The Golden Feather June 2015 Maurice Hawk School Third Graders

Cover Art by: Atobe D.

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The Golden Feather, 2015 Letter to Students

Dear Third Grade Students, Thank you for all of your hard work in creating and sharing your original pieces of writing and artwork with the teachers, students, and families of Maurice Hawk School. You should feel proud of all you have accomplished this year. It is my hope that as you move on to fourth grade, you will continue to seek opportunities to share your writing. Your voice is important, whether you are using it to persuade, teach, or entertain others. It has been a pleasure reading all of your work and putting together this year’s edition of the Golden Feather. I hope you enjoy reading through the magazine and celebrating your hard work with your teachers, classmates, families, and friends. ~ Miss Bergen

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The Golden Feather, 2015 Cover Art

Sanjana B. Samaira Y.

Anusri M. Andrew C.

Vayun T.

Several students submitted cover art for this year’s magazine. All submissions

are featured on this page.

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Table of Contents

Happy Reading!

Information Writing Beginning on page 5

Persuasive Writing Beginning on page 11

Small Moment Stories

Beginning on page 14

Realistic Fiction Beginning on page 21

Fairytales, Folktales, and Pourquoi Tales Beginning on page 37

Poems and Riddles Beginning on page 52

List of Featured Writers and Artists Beginning on page 55

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What is it like to be a Working Parent? Prathiv R. So, have you ever thought about being a working parent? You know how your mom or dad go to work every day to do their job. Basically this is a close-up interview on how a parent’s job would be. These are the questions that will be asked during the interview. 1.What is your job? “My job is to help Banks convert their data to information and analyze it.” 2.What company do you work for? “I work for Wipro Technologies.” 3.Why did you choose this job? “I like to dabble with data and that’s why I chose to do this.” 4.What was your favorite subject? “I liked studying my home language, Tamil.” 5.What was your favorite topic in Math? “I love to study Statistics.” 6.Why do you have meetings? ”Meetings are conducted to take decisions or actions collectively.” 7.How would the world be without jobs or companies? “Companies makes products or provide services for which it needs people and that’s what we call as jobs. Without jobs may be we would have had lots of time to spend with our family and society at large. It would be like the next Great Depression time period which wouldn’t be good.” 8.Why data is considered important in the twenty-first century? ”Data is the new oil. What gets measured sees improvement. We do this all facets of our lives viz. our Bank account details, health records, energy readings, children’s progress at school etc. Data helps take decisions which are fact based and that’s why the saying goes something like – In God we trust and everyone else brings data.” 9.How do you deal with your clients? “Clients are like God. You have to deal with them like dealing with God because they pay you.” 10. How is it like having a job and being a dad to 2 kids? “My kids are Almighty’s blessings to us. Being a dad is an exhilarating feeling. Having a job helps me to fulfill their never ending wish list- To conclude our interview, 11. Thanks for the interview. “Your welcome.” Now, I hoped you got to enjoy our interview and learn how a parent’s Thank you and have a nice day.

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Sharks Michael L.

Introduction Sharks are great hunters in the sea. They are endangered in the oceans. Most sharks get killed every year from humans. Sharks are helpful sea creatures in the ocean. They must be save. Read this book and learn more about sharks.

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Shark Swimming Sharks have many ways to swim. Since some sharks must keep swimming to keep water over the gills. The sharks have pectoral fins to keep them from sinking, but most sharks can stop swimming and rest on the seafloor. It used to be thought that all sharks must keep swimming but that is not true. Some sharks can swim very fast up to 20 miles per hour; and sometimes sharks like the Greenland shark are slow swimmers because they have to use most of their energy for other reasons. Sharks like the Great white shark use their speed to zoom out of the water to kill seals to eat. Some sharks gulp and burp out air to float at the surface of the sea. Sharks use swimming to survive in the wild. Most sharks use swimming to migrate all over the world to different places to hunt and give birth. Sharks eat prey that are very fast swimmers and sometimes they must swim to get to eat the prey. But the Greenland shark is so slow that they have to eat slow things like some sleeping seals. Sharks use their tails to move through the water to help them swim. Sharks like the Mako shark swim very fast to leap out of the water very fast. Most sharks swim fast to defend themselves from bigger fish that might try to hurt them or eat them. Sharks like the Tiger shark use speed to attack birds that go on the surface of the water. Some sharks swim slow so the prey does not hear the shark coming at the animal. But sharks like the Sand Tiger shark chase the prey. Bull sharks use swimming to bump into things to sense if it caneat the sea creature. Sharks sometimes use their swimming skills to outrun sea creatures in the ocean. And some sharks must swim to breathe in the water or else they sink to the seafloor. Sharks like the Lemon shark do not. All sharks swim to survive in the wild.

Sharks (continued) Michael L.

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Black Tip reef shark Found in shallow waters the Black tip reef shark is a big shark. Black tip reef sharks swim near beaches. Black tip reef sharks mainly hunt octopus, fish and other sea creatures. But Black tip reef sharks do not attack humans. Black tip reef sharks might have some remoras hanging on to it. The remora is a fish that hangs on to sharks and other sea creatures that eat foods that escape from the sharks jaw. Black tip reef sharks are named from the black spot on the tip of the sharks fins. Black tip reef sharks are found swimming close to reefs with fish. Black tip reef sharks sometimes also are found in aquariums.

Sharks Parts

There are many parts of a shark. Parts like the pectoral fin help the shark steer though the water. Another part that tells if the shark is a male, the clasper. Most shark have 5 gills. Most sharks have 2 pelvic fins. And all sharks have anal fin. Almost all sharks have a caudle fin. All sharks have a dorsal fin. Some sharks have a dorsal fin and second dorsal fin spine. All sharks have two nostrils on each side of the sharks head. Many sharks have a caudle keel. A few sharks might have a labial furrow on each side of the sharks head. Most sharks have a spiracle on each side of the head. Most sharks have some organs that help them find prey which is called ampullae of lorinzini. Most sharks use these sensory organs to find electric signals in the water from other things. Some sharks use their pectoral fins to keep them from sinking. But most sharks do not have to Keep swimming. Most sharks have a nictitating membrane that protects the sharks eye when They are hunting or something is close to the sharks eye.

Sharks (continued) Michael L.

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Sand Tiger sharks Sand Tiger sharks are blamed for the most shark attacks because they have a scary looking face. But They do not attack humans much. Sand Tiger sharks gulp and burp air so they can float at the surface of the sea. Sand Tiger sharks are slow swimmers. Sand Tiger sharks are the most popular aquarium shark Sand Tiger sharks eat mainly squid and other fish. Sand Tiger sharks gather near ship wrecks and nobodyis sure why. Sand Tiger sharks roll their eyes back into their head to protect them. Sand Tiger sharks do not lay eggs their eggs hatch inside their stomach.

Oceanic White tip sharks Oceanic white tip sharks is an aggressive shark that often has striped fish that swims with the shark. The Oceanic white tip sharks only live in deep water. Oceanic white tip sharks are named after the white tips on its fin and how it lives in the deep sea. Oceanic white tip sharks are endangered because people make shark fin soup from its fins. Oceanic white tip sharks must keep swimming or else they sink very deep.

Sharks (continued) Michael L.

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Dangerous sharks Only 3 types of sharks are dangerous to humans. One is the Great White shark. Second is the Tiger shark. And the Bull shark. Most people have a fear of sharks. Shark attacks are actually almost never kill humans. Shark attacks happen because sharks look under us and they think we are a seal or a seal turtle. And they try to bite. Some humans kill sharks because they are scared of them Most sharks attack humans if they splash in the water. Or if the swimmer has a cut that is bleeding.

Shark pups These shark pups are baby Black tip reef sharks. Most baby sharks do not survive well because people throw trash into the ocean and that makes these shark pups sick. Shark pups also might get eaten by bigger fish or sharks. Only a few sharks may be born whenever the female shark gives birth to the pups. Baby sharks are called pups. Some sharks lay eggs. But other sharks let the eggs hatch inside the female shark. Some mother sharks go to a special place to give birth. Young sharks go to a special place they live. But when the shark gets older it can leave the special Place.

Sharks (continued) Michael L.

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Colonial Bowling Alley Andrew C.

The Colonial Bowling Alley is for bowling and entertainment. It is locating at Lawrenceville along Route 1. It is a very spacious place and there is a lot of good stuff there.

Every time I go to the bowling alley, I’m always ready to bowl. The balls are heavy, but I’ve got used to those heavy balls. Oh yeah, and there is music going on when you bowl, which is probably the entertainment part. There is even a laser tag arena, where you can play laser tag. And there are games to. But bowling is the main activity. There are probably about 20 bowling lanes there. People are using the place for birthday party or just having fun. While bowling, you can see a screen hanging from the ceiling showing your score every time you play. If you get a strike, you will get the most points. And the points will show on the screen. People will be taking turns bowling (unless you are bowling by yourself), and while waiting for your turn, there is a couch where you can rest of, and they serve some yummy food, of course not for free. And you can eat the food until it’s your turn to bowl. I like this place because I can’t be bored while waiting for my turn to bowl, and I do like bowling.

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More Recess Megan L.

