) Recently, hurricanes have been getting more frequent and more powerful, meaning that soon the hurricanes will destroy tens of thousands of homes. People may say, “Climate change isn’t real!” or “There is already plenty of funds towards hurricane relief!” However, Earth’s atmosphere has been getting warmer and warmer every year, and there needs to be funding for evacuation, rebuilding, and making safer houses for those who can’t evacuate, which needs billions of dollars in total, for each hurricane. Hurricane relief and evacuation needs more funding and volunteers because there is lots of damage, and hurricanes are getting more powerful, so many people will die if they aren’t safe.

Father Christmas

Rebeca Pérez Sánchez, Gr. 6

Father Christmas is a fictional character that represents John the Baptist in “The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe”. In the Bible, John the Baptist helps spread the word that Jesus is coming which helps people prepare for the Messiah and Father Christmas helped them prepare for the battle that will involve them meeting Aslan. Another reason is that the children met Father Christmas before they met Aslan and, in the Bible, John the Baptist, comes before Jesus. Finally, Father Christmas foreshadows that there will be a battle because of the gifts that he gives the three kids. We can assume that means that the battle will involve the White Witch and Aslan (who represents Jesus) this means that Father Christmas is foreshadowing that Aslan is coming. This is similar to what John the Baptist did in the Bible which is that although he is important, he always tells people that he is not the Messiah, and that Jesus, who is the son of God, is coming.

Favorite Holiday — an excerpt

Amelia Wilson, Gr. 4

One of the best things about Christmas is decorating my house. As soon as it’s December, we start to put up the tree. The tree is full of tons of ornaments, some from the past, some from the present, and some will be joined in the future. Also, we put up the stockings. The stockings all have my family’s names like my parents’, sisters’, and mine. My dog has a paw print on his stocking. All of our stockings are bright red. They look so cheerful strung over the fireplace. Our dog Max’s stocking is so white it looks like the snow drizzling outside the window.

Fellow Friends

Macey Adams, Gr. 5

Approached school, With all my fellow friends Had to be protected by troops Can’t trust the other kids Divided by racial, Now thats gonna change You need to know Why we don’t look the same No more segregation, No angry protesters We need to make peace And all stick together, as one… Dealing with violence, Spat on and pushed But we needed to endure. So we kept standing strong We need our young people, For them to stand up for racial justice Be proud of who they are and how they look To not stay speechless We have the right, The just Though they do not understand We will not leave hushed.

Fight for Calamari

Austin Miller, Gr. 7

I have been going crazy because the Anti-Calamari’s have eliminated all the calamari in the WORLD. The Anti-Calamaris are an evil fishing group who kill the squid because they just hate them. I do not know why. I too kill them, but it is different, I eat them after I kill them; the Anti-Calamari’s just kill and leave them, Evil! As of today, they have completely wiped out the population of the amazing squid.

Fight for Fighters

Edward Neyra, Gr. 7

The next time you even see a veteran say, “Thank you for your service.” Without these veterans people could be speaking the vivid and detailed Chinese alphabet or the beautiful but flabbergasting Japanese language. But no, our military was strong and overcame the opposition. They were the foundation of our strong and beautiful country and gave us everything. I think it’s time we gave them our everything.

Finding Home

Nico Palacio-Vega, Gr. 7

My family tree goes a long way back. One day I dream of being someone important in our history. To not be forgotten or overlooked in future generations. My name is Max the monkey and this is my story. It started two years ago when IT happened. IT is so terrible for me to say so I just call it IT. I lived in Africa with my family of monkeys. I had no parents, just my sister Mary the monkey. She was little when IT happened, barely 3 years old. My parents died because of an attack from The People. They sacrificed themselves so the rest of our tribe could get away. I remember that day as if it were yesterday. Mary and I were out foraging by ourselves, because our parents had finally let us. We found some good fruit and berries to eat, and I distinctly remember Mary saying, “This is yummy.” I said, “Yes, it is good.” A little later, after we were both full, we heard panicked monkey shrieks and hurried back. Mary kept saying, “I want Mom, I want Mom.” I kept saying, “We’re almost there, hold on.”

Fine Line Between Love and Hate

Eileen Bolan, Gr. 7

“Yes,” she wheezed, “you are sorry.” She stabbed him in the stomach with the knife and almost instantly dropped it in her weak condition as Clyde died. There was silence. Everything moved in slow motion, her knife falling to the floor and clattering when it met, and the sun shining through the roof, now sliding open symbolizing freedom and reflecting her disfigured face. She fell back and her skull smashed into the ground. Her vision blurred and the flashbacks hit. She was back home again, her mother making cupcakes and her giggling about unicorn frosting. She was seven, throwing light garlands around the Christmas tree, while singing Jingle Bells. She was with her sister, before her sister was taken for Game, as well. She let out loud mournful cries and died with the vision of her family by her side, kissing her and telling her it would be okay; with the key, lying quietly. The voices of the memories played with an echo, reminding her they weren’t real. Love is what they told her would break her. “Be careful what you wish for. There is a very fine line between love and hate.”

Fireworks — an excerpt

Frankie Wirtz, Gr. 4

Fireworks bursting from my window. Everybody dressed in red, white, and blue. Sparklers are light in the never ending dark void. Glow sticks are snapped to make a dim light. Mini-America flags are waved in the air by toddlers. Chasing glowing fireflies with family. The annoying neighbor who always sets off the loudest fireworks. By now, I think you know what I’m talking about. The holiday where your parents put you to sleep at eleven-o-clock, but you can’t sleep because of the loud fireworks, the Fourth of July. In my opinion, this holiday is on the top of my list because it’s hot, you can play with your family, you can do fun activities, and you can relax. Keep reading to find out why this holiday is the best.

Forever Love

Anna Baker, Gr. 6

Love is when you have deep affection for another and care about what happens to them or what they are doing. Love is the feeling where you are safe and happy. When you love someone when you see them, you get butterflies in your stomach because of how much you care. When you love someone, if they are away from you for too long you get a pit in your stomach of pain and sorrow because you love them. Love is the desire to have the person next to you and that you will never let go. Love is holding hands with the person, hugging the person, comforting them when they are upset. Love is when you feel comfortable around the person but get nervous when you want something to go right to make them happy. Love is thinking about the person, and you can never stop.

Fort Night

Sebastian Kumar Gonzalez, Gr. 7

Now it is the final 2 and it is almost midnight. Logan needs to decide, either try to eliminate Sebi and end the game, or wait it out, hoping someone donates him soup. Logan has not eaten in 2 days, but he needs to win the money. Sebi is in all-out attack mode, so he is looking for Logan the whole night while Logan is looking for Sebi. After 2 hours of searching, they both found each other! They both had weapons pointing at each other and they were ready to shoot. Sebi could feel the tension between the two and did not know when to shoot. Logan felt weak in the knees and knew he must shoot quickly so he does not pass out and Sebi eliminates him. Logan decides to pull the trigger at the exact same moment as Sebi did.

Foundation Stone

Maren Lafley, Gr. 8

The Foundation stone holds great significance in Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. The large piece of bedrock lies in the heart of Jerusalem’s old city. For Christians and Jews, it is believed that God created the first humans on that rock. Jewish people also believe that Abraham bound Isaac to fulfill God’s wish upon the stone. In the Islam tradition, the prophet Muhammed ascended into heaven on his night journey. The large deposit of bedrock is a site that all three religions share with significance.

Freedom Summer — an excerpt

Knox Casey, Gr. 4

In the book Freedom Summer, Joe and John Henry are friends. One example is in paragraph five. The text says, “Let’s go back to Fiddler’s Creek…. I didn’t want to swim in this old pool anyway.” This shows Joe is trying his best to console his friend about the terrible situation with the town pool. That’s what good friends do. They try to make each other feel better. Another example is found in paragraph six. The text says, “I want to see this town with John Henry’s eyes.” This shows Joe wants to see this town in John Henry’s shoes. He wants to buy ice cream, and go to the movies, and buy ice pops with John Henry. Joe wants to see the town with John Henry’s eyes to understand what his friend has to go through and that’s a good friend. The last example can be found in paragraph four. The text says, “I wiggle in my chair like a doodlebug. ‘I got to be excused!’ I shout, and I run in the kitchen to tell John Henry.” This shows that they can’t wait to play together and when Joe wiggles, that shows how excited he is for John Henry and he cares for him because friends are excited to do things together.

Friends

Elliot Fox, Gr. 5

Here are 3 reasons how Marlee went from zero friends to three friends. One way Marlee got a friend was talking to Nora when Sally was talking to them. Another way Marlee got a friend was that she had a partner named Liz that had a lot in common with Marlee. A final way Marlee got a friend was that she gave a feather to someone named Little Jimmy and they have had a good relationship since then. That was three reasons as to how Marlee got some friends since then.

Friendship

Chelsea Beyerbach, Gr. 5

One of the themes in this book is friendship. Marlee has many strong friendships in this book. One of her strongest friendships is with Liz. She and Liz had many struggles with maintaining their friendship, but through these struggles they learned that friendship is worth life’s problems. Their friendship was unstoppable despite the fact that they were forced to go to different schools. Even when Marlee wasn’t allowed to meet Liz anymore, she still talked with Liz on the phone. Marlee supported Liz through the hard times, and Liz was always kind and supportive to Marlee through her problems. Another really strong friendship is between Marlee and Judy. There were problems throughout the book with Marlee and Judy’s friendship, but overall they had a great relationship. Marlee and Judy could always talk with each other about their problems with friendship, school, and danger. Marlee and JT’s friendship was complicated. They were friends at times, and didn’t like each other at other times. They talked to each other about Red and the dynamite. Marlee and JT were honest with each other a lot of the time. In a critical moment JT decided to support Marlee, and not his own brother, Red. Marlee and Sally were friends, but Marlee felt forced in the relationship. Sally wasn’t always nice to her and Marlee always did all the work in group projects with Sally. Sally and Nora however, were best friends at the end of the book, even though Marlee still had a loose friendship with Sally.

Fruit Punch Gatorade

Alex Norng, Gr. 5

The drink I would consider myself to like is a Fruit Punch Gatorade. I choose this drink because I am athletic and Gatorade is for sports. Also I choose this drink because I am most of the time chill and the flavor Fruit Punch tastes and sounds calm. Finally, I chose this drink because sometimes I could get rough and get mean, and sometimes Gatorade tastes bad or hurts my belly. In conclusion, I consider myself a Fruit Punch Gatorade.

Gamechanger

Colton Bettcher, Gr. 7

The book I read was Gamechanger by Tommy Greenwald. This book was a realistic fiction book about football. My book took place in a hospital in a small town called Walthorne. The main character of my book is 13-year-old football player Teddy Youngblood. The antagonist was the high school football teams seniors as they convinced the kids to hit very hard and called people names to provoke harder hitting. Another antagonist was Ethan as when he got tired of being called names, he got so mad he hit teddy late after the play. In the book his whole family visits and his mom who left him comes back. Tommy is described as very athletic and tall. His family consists of him, his mom, his dad, and a younger sister named Janey.

Gary — an excerpt

Charlie Jenkins, Gr. 7

Gary decided it would not work and decided to go with a more reasonable plan. Gary would find all seven dragon balls, all seven chaos emeralds, and all the infinity stones. To supercharge his organs and become a literal flying god. Then vaporize Kungfu Panda. He already had all the ingredients because earlier that day he picked them up at his local CVS. He used the dragon balls to become Goku and used the other two to make a Red Bull times 100 energy drink.

