My Awesome FishingTrip
by Grant C.
Over the summer I went to Duck, North Carolina. I did a lot of things there but did plenty of relaxing as well. Getting there took forever though because of the traffic. We ended up in the car for eight hours on a trip that should have only taken four. When we got to the house my grandma, uncles, and aunt were already there. The first thing I did was relax after being in the car for eight hours.
This was our 7th time at the beach house, because we go every year for vacation. The next day we went to the sound which is like a very shallow beach, which I didn’t enjoy very much. But on the 3rd day, I woke to Duck Donuts, which are delicious, and we went to the beach. The water was freezing but really clear, except for the little things in the water which we found out were sea angels, which are tiny sea slugs. It was like that for most of the week we were there.
One day we went fishing in the sea. We went out on a boat deep into the water where we caught a lot of Mahi Mahi which is a type of fish. Gladly, I don’t get seasick so being on the boat didn’t bother me. We keep the fish we get to eat at home.
Sadly, we eventually had to leave, which is always sad to do but at least we will go next year. I’m just hoping that next year it won’t take us eight hours to get there.
Sunrise at the beach. Digital image.Bethany Beach Ocean Suites. Bethany Beach Ocean Suites, 2016. Web. 30 Aug. 2016. <
Football Season
by Nathan
So Fall is right around the corner and football season comes along with that. This means Madden, fantasy football, college, and of course the NFL. Madden gets better every year; it’s a fun game to play with your friends. I love to play fantasy football and draft the best team. For college I am a Michigan State Spartan fan and love to watch them play. With the NFL I am a big Lions fan and I get picked on for that. But the team is looking really good this year, even though some may not agree. At least, that’s what I think and so do other Lions fans all over the place. To be a lions fan you have to show dedication to a team that doesn’t do very well that often, people seem to have forgotten that we were in the playoffs just a season before last, but we lost to the Cowboys who cheated. But this year we started 1-0 against the Colts, which is showing a promising start. If we can keep this going, it will be huge! Our defense needs to step up a little, but once they do, I think we’ll be fine. Hopefully we win the Super Bowl. These are the things I love about football season and I can’t wait till the season really gets underway to see if players will maintain it. Hy
Twentyman, Tim. CBS Detroit. Digital image. Detroit.cbslocal.CBS, 2016. Web. 12 Sept. 2016.
TheFlyingMen
by Gage Farley
During my summer the most interesting thing I did during the summer was my trip to Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. The trip there was about four hours, but at the end of the trip we went underwater! In order for us to get to Kitty Hawk, we had to go into a bridge that went underwater. After that we got to our hotel, we unpacked and got comfortable. After we finished unpacking, we went to the beach that was near my hotel. After about an hour of playing around in the ocean we went back to the hotel and went to bed. The next day we went to the Wright Brothers’ Memorial. At the memorial they had a building with the history of their invention, a full sized model of their glider, and of course a gift shop. But outside on the field they had stones where the glider landed, and on top of this giant hill they had a huge stone building with the faces of the Wright Brothers on it. The hill is where the Wright Brothers “launched” their plane. After we were done at the memorial we went to some of the stores near there; the stores were nice but I didn’t have enough money to buy anything. On our final day there we went to the beach and had some more fun, and when we were done on the beach we packed up and loaded all of our stuff into the car. Nothing happened during the trip home except my family and I talking about all the fun we had.
The Outer Banks by Michelle Alarcon
Have you ever been to the Outer Banks? If you haven’t, it’s a beach in North Carolina, about five, six, or maybe seven hours away from Berkeley County. If you have been there, I think you can agree with me when I say it’s a very nice place! As for the drive to the Outer Banks, it’ll probably consist mostly of a bunch of smaller naps, listening to music, eating, or taking pictures maybe of your outside surrounding. That’s how it was for me, basically. But, I can’t speak for everyone! Anyway, I went this summer for my birthday with two of my friends on my “birthday weekend,” since we stayed at the hotel for a weekend. The hotel room was small, but expensive. Although there were about six of us, my parents rented a room for two people, so there were only two king beds, which could barely fit three people each. It was less expensive that way. Although the hotel was expensive, there were many features that came with it! For breakfast, there was a choice for free coffee/tea, there were indoor and outdoor pools, and there was a really big beach. It was hard to see, especially from the apartment complex, but when you got close to it, it looked pretty cool! We remained in one small area to put our towels, cover-ups, etc., in the sand for the whole weekend. The beach wasn’t crowded at all, but it wasn’t necessarily empty. The sand still had some pretty big rocks and shells, so it wasn’t the usual soft sand I’m used to. Maybe the sand was still in the process of being weathered; I don’t know. The waves were pretty big there. That was the fun part, I loved getting into the refreshing water, in the heat especially, and diving underneath the waves. The waves were tall when they rose and strong when they crashed. One of my friends would like to sit at the shore and just wait until the wave crashed and carried her onto the sand. Sometimes the water wouldn’t calm that fast, and I could barely reach the floor, but I still had fun. It was relaxing, and I’m so glad my friends got to experience it with me. If you’re planning on taking a vacation, in the summer, or for winter break, I suggest the Outer Banks, especially if you like beaches, and water, and summer/ hot weather!
