- Our Savior Lutheran School

The Growing Saint:
A Student Writing Anthology
Our Savior Lutheran School
February 28, 2013
98-1098 Moanalua Road
'Aiea, Hawai’i 96701-4617
(808) 488-0000
www.oursaviorlutheranschool.org
Kindergarten Journal
This is my Dad. My dad likes to plant vegetables. His name is Jeff.
D. Luis
These are my sisters. Their names are Masha and Jacqueline. They like to play with
Jacqueline and Adelyn.
A. Conger
Today is music with my dad and my mom. We have so much fun with the dancing
flower.
S. Le
This is my brother. He is 4 years old. He likes Skylanders. He does not like teasing.
His name is Rocco.
R. Prizzia
Me and my aunty are in the garden to plant flowers so they can grow. Her name is
Julie. She likes to do laundry.
K. Imaguchi
My brother’s name is Jonah. His favorite thing to do is go out with his friends and
play me and Taj.
T. Fermahin
This is my mommy and my mommy likes to cook and she likes to go to the beach.
A.Ferreira
This is my dad. His name is Brooks. He likes to play catch with me.
R.Toyama
This is my grandpa. He likes to play golf. He likes to cook pancakes. His name is
Mag.
B. Mastumoto
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My papa likes to watch fottball. He likes to spy a shooting star and he likes to play
golf and he likes to play with me and Dylin.
K. Abe
This is my Dad. He likes to go sea walking. He has a spear gun. He has a snorkel.
He used to work at Zipee’s. He likes to play Skylander. His name is Malcom.
C. Inamine
This is my brother, Davis. He likes to try to make a force field, but he likes to make
me laugh.
M. Ulrich
I like to help my mom and I like to help her feed my puppy and my mommy’s name is
Joanne.
C. Yamamoto
This is my mommy. Her name is Lei. Her favorite color is pink, purple, and green.
She’s a nurse. She helps people. She likes to go to the gym and exercise and watch
the news.
T. Alexio
This is my mom. Her name is Reiko. She goes to meetings.
S. Otsuka
My brother is going into the army. My brother’s name is Thomas.
T. Owen
My dog likes to play with me. My dog likes to sleep in the tent with me. She is an
inside dog. She likes to go in my room.
A.Paiva
This is my mom and it is me. My mom likes to make chicken noodle soup. Her name is
Lucy.
L.Niehaus-Burger
This is my mommy. Her name is Shannon. My mom likes to play with numbers.
M.Tuimalealiifano
2
First Graders’ Journals
This week I lost my tooth. And the tooth fairy came. My mom was gone. I
had a babysitter. And I put my tooth in my tooth fairy pillow.
J. Behning, Grade 1
On my birthday I fall. I was bleten a lot. On my birthday I went to arked. I
went to a wastwrnt yashterday. It was lots of fun yashterday.
J. Muehler, Grade 1
I like being me but I wish I was tall and I like being tall I like journals but my
mom and dad said I don’t like journals and I was sad I really like journals very much.
C. Ferreira, Grade 1
Today I studed about Mexico and living in Mexico. I also am going to take a
test also going to study with my friends. Mis. Chung taught us a lot about living in
Mexico City. Studying is a lot of fun when it comes to Social Studies. Studing is
very fun!
G. Fujii, Grade 1
Mexico is east of Hawaii. You can fly to mainland in a plane. A sheep cannot
fly. A race car is fast. Alaska is so cold that ice creem dosent melt.
K. Ito, Grade 1
Derring the week I was riding my bike at the park. I was bilding legos all day.
I was playing wipeout with the x box. Before bed I played jest dance. At breckfast
I ate pancacks. I bilt a lego spider.
M. Kawamura, Grade 1
I play with my ipad.
I play with my laptop.
I went to the park with my mom.
I watch tv.
I play with my frens.
Z. Kwon, Grade 1
3
I wish I had a lots of journals but my mom and dad doen’t let me
have journals so I was planning to make a journal at home my sister
Mahea has lots of journals.
M. Moreira, Grade 1
Drake slept over at my houmse. I and Drake played with my dog. I
and Drake wacht a moovee. And we slept in the living room. We ate
peperronee pizze.
B. Murota, Grade 1
My mom and dad are so nice.
I like the Honolulu Zoo.
I like the beach so much.
I like to go to the water park.
It was fun at the water park.
T. Owen, Grade 1
During the week I played with Grace, Gabby, Marleen, and Julia.
We played tag, and duck duck gose. When we played tag Julia was it. It
was a lot of fun. When I was at home I played with my sister Emily.
When I played with Emily we played with toyws we got for Christmas.
And it was a lot of fun.
A Rosaaen, Grade 1
I went to the water park. I had a good time with my mom at the
waterpark. My dad splash me and my mom. At the waterpark, I saw my
coson, It was fun at the water park.
G. Salvador, Grade 1
4
The Very Best Day
On my birthday, I went to my favorit restront. One time my
brother and I got lots of toys and shirts. One night me and my
brother was fighting and me and Donovan got in chroble. When I lost
my stol when I got home. My mom was very mad at me. When I was
sleeping over at Brennan’s hose I had lots of fun.
D. Shiraishi, Grade 1
Today I am picking out a movie to watch tonight. To day also
Jenna, dad, and I are going to yogert land. Tomaro I have a soccer
game Jenna also has one too. My mom has a cast. She cannot get her
cast wet.
J. Winter, Grade 1
Dear Mom and Dad,
What an offal day I had! Offal means parts of a dead animal,
waste, or the waste produced by any industrial process such as chips of
wood or scraps of leather in trimming hides. We saw some organs. We
ate liver with bacon. The liver wasn’t tasty but the bacon has taste.
Love,
D. Lee, Grade 2
My favorite day of the week is Sunday. It is the best day for me
because I go to church. I get up by six thirty a.m. On that day I like
to learn about God. My bedtime on my favorite day is eight-thirty p.m.
A. Moreira, Grade 2
My Pet
I have an English Cocker Spaniel. My pet’s name is Lazer. I got
my dog from a dog breeder. My dog climbed on my jungle gym. My dog
likes to chew my slippers.
