Friendly Letter Thanking Someone for Garlic & Onion Flavored Gum by Merrick

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                                                                                                                                                September 15, 2017

 

Dear Brylee,

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                After you pranked me with your onion and garlic tasting gum, I wanted to cut off my tongue and slap you with it!  The taste was awful and disgusting.  I should have known it was a prank.  You never have gum, and when you do, you never give me a piece.  My breath smelled badly the rest of the day.  When I got home, my cat, the one that hates me, followed me around.  I guess he liked it.  Anyways, you started a prank war.  Be prepared to feel my wrath! 

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                                                                                                                                                Best Wishes,

                                                                                                                                                Merrick 

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Friendly Letter Thanking Someone for Garlic & Onion Flavored Gum By Liam  

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                                                                                                                                                September 15, 2017

Dear, Leroy

 

     Hi, Its me, Jayvion! I What’ up buddy, chum, ol’ pal, friend! It's been awhile since we last talked, but I’ve been busy. Remember that gum you sent me? Well, it turns out it was onion and garlic flavored bubble gum. It was pretty disgusting. But hey it's all right, because it ended up saving my life! It's a long story so sit back and relax. The day your package came I was sitting on the front porch, watching Sara--I mean-- the clouds. I was watching the clouds. Anyways, the package arrived and I opened it to find gum. I took a piece out out tried to eat it, but it was DISGUSTING, so I threw it away. That same night I heard a strange, moaning sound, coming from outside my room. I looked outside to find nothing, but I still heard moaning. I walked down the hallway, through the kitchen, the bathroom, you name it. I couldn’t find the sound anywhere. Then I looked outside, and on the porch was, something. Just, something. I couldn’t see what IT was so I went outside to find that it was a VAMPIRE! DUN DUN DUUUNNN! It started to chase me and I tried to run inside but the door was locked! I started to panic, but then I saw that I had missed the trashcan and the garlic and onion flavored gum was on the floor. I knew what to do. I scooped up the gum and, hesitantly, stuck five of the sticks of gum in my mouth. That taste was unbearable and I nearly threw up, but managed to do what I had to do.I blew the biggest bubble I’ve ever blown! The bubble engulfed the evil vampire and he started to shrivel up saying “AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH NOT GARLIC BLEH BLEH BLEH!” (hotel transylvania reference) I had done it. I defeated the vampire with the worst gum ever. The end

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                                                                                                                                                   Sincerely,

                                                                                                                                                    Jayvion

 

P.S. None of that actually happened, your gum stinks.

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Queen of the School by Rose

     Today, I was officially elected Queen of my school.  The first and most important rule I will establish is everyone must only wear blue.  “Why?” you might ask.  Well, it’s obviously because that’s my favorite color.  The next rule would have to be no singing annoying songs.  Some people will probably think this is a very odd rule, but I simply cannot stand it when an annoying song gets stuck in my head.  My third rule will be that you have to bring gifts to your Queen every Thursday.  Why  on Thursday? Only because it is my favorite day of the week!  The fourth rule would definitely be that you have to show school spirit.  How come?  Clearly because RVMS is the best!  And finally, my fifth rule would be no going to school on Mondays.  I hate Mondays so this is a must.  If any of my five grand rules are broken, the punishment is extra homework.  Everyone who follows all my rules will be rewarded with an extra recess.  Let’s see how the rest of the year goes!

 

A Strange Object by Leeann

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     "Annessah! Hurry up and bring me the mini shovel!" I yelled. 

     "I'm coming!" she yelled back to me.  ""I still don't understand why your granparents wanted us to do this.  Or why you even made me help you." She handed me the mini shovel and I started digging a hole for some more cucumber seeds. 

     "Well, I didn't want to have to do this all by myself.  That would've taken me ages!" I replied. 

     True," said Annessah as she took the mini shovel from me (because we only had one) and started digging a hole., "but you know I don't like gardening."

     I finished filling the hole back up and moved over to start a new one. "I know.  I just wanted us to suffer together."  We both laughed for a moment. 

     My grandparents were always out of town doing business trips or something, so while they're gone they make me take care of my great grandma's garden.  Usually they don't like me bringing friends over because they think they will distract me, but Great Grandma Ann is pretty cool and practically MAKES me invite someone over to help me out. 

      "Hey , have you ever noticed that weird patch of grass over there?" Annessah asked me.  I looked up and saw that she was pointing to a surprisingly dead patch of grass at the corner of the garden.  

     "Oh gosh, I've never seen that before," I said.  "It looks like it's been dug up before.  Possibly multiple times!"

     "But why would someone need to dig something up more than once?" Annessah said suspiciously. 

     "I don't know..." I trailed off as I began to notice I was still digging my hole when my shovel came in contact with a solid, possibly metal object.  I looked down at the object and realized it was indeed a solid metal object.  "Annessah, I found something."

