Mélange - Morristown-Beard School

Mélange
Mélange
2008
2008

Mélange
Writing and art from
Morristown-Beard Middle School
2007-2008
“Mélange mine own, the unseen and the seen, mysterious
ocean where the streams empty.”
- Walt Whitman
Cover Photo - Sarah Tuchman
Anthony Scioscia
Melange editorial staff: Austin Fernandez, Kyle Fisher, Harry Okun, Rachel Moss, Gabby Farquhar, Julia
McBride, Meg Anderson, Rebecca Hodgson, Julia Sweeney, Irene Song, Dana Riback, Stephanie Sirotkin,
Rex Dyer, and Tom Wolkenstein.
Faculty advisor: Holly Darby
Art faculty advisor: Cynthia Hamilton
Special thanks to Mrs. Bonner and Mr. Teasdale for their proofreading, Mr. Finn, Mrs. Glover, and Mr. Tejeda
for their technical advice, Mr. Burns for his support, and Mr. Tom Grant for his generosity in producing this
magazine.
1

Literature
Cynthia Tremonte p. 3
Olivia Sprau p. 3
Nina Cammarata p. 3
Katie Murray p. 4
Yasmine Shafaie p. 4
Jaynie Siegel p. 5
Malia Reynolds p. 6
Hannah Leahy p. 6
Emily Aguas p. 7
Julia McBride p. 8
Meg Anderson p. 8
Erica Atkinson p. 9
Sharon Zelnick p. 9
Joshua Schramm p. 9
Ben Verchick p. 10
Whitley Horn p. 11
Erica Atkinson p. 12
Jenna Siessel p. 12
Alexis Givens,
Jill Raia, Lizzie
O’Neill, Jackson
Kramer p. 12
Lizzy Pellicane p. 13 & 14
Julia McBride p. 15
Lydia Novalis p. 15
Julia McBride p. 16
Irene Song p. 16
Spencer Horn p. 17
Brandon Szapiro p. 17
Tim Leach p. 17
Samuel Stone p. 17
Matt Ratner p. 18
Erica Atkinson p. 19
Jenna Siessel p. 20
TJ Cannon p. 21
Lydia Novalis p. 22
Jenna Siessel p. 22
Rex Dyer,
Drew Hagerstrom,
Lizzy Pellicane,
Rachel Donahue p. 22
Delaney Flinn p. 23
Devon Flinn p. 24
Aaron Golding p.24
Matthew Rosenberg p. 24
Austin Fernandez p. 24
Robert Orazietti p. 24
Astrid Martelet p. 24
Micaela Reilly p. 25
Devon Flinn p. 26
Chelsea Leeds p. 27
Spencer Horn p. 27
Morgan Osburn p. 28-30
Irene Song p. 30
Kyle Vanderhoof p. 31
Eric Fernandez p. 31
Chelsea Leeds p. 32
Jordyn Block p. 32
Kieran Sweeney p. 33
Ashley Young p. 34
Harry Okun p. 35
Doran McManus p. 35
Table of Contents Artwork and Photography
Corrina Drost p. 35
Maggie McDonagh p. 35
Harry Okun p. 36
Drew Hagerstrom p. 36
Rex Dyer p. 36
Charlie Hill p. 36
Lizzie Pellicane p. 36 & 37
Samuel Stone p. 37
Rex Dyer p. 37
John Pisano p. 38
Kyle Fisher p. 38
Tom O’Brien p. 38
Rachel Donahue p. 38
Hannah Leahy p. 38
Joshua Schramm p. 38
Kyle Morris, Ellie
Smith, Zach Haliczer p. 38
Spencer Horn p. 39 & 40
Lizzie O’Neill p. 41
Jackson Kramer p. 41
Zach Haliczer p. 41
Jake Schreer p. 41
Dusty Pribor p. 41
Whitley Horn p. 41
Thomas DePoalo p. 42
Zoe Steinberg p. 43 & 44
Gabby Farquhar p. 45
Emily Aguas p. 46
2
Sarah Tuchman cover photo
Anthony Scioscia p. 1
School photo of
Emily Aguas p. 3
Corrina Drost p. 4
Yin Yin Petersen p. 4
Jared Bernstein p. 5
Grant Parker p. 6
Kollin Handler p. 7
Lucy Taggert p. 8
Lamar Harmon p. 8
Cristophe Strunc p. 8
Brielle Corry p. 9
Donnie Shauger p. 9
Tom Wolkenstein p. 10
Justin Mulroy p. 10
Caroline Szuch p. 11
Hannah Leahy p. 12
Freddie Wynne p. 15
Hayley Morris p. 15
Jaynie Siegel p. 16
Rachel Donahue p. 16
Cody Shemesh p. 17
Will Politan p. 17
Dammy Adeoti p. 18
Kyle Fisher p. 19
Alex Ranger p. 19
Zach Baum p. 20
Eric Fernandez p. 21
Malia Reynolds p. 21
Ben O’Connell p. 22
Cyntha Tremonte p. 23
Stephanie Sirotkin p. 23
Nina Cammarata p. 24
Maggie McDonagh p. 25
Will Johnson p. 26
Gabby Farquhar p. 26
Allie Aiello p. 27
Lizzie O’Neill p. 27
Catherine Wachtell p. 28
Max Schmidt p. 28
Ben O’Connell p. 29
Caroline Szuch p. 30
Alexis Givens p. 30
Olivia Sprau p. 31
Ben Leigh p. 31
Jill Griffith p. 32
Ashley Young p. 32
Julia McBride p. 35
Sean Reed p. 35
Patrick Lai p. 36
Beck Tabor p. 36
Zach Blumenkehl p. 37
Meg Anderson p. 37
Julia Acierno p. 38
Lee Seul (Annie) Cha p. 41
Cory Betz p. 41
Devon Flinn and
Dana Riback p. 42
Kami Movsovich p. 44
Danielle Popper p. 45
Natalie Wetmore p. 46