Gingerbread

Hailey Wise, Gr. 5

You will be amazed at this unsurpassed gingerbread house located on 528 Hot Coco Lane, it has an elegant path of crimson and pine peppermints leading up to an incredible caramelized door with an inviting sugar plum door knob. Inside is a cozy interior, flocked by walls manufactured from magnificent peppermint bark. Calling all chefs, this house is for you. Inside you will pass a spectacular kitchen that is fit for a king. With a stunning sub zero degree fridge to keep your food at the north pole temperature this fridge is made of pure dark chocolate and holds up to three drawers of food. But don’t worry for the people who love steaming hot fresh food. We have specialized this unique stove to make cooking a snap! This stove and oven consists of rare dark chocolate and peppermint burners. The stunning living room has five large couches and one amazing sugar plum chandelier! The second floor has five glamorous crimson and pine bedrooms containing one master bed in each!

Glistening — an excerpt

James Williams, Gr. 4

Glistening snow sparkling through the sky, the warm crackling fire in the fireplace, cuddled up in a warm blanket, watching a Christmas story as I fall asleep. My home is warm, cozy, and colorful at Christmas. In my opinion, Christmas is the best holiday because of magical Santa, beautiful decorations all around, and fun Christmas traditions. Keep reading to see why Christmas is the best holiday.

Gold Fever

Brielle Bryant, Gr. 8

“There is more gold in the world than I ever dreamed of. I have seen it with my own eyes.” This quote was from John Sutter, a Swiss immigrant in California whose sawmill had instigated the spot of the California Gold Rush. John’s sawmill was located on the South Fork American River in the hills of Sierra Nevada California. James Marshall, who was a carpenter and sawmill operator, had made the gold rush what it was then. On January 24, 1848, while James was operating Sutters’s sawmill, he had saw shiny flakes in the stream. James had started to look closely and realized it was gold. Sutter and James had tried keeping this to themselves, but him finding this gold had made the world craze for wealth and influenced the migration to California. John Sutter, who did not know how much gold there was in the area, was shocked by all the gold people had found. John Sutter had said “There is more gold in the world than I ever dreamed of. I have seen it with my own eyes.”. This is when people had begun to see wealth in their futures.

Gold Location

Malcolm Moore, Gr. 8

The California gold rush was in 1848 and its peak was in 1852. Most of the gold was in Sutters Mill. John Sutter was the first person to find gold flakes in modern day Sacramento. In 1855, 30,000 new people from around the world came to get gold. There was another name for the gold rush, and it was called the forty-niner because of the fortune seekers of 1849. There was 2 billion dollars extracted from the lakes in Sacramento. If the People of California and across America didn’t use the money on their selves, they could have used it for agriculture and crops to keep expanding America. Two years before that the treaty of Guadelupe Hildago was signed for the us control of California and nobody in the United States knew that’s what was in California. During the gold rush people found forty-five million dollars a year. 120 thousand natives died during the gold rush to diseases and homicide.

Golden Retrievers — an excerpt

Emma Boyer, Gr. 4

To begin with, golden pups are easy to train.These are actually one of the best service dogs that come well trained. They can be trained to help blind people. They can help blind people by leading them to a safe place if they don’t have their walking stick, and they make sure they don’t get hurt. Another service these dogs can perform is that they can help kids in school.They can help them focus in class if they have a disability or have something happening in life that makes it hard for them to focus. You can also train them to do basic commands like sit, stay, come, and lay. Not many animals are this smart.

Gracie

Gracie Obiora, Gr. 5

My name is Gracie. How are you? These things I like. I hope you like them too. I’m kind, I’m funny, and athletic too. I love Taylor Swift and her albums. How about you? I love dogs do you too? Triphobia and bugs is what fears me. I bet you fear them too? I love gymnastics, basketball, track, volleyball, and football. Who doesn’t like sports you probably do. Eating a balanced diet is what keeps me healthy and alive. I can achieve anything as long as I give my all. If I can do it, so can you! I want to be a doctor and be remembered for being funny, kind, and my smile too. I’m a great friend. I make people laugh and encourage them by being positive and having an open mind.

Graduation Rates

Quentin Jones, Gr. 7

Do you think kids should graduate or have a proper education? People in Ohio from the class of 2016 had a graduation rate of 83.1% compared to Georgia who have graduation rates of 79.4% in their class (ARRG Foundation 9). Most people would say schools have enough funding to pay for better educational value. Most public schools still do not have proper education and have poor funding. Kids should graduate by being in the right areas with good funding and proper education. Schools can be fixed with poor education by giving them funding, finding areas with low graduation rates, and finally fixing the problems.

Grant Us Hope TED Talk

Caroline Reynolds, Gr. 7

More teens and young adults die from suicide than from cancer, heart disease, AIDS, pneumonia and chronic lung disease. Mental illness is a dangerous health issue that strongly affects people around the world. Youth suicide is the 2nd leading cause of death between 14–19-year-olds. Over the years, death rates continue to increase. Maybe you have a family member, or maybe a friend who has mental issues. Maybe they don’t talk about it much, maybe you yourself have mental problems. Most people keep this struggle to themselves, but once it gets too bad it can end your life.

Gratitude Journal

James Carlson, Gr. 5

I am thankful for my parents so that they can protect me and they can help me with my homework and other stuff that I have some trouble doing. I am thankful for food and water so that I can survive and live a normal and healthy life. I am thankful for my dogs so that if I can’t play with my friends then I can play with my dogs while having a lot of fun with them. I am thankful for my shoes so that my feet don’t hurt and my feet are not cold when I am walking, running or doing an activity like a sports club or when I am at school.

Great Depression

Maddie Burns, Gr. 6

The Great Depression started on October 29, 1929 in the United States of America, Brazil, Germany, and Southeast Asia. Across these countries, 60 million people were affected. The Great Depression started because of reduced prices and unavailability of basic resources. Because of this, people got lower incomes which resulted in people going hungry, losing their homes, and much more. Because of people’s lower income they couldn’t spend or save their way out of the crisis. An interesting fact about the Great Depression is that 24.9% of the nation’s total work force, 12,830,000 people (about twice the population of Arizona) were unemployed.

Greatest Holiday

Patrick Goebel, Gr. 4

First of all, Christmas is the greatest holiday because of the gift exchanges. The first reason I love gift exchanges is the other person’s smile. When you have a gift exchange with your family or friends, I think it is so heartwarming to see the person that received your present smile, this means they like it! My second reason is receiving presents. I think receiving presents is so special because it means people care about you. I love the ability to receive presents, it makes me feel blessed knowing that someone is giving me toys to play with or something that I want. It’s a great opportunity to just say thank you to God and the gift giver.

Green and Blue

Olivia Elfenbein, Gr. 6

For my shield I wanted all the aspects to be important to me. I also wanted them to have good meanings behind them. For my shield’s background colors I chose to make my shield green and blue. The green means that I have a lot of hope and the blue means that I have strength and am loyal. For my shield element I chose a cinquefoil because it means that I have hope and joy. I also chose a cinquefoil because it looks very pretty and I have never seen one before, so I wanted something that was unique. For my shield design I decided to do a sort of design called the Roof of a House. This represents protection and faithful service. I like this design because it reminds me of my own house because I feel protected and safe in my own home. Plus, I think that it looks very pretty and fits my design very well.

Hair

Darcy de Lacy, Gr. 5

The best part of me is my hair because it is super curly. Especially when it gets wet or is in the rain or when it is humid outside. It is also pretty straight but I prefer it curley because I think that curly hair looks better with me. I love it when it gets lighter in the summer but in the winter and fall it gets dark. In conclusion this is the best part of me.

Halloween — an excerpt

Sebastian Scharf, Gr. 4

You are walking in the night’s black void, when suddenly you see a glowing bowl of yummy, sweet candy. You want to stuff your face with this delicious candy. Of course, I am talking about Halloween, the scariest time of the year. In my opinion Halloween is the best holiday because of the trick-ortreating, costumes, and parties. Keep reading to see why I think Halloween is the best.

Hamilton

v. Jefferson

Molly Workman, Gr. 8

At first, after they were selected for Washington’s cabinet, Hamilton and Jefferson got along well. They often asked for each other’s opinion and said good things about each other. When Hamiltons economic policy began in 1791, they both took a closer look at one another and thought what they saw. Eager to make them both accept their jobs, George Washington made Hamilton and Jefferson think that their job was more important than the other. They both also had vastly different personalities. Alexander saw Thomas as a sneaky, hypocritical person, while Thomas saw Alexander as an “attack dog” who would do anything to get what he wanted. Realizing they both hated each other; Washington sent them identical letters begging them to get along. Alexander was part of the Federalist Party while Thomas became the first Democratic-Republican President. This meant that Hamilton believed in a central government and Jefferson believed in a stronger state government. They also disagreed on Hamiltons financial plan Hamilton proposed the creation of a national bank to stimulate economy.

Hands

Winston Steele, Gr. 5

The best part of me is my hands. If we did not have hands we could not possibly play sports like tennis, basketball and football. Also if we did not have hands we could not eat or drink it would take a lot of skill to eat or drink with no hands. Most importantly you could not hold a pencil so school was here. It would also be hard to get out of bed in the morning.so don’t you see how hard it is to live without hands.

Hanging the Laundry Out to Dry — an excerpt

Eloise Goico, Gr. 4

Up in the foreground, we can see the country living. Next to the field, we see a grand house. It seems like a wealthy family must have lived in the house because, back when this painting was created, having a big house was very rare. The people hanging up the laundry are probably servants, because wealthy people most likely wouldn’t do their own laundry. In the painting there is lush green grass making me think Berthe Morisot was trying really hard to make the country look beautiful. While studying the painting, you can almost feel a calm fresh breeze of air whooshing past your face, blowing the laundry gently as it dries on the lines.

Happy Mother’s Day

AJ Gray, Gr. 5

You make me want to say yay you are really fun. Even when you make a pun. You are very smart. You really warm my heart. Mom I love you. You are the best. Even when you don’t let me rest. All this really separates you from the rest. You really are the best!

Hobbit

Olivia Beltran, Gr. 8

“The Hobbit” by J.R.R Tolkien is about Bilbo Baggins, a dwarf who lives in a house in a hill, who goes on a journey. One day Bilbo’s friend, Gandalf, comes over for breakfast but the other dwarves come over to Bilbo’s house. At his house they convince him to go on a tookish journey, after messing up his house. They start their journey by walking through a forest, but they encounter many creatures and monsters that want to eat them. At one point in the story, they split up after escaping a monster. Smaug, a dragon who lives in a cave, takes one of Bilbo’s friends and Bilbo must convince Smaug to give him back. But, as Bilbo is trying to free his friend he makes a mistake, and the dragon tries to eat the travel group. Smaug terrorizes the group and the nearby villages of elves and humans. The villages have tension that they must settle to save each other from Smaug. Eventually they make peace, save each other, and defeat Smaug.

Homelessness

Liam Buckius, Gr. 8

Shantytown was a class retreat to learn about people experiencing homelessness in Cincinnati. We rode public transport like a metro bus and streetcar. We gave bags with daily necessities at Our Daily Bread. We then went to a public playground and the tire swing got out of hand. Then we walked around the city with members of the Homeless Coalition while they spoke about homelessness in Cincinnati. Then half of us went home and the other half stayed on the playground in boxes.

