The Goal

By Emily I.

            My day started by going to my best friends’ goodbye party, she was moving to Florida in May. It was around 10 o’clock. It was a lot of fun; we played games in her backyard and had a lot of sweets.  The party ended at one o’clock and I had thirty minutes before the lacrosse game. They were our biggest competition we had never gone a season without losing at least one game.  So far neither of us had lost a game. 

            It was a cool April afternoon, about 60 degrees.  The wind was blowing in my face as I walked down the track to where my team was.  My sister Bella was by my side, she was on the team too.  My coaches told us to hurry up because we were always the last ones there.  When we got there I was put on the field and Caitria was taken off.  Bella was on the bench because she is not really supposed to be on the team.  She was playing up because well, she is pretty good.  Caitria was doing the draw, that’s when our to sticks pull backwards to try to get the ball in the middle. So I had to do it against Megan.  She was on my club team, Integrity, at the time.  I won the draw and passed it down to Kailyn.  She went to the goal and scored.

            At halftime the score was 7-8, the opposing team was winning.  That was the first time this season we were ever losing. My coach pulled me to the side and told me he was keeping in for the second half.

 “Kswiss, (that was my nickname he gave me) he said, I need you to win me this game.”  The game started up again and they went to the goal.  Marley, the most amazing goalie ever, stopped it.  Katie got the ball and started running down the field, but the girl on the other team checked her and she lost it. The check was illegal, and my coach started yelling at the referees. Katie then checked the girl and she got a penalty for it.  The girl ran up the field and scored another goal.  The score was 7-9.  I was getting really tired so my coach took me out.

            The draw went up, and Caitria caught it.  She ran down the field and went behind the goal where she called “Jiggling Gorillas”.  That’s when I go beside the goal and everyone else lines up and they start picking off each other.  That play always worked.  Ashley was a really strong Offensive player; she caught the ball and went into shoot.  She made it.  The clock said 2 minutes on it, time was running out.  My coach put me back in and I did the draw.  I got it and threw a long pass to Ashley, and then started sprinting up the field.  Ashley caught it and went to score.  She missed and the girl on the other team and I started running for the ball to gain possession.  She got it and I followed her all the way up to 50 yard line.  Then Katie and Caroline got her. She threw a pass to the girl that was in front of the goal.  The girl missed, and Marley saved it.

            Time was running out.   My coach started screaming “pass it to Kswiss” so she threw me the ball and it was  intercepted.  The girl seemed surprised I could tell it was her first interception of the season. 

I could hear my coach on the sidelines saying “it’s over, it’s over.”

            But it wasn’t over I checked the girl… it was my first legal check of the season.  My stick hit her stick below her shoulder.  I was freaking out, but I knew that I had to get to the goal.  I ran so fast, everyone was yelling to go to the goal, I did just that.  Their defense doubled teamed me so I went behind to start up a play.  My coach yelled “Forget the play Kswiss, there is only 10 seconds left.” So I yelled “Cherokee”, they all looked at me like I was crazy. I felt stupid for saying that.  Then I remembered that was a play for my club team.  So it had to be all me. So I faked to my right hand then started running that way just a little bit. I then quickly switched to my left hand and crease rolled.  It works every time. I shot at the top right hand corner. It was the best place to shoot because most goalies are right-handed so their sticks fall at the left-hand side.  I made it.

Trail Ride

By Katie

            One day I had finished my horseback riding lesson, and my friend came up to me saying how thrilling and fun her trail ride went. A trail ride is a leisurely ride through trails in the woods.  Right then and there I knew I wanted to trail ride!  So I asked her if we could go together.  She said yes, so we picked a good date to go, and we decided sometime in the next week!  The rest of that week and the beginning of the week I couldn’t stop talking about it. I knew me and my pony, Lena, were ready.