Catching a Cold by Alayna Scott
It was 1:00 P.M., and Calvin has been in his room all day. His roommate, Niall, has been worried about him for days. It has been days since he came to say “Hello” or “How’s your day been, Niall?” Niall decided to go and check up on him. He climbed up the stairs and walked down the hall to Calvin’s room. He knocked on his door, “Hey? Calvin? You there?” No response. Niall knocked louder, “Cal?” Again, no response. But, after a minute, a mumble came from the door.
“Don’t come in,” the voice said in a tired tone. “Don’t care,” Niall said loudly, as he pushed the door open. The room was dark, and it was quite hard for Niall to see. He walked over the window and opened the blinds. Light spilled over the room. A small groan escaped Calvin’s mouth. “Close it!” Calvin groaned.
Niall shook his head as he walked over to Calvin’s bed. He noticed, as he walked over to his bed, that there were empty boxes of tissues and bunches of crumpled up tissues. “Sick! You seriously need to clean up after yourself, ya pig.”
“Shut up!” Calvin yelled, aggressively.
“Okay, okay!” Niall replied, as he sat by his bedside. “So, what’s up with the tissues? Have you been watching the Little Mermaid, again?” Niall nagged, in a teasing tone.
“No. I don’t cry, Niall. You know this,” Calvin mumbled.“Stop mumbling, you know I hate it. Turn around, and face me,” Niall demanded, in a sweet tone.“Ugh, fine!” Calvin swiftly turned around, but took the sheets and covered his face. “Uncover it, NOW.”
Calvin sighed, as he uncovered his face. His face was pale, and he lacked sleep. His brown eyes were barely open, and underneath them they were circled black. His button nose was a bright pink. Calvin had definitely caught a cold.
Niall looked at him, with a smile. “Aw, did someone catch a cold?”“Shut up!” Calvin yelled, with a sniffle, followed by a sneeze.Niall smiled, as he caressed Calvin’s hair. “You’re so cute, Cal.” Calvin rolled his tired, brown eyes. “Shut up.”
Leafy, Dreamy.Calvin Smiling. Digital image.Tumblr.com. DreamyLeafy, n.d. Web. 31 Aug. 2016.
Interview with Mrs. Lam
by Zach Spiggle
What drove you to become a teacher?“I love kids and I love school.” Do you do anythingoutside of the building? “I am a mother and that is all I have time for.” Do you have a favorite thing about teaching? “Ijust love to make kids love reading.” Do you have any interesting pets? “I have a fish. Does a two year-old count as a pet?” What college did you go to and what degree did you get there? “I went to Shenandoah University for two degrees.” If you could have any superpower, what would it be and why? After a minute or two of hard thinking, she responded, “The power to touch any book and instantly knowwhat’s inside. Wouldn’t that make school so much easier?”
Overcooked by Grant L.
There’s something I’ve learned over the past few years. I can’t cook! I’ve burned, blown up, even melted things as many times as I’ve tried to cook. I can’t even count how many times I’ve messed up a simple task that involved food. Here are two of the worst/best screw-ups I’ve somehow managed to achieve.
I remember a few months back when I was trying to perform the simplest of tasks: microwaving a hotdog. You would think that it would be hard to mess up, right? Well, me being the genius that I am, I put it in for a minute. You can probably assume what happened. As you probably guessed, it exploded. But that’s not the worst part. To make things worse, I put ketchup on it before I put it in the microwave. Ketchup was everywhere. And I mean everywhere. This, however, isn’t the worst thing I’ve done. I’ve managed to do much worse.