Horses and Nature

Anna Krulcik, Gr. 5

Adventurous,empathetic, bright lover of horses and nature, who wonders what if there was just no universe or nothing what would anything be it and what happens if the universe gets destroyed and everything goes away. Who dreams of riding horses on the beach, who fears heights and the ocean, who cares about animals and the world, who feels happy about happiness and friends, who wants to be remembered for my kindness.

Hot Chocolate

Matti Hofmann, Gr. 5

I am hot chocolate made with water, and marshmallows put on top. I am hot chocolate because I love Winter and being in the cold with a comforting drink. My hot chocolate is made with water because I like to worry about how my outward appearance is and not what my personality is. I am made with marshmallows because marshmallows are made of sugar and sugar doesn’t make me hyper, but it makes me super calm and it makes me happy. In conclusion, I like the cold, I’m superficial, and I like to be calm.

Hot Latte

Ella Miele, Gr. 5

To me I feel like a hot latte with whipped cream and chocolate sauce. One reason is l like to sit on the couch and relax with family and friends and like a hot latte you feel like you are welcome and friendly like me. Another reason is l like to stay energized for sports and caffeine helps you stay energized. One last reason is l love to have fun and have sugar like the whipped cream on top. In conclusion, l think l am like a hot latte with whipped cream on top.

How Love Feels

Callie Chadwell, Gr. 6

Love is that fuzzy little feeling when you find someone that you think could be with you for the rest of your life. Love is your friends and best friends and your family. Love is all your supporters and caregivers who have loved you for most or all your life. Love is showing great compassion or support to anyone. Love is with us all and will always be.

How to Spot a Witch — an excerpt

Mckenzie Bell, Gr. 4

Have you ever wondered if witches are real? Your parents have probably told you that they are not real, but they are! I know this because I read the novel “The Witches”, by Roald Dahl. In this book, Dahl tells the reader about how to recognise real witches because real witches don’t wear silly black hats and ride on flying brooms. They actually look like ordinary women and have ordinary jobs. Keep reading and find out how to recognize a REAL WITCH.

Human Apocalypse — an excerpt

Mabel Hartmann, Gr. 7

It was 2025. A rainy day in Wisconsin- the perfect time for a mysterious occasion. A giraffe escapes the zoo, looking for cheese. A little child threw some into the giraffe’s exhibit, and now that giraffe is addicted to cheese. A scientist found the giraffe in the middle of a terrible storm and took him to the laboratory for shelter. Not a moment sooner, a lightning bolt struck the building. Ten seconds pass, and a talking giraffe trots out. 50 years later, talking giraffes are as usual as talking humans.

Impact of James Madison and his Vision for the Future

Alex Simmons, Gr. 8

James Madison’s impact on America and his vision for the future were profound and impacted Americans at large. As a key architect of the United States Constitution, Madison’s contributions laid the foundation for the nation’s democratic principles and government. He is remembered as a hard-worker and he is also known as an advocate for a strong federal government with checks and balances, outlined in the Federalist Papers, shaped the Constitution’s blue-print, and brought the protection of individual rights and the promotion of republican ideals. Madison’s vision for the future centered on the preservation of liberty and justice. His commitment to individual liberties led to his instrumental role in the securing of the Bill of Rights, through fundamental freedoms such as of speech and religion into law. Furthermore, Madison’s foreign policy protected the nation and his leadership during the War of 1812 demonstrated a commitment to defending American sovereignty while seeking peaceful resolutions to conflicts.

Importance of Reading

Ethan O’Dwyer, Gr. 6

One reason Language Arts is the best subject is because reading can help with other classes. In math when you need to read a math problem you will know how to read it. You would know how to write a full sentence. Reading can also help in science because if you need to remember your unit because you know how to remember because when you practice reading it can help your memory. Reading can be good for better sleep quality.

Important Theme

Gwendolyn Suder, Gr. 5

Friendship is one of the important themes in Lions of Little Rock. In chapter eleven, Marlee said, “As soon as I was finished cleaning , I ran out of the house to meet Liz at the zoo” (52). Marlee is excited to see her and feels supported by Liz’s encouragement. She can practice her presentation in a comfortable place with a supportive friend. Liz gives Marlee a magic feather as a good luck charm to help make her brave. Kristine Levine’s writing tells a story in which friends will help one another and are always supportive together. “I think a friend is someone who helps you change for the better. And whether you see them once a day or once a year, if it’s a true friend, it doesn’t matter” (289). Overcoming personal challenges is one of the themes that is shown throughout the book. Marlee is a shy and quiet girl who would like to overcome this obstacle. Marlee prepared herself to speak by counting prime numbers in her head to calm herself down. Marlee practices her presentation with Liz by rehearsing her speech in front of the animals at the zoo. “I started to talk”, said Marlee (65). With practice, Marlee can give the presentation successfully in front of the class.

Impressionism

Hunter

Heekin, Gr. 4

The impressionism painting, “Hanging the Laundry out to Dry” was created by Berthe Morisot during the industrial revolution in 1875. She used oil paint on a canvas to create a country landscape painting. I also think that she used oil paint in order to have more detail to add to the people. By doing this, it makes them stand out and brings them to life. Furthermore, she can paint a lot of layers because oil paint dries really slowly so that would make it mix better and let her add more detail. Additionally adding more layers can give the painting movement.

Inclusive

Ryan Conte, Gr. 5

In “Lions of Little Rock” they demonstrate many Leaders Of Character attributes. Marlee and Liz are empathetic when they are on calls and the few times that they meet up. Marlee is inclusive because she lets Little Jimmy sit with her, Sally, and Nora. More recently in the book, Marlee has been communicative about her feelings and telling people what she feels. This is how the characters in “Lions Of Little Rock” show Leaders Of Character attributes.

Invasion — an excerpt

Jack Erbeck, Gr. 7

Sirens blared blared, lights flashed, a man knocked on the titanium door from the deer habitat. Suddenly the tapping stopped, dark red blood splashed on the bulletproof glass window, the man on the other side appeared to have died. Though a minute later the tapping continued. A man ran by in a panic. He heard the tapping and stopped to peer inside the window. He saw a fist punching at the glass. He drew his gun and opened the door. He checked the corner and raised it at the man who was trying to get out.

James Armistead in the Revolutionary War

Liam Kenney, Gr. 8

James Armistead Lafayette was a Virginian born slave with amazing knowledge of the American wilderness, specifically the land of Virginia. This knowledge allowed him to easily navigate through the woods to get from enemy camps to the American army. As a black man, James Armistead was able to easily infiltrate the British camps acting as a runaway slave. The British army took in runaway American slaves to fight for them, promising the slave’s freedom after the war ended. So, Armistead was welcomed with open arms by the British army, and he was able to successfully breach British outposts. James Armistead was even able to get a prominent position as one of Benedict Arnold’s subordinates. This allowed him to send valuable information about strategies and troop movements to Lafayette and the rest of the American army. Being a black man born in Virginia allowed James Armistead to easily join the British army and greatly assist the Americans in the Revolutionary War.

Japanese Empire

James Busch, Gr. 7

On August 15, 1945, just 6 days after the attack on Nagasaki, Japan agreed to surrender (CFR timeline). One week before they agreed to surrender, the Soviet Union declared war on Japan (CFR timeline). Japan ended up surrendering because of all the attacks and wars that were going on them. Japan did not sign the formal agreement to surrender until September 2, 1945, and this was signed by Foreign Minister Mamoru Shigemitsu (CFR timeline). When all the battles and wars ended between Japan, they started to rebuild and make peace (flames).

Jeruselum Movie Reflection

Brian Sullivan, Gr. 8

The site that spoke to me the most was The Dome of Rock. It spoke to me because of the golden dome and the mosaic tiles that line the outside wall. This site is mostly important to Muslims although it carries some significance to all three Abrahamic religions. The reasons it is important is because the Dome of Rock is believed to be where Muhammed ascended into Heaven. It also has importance to Christians and Jews. Both believe the rock was where Abraham tried to sacrifice his son in a test of faith. It is also believed that Adam, the first human, was created by God.

Jesse Owens

Mia Gehring, Gr. 6

To some, Jesse Owens is known as the best Olympic track star in the world. Jesse was born in Oakville, Alabama to Henry Owens and Mary Fitzgerald. His full name is James Cleveland Owens, and he was the youngest of ten kids. His fame started at Ohio State University (OSU) in Columbus Ohio. There, he broke four world records. Jesse Owens made people interested in track and field because all they heard was, “Come check out Jesse at the race!” He truly was amazing!

Joe and John Henry

Wes Davis, Gr. 4

Joe and John Henry are best friends in the book Freedom Summer, which takes place in the South during segregation, even though John Henry is black and Joe is white. I will show you three acts that prove they have a strong friendship. My first example can be found in paragraph three. The text says, “I got two nickels for ice pops…I got one for a friend.” Joe wants to buy a treat for his friend because that’s what friends do for each other, but he is nervous about telling Mr. Mason that he is buying an ice pop for a black person, so he says it’s just for a friend instead of saying it’s for John Henry. He buys an ice pop for John Henry because John Henry isn’t allowed in Mr. Mason’s store. The next example can be found in paragraph four. The text states, “‘...Everybody together now, lunch counters, restrooms, drinking fountains too.’ I wiggle in my chair like a doodlebug. ‘I got to be excused!’ I shout, and run into the kitchen to tell John Henry.” This shows that Joe was so happy to do everything together that they couldn’t do before, that he ran and shouted to tell John Henry. This proves they have a strong friendship. My last example can be found in paragraph seven. The text says, “‘I want to pick it out myself.’ I swallow hard and my heart says yes. “Let’s do that,” I say… we look at each other. Then we walk through the front door together.”

Joe Burrow

Louie Uy, Gr. 7

My nonbiblical person was Joe Burrow. He is a good man with a good taste in style to. Joe Burrow has had a successful career so far and has made millions of dollars. He has formed an organization called the Joe Burrow Organization. What they do is help families who are food insecure and give them food so they can overcome it. One thing they also do is help kids or adults with mental issues. He also donates to other charities, since he is number nine, he donated a nine-million-dollar donation to many organizations. He is a great man, and we hope he will carry on his amazing career.

John Sutter

Finley Chavez, Gr. 8

There was so much gold that it seemed to be everywhere. John Sutter said “There is more gold in the world than I ever dreamed of. I have seen it with my own eyes...” -1848. This quote means that he did not think there was going to be this much gold but then he saw the gold with his own eyes. John Sutter was born in Germany and was a Swiss pioneer settler and colonizer in California. John enslaved many Native Americans and used them for free labor. He used the Native Americans to work and protect his land. The Gold Rush had big effects on the Native American population. Many Native Americans died in the Gold Rush. Many of the Native Americans died from disease, starvation, genocide. This caused a very large decline in the Native American population. About 120,000 Native Americans died during the Gold Rush. The decline of the Native American Population was the biggest negative outcome of the Gold Rush.

John the Baptist

Liam Fildes, Gr. 6

Father Christmas represents John the Baptist. Father Christmas represents John the Baptist because in the beginning of the story they have endless winter. Lucy also asks if they have Christmas and Mr. Tumnus says no. Later in the story Father Christmas comes and gives the children and Mr. and Mrs. Beaver gifts and that means that Aslan is coming because Father Christmas could not come to Narnia until Aslan was in Narnia. That is like John the Baptist because John the Baptist tells everyone Jesus is coming and Father Christmas being in Narnia means that Aslan is in Narnia.