Do you think third graders should have more recess time? Well, I think we should have more time for recess. The first reason we should have more time for recess is that we don’t get enough fresh air. For example, most third graders only have five to ten minutes outside after eating their lunch. The second reason is kids who come out late have less time to play. They would only have three to five minutes to play. If you were the last person to buy lunch, by the time you are done eating and go outside, they blow the whistle to get on line and you don’t have time to do anything. Third graders are not getting enough time for recess. I think third graders should have more recess time after lunch.

Why We Should Respect Moms Daniel L.

Everyone should respect their moms because they are helpful, nice, and beautiful. One of the reasons why you should respect your mom is that they are helpful. For examples, my mom is helpful, and supportive for whatever I need. Another reason why you should respect you mom is that she is nice. For example, my mom hugs me when I feel upset. The last reason why you should respect your mom is because she is pretty. For example, my mom has a beautiful smile.

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WHY WE NEED COMIC CLUB IN OUR SCHOOL Samaira Y.

Today I am going to tell you why we should have a school comic club; first of all we do not have a single club, so we need a club! Second, the comics can be interesting and fun. Good sketchers would like to take this opportunity because they need to show their talent and can help with comic strips. Third of all, the comics can be entertaining for all kids as they can be displayed in our school library. In Comic Club we kids can work together, help with brainstorming and will learn teamwork. I bet there are some kids who are very good with stories; some kids are very good with sketching. Together they can work as a team and can create a great comic. Most of the people like funny things to have a good laugh. Comic Club can provide this laughter medicine to them with funny comic. Kids can create their own superheroes like Captain Stinky pants or could make up a new comic for already existing superheroes like Superman. Last but not least, our Comic Club will inspire the younger kids to be more creative. This will give them a place to express their thoughts and imagination in organized form.

I am Shreya, a fun loving and helpful girl. I am an author too. I love helping people and feel very happy when I am able to be assist. My mom once told me that many girls are not able to go to school because their parents cannot afford their education. I thought of a plan to help girls who cannot go to school and am working on it these days. I have started making toys out of beads and sell them for a dollar each to my friends. I am saving this money and will give all this to an organization, which works in girl education. I am sure I will be able to spread a smile with my little effort!

My Fun Fund Raiser… Shreya G.

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The~Bird~Chase Atobe D.

“Close the door, quick, QUICK!” my mother exclaimed. I was puzzled, but I shut the door anyway. I was at the Plainsboro Preserve (a nature reserve in Plainsboro) where my older brothers and I have been volunteering to take care of the animals. I expected that the problem would be about one of the animals in the cages and tanks. I thought, “Could it be the turtle who died earlier today, could it be about the birds not getting their food, could it be about something completely new?” Then I stared at the birdcage, “the bird,” I said to myself. I looked through the glass door. Sure enough, the European starling, Ringo, was flying like a crazy bird. I opened the door just a little so that could get into the room to help my mother, and my two brothers get that out of hand bird in his cage were he belongs. My family members were speed walking left and right, west and east, and all around! We chased the multicolored bird as it sped around the room. I thought to myself, “Did Ringo want to get out of that cage? Did he want to venture out into the world? But we must bring him back! It is our job!” I zoomed up to get to the colorful (but black at the same time) bird. “This is wild,” My oldest brother said. “Yeah, I agree,” agreed my other brother. “Maybe Ringo has a secret nest, or even eggs,” my mother suggested as she started to pick up speed. My mother likes to joke around. I felt so confident about catching Ringo but I felt a little tired from running for about an hour, nonstop! “We will have to walk as quickly as we can, it will be a group effort to get the loose bird,” I chirped. “We need to get Ringo, it will take a team, that is us.” At the same time, everyone started to run in a different direction. I went forward, one of my brothers went east, the other went west, and my mom went backwards. The only place Ringo could go now was up, HA! But sadly, Ringo went up. My mother decided that the best way to get the European starling was to back him into a corner. My mother took the job of catching Ringo (she used to hold birds a lot as a researcher studying bird brains). My two brothers had to do the luring of the starling into my mothers trap. I was in charge of making sure the beautiful bird did not get away. “C’mon birdy, come this way,” my two brothers instructed. I walked around everyone, blocking everything I saw like a goalkeeper. And my mom stood still with her hands open like a cup or a nest. Ringo inched closer to my mother’s medium sized hands. All was silent, for a while. Then finally… there the bird was, wrapped in my calm mum’s hands. “Hooray,” we all yelled. My mom made sure the bird did not escape. It looked strange to me to see her hold a bird so calmly. I stroked Ringo’s rough looking feathers. They we re as soft as a pillow! We took Ringo into his safe cage. “What a day, what a day,” I said as we left the preserve. “What a day, indeed.” I sang in the car and until we got home. That wraps it up, the end.

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When I Was Sick Benny W.

I was sick that morning when I woke up. I slept until my alarm clock goes

off, but I closed it and went back to sleep. After a minute or two, I woke up feeling not so good. But my whole body felt wobbly when I tried to walk. That’s when I realized that I felt very dizzy, too! After going to the bathroom, I went back to bed still feeling dizzy. But half way through my restless sleep, I had to go to the bathroom again! So, I had to get out of bed again, ah man. After that, I dizzily “sleep walked” back to my bed. I also realized that something MUST be wrong with me. That’s when I knew that I must be sick and I probably can’t go to school that day. Yep, I was right, my grandma checked on me to make sure if I was okay or not, I said I was not okay. So, grandma told me that I probably can’t go to school that day. It turned out that my grandma and I were right that I was sick and can’t go to school. Because when I was ready for breakfast, I don’t feel like eating anything! But I was convinced to eat breakfast because breakfast is what keeps me healthy. So when I was eating breakfast, I can’t eat all the food I had for breakfast that I usually eat when I was not sick. I felt like that I was about to throw up if I keep on eating! So, my family decided that I was not going to school in this big mess of sickness, I might spread the “flu”. They also told me that I had to go back to bed for a long time to rest, I slept the whole morning without doing anything, how boring!!! I knew that getting sick is boring, if you’re sick. You’re sick! There are no changing history, except maybe if you can go back through time. But not until maybe in about one thousand years.

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Last summer we were in six flags and I wanted to go on the Skull Mountain Roller Coaster. I’m going to go on a tunnel roller coaster, oh boy, oh boy! I really wanted to go on the tunnel roller. I asked my dad could I go please!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! My dad said “I’m not sure because you will get scared”. I exclaimed “I will never get scared” and I asked “Why will I get scared?” “I will not get scared” I said, “If you are so sure we can go” my dad said. I jumped and skipped with enjoyment to the ride, my dad said “stop” but I didn’t until I reached the end of the queue for the roller coaster.

The line was very big. I asked my dad while waiting in the line where are we? My dad said in the middle but the worst thing was we were way back; my dad didn’t wanted me to be sad so he said middle. In the middle of the line my dad had to carry me because I was standing so much I got leg pain. At the front of the line my energy came back and my leg pain went away. It was our turn I ran to the roller coaster then my dad said “Calm down” you will see how it’s going to be soon. The roller coaster came and I went and got the front seat. My dad was little worried for me and said “let’s get out of here.” I shouted “No” and my dad came sat down next to me. The roller coaster started my dad was sitting next to me. We went inside the tunnel it was so dark I screamed “can someone turn on the lights!” then skeletons came and their eyes had lit I said “seriously” is that the only light here. Then mummies came and had fake brains and pretended to eat the brain they kept on saying “give me your brain” then one skeleton cut the tracks and roller coaster went way down. So in the middle of ride I had three problems the skeletons eyes went off, mummies were doing the same thing as they were doing, the roller coaster broke in to two parts, I was screaming on top of my lungs” Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh”! Then everything was fine the real lights were on mummies gone away and by then it was the end of the ride. I said to my dad “we’re never coming here again.” My dad said “at least now you realize how scary that is and we are never coming here again.” The End

The Tunnel Roller Coaster Eshan G.

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The Hockey Game Molly H.

“Vroom, vroom,” went the car. We parked and got out of the big, gray minivan. Everyone started to shiver. We were going to a hockey game for my big sister, Maddie’s birthday. She was turning twelve. We all walked into the big, cold arena as the people stood up, put their hands on their heart and all at once began singing the National Anthem. It sounded like one whole, big family singing. When the song ended, everyone sat down with a loud THUMP. My sister, Amelia and our best friend, Ciara, and I found a spot a few feet away from where the older girls were sitting. Ciara looked at me and said, “Do you remember the last time when the puck skimmed your ear?” “Yeah,” I replied. I turned to my mom and asked, “May I please have a soft pretzel?” She handed one to me. A smile slowly crept across my face as the game began….

I sat in the car ready to go. I was going to my first Tae Kwon Do tournament. We drove to my Taekwondo school. I was thinking how the tournament would be since this was my first one. I was really nervous and excited at the same time .The tournament was about to start, so I rushed in, but before I could go in my master grabbed me to the side and said good luck. I figured out he said that to everybody. They had a giant black curtain covering the windows so that the competitors wouldn’t be distracted. There was also a table with snacks and other stuff to eat and a few drinks near the window. There were some Lays chips packets stacked neatly in a big yellow basket, a big coffee dispenser and some Snickers candy in a colorless jar. The other group wasn’t finished yet so we got to watch the rest of their tournament. “Everybody stand up and bow”! exclaimed the master. Then we stretched a little and started with forms. I was super nervous. My hand started twitching nervously. I breathed heavy. Soon my name was announced. “First person is Sanjana Bhattacharya”, announced Master Stevens. I walked up, bowed and started my form. I could feel the drops of sweat forming in my forehead as I tried to concentrate. In my head I was thinking I am doing everything wrong. But out side everybody was clapping like I was doing a great job. So I just went with the flow. My score was seven, six, seven. I was full of joy.

