week19-08

WEEK 19
DUE WEDNESDAY, FEB. 6: 19. Pride. When did pride help you? Hurt you? Alternate: The last time. You could write about the last time you did something. Or write in reaction to this: “That is the last time I will ever….” Publication: March 11. Schedule of 2008 Prompts.

Week 19: Losing Weight and Backyard.
Click image on left to see or download the Rutland Herald page as a pdf.
Click for the Brattleboro Reformer or Times Argus versions.
This week's student writing: Losing Weight and Backyard
Details on this week's student art.
Index of past weeks' pages.
Student content published on Tuesdays in Brattleboro Reformer, Times Argus, Rutland Herald and The Valley News and Tuesdays and Thursdays in The Burlington Free Press.

Chelsea Wait, a senior at Spaulding High School, has this to say about her photograph: "Ingrid is unlike any child I’ve ever met. She is a 2-and-1/2-year-old that lives in an orphanage in Guatemala City, Guatemala. Old burn marks and scars line her small, chubby arms and legs, but her face is untouched, delicate and beautiful. Ingrid already has an issue with the world. She frequently cries, throws fits and acts out. Still, it’s impossible to ignore her charm and spirit. Once you’ve proved yourself to her, Ingrid will love you no matter what. Her rare smiles will melt your heart, and her hugs will convey all that her young mind can not yet form in words. Despite the rages, fits and fights, Ingrid is a beautiful little girl that I will never forget.

Do you have a photo or piece of artwork you want to publish? Click "PUBLISH" and "Submit Art" above for more.

On Eloquence

By W.T. Smith
Hanover High School, Grade 11

What would we give for eloquence?
Would we change what we had to say?
What did we do with innocence?
Did we lose it along the way?

How many times are decisions made
By the words that we know how to use?
And how often do we give our dreams away
Because we have to choose?

So if you speak a different tongue,
Will you dream a different way?
So strange how often dreams are hung
On what we have to say.

Backyard

By Jen Mariotti
Hartford Memorial Middle School, Grade 8

I walk into my backyard. Look around to see the damage. There, here, everywhere, there are trees blown down. I think that is our neighbor’s car up in our room. We did not know it was coming. Read more »

Backyard

By Ossia Dwyer
Hartford Memorial Middle School, Grade 7

The backyard is a mysterious place
And that is where I found the case.
It said open in fifteen years,
I wanted to be able to go near.
Things from the past that historians overlooked,
Things that you can’t find in a book.
Personal memories all locked away,
And put in my backyard because they knew it would stay Read more »

My Grandparent's Backyard

By Sierra Varela
Hartford Memorial Middle School, Grade 7

It’s a big time memory
Up until the age of five
Until they moved, somewhere else nearby
Was in my Grandma’s backyard.

Where there was a small fenced yard,
With a little pretty garden,
And a baby pool just for me.
Where I would cruise in my little brown toy car,
All around in the yard,
And think I was so sweet.

Rolling around in the snow,
Until my toes turned pink.
Catching snowflakes in my mouth.
Where I would eat my peanut butter and jelly fish sandwich,
In my amazing Barbie Girl chair.
When one day they moved,
Somewhere nearby,
In a place where the backyard was all red dirt,
And nasty bugs walked by.

I miss her house,
Where I used to play,
In the little fenced backyard,
Where I would cruise all day.
It’s a big time memory,
And I will never forget,
The little fenced yard,
That killed my pet.
(It was an imaginary pet, so do not fret.)

The Backyard of a Farm

By Emily Fariel
Hartford Memorial Middle School, Grade 8

A backyard is not just grass.
It’s the place where I rode my bike and the chain came off.
Where my sister and I played hide and seek, in the surrounding woods.
Where our garden grew most of the vegetables we ate.
Where we picked wild strawberries, and attempted to make jam. Read more »

The Forest in My Backyard

By Miles Latham
Hartford Memorial Middle School, Grade 8

The meadows dance in the wind.
The pines in the forest groan.
The snow gently glides to earth.
The moon casts white shadows through the trees.