La Fleur
La fleur rest morte, mais
Nous allons nous rencontrer encore.
Je t’aime mon amie.
The flower is dead, but
We will meet again.
I love you, my friend.
By Cynthia Tremonte
A FRIEND REMEMBERED
Emily Aguas
January 11, 1994-December 12, 2007
Emily Aguas was my friend. She had a great personality. One of the things that she never stopped doing was
smile. She was always a happy girl. Two of the sports she loved to do were swimming and tennis. She was my
doubles partner. I will never forget how well she played those sports. She also loved Anime and Manga. One
of the series she liked was Ultra Cute. I will never forget Emily; she will always be in my heart.
Emily
By Olivia Sprau
Emily was one of the nicest people I ever met. I loved talking to her about a new Manga one of us had
just discovered, or where to find Manga online. I miss her amazingly cute Chibi Drawings. She always had a
smile on her face. I’ll miss drawing in Anime Club, arguments over Strawberry or Chocolate Pocky. I wish I
could have spent more time with her than I did. I’ll miss her so much.
3
By Nina Cammarata

Melange
Emily Anne Aguas
Emily was always nice to everyone.
She always smiled and laughed.
She loved Manga.
Miss Teen Pilipino-American 2005,
But she never bragged about anything.
You would be happy to be her friend.
She always had something nice to say
And she was really very funny.
I am thankful that I was her friend.
Her favorite color was blue.
Her birthday was in January; she was 13.
She was a really great friend.
By Katie Murray Corrina Drost
Emily Aguas
We love you and miss you, Emily.
Playing tennis was so much fun,
We will never forget that you were the one
Who made us smile when we were blue.
You came to us when we needed you.
We will never forget the smile on your face
That we saw every day in every place.
We are now sharing our tears with you Yin Yin Petersen
To help you and your family through the hard times.
You have passed, but the memories will last.
By Yasmine Shafaie
4

Emily’s Poem
By Jaynie Siegel
Thick, grey smoke poured out into the early morning sky,
The house was burning, and all you could hear was her cry.
The Aguas family, including five, but losing four,
Almost a whole family was killed, except for one more.
Sad news was brought upon to every which way,
Family, friends, no one knew what to say.
Emily, at the age of thirteen, confident, bold, and bright,
Earning A’s and swimming great; we never expected to lose her tonight.
Teachers, students, family, and friends,
Mourn the four loved people whose lives had to end.
Going to sleep, the night of this accident.
Understanding how it happened, who would predict the incident.
For all eternity, Emily will be remembered by all.
She was so unique; it’s heart-rending to see her future fall.
Still in my heart, it’s hard to not see her here,
I know, though, if she was, she would not want me to fear.
I will never forget her.
5
Jared Bernstein

At Such Times Like These, We Stop Decorating our
Christmas Trees
It is time we come together as one family and share our love and bliss for this one special girl
who we dearly miss. Emily is her name and together we all share the same pain, for she made the
world a better place, so God took her to be an angel, and now there’s an empty space. Emily Aguas
changed my life for the better, and for that I am writing this letter. She will always have a place in our
hearts if even if we are apart. Even turning sideways, these feelings won’t go away; they just stay.
Only time will help.
L’amour
Qui est amour?
L’amour ne judge pas
L’amour est sans mots
L’amour est l’une chose
Que vous avez besoin
L’amour est la beaute de la vie
What is love?
Love is without words
Love is the one thing you need
Love is the beauty of life.
By Hannah Leahy
6
By Malia Reynolds
December 17, 2007
Grant Parker
Grant Parker

The Play
Crash, smack, pop, POW
I think it’s time we took our bow
Heads held high, we walked on stage
Surprised to see our director in a rage
We look at him with questioning looks
But all he can do is point to our coat hooks
We take a look and we both scream
There by our coat hooks was a demolished scene
All the hard work put into this play;
It’s hard to believe it didn’t last opening day
The walls were scratched; the props on the floor
We look around for the destroyer of our play
Whatever it was, it was going to pay.
Kollin Handler The problem was indeed the play’s cat
It was under our coats and in its mouth was a rat.
Attitude on Love
By Emily Aguas (written as a 7 th grader)
In lines 439-41 and 453-63, Puck’s attitude towards women shows that he thinks that they
should be happy, respected, and loved. For example, when he says, “Cupid is a knavish lad this to
make poor females mad,” (III, ii, 440-41) it tells us that he thinks Cupid is mean, because he makes
girls mad. In addition, when he says, “Every man should take his own,” (III, ii, 459) it means that
Puck is into love and he wants every man to find his woman. In the quote, “Man shall have his
mare again, and all shall be well,” (III, ii, 463) Puck is showing the audience that he wants the boy
and the girl to be happy and for the mess to be fixed. All in all, he just wants everyone to find love,
be happy, and to get what he/she wants.
By Emily Aguas (written as a 7th grader)
7

LAMAR HARMON
Lucy Taggert
An Ode To My Semester Grades
My French is “tres bien.”
I hope to do band again.
English was tough,
My test grade wasn’t good enough.
Art was fun,
I think I should have gotten more paints done.
Science was the hardest,
Although I tried to be the smartest.
Geography wasn’t good,
The tests were hard, but I tried as hard as I could.
I’ve never been good at math,
But it’s hard to understand fractions and all that.
I got B’s and A’s,
Hopefully that’s the way it will stay.
By: Julia McBride
An Ode to My Grades Cristophe Strunc
In English I did well;
On our vocabulary test I learned how to spell
In chorus I need to sing out;
Sing louder and really shout.
In geography I went up a little bit
In health we learned how to use a first aid kit!
In Spanish I stayed the same;
Sometimes on Friday we played a really fun game,
In science I went up a lot,
I always listened to what Mr. Mead taught!
By: Meg Anderson
8

My Grades
In geography I did very well
And I like my teacher a lot
Theater was very fun,
It will help me speak in front of people
In English I went down, so
Please do not frown.
In health I learned a lot.
In Spanish I learned how to say “hot.”
I am much better now, I can write very well.
In pre-algebra I went up;
I did lots of homework and went to extra help
Science was very hard,
So I did lots of self-paced work.
My grades were good, but I can still do better.
By: Erica Atkinson
Brielle Corry
Patient Paper; Anne Frank’s Therapy
Anne summed it all up
On paper, which was patient,
Unlike some humans.
By Sharon Zelnick
Frank-In-Hide
Hiding in shadows,
The chosen people of God,
Hiding from their death.
Donnie Shauger By Joshua Schramm
9