L. Covington, Grade 2
5
Grown Up At Last
When I grow up, I would like to be a baseball player. I want to
work at second base. I want to live in Mililani. A bad thing about
growing up is watching your kids. The best thing about growing up is
when your kids listen to you and do what you say.
M. Stringfield, Grade 2
My Pet
I wish I had a golden retriever. I would name my pet Goldie. I
would get it at the pet store. My wish dog won a blue ribbon. My pet
can say, “I love you”.
T. Fermahin, Grade 2
Martin Luther King Jr.
Martin Luther King Jr. had a hard life but, he studied hard. He
did have his family and his dad. Martin Luther King Jr. had a sister and
a brother and went to church and worshipped the Lord. Martin Luther
King Jr. went to high school at twelve years old and skipped the ninth
and twelfth grade and then went to college when he was only fifteen
years old. After he graduated from college he got married to Correta
Scott and had four children.
Ms. Rosa parks got arrested in December 1955 for not giving up
her seat to the old white man. This case inspired Martin Luther King
Jr. to go against the law between keeping black and white people
separate from each other. This law was known as The Montgomery Bus
Boycott. One of the most important times of Martin Luther King Jr.'s
life is when he did the march in Washington in 1963. This is where the
famous Martin Luther King Jr. gave his famous "I Have A Dream
Speech." This started the laws for the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
Martin Luther King Jr. helped to end racism with many campaigns.
He was assassinated by a cruel man named James Earl Ray. Martin
Luther King Jr. helped us to be treated more fairly.
L. Ramirez, Grade 4
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Third Grade Martin Luther King, Jr., Day Writings: 3rd Grade Martin Luther King, Jr., Commemorative Poems
M inister and follower of God
A ssassinated during his speech
R espectful and very honorable man
T rustworthy and fought for equal rights
I mportant to the world
N on-violent and hero of people
H. Nakamura, Gr.3
M ighty man who was proud and strong
A ssassinated on April 4, 1968
R emarkable minister and a brave black leader
T eacher who wanted equal rights; he was an
I nspired Jesus-foloower and merciful hero
N on-violent and a courageous, loving person
M. Inamine, Gr.3
M inister and Christian who believed in freedom
A man who thought all people are created equal
R ightful ways he created for people
T ruthful, important speeches he gave, like "I Have A Dream"
I nspiration he was to many
N on-violence and peace were his main lessons
L. Shaw, Gr.3
7
Isaac Newton: A Man Who Improved The World
Isaac Newton is a man who changed the world! He was born on January
4, 1643. He attended a school called The King's School, Grantham, and later
Trinity College, Cambridge. Isaac Newton became one of the most famous
people in history as a scientist and mathematician. When he died on March
31, 1727, he left behind many wonderful discoveries. He improved the world
with his theories on the laws of gravity, optics, and calculus.
Everyone knows about Newton seeing an apple fall. That's how he
discovered gravity! Newton showed that gravity varied with distance and
used it to study planetary motion. People from all over the world used his
discovery. It did not matter, where they were from or what language they
spoke, this scientific discovery was important to everyone. Newton also
created the laws of motion. There are three laws of motion. The first law is
the law of inertia. It means, that if an object is moving, it will keep moving
unless something stops it. The second law is about force, mass, and
acceleration. The faster your speed increases, the stronger the force
acting on you. Finally, the third law says "to every action, there is an equal
and opposite reaction." Using his laws of gravity and motion, he was able to
figure out how things move on Earth and in space. This changed the world of
science by founding modern physical science. We still learn Newton's laws at
school, and he lived about 300 years ago.
Newton also worked on optics. He figured out that a prism can
separate white light into a rainbow of colors. The discovery was called
Newton's Theory of Color. He showed that an object is a certain color
because it absorbs and reflects that color of light. For example, an apple is
red because it absorbs and reflects the red wavelengths of light. This
changed the world because most scientists thought that the color was
somehow added to the light. Another example of Isaac Newton's work in
optics is his invention of the reflecting telescope. This changed the world
by enabling people to discover new things in space. Most telescopes used by
today's astronomers are reflecting telescopes.
Newton invented an advanced type of math called calculus. This became
a very important branch of mathematics, because it solved problems that
could not be solved before calculus was invented. Calculus helped almost
every single branch of science! In fact, Newton developed it to solve his own
scientific problems. Many high school and college students are required to
take calculus classes if they are going to study math, science or engineering.
Engineers today use calculus to design buildings, computer chips and vehicles
that would not be possible if calculus never existed.
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In conclusion, Newton was a critical figure in the fields of science and
mathematics. His work on the laws of motion, optics, and calculus changed
the world by showing everyone new ways to discover new things using his
work. His laws and discoveries have advanced technology and civilization.
Newton's works are still improving the world. To illustrate, astronomers still
use Newton's laws of gravity to discover new planets and new solar systems.
Maybe one day I may be a famous scientist like him too!
Braden Lee, Grade 4
Sources:
Oak, Manali, http://www.buzzle.com/articles/accomplishments-of-isaac-newton.html
Hall, Alfred Rupert, 1998, http://www.newton.ac.uk/newtlife.html
Swenson, Paula http://www.ehow.com/about_5101113_newtons-theory-color.html
Senator Daniel K. Inouye
Senator Daniel Inouye was a well distinguished U.S. Senator from
Hawaii. His service to the country as a soldier and politician earned him much
respect and admiration. He was the first Asian U.S. House Representative
and the first Asian to be elected to the U.S. Senate. Inouye was a Senator
since 1963 and was elected to his ninth term in 2010. He was a prominent
member of the Democratic Party. Senator Inouye was third in the line of
succession to the Presidency which made him the highest ranking AsianAmerican politician in U.S. history.
Daniel Ken Inouye was born on September 7, 1924, in Honolulu, Hawaii.
He was a second generation Japanese American. He grew up in Moiliili and
graduated from McKinley High School. He joined the U.S. Army in 1943 and
was a part of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team that was made up of
second-generation Japanese Americans. Senator Inouye lost his right arm
during a battle against the Germans in Italy. He received the Medal of Honor
for his bravery in battle. Because Senator Inouye lost his arm, he decided to
go into politics instead of becoming a surgeon. He graduated from the
University of Hawaii at Manoa with a political science degree. He also earned
a law degree from George Washington University Law School. In 1953, he
was elected to the Hawaii territorial House of Representatives. Then in
1959, he became one of the members of the U.S. House of Representatives.
