Being in a Concentration Camp

Regie and I are being shoved into a crowded room full of people. They're all in a state of confusion, ranging from three to forty years old. Me and Regie don't know anyone. The concrete walls are grimy, with no windows to let in air. Now they shove the men and boys into another room, where we wash and are sent into another room. Regie was taken from me, and his fluffy ears and button eyes seemed solemn as he was carried away forever.

I finally see a small window, and a menacing eye peering through. What is happening? It's hard to tell with so many people in one room.

Far away, I feel a faint hiss, and then it's hard to breath. Me and the other little boys are the first to drop.

--Ashley, Preston Middle School

Our top entries for two writing activites:

Poem: What Is a Hero?

H = Heroic
E = Exciting
R = Responsible
0 = Optomistic
E = Enthusiastic
S = Smart
Althea, age 9

H = Honest
E = Efficient
R = Remarkable
O = Outrageous
E =
S = Strong
Josh, age 11

If you were being sent to a Japanese-internment camp today, what would you take?

The teddy bear my mom made when she found out she was pregnant with me.
Clothes
Blanket
My favorite book
Marc, age 13

Blankets
Tarp
Knife
Clothes
Food
Money
Passport
Books
Shovel
Animal Traps
Manny, age 11

Bedding
Clothes
Shoes
Toys
Balls
Favorite Snack
Oci, age 9

COURAGE ACTIVITY

The meaning of the statement, "Behold the turtle. He makes progress only when he sticks his neck out," by James Bryant Conant.

I feel that James is saying that the turtle in a shell is nothing more than a cool looking rock. But when he comes out of his shell, the world is wide open for him to see and explore. When he sticks his head out, he faces all that the world can challenge him with. He could put his head in his shell or take the chance, leave it out, and do great. He may fail, but at least he took the chance, and that is what courage is. Doing something that you may fail at, but at least you are courageous enough to try. If we just sit back in life and go with the flow, we will never get anywhere. People everyday stick their necks out to move forward. Small kids stick their necks out when they take their first steps in life. People in the military stick their necks out everyday fighting for our freedom. Two very extreme differences, but each are still courageous.
--Cody Blais, Age 10

"Efforts and courage are not enough without purpose and direction."

I think this quote means that you need purpose to have courage. Even if you have courage for efforts, if you have nowhere to direct it then it's no good. Direction helps us to keep our efforts and courage in focus. Purpose helps us reach our goals. Courage needs a reason. Efforts need a life purpose.
--Althea Fisher, Age 9

MY HERO ACTIVITY

My hero is my dad. He save other people's lives. My dad is a fire fighter and a Highway Maintanence worker. He likes to help my family around the house. He also likes to take me camping and fishing. He also helps keep the roads safe for all the drivers on the highway. He is a hard worker. He will always do extra work even when he really does not want to do it. He takes time out of his daily schedule to spend time with his family and help out at the fire station.
--Kimberly Cooper, Age 9

My hero is Batman. I would meet him at a cafe. I would talk abotu how to fly. I would have him save the president. I would be nervous and happy to meet him. He would be wearing his suit and wings. He would say hi, nice to meet you at first. I would say how are you doing at first. I would be wearing my regular clothes. I would be worried if he did not like me. If he wanted me to do something, I would do it.
--Nevaeh Gonzalez, Age 8

My hero is Spiderman. I would meet him at a Spiderman store. He would be wearing his Spiderman suit. I would be worried because he might put a spider web on me. We would talk about how to climb up the wall.
--Biana Gonzalez, Age 7

Susan B. Anthony is one of my heroes because she marched for women's rights. When she marched she did it in a respectful way. She is also my hero because she had the government change the way they saw women with their limited rights. I look up to her because without her, our rights would be limited like women in some other countries. If Susan was not there fighting for our rights, where would we be now? She was one of the most inspirational people in America. Susan was a great leader because she was for our country. If Susan B. Anthony had not lived, how different our world would be.
--Kyndall Patterson, Age 12

My heroes are my mom, my dad, my brother, my neighbors. They are all my heroes because they care for me and they love me. But even though they are my neighbors, they still treat me like I am part of their family. I love them so much because they encourage me to reach my goal. And I just want to say thank you to my other heroes, which are the firefighters because I think they got the High Park Fire 100% contained. Those fire fighters are working so hard. I wish I could up there and say thank you 1,000 times! I just love all of my heroes so much because they are working hard and encouraging me at the same time. I just want to say THANK YOU!
--Alexis Bergmann, Age 9