Tom Wolkenstein
Justin Mulroy
Killer Tomatoes
“Bam, bling, bam,” went the band. Latty Lettuce, as the lead guitarist, Iceberg, cleanly finished his
guitar solo for the number one hit song, “Kick Your Buns.” “Up next,” said the announcer for the Fourteenth
Annual Battle of the Bands hosted in the Fridge Dome is “The Killer Tomatoes.” The Killer Tomatoes were
resentfully at the bottom of the food chart and not likely to win. However, the band just came out with a new
song that their mom said is supposed to make the Spice Girls go to the back of the cupboard. It’s called,“When
Life Gives You Chocolate, Make Chocolate Milk.”
Suddenly, the Killer Tomatoes walked out on stage. On the outside they looked like the finishing to
a nice juicy Italian sub, but on the inside, they felt like tomato juice with artificial flavoring. But, they only
had two minutes so they had to take the plastic Shoprite baggy off and face their fears to win the Battle of the
Bands. The crowd was silent as the lead guitarist played a kettle chord to begin the starting intro.
As the guitarist was playing the opening Jiff (peanut butter), the singer, hit a HI C,
“Aaaaaaaahhhhh,choca, choca, aaaaahhhhhhh when life gives you chocolate, you make chocolate miiiiilk.”
“Durum, durum , durum,” the guitarist strummed.
Then the drummer kicked in, “Tststststsstsisits, bum, bum, bum, baaaah, tststststisit.”
Then the singer joined in singing again, “No no no, not Nesquick, aaaahhhhhh, not the stupid, stupid,
Nesquick, but when life gives you chocolate you make chocolate milk- aaaaaaaaahhhhhhuk, hhh!!!”
“THE KILLER TOMATOES WIN IT,” screamed the announcer. The crowd went crazy! Seconds later,
the world exploded (boo hoo).
By Ben Verchick
10

Dear Jason,
I would really appreciate it if you would stop being so mean to my friends and me.
Your comments can be quite hurtful. For example, just yesterday, you called Calvin a “geeky,
pocket–protector-wearing nerd.” Now, I am sure you meant no harm in saying this, but after you
did this, Calvin ran home sobbing and his mom said he cried himself to sleep. It has even been
rumored that he burned part of his Star Trek collection!
Another reason you should be nicer to others is because of the “Golden Rule.” How
would you like it if someone called you a “big, fat, poopy face?” Keep that in mind the next
time you are mean to someone. You should also remember that when you are cruel to people,
they will be mean to you.
My final reason not to be mean is that it is just plain rude. It isn’t pleasant to be made
fun of, and you can’t get very far in life if you are not considerate enough to keep your mouth
shut about others. For example, my brother got a detention for cheating on a test. If he had just
apologized and served the detention, he would have gotten over it. But instead, he argued and
complained about it, and he was suspended for ten days.
So, I hope you take this letter into consideration before you go out and make fun of
someone.
Best wishes, By Whitley Horn
Frank Tollerton
11
Caroline Szuch

Did You Know
I love coming to school
It’s so much fun
English and math are my favorite parts
They help me brush up on my smarts
The beach is my favorite place
I surf, swim, and build sandcastles
I love to dance
I’ve been doing it since I was three
I have unending love for my family and friends
I am very close to all of them
My heart holds the key to happiness
I hope you learned some things about me
By Erica Atkinson
Me... Hannah Leahy
My eyes are black like the mysterious night sky
My hair is dark brown but lights up in the sun
My heart holds love that is incomparable
My skin is smooth like a baby’s bottom
I absolutely love the ocean and everything about it
L.B.I and I go together like peanut butter and jelly
Sports mean so much to me
I love animals and I think everyone should have a pet
Animals teach us more and more about ourselves
My dog Willie means the world to me
My family is a huge part of my life
By Jenna Siessel
12
The Spirit in the Night
A feeling of trepidation haunts me in the night.
As an overbearing apparition defaces the light.
My mind is teeming with fallacies of Fright,
The outlandish milieu is a nauseating sight.
Oh, whimsical Spirit, let me be!!
My life is vital; can’t you see?
Why do You choose to upbraid and vex me?
You taint my soul, imparting me with tenets of
deceit.
My gallantry will negate You; so take a seat!
For I will never be a recepient of defeat!
By Alexis Givens, Jill Raia, Lizzie
O’Neill, and Jackson Kramer

14
14
by Lizzy Pellicane
*Inspired by “The Most Dangerous
Game” by Richard Connell

Freddie Wynne
I...
My dog is not the smartest dog alive
He thinks that four and four are five
I have a best friend
But I do not recommend
That her fashion becomes a new trend
It is fair to say
I do like school
But weekends still rule!
By Lydia Novalis
15
My Face, My Life
My eyes are brown like
the fall leaves on the ground
My hair is soft
like silk and golden all around
My smile is wide and shows my pride
My heart holds kindness inside
My fingers move quickly across my clarinet
But when I start to draw my hand stays set
And when I hold a paint brush
the colors come streaming through
I am an artist no matter what I do
I set up to the block
Then they start the clock
I dive into the water as the buzzer goes off
My legs grow tired from kicking my feet
I am an athlete
Hayley Morris
By Julia McBride

My Eyes are Brown
My eyes are brown like alabaster wood.
My eyes seem lighter when hit by sunlight.
My hair is short like string on a throw pillow.
The color of my hair is brown,
Bleached by chlorine.
My head is big.
My head is round.
Some say it looks like a bowling ball.
My lips on my face are small in contrast.
My ears are big and like a monkey’s.
They are extremely flexible.
It seems like there is no cartilage in them.
No pain is caused, only slight shame.
My body is perfect for my life.
Suits almost everything I do.
Amazingly, it barely breaks.
It makes me, well, me.
By Julia McBride
Rachel Donahue
16
2007
Jaynie Siegel
Two thousand seven.
A chance to throw it away.
Old pasts and old scenes.
By Irene Song
2008
Two thousand and eight.
New starts and new beginnings.
Use it and create.
By Irene Song