            When the day finally arrived, all I had to do is to wait all day through school. It was the longest day ever.  First period felt like 2 hours compared to 45 minutes I remember sitting in math drawing horses all over my paper.  Second period was even worse I started day dreaming about the ride.  The rest of the day went ok, but when school let out I ran to my mom’s car and said, “Go!”  My mom drove to the barn.  I was so excited I couldn’t stop talking about how much fun we would have.

            As soon as we got there I jumped out of the car and ran to my friend who was taking me on the trail, and hugged her and she said, ”You ready?” and I screamed, “Yes!” so she tacked up her horse Finn and I tacked up my pony Lena (tacking up is a way of saying putting the saddle and bridle on the horse.)  We put tons of fly spray on both Lena and Finn.  Fly Spray is a fly repellent for horses.  We also put on special boots on the horses feet so they would not get hurt, by the overgrown grasses.  Before we put the bit in the horses’ mouth we put a special thing called a bonnet over their ears to protect them from flies.  Then we put on the bridle.  After we finished we put our helmets on and left to go to the trails.  

            When we first walked out onto the trails and we had to cross a road, but this road was rarely used so crossing it was safe.  We then had to walk on the side of the road all the way to a big open field, then cut through the field.  Lena got really jittery and excited, she knew she was in an open field and she was meant to run, but since I was riding we couldn’t stop and run around to play in the field.  Lena kept trying to trot and when I would slow her down she would get mad.  I could tell she was mad because she kept through her head in disagreement. I  Finally calmed her down and we were walking normally.

            In order to get to the trails we had to go in to a small opening in the trees and then walk around and find the trail.  It wasn’t more than five feet wide. We got through it easily.  The trails hadn’t been ridden on for years, so it was very overgrown with trees and hard to find the trail.  The trees were so overgrown they hit us in the face.  Lena soon took advantage of it and ate the leaves as they hit her.  After a few whacks in my face, we spotted the trail. 

            As we were walking along the abandoned trails, we heard a little girl screaming.  We couldn’t hear what she was saying. I screamed, “Hello?” and a voice screamed “Hello.” Back to us.  Then all of a sudden a family with a Great Dane hopped out from deep in the woods.  They scared us and our horses half to death.  Then their little girl screamed at the top of her lungs,”Horsie, Horsie!” and ran to our horses and scared them again.  We told the family how scared our horses were and how they didn’t like dogs, especially dogs almost as tall as them.  The family walked away the way we had just come, our only way back.   We had to get back by 6:00 pm because I had homework to do and it was already 5:30.  We had no idea how we would go back.  Then my friend said, we could follow the trail and to the light.  The reason we looked for the light is because we needed to find a field, and where the light was there was an opening to the field. 

            At first I thought it was a great idea.  We kept walking along the trail to find the light.  We soon found the light and began to follow it, we had soon found the field.  As we were walking toward the field the ground became very steep.  I was getting really worried Lena would spook.  I hopped off to walk beside her.  As we were walking Lena saw a branch and decide to eat it.  As she was doing that she ripped the reins from my hand and ran into the big field.  At that time Cassie was still walking Finn down the hill.  Then I started to scream, “Help!”  I was crying, because if a horse trips on the reins they could break there leg and be forced to be put down.  So my friend hopped on Finn and walked up to Lena and snatched her.

            I got back on Lena and we rode home.  I was so glad to see my mom and sister and be back safely.  I then thanked Cassie for the fun time.  I was ready and excited to go on a normal ride next week!  

Don’t Look Them in the Eye

By Izy

            When I was six years old my dad was telling me about the different animals living in our forest. He told me about deer, and how you should never look a male deer directly in the eye because they might see that as a challenge or as a threat. I said I understood and that I would never do that. That day I decided to take a ride on my new bike. I live in the middle of a forest with an extremely long driveway, so there’s always been plenty of room to ride bikes. I asked my sister and my mom if they wanted to come out with me, but they both said no. So I went by myself. I had never been afraid of going outside alone. What could hurt me in my own forest?