The Best Day Ever Sanjana B.

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Then it was time for sparring. I put on all my gear. I felt there were butterflies flying all over my stomach. I started with a boy from a different school. He was long and thin with thick spectacles and an untidy mop of hair which beneath his head gear. He was about the same size as me. He looked at me straight in the eye like I was his enemy. Then one of the judges said go! I kicked him and punched him. He looked like he was a about to scream. But he didn’t. I was sure he didn’t scream because he was getting beaten up by a girl. Then it was break. I got 2 points. In the next break I got another 2 points and then I only got 1 point. When they announced the winner between both of us it was… Me! I was so happy. I won every time. But then it was sudden victory. Me and this other guy Yosh were tied for first place. Whoever got the next point would win the tournament. That’s when it happened! I GOT THE POINT AND WON!! I was so happy I could scream. I jumped up and down in excitement grinning from ear to ear. I could never forget that moment. When I went home my mom took dozens of pictures of me winning the gold medal. I jumped on the couches and danced all around the house in happiness. Later on, I went to sleep, dreaming about what would happen at Taekwondo tomorrow. Would my master congratulate me? I had to figure out tomorrow. It was the best day ever!

The Best Day Ever (continued) Sanjana B.

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I got to school, I walked in the hallway, I forgot my teacher’s name, I stopped at a corner, I looked around. Three teacher asked me “Where’s your classroom?” I scratched my head. Then, Mrs. Witcowski came and helped me. She asked me if I am Tony, I nodded, unsure. Then she told me that I was in her class. So I went in the class room, every kids said "hi "to me. I put my backpack down and started unpacking it, after I’m finished I sat down. “Let’s finish up the morning work and start morning meeting”. Mrs. Witcowski said.

The greeting is saying hello to someone, we did that just for me, I only have to say hello. When it was lunchtime, I don’t know what to choose, so I just point one and went back to my table. I tasted the food. First of all, I don’t like the taste of the food. Second of all, I never even ate it before.

When we are packing up, I went to my mail box and looked at my homework, it was reading, math and spelling. When I’m finished with packing up, I waited for my bus to be called. Finally, my bus was called. I lifted my backpack to my shoulders, walked to my bus and went home.

That is part of what happened on my first day of school in Maurice Hawk School.

The first day of school Tony X.

My dad and I were in Canada. My cousin is always excited when I go and visit them. It was one Tuesday afternoon and we were going fishing. As we reached the fishing pool, we sat with our hooks and put the baits. We waited for a long time. So far we had no fish. Then suddenly, I see a big fish coming. My heart started thumping fast and my eyes got wide. I threw my hook in the pool with a big force. Ugh! I missed. I noticed a person sitting next to me caught a fish. He pulled out the fish and removed the hook from its mouth. I watched and become curious. Alas! I felt a tug. I yelled for help. My dad came running and yanked the fish out. That fish was huge! It started bleeding. My dad wanted me to hold it. I held it and let it go. It felt slimy. There was blood on my hand. I didn’t feel like holding it. “Come on Vayun, hold it” my dad said. I reluctantly held it and felt proud of myself. My dad took pictures of me holding my fish. After he was done, I felt relieved. That was a great fishing experience!

The End

A Tug ! Vayun T.

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The Race Adhviklal T.

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Tom sat on the bench, and did his homework. People were playing on

the playground next to the bench. He had just came back from school, and so that's why Tom was doing his homework on the bench, (which was pretty unusual for Tom.) But once the last person left he followed too, this was because he didn't like being alone and he was done with his homework. So Tom walked along... then, "BOOM!" Tom so frightened, he didn't do anything for one second. Then he started running like a mad cow! Once he got to his house, he felt like he was getting taller and shorter because he panting so much. Once he buzzed the doorbell his mom opened the door. He was finally home.

Tom's homework scare Ari B.

The Big Bully Vayun T.

On a Monday morning at 6:45, Bill was reading a book about space. Tomorrow is his first day of 4th grade. He was very excited for school. After he read his book, he went to sleep. Next morning, Bill woke up. He got ready for school. When he came to the bus stop, he saw many of his old friends. He also noticed a new kid. He went forward to shake hands, but the new kid shouted “ Get in the back of the line and no cutting!”.

Bill did not like how this kid behaved at all. “Is he nervous? ”. As if he read his mind, he said “ I am not nervous”. Bill stayed quiet. He knew it was not a good time to get into a fight. He didn’t answer back. The bus came. He got on the bus and stayed far away from the new kid. The bus reached the school. Bill admired it. The day passed on until recess. Bill was playing soccer with his friends. The new kid came with a few friends he picked along. When he came closer, he said, “Hey Bill, my name is Tom, but can I call you a “Shrimpo”. The kids on the playground laughed. They all shouted “Shrimpo, Shrimpo”. Bill blushed. He did not want to tell the teacher. Every day this happened. Finally, on Friday Bill had enough. He told the lunch aide. Tom was sent to the principal. At dismissal Tom punched Bill in the face. The next day the teacher asked why Bill had so many bruises. Bill answered quietly that he fell while playing. At lunch Tom came up to him and asked why he did not say his name. “Are you afraid of me?”. Bill replied, “I am not afraid of you, I kept quiet so you would not get in trouble. Tom felt ashamed of his actions and realized his mistake. He apologized immediately. He also asked him to forget and forgive him, and be friends. After that Tom and Bill became good friends. The End

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Kathrine ran up to her BFF in the hallway, her name was Lilly. When Kathrine caught up to Lilly, she blabbed about the new girl in school until she got to her class. When they got there they unpacked and got to their seats, they did classwork but Kathrine couldn’t focus, she was way too excited, so was Lilly. The teacher clapped her hands to get everybody to be quiet. It looked like everybody was as excited as Kathrine. The teacher, Mrs. Murphy announced on the morning announcements that a new girl was coming so everybody knew, not only the people in her class. Then the door opened the new girl came into the class. She had blonde hair that she flipped like she knew everybody. She had blue eyes that glared at Kathrine and then Lilly. Her name was Kelly Sheford. Billy Green showed Kelly where to put her things and where to sit. She sat right next to Lilly. Kathrine felt a ping of jealousy but Kathrine knew that she was Lilly’s BFF not Kelly. But Kathrine thought what if she steals Lilly. It all happened at lunch today. Lilly told Kathrine she was going to play with Kelly today. Kathrine was heartbroken. Lilly said ‘’you can play with us too’’. Kathrine shouted “NO” in a quick voice. Kathrine felt really sad and a lot of hate. At recess Kathrine thought about what just happened. Kathrine had a plan she was going to steal Lilly back. Kathrine looked all over for Lilly. She found her by the slide with Kelly. She ran to her and said ‘’Lilly tomorrow let’s have a Kathrine and Lilly day”. But Lilly said “sorry, but tomorrow Kelly and I are going in the sand box”. Katherine’s heart shattered. This time Kelly said smiling “you can play with us Katherine but only if you want to”. But Katherine was really mad. She shouted “NO!’’ in a stern voice. Kelly did a mean grin. Lilly and Kelly continued playing. ’’That looks like a lot of fun’’ Kathrine said. Next recess Kathrine got another plan she would hurt Kelly. The next day at recess Katherine picked up a big heavy rock, it would hurt a lot but Katherine was determined. She threw it. The rock hit Kelly on forehead. Lilly saw her, she shouted “WHAT DID YOU DO”. Lilly ran and told the recess teacher and she called Katherine’s parents. Lilly took Kelly to the nurse. Katherine felt horrible and really sad because Lilly hated her and she was being really mean to Kelly. Kelly never did anything on purpose to her. Katherine had to make it up to her. The next day she did. Katherine decided she had to be friends with Kelly. She apologized and they became best friends.

She Is My BFF Not Yours Navya S.

