Kids' Chronicle - Winter 2015 - Morgan Park Academy

In preschool, we’ve been

learning all about space and

the planets. After reading

The 3 Little Aliens and the Big Bad Robot , we drew

picture journals. Below are

the “stories” that each

child told us about their

pictures and the fun things

that they could do with

their alien space friends .

Addison - Dragon, the alien,

is under the rainbow with

me. I go up the rainbow.

Billy - I put tape on the

alien’s mouth. He was using

his water to splash on me.

He is from planet Earth.

Bryce-It’s a mommy alien!

We blast in the spaceship.

Charlie- The alien is Bob

from Earth and Jupiter.

He’s working.

Connor-Carter, the alien

boy is from Scooby-Doo. He

lives on Mars.

Ethan- There are three

aliens on Mars.

Hilary-The mommy alien

fights with Monster High.

Ivan-The alien from Mercu-

ry is trying to get the per-

son.

Jacob-The alien is named

Billy. He’s from the Big Bad

Robot. He likes to play with

me!

In January, the students

were given the writing

prompt, "If I lived in a

snow globe..." and were told

to describe their own imag-

inary world inside a snow

globe. We discussed how

the five senses can be used

to add details to a story

and we brainstormed some

creative ideas together.

Each student wrote their

own story independently.

"If I lived in a snow globe,

I would have pink snow and

I would be pink. The snow

would taste like candy,

mints, and cupcakes."

By Cecelia


the snow would be purple.

My dog, Snuggles, would

play in the snow."

By Francesca


I would play with my snow-

man. I would sled with him

and play games with him. I

would teach him how to

flip." By Kye


it would be a big one. The

snow would be made out of

candy. The snow would be

yummy. We would eat the

snow. I would have a pet

penguin and a sister."

By Devin


I would play in the snow and

sled down the ice hill. The

sled would be fast. My

cousin would sled with me.

It would be fun."

By Darryl

Kindergartners’ Snow Globe Fantasies

Kids’ Chronicle

Volume 1, Issue 1

March 2015 Dedication

We are proud to once again pub-

lish the Kids’ Chronicle, and

with this first issue the teachers

wish to honor the memory of

Joyce Rasmussen. Mrs. Rasmus-

sen was a beloved third and

fourth grade teacher and Lower

School Principal. She was an

amazing person who earned the

respect and gratitude of those

who were lucky enough to work

with her or pass through her

classroom door.

As a teacher, Joyce would really

shine. The students loved her,

and she always prepared the most

amazing lessons. Whether with

her own children, Ellen and

Ryan, or the hundreds of students

she nurtured, Joyce always put

the needs of every child first.

Joyce realized that each child is

unique and brings special gifts to

the table. She knew that these

gifts came in many shapes and

sizes. She made it her mission to

awaken each child and help him

or her discover the hidden talents

within. Joyce had a way of mak-

ing everyone feel special.

Joyce guided her teachers with

the same gentle hand as Lower

School Principal. Her colleagues

were most impressed with her

ability to listen. She viewed any

issue through several lens, and

ultimately found a resolution

resulting in what was best for the

child. Joyce helped all of us

become better teachers, and bet-

ter people.

We all learned valuable lessons

from Joyce. Joyce loved all her

Lower School students. She was

proud of all their accomplish-

ments and wanted to share their

creative wonders. Joyce began

the Kids’ Chronicle to showcase

student writings. We humbly try

to pick up her torch and carry on

the tradition of the newspaper.

Amazing Authors in Lower School Preschool

Ms. Misulonas’ kindergartners read “The

Feel Good Book” by Todd Parr, one of

our favorite authors. As a response to

the story, the class orally brainstormed

things that make us feel good and our

follow-up writing project was titled,

“Things I Love”. In kindergarten we

emphasize, “writing what we hear” so

the children spell words the way they

sound. In this writing stage, the writer

becomes aware of the idea that the

sounds in words can be rendered pho-

netically. Often the spelling of words

does not conform to our standard spell-

ings, but the spelling is very close and

an outsider can usually decipher the

written work. Take a look at what a few

of our students love!

I love Dad.

I love making towrs.

I love playing with Brycen.

I love eating luzony. (lasagna)

I love reading books.

I love doing blocks.

By Nigel

I love Evy. (Owen’s sister)

I love reading shrc and shran. (Shark

and Train)

I love doing siins. (science)

I love making jint pezzu. (giant pizzas)

I love eating cake.

I love playing hid and sec. (seek)

By Owen

I love cln. (cuddling)

I love playing hid sec. (hide and seek)

I love reading sfyfr. (Sofia)

I love doing jms. (gymnastics)

I love eating hbgr. (hamburgers)

I love making brne. (brownies)

By Jaidyn

I love Dad.

I love reading bkw. (books)

I love making my dad lfw. (laugh)

I love playing legwlos. (legos)

I love doing blawecx. (blocks)

I love eating tyzw. (tortillas)

By Teddy

I love my paris. (parents)

I love reading book to my broth.

(brother)

I love doing thigne wth my frans.

(things with my friends)

I love playing Lif. (Life)

I love making blaks. (blankets)

I love eating hot dog.

By Delia

Freddy was okay with everything and

liked who he was.

Sincerely,

Maya

Dear Judy Blume,

Your book, The One in the Middle Is the Green Kangaroo is a great

book! I really liked when Freddy was

in the play. This book is so awesome

that I can’t stop reading it. Are you

the middle child? Where did you get

this idea for a story? I love being

the youngest brother, like Ellen is

the youngest. You are a great author

and you write with good expression in

your books.

