Gwen K. 5S

Shadow Man

A man is following me

I don’t know who, I don’t know why.

I was walking, he walked.

I ran, he ran.

 I stopped, he stopped.

 I played hop scotch, he copied me!

I walked inside to get some water. Yes!

He is gone!

I walked back out, he was waiting for me!

I put my hands on my hips and yelled at that man.

”Stop it! Stop it! Stop it!

Go away, stop following me!

I’ve had enough, as you can see.”

My mom came out to see the fuss,

And I noticed a cloud pass by the sun.

My mom told me “stop hollering!”

“The man made me!”

I pointed down and when she looked there was only dirt.

Derek W. 5S

My Dad

My dad is a cheeseburger.

He is the buns, keeping the pieces of the family together.

He is the lettuce, tomato, and onions, adding flavor, fun, and color to the mix.

He is the cheesy patty, the main part of the household, helping me and my siblings.

He is the ketchup, adding zest to all of the fun activities we do.

He is the side of fries, always there when you need him and adding a little something extra.

My dad is a cheeseburger!

Leyli G. 5S

Sugar Cookies

 The silvery whisk felt smooth on the palm of my hand. Its metal almost felt as though it had been frozen. The glossy outer shell shone, reflecting the glimmer of the lights overhead. Without thinking, I poked my finger into the thick pale yellow dough. My finger traveled towards my mouth, my eyes glancing sideways at my mother every two or three seconds.

She was digging through a neat pile of cooking materials. My eyes stared at her, two hazel green circles, unblinking. I sucked on my finger, my eyes never leaving my mother, following her fast movements. Gripping a large steel tray, my mother turned. I had (luckily) finished licking the soft sugariness. Mom smiled, obviously not noticing my sneaky act. She shuffled towards me, then halted. “Leyli?” she questioned “can you get the oven mitts?” “Strange” I thought “she usually gets them…” I ran to the wooden brown drawer, grabbing the flowered oven mitts. The blossoms were sunflower yellow with a black stems, black as night with no moon. I handed the oversized mittens, to my mother. To my surprise, she handed the mitts back to me. “Huh?” I grunted, with a puzzled look on my face. “Come on!” she exclaimed “put them on!”

With that, I nearly fainted with surprise. “Mom! You really don’t mean it, right?” I whispered, almost speechless. “Yes I mean it!” she confirmed, grinning. You could tell by the way she laughed, she was proud of herself for surprising me. I smiled weakly (but happily) and slowly reached out and grabbed the oven mitts, slipping them on to my shaking hands easily. They were warm and soft on the yellow inside, like a quilt. I rubbed the smooth outside on my cold face, warming myself up. I gripped the hard steel tray and picked it up. The cookies ended up being surprisingly light. I had expected them to be rock hard, considering the effort it took to mix the thick dough. As my mom opened the oven door, I cautiously pulled out one of two racks and carefully placed the tray onto the rack. As my glasses began to get foggy, I pushed in the ovens rack and closed the oven door with care, taking the oven mitts off.

Dan Tencic 5S

St. John

I was looking out the window of the plane. It was a cold, stormy day at JFK Airport. I couldn’t feel the breeze anymore because I was boarding the plane to St. John.

I had been to St. John three times before. I knew that the food was great there and the beaches were amazing.

My dad was working for the Jim Simons’ foundation. Jim Simons was a multi-billionaire and that was the only reason we were going on this trip for the 4^th time.

Once we got there me and my brother got on our swimsuits and jumped in the super crystal clear warm water. The water was so warm it felt like being in a hot tub on a warm sunny day. The clearness of the water was like looking at glass. The sun was beating on me so hard I thought I was going to get sunburned. There was a floating dock that has been in the water the past two years. It was about fifty yards away from shore. The sky was cloudless and it was the color of pink and orange. The sun was just barely hovering over the horizon.

My mom called me and my brother to come over so we could get changed and go to dinner. My stomach was lurching as me and my brother walked back to the cabin.

Then we walked to the diner to grab and amazing dinner. We met our dad and sister and sat down. We ordered quickly and talked about our day. After our food came we started eating like crazy because, like I’ve told you, the food is amazing. I had a huge dinner and the food was great and once everyone finished we headed back to the cabin.