In 1962, he was elected to the U.S. Senate.
Senator Inouye's many achievements included improvements in
agriculture, environmental protection, and education in Hawaii. He supported
agricultural research to encourage the diversity of crops produced locally,
worked to protect the coral reef ecosystems, and advocated responsible
fishing practices. Senator Inouye obtained funds to improve University of
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Hawaii programs and their facilities and the education of children with
special needs. He worked to protect and preserve the Hawaiian language and
culture which resulted in the Native American Languages Act that gave
Native Hawaiian children the opportunity of an education taught in the
Hawaiian language. Senator Inouye's efforts came from his sincere concern
for the people and State of Hawaii.
On December 17, 2012, Senator Inouye passed away at the George
Washington University Hospital from respiratory illness. His body lay in
state at the U.S. Capitol Rotunda followed by a funeral service at the
Washington National Cathedral which was attended by many high ranking
politicians and officials. President Obama attended the memorial service on
December 23, 2012 at the National Memorial Cemetery in Honolulu where
Senator Inouye is now buried. Inouye was predeceased by his first wife of
57 years, Margret Awamura Inouye, who died in 2006 from cancer. He is
survived by his second wife, Irene Hirano, whom he married in 2008, and his
son, Daniel K. Inouye, Jr.
A. Maki, Grade 4
Wolfgang-Amadeus-Mozart
Throughout history many people have influenced music, but the
person who influenced the history of music the most was WolfgangAmadeus-Mozart. Mozart had played music since he was 3 years old. He
was a very young, and talented composer. Wolfgang made more songs, and
operas than anybody.
Mozart was a man who going to be, and was a successful pianist. He
had a sister whose name was Maria-Anna-Mozart. Mozart was the son of
Leonardo Mozart, and Maria Pertl. He also married a woman named
Constanze. The date was January 27, 1756. The place was Salzburg,
Austria. On this date, in this place, a pianist was to be born, and a prodigy
was to change the world of music forever. A young composer was coming to
change the musical world.
Mozart's father influenced him to play music. His father took him
and his sister on his own World Tour. His older sister was 11. They played
for kings, and queens around Europe. Mozart started composing music at
the age of 13. He started music when he was 3 years old, started his
World Tour at 6 years old, and played piano in public for money at age 9
and 10.
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When Mozart was 13 he and his dad went all over Europe. His sister
was not interested in music anymore. When Wolfgang, and Leonardo
returned from Italy they came to find that Leonardo's benefactor
Archbishop Von Schrattenbach and Maria-Pertl Leonardo's wife were
dead. After that Leonardo put his son in the Court of Salzburg. Mozart
was good because of his songs, but only to list a few like the Magic Flute,
Cosi Fan Tutte, The Marriage of Figaro, Die Enfughrung, and Don Giovanni.
He was also good because of all the concerts he performed in.
Mozart made lots of friends in his life. On his World Tour he met a
boy named Johann Christian Bank. Another time he met Lorenzo Da Ponte.
Wolfgang and Lorenzo worked on the opera called The Marriage of Figaro.
Mozart got lots of fame from his fans. He was one of the world's
best music prodigies that ever existed. Mozart showed the world what
music really was. He also showed how music was lovely in its own way.
Mozart was very famous by making good songs, and making a fortune.
He was not just that he was more, Wolfgang was a great musician who
played the piano, and liked to sing. Amadeus was also the youngest
composer at age of 13. One time in a five week period he performed at 22
different concerts at 5 of them he was a soloist.
Mozart made a friend named Johannes Sebastian Bach. Together
Wolfgang, and Johannes made the song The Magic Flute. Mozart made
friends with a man named Joseph Haydn. He and Joseph liked quartets.
From 1782-1785 Mozart wrote six quartets to Haydn.
Mozart spent the last few years of his life being King Joseph II’s
chamber composer. Wolfgang danced in the kings balls in 1787. He married
a woman named Constanze in 1782. At about this time he was starting to
lose his fortune.
On December 5, 1791, Mozart died from a serious fever. Mozart died
in Vienna, Austria. Some believe that an Italian composer named Salieri had
poisoned him. This was only a rumor and still is a rumor. When Mozart
died, scientists seemed to believe that Mozart had a miliary fever. He had
a skin rash that looked like millet seeds. Others seemed to think that he
suffered this repeatedly throughout his life.
Today we know that Mozart was not just a great musician, and
composer, but he was a great role model for everyone who writes, and plays
music, especially the young ones. He not only showed but still shows the
world what music really is he started it at such a young age. I am certain
that if he had lived longer he would want everyone in the world to see
music as he did.
J. Benesh, Grade 4
13
Feed the Children
In the world today many children do not receive enough food. These children would
go to bed hungry if it was not for a very important group called "Feed the Children".
Feed the Children was founded in 1979 in Oklahoma city, Oklahoma. Feed the children is
one of the largest international charities based in the United States. Their mission is to
provide hope and food to those without. Feed the children provides food, nutrition,
water, sanitation, education, health, training, and family development. Feed the Children
also provides emergency supplies during natural distress. Feed the children also provides
food to more than 15 countries and more than 350,000 meals daily. Feed the children
feeds many people around the world including those in El Salvador, Panama and Guatemala.
Feed the Children helps many countries around the world, even parts of Africa and
even islands like Grenada, Guam and Madagascar. When Hurricane Katrina struck the
Gulf of Mexico in 2005, Feed the Children reported sending over 650 semi-tractor
trailers totaling more than 20,000 tons of donated food and relief supplies. Between the
September 11, 2001, attack on the United States and the south asian tsunami in
December, 2004, Feed the Children reported sending more than 15,500 tons of food and
relief supplies to the affected regions. They distributed more than 104 million pounds of
food and other essentials to children and their families in all 50 states and
internationally. During its 33-year history, Feed the Children has worked around the
globe.