Attic
Small, uncomfortable
Tiptoeing, eating, writing
Building, box, outpost, camp
Killing, shooting, bombing
Unbearable, terrible
Ghetto
By Brandon Szapiro
Cody Shemesh
Will Politan
17
Wednesday, July 8, 1942
Anne Frank’s Diary entry
De Dood van Hoop
(The Death of Hope)
Snakes will steal your land.
Men of malice make men mice.
Hope is lost in hate.
Saturday, July 20, 1942
Anne and her Solution
Anne has no real friends,
So she has a diary
To enhance her mind.
By Tim Leach
By Spencer Horn
My New Best Friend, Kitty
Monday, June 15, 1942
Anne Frank’s Diary
Now that I have you,
I can get through those long days.
You have become my friend.
By Samuel Stone

Matt Ratner
February 27, 2008
Communication Arts 7-2
Topic: The No Child Left Behind Act Dammy Adeoti
The United States is not even in the top ten of countries in academic achievement. The USA is one of
the wealthiest nations in the world, and still we are not even close to meeting the expectations that we have
been pushing to achieve. The federally-enacted No Child Left Behind Act was created to improve test scores
and local standards and to close the achievement gap. The act has already improved the achievement of learning
by using standardized testing in public schools. The act also requires teachers to pass a level of teaching that is
most helpful toward the academic progress that the students are achieving.
Standardized tests were created to evaluate teachers and students to see how much or how little progress
they were making in their grades. If a school altogether scores highly on the test, then it is subject to get more
money for their budget. If the students do not score highly, the teachers and the school are held responsible for
the students’ results on the tests. This is the increased accountability, which means that if the students score
highly on the test, then the teachers are rewarded for their determination in teaching the material. The act has
definitely made a dramatic change in achievement status as a result to these standardized tests. I have found
that everything relates back to the standardized testing, because if many students score high on the test, then that
will partially close the achievement gap. Also, if local schools achieve highly on the test, then the government
will give them the money needed for their budgets.
Before the act was created, there was a wide achievement gap; this means that in a classroom the more
intelligent students were given more attention and effort to their education. The achievement gap is the space
between the more intelligent students and the less intelligent students and how it affects the overall results of
the school. The act is closing these gaps in achievement and improving the general educational performance
of the schools. The smaller, less populated schools are the ones that really need to score the highest on the
standardized tests because if they do so the government will provide money for the school.
The act started to really improve local standards; not just in one area schools are achieving, but also
in many areas across the country. This has really lifted the bar of educational progress, and by strengthening
the local schools it is helping the overall achievement in public schools. The local schools need to achieve at a
very high level of education to receive money from the government to put into their budget. The No Child Left
Behind Act is benefitting our country. It should be kept to consistently raise the academic progress that public
schools are making, completely close the achievement gap, and improve local standard.
18

It’s Me
My name is Erica Marie
I am the oldest of three
My dad calls me a perfectionist
And my mom thinks I am very messy
I love being active, any sport will do
I also love shopping, especially for shoes
I’m a little, well very, wacky
I listen to music all the time, any kind will do
I love my friends
They’re practically my life
I am very interesting I’m sure you see
I hope you enjoyed learning a little bit about me A drawing by Kyle Fisher
By Erica Atkinson
Alex Ranger
19
All About Me
My eyes are brown like a soft teddy bear
My hair is smooth like wet sand on the beach
My ears are pointy like Santa’s little elves
My height is not small or very tall
My friends say I’m pretty funny
I laugh a lot, too
I try to be sweet and kind, too
I’m kind of a klutz, I trip all the time
My favorite color is pink
I love candy, especially chocolate
I would eat ice cream everyday, if I could
Hope you enjoyed learning about me
By Erica Atkinson

Ice Skating
I love figure skating
When I get on the ice, I feel like it’s only me out there
Only me, skating my heart out and doing my best
Figure skating is an amazing sport
I truly have a large passion for what I do out there
When I start gliding I just feel like this is where I belong
One of the best feelings in the world comes from ice-skating
Self-confidence, beauty, and grace are just some feelings that come out of ice-skating
When I’m on the ice, the only thing I hear is the sound my toe picks makes
When I’m skating I do Waltz jumps, Spirals and even “Shoot the ducks”
Only me, skating my heart out and doing my best
By
Jenna Siessel
20
Zach Baum

ME
My eyes are blue like Blues Clues,
My hair is blonde like gold,
My teeth are shiny like sunshine,
My heart holds reasoning that is reasonable.
My likes are lacrosse and football,
My dislikes are meatloaf and European futbol,
My hobbies are living and sleeping,
My life revolves around school.
My home holds important possessions,
My dog greets me with a big bark,
My day ends with homework
That takes a lot of work,
My bed is as comfy as can be.
By TJ Cannon
Eric Fernandez
Friend
His nose is wet and cold,
Malia Reynolds His paws smell like a new tennis ball,
His ears are soft and floppy,
His snout feels like velvet.
His brown coat reminds me of a fur hat,
His tail wags like a windmill,
His eyes are like a shiny penny,
His smell is like a new rug.
He chews on everything in sight,
He always uses all of his might,
He loves to put up a playful fight,
He always shares his love with me.
Malia Reynolds By TJ Cannon
21

Things I Love
I love to sit in the sun
I soak up the rays
I could sit on the beach for days
At home I roam
If I cannot read or even bead
I love candy in the morning
I love candy at night
Just to think about candy
Is my joy and my delight
By Lydia Novalis
My FEELINGS
When I make a basket on the
court I feel like
I am Michael Jordan but a bit
too short
When I get to bat and I hit the
ball, I have all
The power in the world
When I ran my hardest race
and lost, I still
Felt like I was a winner because
I did my best
When I nail my round-off back
handspring
And back tuck, I feel amazing
When I get on the ice and do
My tricks, I
Feel like Michelle Kwan
When I go to Matheny, my
heart feels so
Good that I can't explain how
I connect with all of the children
there and
Learn so much from them
When I am with my friends I
Feel like the Luckiest girl in
the world
By Jenna Siessel
Ode to Laughter
Oh, Laughter, how you appease our sadness.
You bestow upon us overbearing happiness.
You regale us with pert spirits, more or less -
Never belated, never shiftless.
Often engrossing the vitality of all,
Barterers and mendicants, short and tall,
Teeming with capacious fallicies, never small.
The recipients of Laughter, negates all atrocities,
Tractable pleasure provides an embargo on our worries.
We rejoice the day You crusade against our insecurities!
22
By Rex Dyer, Drew Hagerstrom,
Lizzy Pellicane and Rachel
Donahue
Ben O’Connell