Sincerely,

Varun

Dear Judy Blume,

My favorite part of the book, The One In the Middle Is the Green Kan-garoo was when Freddy went on stage.

I though Freddy was really funny

when he said, “I’m the green kanga-

roo!” I loved the book very much. I

would like to ask you, how did you

think of all those neat words to put in

your book? I’m the oldest child, but

I’d rather be the youngest because

they get to play more.

Sincerely,

Chloe

Dear Judy Blume,

I felt like I couldn’t stop reading your

book. The One in the Middle Is the Green Kangaroo was incredible. My

best part was when Freddy was saying

I’m going to be in the school play. I

am the middle child and I like it be-

cause I get to have my own bed. I get

to watch my own TV shows and not

baby shows. If I ever get to meet

you I would be your BFF and never

forget Judy Blume. Love,

Amelia

Freddy Dissel is

a middle child

and feels left

out. One day he

has a chance to

show everyone

how special he is

and most im-

portant of all, prove it to himself.

Our first graders enjoyed the book

so much that they decided to write to

the author. Judy Blume. They shared

their favorite parts of the story,

talked about their placement in the

family and how they felt about it, and

asked her questions.

Dear Judy Blume,

I love your book, The One in the Middle Is the Green Kangaroo! Fred-

dy has some difficult times, but he is

happy, too. Is this book about your

childhood? Freddy and I are alike.

My favorite part of the book is when

Volume 1, Issue 1

Things Kindergartners Love

Look Who’s Reading Novels: First Grade Letters to the Author

Page 2

Dear Judy Blume,

I am Sarah and I am in first grade.

My favorite part of The One in the Middle Is the Green Kangaroo was

when Mike spilled his milk because it

was funny. I am the youngest one in

my family. I like it because when I’m

sick I get to watch TV. If I got to

meet you I would tell you I want to

read all your books. I feel like the

story was real. I was so impressed

with the words in the book.

Love,

Sarah G.

I put all the water in jars to save for

summer fun.

When summer came, I dumped the

water out in my backyard. It made a

huge swimming pool! My snowmen,

even in the water state, made lots of

fun for me. I can’t wait for winter to

come and see the water turn back

into my snowmen friends. By: Zuri

My name is Sarah, the flying snow

girl. I like to play with my flying

snowmen friends, but the weather is

getting warmer. We decided to fly to

outer space because the air is colder

up higher. We had a Father-Daughter

Dance in the clouds. We drank cold

chocolate and had a bunch of frozen

treats.

The next day we went to the park

with our cold butterfly friends. I

went down the slide and broke my

head off, but my butterfly friends

put me back together. I went on the

swings, but my arms fell off. My but-

terfly friends put my arms back on.

Then I went to the tire swings and my

eyes flew off. My butterfly friends

put them back in place. It is nice to

have good friends.

I was hungry and went over to the

grill. My butterfly friends yelled,

“NO!” I didn’t listen to them. I

touched the grill and melted into a

puddle. My butterfly friends cried,

but put all my water in a jar. They

flew me to a place where it would al-

ways be winter. When they dumped

the water out in the snow, I froze

and became Sarah, the snow girl,

again. Now I will always listen to my

friends. By Sarah F.

First graders loved playing in the

snow. We shared many snowmen ad-

ventures and read books filled with

snowmen antics. Students wondered

what fun, if any, they could still have

with their snowman friends once the

temperatures begin to rise. Enjoy

their melting snowman stories.

I’m so glad the weather is getting

warmer. I don’t like the winter days.

But when my snowman started melt-

ing, I was really sad. I collected all

the water from my melting snowman.

Then I learned that one warm day in

February doesn’t mean that the win-

ter days were over. It got cold again

and I had no snowman friend.

I decided to dump the snowman water

out in my backyard. My backyard

magically turned into an ice skating

rink. My snowman made more winter

fun for us. I invited people over for

an ice skating party. I realized that

just because the snowman was gone,

the water holds more fun for me eve-

ry season. I decided to make 10 more

snowmen. When the days got warmer

and the ice rink and snowmen melted,

Volume 1, Issue 1

First Grade Letters to Judy Blume (cont’d)

First Grade Winter Escapades

Page 3

Dear Judy Blume,

The One in the Middle Is the Green Kangaroo is the best

book ever. My favorite part of

the Green Kangaroo is when

Freddy screamed because I

scream at my brother. I am the

oldest child in my family. I like

it because I can reach high

things. If I ever get to meet

you I would run up and give you

a hug.

Love,

Liam

My snowman is named Snowie Bowie.

We have so much fun playing down by

the barn. I want Snowie Bowie to last

forever, but it is getting warmer. I’m

going to build a big dome for Snowie

Bowie to live in. I will keep the dome

in the freezer. I will feed Snowie

Bowie ice cream sandwiches, to help

her stay cold. I can’t wait to play

with her all year long!

By Demi

My snowman named, Volcano and I

had so much fun this winter. We

hugged each other and had snowball

fights. Spring was coming and Volca-

no started to melt. I would not be

able to hug him because he would turn

into water.

So, I decided I will make a magic

snow machine and park it in front of

the house. Then I will turn it on and

it will begin to snow. I will make a

new Volcano! I will add buttons, his

hat, and his nose. He won’t ever

melt. I will play with him and hug him

forever. By Carter

down to watch TV and all of a sud-

den fairy dust popped out of the

shiny black top hat. It gave The Cat

and the Hat and me super powers.

We had ice powers and fire pow-

ers. We mixed them together and

made a flash of light so bright it

could burn your eyes. It was so

cool. Me and the Cat and the Hat

went out and saved the world.