As we were getting closer to the cabin we spotted a donkey happily eating grass. Our family went over to get a closer look and we all ended up touching him and petting his mane. Then we spotted a mongoose sitting in the corner of the field stalking us. At first I was scared because earlier that year my dad said that mongooses killed king cobras, but my dad told me they were afraid of us. So when I walked closer the mongoose acted like a squirrel and ran away. Then we finished our walk back to the cabin and continued talking about our day again. We finally we reached the cabin. Then we got changed, brushed our teeth and we all went to sleep instantly. My time on St. John was an amazing experience filled with family, fun and adventure.

Will H. 5 S

Wills Taco Dinner

I just finished homework and around dinner I smelled something strange around our yellow house.  I smelled something spicy, almost too spicy for my mouth to handle.  I thought nothing was too spicy.  I call myself FE for iron stomach (FE is iron on the periodic table of elements). 

I followed the smell to the kitchen and found my mom making tacos.  They were set up nice on the table.  I went to the table to try one. I thought it seemed gross; the way the food looked, but it looked so good.  I said no, but my stomach said yes.  I took a big bite until I went to heaven.  One taco after another; I felt like there was one Mexican thing missing.  It was peppers! I grabbed some pep’s, which is my nickname for hot pepper, put on my sixth taco and bit it. That’s when my mouth was screaming with pain, but I was silent. 

I see a nice of glass of milk my mom is pouring into my little sisters cup.  I race over and grab the cup and five seconds later there is nothing left in the cup.  My mom asked me why I did that and I said, in my breath, spicy”!

After the food I thought to myself that it is good to try new food, especially Mexican food.  Now I have a new favorite food.J

Senem A. 5 S

Lost Dog

            One Friday we were heading to New York in the Bronx to go to my grandma’s house.

            It was an hour drive to get to New York. My two younger sisters were sleeping while my older sister was reading a Percy Jackson book.  I was sitting in the back of the car with my dog, Maya.  We always bring her to New York.  She is a Chihuahua. She is light brown, her paws and the tip of her tail are white.  Maya is small. She likes to be carried. She also licks people a lot. We got stuck in traffic and I was so bored. I could hear cars honking like a siren.

            Soon we were in New York.

            Then, in a few minutes, we were in the Bronx. We were heading up my grandmas street. Her street has a lot of buildings and sidewalks. Next to my grandma’s house there is an empty lot where a house burned down. We arrived at my grandma’s house. Since she lives in the city she has a tiny lawn in the front of her house. She made a garden there. She has lots of different kinds of flowers. She has roses, tulips, sunflowers and more. With all her flowers her garden looks like a rainbow. She also has a porch.

            Next, we went inside grandma’s house to relax. When we were inside we began watching T.V.

            After we watched T.V. we went outside to ride our bikes. After we rode our bikes we went inside. We noticed we left the front door open, so, we closed it. Suddenly, I noticed that Maya was gone. We all thought Maya was sleeping with Leyla on the couch. Leyla is my oldest sister. She has long brown hair, glasses and brown eyes. We all looked around my grandma’s house for Maya. Here are some places we looked: under the bed, kitchen, living room, dining room and closet. Maya was not in the house. So we decided to look outside. I looked in the tiny lawn and the back of the house.  My mom searched the sidewalks. Maya was not anywhere to be found.  I soon got worried. My two younger sisters got worried, too, It was about 11 or 12 o’clock at night.  We started to think.

            “How did Maya get outside?” we wondered. Then I remember we had left the door open for 3 minutes. “That’s when Maya got out!” I said. It was too late to keep on looking. So then we went inside to go to bed. Soon it was morning. We were still looking for Maya.

            “Can we make posters?” I asked.

            We did. It helped, too.  People started to look for her. Eventually, we had to go home and go to school. But at least my grandma still looked for Maya.

            As soon as we got home to our own house we called our grandma. “I did not find Maya,” she said.

            When I was at school the next day I was thinking of Maya the whole time.  Once I got home I asked if anyone had found Maya. No one had at that point.

            At about 7:00 my grandma called and said that a lady and five kids had found Maya and gave her back.  I was so happy!

Sariah H. 5 S

My Mom

My mom is a hot dog.

She is the ketchup and mustard that puts the fun into everything.

She is the buns, keeping us warm and safe.

She is the wonderful flavor, always putting excitement into all we do.