The Giant Pinecone
As I stroll
In my yard
The grass
Taller than me
I think something is wrong
Or
Is it just me?
I get to a pinecone
A giant pinecone---
I knew
I was shrinking.
By Delaney Flinn
The Strange Flower
I ride
On my horse
In the magnificent valley
Filled with wonderful flowers
WOW!
My horse stops
And in the middle of the trail Cynthia Tremonte
Lies a strange thing-a flower
Black, peach
Yellow, orange
With four stems
I take a picture
As I ride along I, wonder,
“What was that?”
By Delaney Flinn
23
Stephanie Sirotkin

Kitty: Her Diary
Nice, quiet
Writing, venting, exposing
Easy to “talk” to
Dependable
By Aaron Golding
Annex
Annoying, boring, tiring
Trees, bushes, dogs, cats
Enclosing, frightening, deceiving
Green, relaxing
Nature
By Matthew Rosenberg
Breakdown
Moaning, Crying
Like a ghost in a grave
Annoying people who were there
Again
By Austin Fernandez
Anne
Alone, bored
Waiting, hiding, writing
Diaries, crumbs, sadness
Cramped, confused
Annexe
By Robert Orazietti
Anne Frank
With eight people
In such scary danger
Hiding from Nazis to survive
--- She dies.
By Astrid Martelet
24
Nina Cammarata
The Midnight Blanket
Balls of fire
Lie upon the midnight blanket-
The dotted stars,
Watching that colorful Earth
Which I used to be on
Purple, green, shining light
Of the sun
Orange, red flaming down
On the people below
By Devon Flinn
Sky
The large sky-
An eruption of blue
Above the Earth
By Devon Flinn

Tim’s Vacation by Micaela Reilly
It seemed as if Tim was the only kid in the whole entire world who was not looking forward to spring break. To him, it was just another day of sitting at
home in his room alone, working on some crazy experiment. He thought that the only difference between spring break and a weekend was that one was just a little
longer than the other. You see Tim is a little different than all of the other children that live on his block. He does not really have any real friends. The people he hangs
out with at school are more like acquaintances. They never really have fun together and they never see each other outside of school.
Tim had also never been anywhere out of the state. He was hoping that maybe that would change over spring break. He was not very confident about it, but
he was still hopeful. One night over supper, his mom told him that it was possible that they might be going to Florida to visit his grandparents. Tim jumped out of his
chair almost in disbelief. He started sprinting up the stairs to go pack, when he heard his mom yell, “Don’t you want to finish your dinner?” He no longer was hungry!
He was so excited all kinds of crazy thoughts started rushing into his head: what do I pack and what else are we going to do in Florida. He ran to his laptop and started
doing as much research as possible. He had to find out as much as he could about Florida.
His family was on their way to the airport the next week. As he was boarding the plane, he had this crazy feeling that he was missing something. He
couldn’t quite put his finger on it, but he knew that he would regret not bringing it while he was there. He knew that the second he got off the plane he would remember
what it was. So for that time he decided just to forget about it and maybe it really was not that important. He had just gotten off the plane when suddenly it hit him. He
had forgotten his camera! “Oh,no” he thought in his head. It was his first vacation and he could not take pictures and show everyone what it was like there. He wanted
to remember this for a long time. But the thing that bothered him the most was that he knew exactly where it was at home. It was right on the kitchen table.
Tim almost screamed when they finally arrived at the hotel. It was the biggest thing he had ever seen. It was only when he got into his room when he realized
how tired he was. He went right to sleep. In the morning when he woke up, it took him a second realize where he was. Over breakfast his mom told him the plan for the
day: first, they were going to visit his grandparents, then they were going to go to the zoo. As excited as he was, he was still thinking about how many things he could
take pictures of, if he had his camera.
As he was in the car on his way to his grandparents’ house, he couldn’t remember the last time he had been there. His grandparents always came to his
house; he never went there. Now, he was so excited. He was always in his room alone and nothing really exciting happened. So he had a crazy feeling about what was
happening. He was so glad to see his grandparents that he pretty much ran into the house. They had a huge lunch and finally said their goodbyes. “We will come back
soon,” Tim’s mother yelled. Tim could not believe it. Would they really be back soon? Tim thought about it the entire way to the zoo. As they parked the car, Tim’s dad
reminded him to put on sun block. Tim was so surprised he had not put on sun block for what seemed to be ages.
He slowly began to spread the greasy sun block around his face. Then they walked into the entrance of the zoo, anxiously waiting to find out what was living
there. The first thing he saw was a flamingo. It was so brightly colored he knew his mom loved it because it was her favorite color. Next they saw a giraffe. It towered
over all of the other animals. He thought about how great it would be to see the world from above. Around the corner was a monkey. Tim read the sign in front of the
cage and saw that this monkey was an Orangutan. The monkey was a bright orange that looked shiny in the sun. Lastly, they saw an elephant. This is the thing that
Tim was looking forward to the most. The elephant was bigger than he had expected. The elephant was standing behind a small rock. Then, all of a sudden, the rock
started to move. Tim could not believe his eyes. He scratched his head in confusion. Then a light bulb went off in his head. The elephant was a mother, and the rock was
actually her baby. Tim was amazed.
This had turned out to be a fantastic spring break. Now Tim changed the way he thought about some things. Instead of staying in his room all day he decided
to have some friends over and maybe even go to the park. Tim couldn’t wait for his next vacation, because he knew that he would not have to pack his camera. It had
turned out that he had remembered it all in his head! THE END
25
Maggie McDonagh

The Snowman
A snowman
In the spring night-
It never melts
He sits there
Waiting for someone
To come
He tries to talk
Words can’t come out
For his mouth is gone
The Snowman
In the hot sun
Wishing for winter
He is lonely
No kids in sight Will Johnson
Deserted-
Birds land on his nose
Eat away at his hat Gabby Farquhar
His smile is gone.
By Devon Flinn
26