By Jordyn

One day I was at my friend Jordyn’s

house and there was a shiny black

top hat laying on the window sill. I

asked Jordyn if we could play with

it. I told Jordyn that I thought it

was a magic hat. We played Toss

the Hat. When Jordyn threw it to

me I missed it and it landed on the

floor between us. All of a sudden it

brought me money, a teddy bear,

and a doll. We were shocked. I said

“Jordyn, I told you the hat was

magical.” “Wow, I believe you now,”

she said. We hid the hat in a cup-

board because we didn’t want any-

one else to take all the magic.

By Aidyn

Our first graders were encouraged to

tap into their creative minds to cre-

ate a story about finding a shiny black

top hat. What they enjoyed most in

writing this story is that it didn’t

have to be realistic. The only require-

ment was using their imagination.

One day I was walking down the

street with my friend, The Cat in the

Hat and we looked in the window of a

toy store. Guess what we saw? It was

a black shiny top hat. Did we buy it?

Yes! The Cat in the Hat wore it all the

way home. Then he let me wear it.

When we got home we made hot choc-

olate because we were cold from

walking home in the blizzard. We sat

One day my sister and I built a snow-

man. We found a shiny black top hat

to put on it. It was a magic hat. It

made him come alive. He could play

with us. We played Hide and Go Seek

and Tag. It felt weird because I nev-

er played with a snowman before.

Every time we ran his hat fell off and

he stopped being alive. I picked up

his hat and tied it on his head so he

could stay alive. Every day after

school we played with him.

By Jayda

One day Sarah and I went to Winter

Wonderland with our friends at Navy

Pier. We went on a train ride. While

we were on there we spotted a shiny

black top hat on the seat. We

grabbed it, but it was no plain top hat.

It was a magical top hat. Bunny rab-

bits popped out! They danced on our

heads. It was so funny. It cracked

us up.

By Grace

Volume 1, Issue 1

First Grade Magic Hat Stories

First Grade Melting Snowmen (cont’d)

Page 4

After reading a biography of Martin

Luther King’s life and listening to

his “I Have a Dream” speech, the

second graders discussed his

dreams for our nation. They also

wrote their own hopes and dreams

for our country. What a wonderful

world we would have if all our sec-

ond graders’ hopes and dreams

came true.

I have a dream that one day this

nation will be able to let people all

live together in peace.

I have a dream that one day we will

be free forever.

I have a dream that one day every-

body in the world will get along.

I have a dream that people will stop

smoking. I have a dream today.

I have a dream that one day the

whole world will work together.

I have a dream that one day so

many people will not get sick.

This is my hope and faith. With

this faith we will be able to be free

to be anything, and not be judged

by our differences.

This will be the day when we will be

free! By Walter


nation will learn how not to argue,

so we can live a better life.

I have a dream that one day people

all around the world will have love.

I have a dream that sick children

will get medicine to heal them. I

have a dream today.

I have a dream that one day there

will not be war!

I have a dream that one day there

would be no more guns.


this faith we will be able to walk

together in peace and love.

This will by the day when people will

rise to freedom for the whole

world. By Christian


nation will start saving people from

dangers in our country.

I have a dream that one day all the

poor people won’t be in jail.

I have a dream that one day all the

poor will have enough money to live

a happy life.

I have a dream that all people will

have homes. I have a dream today.

I have a dream that one day no guns

will kill people.

I have a dream that one day all peo-

ple will recycle.


this faith we will be able to make

the world a better place.

This will be the day when the whole

world is peaceful.

By Anna


nation will become nice, not bad.


share peace with the whole world.

I have a dream that one day our

world will be as calm as a river.


build homes for all the people. I

have a dream today.

I have a dream that one day all peo-

ple will share together.

I have a dream that one day every-

body will share the world peaceful-

ly. This is my hope and faith. With

this faith we will be able to go to

church all around the world and cel-

ebrate God and Martin Luther King.

This will be the day when our world

will be peaceful and quiet for all!

By Will


nation will be totally free from all

the wars.

I have a dream that one day some-

one could make all diseases cured.


help the homeless, and give them

food and money.

I have a dream that all corruption

would go away. I have a dream to-

day.


would stop rioting.


in all states and countries will rise

and say, “Please stop shooting!”


this faith we will be able to keep

the American dream alive and cre-

ate new lives for all.

This will

be the

day when

everyone

will follow

laws!

By Ethan

Volume 1, Issue 1

I Have a Dream, Too

Page 5

In third grade, the students

read Charlotte's Web and then

wrote a cinquain poem about one

of the characters in the book.

Charlotte

Cool, nice

Helping, playing, trying

Encouraging and always nice

Spider

By Sasha

Goose

Feathery, friendly

Mothering, hatching, nurturing

Being a great parent

Gander

By Emma Dr. Dorian

Old, kind

Helping, caring, talking

He is very helpful

Dr. D

By Quentin

Wilbur

Cute, smooth

Eating, playing, digging

Likes to be petted

Pig

By Brooklynn

Wilbur

Pink, cute

Chewing, chasing, playing

Always eating disgusting slop

Piglet

By Sofia Fern

Pretty, kind

Listening, understanding, caring

Always caring for Wilbur

Girl

By Trinity

Wilbur

Pink, furry

Playing, cuddling, digging

Cute and so little

Pig

By NeKo

Charlotte

Sweet, considerate

Helping, caring, loving

Always there to help

Spider

By Leona

be. Then my dad left. He had work,

so my mom took a day off. When my

dad came back from work we went

sledding at Dan Ryan Woods. Then

we went shopping at Meijer. Wow,

I sure did a lot on my snow day.

