Pride A Literary Journal :: Spring 2016

COVER DESIGN Aanya Bhandary

ARTWORK Alana Reyes

Ernesto Rubio

Simone Sekhon

FACULTY ADVISORS Mrs. Rohlfing

Mr. Blanks

In This Issue

Stories

Remy Kalpakoff – An Adventure at Shaver Lake 1

Leilani Romo – The Monkey 2

Ali Carrillo – My Grandpa Andy 3

Leonardo Boros – The Moose 4

Matthew Bee – Why I Like Fall 5

Mateen Najafi – The Hawk 6

Simone Sekhon – Why I Like Fall 7

Arjun Dhaliwal – Abraham Lincoln 8

Matthew Jones – Penguins 9

Simone Sekhon – Emperor Penguin 10

Logan Wulf – The Gentoo Penguin 11

Simone Sekhon – A Dolphin 12

Charanjit Singh – A Treasure Hunt 13

Andrew Jones – The Best Treasure Hunt 14

Emiliano Rubio – If I Could Be Principal for the Day 15

Lucas Marquez – Being Principal for a Day 16

Sydney Sabourin – Mae Carden 17

Shanelle Relucio – Mae Carden’s Meditation 18

Skye Romo – The Meditation 19

Natalie Wiehl – In the Kitchen 20

Simran Khanna – Rosy Cheeks 21

In This Issue

Poetry

Grade 4 – Limericks 23

Grade 5 – Cinquains 25

Tiara Adeniji – Ode to da Cold Cream 27

Jasmine Phipps – Adventure Through Life 28

Maleah Sumii – Lost Thoughts 29

Pride | 1

An Adventure at Shaver Lake

Remy Kalpakoff – Grade 2

On Saturday, I went to Shaver Lake with my family. I saw a fish; it was big and its

color was a very, very dark green. It was jumping and doing flips in the water. It

was fun for us to watch. It would have been a hard fish to try to catch.

Pride | 2

The Monkey

Leilani Romo – Grade 2

On Friday after school, I went to the zoo with my friends. We saw a lot of animals.

My favorite animal was a monkey. I liked the monkey because it seemed so happy

and excited to see us. It was swinging all around and making funny sounds. It made

me believe that it liked my company.

Pride | 3

My Grandpa Andy

Ali Carrillo – Grade 2

On February 1, 2016, my Grandpa Andy died. Now it is time to move on and face

my fear. I went to Camarillo with my mom, dad, and Cash.

My Grandpa Andy was a kind and honest man. Now he is in a better place.

Pride | 4

The Moose

Leonardo Boros – Grade 2

On Sunday, my mom, dad, and I went hiking in the mountains. While walking in

the mountains, we saw a dark brown moose. It was huge. It was eating grass. When

it saw us, it ran away.

Pride | 5

Why I Like Fall

Matthew Bee – Grade 2

Fall is one of the four seasons. In October, we have Halloween. I like Halloween

because I like to carve pumpkins and dress in costumes. I go trick-or-treating to get

candy. In November, there is Thanksgiving. I like Thanksgiving because my family

and friends get together and eat yummy foods. I like fall because I get to see birds

fly south in the sky, the leaves change colors, the time changes, and we have a

vacation from school.

Pride | 6

The Hawk

Mateen Najafi – Grade 2

It was a Sunday afternoon. While on an outing with my family to visit friends, I saw

a huge hawk perched on a fence. We stopped to have a better look. It stared at us,

gave a loud cry, and flew away.

Pride | 7

Why I Like Fall

Simone Sekhon – Grade 2

I like fall because the leaves on trees turn beautiful colors such as red, yellow,

brown, and sometimes orange. There are also two special holidays: Halloween and

Thanksgiving. That is why I like fall.

Pride | 8

Abraham Lincoln

Arjun Dhaliwal – Grade 2

Abraham Lincoln was the sixteenth president of the United States. He worked hard

to make our country great. He was born on February 12, 1809. Each year, we have a

holiday to honor him. There are many books written about President Lincoln.

Pride | 9

Penguins

Matthew Jones – Grade 2

Penguins are birds but they are too heavy to fly. Their powerful wings are called

flippers, which help to make them excellent swimmers. Their most feared enemy is

the leopard seal. Penguins live in colonies called rookeries.

Pride | 10

Emperor Penguin

Simone Sekhon – Grade 2

The Emperor penguin is the largest of all penguins. It lives in Antarctica. It can

stand to about three to four feet tall and can weigh up to 90 pounds. The mother

and father share in the care of the babies. The father holds the egg on his feet for

three months at a time.