      "But what about that strange patch of-"

     "It doesn't matter! Help me did this up!" I interrupted as I started to uncover the contraption.  Annessah looked back at the grass, shrugged, and started helpling me dig.  

     About five minutes later, we were able to get enough dirt removed so that we could see the top of it.  It was round and seemed to be the lid to a container of some kind.  Annessah and I grabbed two sides of it and yanked it out of the hole.  When we were able to get a good look at it, it turnes out I was right... sort of.  It was definitely made to hold something.  Something very complex.  I couldn't tell if the vessel was upside down or not because both the top and bottom looked the same, while the rest was very thick glass. 

     "What is this?" Annessah asked. 

     "I have no idea," I replied.  As I began to walk around the object to get a better look, something caught my eye. "Hey Annessah, look at this.  It's a heart."

     "There's a heart in this thing!"she yelled terrified. 

     "No," I said, squating down to get a closer look, "there's just a shape of a heart right here."

     "Oh." Annessah bent down by me to look at the random shape.  "We should show your grandma this."

     "Yeah, you're right," I said as I attempted to pick up the item. "Wow, this is heavy!" 

     "Here, I'll help you." Annessah went around and grabbed the other side and we struggled to carry the thing to the door.  Once we got to the door, we knocked and my Grandma Ann answered.

     "Why hello," she greeted us, "have you finished the garden yet?"

     "Nope, " I replied, "but we found this thing." We lifted it up as best as we could so she could see it better. 

     After one long, hard look at the over complicated jar, she sighed and told us to come in.  By the look on her face, things were about to get serious. 

     "Girls," she said to us once we put the strange vessel down and sat, "There's something I've been meaning to tell you.  Well, mostly Leeann, but since you're here, Annessah, I'll tell you too." 

     Annessah and I exchanged nervous glances, then looked bgack to Grandma Ann. 

     She took a deep breath before she began. "When I was a young child, humans and monsters ruled the world in harmony."  Annessah and I looked at each other with wide eyes. "Yes, I know." Grandma continued, "It may sound terrifying that we lived with them, but we did.  Anyway, monsters have the power to absorb human souls.  Once the humans realized this, they attacked the monsters out of fear, causing a war between the two.  But monsters aren't nearly as powerful as humans.  It takes the power of every monster soul combined to add up to the power of a human soul.  Because of this, the monsters surrendered., but very few survived.  After the victory of the humans, they sent the monsters to live under Mount Ebottiour forever.  Seven of their best magicians sealed the monsters underground with a magic barrier.  Not a single monster has even touched the surface since then."

     There was a moment of silence. 

     "Wow," I said.  "I can't believe we never knew that before!"

     "I know, right?"  Annessah said.  "but wait, we still don't know what this is for." She pointed to the object we found in the garden. 

     "Oh, right," Grandma said.  "I forgot to tell you.  We need that to get past the magical barrier that is keeping us all down here."

     Annessah scratched on of her overly sized, round ears in confusion. "How do we do that?" she asked.  

     "Yeah, it doesn't make any sense," I stated, rubbing my blue scaley arms.  

     Grandma walked over to us, her hooves clicking on the floor, picked up the object with her furry hands, and whispered to us, "It takes seven human souls to cross the barrier.  Only monsters are able to take them.  These things just hold onto them for us until we canget all seven of them... "

      "And we can be free." 

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Wild Creature by Mackenzie

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    This is going to sound crazy, but it's true. One day I was camping and I decided to take my dog for a walk.  I was walking in the woods when all of a sudden I heard a big crash as loud as thunder.  I was so scared because there was nothing there.  Then I saw this really weird shadow behind me.  I looked behind me to see what it was and I just screamed.  I'm not even joking. I saw a legit dragon!  It was a s big as a giant.  The dragon was blue and had red eyes.  The dragon had green stripes going down his back.  I tried to not make any noise so the dragon wouldn't hear me, but my dog barked.  The dragon looked down at us, so I started to run.  The dragon started flying to catch up with us and he landed right ahead of us.  My heart was pounding.  I didn't know what to do so I just stood there. The dragon had something in his mouth, but I couldn't tell what it was.  The dragon came closer and dropped the thing in his mouth right in front of me and my dog.  It was my dog's collar.  Next the dragon flew away.  And that was the last time I ever saw the blue and green dragon again.  That dragon was as cool as an ice machine!

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Have You Ever Seen a Clango? by Colin

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Have you ever seen a clango?

It's as white as paper and pink as a flamingo.

Have you ever seen a solu?

It can talk and walk while wearing a shoe.

Have you ever seen a tayor? A dixie? A unichaca?

I've seen all of these at Winipacaca.

 

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A Polar Bear by Jessica N.

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     I was roaming somewhere in the cold of the Arctic Circle when I spotted a massive object in the near distance. I couldn't tell what it was until it started charging. The polar bear with fur as white as snow stood on its strong hind legs, towering over me. Its empty black eyes, two black holes in space, stared at me as it roared. Its hot, putrid breath blew against my face as I examined its sharp teeth and strong jaw. The white bear's short, round ears were covered with snow. Its paw had claws like daggers: a few blows from those would surely kill me. Would this gigantic beast be the end of me?