By Lauren

We had a snow day yesterday, and I

made a snowgirl with my dad. I was

playing with icicles while my dad was

shoveling. I got a little time to use

the shovel. It was fun. Then my

mom knocked on the window and

said, “It’s time to come in.” When I

came in I took off my snowsuit. I

said, “I’m hungry.” My mom gave me

yellow rice and spinach. I had a fun

Journal writing is an opportunity for

creative writing in second grade.

One of our journal topics was the

Snow Day in February. Enjoy our

Winter Wonders!

Yesterday we didn’t have school. It

was too cold, and snowy. So when I

woke up I had breakfast. I only had

grits because my dad ate Aria’s and

my bacon

and eggs.

After we

ate we went

outside to

see how

deep the

snow would

day playing in the snow. I love a

snow day!

By Heaven

Yesterday we had a snow day! My

mom shoveled the snow. When she

was done with the front of our

house she woke me up so I could

play in the snow. I found the sword

of Justice. It was really just an

icicle that I found on my window.

Sometimes I would lie in the snow,

or dig in the snow. Sometimes I

just looked for grass. Grass was

hard to find in all of the snow. I

climbed a Mountain of Justice. I

had fun on my snow day.

By Micaiah

Volume 1, Issue 1

Third Grade Character Cinquains

Page 6

Second Grade Winter Wonders

Students learned about the genres

of Myths, Legends, Fables and Fairy

Tales. We focused on the particu-

lar elements of Fairy Tales and

wrote our own.

Once upon a time there lived a mer-

maid named Merina. That is me. I live

in the Indian Ocean. One day a mer-

maid fairy came and gave me a magic

necklace and I said, “What is this

for?” The fairy said, “This will make

you better at doing things.” Once she

gave me the necklace, she disap-

peared, but I still had some questions

about the necklace, like will it make

me smarter? Will it make better at

doing flips?

One day I was playing with my

friends and they kept asking me

about my necklace and I kept telling

them telling them it is supposed to

make me better at doing things. They

were also wondering the same thing I

was. What kind of things? And I kept

saying I do not know, but I will find

out. So I swam back to the castle,

swam to my room, and kept calling

her, but nothing happened. I tried

everything. I threw it out the window,

that did not work. It just magically

appeared on my neck. I kept calling

her, but that did not work. After a

few tries, I found a video in my room.

I put it in a DVD player. It said that

the mermaid fairy was captured. I

had to save the fairy, but I did not

know where to go!

I knew the only person that would

do such a thing would be the evil

Marisa. I swam there as fast as I

could; as soon as I got there I saw

the poor innocent fairy. ”Let her go!

She is innocent!” I said.

”If you want her come get her!” So

I swam and tried to get her out when

Marisa trapped me, too!

”What do you want!” I said.

”What I want is your necklace!”

she said.

”Why?” I said.

“So I can have its power!” Then I

wondered what kind of power the

necklace has. I asked the fairy and

she said whatever I wanted to be

better at, but right now I wanted to

be better at escaping places.

The

news of

the fairy

and I

trapped

in

Marisa’s

evil lair

was spreading around the Indian

Ocean. Soon my mother and father

and strong handsome knight heard

the news. They went to the castle and

tried to demand our freedom, but the

evil Marisa was too powerful. The

King and Queen asked the knight to

use his strength to break us out, but

the castle was surrounded by the evil

spell. The knight noticed the fairy’s

wand on the ground below the castle.

He managed to throw it into the win-

dow of the room we were trapped in.

Once the fairy grasped her wand,

poof! The evil Marisa was no match

for the fairy’s magic.

I was so impressed with the brave

and handsome knight and how he res-

cued us, I fell in love. We soon mar-

ried and lived…happily ever after.

By Kelsey

traps and killed them! They sent 5

more Blobton soldiers but Jell-O was

ready and shot poison arrows at them!

They died, too! Finally, Blobby said

bravely, ”I’ll go look for her.” “NO!”

demanded the king blob. “Yes,” de-

manded Blobby. “Ok,” said the king,

“But be careful.”

So as Blobby walked through the

bloboods (gooey, slimy, marshes) he

stopped many traps then saw some-

thing and said,” That’s one big ruin!

I’ll go inside that place!” So he did

and he found the evil Jell-O! Blobeta

was hanging over a pit of acid then

Once upon a time, on planet Blobton,

lived Blobby. Blobby loved Blobeta.

Blobby was the strongest and bravest

Blob on Blobton. Blobeta was the

sweetest and kindest blob on Blobton.

She loved Blobby. One night the evil

Jell-O kidnapped Blobeta. The evil

Jell-O kidnapped her because he hat-

ed Blobby and Blobeta for throwing

him in jail. He was the most evil blob

on Blobton.

The next day Blobby noticed that

Blobeta was gone, so it was his quest

to find her. Two Blobton soldiers

went looking for her, but Jell-O set

the hand came down and ate the evil

Jell-O! Blobby cut the rope and saved

Blobeta!

They went back to Blob city, Blobby

made her a water fountain with her

on it, got married ,had blob kids, and

lived happily ever after! By Michael

Volume 1, Issue 1

Planet Blobton

Third Grade Fairy Tales

Page 7

Once upon a time in a place called

Sweetland, a cute little cupcake

named Cutie Cupcake lived in her gin-

gerbread house. An evil doughnut

called Devil Doughnut walked around

in Sweetland and found the ginger-

bread house. Devil Doughnut looked in

the window. While Devil Doughnut was

looking in the gingerbread window of

the gingerbread house, she saw gum-

my bear pillows on the chocolate chip

cookie couch and cookie plates in the

kitchen. She even saw candy canes as

the key.