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Katherine couldn’t keep her excitement to herself, since in three days it would be her birthday. She was going to share that with the class today at morning meeting. Katherine knew that news spread fast here at Criston Elementary. At last morning meeting came. Katherine was so excited she could burst into a million sparks of excitement for all. Katherine went up to the center of the carpet and said “class I would like to share that my birthday will be in three days I’m ready for questions”. Lilly raised her hand and Katherine picked her. They were BFF’s. “Your birthday is in three days”. “Yes”. “Oh”. Lilly turned away. Why did Lilly turn away wondered Katherine, she thought all morning. When she came with an answer she wasn’t happy. Since Kelly wasn’t coming to her b-day what if she was going with Kelly. Kelly was a new girl at school, Lilly’s sbf-second best friend. At lunch it all became clear. As Katherine ate her jelly and peanut butter sandwich, Lilly told her, “I can’t come to your b-day”. Katherine interrupted in a stern voice, she shouted “WHY? ARE YOU GOING TO KELLY’S HOUSE!” Everybody looked at her. “Sorry carry along”, then Katherine whispered “I know she is your BFF and I am your SBF”. “No I’m going on a trip with my parents”. “I wouldn’t go with Kelly instead of you especially on your b-day. “Oh sorry” Katherine whispered. Katherine felt really empty at recess. She wanted this to be the best birthday ever but instead she was getting the worst birthday ever. But in class Katherine did what she was good at, she made a plan and her smile returned. The next day Katherine had to keep the plan a secret from Lilly. So anyway the first part of the plan was begging Lilly to reschedule. She did it at recess. She begged and begged the only thing Lilly said was ask my parents. Katherine found a way to do that by having a playdate. This was her last plan, if that didn’t work it was positive that Lilly was N-O-T coming. Katherine couldn’t think about anything else well not now at least. As Katherine entered Lilly’s house her parents said “welcome” to her. Katherine, Lilly and her parents went to the living room. Katherine asked her parents to reschedule. Katherine begged so much, even she got annoyed of herself. She and Lilly begged so much that her parents almost said YES, but NO! was their final answer. Now Katherine was ready to cry. Katherine frown remained forever. Not even ice cream, TV or art could make her feel better. She shouldn’t have even tried. Katherine didn’t want a party at all this year. Not one little bit if Lilly didn’t come. What was the point of a birthday, it was like if a flower didn’t have petals or rainbow didn’t have colors. See there’s no point in it atleast that was until she got a plan. At Katherine’s house, Katherine asked if she could reschedule her birthday, and her parents agreed. They emailed everybody. Lilly said she could come, even Kelly could come. That made Katherine even more happy. But what if Kelly steals Lilly that wouldn’t happen again right? Party time was here, everyone had a great time since there was a face painting lady. Katherine still couldn’t believe Lilly was actually at her birthday. Emily came up to Katherine and said “nothing could ever stop this party” and Katherine knew she was right.

COME TO MY PARTY PLEASE Navya S.

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Jack went to the store and saw his best friend Billy with his enemy Dan. He angrily walked out with nothing and thought about what might happen. Billy thought to himself, ‘Maybe, I can get my best friend Jack to be friends with Dan.Well, I need to figure out why they are not best friends ?’ Dan had a plan to make Billy his best friend. Jack was at his house playing computer games when the doorbell rang ’ding dong’. Jack went to open the door carefully, checking to make sure it is not Dan. When he opened the door, there was Billy! Jack said, “Hi Billy!” Billy replied, “Hi Jack!” Then Billy asked, “Why are you not friends with Dan?” Jack had a worried face and said “I don’t want to tell but since you are my friend, I’ll let you on the secret. Dan and I were friends a long time ago but Dan once played a prank on me for fun and I did it on him the next day. I tried to figure out why Bryan was being mean to kids and Dan was at his side helping him. Everyone knew that Bryan was a bully, so the next day I came to Dan and talk to him about ... ‘Ding dong!’ “Who could that be?” Billy decided to open the door. It was Dan with a bucket of water. Jack wondered, ‘Why does he have a bucket of water?’ Dan looked around and said “Hi Billy!” ignoring Jack. Jack continued his story- on why he pranked people on some days and then on Thursday he wanted to be friends, went on about why he joined Bryan but he never answered and then Billy came. Dan said,”Oh, I wanted to play again but I thought you wanted to be with Billy not me, so do you want to be friends?” “Oh, for sure!” replied Jack.

Friends Mihir S.

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It was a Saturday morning, and Katie was getting dressed when her father called her “Katie, I need you”. Katie quickly put her clothes on, saw that the car was broken and began to help out .But then, she saw a kitten lying on the grass looking as sick as a dog. Katie picked her up and realized that her parents said “No pets in the house, we can’t afford a pet with all our bills”. Then Katie snuck the kitten upstairs to her room.” I’m going to name you Snowy”, she whispered .She kept Snowy on the shelf and gave her a tiny bed to sleep on. The Snowy slowly walked to the tiny bed and slept. Katie helped fix the car until dinnertime. In dinnertime, Katie asked ‘’Can I have a pet?’’. ‘’Sweetie, you know we can’t afford it with our expenses’’ her mom objected. Suddenly, without thinking Katie ran upsides and showed the kitten to her parents. Her parents were astonished and started asking questions like, ‘’Where did you get that kitten from?” She described to them how she found the kitten and they agreed that they should at least keep it for few days before they make a decision. They also had a neighbor next door that owned a candy shop. The kid always wanted a pet and when he realized Katie got a pet, he had a plan. He tied a rope around his body and took lots of candy to help him. Then, he was ready to go. He was good at climbing so he climbed up the house with his rope to Katie’s room. But luckily Katie was in her room petting her kitten- Snowy. She noticed him and asked ’’What do you want?’’. ’’Your pet’’ he replied. ‘’Well, you’re never going to get my pet!!”, Katie exclaimed .He was angry at her and he took packs and packs of gum and stuck them together. He carefully aimed the gum at Snowy and then he let go, but Katie moved the kitten so fast that the gum stuck to Katie! After that, the boy went through the window and left. Snowy sprinted and grabbed the knife. Katie screamed “Don’t Snowy, you’re going to hurt yourself! Snowy took the knife and cut off the large gum covering Katie’s hand. Katie was so happy; she hugged the kitten and informed her parents about how brave and caring Snowy was! In The end, they decided that they should keep the kitten forever and they all celebrated.

Snowy Mihika S.

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Max skipped to gym class with a grin his flaming red hair bobbing up and down. He was wearing his favorite blue lightning zap shirt it was very lucky, he got it for his 9th birthday. He spotted Luke, Jake and Kevin (a couple of his friends). “Sup guys” he said cooly “Let’s shoot some hoops!” shouted Kevin. They ran across the spotted marble floor their feet squeaking and sliding across it. They got out on the stone textured court with shiny red baskets “Isn’t the new court beautiful?” asked Jake with amazement, but they were speechless. They each grabbed a ball, shot and made it. But only one didn’t, that one, was Max. “Yes!” said Luke, Jake and Kevin all together “Huh… I-I w-wasn’t p-paying at- attention. I-I’ll ma-make this o-one.” he stuttered. He shot and it barley hit the rim “Come on make a shot your in front of your friends” thought Max. After many unsuccessful tries gym was over it was the last period so Max hopped on the bus ride home. All of a sudden the bus screeched to a stop near Max’s sunny driveway.

Max opened the door and it let out a groan as he entered his spacious home. He dragged himself up the stairs and into his room. He changed into a yellow shirt with gray stripes and he put on some neat light brown khakis he dropped his other shirt in the trash can, and his shorts, for they were hung neatly in his closet. “That shirt lucky, yeah right.” He said sadly. He slumped himself back down the stairs and hunched to the kitchen he plopped down on the couch next to his dad who was nibbling on an apple his mom was at the stove cooking and his brother was reading “Peter Pan” “Why the long face Max?” asked his dad stretching his face acting silly. But Max didn’t laugh instead he replied “ We had gym today, basketball everyone could make a shot dad, everyone but one guy didn’t. Guess who dad?” “ You?” he asked Max shrugged but a little nod escaped “Hey what are you good at hmm.. science right, so who cares if your good at basketball or other sports plus your so smart! I bet your friends are jealous about that. Eh,” He nudged Max in the rib, “That stuff it matters” said his dad quietly almost in a whisper but not quite one but even Max cracked a little smile. “Thank’s da-” “Hey Max,” His brother cut in “Where’s your shirt?” suddenly a light bulb went of in his mind “Umm.. upstairs.” he said rushing “Got to go!” He said “Wai-” but Max was already upstairs and his room.

Max’s Gym Day Shibani D.

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Max picked his shirt out of the garbage can and said “Maybe your not so bad after all,” He said with a grin. Suddenly remembering where it was, he sniffed it “Plus your smell-proof!” He said laughing “Honey dinner’s ready” called his mom “Coming!” He yelled back. But something was different Max was smiling.

Max’s Gym Day (continued) Shibani D.

It was a bright sunny day outside. The kids were enjoying their day in a big playground, playing soccer. And the three kids were Frank, Bob and Jack. They were in one community. They were best friends. They went the same school .They nearby in a community. They helped each other when they had problems. But one day when they were playing soccer, they had a break when it was a half time. Suddenly Bob came up with a good idea, to hike in one forest. But Frank and Jack had confused faces and boring faces. Bob stopped talking. And then Frank said “Why don’t we go to camping”. The other two smiled, and they came up with that idea. So the next day they planned for camping. All kids were really excited. And they went to South Dakota. And the best thing was they were camping in a small jungle. They set up their tents and chatted for some time, and then played some games for a while. After they played they had dinner. They lit the campfire and went to bed. The same night Frank heard a sound. He peeked out of the tent and saw hunters. He woke up and woke the other two and the three went to their mom’s tent and called the cops. The police arrested the hunters. The three children visited the president and won their medals for their bravery. Their parents were proud of them.

BRAVE KIDS Samhith K.

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KEVIN’S SCARY DAY Samhith K.