Pride | 11

The Gentoo Penguin

Logan Wulf – Grade 2

The Gentoo penguin likes the quiet life. These penguins make their nest high above

the beaches on grassy slopes. Their nest is made of stones, bones, and feathers.

Gentoo penguins have orange beaks and a white patch on top of their heads that

make them look like bald men.

Pride | 12

A Dolphin

Simone Sekhon – Grade 2

Last Saturday, I went to the beach with my mom, dad, and friends Andrew and

Megan. We went scuba diving, and I found a baby dolphin what was shiny gray. It

was very small. It was playing with its mother. I thought they were playing tag.

Pride | 13

The Treasure Hunt

Charanjit Singh – Grade 3

One day, I was digging on the beach and I felt something hard. It was a bottle with

a map inside of it. I opened the bottle to see where the treasure was. I unrolled the

map and saw an X in the top right corner.

I stared at the map for a few seconds. I followed all of the map instructions until I

came to a rock in a cave that was in a national park. I dug and dug and finally

heard something like a steel box. I dusted the box and opened it. I found fifteen

thousand dollars and two thousand box tops in the treasure box! It was a lucky day

for me!

Pride | 14

The Best Treasure

Andrew Jones – Grade 3

It was a sunny July afternoon. My brother and I were helping my grandmother

clean out her basement. While emptying old boxes, I noticed a dusty piece of paper

hidden behind a picture in a frame of my grandfather.

I asked my brother, “Do you see that little piece of paper in that picture frame?”

He said, “Yes, I do! And is that grandfather’s signature?”

When I removed the picture, I could not believe my eyes; it was a treasure map!

My brother and I decided to find out what treasures the map concealed. On the

map, we saw a long road, mountains, and what seemed to look like a lake. There

was a mark near a bear statue. I knew right away where the treasure was hidden.

So we asked our parents if they could take us to the special place my grandfather

drew on the map.

We arrived at the summer camp our family went to every summer. We ran to the

bear statue in the center of camp and we started digging. We were losing hope until

we hit something hard. We dug up a huge chest that was very heavy. We wondered

what the chest contained. We opened it, but to our surprise, there was only a little

piece of paper face down in the chest. I flipped over the paper and it said:

The best treasure is family. I hope this adventure helped you figure that out. Lots of

love, Grandpa.

When we arrived at grandma’s house, she was standing in the kitchen with cookies

on a plate. We sat down to have lunch. We all learned that we need to spend our

little and precious time with the people that we love.

Pride | 15

If I Could Be Principal for the Day

Emiliano Rubio – Grade 3

If I could be principal for the day, I would start the day with hot cocoa and

doughnuts for all of the students. I would make the classes outdoors. After math

class, I would make recess one hour long. During recess, the entire school would

play freeze tag. During science class, I would teach all of the children cool and fun

science experiments.

If I were principal, I would order bounce houses and water slides for lunch. I would

cook hot dogs and hamburgers for all of the students. After lunch, I would have P.E.

class. I would have a football game of teachers versus students; the winner would

get an ice cream party. The losing team would have to do homework.

If I were principal for a day, they would ask me to stay.

Pride | 16

Being Principal for a Day

Lucas Marquez – Grade 3

If I were principal for one day, I would have all the free time I wanted. I would help

all the children who were hurt. Whenever I saw a bully, I would talk to him. I would

keep all the children safe. I would invent a day where the children get to play

games.

I would make sure all the children had a lunch. At the end of the day, I would tell

all the teachers to give all the children the right amount of homework. After school,

I would give them a cupcake so they are not stressed out. I would clean up my desk

and take my work home to review the day. I would plan for all the parents and

children to have coffee and donuts together.

Pride | 17

Mae Carden

Sydney Sabourin – Grade 5

Mae Carden devoted her life to shaping children’s future. The meditation shows all

the work she put into making sure that children follow a good path and enjoy life.

She wanted to develop faith in their young hearts and help them turn away from

anger, greed, and jealousy. Because of this, she wrote the meditation to help the

children make themselves and others happy and turn away from hateful things. I

have learned from this to stay truthful to yourself and strive to be the best you can

be. If you forgive people, you will be forgiven. Peace is precious and should be

cherished. No one should give in to anger or greed because it destroys your soul and

your soul is your only possession. You can follow a good path and help others as

Mae Carden did.