Devil thought Cutie had everything.

Devil was so jealous. She was about to

leave when she spotted something, a

cherry crown. Cutie opened the front

door to leave for the store. Devil hid

in the cotton candy bushes. Devil said

to herself, “I’m going to have to steal

that cherry crown.’’ Devil was looking

at Cutie as she was about to get her

candy cane keys. Cutie didn’t see Devil

when she walked out. Devil tried to

figure out a way to get the cherry

crown so she could rule the world.

Devil went back to her lair in Sweet

Town. She got a piece of ginger cook-

ie for paper and a chocolate ink pen

that she had. She was going make fly-

ers that said , ‘’In Sweetland in a gin-

gerbread house there is a cupcake

girl that has a cherry crown. If you

want to get a sweet reward bring it to

me.‘’ Devil put the flyers out in Sweet

Town everyone saw it. So everyone

went to Sweetland to find the ginger-

bread house and Cutie Cupcake. The

people found the cupcake when she

came back from the store. The people

sneaked in the gingerbread house.

Cutie set the cherry crown down on

the couch. One person named Choco-

latey Cookie opened the door and

went in and almost got it, but some-

one named Sweetie Ice Cream went in

and got it, so she ran out the house.

Cutie noticed something while she

was cleaning the dishes. When

Sweetie Ice cream got the crown

from off the couch she messed up

the gummy bear pillow. Sweetie Ice

Cream hid under the table when Cutie

Cupcake went to go fix the gummy

bear pillow and then she went back to

cleaning the dishes and didn’t notice

that her cherry crown was missing.

When Sweetie Ice Cream got from

under the table she almost went out,

but Chocolatey Cookie caught her so

they went outside to fight for it.

They both said ‘’It’s mine! No, it’s

mine! No, it’s mine!’’ Then more people

came for it . A few seconds later,

Cutie looked out the window and saw

what was going on so she went outside

and said, ‘’What’s going on out here?”

All the people were speechless. Then

Cutie said, “Let’s talk about it over a

cup of milk and cookies.’’

So everyone sat down and talked.

They even showed Cutie the flyer

that Devil handed out. Cutie was mad

so they went back to Devil’s lair. Cutie

told Devil that she could make a

crown for her. She said she could

make a crown with sprinkles so Devil

was satisfied. So Cutie went back to

her gingerbread house and said to

herself that this was the only time

she was going to be mean. So she had

a book called, The Sweet Revenge Book. She read that if you say some-

thing that you would do for somebody

else don’t ever do it. So, Cutie Cup-

cake never made the sprinkle crown

for Devil, and everyone, but Devil,

lived happily ever after. By Madison

She always left purple slime behind

her (Purple, because she was purple,

and slime because they were made out

of slime) that slowed her down.

On their planet, they had an annual

race. Everybody had to participate,

unless a mom had to take care of a

baby, or they were sick. The race was

in a week, and Speedy was jealous.

Everybody had a special suit that

matched their personality. Speedy did

not like her suit. Speedy’s and Blaze’s

Once upon a time,

on a planet far,

far away, there

lived alien twins.

One was Blaze,

and the other was

Speedy. Blaze

earned her name

because she ran

so fast, she set a

blaze of fire behind her. On the oth-

er hand, Speedy wasn’t so speedy.

suits looked identical, except for a

few features on the inside.

The night before the race, Speedy

switched suits. When the race start-

ed, Blaze was slow, and Speedy was,

well, speedy! Everyone was shocked!

Someone asked Blaze, “Did you

change your suits?” They said, “No.”

Someone else asked, “Did they joke

around about who they were this

whole time? Was Blaze Speedy and

Speedy Blaze?” Blaze said “This is no

Volume 1, Issue 1

Alien Racers

Third Grade Fairy Tales (cont’d)

Page 8

joke.” Finally someone asked, “Did

they change their personality thing?”

Then Blaze said, “Maybe” as she

looked at her sister, Speedy.

When they got home, Blaze told

Speedy, “I want my suit back right

now”. “No!” said Speedy and she took

off. Blaze hired someone to go find

her, but with that suit she ran so fast

no one could catch up with her. Final-

ly, Blaze remembered their favorite

place to relax, the tree house by

their house. She went there, and

Speedy was there. Blaze asked

Speedy, “Why did you change our

suits?” “Because I was jealous that

you win the big race year after year

after year”, said Speedy, “I wanted

to win. I’m sorry; I should have asked

you first. I will next time.” Blaze said

“I will give it to you if you ask. Now

let’s head home”. And they lived hap-

pily ever after.

By Katie

power. And then I will have what I

want.”

I thought long and hard. I’ll need at least 2 plans. Plan A: NOBODY has eyes in the back or their head. Jill liked to pace so I would walk up be-hind Jill and grab the pouch with the detonator and destroy the entire pouch. Plan B: Cats love yarn. I was knitting earlier- I will attach the yarn to the top of that roof. With the breeze, the yarn will be blown side to side and distract Jill.

So Plan A sprang into action. Jill

started pacing and I was just about

to grab the pouch when…I cracked my

neck and yelled, “OUCH!!!!!!!!” “Get off

me –or I’ll press the detonator!”

screeched Jill. “Okay, Okay!” I said

sounding exasperated, also glad that

I had a Plan. B.