Kind

Emery Cosgrove, Gr. 5

Emery Kind, funny, loving, loves family, friends, and Taylor Swift. Who dreams of being great at basketball and track Who wonders if I will become faster at running. Who FEARS of dying, the ocean, clowns, and bugs. Cares about family and friends Who feels happy when I talk to someone. Who wants to be remembered for being funny but also setting a good example for the school.

King Cobra — an excerpt

Sterling Allen, Gr. 4

King Cobras Did you know the rainforest is home to the most incredible reptiles on the planet? Of course I’m talking about King Cobras who, with their venomous personalities, have completely captured my heart. In my opinion, these fascinating scaly reptiles are the best animals in the world because they are venomous, sneaky, and they have camouflage. Keep reading to see why these slithering marvels are simply astonishing!

Lanterns — an excerpt

Jenny Yang, Gr. 4

Many colors of fireworks are booming in the sky, lanterns hanging everywhere on the streets, everyone wearing red clothes, all of the family members gathered eating fish, dumplings…and watching the Spring Festival Gala. My home is such a noisy and happy place at the Chinese New Year. It is my favorite time of the year. In my opinion, Chinese New Year is the best holiday because of the culture, the Spring Festival Gala, and other fun activities. Keep reading to discover why I think Chinese New Year is a fabulous holiday.

Large Family

Charlie Williams, Gr. 6

I come from an exceptionally large family. In total I have 9 cousins. I have 7 cousins from my maternal side, and only two cousins from my paternal side. From my paternal side, the names Elizabeth and Charles have been in my family for many generations. Me, my father, my paternal grandfather, paternal great-grandfather, and paternal great-great grandfather are all named Charles.

Lenten Reflection

Samuel Sprengard, Gr. 8

Praying, fasting, and giving are the three pillars of Lent. To me, these aspects connect to building community. Praying builds community because when you pray, others see this and pray as well. Also, when you pray, you build your relationship with God. Fasting builds community because it puts yourself in others shoes. I would assume that all people here at the Summit are well fed at home and have great families. For example, I think it is an innovative idea that as a grade we are sleeping outside. I think we can all benefit from an experience like that because it will help us experience others’ lives. It can help us see that we are incredibly lucky to be living the lives we are living. Giving is the third and final pillar of Lent. Giving is doing something or giving something to someone. During the season of Lent, we can choose to give up something. This also ties in to fasting, the second pillar of Lent. During the season of Lent, I am going to fast on chocolate. This will benefit my physical health as a three-sport athlete. I encourage everyone else to give up something during Lent.

Liberator

Kaliyah Harris, Gr. 8

The road to ending slavery started with abolitionists like: Frederick Douglass, William Lloyd Garrison, Angelina Grimké, John Brown, and Harriet Beecher Stowe. Today this essay will be about William Lloyd Garrison. William is the author of the Liberator that made people’s point of views change in the north with the help of many other abolitionists. Uncle Tom’s Cabin also helped the people of the north really grasp slavery in its full context. The abolitionist movement was started by people who opposed slavery and sought to bring about its end. Individuals like William Lloyd Garrison, Frederick Douglass, Harriet Tubman, and others played key roles in initiating and advancing the abolitionist movement. The Liberator showed how William saw and thought of slavery. It really dug deep into the context of slavery. The question How did William Lloyd Garrison newspaper The Liberator affect anti-slavery movement America? may pop in the essay. This essay will be deep dive into the Liberator, slavery, U.S. Constitution, and the whole idea of slavery. William Lloyd Garrison was a key figure in the anti-slavery movement. He and his newspaper, The Liberator, played a vital role in spreading the abolitionist message and empowering others to join the cause.

Library of Alexzandria

Asela Goico, Gr. 7

The Library of Alexzandria is one of the mysteries of the ancient world. It was supposedly lavishly decorated with gardens and animals and filled to the brim with books. However, one day the library was apparently burned, but no one knows how. The idea of creating the library was thought up by Alexzander the great because he wanted a place to store documents, and for scholars to study. However, he never got the chance to build the library so therefore his successor Ptolemy 1 built the library instead. When it was first built it was called the Museum of Alexzandria. However, in 283 B.C. the name was changed to the Royal Library of Alexzandria. The library held over half a million documents from different periods and nations. Over 100 scholars worked their full time. The library was also a sacred shrine for the nine muses.

Lion and the Tiger

Lincoln Mulvihill, Gr. 5

Once there was a lion and he was the king of the lands but none of the animals like the lion. He was big and bad and he would go around beating up the animals. But then one day there was a tiger. He wanted to show the lion that he can bulley so he set up a fight. Then the next day the lion and the tiger got ready. The lion was so confident that he would win he started trash talking. Why the lion was looking at the crowd the tiger started attacking and he knockout the lion out. Then the tiger became the nice king and everybody loved him.

Lion’s Pride

Teagan Wood, Gr. 6

Join Keagu, Vitani, Alba, Apollo, and Lusaka on the journey to find the sun. A big battle is about to come to the usually peaceful pride of lions, tension is in the air. Who will win the old or the new pride? All of a sudden, a prophecy! The sun might never return... Vitani must find her pride and where she belongs. Can she find the sun? Can she save her family and the ones she loves from an evil darkness? Find out in this book.

Little Rock Nine

Liam Russell, Gr. 5

It was the Little Rock Nine, went to school one day, but weren’t allowed inside. They still went inside anyway. The discrimination, the hits, the kicks, the shoving. They still stayed strong, they were ready. It all wasn’t fair, they deserved civil rights, they deserved to be able to go to school, go in the same stores, not have to have guards protecting them the whole time. They deserved to do the same as the white, Not be kicked, yelled, at and shoved all day long, all the hate, screaming, threatening, it still just wasn’t right. They stayed strong, they said, “I had the right to be here so, go away and stop the hate!” They made a change in the world one day, taught other black people to stay strong, stand up, and be themselves their way.

Love Is

Tuula Hicks, Gr. 6

Love is when you want someone so much it hurts when they are not around. And when you have them whether she, they or he you can say there is nowhere else I would rather be. Love is when you need help, and you can always know someone is there. Love is when you realize your life is better with them. Love is when your heart jumps whenever you see them. Love is when you realize you would do anything for them. Love is when you are in darkness, and you can look at them as light. Love is falling and knowing they will catch you. Love is saying I want you here. Love is just saying I need you.

Love, Something We All Need

Emma Rinehart, Gr. 6

What is love? It can’t be seen. It can’t be heard. Or so it seems. What is love, what does it mean? A couple, a boyfriend, a diamond ring? Oh, love, it’s different for everyone, I’ll tell you for me, love is pure fun. Love is a cool and clear spring day, Love is a light keeping darkness away. Love is an angel that God created, To keep us from sin and to enjoy all creation. What is love exactly? Well, what do you think? Is love a color? Is it red or pink? Is love an object? A food you can eat? Actually, love is all of these things. We must take time to look deep within ourselves, To find all the joys sitting there on our shelves.

Mango Dragon Fruit

Alex Mulvihill, Gr. 5

I think I am a mango dragon fruit lemonade refresher with no extras. These are my reasons why. One reason why I have no inclusion is because the inclusions are a little bit sour. My 2nd reason is that this drink is really sweet like me. My second reason is that this drink is a burst of energy but has no caffeine like me. My last reason is this drink is so petty like me. In conclusion I think mango dragon fruit lemonade refresher with no extras.

Manifest Destiny

Iggy Dwyer, Gr. 8

The term “Manifest Destiny” comes from John L O’Sullivan, a well-known journalist during the 19th century. As aforementioned, this is a phrase stating the mindset most Americans had when rapidly colonizing during the Westward Expansion. “Thanks to a high birth rate and brisk immigration, the U.S. population exploded in the first half of the 19th century, from around 5 million people in 1800 to more than 23 million by 1850.” (History, 1). The population of early America was growing, but they needed land to accommodate this. The American people viewed themselves as people of God, therefore, they were entitled to colonize unconditionally; spreading religion, culture, and political ideals. A quote by John Winthrop states, “[W]e are commanded this day to love the Lord our God, and to love one another, to walk in his ways and keep his Commandments and his ordinance and his laws, and the articles of our Covenant with Him, that we may live and be multiplied, and that the Lord our God may bless us in the land whither we go to possess it.” In order to colonize most parts of America, an expulsion of existing inhabitants must take place first. Thousands of Native Americans were killed and even more displaced during the Westward Expansion.

Marlee

Evan Gockerman, Gr. 5

Marlee changes throughout “Lions of Little Rock” a lot in the form of friendship. She goes from thinking that Liz is way above her league to thinking that they are equal best friends. At first, she was amazed about how she talked so easily to Sally and made her speechless. Later in the book, when Liz is teaching Marlee how to talk, Marlee is still amazed, but thinks of Liz as more of a friend than an acquaintance. In conclusion, across the course of the book, Marlee and Liz’s friendship changes greatly.

Massive Impact

Beckett Brinkman, Gr. 8

The California Gold Rush had a massive impact on society and the progress of Westward Expansion is undeniable. The California Gold rush had people coming to search for gold from all over the world. People spent their life savings to come to California to mine for the gold. Some people found massive amounts of gold and others did not find gold at all and fell into poverty, that is why it was a big boom or bust gamble. The gold rush transformed California. Before the gold rush there were 300 thousand people and only around 700 of which were not native Americans. After the gold rush there were about 300 thousand not native Americans living in California. The Gold rush also hurt the Native Americans a lot. Before the gold rush there were 300 thousand Native Americans and after there were only 30 thousand. The population of Natives and explorers basically flipped. The explorers took all the Native Americans land and gave them nothing. The natives went into poverty with nowhere to go.

Math is the Best — an excerpt

Nolan Roberts, Gr. 4

The last reason why math is the best is because math is important. It is important to learn how to solve equations because if you don’t know math you might not be able to get a job. If you weren’t able to get a job, you wouldn’t be able to earn money to get a house, food, or even water. Some jobs that need math are being an architect to measure perimeters and a pharmacist to measure doses of medicine. Math can help you get a good job.

Meadow

Joey Frodge, Gr.

5

Right outside a village in Africa there was a meadow with a park and in the meadow lived a lion, cheetah, and a donkey. In the village above the farm a dog lived and the dog would receive water for the villagers and one day retrieving water he passed the farm. When he was trotting past the farm the lion said “do you want to have a basketball game.” The cheetah and the lion were picking teams in which the cheetah had to choose first. What does the cheetah do to pick the tiny dog or the big donkey? The cheetah said “I want the dog” and before the game the lion said this is going to be so easy we’re going to win by a long shot. When the game began the lion started off with the ball and then the game went on from there. At halftime it was 20 to 40 the lion and the donkey were winning. The lion thought his team was so good he did not need to play and the lion went to eat. The cheetah struck and when the lion came back the score was 44 to 96 the lion was in disbelief and at that the game was over. The dog sprinted back to the village.