As I continue to write by just the moonlight,
I sense the evening chill. Read more »

A Walk In My Backyard

By Sofia Collas
Ferrisburgh Central School, Grade 3

In my backyard
I hear the creek
Rushing through
The rocks,
I see my
Dog’s tiny footprints
Deep in the first snow
They go
Straight to
An Oak tree
Out of
Nowhere
My dog
Comes running
Fast
Like a cheetah!
He is
White like
The snow,
Brown like
Chocolate, and
Black like
The night sky
Then I
Look up and
I see
A black
Crow flying
In the sky

I look
At the creek
A duck is
Swimming
I can
Not make
Out the
Type of
Duck Read more »

Night Lights

By Zeb Dartt
Ferrisburgh Central School, Grade 3

In my back yard
A tree lights up.
Mom has finally
Put up some Christmas
Lights!
The snow sparkles
Around the tree,
Blue, green and red
Light floods the night
Like fire flies
On a summer night,
he wind makes them
Rustle like
Leaves in fall.

We Lay

By Katherine DiBella
Woodstock Union High School, Grade 10

So still,
Heads touching,
Fingertips spread far far apart,
Blades of grass licked our skin,
So still,
Feeling the earth sink into our skin,
Floating gently,
Swaying back and forth but so quietly,
The earth rocking us,
We are its children,
Making our roots grab deep into the ground,
Eyes held tight, Read more »

The Snow

By Lindsay Andersen
Ferrisburgh Central School, Grade 3

In the backyard
The snow falls
From the sky.
I lay down
And watch
As snowflakes fall.
They’re like crystals
Falling from the sky.
Something moves
Out of the woods.
A rabbit,
as white as the snow.
The snow falls
All day
While I watch
With that rabbit.

Weightless

By Blaise Gervais
Burlington High School, Grade 9

The drops slide down my body
Salt mingling with the pure, honest streams of life
They weave together sliding over the scars,
Of sorrow imprinted on my skin,
Washing away the blemishes
of guilt and regret.

As the water slithers
Like silvery snakes through my scalp
It tickles the nape of my neck Read more »

This is a Place

By Greg Goedewaagen
Woodstock Union High School, Grade 10

In the backyard there are many things,
things that are there now,
and things that once were.
Memories of blue and orange slides,
faded from the sun, memories of crawling
beneath a picnic table, or climbing a tree,
just to hide from everyone. Read more »

Winterview

By Bridget Iverson
Mount Mansfield Union High School, Grade 9

Cold glistens soft azure high
A gleaming blue that sucks the eye.
Land sucks his frozen breath in
To stretch clouds wispy in the wind.
Closer slumbering hills lie
Trees shoulder loads of snow nearby.
Prints betray where I have been
Through dried beige stalks and their brown kin. Read more »

The Big Fat Lie

By Caitlyn Reilly
Dover School, Grade 6

Some people think that being skinny is the only way to be popular and have friends. That is the big fat lie. being overweight isn't the end of the world. It's not like if you are 1 pound over you'll be an outcast. So for all those girls who think that being overweight is the worst possible thing, It's not. It's the big fat lie!

Losing Weight

By Lydia Garland
Dummerston School, Grade 7

Losing Weight

The pressure today to become skinny is too great. Read more »

Losing Weight

By Kelsey Johnson
Hartford High School, Grade 10

Girls feel like they need to do anything to be popular.
I would know; I used to be one of them.

According to some schools, you need at least these three things to become popular:
1. You have to have the "I'm so much better than you, so why bother trying" attitude.
2. You have to have the popular football boyfriend. Read more »

Ultimate Weight Loss

By Eli Millman
Fairfield Center School, Grade 8

When I say “losing weight” what is the first thing you think of? I am willing to bet you think of FAT. Whether it is starving yourself, exercising like mad, or diet pills, you think of excess blubber. Read more »

Her Empty State

By Chloe Dickinson
Woodstock Union High School, Grade 10 Read more »

In My Backyard

By Nick Jettie
Fairfield Center School, Grade 7

Dancing in the daisies with dogs,
In the backyard.
Laying in lilies on the lawn,
In the backyard.
Prancing in the pansies in peace,
In the backyard.
Feathered friends having a feast,
In the backyard.
Green grass is growing,
In the backyard.
Swings swaying on the swingset,
In the backyard.