Plan B has to work. I was about to

grab the pouch when…I leaned too far

and fell towards Jill who by then had

lost her remaining patience “I told

you to stay off me!!!” Jill screeched

and started chasing me. She took a

flying leap at me, but I ducked. Jill

went flying overhead and landed in

the grass.

I thought terrific! Now I can think of a new plan, Plan C. Jill loved grapes. Luckily, there was a grape vine over

there! I could put the grapes in front of her, but they’ll be injected with the sleep meds that my mom gave me. She’ll fall asleep and I’ll steal the detonator and call the dolice (dog police) and she’ll go to cat jail.” Plan C

was so hard to stop!

Everything went well and my name

was known all over. Jill got a life sen-

tence in cat jail. I got married to a

handsome Bernese Mountain Dog

which is the same breed as I. I had

six beautiful puppies. They all had

black, red, and white fur that shone

brightly in the sunlight. Pita (my hus-

band), my six puppies, and I got a pal-

ace full of jewels and soft bedding

and beautiful surroundings. We lived

happily ever after.

By Zoe

Once upon a time a girl who wore a

red hood, Oh! wrong fairy tale. Ex-

cuse me for the hold up. Once upon a

time a dog who lived in Eradosia– one

of the 69 moons orbiting Saturn-,

saved the entire universe from blow-

ing up. My name is Katniss. I dislike

furry cats but I love Jell-O. How I

know what Jell-O tastes like is a real-

ly long story. I would tell the entire

story step by step but it would be

tedious. However, to shorten it let’s

just say I snuck some from the

fridge.

So on with the story:

The land of Eradosia is almost all

Jungle. It has loads of tropical fruit.

Its only danger is Jill. You’ll meet her

in a moment. Jill was my best friend.

But Jill wanted water power like me.

So the only reason Jill turned evil was

because of jealousy. Jill has been try-

ing to steal my power. Jill was dueling

with me one week ago. “You silly little

fur ball!” I shouted, kicking Jill in the

ribs.

“Well,” Jill said in a dangerous voice,”

If I press this button, the universe,

including Eradosia will blow up- and

your water power will shoot towards

me. But your water power weakness

is fire. The explosion will kill your

Volume 1, Issue 1

Alien Racers (cont’d)

The Land of Eradosia

Page 9

Once upon a time there lived a prin-

cess. She was the prettiest girl in

town. She had brown curly hair with a

special flower. She lived in a beautiful

castle with a magical garden. She

could never leave her castle to visit

her magical garden because her evil

sister, Widow, would hurt her. She

was trapped. Widow has black hair

and wears red lipstick and she likes to

turn people evil with her power.

One night Christina snuck out. She

saw Widow. Once she saw her she ran.

The second time, she sent a guard out

and then Widow turned him evil.

Then, Christina sent another guard

out. He found Widow and brought her

back to the castle to talk to Christi-

na. They got to the castle and Chris-

tina and Widow talked. The talk didn’t

go as well as hoped. Widow stole

Christina’s baking powers with an evil

spell.

The Prince, King, and the Queen

tried several enchantments to get the

baking powers back but nothing

worked. The Prince finally knew what

to do. He trapped Widow. He tricked

her into giving up the baking powers.

Widow left the castle as fast as she

could. Christina felt sorry for Widow

and wondered if there was a chance

to help her be good.

She ordered one of the guards to

go after her. Widow was found and

brought back

to the cas-

tle. Christina

made a spe-

cial potion

from her

magical gar-

den and

made Widow

drink it. She

slowly lost her evilness. Later the

prince asked to marry her. Widow

changed her name to Willow because

she was nice and friendly now. Willow

and Christina grew to be good friends

again. Willow fell in love with the

magical gardener and they all lived

happily ever after. By Kaylie

Don’t leave me hanging.” Then the

Queen of Vines popped out. Her first

words were, “BOO” The princess did a

little shriek and started to cry. The

Queen of Vines said, “Shut up, child.”

The princess quieted down. Rosie had

to deal with it. The Queen of Vines

said, “I will let you go if you wear this

necklace.” “Ok,” said the princess.

She was looking for a new one anyway.

Rosie asked the Queen, “Are you com-

ing to my birthday ball?” “No.” said

the Queen of Vines.

She let the princess go back to her

castle with the heart shaped neck-

lace. The princess was unaware of

the changes happening to her. The

queen said, “You are now my minion so

listen carefully child, at midnight kill

your parents and steal the crown.”

That night the princess put on her

pink dress. The entire night she acted

like a monkey stuffing chocolate in

her face, pouring fruit punch on her

dress. The Queen of Vines was having

a ball watching and puppeting the

princess through her crystal ball.

The prince knew the princess was

acting strange. Midnight struck and

she grabbed her father’s dagger, the

sharpest in the kingdom, and snuck up

behind her parents, the king and the

queen. The prince was about to walk

up to Rosie but the Prince of Shab-

bita pushed the other prince out of

the way and tried kissing Rosie. When

he leaned in for a smooch he got

punched in the nose by the princess.

The Prince of Shabbita failed to help

Rosie so then the Prince of Mexico

tried slapping her. After the slap she

kicked him on both legs and he fell to

the ground. Then the prince of the

Viola Kingdom said, “You all are so

stupid I shall fix her.” He ripped the

necklace off and stepped on it.

In the forest the Queen of Vines

went to Antarctica, the coldest place

in the world. She was never seen

again. Then Roland and Rosie got

married and they lived happily ever

after. By Braelyn

Once upon a

time in the

town of

Loviet

there was a

princess

named Ro-

sie. Her

birthday

was in a

few hours. She was roaming around

her big tan castle with 50 bedrooms,

4 kitchens, 2 stables, and 3 dining

rooms.