Kevin is good guy, he is a wonderful boy .He is responsible and helpful. His parents loved him very much .He loves to go to school. He really liked to read and wrote books. It was recess time and he was playing soccer with his friends. He liked playing soccer. He scored one goal, he was very excited. One player was taking the ball towards the woods. The ball went into the woods. Kevin ran for it, but it went so far. He was going really faaaaaaaar from the playground. There the two strangers were watching Kevin got lost, they thought this is the right time to kidnap him. Kevin was going much farther from the playground .Then the hunters hid behind a tree, he was going and one stranger pushed him while the other caught him. Immediately they covered his eyes with a piece of cloth. They took him to an unknown place and they were informing about the kidnap to his friend in the phone. They were really tired. So they thought of taking rest and fell asleep. They had tied Kevin tightly to tree. But Kevin was not panicked, he was brave. He started thinking for solution. Then Kevin got an idea, he remembered that the strangers had a phone, he tried get out of the ropes, he got out of it he slowly took the phone and called the cops. And they rescued him and handed over to his parents. Moral: Don’t get panicked in tough times, stay cool, calm and think wisely and bravely.

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5, 4,3,2,1 take off! I am going on my first spacewalk today! I had to train and work hard for this. Even though my heart is beating loudly, I am very confident. I am going on this spacewalk to fix the space station. One part of the space station has developed a fault and we need to fix that immediately. We have now took off. “Cool” I say. I could see Venus and Mars! I could also see the moon! We kept on driving ahead and I finally spotted the space station. Someone yelled out “The Space station!” excitedly. I was supposed to fix the space station with my friend. I got my gear on and double checked my gear. It was time to get past the airlock. I went through the circular airlock and made my way to the other. I quickly turned around and made sure I closed the airlock properly. Before leaving the space ship I checked to make sure I had every tool I needed. I fastened tether to my space suit and me and my friend astronaut got out of the space ship and flew over to the broken part of the space station. I flew around trying to find my spot to fix and finally found it. I started fixing the part when I accidently cut my tether! I think I flew too much looking around for my spot that my jetpack lost a lot of fuel because I couldn’t move around with my jetpack. I was floating away! I screamed “Help!” to my friend but he was too busy to hear me even by the speaker. I was out alone for an hour! My heart was beating as fast a speeding race car. What was I going to do now? I was floating away from my Space station! My whole body was trembling. Finally I saw my astronaut friend and he held my hand and flew me and him to the space ship and we safely made it back to Earth. Our mission was a success!

SPACEWALK Samaira Y.

“Ding,ding,ding”! rang Sage’s clock. With sleepy eyes, Sage got up and went to the bathroom. She brushed her teeth and took a shower. She walked downstairs and realized it was a Saturday. “How was your sleep”? asked Mrs.Desalvo (Sage’s mom). Sage didn’t reply. That’s when it happened. She found her dog Belle licking her toes over and over with her pink sloppy and slimy tongue. Sage reached down and touched her long and droopy ears. She said good morning and went back to eating her toast. ” Sage, I’m going to take Belle for a walk, want to join us?” asked Sage’s mom. She nodded.

Belle Buzz Buzzzzzzzz…. Sanjana B.

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Sage went to her room to put on her favorite bright blue t-shirt with some green shorts. Then her dog came into her room to make her scratch Belle’s tummy. “ I will scratch it later cutie pie”! said Sage in a soft tone. That’s when her mom asked if she was ready. Her mom was wearing a gray t-shirt with some magenta striped pants. ”Ready mom, can we only go around the neighborhood today? I’m kind of tired and a little sleepy today” asked Sage. “Sure, as long as you keep your stamina”! So Sage and her mom went downstairs. Sage decided to ride her bike. It was neon blue with pink flowers on the side with a hanging basket. They went out a few blocks away then something terrible happened… A BEE ZOOMED RIGHT IN FRONT OF SAGE! Sage was terrified. She held tight on her mother’s hand. Then it sat right on Belle’s nose. She just stared at it. Then it stung her on the nose. Belle was running back and forth. Sage and her mother just stood there and watched her run back and forth. When she finally stopped, her nose was bleeding but otherwise she was fine. “ Come here you poor little baby” called Sage as she ran to her precious little puppy. Belle nuzzled closer to her and gazed back with her soft brown eyes. Sage felt concerned. “Don’t worry honey we will put some medicine and she would be alright” said her mom assuringly. They walked back home with Belle close to Sage. When they got home, Sage ran to the nearest bathroom to wash off the blood dripping from Belle’s nose. Her mom gently put some medicine. Belle was whining a little bit but luckily Sage was there to calm her down. “Done! Sage honey can you take belle out? I think she needs to go” said her mom. “Okay mom” Sage called back. She ran down the stairs. She called Belle and let her outside. When Belle came back she was pretty tired. So she got comfy on the bed and dozed off. Sage was also sleepy so she curled up right next to her. Sage hoped that a bee would never sting her poor little puppy again.

Belle Buzz Buzzzzzzzz…. (continued) Sanjana B.

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Once there lived a boy named James Oll , he liked science and soccer and he was from Columbia. In school he was good at science because when he gets to look at what was the grade for his science test it was always 25/25. When he played soccer he was good at it because when he plays with his friends outside, he scores the most amount of goals. One day James was in library with his other classmates, but when he was about to get a book about science and soccer, another kid named Jacob Hillstone, also wanted the same books, they both held the books and kept wrestling for the book then a teacher named Miss Ster said why don’t you both don’t pick those books, they said okay and picked a different book. The next day in school at lunch time Jacob told James let’s have a contest in are science test today and whoever gets a better score is the one who is better and they get the books from the library. James said deal. At science class they did there test and they both thought they were going to win. At the end of the day the school day, there teacher gave them there science quiz back, James asked Jacob what is your score, Jacob said 25/25 and then Jacob asked what was your score James, James said 25/25, Jacob and James were really surprised. Then at lunch time Jacob said we got tied so after school let’s have a soccer match, each team will have 5 players, okay said James. After school James asked his friends if they wanted to play against the other team, they said okay. Then both teams went to a soccer field , Jacob asked what are your names, James said their names are Jackson, Buster and I am James and are goalkeeper is Maxwell and there other player was Jai, then James asked Jacob what are the names of your team, Jacob said Bob, William and I am Jacob and are goalkeeper is Drewell. When the match started Jacob had the ball then he passed it to William who was on the right corner he kept running on the corner then James ran to get the ball from William but before James got it William kicked the ball to Jacob then Jacob did a header then the goalkeeper that was Maxwell dived and blocked the header then James got the ball then he ran with the ball then he kicked the ball it went straight into the goal Drewell was really surprised then James team was happy but the game was still going on, then Jacob past to Bob who was on the left passed the ball to Jacob but then Jacob did a bicycle kick and it went into the goal, Jacobs team was happy.

The Big Problem Prabhav C.

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Then Jacob’s team said whoever scores the next goal wins James team said okay. Then James had the ball he passed to Jackson then Jackson passed to Jai then Jai passed to James did a header but then the goalkeeper that was Drewell dived in midair and it went into the goal. James team won, he was a big hero. The next day Jacob Said you can have the library books then James said next time I’ll let you have the library book. Then they became friends.

The Big Problem (continued) Prabhav C.

Once upon a time, in a very small city called Lidville , there was a very rich man named Sam, who lived in a very big castle. He also had many guards who were well-trained and brave. Until one night, a black thing came, but it was too fast to be seen. Sam noticed the following day that all of his guards were all very scared. So he asked them, "Why are you all looking so scared?" They replied, "Last night, we saw a black thing going by, and it was too fast to be seen, and it had also wiped out one of our guards before we could fight it." Since Sam was skilled himself, he stayed in front of his castle waiting for the black thing to come. Later that night, he saw the black thing speeding into his castle. He went and followed it. Once the thing stopped, Sam found out that it was one of his arch enemy "Har's" spies, he was there to steal the diamond sculpture of the legends. Sam fought and fought until both sides were tired out. Then Sam had an idea he called his guards then they defeated the spy. Sam and his guards were never scared again.

The Nightmare of Lidville Castle Oliver Q.

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One hot summer afternoon, Peter Piper, Dumbo and Cinderella, were practicing flying in the royal palace’s backyard. The three friends were going to start third grade soon and they were not excited about going back to school. They all conspired to go to school and pretend to get sick so they can be send back home. When the day finally arrived, they went to their classes and realized that that it was not so bad after all because all of them had their friends with them in class. Cinderella was excited to see Snow White her best friend. Peter Piper’s best friend Jack was in the same class as him. Dumbo counted 18 kids in his class but Bambi his best friend was not in his class. But he wasn’t sad because he knew he would make new friends. The Principal announced that the third graders would put up a show at the end of the year. Everyone was really excited and wanted to participate. The play selected was Sleeping Beauty! All the girls wanted to be Aurora and all the boys wanted to be Prince Phillip. Many fights broke out and teachers had to try and bring order to the classes. Everyone was upset and the school felt sad and not a happy place to be. The principal made an announcement that there would be no play if children did not compromise. The following week, teachers called out the different parts and looked for volunteers. Snow White volunteered to be Maleficent, Dumbo choose the part of Prince Phillip’s horse, Jack decided to be the king, Aurora’s father. Slowly the children all volunteered for other roles. Peter Piper and Cinderella were the only children left for the parts of Prince Phillip and Aurora. They were very excited. The next few months the children practiced hard for the play. They all wanted it to be a success. The day of the play a lot went wrong. Maleficent’ s staff broke and became a walking stick, Jack got allergies from the dusty crown he wore on his head and he couldn’t speak a line without sneezing first. But the show went on as scheduled and everyone performed great! It was a huge success. The Principal was so happy that she announced that the third grades will get an extra day off to recover. The friends were so happy to get the extra day off and started making plans for a play date. The end.