Memorable Day

Baer Huttenbauer, Gr. 8

Heading into school, I was not nervous at all. I was actually really excited! When I arrived with all of my items, I checked in with my advisor. Then, I went to Mr. McEachern’s room, where I dropped all of my stuff off. I was very optimistic. Getting on the bus, I was ready to sit wherever necessary. That did not matter however, because I was able to sit next to my friend, Griffin. The bus was actually pretty nice. Somebody else walked on the bus at another stop, so I stood up and gave him my seat. This left me standing, as there were no other seats available. That was also fine, and was more fun anyway! The streetcar was also great, and I sat that time. Building the Blessing Bags started with cutting t-shirts into bags. Then, we would each place the items inside, such as toiletries etc. I thought each bag would make a person’s day, so they would be making a difference. I was glad when I handed out my bag, because I saw the lines of people waiting outside for help, and knew that they would be given to them. It was crazy to see that many people at one organization.

Merit Scholarship Essay

Landon Miller, Gr. 8

I would contribute to The Summit in many areas. My desire to have a challenging academic high school experience and use the resources Summit offers to further my knowledge, contribute as a teammate in Cross Country, Lacrosse and Robotics, leading with character, and my willingness to always try to make the world around me better by using the opportunities given to me. These are all the reasons that I would love to be a part of The Summit and would help contribute to my school community.

Metro

Hannah Mitchell, Gr. 8

On the Metro it was exactly like how I thought it was going to be. We saw a bunch of different people and most of them were nice but a couple of them had bad attitudes. My group and I went to the back of the bus, and we all sat down and when I walked onto the bus, I made sure to smile at the people I saw. The streetcar was better because it moved faster than the Metro did. The streetcar moved faster, and whenever it started to move again, I fell backwards. I like the streetcar way better than the Metro; we also met more people. Tender Mercies is a place where they provide homes for people that are living on the streets, and they give them meals and everything they need to survive. There are certain standards you must meet to live there. On Friday I think it would have meant more to the people and to us if we personally gave the bags to the people in need. But I still think the message got to the people that the community around them is here to help them.

Micah

Micah Northern, Gr. 5

Micah: Smart, Kind, Tall, Funny Lover of Volleyball, Friends, Family, and School Who wonders; what happens after you die, and will I be a chef when I grow up Who dreams of winning all of my volleyball tournaments, and becoming a billionaire Who fears Heights, Kidnappers, Death, Stalkers, Thiefs, and Bugs Who cares about; Family, Life, Volleyball, Friends, and Winning Who feels happy when Baking, Playing Volleyball, and Hanging out with Family and Friends Who wants to be remembered as a Chef, and a Hotel Owner.

Miracle on Ice

Annabelle Huttenbauer, Gr. 6

The Miracle on Ice is a famous hockey game that happened on February 22, 1980 during the Winter Olympics on Lake Placid. The USA team was made up of a bunch of college kids while the USSR team was made up of the best of the best players in the Soviet Union. Both teams battled for the puck, but in the end, USA won with 4 goals while USSR only had 3. USSR outshot USA with 36 SOG (shots on goal) and the USA only had 16 SOG. Jim Craig (the USA goalie) was amazing. 24 years later a movie was released called “Miracle”. The USA team beat West Germany, Romania, Norway, and Czechoslovakia to be able to play in the championship against USSR. Most of the players on the USA team ended up playing in the NHL for many seasons after. The Miracle is important to USA because it allowed the Americans to see a brighter future which we had victory over the Soviet Union.

Modern Myth — From Latin Convention

Benjamin Hofmann, Gr. 8

“No...” Omar groaned, and a deluge of tears rolled down his rough face. The falling pinprick became smaller and smaller, until it was indistinguishable from the cold, cerulean depths below. Omar’s eyes widened in shock, his heartbeat accelerated to a lightning speed, and his breath came in ragged pants that were shallow even for the considerable altitude. This couldn’t be happening. This was a hallucination, a horrible vision caused by a lack of oxygen. If he blinked again, just one more time, his son would be soaring next to him, laughing with raucous glee at the freedom of the sky, not rocketing towards his imminent death. However, despite the inventor’s desperate hope, the figure continued its inexorable path to the ocean. Now, it was a dim shape, no wider than the width of his fingernail. Then, it was gone.

More Details

Elise Goebel, Gr. 6

Because of more detail, the higher educational value, and the fact that some people don’t have TVs, books are better than movies. If these guidelines are not going to be followed, students will push aside their schoolwork and only want to watch screens. A student in high school is a star athlete but lately has been pushing off schoolwork and practice. They asked him why and he said there are better things to do than sit around and read a book for language arts. The teacher disciplined the student and the student got right back on top of his work.

Mother

Aidan Grant, Gr. 7

I had a mother who read to me “The Giving Tree”, a tale about a tree that gave to a boy whatever he dreamed with glee, I had a mother who read to me the Berenstain Bears about stories that teach you how to care.

Music

Ambi Smith, Gr. 5

People describe me as kind, loving, smart, funny Lover of music, Joe Burrow, Pink who wonders about what heaven looks like, who dreams of all of my dreams coming true, who fears of losing loved ones, who cares about relationships with God, who feels happy when I am with people I love, who wants to be remembered for my love and kindness

My Beautiful Family

Eliana Hafner, Gr. 6

My grandpa said his most precious thing to do now is go to church with me. It makes his day and week he says to my grandma. We love spending time together praying and giving thanks. Finally, his most precious memory now is going to church with me.

My Brains

Kanai Gillispie, Gr. 8

Frontal Lobe, emotion and speech. Parietal Lobe, to tell me how to reach. Cerebellum, balance, and coordination. Occipital, to help with illustrations. Brain Stem, sleep cycles and breathing. Also it is the reason why I’m coughing or sneezing. Spinal Cord, messages like mail all the way down from our head to our tail. Pituitary Gland helps me grow up. Temporal Lobe helps me say, “What’s up.”

Hypothalamus fixes my behavior. Central Nervous System thanks my Lord and Savior. Thalamus helps me perceive time Motor Cortex lets me wave and say “Hi.” White Matter is the fiber in my brain. It helps to grasp the info we exchange. Sympathetic Nervous Systems responds to stress (fight or flight). Medulla Oblangata keeps me alive during the night. All these words can be long but that’s what fabricates this song.

My Gingerbread House

Millie Rich, Gr. 5

This gingerbread home has lots of good features for you. This house has a dark chocolate bar front door, with a ginger snap porch , with vibrant red and green rock candy pillars, and don’t forget the York stepping stones leading through the green M and M garden to the porch. This gingerbread mansion has 5 bedrooms and 6.5 bathrooms. It is close to a local park and 5-10 min walk to the boardwalk with lots of shops and restaurants. You will get about a full glorious acre of land acre of land with gobs of light fluffy pink and blue cotton candy trees with a gorgeous red and white peppermint bark patio. There is a grand Licorice archway that invites you on to the York stepping stones and up to the porch. The windows have sugar glass panes and Fruit by the Foot curtains and Jolly Rancher window boxes And we can’t forget the original timeless gumdrop shingles. In conclusion this beauty of a house is just right for you.

My Retreat Reflection

Kiersten Diaz, Gr. 8

For this retreat, one of the main things I enjoyed was the silent time we had outside. At first, I wasn’t very keen on the idea of it. I was worried I would get distracted or not be able to focus. But I soon found that the beauty of nature was a great factor in my focus. As I sat in silence, I was brought to an inner peace of sorts. I felt very close to God, and I was able to pray and focus on that prayer. In summary, the silent time was one of the most helpful and best things on this retreat, and overall I really enjoyed the retreat!

Mystery

Anne Marie Misrach, Gr. 7

I was walking out the school’s back door when I spotted 2 people standing by a tree, beside an old black truck. Curious, I followed them. I guess I really was getting the hang of this whole spy thing. I hid behind a school wall and listened, the people wore hoodies, and I couldn’t make out their faces. I took a picture of them and then it hit me. The stern, rusty voice, was that... was that Ms. Timbers? I don’t know why I did it, but I stepped out of my hiding spot and yelled at them.

National Banana Day — an excerpt

Will Ahouse, Gr. 4

Secondly you don’t just buy the bananas, you celebrate the bananas. Have you ever got a banana costume? Well, National Banana Day is the perfect day to wear it. Then you can go to stores looking like a mad man, or more specifically, a mad banana. You don’t need a costume if you can’t find one, but if you can, you know what to do. Also, there are toy bananas. For example, there are plenty of foam bananas that you can throw. You can throw them up, forward, backwards, or any direction, just be sure to get them back. It’s a banana miracle.

Needs of Others

Mia Warden, Gr. 8

Shanty Town is an outdoor and overnight experience to show people all the specific needs that people experiencing homelessness don’t have. Before I went through this overnight, I thought of homelessness as just a person without a home nut it is so much more than that. There is constent worrying, walking a lot, not eating whenever they want, not having the right clothes or enough clothes, everything getting wet when it rains, limit access to health and way more. Before I did this overnight, I thought I was just going to sleep outside with my peers, but I got to experience what people with homelessness eat, how they sleep, how much they walk, and how they travel on metro buses and street cars. On the morning headed to school, I knew I was going to have an interesting day. I didn’t really know what I was in for. Once I got to school with all my stuff, I realized everyone was feeling the same way, so I knew everything was going to be fun. I was excited. When I arrived with all my luggage, I had my hands full. I dropped all my stuff in Mr. McEachern’s room and headed straight to the library where everyone was meeting then we all left to go to the metro bus stop. I was nervous because this isn’t an experience I have ever experienced before, but I was excited for the day.

Nepal’s Culture

Claudio Matos, Gr. 7

The culture and people of Nepal drive them to be a good country at least culturally. The Kathmandu Valley has significant sculptures, paintings and architecture. Music and Dance are also very important in their culture like classical and folk are big part of their favorite genres. The minister of education is responsible for all elementary and secondary education. They are still trying to eradicate diseases like malaria, tuberculosis, cholera, and typhoid. They use ayuruvedic medicine to try to help, but there is no real evidence for it. Ayuruvedic works by doing yoga, massage, acupuncture, and taking herbal medicines. Nepal is a young country, with over 3/5 of the population being under the age of 30. The birth rate is about the same of world average, with about 2 births per family, but the death rate is lower, which is a good thing for the population. The life expectancy is about 71 years old or 70 for men and 72 for women. Most of those people live in the capital of Kathmandu and small villages, because outside of Kathmandu, there are no real major cities.

Never Question

EJ Clements, Gr. 6

You must never question the person you love. You must do what they say even if you don’t want to. You can’t ask them to ask someone else, you just must do it. And when they feel bad, comfort them. The most important thing is to never hesitate. This is the definition of love.

Nok

Stefen Karageorges, Gr. 7

There are many interesting facts about the Nok civilization. One fact that I find unusual and cool is their use of Iron. In the area where the Nok sculptures were found, iron tools were discovered (Thoughtco.com). This discovery was not too unusual because African civilizations used iron, but when researchers discovered how old it was, it was even more shocking. The tests they ran on the tools suggested that the Nok skipped the Copper Age entirely and started making iron. I found this cool since there are few other civilizations to skip the Copper age. Furnaces were also found for smelting iron (Thoughtco.com) which could mean that the Nok might have spread the knowledge of making iron to nearby civilizations (Thoughtco.com). This could change how we think about a lot of other African societies if the Nok pioneered the use of iron in the region. However, the Nok did not just use iron for making tools. Evidence of iron jewelry was found (historicmysteries.com) which could suggest a few things about their society. It says that iron was a big part of their economy but could also mean that iron could indicate status. This thought is supported by the fact that not everyone used iron, there were stone tools found as well (historicmysteries.com).