A Bird Day
Allie Aiello
Up in the sky
I saw a bird fly
A beautiful robin chirping away,
A chirp like a wonderful song
That I just saw in the eyes of a beautiful day
That blew me away
By Chelsea Leeds
27
A Rose
Grown-ups have much greed
Money seems to be their world
Shylocks are swine
Drinkers are like gluttons
Liquor scourges our country
Drinking brings ye shame
Sloth will bring sorrow
The lazy shant be happy
Duty brings freedom
Foxes and hunters
Always looking for revenge
Never can find love
Many men be boys again
But naïve and innocent
Keep your sin at bay
Make due with your life
Envy won’t get you very far
It could be much worse
Roses have beauty
But every rose has its thorn
No one is perfect
The dead are not dead
The dead are but the fallen
Laughter fills Heaven
By Spencer Horn
Lizzie O’Neill

Fall Fairies
Blown off their comforting warmness of the tree branches.
Whisked away by gusts of wind.
Moving and falling all around me.
They twirl like fairies, bringing winter to us.
They make it smell sweet outside.
They blow around pumpkins, corn, and apples.
They change color from green to red.
They are leaves.
By Morgan Osburn
FALL
Fall is when...
I see bare branches swaying in the wind,
I smell rotting leaves, Catherine Wachtell
I wait for Halloween to hear the cheerful “Ding-Dong.”
I hear crows cawing as they soar over head,
I touch apples as I pick them, ripe enough to fall off the tree,
I taste treats of candied apples,
I feel sad because summer is over and winter is almost here.
By Morgan Osburn
Max Schmidt
28
THANKSGIVING
The perfect turkey,
Have some more stuffing,
All of my family close and merry,
Not one person hungry,
Kitchen full of tasty aromas,
Satisfaction is visible on everyone’s face,
Gathering time for family,
Indians, Redskins were brought peace,
Vegetables are loaded on my plate
I feel cozy as I chatter with my cousins,
Nourishing food for me,
Giving food baskets to the needy.
By Morgan Osburn

Hanukah Ben O’Connell
Nine candles glowing bright,
My family comes from near and far,
Potato latkes, fresh off the griddle,
Spinning that little top and shouting, “Gimmel!”
Laughter fills the fun and festive nights,
It comes once a year and I cannot wait for it to come next year!
By Morgan Osburn
Christmas
I wait for the day when we can hear the joyful sleigh bells ringing,
Shopping galore for my friends and family,
I hear the clippity-clop of reindeer on the roof,
I thump downstairs to see what Santa has brought me,
I feast on homemade cookies and sweet hot chocolate,
I smell the garland and tree minty-sweet,
I feel joyous and merry, for today was the day that Christ was born.
By Morgan Osburn
29

Agreeing
People shaking hands.
They agree among themselves.
They nod and smile.
By Irene Song
Winter
I wait to go ice-skating,
The first snowfall and snow-day,
Bare branches covered in a blanket of snow, Caroline Szuch
I dream of sugar plums and fairies,
I throw snowballs at my friends, hoping to be on target,
I sip hot chocolate, rich and creamy, as melted as dark chocolate,
I hear the lonely cry of animals who don’t have a home,
I feel mystified when everything turns out almost perfect.
By Morgan Osburn
30
Alexis Givens

THE FLOOR
The floor is interesting.
Everyone uses it but doesn’t say a thing.
It could be wood, stone, tile, or chrome.
It is in everyone’s home.
People use it but don’t say a thing.
By Eric Fernandez
New Snow
Fluffy white soft snow
Bright sparkling icy cold fun
Deep and powdery
By Kyle Vanderhoof
Colorado Sky
Amazing sky cool
Very blue cloudless pretty
Sunny perfect crisp
By Kyle Vanderhoof
31 Ben Leigh
Olivia Sprau

A Day
Some days you are mad,
Some days you are sad,
But when you try you might be glad,
A day is a day in your life.
So spend it well,
You don’t have forever,
Look at it now.
By Chelsea Leeds
Ashley Young
31
32
Jill Griffith
Sinus Infection
Head heavy
Ears clogged up and ringing like jingle bells
Throat tingly like goose bumps rolling
up my gentle skin
Nose stuffed liked a turkey on Thanksgiving
My head gently touches the pillow
like Sleeping Beauty
When I wake up all I can think about is:
Head, nose, throat, ears, and medicine
to make it go away
Oh, sinus infection, Oh, sinus infection,
Please go away, and don’t come back until
I have to miss a big test on a school day.
By Jordyn Block

33
By Kieran Sweeney

34
By Ashley young

Pressure
Cooped up inside
Bursting out in little spurts
Like a tea kettle, steam shooting
Anger
By Harry Okun
Him
Beautiful, smart
The voice of an angel
Talker, listener, amusing
Julia McBride With him, upstairs is
Heaven.
Inspired by The Diary of a Young Girl :
Shhh…
Hide in the day,
No steps allowed,
Office, Secret Annexe,
Don’t move.
By Corrina Drost
Love
Bubbly, happy
Meeting, talking, thinking
Hearts, Future, Attic, Hope
Adoring, allowing, obsessing
Gorgeous, secret
Peter
By Maggie McDonagh
35
By Doran McManus
Sean Reed

Immortal
Everlasting, eternal
Staying, unmoving, unfaltering
Boulder, mountains, wind, leaves
Fleeting, changing, fading
Transient, swift
Mortal
By Harry Okun
Perfect, extraordinary
Playing, joking, winning
Gold, games, nothing, blackness
Crying, Fighting, Failing
Boring, Sad Patrick Lai
Depression
By Drew Hagerstrom
Darkening Days
Perseverence
Tenacious, undefeatable
Struggling, surviving, enduring
Walls, clocks, loneliness, captivity
Fearing, passing, aging
Indefinite, Ominous
Time
BY REX DYER Regret
To turn back clocks
Wishing to go back to the things
That once were
But, no more
Beck Tabor
Privacy
Special, teasing
Feeling, understanding,
insulting
Elders, disease, problems,
thoughts
Parenting, sitting, becoming
Important, historical
Diary
By Charlie Hill
36
By Lizzy Pellicane

Zach Blumenkehl
Survival
Outside,
We hear the screams
And sense the misery,
But we must hide in order to
Survive.
Opinions
Strong, expressed
Thinking, changing, wondering
Thoughts, ideas, venting, outlet
Releasing, writing, recording
Informative, reflective
Diary
By Rex Dyer Meg Anderson
37
By Lizzy Pellicane
Annex
Grimy, enclosed
Creaking, moaning, rattling
Underneath my shaking feet
Jail
By Samuel Stone
Meg Anderson