Pride | 18

Mae Carden’s Meditation

Shanelle Relucio – Grade 5

I have learned many things from the meditation, but one thing is happiness.

Happiness has filled everyone with hopes and dreams for the world. It has also

showed me that no matter what, God will help you even in the darkest of times. If

you make a mistake, people will forgive you. You can always try to become a better

person than you were yesterday. We cannot become greedy people or else our bad

emotions will control us. No one may take what you have because each human

being has their own traits. Bad characteristics can make you a bad person, but you

can always become better. I learned not to become a bad person and try harder to

become a good person, but there is no such thing as a perfect human being.

Pride | 19

The Meditation

Skye Romo – Grade 5

My favorite part of the Carden meditation is the part about happiness. I think a

cheery face gives joy and tells people of contentment. I have learned through my

time at Carden that a smile changes everything. On my first day of school, I

received a smile, and it changed my entire view of what a friend was. One cheery

face truly does give you joy.

The meditation defines exactly what a friend is. A friend is not perfect, and it

doesn’t always bring you happiness, but it does help you become a more mature

person.

The Carden meditation also makes me feel more confident about myself. I know

that nobody on earth can replace you in any way. We are all different people, and

we all have our own inspirations. My inspiration is the Carden meditation.

Pride | 20

In the Kitchen

Natalie Wiehl – Grade 7

The day of a chef begins at 9:00 am. You put on your uniform and drive to work,

stopping for a bagel on the way. Once you get to work, you roll up your sleeves and

wash your hands. You are the first one here, so you have to tidy up from last night.

The rest of the chefs arrive and help you finish cleaning, and when it is finally time

to open, your first customer walks into the restaurant.

The waiter takes him to his seat, and he orders. You start preparing the food, and a

few more people walk in; soon enough it is time for the lunch rush. You jump from

station to station, waiters taking more orders, and soon you have to start delivering

food to the tables yourself. Finally, the rush dies down.

The chefs go home and you are left to lock up. You wash some dishes, clean the

counter, and put the chairs on the table. You turn off the lights and lock up for the

night.

You drive home and make some dinner. Then, after a long day at work, you get in

your pajamas and go to bed. When you wake up, it all begins again.

Pride | 21

Rosy Cheeks

Simran Khanna – Grade 7

Maddie wakes up and looks outside her window.

“Oh, no,” she thinks. “Today is another gloomy day.”

She gets dressed and goes downstairs for breakfast. She accidentally burns her toast

and spills her milk.

“Oh, great,” she thinks. “Now I have to change again.”

Angry, she goes upstairs to change. On the way, she meets her identical twin sister,

Mary. Mary is in a good mood and tries to cheer up her sister, but Maddie does not

even acknowledge her.

“Oh, well,” Mary thinks. “When she takes her daily walk, she might cheer up.”

Maddie then rushes downstairs and goes out the front door.

***

Maddie

I fall flat on my face.

“Oww!” I scream.

So far, my day has been great. I start running, when all of a sudden someone throws

a glob of mud at me.

“Who did that?” I say angrily while I take the mud off my arm. Then a small child

comes up to me and say that he is sorry.

“Whatever,” I reply.

I continue my jog. On the way, I see a little ice cream stand and decide to stop and

get some. I order vanilla but they give me chocolate.

“Umm, excuse me, you gave me chocolate.”

“Oh, I am sorry –”

“Whatever,” I say and jog off.

I decide to listen to music so I take out my iPod and earplugs. After about 30

seconds, my iPod dies.

“Oh, great,” I say. I jog back to my house, frustrated.

Pride | 22

***

“I hope that Maddie is not in a bad mood today,” Mary says to herself while making

toast and pouring milk. Without realizing it, she burns her toast and spills her milk.

“Thank goodness I have not taken a shower yet,” she says as she tries her burnt toast.

“Mmm, burnt toast actually tastes good!”

Then she sees Maddie’s burnt toast left on the table and her overflowing glass of

milk.

“If she could just see the bright side of things,” she says as she cleans up. Then she

walks out the back door.

***

Mary

“Owww!” I scream. I fall flat on my face.

“No cuts, no bruises, no scratches … it could have been worse,” I say to myself.

I start jogging when suddenly someone throws a mud ball at me.

“Who did that?” I ask.

A little boy shyly comes out from behind a tree and says, “It was me.”

I start laughing and throw a mud ball at him. “Catch me if you can!”