My mom is a hot dog and I love her.

Mia P. 5 S

Summer

Swimming in the pool, dive in!!

Sitting down, sipping sour lemonade.

The sun shining bright, the heat on the beach.

Relaxing in a beach chair.

Riding in boats and jet skis on the ocean.

Having an ice cold popsicle!

The 4^th of July, fireworks!

Summer is the best season of them all!!

Maddie O. 5 S

My Mom

My mom is the sun.

She is the sunshine, always brightening the day after a dark gloomy night.

She is the guiding light, helping us when we are confused or having trouble

She is the warmth, comforting my family when we are sad or scared.

She is the height, watching over me, our family and friends.

She is the sparkle, the shining smile and bright personality.

My mom is the sun.

Lilly K. 5 S

Bliss

Bliss,

The world just being simple,

No bills, no hunger, no unhappiness,

No homework, no stress, freedom for all,

No bad things, not a need to stall,

If all of the world could be like this,

Everything would be pure bliss.

Justin H. 5 S

My Vacation

I went to Myrtle Beach on my vacation. We got up early in the morning and the sun was shining. Mom, Dad, Jessica, and I drove to the airport together. There were a lot of planes. It was very busy. There were a lot of people.

When I first got on the plane I was nervous. When the plane took off it was a bumpy ride, my ears popped. We got cookies and orange soda  during the flight. I sat next to my dad and the window. I watched the small cars on the ground and ice floating in the water below me. I watched the clouds go by. When we landed at the airport it went boom boom. It was a bumpy landing. We went to the store to get food and drinks.

 We stayed at a hotel that had a pool and a hot tub. The pool was freezing cold. The hot tub was warm. I like to go under water when I swim. Every day my family and I walked on the boardwalk. We saw dolphins, sea horses and crabs. We ate fish and chicken nuggets. We had chocolate ice cream every day after dinner.

    

Juliet L. 5 S

Happy Mother’s Day!

My Mom is a Tree

My mom is a tree.

Her bark is tough and so is she.

The branches are her arms, oh, so many,

They can do almost anything, oh yes, plenty.

Her leaves are her fingers, skillful and all,

Her trunk is her body making her pretty tall.

The flowers are very pretty, just like her,

I’m very very glad she is my mother.

Jeremy P. 5 S

TOBY

To my loving and caring dog…

                                                                     

When I was about 4  I got a big surprise. I was in the car heading towards my aunts house. We parked in my aunts front yard while mom went inside to say hi. I got out of the car and I could see right infront of me a pale white house with a tiny stone path heading towards the house. At the end of the path there were some stairs that lead to a litlle white door.

As I walked towards the door I could hear the leaves crunching underneath me. Next to the house was a small shed the color of a ripe kiwi. In between the shed and the house was a slanted white old fence. When I opened the white door I could hear a loud creeeek! Behind the white door was a small tiny little room, the size of a closet. At the other end of the room was a bigger door than the other. A bright yellow door that instead of a creeeek! made a soft woosh! sound. When I opened the door in front of me I could see a medium sized living room. Inside the beautiful living room was a electric piano, a fish tank with a black fish, and a Christmas tree. The Christmas tree seemed so huge, considering my size. When I got to the kitchen I could see the Christmas decorations.

          As I got to the door to lead me to the backyard I could hear a lot of barking and yelping. When I opened the door it made a creek just like the first one did.

As I stepped outside I felt a breeze hit my face, it was really warm inside compared to outside. When I stepped down I forgot there were more stairs down and I fell in mid air  trying to hold on to something when dad caught me with his hand… phew! Good thing he was there. While I stepped down the stairs I could hear my aunt saying “hi honey!”.     When I got down the stairs I actually got very surprised. In front of me was a dog the height of my knees barking like a maniac! By then I knew a lot of words, I even knew how to have a conversation with someone. But in that moment the only words I knew were, “ahhhh!ahhhhh!ahhhh!”

I ran as fast a jaguar up the stairs. I was shaking mad. With all of that in my mind   I thought that Toby was a pitbull (fact: Toby is a Cocker Spaniel from Russia.)

“Sweetie come down here, he’s friendly.” My mom told me.

“No.” I said in a nervous tone.

“Sweetie, please come here.” My mom told me once more.