Feed the children is currently the 25th largest charity in the United States
according to the Chronicle of Philanthropy. Feed the children’s headquarters is in
Oklahoma City. Based on the rating criteria of the American Institute of Philanthropy,
an "F" rating for financial efficiency for spending only 21-23 percent of its cash budget
on charitable programs. Feed the Children disagrees with the rating, since because it did
not include "gifts in kind" in its rating. Charity ranking organizations do include these
gifts in their ratings. The American Institute of Philanthropy has long questioned the
high value Feed the Children places on its in-kind goods, as have Feed the Children's own
auditors. The American Institute philanthropy argues that mixing these potentially overvalued items in with the charities cash spending would make the charity appear to be
operating more efficiently than it really is which could be misleading to donors. Feed the
Children, founded in 1979, is a nonprofit relief organization, guided by Christian’s values
whose stated mission is "providing hope and resources for those without life's
essentials". In addition through its partnership with NAEHCY (National Association of
Educators for Homeless Children and Youth), Feed the Children has distributed more
than 500,000 backpacks filled with school supplies, food and personal care items to
homeless children enrolled in U.S public schools. In Africa, Asia, Central America and the
Philippines, Feed the Children provides more than 350,000 meals daily through school
feeding programs.
F. Troy, Grade 5
14
Changed the World, Badly
How would you react if you were in a war with Hitler? Would you like his decisions or not?
Adolf Hitler is one of the world's best known terrorists in history. Hitler was a violent and cruel
person who wanted war. Hitler's motto was not "Don't, whatever you do, annoy the enemy." His
motto was "Destroy him by all and any means. I am the one who will wage the war."
Adolf Hitler was very cut-throat and the-guy-you-have-to-be-afraid-of kind of guy. Hitler
was the very person who started the deadly World War 2. Over 70 million people’s lives were
claimed during the war, including soldiers and innocent victims such as women and children. He
probably has the most negative attitude towards anything but war and torture. He joined the
Nazi Party to gain lots of popularity. He was promoted to corporal. Hitler led multiple
devastating attacks across Europe which made him a powerful and known war planner and maker.
Due to his prior success, he was victorious in the 1933 elections for the Chancellor of Germany.
In 1934, on the death of then president Hindenburg, Hitler was promoted to the President of
Germany. Hitler's rise to power was very quick, swift, and noticeable. Hitler began building
more and better roads and that increased the number of jobs for the people who were
unemployed. This great effort helped his country gain strength, wealth, and a better army of
soldiers. In the 1936 Olympics at Berlin, Hitler showed off his country as an admirable country
to follow because of his magnificent army. In addition to the show off at the Olympics, Hitler
began the harassment and persecution of the German Jewish population, and other different
races that did not fit the Aryan ideal.
Hitler sought to regain land lost in the Treaty of Versailles. Hitler did not only focus on
getting territory back but also on ruling other countries. Later in 1938, Hitler gained full
control over Czechoslovakia by surprise invasion. Anxious to not get into war with the great
Germany, Allies just followed Hitler's evil commands. Upon Hitler's invasion of Poland, France
and Great Britain, who didn't approve of Hitler's disgusting actions, declared war on Germany.
Compared to the all other nations, Hitler had the most powerful army. Because all of the
previous battles had been won, they believed in their expert army and advanced combat vehicles.
The army seemed unstoppable and unpredictable to the opposing armies until the 1942 Battle of
Stalingrad. By 1944 the tables were turning, and the Soviets were starting to beat the
advanced German forces. Towards the end of the tragic war, Hitler still had a vision of a last
minute victory. It was not until some Soviet Troopers came really close to the bunker that he
admitted the inevitable and committed suicide. He chose death over being captured by the allies
to avoid interrogation thus, exposing his valuable information to his enemies.
The reason I chose to do this writing assignment on Adolf Hitler is because of the tragic
things that happened under his leadership. Hitler had different strategies then other leaders
at the time. By killing 9,000,000 innocent people, he is one of the most infamously known people
in history. Hitler just had a way to manipulate the other people's minds to think killing other
races was a good thing, and that the German Nazi were the best of all. Unlike most, he was not
against war, but wanted war to continue and be painful. Hitler should of stayed at his already
high position; but instead, Hitler's greed led to bad decisions that eventually claimed his life.
Citation: “Biography of Adolf Hitler", Oxford, www.Biographyonline.net, 26 Feb. 2010
D. Shiraishi, Grade 5
15
What a Guy!
Albert Einstein improved the world in many different ways. He was
involved with a bomb, the Einstein Refrigerator, the Photoelectric Effect, the
Special Theory of Relativity, and the General Theory of Relativity.
Einstein actually didn't make the bomb, he just made the formula, which
was E=mc2. E=mc2 was used in a weapon to defeat Germany. The formula,
E=mc2 means E=energy, M=mass, C = the speed of light and 2= c squared. This
has helped scientists and mathematicians throughout the world, just knowing
this formula.
Albert's invention, "The Einstein Refrigerator" wasn't just him that made
it. He had some help from a former student, Leo Stanzard. The main purpose
for the refrigerator is that it can be used for heating and fueling the cooling
system. They kept on trying to see what needs to be fixed or improved before
it was put out in the public. The refrigerator was patented on November
11,1930. Everyone now uses their refrigerator everyday thanks to his invention;
that is also how we got our high-tech fridges.
His Photoelectric Effect changed the world by Einstein realizing that
light is made from particles which contain electricity. Earlier in time, it was
considered by many scientists that light could travel in large waves. Albert
Einstein proved, after he worked hard on this, that light really does travel in
large waves of electricity, again with the simple concepts of physics. The
formula he used to find this out was E=hu. In this formula, 'E' stands for
energy while 'u' symbolizes the frequency of radiation. The symbol 'h' denotes
Planck's constant. Because of him, today, we have more knowledge about light
bulbs!
Albert Einstein's Special theory of Relativity is about Einstein trying to
attempt to reconcile the laws of electromagnetic field, with those of classical
mechanisms. The main idea of this is to incorporate two fundamental concepts.
The first concept is that the uniform motion is always relative. The second
concept is that 'the state of rest' cannot be defined because it is not absolute.
He presented this theory in a paper titled 'On the Electrodynamics of Moving
Bodies' in 1905.
