"Summer" by Clare Snyder

Summer is just around the corner and it is what everyone is thinking about,

When the last bell rings on May 26^th everyone is going to shout.

Summers are carefree and lazy,

And getting together with friends is fund and crazy.

Music, movies, parties, and friends fill our sleepless nights,

Schoolwork and stress is no longer a constant fight.

Our days are spent outside and laying by the pool,

Having fun and being happy is basically a summer rule.

But the summer will always come to an end,

You can always feel the sadness when August comes around the bend.

Summer is a special time of the year,

Thank the Lord it is almost here!

Haikus Celebrating Music by Zachary Pohlman

"Eighty-Eight"

Eighty-Eight keys lay

Waiting to be put to work

Played by skillful hand

"Rhythm"

Rhythm is everywhere

The street, the yard, the ballpark

Rhythm is all around

"Nature’s Music"

Hearing the birds’ song

I pause and relish the tone

Nature’s music sounds

"Fetch" By: Xavier Shiu

One day Will, Alex, and Brett were trying to teach their dogs Skinner and Lucky how to fetch. Lucky got the hang of it pretty soon, but Skinner couldn’t quite get the idea. Then Brett had an idea,“ Why don’t we go down to the river, so that Lucky can fetch while Skinner swims around?” Swimming was one of Skinners favorite things to do, and he was twice as fast as Lucky.

When they arrived at the river, the sandy beach was deserted. They took off their socks and shoes, so they could walk in the sand without getting their shoes sandy. They threw sticks in the water for a while for Lucky to fetch, and Skinner swam in the water contentedly. Then they called the dogs in and shared some cookies Brett’s mom had made.

Once all the cookies were gone, they went down to the water and started to skip rocks on the water, but the water was so rough it was hard to skip rocks. Suddenly Lucky plunged into the water from his beach side perch, and the three boys stared in horror at what he was trying to fetch. It was a five-foot log going right down the middle of the river. The current was pulling it along at about eight miles an hour, but worst of all it kept on rolling over. The three boys yelled to come back, but Lucky was set on fetching that log.

When Lucky finally got to the log, he somehow hooked his jaws on the log and began to tow it toward the three boys. Then the log rolled, and Lucky went under. Seconds later, he surfaced still clutching the log. The three boys yelled over and over to Lucky to “Drop it!” Skinner, sensing something wrong, jumped in the water heading for the log. The log rolled again, but Lucky still held on, now for dear life. It seemed like an eternity before Skinner got to the log and gripped it. He started towing it in. Skinner was practically dragging the exhausted Lucky who was barely clutching the log. Then the log rolled again, and both dogs went under. They reappeared, but one more roll and you could see that Lucky would fall off and drown. It seemed like forever before Skinner finally towed the log in.

 Skinner instantly fell down on the beach exhausted. Will ran to Lucky. Lucky was still holding on to the log, but he was blacked out. Will called out to Lucky, and Lucky’s eyes opened, and when he saw Will he released his hold on the log. His whole body went limp as though he knew everything would be okay since Will was there. Then he blacked out again. Will picked him up and asked Alex to grab Skinner, so they could go to the animal hospital.

 When the three boys got to the hospital, they gave Lucky to the vet and waited exhaustedly in the waiting room. They must have been so tired from carrying dogs to the hospital that they fell asleep because they were roused by the nurse who told them that Lucky was doing great. All he had was some fluid in his lungs, but the vet had drained it out. Will thanked her and asked if he could use the phone to call all of the three boys’ parents. She said absolutely and led him to the phone. They all called their parents and told them what happened. After this, Will asked the nurse if he could see Lucky, and the nurse said sure, and she led him to the room that contained Lucky. When Will walked in, Lucky looked up from the bed and gave two short wags. Will sat with him for a while until Will’s mom came and picked him and Lucky up. They went home and everything went back to normal.