“Mmmph, okay.” I said in a unsure voice. Once I got next to the dog, he pounced on me and licked my face non-stop. Now you might be thinking right this instant “how cute!” but to me in that moment it felt like he was eating my face. So  I started bawling and shouting and mom, dad, and my aunt were pulling Toby off my face. Apparently Toby took it as a game and wouldn’t get off my face! Finally he stopped licking me and sat on the ground looking at me with those big huge round black eyes. It looked very funny but I had cried so much that my eyes were all poofy. So, I simply ran back to the car and locked the doors. I waited until my parents came and we could go home just like E.T only to find that my parents were going to take Toby home temporarily until my aunt found a new home for him. If we liked the dog, we could keep him with us. Now, as you can see, it was not exactly love at first sight. But as I grew I learned that Toby is a really good friend, because really, he is. When I was between the ages of 4 and 5 years old,  I was a little afraid of Toby. For example, one time he took my favorite stuffed animal and ran around the house with it. “Catch him mommy , catch him!”  I screamed. Mom came rushing into action and I kept on thinking “HE WILL DESTROY IT!!!!” Right then mommy grabbed him and the little toy got saved. But as I said, Toby became very special the day he made me feel better. I was having a rough time and felt terrible and Toby came up to me and sat on my legs and started licking them softly as if saying, “it’s ok”.

Toby has been a great pal. My aunt never found an owner for my dog and time passed and we fell in love with Toby. We decided to keep him! So that is how I became the owner of my dog, Toby.

Erik W. 5 S

Awesome Christmas

I sprung out of bed screaming “it’s Christmas Eve! it’s Christmas Eve!!!”

When my brother screamed “SHUT UP!!!” in his whiney morning voice.

I jumped out of bed in joy when a thought shot right into my head.  How did I forget? Everybody’s sleeping. I rushed to the kitchen and gobbled down some Cheerios not caring that I seriously hated that cereal. I gobbled it down faster than I ever had. I turned on the TV waiting anxiously for everyone to wake up.

A couple of minutes passed when I realized my home made security camera was still stuck to the back sliding door and it was still taping.  I said to myself “wow, it’s cool how I made it.”  I took my phone, a Nerf sticky bullet, and wrapped tape around it and stuck it to the back door.  I heard my dad get up, and I did what I usually do when he gets up.  I ran up to him and hugged him and jumped on him.  And as usual he groans and says

“Don’t jump on me,” he groans. I  waited patiently till everyone woke up slowly and happily.                                                     

          When everyone woke up I gave my mom her usual morning hug and said I love you.  My mom made bacon and eggs and we all ate, except for me.  When we were done we all got ready quickly to go to church and then to our cousins house.  We all got into the car and in a slow pace buckled our seat belts and started our drive to church.  After church we arrived at my cousins house in Shelton as we got out of the car it was freezing, so we all rushed into the garage.  I ran inside when I heard my cousins playing in the living room.  I crept through the hallway, I jumped out and screamed. My cousins screamed when I scared them. 

One of my cousins moaned loudly “you stink! Why did you do that?” 

“Duuughh… that’s called a prank,” I said.  “Where is breakfast?” I questioned, as I ran upstairs. 

    I ran up the stairs and saw more and more of the family.  As I arrived in the dining room my family was eating onion soup.  The room was noisy with the sound of clanging from dishes and spoons being tapped against the bowls gently. 

    I said hi to everybody and Merry Christmas. Then I went back downstairs to my cousins.  I played outside briefly so my cousins could show me there hideout, then went back inside.  As time passed, my cousins and I played the Wii.  Soon we were called to the dining room for our big feast of 12 dishes as all of us kids watched for the first star so we would start to eat. The star is a Polish tradition where we look outside and watch for a star.  My cousin Adam was the first to see the star.  So now it was time for everyone to go to the table so we could all start to eat.

    Just as we all started to finish our dinner, we heard a loud noise at the front door.  My uncle went to see what it was.  He yelled to us, “look what St. Nicholas left us! Huge sacks of presents!”  All of the kids pushed and ran into the living room so we could get our presents.

       When they called my name for a present I was so excited and could hardly wait to see what I got.  I quickly took the present and went back to the couch to open it and I said, “this is exactly what I wanted! An Xbox 360.This is an awesome Christmas!” 