The Third Grade Play Kiki

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Bob and his older, identical twin brother Mike went to the Liberty Science Center. The first exhibit they saw was the Touch Tunnel. As Bob looked into the tunnel, he said to himself, “Wow! It is dark in the tunnel.” Bob turned to Mike and said, “Mike, please go with me.” Mike yelled, “No way! I am afraid to go in there.” Bob whined and created a lot of ruckus. Mike still wouldn’t come. Bob was mad. The director told Bob to feel his way through the tunnel with his hands and to look for exit signs. Bob hesitated. Then he started to crawl into the tunnel alone. He put his right hand on the wall just like the director had said. It was as dark as a cave. Bob was stuck at a dead end. He looked for exit signs to guide him. Bob followed an exit sign and found another dead end. He was mad like a lion. Bob turned around and said to himself, “Never believe exit signs!” Just then Bob saw a light. He followed it, and it helped guide him along a straight pathway to the exit. Finally he noticed more light. He was out of the tunnel. Bob told Mike, “I did it! That was so cool. You should have come!” Mike was jealous. Mike wished he had not been so scared and had tried going into the tunnel with Bob. Maybe next time Mike will not be afraid to try something new.

Into The Dark Alone Akshay B.

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The Golden Feather Loren K.

Jessica Red was a 3rd grader at Strawberry Meadow Elementary School. She was in Miss Gold’s class. Her best friend in the who class was Kacy. Jessica and Kacy were friends for a very long time. One morning, Jessica and her class were going to the library. When Jessica got into the library room, she saw her library teacher Mrs. Kretch. “Hi Mrs. Kretch” she said. After the lesson that Mrs. Kretch taught, it was time to pick out books. Jessica spotted a new book she really wanted. Then Kacy walked by Jessica and said, “Where is the book 39 clues?” “I don’t know where it is” Jessica said. “Then I will find it myself” said Kacy. And Kacy found the book. It happened to be next to the book Jessica wanted. “Hey what book are you getting?” said Kacy. “I’m getting this one” said Jessica. Kacy read out loud, “Girl Power by Martha Clang.” “Hey I’m getting that”! Soon the two girls were grabbing their hands on the book. “It’s mine!” said Jessica, “no it’s mine”! said Kacy. Then Jessica and Kacy tugged the book like a tug of war game. Suddenly Mrs. Kretch appeared behind Jessica and Kacy. Mrs. Kretch tapped both Jessica and Kacy on the shoulder. “What do you thin you’re doing?” she asked. “Well” said Jessica clearing her throat, “well what?” asked Mrs. Kretch. “Well,” Jessica said again. She continued, “While I was browsing the library trying to find a good book and I found one, but Kacy went up to me and said ‘where is the book 39 clues’? I said I don’t know. When Kacy found where the book was, it happened to be next to my book. Kacy then asked me what book are you getting? I said this one. Then Kacy read it aloud. And she realized she also wanted it. Then we got into a huge fight. And then we argued who gets the book.” Kacy nodded “there’s something I would like to add.” “What?” said Mrs. Kretch curiously. “I really wanted the book Jessica has to and if she has it I would like another copy could that be possible”? “I don’t have any more copies” said Mrs. Kretch. “So then how can I get this book?”

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Mrs. Kretch answered, “here are your choices, you can borrow a different book for now or you can take turns with Jessica. How does that sound?” “Perfect” said Kacy. “But” said Mrs. Kretch. “But what?” said Kacy. Mrs. Kretch continued, “Which option are you going to choose?” “I will take turns with Jessica,” said Kacy. “Okay then I will leave you two girls alone for now and try to work things out.” “Thanks” said Kacy. “Thanks you” said Jessica. Kacy stared at Jessica. Then finally spoke, “I’m very sorry for what happened.” “Me too” said Jessica. “How about we take turns each day for a change” said Kacy. “That’s a great idea!” “Can I take the book today” said Kacy. “Sure” said Jessica. From then on, the two girls shared books with each other.

The Golden Feather (continued) Loren K.

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Why Koala Has a Stumpy Tail Zohra A.

Long ago, in Australia, there was a horrible drought. Two friends, Koala and Kangaroo were sitting on a tree. “We must do something about this drought. There’s not water, and without water we can’t survive.” Koala said. “well when I was just a little joey, my mother took me to the riverbed to get water. She dug a hole in the riverbed and it started to fill with water. We could try that.” Kangaroo suggested. “We will try that” Koala said, and they headed for the riverbed. After a few minutes, they arrived at the riverbed. “We should take turns digging. First, you dig while I rest in this tree.” Koala said. “Ok. But, when I get tired you will have to dig while I rest.” Kangaroo said. Koala nodded and pounced up on the tree. Kangaroo started to dig a hole and started digging deeper and deeper. By the time Kangaroo got tired of digging he found Koala asleep! Kangaroo knew that if he woke up Koala he would get angry. So he dug some more. “Aaah!” Koala yawned. “Finally you’re awake!” Kangaroo exclaimed. “It’s now your turn to start digging.” Kangaroo said. “Okay” Koala said. As Koala climbed down the big tree he stepped on a twig. “Ouch!” Koala cried. “What happened?” Kangaroo asked. “I stepped on a twig and now I have a splinter!” Koala said. “You’ll have to keep digging until I get it out.” Koala ordered. Kangaroo slumped his head and walked back to the big hole. As Kangaroo was digging he suddenly gasped. The hold filled with fresh water. “Koala! The plan worked! We found water!” Kangaroo was very excited. As he leaned to get some water, Koala pounced off the tree and pushed Kangaroo to the side and started to slurp all the water. “Hey! I want some water too! I found the water first!” Kangaroo complained. Just as Koala was going to drink the last bit, Kangaroo pulled Koala by the tail and got the last bit of water. Koala looked at his tail. Part of it was gone! That day, Koala learned his lesson. That is how Koalas got stumpy tails!

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The Three Little Puppies and the Big Bunny Anusri M.

Once upon a time there lived three little puppies, they lived together in one big house. But there was one thing, it was made out of sticks. Whenever the Three Little Puppies had time they would go to the library and read fairy tales. The three little Puppies always knew it wasn't real. The three little puppies had a gate around their house. One fine day, The Little Puppies heard on the TV, that a big bunny was in town. At that moment the Three Little Puppies were so alarmed. They ran out of the house and they went out to the town. Then they rushed into a shop that sold bricks and more. The Three Little Puppies bought some bricks, cement and went back to their wooden house. They left the bricks outside and went inside to get some tools. When they came back, they saw something very huge in front of them. They saw the Big Bunny. They screamed and went inside their house. Then the Big Bunny blew down their house! The Three Little Puppies screamed for help and there was no response. Then when they were about to yell for help again, they paused at the middle of the words. They said "Wait, you are just a big bunny and we are puppies. So puppies chase bunnies. So better be scared of us than we are of you. Run for your life you bunny!!!". The Three Little Puppies lived happily ever after by chasing the Big Bunny! THE END

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The Wardrobe and the Monkey Anusri M.

There once was a mischievous monkey who always took things from others. One day the monkey was going around and then spotted a shiny item on an antique wardrobe. ‘Perfect for my collection’ he thought. So he slowly creeped up toward the wardrobe. Now this wardrobe happened to be a magical wardrobe which was sold to a rich man. It had noticed the monkey creeping up behind him and could tell that this monkey was greedy and always wanted to have things that he thought would be nice for his collection. ‘I shall teach him a lesson‘, decided the wardrobe. So at the last minute the wardrobe spun toward the monkey. “Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeekkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkk!” screeched the monkey. “Why you-” the monkey didn’t even get to finish his sentence before he was swallowed whole by wardrobe. As the monkey fell through darkness he imagined mounds of gold and shiny things at the bottom. But what he saw at the bottom was something that made him fall face down on the hard ground. Now the wardrobe sat so still you wouldn’t have thought it swallowed the monkey, but the wardrobe did. And he didn’t eat him but just wanted him to learn a good lesson. When the monkey finally got up to his feet he couldn’t believe what he saw. “All his treasures”. ‘How could they all be here‘ he thought. But then he saw the animals that he had stolen from and they said “We’re going to take all of your things and our treasures”. “No” said the monkey “no.” He tried to stop the animals but they just pushed him aside and took everything. When they left the monkey cried. Then thought ‘This is probably how they felt when I stole from them. Then a hole of light appeared and the monkey was sucked back into the world. The wardrobe now knew that the monkey had learned its lesson. So he decided to let the monkey go. When the monkey came out, he said to the wardrobe “I have learned my lesson and I promise that I won’t steal from anyone again, instead I will return everything that I took.” The wardrobe understood that the monkey had learned his lesson and will never steal again. So the wardrobe nodded his head and the monkey hopped back to his home and returned everything he stole.