            So I got on my bike and started riding up my driveway. Since I was new with bikes, I was kind of wobbly, therefore I had to keep steadying myself with my feet. As I rode down my driveway I stared at the ground, avoiding any sticks or stones. I must have felt like I was being watched or something because I suddenly stopped half way down my driveway and looked up. About 25 feet away from me was I giant buck with huge antlers. In my moment of shock I could do nothing but look the deer straight in the eye. I just kept staring it in its large black eyes. I noticed the deer start to scrape at the ground with its front hoof. I saw the deer take one small step towards me and I went berserk. Fear coursed through me, and without seeing if the deer was running after me, I got on my bike and tried to peddle as fast as I could away from the deer. But since I was not the best at riding my bike, I was stumbling too much and I figured it would not be a good get away. So I got off (or fell off) my bike. Taking one more glance over my shoulder I saw that the deer was closer than it was before. I ran as fast as I could back to my house. I closed the garage door and ran downstairs to my dad’s office. I was bawling my eyes out, and not just because I was scared but also because I disobeyed my dad and looked directly in the deer's eyes. When I got to my dad’s office, and stopped crying I told him what happened. I bet he thought it was pretty funny but he told me it was OK and to go get my bike from outside.

 I was nervous to go back outside, but I knew I’d have to go back out eventually. What if the deer was still out there? Just waiting for me, all because I looked it in the eyes. Then I thought “No you must face your fears!” So I went outside and very slowly walked down my driveway to get my bike. Once I got to my bike I looked all around me and saw that the deer was gone. I just stood there for a moment looking around, feeling stupid that I made such a big deal out of nothing. Then I laughed hysterically for a couple minutes and went back inside. When I got back inside I told my dad how brave I was then I told everyone in my house the story. My sister didn’t believe me and I got upset so I went upstairs to take a nap, exhausted from being so awesome and brave.

Flag

By Wayland

            Every morning, everyone does the pledge while looking at the flag. We do this thing to give credit to our flag and thank America for our privileges.

A flag is a special type of symbol, giving meaning and a name to the area of land that we call our home. A symbol gives meaning to a thing. A symbol is very important. If the United States didn’t have one, we would not have a definition for ourselves. If St Martin’s did not have an emblem, would people go to this school? Everything should have a symbol. Words also are symbols too or else they wouldn’t have meaning. The word itself is a symbol.

            The United States has a flag that originated when the colonies were fighting the British. They won the war. All the land in the colonies belonged to the winners. Some people decided to go west because the population was growing too much. Indians’ land was taken even though the United States made a promise to not take their land by force. They fought and bought land all the way to California.

            Even though the United States was founded on freedom, slavery still remained. The North and South were rivals. They fought a civil war and the North won. Slavery didn’t immediately end. Slaves were treated like property except they were humans. Taking property is against law, so it’s hard to free slaves.

            You would think that black people had good lives after that, but it wasn’t true. Blacks were given fewer privileges than whites. Many events like the Civil Rights Movement took place in Washington. Martin Luther King Jr. read his “I Have a Dream” speech. After that, America did the best to they can to treat all people fairly.

            Sometimes, when I look at that flag when I enter St. Martins, I wonder if this place would exist if history events didn’t happen exactly as it did.

Blossomed

By Kaitlyn

                When I was 8 years old.  This was my second year at St. Martin's. I was in the 3^rd grade. That’s when I started having big tests and lots of homework. I went to another school that didn’t really prepare me. so it made me really nervous and frustrated because I didn’t know what to do about studying. I was really new to all this so it was really hard for me. I started vocabulary quizzes and multiplication. In the beginning of the year my test scores were not good but my parents really helped me. I was up late at night studying and early in the morning.