Callie S. 5 S

My 10th Birthday

I jumped out of my bed yelling “It’s my birthday, it’s my birthday, it’s my tenth birthday!” I exclaimed wearing my big, black sweatshirt and my blue plaid pants.  My mom came out behind me, creeping down the hall, and gave me a hug.

I skipped down the hallway with excitement to the kitchen. Five pancakes had appeared on my plate in front of me, with maple syrup running down the side. As a bonus, it had whipped cream that made this breakfast the best.

          After I was done eating my pancakes, my kitten jumped on me and started purring. It almost took my heart away. Then, at the scent of the fresh cat food placed on his tray, he jumped up like the vacuum was turning on. I realized the time and I jumped out of my seat, sprinting into my room changing into my purple blouse that had purple and light blue strips with a white tank top underneath. I was also wearing my plum purple shorts with lime green socks. All of a sudden, I heard the doorbell ring. One foot after another down the stairs. I reached for the door handle with my nervous, sweaty hand. Twisting it, I realized that it was my guests to my party.

            When my guests came in I had them put their bags by the TV downstairs and all of us changed into our pajamas.

           All of us raced upstairs to get to the pizza. The pizza had so much mozzarella cheese and pizza sauce on it. Each of my guests got a piece and all of us took one bite at time to savor the goodness. By the time they were done we all ran outside to play manhunt. We played about 10 rounds of manhunt and then we went back inside for cake. All of a sudden, we saw the lights go out. The candles on the cake flickered on and my dad whispered,

 “1, 2, 3…” and they all started singing happy birthday to me. The cake had ten balloons on it. In addition to that the cake had kittens all over it.  I blew the candles out and made a wish, each of us finished the cake in a few minutes.

After that, we all went to the couch and watched “Finding Nemo”. My favorite part was when all of the turtles were surfing the water and also when the seagulls were saying, “mine, mine, mine.” By that time we all were so tired all of us fell asleep on the couch. By morning we all had a good night sleep. We all hopped off the couch, and ran to make homemade pancakes, which are the best in the morning. I had looked at the time when I placed my pancakes on the table but it was 8:45 a.m. and my guests had to leave at 9:00 a.m. After we were done eating our pancakes we opened my presents. I had gotten a new pillow, a chest, and the best of all, $130 dollars. (I had gotten more presents but there would be a whole list on this piece of paper.) I had heard the doorbell ring once more and it was the parents to pick up my friends. When I had closed the door I realized for the first time I was finally ten years old!!

Brody N. 5 S

                                                 The Lizard                                                                                                                                                                

I remember the day I got my lizard. It was March 8, 2013.

“Brody!” my dad yelled. You are getting a present tonight. When he explained that I jumped up and down. I was so happy.

             We had just come home from my Grandparents house, I had to stay down stairs. 

               After dinner my parents called, “Brody!” I ran up the stairs, skipping a few stairs at a time. I knocked on my bedroom door four times. “Knock, knock, knock, and knock.” It didn’t open. I was about to knock again, but it opened slowly.

               I screamed, “it’s a…,” I paused. I started remembering the animals my sister had. She’s had a hamster, gerbil, and a fish. “It’s a lizard!” He is yellow, black, and white. The night before I went on the computer to do some research and I found great information. “He needs water and food. He needs light, too. He lives in a tank without water. He’s rough and smooth. He has sharp claws. He has a tree and he eats live crickets I informed my parents”. Oh also they can be any color. I told them.

          “Thank you,” I said.

 My parents replied, “your welcome”. After that my older sister Wynter walked in.

          “What’s that”, she asked?

           “It’s a lizard, my lizard.” I replied.

           “WHAT”! She shouted.

I could see in her face that she was mad. It was bright red and it looked like there was steam coming out of her ears. She was mad because she wanted a new pet and my parents didn’t get her one. After a while she cooled down.

To this day I still have my lizard. I take care of it, feed it, and clean its cage. Even though I put a lot of work into taking care of it, I still love my pet.

Brendan M. 5 S

Ty Ty’s Walk

It was one of the first times I had ever walked my dog. My dogs name is Ty-Ty.

He has big brown eyes and floppy ears. When he wants to play with his toy with you he will growl at you like a vicious lion. He is a golden retriever. If you get down on your knees on the carpet then he will push you down and then roll on your head.  When he is in a really spazzy mood he will go to the end of the hallway and sprints towards the carpet. When he gets to the carpet he stops and rides it like a surfboard. As you might have already noticed my dog is crazy.