Okinawa

Owen Lee, Gr. 6

The battle of Okinawa was the bloodiest battle of the Pacific War; it was also the last and only battle in the Japanese mainland. The countries involved were the U.S and Japan. On Easter of 1944, the Americans landed on the beaches of Okinawa to embark on the bloodiest battle of the Pacific War. During the battle, U.S forces faced many difficulties along the way including kamikazes. Kamikazes are planes driven by people (many of them just 13 years old) into enemy boats; they were mostly used at this battle. Kamikazes are usually loaded with fuel and bombs. 355 Kamikazes were used. The U.S sustained between 12,000 casualties and 36,000 injured while Japan suffered over 100,000. This happened because Japan attacked Pearl Harbor and they were invading other countries’ territories.

Once Upon a Time In Albuquerque

Hudson Pfeffer, Gr. 6

Belsnickel quietly infiltrated through the vents to avoid having to use the door to get in and quickly found an exit. He saw the long hall lined with security cameras, with a bulky-looking guard at the end. He immediately knew how to deal with the situation. Belsnickel had a video disrupter and a bottle of sleeping powder. He quickly tossed the disrupter on the tile floor with a clatter, ran, and dusted the guard with the powder. The guard went right asleep snoring raucously as Belsnickel snuck into the engineering room. The room was very disorganized, with a bunch of papers lying around the place. There were eight rockets in the center, protected by a laser maze.

Organic

Jack Wendling, Gr. 4

I also chose this piece because of its organic form. It seems to creep and crawl in every direction and it is very disorganized. I think it shows how diverse nature can really be. It is a very random pattern too. I think it was meant to be that way. That is also why it is eye-catching, because it is very different from other pieces of art. When looking closer at this installation, I think the randomness had a deeper meaning to it. I think she meant for people to realize how beautiful diversity can really be.

Overnight

Daniel Borman, Gr. 8

Shantytown is a program where students are encouraged to sleep outside overnight at their school to raise awareness for those experiencing homelessness worldwide. Before the Shantytown experience, I knew that we would take a day trip downtown to learn about those experiencing homelessness and the history of the city of Cincinnati. I also knew that we would take the public bus and the streetcar to get to places downtown. Then when we would get back to school, we would build our house, play games, and sleep overnight in our box. Before this event I thought that it would be boring and not active, but I was wrong because most of the time we were active and doing many different activities.

Pearl Harbor

Landen Richter, Gr. 8

The new monument I chose was Pearl Harbor monument, the attack on Pearl Harbor was only 1 hour and 15 minutes. The attack led to the United States joining WWII. 30 days after the attack, 134,000 Americans enlisted in the military. Japan is now one of Americas strongest allies. 2,405 U.S personal were killed, 1,178 people were wounded and 129 Japanese people were killed! The U.S.S Arizona got hit with a bomb and sank with 1,000 men inside. 20 ships and 300 airplanes were destroyed, half of dead people were on the U.S.S Arizona.

Person

Brie Mudzinganyama, Gr. 6

Love is when you wake up and the first thing you think of is that person. When you see that person all the time, it is still the best part of your day. Love is when that person never bores you and you always love talking to them. Love is when you go to the lengths to have special nicknames for that person. When you create a special bond for that person, that you do not have for anyone else. That is what love is.

Perspective

Ari Symonds, Gr. 7

She went upstairs, looking in the mirror. It will all be better in the morning, she thought. Little did she know what was to come after she awoke. Dorothy woke up, yawning and stretching, and then remembered what had happened the other night. She paused. Maybe Facebook will help me calm down... she thought. But when she opened Facebook... Oh God... It was online- the documents- the letter- everything! No! Her father was a good man- NO! She rushed out. Her father’s house- it’s not that far- she can- Destroyed. Ruined. It’s ruined. The door, it was forced opened- there’s broken glass- NO! NO! It’s not- it- she began laughing. She couldn’t stop. All she could do was hope.

Phones in School: Good or Bad

Dylan MacDonald, Gr. 6

Kids should be allowed to have phones in school. My first reason that kids should be allowed to have their phone’s during school is that in case of an emergency they can call their parents. Secondly it could save money for the school because they do not have to buy computers. Finally, my third reason is that if the kid does not know how they are getting home they can just ask them. That is why kids should be allowed to have phones in school.

Pink Lemonade

Lily Ewald, Gr. 5

I am a glass of pink lemonade because I can be sweet but also sour at the same time. First for the sweet part is when I am kind and calm for the kind is when I am helping a friend or doing something nice in general. For the calm is when I am chill but still sweet at the same time. Second, pink lemonade is colorful just like me. I love color and I don’t wear black a lot. Third, pink lemonade has a kick to it and that can be my sporty side when I am playing soccer. In conclusion this is why I am a pink lemonade.

Plotting a Demise — an excerpt

Rory Hussey, Gr. 4

Have you ever believed someone is a witch and is plotting your demise? Your parents probably told you there is no such thing as a witch. Unfortunately they were wrong. WITCHES ARE REAL! I know this because I read the novel, “The Witches”, by Roald Dahl. In this book, Dahl has given the reader many clues on how to spot a witch. Keep reading to learn how to determine if a woman is a witch. It might save your life!

Polis

Tommy Devendorf, Gr. 5

Zeus is the great king of Honeyopolis. He was sitting on his throne when Aquarius wanted to pour honey into his goblet. Zeus suddenly realized that his kingdom only had one selection of a drink. He realized that up in Honeyopolis they had no choice but to drink honey. Even the seas were filled with honey. He traveled down to the mortal realm where they had some good drinks like water and some bad drinks. He landed in a desert and had to fight off the wolves with his honey spear. He suddenly found that he had landed in the Sahara desert. He had to travel to Egypt where the Nile river could give him an infinite supply of water but when he arrived the unfortunate pharaoh told him that the river had been filled with honey because the honey clouds up above were contaminating the Nile river. Zeus knew that Honeyopolis was up in the clouds and they were probably contaminating the Nile river. Zeus decided to travel to Israel and Mesopotamia where all their rivers were also contaminated with honey. Then he found a beautiful goddess named Hera. Hera was also on a quest to find another beverage because she was the queen of Aqua city, the recently new city that had just started up. Zeus had heard of her but never met her in real life.

Popular Idea

Colin Lavelle, Gr. 8

Manifest Destiny was an idea that was popular in the early to mid 1800s. What does Manifest Destiny really mean? It was an idea that, “White Americans were divinely ordained to settle the entire continent of North America” (Khan Academy, 2019). The colonists, now Americans, believed it was their duty by God to expand their territory and settle on new land, even if it wasn’t theirs! This created a lot of disputes between them, the Native Americans, and the Spanish, and did not make Americans well-liked by foreign nations. So how did the term “Manifest Destiny” come about? Well, it was first used in 1845 by John L. O’Sullivan, not when the belief came around! John L. O’Sullivan first used the term when writing an essay on why the United States was right in adding Texas to its union. He used “Manifest Destiny” when saying, “The ultimate destiny of our race to spread over the continent allotted by Providence for the free development of our multiplying millions.” Thus, the term was born.

Protect Someone

Cléa Sinno, Gr. 6

Love is when you are attracted to someone or something and you are willing to protect for them. Love creates affection to one another. You will do anything to keep them in your presence. For some people that could mean sacrificing themselves or something for someone they love. To me love is my family.

Pufferfish and His Journey

Sofia Pancheri, Gr. 7

Puffer admired the beautiful mountains in a small town in the Italian Alps named Sanzeno. There were small clusters of houses to make a commune or a town. The beautiful ornate wooden designs of those houses and other structures made it look like a village in a fairytale. Around those clusters there were rows and rows made up of fields of apple trees. There was also a road that goes around a large lake and that road connects the two parts of Sanzeno. It was too hot for the mountains to be snow-capped, but they were mixed in with greenery and rockiness, and the ones from far away were a lovely color of royal blue. Some in other places were snow-capped, even in the summer!

Ran

Addie Haury, Gr. 7

Up in my room, I decided it was time for me to run away. It is midnight and my stepfather is asleep downstairs. I find my backpack, stuff two pairs of clothes into it, then fill most of my bag with food. Finally, I go upstairs, open the safe of money my mom left for me that he took, I hate going upstairs, it’s so creepy up there, just as I take the money from the safe and stuff it in my bag. I feel a cold breeze on my neck. I swear the upstairs is haunted. I quickly stuffed the money in my bag and quickly headed back to my room. I decided I will go to California. My mom told me before she died, we have relatives somewhere there. I jump out of the window into the dark night, the wind blows, and I shiver. I forgot how cold it is in Michigan in the fall. The moon lights the path to the road. I walk toward the road, a car passes, I duck behind a bush. I wait for a couple minutes then come out from the bush. I walk for an hour till I reach the bus station. The next ride out is at 2:30 am, so I wait another 30 minutes. Finally, the bus pulls up. I hop on and take a seat.

Reading Mother

Samuel Krulcik, Gr. 7

I had a mother who read to me. To make me as happy as I could be. At night before bed or at a park instead I had a mother who read me tales of a train that went up the rails. This was the Little Engine that could. That story was a great part of my childhood. I had a mother who read me lots about a caterpillar with many spots. This caterpillar ate a lot of things. He would eat anything. I had a mother who read me lines about a small monkey swinging with vines.

Red and Green Lights — an excerpt

Janie Wendling, Gr. 4

Red and green lights hang from every house, and there are Santa and reindeer blow ups on the lawns. There are crackling fireplaces and crisp white snow is softly falling to the ground. My home is filled with excitement on Christmas. It is my favorite holiday of the year. In my opinion, Christmas is the best holiday of the year because of the presents, the decorating, and baking. Keep reading to discover why I think Christmas is so magical.

Right Foot

Connor Butler, Gr. 5

The best part of me is my right foot.One thing I like about my right foot is that it helps me play soccer for striking the ball and passing the ball.Another thing I like about my foot is that it helps me walk to other places like class to class.the last thing I like about my right foot is that it helps me in football when I kick field goals.In conclusion I like my right foot because it helps me do a lot of stuff.

Rosa Parks

Russell Roth, Gr. 5

December 1st, that fateful day when Rosa Parks Got carried away. Not in long, she’d be in jail for one day she would prevail. August 28th that good, good day when MLK was told to speak away. I Have A Dream he tried to say but not everyone listened on that day. Now here we are on today when black and white will forever stay. Friends for now, friends for life because MLK and Rosa Parks wanted peace like a harp.

Ruby

Ruby Hayes, Gr. 5

Athletic, kind, brave enjoys cutting wood, sports, and cooking Lover of dogs, my family, sports, blankets, pillows and friends Who dreams of being in the MLB and Adventures Who wonders how people predict the weather Who cares about dogs, family, friends and sports Who fears spiders, bugs and heights Who feels happy when the sun’s shining, when around friends and family. Who wants to be remembered for softball and intelligence.

Servants to The Least Of These: Ted Talk

Natalie Campbell, Gr. 7

Servants to the Least of These Homeless Outreach is one of these nonprofits. It is run mostly by volunteers who do everything they can to help. They are constantly going out into the city and assisting those who need it. They also organize and distribute the donations that they receive. These people are trying their best to ensure that every person gets the tools they need to survive.