Einstein's General Theory of Relativity is amongst his most important
accomplishments. Einstein said, "Gravitational fields are equivalent to
accelerations of the frame of reference." This means One of the examples to
his theory is that people in an elevator are unable to understand which force
actually governs their own motion. He helped us understand gravity.
Albert Einstein has improved the world by doing many things we can't do,
like the inventions or formulas or theories that were in this report. Mr.
Einstein has improved our society and daily life with all of his amazing inventions
and theories.
G. Shultz, Grade 5
16
The Ideal
Do you think you have a good idea for a field trip? I think that I
have a better field trip than you. I have the ultimate field trip that
you could ever think of. Do you want to know what my field trip is? I'll
tell you, it is at Washington D. C. Now you see why I say it is the
ultimate field trip. It will take a lot of money to get all of my class all
the way to Washington D. C. I think it will take lots of money to get all
the way to Washington D. C.
If I wanted to get my class all the way to Washington D. C., I
would have to win a contest or somehow get lots of money all at once. I
decided to enter a contest to get the field trip. I decided to make it a
contest that other people can win by raising money. The contest will
be who can get the money to go on the field trip first. All you have to
do is sell cookies or wash cars or anything like that. I will find out in
about a month who will win. It wasn't even a month when the first
person brought the money for everyone, and I asked the person, how
did you raise so much money in only one week? The girl just told me
that it was just a secret and that she couldn't tell me. I was not mad
that she didn't tell me, I was okay with it because I know that we will
go on the trip, and I was really excited to go, and take my friends on
my trip.
After about a week, it was time to go onto the plane to go on our
trip. I met up with my friends and we got to the spot that we should
have met, but nobody was there, so we tried to look everywhere when
we checked the map again, and we found out that we were at the wrong
place. We headed over to the place that we should have went to first
and we saw the rest of our class. After five minutes, it was time to
board the airplane. I was sitting by my best friend. It was a long,
twelve hour flight, so I had to get comfortable.
When the flight was finished, we got off the plane and we went
on a car to go to the president's house. I didn't tell my class this
before, but we got invited to the white house by the president. The
best part was that we would be there for the inauguration. I entered
in a chance to watch it with as many people up to thirty, and we have
twenty-two people in our class including our teacher.
As we got on the bus that took us everywhere, I sat down by my
two friends. We were off to go to the president's house. I was so
excited. I think that the other people were too because they couldn't
stay still. I was too excited that I think that I might have fainted.
E. Mehlhorn, Grade 6
17
Nobody's Perfect
I am only 11 years old and far from perfection. I do hope to
be closer to perfection as I grow older, and that is why I have
come up with three New Year's resolutions to help me achieve my
life-long goal. Every day, I will try my very best to follow
through with my resolutions, starting now. I will give myself oneyear benchmarks to measure my progress toward perfection. At
the end of every year, I hope to be able to measure my progress
by my successes at becoming a better person. These are my
resolutions...
I want to put school above everything else. I have to keep
this resolution because next year I will be in the 7th grade and
before I know it, I will be in college. My mom says my job is to
develop good study habits because she will be senile by the time
I'm in college. She's been telling me scary stories about college,
like Calculus, Physics, Chemistry, German and finals. I know
putting school first is hard for most people, especially for me.
It's hard because having fun is really easy to do, and most people
want to have fun instead of working, but I am now doing my school
work first. My parents keep on telling me to do my school work
first before playing with my rabbit, Mango, and my iPod. I do not
enjoy being nagged by my parents and having my iPod taken away.
So, I purposely moved the rabbit cage to the back of the house,
so that the first thing I see in the house is my desk and not my
adorable bunny. My dad controls the iPod. When I am done with
my homework and my chores, he lets my play with the iPod for one
hour. I love playing with animals, and my goal is to become an
animal doctor, so I can work and play with animals for a living.
This is the reason for my resolution. By doing well in school, I will
have a better chance of reaching my goal.
My next resolution is to obey my parents because they know
better about life than an 11 year old. It seems that parents want
to do all the talking and the kids to do all the listening and
obeying. That is not fun if you're the kid. Well, I'm beginning to
see that parents do know a lot of things and by talking a lot they
are sharing their knowledge so that I will live to my next birthday,
and so on. I do what my parents tell me, most of the time, but not
all the time. I made this one of my resolutions because my
parents do a lot for me and they want something in return. It's
only fair. What I can do to obey them is to do what they tell me,
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do what I know they want me to do without them telling me, and
just listen to what they have to say. Guess what? I hate to admit
it, but my parents are almost always right. (Don’t tell them
though.)
My last resolution is to be courteous to others. When I go to
the mall, the food court, the movies, or even at school, I'm going
to be nicer to others and help them. I don't really help people all
that much, but I'll try to help them more often. Being courteous
means to care, to help, and to be nice to other people. Some
people can be very mean, but that doesn't mean I can't be nice to
them. I'm going to try to care about others and support them. I
will start with my grandma. She's old and hard-of-hearing. Most
of the time I get very impatient with her because she would say
the wrong things or mispronounce a word. I would laugh, but she
would say to me to please teach her the correct way. This is
weird because she's 72 years older than me and should know more
than I do. My parents patiently tell me that older people need
help like babies do. So, if I want to be an animal doctor when I
grow up, I should be caring to all of God creatures, especially the
old and the helpless. That is my resolution.
I know that nobody's perfect, but we can all try. We need
resolutions to make our lives easier and to set goals to become
better people not only to our friends and family, but to strangers
and the people who are mean to you. I'm very glad that there are
resolutions. It's like you’re getting a second chance to change
your life. I will try my best to keep my resolutions and use them
as guide posts along the path I have chosen. If I start to lose my
way, I can always call on God to help me stay on course (that is
what my parents always say, just call on God, He's watching every
step you make). My resolutions are pretty hard for me to keep,
but I can do it. I made many more resolutions, but I wanted to
write about these three. I think that these are the hardest ones
for me to keep, but my family said that they would help me
become a better person through my resolutions. I just have to
listen, obey, and ask for help.