One of the first times I had ever walked my dog I went just about a mile. There were trees all around us. We were passing many houses. It was a hot summer day. Ty-Ty was already panting. All of a sudden a giant bird flew above us. “Whoa” “Was that a bald eagle”? I said to myself. The trees swayed in the wind like hula dancers. As we were walking Ty-Ty he kept tripping on his own feet because he was staring at me. Out of nowhere his paw fell right through a grate. If Ty-Ty spoke English he would probably be saying “Ahhh help me the evil demon ground is trying to eat me!!” He panicked to get his paw out.

We finished the walk. He didn’t lift his head up from the ground once. The next day I took him for another walk. He wouldn’t go anywhere near those grates. I can still remember when his little paw fell through a grate. To this day he still goes nowhere near them.

Ben C. 5 S

My Mother

My mother is a pencil

She is the bright and vibrant coating of yellow paint that protects me and my family

She is the sharp point, showing how smart she is at math.

She is the graphite, showing her creativity with art.

She is the eraser, removing our worries and leaving nothing but happiness.

Amitra H. 5 S

The Fire in Sydney

(This is a real story)

Fire fighters are battling the most destructive fires in Australia. People are being evacuated from their homes to safe places. The fires have destroyed about 200 homes. With forecasts of high temperatures, low humidity, and strong winds the situation can get worse!                       
The problem is in Sydney, Australia, and it has taken place in November 2013 and continuing. Thousands of firemen are battling the hot flames but that is still not enough. Men from different jobs are volunteering and leaving their jobs. “There is a very real potential for more loss of homes and loss of life,” said NSW Rural Fire Service commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons.                                                     
  Wildfires are common in Australia but never earlier than Australia’s summer, which happens in December. Wildfires occur when there is high temperatures and low humidity like in Australia. Authorities say due to the lack of rain. Firemen who are battling the wildfires in Sydney, we wish for the best.            

Aaron S. 5 S

My Easton Championship

           As I was about to put on my uniform, I thought to myself, this is going to be the last time I was going to wear it this season. My Easton jersey was a dark green color that you usually see on the leaves in spring. I’m so excited that I am going to be our team’s catcher today I thought!  It’s my favorite position to play because you get to be in almost every play of the game.  I’m also a little nervous because we are playing against Newtown, the only team that has beat us all season! It’s time to get to the field!

              When I got to the field our team was doing batting and fielding practice. After about 30 minutes we rode over to the “Field of Dreams” where game time was quickly approaching. Our coach made us run non-stop to the other foul pole and back all the way across the field. It was almost like a forty yard dash in training camp at the beginning of a football season. This was much more than training camp though, this is the championship! “We are going to win this boys! This is not just a regular game, if we win we will make Easton history! Do you want to win or go home with a big L on our foreheads?” I was just doing my job pumping up the team for one of the biggest games of our lives. It felt like the whole town came to the game to support us. They were all dressed in green because that is our team’s main color.

“Play Ball!” yelled the umpire! Easton was in the field first because we were the home team. Our best pitcher was on the mound and I was the catcher. The game seemed to be going by very quickly as the score stayed at 1-1 for the first three innings. Our coach gave us our marching orders to start scoring some runs! That’s exactly what we did in the fourth inning, we scored 2 runs making the score 3-1 and we were winning! It was the start of the fifth inning and we held them to no runs that inning. When it was time for us to bat I was at bat first. Now I was really nervous! With two strikes against me, the pitch came and… “Crack”, the ball hit off my bat like a cannon!

“Go, Go, Go” my first base coach yelled as I rounded first base and slid safely into second base. The crowd roared!   I was soon led home to score, and the score became 4-1, we were still winning going into the sixth and last inning.

       Can we hold them? I thought. It seemed like they didn’t want to go home yet. We suddenly gave up two runs making the score 4-3! Then our closing pitcher came on board, and with some amazing pitches stuck out three batters in a row!

       Game Over! We won!! There was so much excitement from the fans, our families, and most importantly my teammates who after shaking hands with Newtown started running around, sliding, laughing, we even picked up coach and took pictures by the scoreboard. This was the best day of my summer, one I will not soon forget.

Go Easton!!!