Sharks — an excerpt

Christopher Jefferies, Gr. 4

I also think they’re the best because they’re good hunters for their prey. I think they’re good hunters for their prey because they are sneaky and quiet. I think this because their gray skin helps and lets them blend in with the darkness of the ocean. I also think they’re the best because of their amazing abilities. The sneakiest shark is the horn shark: The horn shark is known for hiding out in the shadows that cover the seafloor. These slow-moving predators hunt at night alone and then retreat to shelter during the day.

Shield

Robert Johnson, Gr. 6

My shield represents my personality. The colors of my shield are blue and red. These colors represent on my traits. These colors represent Boldness, Strength, Loyalty and courage. These colors show the things about me.

Shy

Evan Fox, Gr. 5

I’m going to talk about the book Lions of Little Rock by Kristen Levine. It is a book that is set in 1958-1959 about this girl Marlee who is so shy that she barely talks to anybody except her older sister Judy. A new kid comes to her school and she surprisingly talks to her and they become friends. The book reveals that Liz is colored but they still hang out and get into a lot of trouble with racism and being called communists and people who go too far with race mixing. I’m going to talk about how Marlee grew and overcame her fear of talking and heights, she does get to grow in other ways as well, like learning how to make friends, standing up for herself and learning how to be more confident in herself.

Sixteen-Year-Olds Should Be Able to Drive

Rachel Burkart, Gr. 6

While there are arguments stating that the minimum driving age in the U.S. should be raised, there are stronger arguments that the minimum driving age in the U.S. should stay at sixteen years old. Leaving the minimum driving age at sixteen years old allows parents and their children to work together to determine the best time for that child to get their driver’s license. The family, not the government, should determine the best age for a teenager to get their driver’s license. The family knows when the teenager is ready so that getting the driver’s license can take away the burden on the parents driving their teenage children to all their various activities. It also provides an opportunity for the teenagers to take on more responsibility and it gives the teenagers more independence.

Sloths — an excerpt

Maris Moore, Gr. 4

Deep down in the amazon rainforest there dwells the most incredible animal on earth! It’s obvious I’m talking about a sloth who, with their cute little face, has hooked my heart. In my opinion these cute little animals are the best animals in the world because they are slow, cute, and lazy. Keep reading to see how incredible sloths are!

Smile

Blake Diaz, Gr. 5

The best part of me is my smile. The reason I chose this feature is because it makes my family happy and when they are happy I am happy. When I smile I look nice in photos like in school photos. If I smile, that means that I am in a good mood. In conclusion, my smile is nice.

Splash the Pain — an excerpt

Reagan Rogers, Gr. 4

You splash the paint on the canvas. You see a mess starting to unravel. Uh-oh the glitter is spilling on the ground. I’d like you to meet: the art room. This is where great ideas turn into art. You can sculpt feelings, paint your family, or draw your favorite animal. You can make whatever you want in the art room. In my opinion, art is the best subject in the world because you can use different mediums, you can be creative, and you can express yourself. Keep reading to discover why I think art is the best subject.

Splash!

Valeria Sebastian, Gr. 4

Splash! I dip my bright pink brush in the colorful water then spread it back on the canvas. “Beautiful,” I say. My canvas is blooming with color. I add a drop of red, soon I am finished. My eyes feel like they are bursting with color. Of course I am talking about the most beautiful, colorful, and fabulous class. Ladies and gentlemen… I present to you … Art class! In my opinion, art is the best subject because you get to be creative, you will always have different mediums to work with, and you never get bored. Keep reading to learn why I think art is the best subject.

Spotted — an excerpt

Luca Pancheri, Gr. 4

I think she did a good job using vibrant colors since a lot of vibrant colors are very eye-catchingthat makes them stand out in the beautiful landscape around it. Also, as I looked further in, I noticed that she put it there to symbolize the beauty of nature since those colors just make you burst with how pretty nature can be. For example, if you went outside and saw something just as utterly amazing as that, you probably would appreciate nature a lot more. Also, because it’s so colorful, it shows how diverse nature is and not to judge something because it’s different. For example you should never judge a book by its cover, because what matters is the inside. This installation reminds us to celebrate what is different.

Sprite Crosley Price, Gr. 5

I think that I am a Sprite. One reason that I think I am a Sprite is because I am kind and shy around people I just met or don’t know very well, but I am really energetic, funny, and crazy around the people I know well. Another reason I think that I am a Sprite is because I like to be kind to other people and I care about them. One last reason I think that I am a Sprite is because sometimes I can be really crazy and that is like sprite when it is fizzy. I think that I am a Sprite.

St. Vincent De Paul

Isaac Lam, Gr. 7

From clothes to blankets to food, St Vincent De Paul can be ready for those minute details. They have already helped over 44,000 people and are helping more right now. St Vincent De Paul also supports 9 other agencies and more depending on the season. St Vincent De Paul had put time, work, dedication, and money into all their work, but they believe they can do more. The humble donation of $1,000 would be used to buy products for cleaning and hygiene like soap, hand sanitizer, cleaning wipes, and other products like it. Luckily my mom’s story had a happy ending, and they were able to get their uncle over and fix the pipes. Allow everyone’s story to have a happy ending and to have that uncle to help them and bring them up. Please vote for my agency St Vincent De Paul to help all in need.

Sutter’s Mill

Griffin Charville, Gr. 8

In 1848, gold was first found at Sutter’s Mill. From that day on, thousands of men and families packed up and headed west for their share in the abundance of gold. The owner of the property where gold was first found was John Sutter. By 1952, he was bankrupt because his property was overrun by the fast-moving settlers. Before gold was discovered in California, the population was 160,000, by 1852, the peak of the rush, the population was 300,000. The majority of miners were American; however, some settlers were from China, south America, and Europe. The life of gold digging was dangerous, and many people died or got very sick. The estimated death total is over 100,000. The California Gold Rush not only affected the people who found the gold, but the natives who previously lived in the land. The Native American population lived in the land where Sutter’s Mill was. The Native Americans used the land for various activities, not only to sleep, but their main source of food. The Native Americans used the rivers to fish and the population was small enough that the natural resources would replenish themselves before the Native Americans took more. However, when the large population of people started coming west, the food soon got scarce. The Native Americans were forced to move out of their native land or else they would die off slowly from the lack of food and other resources.

Symbol of Christmas

Imma

Obiora, Gr. 6

Father Christmas symbolizes the Christmas season in ‘The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe”. He is known as a jolly man that goes around on Christmas day handing out gifts. In the book he gives gifts to the beaver family and the kids on their way to the stone tables. His arrival gives everyone hope that the spell is beginning to break. That is what Father Christmas symbolizes in Narnia.

Taxation Without Representation

John Trokan, Gr. 8

From the first colonist that landed on our beckoning shores, full of mystery and adventure, to the period of revolution that embedded itself in the hearts of our people, Americans have been properly British. Thus, the British have a right to pass laws for their inhabitants, ensuring those people are represented. However, in ruling over their tumultuous empire where the sun never sets, the British had discarded our representation, and instead, imposed laws without our consent that undermined our rights and ethics as members of the crown. The colonies were but an invaluable resource to England, one that, if were lost, would deal a tremendous blow on England’s economy. Yet with all the benefits and bounty we offered, we had no representation.

Thanksgiving With the Sprengards

Benjamin Sprengard, Gr. 6

A tradition my family has for Thanksgiving weekend is going up to Michigan to see my family. We always go up to Michigan to see our aunt, cousin, uncle, and other relatives. On Thanksgiving Day, we always watch football games on the couch and help set up dinner. After dinner, we play hide and seek throughout the house, then we watch Elf, and eat popcorn. My family likes this tradition, and I would like to keep doing it.

The 12 Labors

Collin McGuire, Gr. 8

The twelve labors of Hercules were a feat of mankind. Things and places he needed to find. The first task was to slay a Nemean boar whose coat he thereafter wore. Then went on to slay Lerna’s nineheaded beast. It was alive, now its time has ceased. Next Arcadia’s elusive hind. The goal was to eliminate its kind. Erymanthian boar, a creature run wild. A creature who made Hercules riled. Through ropes and tethers and through any weather. Victory was earned through impossible odds. Tied up in ropes and rods.

Troublesome Opening of Disneyland

Lily Finkleman, Gr. 6

Disneyland’s opening on July 7th, 1955 was troublesome. Disneyland was opened in Anaheim, California by Walt Disney with help from his brother, Roy Disney. Early Disneyland consisted of 5 “lands” with 20 attractions themed around the land they were in. There was Fantasyland, Frontierland, Adventureland, Main Street USA, and Tomorrowland. When Disneyland opened, most people watched from their TVs, but 28.000 people got to go there on opening day. There was supposed to be only 11,000 people, but there were lots of counterfeit tickets. Opening day had lots of problems. It was 100° outside. A gas leak caused Fantasyland to close. Stands were running out of food. A person’s shoe got stuck in wet asphalt in Main Street USA. A steamboat nearly capsized from too many passengers. Because of all of this, the opening day of Disneyland was called “Black Sunday” by the press. Despite this, the disastrous opening did not deter the public from coming to Disneyland. This event was important because Disneyland is a place loved worldwide and known as the “Happiest place on Earth.”

True Meaning of Love

Victoria Montaque, Gr. 6

Love is a feeling of deep affection towards a specific person or object. To develop a strong compassion for someone or something is what love is. When you respect someone and devote yourself to them, that is love. Love is when you deeply appreciate someone. Love is an idolization for someone. Love is being kind to everyone. Love is treating people the way you want to be treated. Love is to share with other people. An adoration of someone is a love of them.

Uncanny Experience — an excerpt

Sammy Jacobs-Ramey, Gr. 8

The Metro bus was overall an uncanny experience. I walked in bag in hand, and drawstring on my back. I was prompted to use the 2 dollars Mr. McEachern had kindly given me before entering the bus. I claimed my seat with nobody else sitting next to me, at least not until Mr. DiPaola sat next to me and said “Scooch.” The streetcar was overall a different experience. My friends jokingly said, “Infintynector,” after seeing the sign labeled ∞ nector. There were no seats available, so I was forced to stand up. The Streetcar went at max 30 mph.

Untold Swamp Kings — an excerpt

Jacob Adams, Gr. 4

Furthermore, crocodiles are the best because they are deadly. One way they are deadly is because of their razor-like teeth. Their teeth can be up to 3 or 4 inches long and are insanely sharp. In fact, these teeth combined with a powerful jaw give crocodiles the capability to eat humans whole. Even though crocodiles are capable of being that deadly, if you leave them alone, they will do the same for you. Clearly, these amazing reptiles can be quite lethal.

Veterans

Ava Boyer, Gr. 7

The first reason why veterans need support is because of their mental health needs. Data has shown that 14-16% of veterans suffer from ptsd and or depression (Inue, Shawler, Jordan, Moore, Jackson, 1). To make this even more crazy, that is only veterans that are deployed from Iraq and Afghanistan. Between 1999 and 2016 suicide rates in veterans have increased by around 30% (Inue, Shawler, Jordan, Moore, Jackson, 1). Around 6000 veterans take their lives yearly (Inue, Shawler, Jordan, Moore, Jackson, 3). This is devasting because everyone that gave their life to their life to this country should feel important to this world. Health care workers can help veterans by understanding their physical and mental well-being (Inue, Shawler, Jordan, Moore, Jackson, 9). This might not seem like a lot, but this can help a struggling veteran more than you think. All veteran’s mental health is important.

