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.

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.