She had been asking her mom for a

new necklace. “Please, please, please!”

she begged to her mother. “NO, NO,

NO, NO!” yelled her mother. When

Rosie heard those words she wanted

to punch something, but not her

mother, so she snuck into the woods.

At the end of the woods was a

shack. No one was there so she

turned around and swoop, she got

caught by a vine. She was hanging up-

side down. The princess laughed,”

Volume 1, Issue 1

Third Grade Fairy Tales (cont’d)

Rosie of Loviet

Page 10

Fourth Grade social studies students

wrote acrostic poetry at the conclu-

sion of our Chicago History unit. Stu-

dents chose to write about the im-

portant and exciting events that

helped shape the city’s history. The

poems showcase our students’ passion,

creativity, and learning throughout

the unit.

Chicago River

Heald’s heavy trunk

Indians vs. Americans

Century of progress

A cow, wow!

George Ferris beats Paris

Oh no, a fire

By Naomi

Century of Progress Fair

Help us grow

Illuminated City

City in flames

Amazing Reconstruction

Great Chicago Fire

Oh, pray for our city

By Alex R.

Chicago’s Ferris Wheel

High up in the sky

In Mrs. O'Leary's barn

Cow didn’t do it

At the World’s Fair

Grand Fair

Oval pony track

By David

Chicago History Museum/Getty Images

Volume 1, Issue 1

Fourth Grade Chicago Poetry

Page 11

Come on now Chicago is burning

Here we go…why are you trying to

blame a cow?

It’s not fair, we are going to fix this

Chicago is now rebuilt

America step it up, we need rides

George Ferris and Paris

Oh, my Chicago is back and I am glad

about that!

By R’mani

Forensicgeneology.com

Chicago River runs

Hall of 11 ton cheese


Columbian Exposition of 1893

A place for amusement

George Washington Gale Ferris

One thousand horsepower steam

engine

By Riya Kapoor

Columbian Exposition of 1893

High Sears Tower

Indian vs. Americans

Chicago’s sky ride

Ashes in sky

Great Chicago Fire

Oh Ferris beat Paris

By Olivia

City of Lights

House of the Palmer


Columbian Exposition shows off

A few towers survived

George Washington Gale Ferris

Over the river the fire jumped

By Oriella

Can you hand me the relish?

How does Chief Blackbird burn a

fort down?


Cow, you kicked over the lamp?

All of Paris loses to Ferris

Get the Chicago Style hot dog

O’Leary’s cow burnt the city down?

By Hayden

Students progress through the steps

in the writing process from brain-

storming through publishing. Discov-

er what topics are important to our

fourth graders as they try to con-

vince you to agree with their opinions

of something.

Go to Bed Late!

By Alex I.

Are

you

tired

of

going

to bed

early?

I’m

abso-

lutely

tired

of

going to bed early and should go to

bed at least after 9:00 pm. If you

stay up late you can spend more time

with your family, you can also watch a

great movie, and you can see the

stars and planets.

If you have a later bed time

then you will have more time with

your family. By that I mean you can

play board games. Also you can read

hilarious jokes. There are many

sports channels to watch if you are

bored.

If all the other activities are

not for you, then you can watch a

movie. If you’re done with your first

movie you can always watch another

one, but make sure that you have

enough popcorn. There is less noise at

night so you can concentrate on your

movie. Late at night is the best time

to watch a scary movie.

The stars and planets are

best seen at night. If you never get

to see the stars and planets staying

up late is the best opportunity to see

the beauty of the night sky. You could

find your zodiac sign in the sky. You

can see how the explorers used the

constellations to navigate their way

home.

I am absolutely certain that

you should go to bed late (at least not

earlier than 9 o'clock.). If you stay up

late you will have more time to spend

time with your family. You can also

watch your favorite movie. In addi-

tion, you can see the stars and plan-

ets. So, if you like to spend time with

you family, watching a movie, or look-

ing at the stars, don't go to bed ear-

ly. Next time you get ready for bed,

stay up late!

Too Late To Play!

By Arnav

Even Babe Ruth did not practice base-

ball late at night! It is very smart to

have

baseball

practice

earlier.

If prac-

tice is so

late I

will obvi-

ously

wake up

tired.

Clearly that is because I will sleep too

late. I will absolutely not be able to

concentrate the next day.

It is clear that baseball prac-

tice makes me sleep late. Obviously I

will get home late if practice ends

right before bedtime. It gets really

late because it is far from our house.

When I get home I still have to eat

dinner and take a shower and that

makes me sleep late.

It is obvious that I will wake

up tired if I get home from baseball

late. I will wake up tired because I

will get few hours of sleep. Evidently

it will force me to eat a light snack

before bedtime, so I will wake up

tired. After running around in prac-

tice until 9:00 after I wake up I will

be exhausted.

I will definitely not be able to

concentrate the next day if practice

is late. If I am exhausted, I will not

be able concentrate. Then I will not

be able to do my work correctly. I will

not be able to concentrate due to lack

of sleep. And then I might fall asleep

on my desk. My muscles will not have

enough time to recover, I will be sore

and I will not be able to concentrate.

It stands to reason that too

late of a practice will make me sleep

late, wake up tired and I will not be

able to concentrate the next day. If

I sleep too late I might not be able to

eat my regular dinner. And if I wake

up tired I might not get ready for

school on time. I hope baseball will

be changed to an earlier time.