Thinking
Stream – Consciousness
Anne, remarkable thoughts,
Courage, ambition, will, future,
Kind Heart
God’s Test
Testing
Belief in God
Religion is God’s test.
When belief is gone, all is lost:
It’s done.
By Hannah Leahy
By John Pisano
Quiet
Be calm, relax
You can’t be heard, don’t
move
It is risky in the annex
Be still
By Tom O’Brien
War
Evil, Bloody
Crying, hiding, killing
Guns, corpses, kisses, hugs
Amazing, playing, running
Happiness, ever-lasting
Peace.
By Joshua Schramm
Hope
Faithful, necessary
Waiting, hearing, hoping
Wait for dreams fulfilled
Happiness
By Kyle Fisher
Hope for Peace
by Kyle Morris, Ellie Smith
and Zach Haliczer
38
The Girl in the Annexe
Anne
Loud, sincere
Loving, caring, screaming
Talent, diary, cat, families
Clinging, needing, wanting
Peter
By Rachel Donahue
Julia Acierno
No one likes to be engrossed in calamitous war!
With trepidation people impart a roar.
As the vitality of voracious soldiers becomes sore,
They rue this pivotal day more and more.
The men delve deeper into the impending night;
The gallant soldiers begin to dexterously fight.
And the tenet of their crusade comes to light.
The recipients of the gunfire hide in capacious holes
While their forts are defaced and their tractable souls
Abdicate when they see American flags on poles.

Written by Spencer Horn
*Inspiration for this letter from the story
“The Most Dangerous Game”
by Richard Connell.
40

Scared
I am so nervous
We could have
been found today
What would we
have done?
By Lizzie O’Neill
Kitty
Hidden from the world
Kitty was my only friend
Tears come from my
eyes
By Zachary Haliczer
Strength
Hope
Indescribable, great
Enterprising, expiring, willing
Anne Frank had this
Attitude.
By Jake Schreer
Lee Seul Cha
41
Cory Betz
Kitty
Kitty is her name
Kitty is Anne Frank’s
best friend
Anne tells Kitty all
By Jackson Kramer
Suffering of Anne Frank
The Germans came in
Anne Frank’s family hid
well,
With hopes of freedom
By Dusty Pribor
Hold me
Tight as we kiss,
And as time slips away,
You, too, may try to slip
away
In vain.
By Whitley Horn

“No Child Left Behind?”
What is The No Child Left Behind Act? Some may say it helps this country; others are opposed to the act. The No Child Left Behind Act
is supposed to help children meet their educational standard and not be “left behind.”
The act was made into law on January 8, 2002. There are four main points to this:
1. Teacher quality --For a school to get funding all the teachers must be highly qualified. To be qualified means they have to have at least
a bachelor’s degree, to meet the state’s certification and licensing requirements, and to show expertise in their subject.
2.
3.
4.
Student testing -- This means students in public schools are required to take a test for reading and math once a year for grades
three through eight and in science once during grades 3-5, once through grades 6-9, and once in grades 10 or 11. This is the most
important one because if the students do not do well on the test the school does not get funding.
Scientifically based research -- This means the teachers’ teaching methods have to be effective according to scientific research.
Public school choice -- This means children are allowed to change their schools if their current school does not meet their needs.
All these things sound good, but they don’t work in practice. There are many flaws. One would be the gaming of the system. This is when
schools manipulate test scores to keep their money. The administration has so much pressure on them to keep their funding they are forced to cheat
the system a little. They have to make a choice. Do they just cut the kids out of their system? Or do they just keep them and lose their funding?
Another big flaw in the act is there is an incentive against high-performing students. Now, the point of the act is to get everyone on the
same level. But, what about those who perform higher than others? The schools only get funding for basic skills like reading, writing, math, and
special education. Why should the high performing students learn something they already know instead of striving for their best?
The most important thing in schools is funding. They need funding to keep their schools running. It is a “Catch 22” or a lose-lose situation.
If the schools do poorly, then they do not get funding and have no way of getting their scores back up. This is why the school’s administration has
to make the decision to cheat the system.
In 2014 the government wants all students, including disadvantaged and special education, to reach the same high standards. Now, this
is an impossible goal to reach by 2014. These people are setting their goals way too high, and they think that the act is helping more than hurting.
Many students will still be “left behind.”
42
By Thomas DePoalo

Testing Dynamite
A dynamitc test was scheduled for January 16, at 1:30 p.m. Everyone was supposed to
be off the slopes of Snowy Peaks, the site for a dynamic test, by 1:15, and all, except one kid,
were off the slopes. That kid happened to be Robby Craig, whose parents wanted nothing to do
with snowboarding and had no idea where he was.
All of Craig’s family, except for Robby, thought athletics were a waste of energy. That
meant his mom, dad, and two obnoxious sisters had no clue about anything that even slightly
had to do with a ball, bat, or board of any kind. Pretty much, the only things Robby’s family
members were interested in, or weren’t totally clueless about, were violin, homework, math,
and, in the case of his two sisters, themselves. Not him!! Sports was his passion.
He had snuck out of his house at seven in the morning and waited two hours until Snowy
Peaks opened. His parents wouldn’t notice when he would walk through the front door at five
when the resort closed. “Ah, well, at least I’ve got until five,” he thought to himself. Then
something hit him; there was a dynamite test in twenty minuets, right at the top of the peak he
was on the lift for! “Man, this was not good,” thought Robby. His parents may not love him
or know he’s not there half the time, but he was pretty sure his being blown to pieces in an
explosion and being dead might tick his mom off a bit.
He hopped off the lift at 1:15 with a plan. If Robby just sped down the easiest trail as
quickly as he could, he would probably be at the bottom by 1:25 with a whole five minutes to
spare. Robby quickly strapped his right foot into his binding and started bolting down the peak.
He had covered one third of the mountain by 1:20, and the slope kept getting easier. At 1:25,
Robby got a little worried and skidded to a stop. He had only gotten halfway down. Maybe he
had underestimated the trail’s length. He was just about to check his trail map, when he thought,
“I’m already cutting it real close; if I go down now, I can probably make it down before an
avalanche starts from the shock of the explosion.”
With that, he shoved off. He was just about to get back to full speed when a deafening
“Crash!” echoed throughout the mountain. Robby cursed under his breath. He started zooming
back down, but it wasn’t fluid movement and Robby knew it. If he kept up like this, he would
do a spectacular face-plant, which would slow him down even more. He slowed down and in
doing so heard the avalanche like a wave. Just then, a plan came into his head. It could work,
well maybe, if he landed it. That would be the hard part. As he neared the final stretch, the
43

