Core Classes

ELAR-

This is a story we made for our monster- which you can find in vector art.

The first thing I see as I walk into the store is the strong, sweet, and delicious smell of candy and sweets. It smells like heaven! The room was filled with candy, cake, jellybeans, chocolate, and everything sweet! Then, I wander around for a bit, looking at all the sweets, and take a piece of chocolate, then put it into my pocket I found in my new human clothes. The pink jacket is so warm and soft, it feels like I’m wearing a cloud! And the baggy white pants go along with it so well.

 I‘m about to walk out of the store to go look for more, when I feel a tap on my shoulder. I turn around to see a human in a blue polo shirt and khakis with a name tag that says, “Rick.” I wave nervously and wonder if I did anything wrong. I try to act non-suspicious. This is my first time in a candy store, so it’s pretty new to me, and I don’t know exactly how to act yet. I want to seem as non-suspicious as possible. The man smiles politely, but I know he’s upset by the look in his eyes. He points at my pocket then says, “Miss, I need you to put the chocolate back unless you pay for it.” I look a little surprised, because he shouldn’t tell me what to do. I read in the Earth manual that if a human is treating me unfairly then I should punch them, but it really doesn’t feel good to me to do that, so I shake my head instead and look at the man angrily. “Sorry sir, you can’t tell me what to do.”

The man loses his smile and he looks at me with a frown. I frown back. Then, he speaks to me in an upset, but hushed tone, and says, “Miss, if you don’t put the chocolate back without paying then I’m going to have to call security.” I scoff. I will not accept this! I can’t believe that on my first day here, there are rude people who are trying to take advantage of me! I want to do something about it, but I don’t think I want to start a fight with anyone on my first day, so I angrily stomp out of the store as I throw the chocolate in his face and watch as he shakes his head in disappointment.

 I decide to try a clothing store, so I make my way across the street to a building that has big, bold, glowy words at the top of the building that reads, “Burlington,” so I walk inside. The smell isn’t as good as the candy shop, but it will have to do for now. There are a lot of different pieces of clothes here, so I eventually decide to go to the section labeled, “Women's Wear” because I am a woman, according to my instruction manual. I look around for a while, and I find several pieces of clothing that I love. First, I pick a lovely yellow sweater top to match my… -I quickly look at my instruction manual- blonde hair. 

Then, I go over to the pants section and pick out some baggy white jeans. I go to the checkout area and pull out my green paper from my pockets. The woman in front of me takes the clothes and scans them, then says, “That’ll be 24.99.” I look at the green paper in my hands, and stare at the numbers. The first one says ‘20,’ the second says ‘10,’ and the last one says ‘5.’ I don’t really understand the concept of math yet and I have a really hard time adding numbers that are higher than 5, so I just hand her all of them. She takes the 20 and the 10, then hands the five back and gives me metal circles. I’m not entirely sure of how they do this here on Earth, so I just take it and walk away with my bag of clothes. 

As I walk down the street, the smell suddenly gets worse, and I pinch my nose. I really miss the candy shop. I decide to head back home, so I pull out my instruction manual and flip to the page with the map in it. The map isn’t an Earth map though, it’s a map designed for my kind, so it’s really easy to navigate my way home. When I get to the tall gray building, I feel a wash of relief that I had made it through my first day here on Earth. 

I walk through the doors and meet the lady there. She isn’t the type of alien I am, (Tricepheloseptcornusbiurapod.) In fact, I had never seen her species before. I walk up to her with curiosity and lean on the counter. “Never seen you ‘round here.” The lady nods, and says, “Yes, I’m new. You’ve probably never seen my species around here before, but I’m a Keratbialariomdotriuracyclotripedduomanubiroseuscapilduodeciunguesdootmononaspod.” I nod understandingly. “Ah, I see.” The lady continues my sentence, saying, “-Said the blind carpenter, as he picked up his hammer and saw.” She raises her eyebrows twice, as if she is expecting me to laugh. I tilt my head in confusion. “What?” She sighs while rolling her eyes, then goes back to looking at her computer and mumbles, “The door is second to the left when you exit the elevator on the second floor.” 

I’m a little disappointed in her tone, but I walk to the door. I remember being here this morning, but it still looks just as interesting. I open the door to the lounge room for the Tricepheloseptcornusbiurapods, and the first face I see is my friend Kevin. His face lights up when he sees me, then runs up to me but stops abruptly before he hugs me. He chuckles a little and says, “I’m not hugging a human.” I look down and realize that I’m still in my human form. I hastily transform back, and I’m a tricepheloseptcornusbiurapod again. He hugs me, and I hug him back. His hugs were always the best. He looks at me excitedly, and says, “How was your first day on Earth? Did you go to that candy shop that I suggested?” I roll my eyes. “Yeah, but when I got there, a man tried to steal my chocolate!” He looks disgusted. “Well, that’s horrible. Stealing something that someone else paid for is just plain rude.” I tilt my head, confused. “Paid?” He nods with a suspicious look on his face. “Yeah, paid. Y’know, with money?” I look shocked. “I’m supposed to pay for things in a candy shop? I thought that was only for clothes!” He looks surprised, then laughs. “Next time, just remember to pay.” I nod understandingly. 