I. Segall, Grade 6
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Ideal Field Trip
Some fun ideas for field trips would involve having fun while you are
learning some skill that you never did before. I think one thing would to
be going to the zoo to see how the animal keepers feed the animals and
take care of the animals as well. Maybe the people who work at the zoo
will let us into one of the animal's habitats? This would be really cool too.
We also could sleep over at the zoo for a night which would be awesome to
do.
The second place we could go to is Washington D.C. because we could
go to important memorials and go to the place where the congress people
work and explore the city as well. After we go the D.C. we could go to the
Smithsonian of air and space museum. After a long morning, we could go
to Virginia and see George Washington's house and explore how he lived
and worked. We should go to theater where Abraham Lincoln was
assassinated and the building across from the theater where he had died.
The third place we should go is in Florida the place where they
launch the rockets, because we will be able to learn about space and stars.
We could ask people who work at NASA about why they stopped launching
rockets and space research. We might be able to ride and use the
training equipment that astronauts. Then we could maybe go to the room
with all of the computers and the place where they keep track of where a
space ship is located in space. We also could go to Disney world on our
way back to school.
The fourth place we could go to is the Big Island,and go to Mauna
Kea and go to the top and watch the sun set while at the research facility.
We could look through the big telescope that is at the research facility,
but it is very cold on top of Mauna Kea, because snow can form on top.
After we go to Mauna Kea we could head to the black sand beach or go to
Mauna Loa that is the active volcano, but if you take a piece of volcanic
rock from Mauna Loa, you will be cursed.
The fifth place for a field trip is London. When you are in London
you are surrounded by people; where ever you are, it is just like New York
but smaller and has a Ferris wheel. The Ferris wheel is called the London
Eye because the pods that you go in look just like an eye. The countryside
in England is very good with lots of farmers, so you could be a farmer for
a day, which would be really cool and awesome. I think that we could to
the palace that the queen of England lives in.
The Sixth place would be California. I pick this place because you
could go to Hollywood.
J. Fahrni, Grade 6
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The "Right" Direction
When I was young, I learned that there are different definitions for words that sound the
same. They are called homophones. Last year, in my class we were talking about the many
definitions of "right." There were a lot of people with different ideas of right, 37 to be exact.
Some people even repeated other people just to be funny.
Two definitions are the right hand and to be correct. These two definitions can be confused
frequently. My mom was talking to me one day, and I couldn't understand what she was talking
about. During that small period of time, I was going through some very tough situations. I told
my mom all about the different things that I was going through. Good and Bad. We talked about
the possible solutions to the problems.
I told her that tomorrow we would be going to a maze as a field trip. Apparently, it was the
biggest maze in America, until someone built one two times bigger. That made me excited
because I always thought of mazes to be fun. My classmates and I would split up and each try to
get out of the maze by ourselves and without those weird map things that don't really help
because the reality is, you don't really know where you are. To make sure that we wouldn't get
lost, security camera's would be set up everywhere in the maze. My mom was happy for me. She
looked me in the eye and to conclude she said, "I just want you to go in the right direction, let
God guide you." Little did I know, she was talking about my decisions about what to do with the
problems in my life.
The next day, before we went to the maze, my classmate, George, told me that he would
beat me out of the maze. I don't know what steamed me so much, but I thought that should win
no matter what. I told him that there is no way that was possible, and stuck out my tongue at
him. Finally, it was time to get on the bus and go. My teacher, Ms. Mona said that there would be
a special treat for whoever made it out first. As I walked into the maze, I remembered what my
mom said, "I just want you to go in the right direction." So I figured, she wants me to always go
right. I learned that mom knows best so I did the literal going right. So every time I came to a
crossroads, I took the right path, 90 degrees east (hopefully). When I came to a dead end, I
remembered the last part of my mother's advice. "Let God show you the right path for he is
always right." So, I looked up to Heaven and waited for God to show me where to go. Nothing
happened, so I just exited the dead end, and kept taking the right path. It seemed like a long
time as I wandered through the maze. I actually thought it was getting dark, but I was just in a
shady area. Finally, I saw a guide coming toward me. She told me that I had to come out with
her, and that the time for me had run out. As I exited the maze, I saw all my classmates
laughing at me. That was humiliating and embarrassing at the same time which is horrible.
When I got home I told my mom what had happened. After I finished she laughed at me. I
looked at her with a puzzled expression. She said, "Kaela, when I said just go the right
direction, I didn’t mean always turn right when you're in the maze. I meant—do the right thing.
Don't forget that we live on the left side so don't ever turn "right" into a stranger's house!"
From that lesson, I learned that we must always make sure that we are clear about how we
present information given to us. I think that is important because who knows how many people
can get into their own "maze" situation like me.
A. McSwain, Grade 7
21
The Way Home
It was a sunny day and the family and I went crabbing in
O’ahu’s North Shore. When everyone was up, we packed food,
fishing gear, and when that was done, we went to pick up my
step brother "Noah," and my cousin, "Jayce." After we had
picked them up we drove to "Foodland" for some crabbing nets
and fish bait. We sat in the car while dad bought the things
we needed. When he came back, we headed to North Shore,
and stopped on the bridge. We parked on an open area near
and unpacked. We had to find short, fat stick, so we can reel
in the line. When we finished finding the sticks, we had to the
string onto the stick. The string was about three or more
yards long. After we finished with the line we had to attach
the net, then the bait. When dad was finished putting on the
bait, we tied the string with the stick on the bridge and
dropped the net lightly into the water.
We were bored for a bit because it took time for the
crabs to go inside the net, so we just started to look in the
water from above. In the right side of the water, we spotted
big bones. We asked dad what it was and he said it's probably
cow bones. It just looked to big to be cow bones. Oh well, we
thought. After thirty minutes we got up and pulled up the
nets as fast as we can, so the crabs don't craw out. Nothing
yet. Out of the fifteen nets, there was nothing. It might
have been late because the crabs come out at dawn till
morning and at night. We waited for a bit and ate bread until
it was time to pull up the nets. Dad had also brought out the
fishing pole too.