Vibrant

Quinn Wood, Gr. 4

When studying this installation, the first thing I notice is the vibrant colors. All of the beautiful colors in this artwork make me think of how eye catching and easy it is to see among the green in nature. This beautiful installation reminds me of coral on the ocean floor, which evokes a feeling of calmness among all the bright colors. There is a vibrant blast of purple, blue, pink, and red, just like a kaleidoscope. It is almost like all the colors of nature are represented in this one piece of artwork. Another beautiful thing about this amazing piece is that it reminds me of all the different people at our school, whether they’re big or small or different colors, we come together to form a community. I think the artist wanted to show how this is possible in life, not just nature.

Volleyball

Emi Spreen, Gr. 5

I am thankful that I have a volleyball tournament this weekend because I get to stay at a lake house next to my teammates. Then we can have fun at night hanging out together and have fun in the day playing volleyball together. I’m so excited! Based on practice I think we have a pretty good chance at winning the tournament!

Warm Glow — an excerpt

Liam Wiltshire, Gr. 4

Picture this, the warm glow of sunlight reflecting off the snow which comes sparkling through your window. You wake up and realize, OH MY GOSH, IT’S CHRISTMAS!!! You practically levitate downstairs and see half eaten cookies by the fireplace, the carrots are gone, and there are a whole load of presents. It looks like the jolly man and his reindeer have been to your house. My house is such a happy place at Christmastime. In my opinion Christmas is the best holiday because you get to exchange presents, bake cookies, and decorate the house. Keep reading to find out why Christmas is the most wonderful time of the year.

Washington Park

Miles Friedman, Gr. 8

After the 2 stops we went to Washington Park to play and rest. I have been to Washington Park before, and I really like it. My favorite thing to do at Washington park was the huge saucer swing that would go high. I also liked to go on the spinner monkey bar thing as well. This was my favorite part about the trip, and I really enjoyed playing there. After we went to Washington Park, we then walked over the Greater Cincinnati Homeless Coalition. This organization provides places for homeless people to sleep and stay. I remember from Dr. Mark Mussman’s that he was complaining about how the rich people are the problem and it’s not fair that some people get paid more. One fact about this organization is that they treat homeless people as everyday people.

Western Expansion — Hardships and Hopes

Blake Johnson, Gr. 8

The Hardships and Hopes of those traveling west in the 1800s are unknown to many. From the grueling heat on the prairies in the summer months to the deathly cold that covered the mountains in the snow, the Americans traveling west dealt with it all. They traveled with aspirations for gold, but some later found the journey was not worth the risk. The Indians, unknowing of the American’s intentions, sometimes attacked even though they might have been being helped. The treacherous climate, dangerous native groups, discovery of gold, and claiming of land were all hardships and hopes of those traveling on the many trails west.

Westward Expansion

Sebastian Swan, Gr. 8

The concept of Westward Expansion in American history encapsulates a pivotal period marked by territorial expansion, economic growth, and profound social transformation. Spanning from the early 19th century to the late 19th century, this movement reshaped the nation’s geography, culture, and identity. Driven by the ideology of Manifest Destiny, the belief that Americans were destined to expand across the continent, Westward Expansion unfolded through a complex interplay of political, economic, and social factors. This essay delves into the motives behind Westward Expansion, its methods and consequences, and its enduring legacy on American society.

What Love is to Me

Andrea Pérez Sánchez, Gr. 6

Love is when you really like someone, and you want to spend your life with them. It is when you always want to spend time with them, and you think about that person often. Love is a feeling that you get that makes you happy. Love is a special feeling.

Whirlpool Waterpark

Marguerite Jackson, Gr. 7

On a bright sunny day in Honolulu, Hawaii, the Hartmann family’s indoor waterpark had a crisis. A man collided on the side of a waterslide and was knocked out cold. He was soon taken to the hospital and was unconscious for two hours. The story was all over the news and everyone at the park had to leave early. As everyone left, the Hartmann’s saw the crowd of people that were there that day including kids, teenagers, adults, and even a man on crutches.

Why Dogs are Important

Cameron Kline, Gr. 7

People really should pay attention to this topic because shelters are becoming overcrowded, animals have lots of benefits, and so fewer animals are hurt and put on streets. I had a cat that ran away, and we put food out to get her and she came back but another cat was there too! We were able to find the owner of the cat that was not ours, but this shows how many animals are out on the streets in our world. This will really affect people with all animals loving them and humans being able to have more animals to care for. Fewer and fewer people should be leaving battered animals on the streets. Why do people leave animals on the streets? Because they can’t take care of them and unless it is something severe that is just nonsense. Dogs are called man’s best friend so let us show them along with all animals that we are their best friends.

Winner Evelyn Lorensen, Gr. 8

Finally, a winner, Santa got control of the sleigh. Santa slowly lowered the sleigh onto the ground. He took the magic back from Frosty so he could never do any harm ever again. Santa then finished delivering the last presents to the last house. When Santa arrived at the North Pole on Christmas Eve, he told Mrs. Claus all about the adventure he had that Christmas. Mrs. Claus was very worried about Santa forgetting about the broken Magic Crystal Ball that she had the elves make a new one as soon as possible. When she saw Elfiz she thanked her a million times for saving Santa and Christmas and they gave her an elf of the year shirt. Because without her there would have been no Christmas and the children would stop believing. Elfiz was excited that she saved Christmas.

Winning Day

Kate Kroner, Gr. 6

On September 30th, 2023, FC Cincinnati achieved a huge club milestone. They won the MLS supporter’s shield which earns homefield advantage in the first playoff game. This also secures first place in the league standings. They pulled out a hard fought 3-2 victory in front of 24,658 fans at BMO Stadium. Brandon Vazquez got two goals, one in the 28th minute and one in the 35th. Aaron Boupendza scored a goal in the 72nd minute to get the victory after Jonathan Osorio scored 2 to tie it. This is important because it is the first time in club history that they won it. As an FC Cincinnati fan, this was a very fun and happy day for me because I was able to watch it with my soccer team.

Witches — an excerpt

Nina Robinson, Gr. 4

The first reason I think the book is better than the movie is because, the book had way more detail. For example, in the book, The Grand High Witch took a long time explaining to all of the other witches about how to create Formula 86 Delayed Action Mouse Maker. We learned that you need some crazy ingredients. Ingredients like an alarm clock, mouse tails, the wrong end of the telescope, and much more. This wasn’t included in the movie at all! Also, in the book, we learned many ways witches make children suffer. One was turned into a dolphin, while another was turned into stone. There was even a child that turned into a chicken who could lay eggs! The only one mentioned in the movie was the child who was placed into a painting. Boring! Clearly the book had more detail than the movie.

Witches: Book vs. Movie — an excerpt

Quinn Carlson, Gr. 4

My next reason is that the movie is more dramatic. For example, like when the witches were chasing the boy, Luke. In the book, they catch him in the room and they do it swiftly. In the movie it is really hard for them to catch him. They have to chase him all around the beach and up to his hotel room. Also, I loved when the maid saw him as a mouse. She screamed super loud and tried to hit him with a broom. Basically, she makes it a huge deal. My next example is when Bruno’s mom meets the mouse version of Bruno. She screams because she just found out a lady is carrying a mouse in her purse and is claiming it’s her son. In the book this didn’t happen. Clearly, the movie is more dramatic.

Wolves are the Best Animals — an excerpt

Nathan Jackson, Gr. 4

A third reason these amazing awe inspiring mammals are the best is because they communicate with each other. One way they communicate is through howls and faces. If a wolf bares his teeth, this means it’s angry, it almost looks like they’re going to eat you when they do this. When it does this, it is sending a strong message to the other wolves that it is not happy. Wolves can talk to each other almost like they are humans.

Wondering

Declan Clements, Gr. 5

Over the course of many years, my peers and I have wondered one thing, why are they not treated the same? We are all humans, we all live on planet earth, so why are they not treated the same? First you need to know, the civil rights that I know, well they are your personal rights. The things that you and I can do!

World’s Best Animal — an excerpt

Madeline Shadoin, Gr. 4

The last reason bunnies are the best is that they are extremely adorable. One example of this is their face. It is cute when their little whiskers move and their face twitches. I also love their floppy ears. I remember one time I was at the zoo and I saw a cute little baby bunny and I got to touch the little animal. Her name was Violet and her ears felt like she wasn’t real. Her ears flopped around like she was a stuffed animal!

Yao Ming

Logan Butler, Gr. 7

Yao Ming was one of the best players from China. He is one of the most influential athletes from China. He has won many awards for his gratitude and perseverance. Yao Ming was born in China on September 12, 1980. He was born in the city of Shanghai, China (Britannica). Yao’s parents were basketball players and they stood more than 6ft tall (Britannica). When he was 12 years old, he attended a local sports academy (Britannica). He was part of the Shanghai Sharks of the Chinese basketball league Association (Britannica). He carried his team to 10th place to the 2000 Olympic games in Sydney, Australia (Britannica). Yao became a national icon from China already at a young age.

Your Heart

Jendaya Gillispie, Gr. 6

What love means to me...Love is breaking in your heart that is most important to you. When you love something, you might get an emotion of nervousness, confusion, happiness, heart-less. You admire what that person or thing does. Some people get butterflies in their heart because you love them so much and light up every time you see them. When I was a toddler, I thought about love in a different way like my parents loving each other or they are doing something nice for me. The way I think of love is if I will regret not saying it to the person if they die because you will regret it so much. My sister taught me how to love. I used to think love was weird like a crush, but she taught me you do not have to have a crush on them. You can love how nice they are to you and how much they care. So, love is how much it would hurt if you never got a chance to say “I love you” before someone moves or passes away.

Zeus

Manuel Cantillo, Gr. 8

Zeus, mighty king, atop Olympus high, Hera, his queen, with perceptive, jealous eye. Poseidon, ruler of the sea’s vast might, Athena, wise goddess, glinting with insight. Apollo, God of light, his lyre in hand, Artemis, hunter, roaming wild land, Ares, fierce fighter, bloodlust untamed, Aphrodite, love’s beauty, forever acclaimed. Hermes, swift messenger, deceitful and sly, Hephaestus, the most skilled, thrown in the sky. Dionysus, revelry’s lord, wine in his sway, Hestia, hearth goddess, where warmth holds sway. Demeter, bountiful, Tending the land, And Hades, ruler of the underworld’s command. Olympian gods, everywhere they reside, with their great power, mortals must abide.

Piper Kropp, Gr. 5

Mabel Hartmann, Gr. 7

Valeria Sebastian, Gr. 4

Darcy de Lacy, Gr. 5

Teagan Wood, Gr. 6

Hannah Mitchell, Gr. 8

Kyan Gatewood, Gr. 8

Alejandro Sharp, Gr. 7

Luca Panchen, Gr. 4

Hailey Wise, Gr. 5

Liam Fildes, Gr. 6

Anne Marie Misrach, Gr. 7

Annabelle Fleming, Gr. 5

Cléa Sinno, Gr. 6

Ben Hofmann, Gr. 8

Elise Goebel, Gr. 6

Miles Friedman, Gr. 8

Madeline Shadoin, Gr. 4

Emi Spreen, Gr. 5

Van Devendorf, Isaac Lam, Ari Symonds, Gr. 7

Kate Kroner, Gr. 6