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Bullying by Josie 

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     Bullying. This word has been repeated and cautioned about since kindergarten. Every year it’s the same speech: bullying is bad and we need to stop it. Every year kids get bullied and sometimes even take their own lives. Are we really doing all we can to stop this? Are we doing all we can to save these kids’ lives? There are three things I know for sure: bullying is a problem, it’s being ignored, and it needs to stop. People need to know what it is, what to do if you witness it or are being bullied, and how to take action to stop it. I fear that bullying will be around forever, but we can try and put an end to it. Everybody can help to try and stop this virus.

 

     First, it’s important to know what bullying is. Bullying is when someone is harming another person and making them feel down. This can come in many different forms. Physical bullying is usually pretty obvious. It’s when a bully is harming another person physically. In “What is Bullying?” it states that bullying “can consist of kicking, hitting, biting, pinching, hair pulling and making threats.” It is never okay to lay your hands on another person with the intent to harm them. No matter what a bully threatens, you should still tell an adult. That leads us to the next form of bullying.

 

     Verbal bullying is sometimes more hurtful than physical. I’ve always thought, “Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will always hurt me.” Words are powerful. They can deeply wound others. Spreading rumors or gossip is never okay, even if what you’re saying is true. Just think to yourself, “Is what I’m saying hurtful? Am I okay with everyone hearing what I’m saying?” I’ve done this before and then decided I probably shouldn’t speak.

 

     The third type of bullying is emotional intimidation.  In “What is Bullying?” it states, “Emotional Intimidation is closely related to these two types of bullying.” This is when a bully excludes you on purpose. An example might be if a bully gave all your friends invitations to a party and completely ignored you. You probably wouldn’t feel too good. Try and include everyone and not ignore somebody or leave them out.

 

     The last type of bullying is Cyber Bullying. This is when you bully someone online. It is when you, “. . . torment, threaten, harass, humiliate, embarrass, or target another kid or teen” (“What is Bullying?”). I have personally experienced this. One time after a basketball game some of my friends were huddled around a phone laughing. I asked them what they were doing and they showed me the texts they were sending. They were insulting and embarrassing a girl from another school. The texts were really mean and I felt sick looking at them. Sadly, I was too scared to stand up to them and I just turned around and sat in silence. When I got home I reached out to the girl. I apologized on behalf of my friends and told her that I thought she was amazing and a beautiful human being. She felt very hurt by their comments. We talked for awhile and she sent me screenshots of the texts they had sent. I showed them to the principal and it all worked out in the end. Never be afraid to stand up for people or tell an adult. Cyber bullying is cruel and not something to joke around about.

 

     When dealing with all forms of bullying, it is important to know what to do if you witness it. In my opinion, the most important thing is to stand up. You need to be able to speak up and say, “That’s not alright.” We need to look out for those kids who are being mistreated. It’s a very scary thing to do, especially if you’re standing up to your friends. I assure you, this is absolutely necessary if you want to stop bullying. Also, it is good to tell a trusted adult. Adults are more capable of handling certain situations because of their seniority. If you tell an adult and nothing happens, keep telling adults until the problem is fixed. Never give up on those victims. Lastly, when you witness bullying you should be a friend. Sometimes your own example will rub off on those around you. In “Have You Witnessed Bullying?” it states, “Being an understanding and supportive friend means so much. Show a kid who is being bullied that you care about them.” When one person reaches out and befriends a victim of bullying, their whole perspective can change. That shows them that they are needed and loved. Remember next time you witness bullying to stand up, tell and adult, and be a friend.

 

     Lastly, we need to take action against bullies. We can’t ignore it and hope that by pretending it’s not there it will go away. We need to speak up and raise awareness about this. In  “Taking Action Against Bullies” it says, “You can also lead daily discussions with your friends about the importance of kindness and respecting each others' differences. Having these meaningful conversations will help bring awareness to the issue of bullying.” Additionally, we can take that extra time to not leave people out. Look for those kids who are alone. Make new friends and have new conversations. It’s fun to learn about different people! Be a friend to those around you. Lastly, we can be leaders. We can raise awareness by setting that example and being that voice. Don’t be afraid to stop bullying. Don’t be afraid to speak up for the little guys. Victims are afraid, and we can help vanquish their fears. We must raise awareness, be a friend and be a leader.

 

     In conclusion, bullying is scary. It is terrifying but we need to step up and face it. We need to really put forth the effort to stop bullying and be a friend to those around us. Bullying is a virus that needs to be stopped. We need to understand what it is, what to do if we witness it, and how to take action to stop bullying. We can do it guys. It’s all up to us. I want you to really think to yourself, “Do I want to stop bullying?” Your answer determines the future.