“Seeing” is Believing! By: Andrew Johnson

            Life is full of odysseys, or long journeys that are full of difficulties. People have to make sacrifices to make it through their odysseys. Whether it is a medical condition, a breakup, or even family problems can be considered as an odyssey. My personal odyssey falls under the condition of a medical condition. My left eye had almost no vision when I was in kindergarten. I believe that no matter how bad the situation is, people need to persevere and know things will get better.

            While I was in Kindergarten, I was called down to Nurse Murphy’s office for my medical testing. After acing the hearing test, I was feeling quite confident going into the vision portion of the testing. My right eye flew through the letter, not even skipping a second. I was then told that I needed to move that little homemade paper covering, which was always an old math assignment recycled into a cover, onto my right eye. Since I was only in Kindergarten, I thought that everyone saw as bad as I did. My mom got a call that night from Fullerton Elementary, and was told that I could not even see the big “E” on the chart. My mom had a panic attack and immediately called the eye doctor.

            My trip to the eye doctor was full of chills, and worried questions like, “Am I going to get a shot?” or “Is it going to hurt?.” I sat in the waiting room, squirming in my seat. I heard my name called from the door, and I got up slowly, afraid of what was coming next. I sat in my room, and looked around at all of the machines, thinking they were tools for torture. Dr. Troya comes in with a warm smile and calmly tells me that we are going to get started. I sat in the chair, stumbling over the letters that I strained to see. I tried so hard, my left eye began to hurt from attempting to focus on the tiny letters in the mirror. I felt so much better when Dr. Troya told me that we would fix this, but I thought it would be as simple as glasses for a little while. I was given eye patches to wear over my right eye, so that my left eye could grow stronger. I was so embarrassed to wear the patch, even at home. I always kept in mind that this was something I needed to do, and I wore the patch just so my eye could get stronger.

            My next eye doctor appointment was six months later. I was so excited when I was told that I did not need the patch anymore! I just wore glasses until my left eye came from 20/100 in the beginning, to 20/40! I could finally see well enough that I could read and everything looked bigger to me now! I continued glasses until I was able to wear contacts in fourth grade. I loved my contacts and I gladly wore them every day, and would show off to my friends that I could touch my pupil without it hurting. I have continued to wear my contacts until about seventh grade. I started going to a new eye doctor, Dr. Crossman. He told me that since my left eye was at 20/40, I did not have to wear my contacts anymore if I did not want to! I feel so grateful that my parents spent the money to help me overcome this inconvenience. I finally can see with my left eye now!

            With perseverance, any situation can be overcome, no matter how bad it is. This is supported by the fact that with little vision in my left eye, I was able to get my eye nearly perfect, even if it meant wearing the infamous patch. I knew that all I had to do was listen to the doctor and do whatever he told me to do. I was able to fix my eye, all it took was persevering through the whole situation. Perseverance is the key to unlocking people’s highest potential.

"Dancing Girl" by Darby Epperson

I know this girl who loves to dance

She goes around and does a prance

She loves to twirl, her hair all curled

And bounce and flounce around the world

She does a performance everyday

And loves the limelight in every way

She has a million shoes scattered on the floor

And a million more behind her closet door

She wears a tutu 24/7

 I’ll bet she’ll wear one even in heaven

You probably wonder how I know her so well

It’s because I’m her aunt and I’m under her spell

"In Control" by Maria Hruby

            Shakespeare once said, “All the word is a stage.” As I sit here in my cold desk, my little freshman mind tries to comprehend.  If the world’s a stage, I guess that makes life a play. There’s the lead role, you of course, and the cast, everyone involved in your life. The real question, though, what’s the plot? What are you going to do in the play? How will you live, for yourself, others or God? As a freshman, I can see this question is haunting. Of course people will try and influence you, but which ones will you actually let? Believe it or not, but you are in control of your life. Where you are right now, what position you’re in and where you want to go. You are in control of your actions, thoughts and opinions. What’s yours? Are you going to hang out with the type of people who are looking to bring others down with them because they don’t know what to do with their lives after high school? Are you going to hang out with the type of people looking to build others up because they know what’s right and wrong, and have confidence in knowing what they do is right? Your life, you choose.