            I learned how to really study by doing flashcards, using quiz sheets and by my parents quizzing me out of my books and going over questions with me. I struggled but I got better as the year went on because my grades were like Cs and Bs the they got up to As and Bs. I would study a week in advanced for every test and quiz so I studied vocabulary and I made flashcards and got quizzed out of my book. Somehow I got my first 100% on a vocabulary test and I was so excited and so were my parents. I kept going on the rest of the year like this and somehow I managed to pull through.

            The same thing happened to me again in the 4^th grade. This year my teacher gave out so much homework, more homework and tests then I get now in 7^th grade. My parents were not happy about it. play soccer, so on nights I have practice and I have barely any of my work done, its awful because it got really hard and I would get really frustrated. My dad helped me with math and my mom helped with some of my homework and quizzed me for my tests and quizzes.

            My first year of middle school was very nerve wracking, and I was very scared. It was all a lot harder and it was her first year teaching at my school so she didn’t know a lot about middle school here either. I still had the same study habits and math got even harder. My grades were good I suppose because they were average but they could have been better but it was just so hard that my test scores weren’t amazing. In the 6^th grade something absolutely crazy happened. My mom says I have blossomed so well and have become so independent because I was so scared of mapping and I got amazing grades in it and the same as the rest of my classes.                                                                                                                             I did my homework by myself and I didn’t need my parents to help me study for things because I could do it all by myself. I went from getting Cs in math to getting As. On my first report card in 6^th grade I was one A away from straight As and that was the best thing that ever happened to me. I was so excited and my parents were really proud of me. I am now in 7^th grade and I have improved so much it’s kind of hard to believe that I have gotten too were I am now, I have amazing grades and my teachers are here to help me when I need it. I couldn’t have done it without the help of my teachers and my parents that helped me all the way.

The Playground

By Andrew

The playground at St. Martins is one of the only things that has been here on school property since I came here for nursery school.  I loved the sand box and the cool tower near the entrance of the playground with all of the different ways to get up it.  The first couple times I played on the playground, it was kind of boring because I didn’t have any friends to play with.  The second week I had picked up some friends to play with on the playground and I had a lot more fun with them.

 By the time I was in kindergarten the playground was the best thing in the world to me.  I played on it with my friends every day and never wanted to leave when recess was over. 

Once we got into fourth grade the playground wasn’t as fun as it was before because a 12 of the people in the class before left over the summer.  Once we got into fifth grade we weren’t allowed to go on the playground anymore.  We were only allowed to go on the blacktop and sometimes on the field.  For the first couple months the blacktop was boring to me because there was nothing to do besides playing basketball.  I had missed the playground so much that every time at Mustang Club I went there and played with all of the little kids. 

When I got into sixth grade I didn’t miss the playground as much as I did and I started to like playing basketball on the blacktop.  At recess I had more fun playing basketball and almost forgot that the playground was there.

Now, every time we have recess or I’m at Mustang Club, I play basketball on the blacktop.  I think this is because there isn’t really anything to do on the playground once you get too tall.  All of the fun things that you do on the playground involve running under things and climbing though small places.

The Tree

By Tyler

            When I first joined St. Martins during spring in 4^th grade, I saw a lot of trees around the driveway, but I noticed one tree at the end of the driveway where I was dropped off. It was the first thing I saw. It had pretty white flowers on it. The next school year, the leaves turned yellow, and fell onto the basketball court at the end of the blacktop.

 Kids would break the rules and climb on the tree during recess, and the teachers would tell them to come down. In the spring, bees would make a colony on it, and scare the kids away. That tree would make a great photo if it was taken from the middle school building. Sometimes, we can see it out of our classroom’s window, and it would seem to make class prettier. When we play manhunt (which is hide-and-seek tag with teams), we hide behind it, and when we play hunger games (tail tag with teams on the whole school campus), we meet under it.

The tree usually doesn’t have all of its white flowers on it, but when it does I admire it very much. The tree is usually the first to grow leaves, and white flowers, on it in the spring. During fall the leaves turn orange and fall everywhere. During winter it protects the court at the end of the blacktop from snow.