Have you ever tried to follow a recipe, found the directions to be too unclear, and end up getting it wrong? Well, this has happened to me before, except for one thing. The directions were very clear. It was an average recipe for some chocolate chip cookies. Simple, right? Well, I managed to leave out almost half of the ingredients. I needed, three or so eggs and I only put in one, from what I remember. It told me to mix it all in, but I only mixed for a minute. Needless to say, I messed up. When I took it out of the oven, it basically looked like a few small piles of compost. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say it even moved. That was probably the dumbest time I’ve messed something up.
I think it’s quite obvious that you should never leave me alone in the kitchen with a cookbook. I’ll most likely set your house on fire by using cold ingredients, because I’m just that brilliant. Anyway, those are essentially the two worst two messes I’ve created while making food. Just remember: read the directions, and take your time. If you don’t, you’ll end up doing this stuff. And trust me, the last thing you want is food that is overcooked.
Pellot, Emerald. Cooking Fail. Digital image.College Candy. N.p., 22 Oct. 2013. Web. 31 Aug. 2016.
Amazing Dogs
by Trenton Davis What is there not to like about dogs? They’re cute, fluffy, and smart too. Whether it’s a Yorkie, Pit Bull, or Scottish Terrier, it is always fun to have a dog. Some people might be like, “you’re wrong, cats are the best,” but let me tell you that dogs are the best animal. A companion, is someone who lets you rub his or her belly. You can play with them and maybe give them treats! Cats, when they get older, will just lie around saying, “I hate Mondays”. Man’s best friend will play with you, even when they get older. Maybe you even prefer another animal for a pet. We humans like animals that play with us, not just sit around in our house, hogging all the comfortable couch cushions. I have had a cat and hamsters whogot sick. Over the years, I have owned more cats than my friends. Dogs rarely get sick and when they do, there are a lot of animal hospitals to care for them. When dogs chase cats it proves that they’re the dominant race. They are not even really chasing them; they just want to play, but cats are too lazy to play. When a Yorkie barks, some people think it’s annoying, but it’s actually adorable. They are letting you know that they’re there. Cats just purr and you have no idea what they’re saying. I have an amazing Yorkshire Terrier, otherwise known as a “Yorkie,” during our yearly RV trip to Pennsylvania. We got him on a really hot day at an Amish farmhouse. It was about 110 degrees outside when we picked him up.We got him for a good deal and drove to PetSmart. At PetSmart, he threw up because he was not used to air conditioning. Normally, the Amish do not use electricity due to their culture. We took him back to the RV. He was an automatic hit with my bull dog and my Yorkie poodle mix. That was three years ago and he has only gotten more adorable.
Cute Yorkie dog. Digital image.Dogs. Heather, n.d. Web. 30 Aug. 2016.
The Girl and the Wolf by Grace Broy
Once upon a time, there was a little girl who lived in a little house on a little farm. No one really knew the girl because she never played in the village like the normal kids would. She would venture into the woods. Nobody has stepped foot in that forest since 30 years ago, when a little boy disappeared in the woods. There has been a rumor going around ever since:
“The forest is forbidden, For the wolf is on the prowl, Anyone who dares to enter, Will never learn the way out.”
But this girl has heard that rumor so many times in her life that she doesn’t care what anyone says about it anymore. So, she played in the “forbidden” woods each day. One day, the girl entered the forest once more. But when evening hit, she never came out. At dusk, she still didn’t come out. Midnight, no one. Her parents were worried sick as they paced the house.
“Where is she?” questioned the girl’s mother.
“I don’t know,” answered the father,” but this is scary. I don’t want to lose another child.”
They eventually thought that she’ll just come back, and they went off to bed. As the moon rose from the sparkling crystal waters, a wolf howled. A beautiful wolf emerged from the thick forest. It had remarkable, soft, smooth, moon-grey fur. Its right eye was a beautiful crystal blue that darkened to a navy towards the pitch black pupil. Its left one was an oak brown that darkened to a spruce color towards the pupil. As her eyes sparkled into the night, she howled at the moon.
Staring into the night, the girl thought deeply, “I’m free. Away from stress, away from sadness. I’m now part of the forest. This forest is not forbidden, it’s enchanted.” She howled once more and trampled back into the gifted forest. As she was walking along the moisturized soil, a child ran out of the forest and into a house. In the window, the wolf noticed the missing boy hugging some strangers. Wait, those strangers were his parents,her parents. Then she ran back into the thick wooded area, ready to wait for her next playmate.