ACTS OF KINDNESS ACTIVITY

When somebody did an act of kindess it made me feel happy. That person's name is Tracey. When I started Boys & Girls club, she gave me a warm welcome. She taught me how to play my favorite sport, tetherball. She also gave me a tour of Boys & Girls Club. Tracey helped me ask for a tag and went to the programs together. To this day, she is my best friend. And now I have a lot of friends. I'm so grateful she helped me. She is my bff.
--Madison Johnson, Age 10

FRIENDSHIP ACTIVITY

F=riendship
R=espect
I=nspiration
E=xciting
N=ice
D=ifferent
--Coby Blais, Age 10

Friends are for helping
They are for sharing and keeping secrets
Friends are like pebbles that are carried down the
stream of life with you
Friends are awesome
--Kyndall Patterson, Age 12

F=antastic!
R=espect
I=mportant
E=xciting
N=ice
D=ifferent
S=upercalifragilisticexpialidocious
--Althea Fischer, Age 9

Each child could add only one line to the story. Their names are shown in parenthesis.

THE STORY

Jaden went to the carnival . . .
He rode the ponies (Annie). Which took him to a magical fluffy land. (Brianna) The fluffyness was made of clouds and cotton candy. (Mathew) He quickly ran into a pink dragon and they became friends (Velia) The dragon, so large and frightening, was actually quite friendly. (Elena) He told Jaden his name was Pete, and revealed he had magical powers. (Chanel)

The dragon gave Jaden a ride on his back. (Mor) They soared through the clouds and finally stopped at the dragon’s house. (Mar) Quickly making their way into the house, they looked for food to cook. (Cynthia) They decided to make stacks of pancakes smothered and drenched in the most magnificent and powerful maple syrup. (Jordan) When they ate them, they turned invisible. (Chris) They could walk through walls. (Nate) But it only lasted three hours. (Sydney)

Because it only lasted three hours, they decided to take a nap! (Sadie) After their nap, they went to go look for food. (J) Once they woke up, they started walking through the magical forest. (Ava) Then they found Chuck Norris. (Dillon) And he gave them a potato. (Daniel) After eating the potato they were able to shoot missiles out of their fingers. (Warren) Every time they ate more potatoes, they grew stronger and heavier missiles! (?) Jaden and the dragon stopped eating potatoes and started eating carrots, which allowed them to have x-ray vision. (Lydia) So then they see through everything and anyone. (Ashley) So they snuck around and scared people. (Elaina) Then they made a magic hideout. (Lili) They made plans and magic potions. (Sofia) They experimented with the potions. (Marco). They used them to heal the sick. (Hannah) The end!

"This is the scene where Miguel and Lucky are walking to the house across the street from Lucky's home to ask if they can get the lady's old push lawn mower for the Scrap Metal contest." Katelyn

"My favorite book is V for Victory, because it's inspiring to read about wars. I think it would be super fun to be a kid in the 1940s because there were a lot of contests and I am very competitive. Also, I would love to, like in V for Victory, have my family run a store and me helping out." Sadie, age 11

"My favorite book is Which and Wizard, because it tells how imporant my self is. I like fiction adventure kind of books. Adventure gives me energy. Like I'm traveling with the books. " Hynsoon, age 11

"My favorite book is Scarlett, because it has a lot of description about the scenery and the characters. I like to read fiction books, because I am always dreaming, and when I'm dreaming, I feel like the characters are alive." Taylor, age 13

"I would love to be a kid in the 1940s because I've loved the way they were dressed. I also want to know more about how they lived." Tannia, age 11

Thank you to all our Summer Book Club participants! I enjoyed all of your entries and it was hard to choose which to feature, but here are the few I selected from each category. I hope you'll all participate in our Book Club next time and enter again!

CINQUAIN POEMS:

V for Victory:

Alfonso
Battle Medic
Lost his arm
Is a smart man
Hero

by Nathan Kinard, age 13

Worker
Collecting Scrap
Finds new friends
Wants his brother home
Miguel

by Nathan Kinard, age 13

Doing My Part:

Train
Leave home
Love in air
Think about to much
Gone

by Renee Cline, age 10

This scene is from Doing My Part. The bubble says, "I'll do proud in the army. Maybe I'll even bring home a medal."

This scene is from The No-No Boys.

"This is Arleen. She is 10 years old. She is a good friend to Helen but she is very goofy. She helps Helen by stopping Mrs. Osthoff to move some where. She does this by persuading her to come back because of Helen. Arleen knows Mrs. Osthoff because Helen told her about Mrs. Osthoff.

She knew that Mrs. Osthoff was moving because she lived next to her house and woke up early. She saw Mrs. Osthoff going out with a sutcase, so she stops her even though she still has her pajamas on. It made Helen happy because Mrs. Osthoff didn't move away."

"I think there should be a dog that follows one of the boys around. He would be brown and black. The boys would love him. His name would be tickle."