Then we have a fun mud ball fight. After about five minutes, I help him clean up

and then depart to continue on my jog. On the way, I see a little ice cream stand

and decide to stop and get some ice cream. I ask for chocolate, but they give me

vanilla. I tell the person behind the counter.

“Oh, I am sorry, miss, I will give you a chocolate ice cream free of charge!”

“Why, thank you!” I reply. “Mmm, delicious!”

I thank that man and continue my jog. Then I get out my earplugs and iPod to

listen to music for the last part of my jog. After thirty seconds, though, the battery

dies!

“Well, at least now I can listen to the music of nature,” I say to myself.

Finally, I reach my house and find Maddie just entering through the front door,

looking like an angry, red tomato.

“Oh well,” I think. “Rosy cheeks do complement her complexion.”

Pride | 23

Grade 4 Limericks

There once was a man in Oregon

Whose instrument was quite foreign.

So he looked left and right—

No instrument in sight

So he decided to use an organ!

- Levi Sullivan

There was a young chef named Spot

Who went to the store for a pot.

When he bought it, it broke

And it started to smoke

So he smoked salmon on the store’s robot.

- Jason Yang

There once was a really sad girl

Who sent her mom for the Earl

To help with her feelings

And get more good greetings

She sent him to get her a pearl.

- Jayda Phipps

Pride | 24

Grade 4 Limericks

There once was a man from Spain

Who liked to dance in the rain.

His pants fell down

In front of the town

He began to dance with a Great Dane!

- Aria Abe

There once was a girl full of sadness

Who was driven mad with madness

She played with the squirrels

Then did a few twirls

Until she became glad with gladness!

- Surabhi Khanna

There once was a dog with a bone

Who had an old laughing tone.

So he went to a ball

And scared them all

And went back to text on his phone!

- Alana Reyes

Pride | 25

Grade 5 Cinquains

Dragons

Large, lizard like creatures

Climbing, flying, resting

Desires the best of one’s soul

- Makoa Fuerte

Forest Nymphs

Enchanting, invisible

Watching, listening, hearing

Protecting the forest and its magic with unwavering loyalty

Protecting

- Sydney Sabourin

Dancers

Graceful, amazing

Pointing, spinning, jumping

Free to express their feelings through dance

Hardworking

- Shanelle Relucio

Pride | 26

Grade 5 Cinquains

Unicorns

Graceful, beautiful

Protecting, leaping, caring

Live a life of freedom, majestic creatures

Magical

- Naya Dermenjian

Smiles

Happy, bouncy

Encouraging, caring, reassuring

Starting friendships, the face of happiness

Contagious

- Skye Romo

Dogs

Cute, cuddly

Running, walking, playing

Waiting for love – a little friend he knows

Adorable

- Allie Kalmbach

Pride | 27

Ode to da Cold Cream

Tiara Adeniji – Grade 7

We were done at da cornfields.

Andrew, mama, and me have worked

a week so we can get the mind-blowing treat.

As I walked down the ice cream parlor,

‘drew tells me that mah eyes look like

big ol’ full moons! Mah ‘full moons’

make mah head follow my skinny body

down the sides of the REALLY clear glass

ice cream cases.

Them workers musta cleaned ‘em reeeal

good with that lemony Windex spray!

Chocolate, vanilla, mint chocolate chip!

Rocky Road, dolce caramel and coffee!

This must be heaven! We sat down on the

bench and mah mouth covered the covered the whole

spoon as I savud each bite ‘cause I

knew this won’t happen again anytime soon.

We finished our ice cream so fast because

mama could only afford one cup.

We then had to walk back to the fields cause

we needed to pick the rest of da corn.

These are the times I sava’.

Pride | 28

Adventure Through Life

Jasmine Phipps – Grade 7

First adventure

New born

Open eyes

Many steps

Still remain

Starting school

High school, prom

Gossip, drama

Working, late

Get married

New chapter

Honeymoon

Crying child

Can’t sleep

Messes everywhere

Little feet

From everywhere

Calling grandma

White hair

Closes eyes

Last adventure.

Pride | 29

Lost Thoughts

Maleah Sumii – Grade 8

Eraser shaving on my desk

The trash is overflowing

A blank stare spreads across my face

Loss of hope is showing

While on a boat without the oars

The current flows no more

I drift down the sea of blank thoughts

Nearing the sandy shore

I stare at the page’s blank lines

Time starts to tick away

I put my pencil to my page

And write about today.