My first day on Earth was great. The sights, smells, everything! The adventure isn’t over yet, and there’s sure to be a LOT more misconceptions and corrections. It’s going to be difficult. Not just Earth, I’m talking about our mission- the reason we came here. But, until then, goodbye for now.

This is an essay that we made about the book we were supposed to read over the summer- Hatchet

Hatchet-Mini Essay

By: Gina Bacigalupo

Canadian Wilderness

Hatchet is an amazing novel by the author, Gary Paulson. A series containing adventure and thrill. The main character, a 13 year old boy named Brian Robeson, has been through, and seen a lot. Including a bear encounter, a wild moose attack, porcupine quills, and much more near-death encounters. 

When Brian is first mentioned in the book, he is in a  plane to go visit his father. The pilot however, has a heart attack, and unfortunately dies. I have never experienced anything like that, and that just proves how strong of a character Brian is, especially for someone who is only 13 years old, very close to my age. 

Brian crashes the plane into the lake, and now he has to survive in the Canadian Wilderness. When Brian is out there surviving, he is very alone. He misses his father, his mother, and also his best friend Terry.  A similar experience I share, is when my best friend moved away to another state. It relates to how Brian misses his friends and family in the wilderness.

Later on in the story, Brian survives a tornado that hits his only shelter. I've shared a similar tornado-related story. During the summer, my family went to Chicago. But on the third day, we went to my dad’s old friend’s house. Then, it started pouring. We were going back to the hotel, and when we got on the highway, a HUGE tornado had just passed the highway we were on. If we got there 2 minutes earlier, we would have been right in the middle of it. It knocked the power lines and no one could get across. We were stuck on the highway for four hours, until my dad found a way out. I don’t remember much because I was half-asleep.

Overall, Brian Robeson is a very brave character, and Paulson did an amazing job with this book. Brian and I shared a couple similar experiences in the past and we’re pretty different compared to each other, and remember, like Brian, never give up no matter how hard it is. Keep going. THE END.

This is a persuasive essay that we wrote!

Getting the Job

Currently, the law states that children above or the age of 14 can work a part-time job, but is it really that risky to let a 13 year old do the same? I believe children 13 or older should be able to work a part-time job that is family owned, just so that they're under the watch of a trusted adult. 

I think that some children are responsible enough to do this! And if the parents don't think so, they can just turn them down, it's that simple, because parents or the legal guardians of a child can make the choice. If the child doesn't think they can do it, or get overwhelmed, they can quit at any time. After talking with their parents first, of course. Adults should trust children more on things like this. We can be responsible and trustworthy, if you let us. Sometimes.

Sometimes, children don't have the time. If they are around the age of 13, that means that they are most likely in middle school, probably in 7th or 8th grade. They probably have some after school activities to do, chores to finish, and homework to complete. If that's the case, then again, just don't take the job. You can decline the offer if needed, just so you can get done or focus on other things. Another option is to drop things that you do after school. If it's too overwhelming for you, quit some extra activities that you do like swimming, piano, or karate. 

Also, as much as it hurts to say, a lot of children might not be smart enough for the job. They should at least have an AB honor roll, depending on what the job is. Because if they have anything below a C, it might be because they don't turn in their work, and aren't responsible enough. It also could mean that they just get bad grades because they get things wrong, giving another reason. If they aren't smart enough, and they still want the job, it's okay for the parent or guardian to fire them or turn them down, regardless if they are family or not. It might be hard to turn down, or reject your child from such an offer, but in terms of business, do what you think is right. They should also not be disrespectful, even if they are family with the owners.  Disrespect is unacceptable.

A good example is My brother. My brother is currently 14, working at my dad's shop- American Postal and Business Center, and he also has a lot of things he does after school. He does kung-fu, hockey, chess, cyber patriots, guitar, and El Cats. He goes to high school at Roosevelt, in SETA, so he also has a lot of homework. And he still has time after school and activities to play video games, and watch shows. If he is able to balance everything out, so can a child just one year younger than him.

There's also two more stars that were discovered at a young age. Michelle Wie, and Freddy Adu. Wie began her professional golf career at 15, and Adu became the youngest professional soccer player at 14. This proves that young people can be skilled, and smart. That's why Children the age of 13 or above should be able to work a part time job in a family owned business. Overall though, It's up to the parents and child to decide if they are smart, skilled, or responsible enough to get the job done.