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How the Seasons Became Seasons Anusri M.

Over a thousand years ago at the Greek times there is a story in Greek mythology about how we have seasons. This is it. One sunny day Persephone (the goddess of spring time) was out picking wild flowers and enjoying the sunshine. Well, down in the underworld Hades (Hades is the ruler of the underworld) was thinking of getting a wife. "It is time I get a wife. Persephone shall be my wife." (Hades is deeply in love with Persephone)Then Hades smiled and added. "I have the right plan to make her come here to the underworld." As Persephone was picking wild flowers she had nothing to expect. But then Hades came and took Persephone and yelled out, "Ha, ha I got you now!!!" Hades yelled that out while taking Persephone to the underworld at the same time. Persephone was also yelling but something else. "Help! Mother! Demeter!!!" But it was too late. Before Persephone could say it again she was in the underworld. To know what happened next you need to know that before Persephone went out to pick wild flowers her mother Demeter said Persephone has to come back to home at sunset. So it was after sunset and Demeter went out and did not see Persephone picking wild flowers. "Persephone! Honey where are you!?!!!" After Demeter looked everywhere she could think of, she did not find Persephone in any of those places. "I shall ask Artemis and see if he saw Persephone." So Demeter went to see if Artemis has seen Persephone. When Demeter got to Artemis, she found her sleeping. She shook her and asked "Artemis, wake up! Have you seen Persephone, my daughter?" "I have not seen your daughter I have been sleeping all day. Why don't you ask my brother, Apollo?"

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Demeter went to an open field and looked up to the sun. "Apollo, have you seen my daughter Persephone?" "I have seen Persephone picking wild flowers in the open field and then Hades took her to the underworld", Apollo said. Demeter went straight to Zeus on mount Olympus. Demeter asked Zeus in stern voice "Has my daughter Persephone really been taken by Hades!?!”. Zeus replied "I do not know. I will find out. Come with me and we will find out." Meanwhile, Hades persuaded Persephone to eat six tiny pomegranate seeds. A strike of lightening hits the ground of underworld. "I'm here, me Zeus and Demeter are here to ask you an important question. Did you take Persephone ". Hades turned around to Zeus and scowled wickedly. "Yes and I suppose you want her back?" Zeus answered "Yes, now give her back." "Ha ha! You are too late. Persephone ate six pomegranate seeds and now she shall stay in the underworld forever!!!" Demeter turned to Persephone and yelled, "PERSEPHONE, HOW COULD YOU DO THAT!!!!!!!!" "But they were so juicy, I had to." Persephone said back to Demeter. "Ladies, ladies," Zeus broke in. "Persephone only ate six pomegranate seeds. So, Persephone will stay in the underworld for six mouths and for the other six mouths she will be with Demeter." "At least I can be with Persephone." Hades muttered. "But when Persephone is in the underworld nothing will grow on earth", says Demeter. "Demeter!" Yelled Zeus. "Wait, I will teach the mortals how to save food for the time when Persephone is gone" answered Demeter.

And so Persephone went back to live with her mother and when Persephone went down to the underworld it would become cold and frosty. So that was called winter and when Persephone was with Demeter that was summer.

How the Seasons Became Seasons (continued) Anusri M.

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Ocean Tale Helen T.

On a one bright sunny day, blue spotted Stingray was swimming around and around in the deep blue ocean. Then Seahorse, the school’s biggest bully came. She saw Stingray and then swam over to him. She circulated him twice and then said in her high pitched voice: “Look at you, look at those ugly spots on you! Why don’t you have beautiful fins like mine?” Dolphin overheard the conversation and swam over to them. “Do not bully him!” Dolphin told Seahorse in her firm and strong tone. Seahorse was so surprised at Dolphin’s daring act. But that didn’t last for long. A few seconds later, she filled with rage “You do not speak to me like that!” Seahorse screamed! “I can say whatever I want to say.” Dolphin replied calmly “No, you cannot. You should not say anything intentionally to make others feel uncomfortable.” Seahorse was enraged, as she stormed off. She warned Dolphin “You’re going to pay next time!” After that, Dolphin turned to Stingray. “Thank you!” Stingray said to Dolphin thankfully. “No problem! Anytime. You should defend yourself” Dolphin told Stingray. Stingray sighed and nodded his head. Then they swam away side by side and disappeared in Moral: When bully happens in school, we should all say “No” to it.

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All of the animals in the forest ran away and jumped behind trees when they saw Bob the Porcupine stomp out of his log home and down the pathway that went around the forest. When he reached the middle of the pathway he bent down to the small pond that was next to the big oak tree where all the animals gathered for meetings. That’s when Bob felt a tap on the back. He turned around and saw the smallest animal in the forest, Sally the Mouse. “Excuse me, Bob, Sir, but I was next in line to get a drink and you cut me,” she whispered. “I don’t care!” shouted Bob and with that he stomped on Sally’s foot. Then he took the drink of water he was about to take when Sally interrupted him. When he was finished be began to trot down the pathway but a couple of steps into his walk, Jerry the Blue Jay interrupted him. “Excuse me, Bob…” But before he could finish, Bob shouted, “I don’t care” and he swatted Jerry away. He continued walking. Then, when he was half way home, Lisa the Bunny began to speak to him. “Bob, Sir….” But before she could finish, Bob shouted, “Be quiet!” as he pushed past Lisa. When Bob returned home, he plopped down on his bed and fell fast asleep. The next morning, Bob woke up and found a fairy in his log. “Hey, get out here!” demanded Bob. “You are too mean,” exclaimed the fairy. “Until you begin to be nice to others, you will have bad luck.” The fairy waved her wand and tapped Bob on the head. POOF! Bob’s log house lit up so bright that he could not see anything. When the log became dark as usual again, Bob could see but the fairy was out of sight. “Bad luck,” laughed Bob, shaking his head. But on his way out of the log, he tripped over his own foot and fell face-first into his toilet. “It’s just a coincidence,” he thought. He started to head to the pond for a drink of water but on the way there he passed some little frogs playing kickball. One of the frogs kicked the ball and it bopped Bob on the head. He ran over to slap the frogs but he tripped over the ball and fell to the ground. When he got up the frogs were out of sight. When he finally reached the pond he bent down to get a drink of water but fell face-first into the pond. He pulled himself out of the pond and walked home. That night Bob had a dream that he was being nice to everyone and the spell was broken. Bob woke up. “Maybe that’s what I need to do,” he told himself. The next day he began trying. “Good Morning, Sally the Mouse, nice day, right? By the way, I love how you did your hair!” exclaimed Bob. “Hello to you too, Bob,” said Sally in a puzzled way. Next he ran into Jerry. “Good to see you today, Jerry!” said Bob. Jerry replied in a confused voice, “Um, you too, Bob.” He then saw Lisa the Bunny and said, “Fancy hopping today, Lisa.” “Why, thank you?” she replied. For the rest of the day, Bob was nice. It wasn’t until that night that he realized that nothing bad had happened to him and the curse was broken. For the rest of his life, Bob was nice and nothing bad ever happened to him again. The End.

The Mean Porcupine (fairy tale) Amelia H.

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Have you ever wondered why ladybugs have spots? Well, that’s a good question. The story begins on a nice day in the woods. An artist placed an easel on the ground but soon realized that he was missing something. “I forgot my canvas,” he shouted. All of a sudden, a swarm of ladybugs flew around the artist and all he could see was red. Just plain red. He had an idea. “Why don’t I just design them? They are all red. Just plain red,” he thought. So he took his brush and put a black dot on one of the ladybugs. It looked good so he put on another dot, and another and another. Then he decided to paint the backs of some of the ladybugs so that some would be orange and some yellow. Then he painted black spots on all of them. And that, my friends, is the story of why ladybugs have spots.

Why Ladybugs Have Spots (A Pourquoi Tale) Molly H.

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Spider-Cat Ava H.

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Spider-Cat (continued) Ava H.

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Why Giraffe’s have long necks? Vayun T.