That tree will always remind me of my time and good friends here at St. Martins. After I graduate, I will visit and always look for that tree, and remember everything.

Hermit Crabs

By Izy

In my first grade classroom there was a tank of hermit crabs. My teacher had kept hermit crabs every year. These animals were the first class pet I ever had. That year, my family got our first dog, so both my dog and the hermies helped teach me about responsibility. A couple weeks into 1^st grade I noticed things were harder and I was having trouble with the work. Just like hermit crabs so I had to move at a slower pace to get to where I needed to go. Any time we’d take the crabs out of their cage so they can walk around, they’d be super confused; like I was with certain problems. They were extremely shy and would hide anytime someone got near them. I was always shy towards adults, older students, and new people.

            The hermit crabs all had different painted shells. I always thought of the shells as different personalities. There was a small one who had a purple and green zig-zag shell, which I considered to be my personality (because I was always spazzy and creative).  When hermit crabs get bigger they change shells, which is like changing your personality.

            As I went through Elementary School, I always checked up on the hermit crabs. It made me sad when I found out one had died, just like it made me sad when people had to leave the school. Going through my time in St. Martins I’ve looked back to the time when I was little and having a bad day. Then I’d just look at the hermit crabs and smile. Being at this school I’ve come to realize that this school is like a shell, that this school encourages your personality, protects you, and eventually I’ll have to leave this shell that’s kept me safe for so long.

"Doc" the Tree that Helped Me All the Way

By Julia

It began in 1^st grade when I first saw the tree. The first grade and I called him “Doc.” He was just a sapling at the time, but I instantly fell in love with him.  Every day, I would watch the tree sprout into memories (like when a tree sprouts branches). Now that I’m older I still look at the tree and it gives me hope. He was there to remind us of our teachers father, or as she called him “Doc.”

            Ever since I was young, that tree always reminded me of school and how much I actually liked school. Every day I think of the tree realizing how much it reminded me of my past and somehow my future. What I mean is that while I grew up, I gained many friends, like a tree grows branches. Also, how I would lose friends, like a tree loses leaves. When I grew I would get stronger as the tree would, but somehow I would always feel weak. “Doc” was not just a tree he was a tree with purpose.

            The people at St. Martins, Isabelle, Pauline, Tyler, Andrew and Wayland (maybe Mr. Chafe) are like a second family to me. Loving and caring, yet sometimes can get on my nerves. But hey, isn’t that what family is for? “Doc” always reminds me of that family and how over the years, our bond grew stronger.

            As long as “Doc” stands, I will remember St. Martins, and how a little tree helped me feel confident, strong and joyful.

English Class With the Dark Knight

By Mr. Chafe

      A new year is upon us, the gremlins are back at work, and I'm thinking about Batman.

If you are a gremlin, odds are you already know about my obsession with the Dark Knight. You know that he stands on my desk and watches over my papers when I am gone. You know that I definitely think he could beat Iron Man in a fight. And you know that I mention him as often as possible during English class. 

But why do I love Batman so much? And what does he have to do with school?

     It isn't that he is an excellent teaching tool (though he is). The reason that I talk about Batman so much is that he is different from most other superheroes. Batman was born a normal guy. He became a superhero and the world's greatest detective through hard work, practice, and (believe it or not) making mistakes. He is my reminder to keep trying my hardest, even when things seem impossible. He is my reminder that if I have a goal, the only thing that prevents me from achieving it is lack of dedication. 

That is why I think of Batman when I think of school. When I was in school, some days it felt like everyone had a special talent but me. Sometimes I would struggle with work that the rest of the class got right away. That was OK. All I had to do was think about how Batman would handle the situation. 

     Would he be upset? Probably.

     Would he get frustrated? Sometimes.

     Would he quit? Never. 

     So now that I'm a teacher, I think that my most important lesson is to teach my students to not give up, to always try to be the best student they can, and to never give anything less than their best effort. In other words, be more like Batman.