We spotted a barracuda; then, Dad got all excited, so he
got the fishing pole to try catch it. After he had finished
setting up the fishing pole he ran to find the barracuda. At
first he couldn't find the barracuda until a few moments later,
he spotted it. He threw the line into the water and shook the
fishing pole as if the bait were a fish. The barracuda spotted
the bait and attacked it. We even saw the barracuda jump in
the air to get the bait. It was a decent-sized barracuda, too.
We kept the barracuda in a bucket and started to pull up the
nets after. Still nothing. Dad did more fishing, and we just
hung out in the car. We talked, waited, and ate chips until it
was to pull up the nets again.
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When it was time to pull up the net, we got up and ran to
go pull up the net. The first net was nothing, the second net
came, and there was something in the second net. The crab
was too small to take home so, dad showed us how to hold a
crab before he threw the crab back into the water. We went
through all the nets and we caught a couple crabs, some were
too small, and some were a size to keep. We put the good
sized amounts into a bucket and threw back the small crabs.
We needed water for the crab, so dad tied a line to a bucket
and gently placed the bucket into the water. He tried to
control the water that was going into the bucket. but water
rushed into the buck too fast. The bucket soon became heavy,
and the string got tighter around dad's hands. He told me to
go run and get his construction gloves, so we did. We put the
gloves on him. With all his might he tried to pull the bucket of
water up onto the bridge, but it was just too heavy. He
carried the bucket half way up but the line snapped. He had
to let the bucket go. Then we called up mom to come bring
another bucket. Mom had rushed to the place we were at with
my sister and my brother in the car with her. While waiting
for her to come we pulled up the nets and got some more
crabs. We placed the crabs in to the bucket with the other
crab. The barracuda had been place in a separate bucket. We
waited and talked until it was time to pull the crabs up again.
While pulling the crabs up mom showed up. Mom didn't come
till later because she didn't want to be in the hot sun for a long
time. She had seen us pulling up the nets and told us to be
careful. Small crabs were caught but not any big ones yet.
After we were finished we tried fishing. Since I knew how to
fish I had to cast out the line and let my step brother and
cousin reel in the line. We didn't catch anything; only dad
caught fish. He caught three barracudas and let two of them
go. It was our last time to pull up the nets and we caught more
crabs, bigger crabs. My step-brother had a fish in his net and
then the last string to pull up was my turn. I pulled the line up,
fast as I could, and there was a big crab! The shell was eight
or more inches long. We were so happy. We put the crab in
the bucket and packed up our things because it was getting
late. We drove home, and when we got home, we cooked the
crabs for our dinner!
R. Ishikawa, Grade 7
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Books in Alabama
In Montgomery, Alabama, 1914, there was a little boy named
Timmy, and he was born with no mother and no father. He grew up
on the streets and tried his best to stay out of trouble, but, to
him, it always seemed that all the trouble came to him. It was
hard to stay out of trouble those days because there were boys
who got you into trouble. Almost everyone was homeless, so it
wasn't unusual to be poor. Timmy always went around Outback
and asked Tiara if she had any food for him. Tiara is a girl who
works at Outback and feeds Timmy with the scraps people leave.
She gave the best that she could give him. Tiara said that there
was a whole plate as if it came right out of the oven, except it
wasn't hot; it was cold. So Timmy ate up and saved some for
later and by some he saved thirty bites of food. He thanked her
and gave her a cent just because it was all Timmy could pay her
back, just a cent.
Timmy arrived at his so called "home" which was just two wood
planks to support the side and a tarp to cover his head when it
rains. He had his little plate that he found a few miles away from
the junk yard. He put all his leftovers on the plate and he ate
little by little checking if anyone was near to try and take his
food. In those times while war was on, there was a lot of things
that had to be burned and be thrown away so that was poor
Timmy's home. He never knew how to read words off of books; he
just knew how to speak them. That is how he could translate with
Tiara. He just communicates with her.
Tiara came into sight as Timmy was finishing his food and
asked him if he wanted to read, but rejected, not knowing what he
was supposed to do. Every time he came to the restaurant, she
just kept asking before serving but kept getting rejected. Until
one day she told him what reading actually is. Then he started
wanting to read, but on some days he got tired of it, and she gave
him a little break and they would resume. Then the days he didn't
want to read at all, he would have to read at least 5 minutes; then,
he would resume eating. Until one day he brang a book to the
restaurant.
Then they started reading a little book, but then one day
Timmy didn't even come at all! That was surprising to Tiara she
wondered, "Where could he be?" She looked everywhere, but the
alleyway where he would get beat up badly. So she just waited
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for him, and he never came. The next morning when she got her
sleep, and Timmy got his sleep, which was only 4 hours. She
checked his "house" and found him there still asleep, so she put
the book on the outside of his house. When he woke up, he
noticed and checked the restaurant and found that she was there.
So they would start reading after she was done with her job. So
when she finished her job, she wondered where Timmy was. She
called him, and he was just right around the corner.
While they were reading, Tiara's boss came and asked her,
"What she was doing with a homeless guy?"
"I'm reading a book with him. Why?" Tiara answered boldly.
"I don't want you hanging with homeless people. It makes you
look homeless yourself!" At this Timmy put up with enough of
Tiara's boss and took action he started wrestling with him. Tiara
tried the best she could to get him off but, at any rate every time
he would get off he would get back on him somehow until she got
him off. She told him to stay of when they looked at the boss, he
had a few scratches and bruises.
Then he said, "Get back in that building right now, or else I'll
have you fired this instant!" Tiara's boss said in a rage. While she
was getting up, the boss told Timmy, "Don't let me catch you over
here again, or else I'll call the cops on you and have you arrested
you understand me?"
"Fine," replied Timmy, but before Tiara left, she tossed a few
books and some food behind her back. Timmy was glad she did
that because that food lasted him at least a 3 weeks. While Tiara
was in the building, he would read. He would just read all the
books he gave her until one day she came out and found him
reading chapter book after chapter book. He was teaching
himself the alphabet Tiara was so happy she came and hugged
him. From then on she would sometimes teach, read and feed him,
but he was capable of doing everything she taught him by himself.
Later on, she learned that Timmy was the finest reader in the
whole state and was getting paid to read to people! She was
shocked with awe! She was so happy that she went over and paid
for him to read to her. She was lucky 'cause she was the one who
taught him, she got three extra books, and they lived happily ever
after.