Reflection

By Chelsea Lumbra
Fairfield Center School, Grade 8

When you look at your reflection, what do you see?
Do you see perfection
And smile with glee?

Or, do you make yourself throw up, day after day
Wanting to be thin
Thinking it’s the only way?

Do you workout to no end?
Every chance that you get, doing push-ups and crunches
Hours in the weight room do you spend? Read more »

Weightless in Motion

By Samantha Burns
Fairfield Center School, Grade 8

Pressure builds up
Can’t break it down
Overflowing the full cup
Turn it around
Look back
Look back
Look back
And smile
At the tracks
You’ve laid for miles
Tears released from your eyes
Weightless emotion
You’re free
Now fly

Trampoline

By Amanda Rink
Brattleboro Area Middle School, Grade 7

As I jump up and down
I can barely see straight
with the sun in my face
and wind in my hair
there’s a mixture of colors as
I soar into space.
The barking of dogs
and a flying sensation
makes me open my eyes as I land on the stage.
I hear my mom call,
as I perform for the crowd.
I stop and listen with intent.
I hit hard ground, when I hear her yell “dinner.”
Why is it over, why must this be?
While I eat the grim dinner
my heart sobs with grief.
Then I crawl into sleep.
Once in slumber I dream sweet
dreams of me on my trampoline.
When I wake in the morning
I look through the window,
there I see my back yard
and my bare trampoline.
So I pull on a coat and run outside,
for nothing can separate me from my trampoline.

Weight

By Julie Curran
Main Street Middle School, Grade 7

Building.
Up.
Up.
Up.
Too much
To carry.
Too much
To hold.
I can’t
Bear
This pain.
I can’t hide
This
Burden.

You
Comfort me.

There’s nothing
In the world.

There’s nothing
More to
Do.

No
One can
Hold you
Down.

Weight.

Dropping.
Down
Down
Down.

You are
FREE.

The Woods

By Lydia Herrick
Main Street Middle School, Grade 7

I run…
up
the
hill.

I stop…
panting
for
breath.

I tromp…
through
the
snow.

I skip…
among
the
trees.

I hear…
my
own
heartbeat.

I think…
nothing
at
all.

I rest…
on
the
ground.

I am…
in
the
woods.

The Back Yard Battle Field

By Emily Patch
Rutland High School, Grade 11

Every day after school
They get off of the bus
And start to the castle next door.
They run as fast as they can,
And grab their biggest sword.

Then all four choose the side
That they will be fighting for.
Everyday a battle is won.
But so far no one has won the war.

Then they fight as hard as they can, Read more »

Innocence

By Heather Sheltra
Rice Memorial High School, Grade 9

Running through the yard,
Laughing with friends,
Laughing like hyenas
Wanting simplicity to last forever
Sophistication is around the corner
Hoping your time doesn’t pull you away from innocence

Hiding in the playhouse
Playing flashlight tag,
Pretending to be magnificent mermaids
Swimming in the pool Read more »

Losing Weight

By Alicia Waite
Rochester High School, Grade 9

Fat, skinny and in between,
No matter what people can be mean,
It makes you wonder and it makes you think,
Sometimes it takes you to the brink,

Television newspapers and magazines,
People always trying to fit between the scenes,
Never feeling good enough,
But always acting tough.

Celebrities make it seem too easy,
But they are really oh so cheesy,
With their plastic surgery and liposuction,
Without these so-called necessities they could not function,

Physical features can’t always be read,
You have to look deeper instead,
Look past the illusion and find your heart,
Think things through before you start,
Because loosing weight can be great,
But going to far will tempt fate.

Just remember you are who you are,
And be careful not to take it too far,
Because celebrities have no problem going under the knife,
But for us, there is so much more to life.

The Backyard

By Branden Taylor
Mount St. Joseph Academy, Grade 9

Twas the hit of all hits.
Ball goes flying.
Your breath slows.
You take off running.
It’s a home-run.
All the people you are with are screaming “RUN!!”
You touch the base and keep going.
When you finally get home people pat your back.
Your team just won. Read more »