avalanche was ten yards behind Robby. When he saw the big, sloping rock, he knew that it
could be useful. His plan was to use the rock as a jump and fly to the base of the hill. He would
use the force of the avalanche to give him a speed boost. Robby got into a crouch just as he hit
the rock. In the air, he realized he would never be able to land the jump. The best he could do
was to tumble head over heels, miraculously not breaking anything, directly in front of a ski
patrol officer.
The officer jerked Robby up and yelled at him, “What do you think you’re doing kid?
Don’t you know about the test today!?”
Robby just smiled meekly and said, “Well, sir, I do know one thing: the dynamite
works!”
THE END
By Zoe Steinberg
44
Kami Movsovich

Dear Diary,
Hi! I just got back from an amazing trip to an amazing California. I knew many things
about California that it was great.
The first thing I did when I got there was to go to Anaheim to go to the number one
tourist spot in the state, Disneyland. There I ran into my friends Mickey, Daisy, Donald, Goofy,
and Pluto. We had a blast and decided to see all that California had to offer.
Our first stop was Sacramento, the capital of California. It is located at 38 degrees
north and 127 degrees west. We went to see the Sacramento Symphony, which had
awesome music and was very enjoyable to watch. We also went to see the Sacramento
Kings play against the Los Angeles Lakers. Unfortunately, Kings lost because Kobe Bryant had
100 shots. Then we left Sacramento and went to the top of the state. The absolute location
of the northern border is 41 degrees north and 124 degrees west. We then took a plane tour
and flew down to the southern border of California. It’s absolute location is 32 degrees north
and 117 degrees west.
If you don’t know how to read a map you can find California to the west of Nevada
and Arizona, to the south of Oregon, and to the north of Mexico. California is also located
directly east of the Pacific Ocean. It’s a big state; you can’t miss it!
By Gabby Farquhar
45
Danielle Popper

Emily’s last piece of writing-completed for English 8. Natalie Wetmore
Age, Gender, and Race
“Guys like us got no family. They make a little stake an’ then they blow it in, they ain’t got nobody in the worl’ that gives a hoot in hell about ‘im-”
“But not us”
“Because I got you an`…”
“An` I got you. We got each other, that’s what, that gives a hoot in hell about us.” Lennie and George were two white, young men, who had each other
through the whole journey. Lennie, who was by George’s side keeping him from getting lonely, while George was by Lennie’s side supporting him through his mental
state. Lennie and George were men, unlike Curly’s wife who had Curly, she was a woman. This fact alone excluded her from being a part of the ranch. Similarly,
Crooks, the stable buck, was black. Just the color of his skin, and already he was ostracized by everyone on the farm! Likewise, there was Candy, the old, crippled
swamper. Even though he could talk to the others when they went out to the fields, Candy was too old and handicapped to work and was left alone on the ranch. In
conclusion, gender, race, and age were the major sources of loneliness in the novella Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck.
Curly’s wife is the only girl on the ranch and the wife of Curly, the farm owner’s son. Curly, who has always been overprotective of his wife, will not let her
leave the house or talk to any of the workers. Farming, horses, pigs, and plows. Life from the city differed much from the life she had lived before. She complains,
“Seems like they ain’t none of them cares how I gotta live.” In the story she says that in her past she had met an actor who called her a “natural” in acting, and since
then she’s wanted to be in shows. However, the letter she was supposed to receive from that actor was supposedly stolen from her mother. Now, the reality is this: tart,
whore, and a flirt- these are the names that she is called by the men of the ranch. Unknown to the men, that she is just lonely and wants someone to talk to she moans,
“Wha’s the matter with me? Ain’t I got a right to talk to nobody? Whatta they think I am anyways?” Being a woman worked against her, and in many ways, it isolated
her from being able to make friends without other men calling her a “tart,” and kept her to the farm, instead of fulfilling her dreams of being in the shows. For this
reason, Curly’s wife and her gender is the source of her loneliness.
“A guy goes nuts if he ain’t got nobody. Don’t make a difference who the guy is, long as he’s with you. I tell ya…I tell ya a guy gets too lonely and he gets
sick.” This saying from Crooks tells us just how lonely he is. Crooks, the black stable buck, had always been ignored because of his skin color. On the ranch, Crooks
had his own place, separate from the bunkhouses that Lennie and George shared with the other white men. His fellow workers knew not to come into his place, it was
already understood. They just didn’t understand that he’d love to have some company over, just to talk, as shown by his saying, “George knows what he’s about. Jus’
talks on, you don’t understand nothing. George can tell you screwy things, and it don’t matter. It’s just the talking. It’s just about being with another guy. That’s
all.” When he said this, it shows that since he was black and nobody dared to visit him, he just wanted anyone to talk to. In Crooks’ case, race was the source of his
loneliness.
Candy is the oldest of the ranch; his biggest fear is getting fired because of his age. In the beginning of the story, he owned a disabled dog. Carlson, another
person who worked on the farm, convince Candy to put his dog to sleep since the dog was old and of no more use, just like Candy is. He feels this connection and
says, “You see what they done to my dog tonight? They said he wasn’t good to himself, nor nobody else. When they can me here, I wisht sombody’d shoot me.”
Candy loved his dog very much. To him, the dog was like George’s Lennie, and with the dog gone, Candy no longer had someone there with him when all the younger
guys went to the fields. It also showed that Candy wanted to be able to die before getting canned, or else he wouldn’t have anywhere to go.
Curly’s wife, Crooks, and Candy all are surrounded by loneliness, by simply age, gender, and race. Even though George and Lennie aren’t affected by any
of these problems, they can still be lonely. When George went into town Lennie was lonely and he went as far as to enter Crooks’ bunkhouse. So age, gender, and race
are the three sources of their loneliness, just being able to have a friend like George and Lennie, can keep them from getting lonely. Their mantra is “We got each other,
that‘s what, that gives a hoot ...about us.”
By Emily Aguas
December 11, 2007
46