M. Tuimaleali’ifano, Grade 7
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Azalea
Each character from each book faces a problem or has
fears and worries. Books and characters wouldn't be
interesting if there wasn'tt a problem. In the book,
Entwined, I liked a character named Azalea and how she
dealt with them. Entwined is somewhat like the story, The
Twelve Dancing Princesses but has a couple of changes here
and there. I'm also fond of a character named Sage from
the book, The False Prince. Both of them face problems like
many other characters, but they face fictional kinds of
problems.
Azalea is the eldest among twelve sisters, and all of
them love to dance and have fun. However, upon the death
of their mother, their father changes their colorful life into
a black and mourning cage. They are no longer allowed to
dance or go outside as they did before. During the time
they aren't allowed to go outside, they find a secret passage
way in their fire place. There, Azalea meets Keeper who
they later find out was an ancient king. The Keeper had
vowed to kill the Captain General, which he was not able to
do. Instead, he vowed to get revenge on Captain General's
descendent, who so happens to be the King and also Azalea's
father.
While Keeper was alive, he had 'magicked' the whole
castle so that everything was lively and fun. Now, almost
everything is 'un-magicked', but Keeper is able to still use
some magic. That is how he made the pavilion where the
princesses danced. In return for being able to dance there
the princesses are told to destroy all the 'magicked' items
in the castle, so he can use magic again and then get his
revenge on the King.
When danger is near and Keeper is trying to get his
freedom again, Azalea tells her sisters not to go down to the
pavilion. Not listening, they go anyway and Azalea chases
after them. When she reaches the pavilion, she sees her
mother lying on the ground. Azalea rushes to her aid. Her
mother ends up being Keeper who has taken her mother’s
form, and Keeper knocks her out and goes up to the castle.
N. Nitta, Grade 7
26
Rascal
Rascal always liked to figure things out on his own without listening to his parents
who had experience. One day, Rascal was watching his mom ironing the laundry and
wanted do it just like his mom, but his mom told him, “Don’t go near the iron now.”
Rascal didn’t listen to his mom at all and little did he know that the iron is scorching hot,
the iron fell right on his back.
“See you should’ve listened to mommy!” His mom exclaimed.
The next day Rascal was jumping from rock to rock in his neighborhood park. His
dad knew that he used to like to do that when he was a kid and had fallen and got a scar
right on his head. After remembering that, he told his son not to jump on the high
rocks. The next thing you know, Rascal jumped on the highest rock there. Rascal hasn’t
learned the lesson of listening to his parents.
“Rascal” is just a pseudonym. Do you know Rascal’s real name?
I. Galius, Grade 8
Friends
They hang out with all the high people and the druggies. The trio parties at rages
and get hammered every night. None of them obey their elders, and can’t be controlled.
There are some idiotic people in the world. Daniel, Crystal, and Robert are three of
them. It is really bad, and they have had some close calls. Their lifestyle is crazy and
risky.
One night, they were partying again. Alcohol was flowing freely and people were
serving each other pot brownies. It was a horrible and disgusting atmosphere, but no one
cared. All three kids were downing drink after drink. Their legs were wobbly, and they
couldn’t hear or do anything due to their pounding headaches. Still, they all piled into the
car at four in the morning to go home. On the way back, the world got very blurry for
them. They eventually blacked out.
When the friends woke up, they were surrounded by beeping machines and had
many wires attached to them. Each felt gritty and sick. A nurse spotted the stirring
teens, so she called the doctor. When he came in, the man informed the group that they
OD’d and gotten in a slight car crash. Luckily, no one suffered major injuries. Still,
they would have to visit a weekly counselor and stay in the hospital for a week.
The three were shocked when they heard the news. They agreed to the
circumstances, and laid down to go back to sleep. Every hour, they were checked on by
doctors and nurses. Everyone was worried about them. It was a hard blow on their
parents, and all their party friends made the hard decision to stop drinking, but when
the three kids got released, they went back to their old ways and found new people to
party with. This experience was dismissed from their minds and drowned by all the
alcohol.
L. Peck, Grade 8
27
Epic
I like many stories and books. Some of my favorites are the Lord of
the Rings, Dante's Divine Comedy, and Das Capital by Karl Marx. I would
have to say my favorite is Don Quixote. Don Quixote was written by the
world renowned author Miguel de Cervantes. He was a brilliant Spanish
poet and writer. In the story of Don Quixote there are 2 main characters.
The main character is Alonso Quijano. He was a wealthy noble man who
read so many stories concerning chivalry and knights that he decides to go
out into the world for adventure. He plans to destroy the evil and protect
the poor and weak. He changes his name to Don Quixote.
The second character is a poor fat farmer named Sancho Panza. He
becomes Don Quixote's squire. T ogether they set out on adventures to do
just that, while Don Quixote looks for his imaginary lover Dulcinea del
Toboso who is actually a farm girl living near him. Although Don Quixote
tells Sancho Panza he would find great riches one day by Don Quixote, he
never does. They do become great friends until the very end; however,
Sancho does have to deal with the mental illness of Quixote and sometimes
becomes stressed out.
At times Sancho feels like he cannot stand Quixote's rhetorical
doings. Especially in Quixote's desire to find Dulcinea del Toboso. Quixote
thinks that all the books he read about knights were real, and eventually
believed that he could do all of these things too. Quixote soon begins
imagining very strange things like an old inn, and its inn master was actually
a castle with an evil lord or baron ruling it.
Perhaps the most popular and famous imagination of Don Quixote was
the epic battle of the windmill. Don thinks that a bunch of giant windmills
is actually a metal beast and tries to duel with them. In the end Quixote,
after being made fun of, tricked, betrayed, and endless wandering decides
to go home. He finally realizes that he was never a knight all along. He was
just a noble man who liked to dress in fancy clothes. Panza remained
faithful to Quixote, although at times he did betray him he never
completely left him. Quixote dies shortly after he returns home. Panza
was there with Quixote at his deathbed, and he, as well as Quixote's niece,
received his entire will and all of his possessions.
Christian Lum, Grade 8
http://www.online-literature.com/cervantes/don_quixote/
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