Once upon a time there lived a giraffe. The neck of the giraffe was short, not long like today’s giraffes. It was summer and the leaves on the ground tasted like rotten eggs! But the leaves on the trees were very green, crisp and tasty. All the animals wanted to have those delicious leaves. There lived a sly fox nearby. The Fox was a prankster and loved to play tricks on innocent animals. One day as the fox was sitting under the shade of a tree, laying around when he saw the giraffe passing by. The fox decided to play a trick on him. As he saw Giraffe coming close to him, the fox grabbed a big pile of leaves and sat on top of it. When the Giraffe saw the big pile, he asked him, “Where did you get those leaves?” “In the rose bush over there!” panted fox. “But it has too many thorns.” complained Giraffe. Fox shrugged. “There is a batch in the prickly bush and whoever gets it, can have it. “Alright! Can I go too?” “Why not. Help yourself”, exclaimed the fox. The giraffe went into the bush and searched everywhere. He was very exhausted. “No leaves anywhere! “That fox tricked me! But I’ll get him back.” Furiously he moved to go back, but realized the thorns made him stuck. He could not get out. “Help! Help!” called the Giraffe. He chanted for help for a long time until an old, humble bear came. Bear heard his cries for help and ran to help him as soon as he could. He tried to pull him out, but the giraffe’s neck got stuck. He pulled him harder and harder. As the bear was pulling the neck of the Giraffe, it got longer and longer until the bear got him out. Oh my, how tall the giraffe was! Now giraffe could see for miles. The bear was amazed to see the Giraffe with tall neck. Giraffe then rushed to a tree as he was very hungry after a long crazy day. He found out that he could reach those leaves easily. He ate until his stomach started hurting. He also shared some with the bear to thank him in return. The fox was sitting far and was watching the whole scene. He was very jealous of the giraffe. He tried to do the same, but nothing happened! He was mad at himself for playing such pranks. That is why the giraffe’s neck is very long. The End

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Long ago, when the Native Americans lived and roamed the United States, there lived a girl named She-Who-Does-Not-Like-The-Dark-The-Most (Sh-wo-do-no-li-da-mo). Sometimes people called her Shwodonolidamo. The girl, like her name suggests, did not like the dark. Back then, there was no moon to light up the night sky. There was only the dim light of the stars. Animals, mostly tigers, would sneak up in the dark without them seeing and kill her friends and their animals. She-Who-Does-Not-Like-The-Dark-The-Most would run into her tipi when the sun started to set and stay there, scared, and have a very hard time sleeping. It was not only Shwodonolidamo, but also her whole tribe had a hard time finding their way home, and they were always tired in the morning because they couldn’t sleep, out of fear of animals attacking them. Everybody was tired of having all these troubles. Shwodonolidamo’s tribe decided to meet up to find a solution. They all huddled outside their group of tipis and thought of many ideas, but none were strong enough to create light in the night sky.

Shwodonolidamo’s father suggested that the Great Spirit was angry at them, so he didn’t give them a light in the sky, and everyone agreed, but didn't know what to do about it. After a long meeting, when the sky was filled with many stars, and the Native Americans saw many constellations, none came with a good idea. “ Let’s go home” The chief of their tribe said. Everyone was about to go to their tipi when Shwodonolidamo eyes lit up. “ I have an idea! “ Everyone rushed back and huddled up. The girl said something to everyone. Everyone nodded excitedly and they immediately ran near a giant mountain to start their plan. Everyone was excited. “ This plan may actually work!” Shwodonolidamo’s mother whispered to someone else.

How We Got a Moon Tamanna D.

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At midnight, Shwodonolidamo reached the top of the mountain and called up to the Great Spirit a couple of times, but nothing happened. Finally she called up to the Great Spirit at the top of her lungs. She was about to give up when a lightning bolt crashed down from the sky.

She-Who-Does-Not-Like-The-Dark ducked, but nothing touched her. Slowly, she rose to her feet and saw a transparent figure that looked real, but Shwodonolidamo felt power bouncing off his body.

" I am the Great Spirit " His booming voice said to the girl. " I am very angry. You all have been wasting many things. You kill animals but don't use them. You pick helpful plants but throw them away. That is why I have not given you a light in the night sky ". "But we won't anymore" The girl quickly promised. The Great Spirit stared at her for a minute. “Are you sure?" The Great Spirit said. The girl nodded. The Great Spirit finally stopped staring. “Fine" The Great Spirit said, finally lowering his voice. The Great Spirit brought Shwodonolidamo into the solar system near the sun. “Pick a rock and show it to the sun” He said “If she likes it, she will shine light on it, and help it move around the Earth at night.” Shwodonolidamo nodded. Shwodonolidamo found 15 of the best rocks in the solar system. She pointed to one close to the sun. The sun studied it. “I think that is the planet Venus “ Shwodonolidamo then showed 13 other rocks. The sun didn’t like any of them. Finally, Shwodonolidamo showed the sun the last rock. Her hopes were getting low. The sun looked at it and said “That looks good. It is the perfect shape and the perfect size. It is not a comet or an asteroid. That will be your light. Let’s call it a moon“. And from that day onwards, the rock in the sky shone with the sun's bright light down on Earth. If you ever look up in the sky and see the moon, thank She-Who-Got-The-Moon's-Light, which was the new name for the little girl who went up in the sky, and got the Great Spirit to give us the thing which lights our way and helps us see in the night sky.

How We Got a Moon (continued) Tamanna D.

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Long ago, woodpeckers got worms from the ground like other birds. They had short beaks like the others. All the woodpeckers were like other birds. And up in the sky enjoyed the Great Spirit. He loved the colorful birds.

But one day a woodpecker named Woodpecker was foolish and did not save any worms. She and her chicks were very hungry. They had growling tummies. Her chicks were constantly chirping, which irritated Woodpecker. Everyday she would try to think of an idea, but she couldn’t because of her chicks. Well one day she managed to get an idea into her head.

“Borrowing is my only idea,” she announced. Then they all chirped in happiness. She was very happy about it. Woodpecker tried to borrow from the other birds but they didn’t let her. Not even her best friend Robin. “WHAT SHOULD I DO?” she cried. “I’m going to travel the world.” She called Robin to take care of her chicks. She took off into the sky.

Why Woodpeckers Have Long Beaks Amogh K.

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I can still make it alive without food, right? she thought. After a few days, she finally came back. She made it alive! But she did not find any food. Robin flew away. “I did not find any food.” she said. “Be quiet.” She called the Great Spirit. “ What’s the matter, Woodpecker?” his voice boomed. “I was foolish and I have no worms!” she shouted. “Then here’s this new beak,” the Great Spirit said. “ The worms are in the trees. Never be foolish ever again!”

She wore the long beak. She tested it on the oak tree she was standing on. Then she screamed, “FOOD, FOOD!” She gave a beak to each of her chicks. They finally had food after a long time. This is why woodpeckers have long beaks. The lesson is to never be foolish.

Why Woodpeckers Have Long Beaks (continued) Amogh K.

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SUMMER (a Poem) Amelia H.

I can feel the green grass between my toes I can taste the watermelon on my tongue I can smell the hot dogs my dad is cooking on the grill I can hear the splashing of the kids jumping in the pool I can see the green grass, the watermelon, the hot dogs and the kids jumping in the pool that I am about to join. SPLASH!

Chloe is caring, Happy as can be, Loving others, Out of this world, Everyone loves Chloe.

Chloe Chloe M.

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Oceans so blue So nice and peaceful But also so strong Lakes so littered Birds don’t twitter A place I don’t want to be Ponds so swampy A home for frogs So different from lakes and oceans

Untitled Poem Stephania F.

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Riddles Eshan G.

1. I have a window but I never look through it; I have antenna I’m not a butterfly. What am I? 2. Why do mouse make a “click” sound? 3. I have a bank but I never use money from it; I have a bed but I never sleep in it What am I? 4. What flower can kiss? 5. What kind of Dance does a lamb does? 6. What instrument does a skeleton play? 7. What pet did the Composer get? 8. What letter is Busy? 9. Once a poor guy got an A.C and became Famous; how? 10. Why was the Third Grader waiting in the Parking Lot? Answers 1. TV 2. Because mouse are used to click things on the computer 3. A River 4. Tu”lip” 5. Baaaalet ! 6. A TromBONE 7. A TrumPET 8. A ‘B’ (bee) 9. Because he became cool. 10. Because he had PARCC test!! Same Riddles with Question and Answer Format: 1. I have a window but I never look through it; I have antenna I’m not a butterfly. What am I? TV 2. Why do mouse make a “click” sound? Because mouse are used to click things on the computer 3. I have a bank but I never use money from it; I have a bed but I never sleep in it What am I? A River 4. What flower can kiss? Tu”lip” 5. What kind of Dance does a lamb does? Baaaalet ! 6. What instrument does a skeleton play? A Trombone 7. What pet did the Composer get? A Trumpet 8. What letter is Busy? A ‘B’ (bee) 9. Once a poor guy got an A.C and became Famous; how? Because he became cool 10. Why was the Third Grader waiting in the Parking Lot? Because he had PARCC test!!

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List of Featured Writers & A rtists Writer Page # Writer Page # Adhviklal T. 20 Michael L. 6-10 Akshay B. 34 Mihika S. 25 Amelia H. 43, 52 Mihir S. 24 Amogh K. 50-51 Molly H. 17, 44 Andrew C. 3, 11 Navya S. 22, 23 Anusri M. 3, 38-41 Oliver Q. 32 Ari B. 21 Prabhav C. 31-32 Atobe D. cover, 14 Prathiv R. 5 Ava H. 45-46 Samaira Y. 3, 13, 29 Benny W. 15 Samhith K. 27, 28 Chloe M. 52 Sanjana B. 3, 17-18, 29-30 Daniel L. 12 Shibani D. 26-27 Eshan G. 16, 54 Shreya G. 13 Helen T. 42 Stephania F. 53 Kiki 33 Tamanna D. 48-49 Loren K. 35-36 Tony X. 19 Megan L. 12 Vayun T. 3, 19, 21, 47 Zohra A. 37

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Thank you to all of the talented third-grade

writers for submitting your work to this year’s issue of The Golden Feather. I hope you continue

to share your ideas and grow as writers.

Thank you to all the teachers of Maurice Hawk School. Your constant guidance and support

inspires your students each and every day.

Thank you to all of the Maurice Hawk parents for encouraging your children to write and share their talent with others. Wishing you all the best

of luck as your third-grader begins the adventure into fourth grade.