Long Lunch Line

By Michaela

Are you tired of waiting in a long

lunch line? It is absolutely clear that

the lunch line should be shorter on

Friday because I surely will get too

Volume 1, Issue 1

Fourth Grade Persuasive Essays

Page 12

Long Lunch Line, continued

hungry waiting. I definitely won’t have

time to finish all my food, and if the

line is shorter I will have enough time

to sit down and relax while I eat my

food.

I certainly will get too hun-

gry. My stomach starts hurting when

I am hungry. I might eat too much

when I am hungry. I absolutely will

make bad choices of what I eat.

If it is too long I will have to

eat later and won’t have time to finish

all my food. There is a limited time to

eat my food so if I start eating late I

won’t have time to finish my food. A

long line will take a long time so less

time will be available. Less time will

equal less food I will be able to eat.

If the lunch line is shorter I

will have enough time to sit down and

relax and finish my food. I won’t have

to rush when it is time to leave. If I

am able to relax I won’t feel like I

have to worry. If I can relax I will

feel good in the next class.

It goes without saying that

the lunch line should be shorter on

Friday because if it is shorter I will

have enough time to relax and I can

finish all my food on time. It needs

no explanation there should be a

shorter lunch line on Fridays.

P.E. Structured a Different Way

By Lauren

Are you frustrated in P.E.?

Are you falling behind, or do things

seem easy to you? I am certain that

having P.E. structured a different way

will be the better way. Clearly the

strugglers aren’t going to get any bet-

ter if the coaches don’t slow down the

steps, and the advanced students are

bored and want to learn more. It

would definitely benefit the coaches

who have to hear all the fussing all

day.

My first reason is that it

could help students that are behind

the average expectation for people

their age. There could be a specific

reason why they are struggling that

they need more attention to. If they

aren’t able to keep up, then how is

P.E. class going to benefit them? It

could give them a higher self-esteem

when they don’t feel like they’re be-

ing compared to more advanced stu-

dents.

The next reason is students

that are more advanced won’t be

bored and can learn even more. In

their advanced group, some students

can get so good and learn so much,

they can become famous athletes or

get a scholarship for a sport. They

might feel like they take gym class

with little kids. But when they take

gym class with their advanced group,

they won’t feel that way.

The final reason is because it

could benefit the coaches. They won’t

stress out trying to figure out how to

coach everyone when they’re not all

on the same page. They won’t have to

deal with students making each other

feel bad. There will probably be few-

er students to keep track of.

It goes without saying that

having P.E. organized a different way

would be one of the best ways. It will

benefit struggling and advanced stu-

dents, and also the coaches. Strug-

gling students will get better, under-

stand more, and won’t be struggling

anymore. Advanced students won’t

feel bored and may become superstar

athletes. Coaches will no longer stress

out about trying to figure out how to

do activities that would be good for

everyone. Why continue being frus-

trated and stressed out? Let’s reor-

ganize P.E. today!

Do You Want an Easy Pet to Take

Care Of ? By Riya

Are you

tired of

having

left over

lettuce,

carrots,

tomato,

and pars-

ley?

Well, you

should get a Bearded Dragon because

they will eat it all! It is obvious that

my mom should let me get a Bearded

Dragon because it will teach me re-

sponsibility, I could talk to it for

some company, and it would be fun to

observe and experience.

I should absolutely get a

Bearded Dragon because it will teach

me responsibility. In case I have any

leftover greens, I can give it to them.

I will never forget to feed it. If it

poops, I will clean it up. I will not let

it scurry around the house.

Volume 1, Issue 1

Fourth Grade Persuasive Essays (cont’d)

Page 13

Bearded Dragon, continued

It would definitely be fun to

have it around for some company. It

would absolutely be fun for my dog to

look at it. It could sit on my shoulder

and watch TV with me. I could play

with it a lot and give it little toys.

The creatures are really kind to kids.

It would be great to have a

cold blooded animal for projects and

essays. If we have a science project

on animals that are tiny and eat

greens, I could write about it. It

would be fun to learn about and write

about. I love doing science experi-

ments, so it would be fun to see if it

will do certain things.

I should absolutely get a

Bearded Dragon because it will teach

me responsibility, I can talk to it for

some company, and it will be fun to

experience and observe. It would be

fun to experience for middle and up-

per school when we have research

projects. I am certain that this

Christmas one will show up in a little

box!

More Energy for Gymnastics

By Taylor

Do you want more energy when you go

to gymnastics? It is absolutely clear

that I definitely need a later gymnas-

tics time because I need more time to

sleep in the morning, I am not as fo-

cused as I need to be and I need

more to eat breakfast, brush my

teeth and take a shower.

I need a later gymnastics

time because I clearly need more

sleep in the morning. I am always

tired at the end of the week. I really

need more sleep because I cannot be

late for class. It is obvious that I

need more time to sleep in the morn-

ing because I need to be attentive

during class.

I am not as focused as I need

to be because I like staying up late

watching TV on Friday night. I like

playing with my dog late at night. I

also like playing games on my iPad and

reading books. It is nice to be able to

do this because I work hard all week.

I need more time to eat

breakfast, brush my teeth, and take a

shower because I don’t hear my mom’s

alarm clock and I oversleep. I move

slowly in the morning. My mom takes

a long time to make my breakfast in

the morning, which makes it hard to

get to class on time.

Surely having a later gymnas-

tics class would be good because it

will allow me to eat breakfast, brush

my teeth and take a shower before

class. If you have more sleep in the

morning, you will be able to do more.

When you are focused you are able to

do what you need to do. I cannot wait

until my 11:00 class starts!

A New iPhone

By Miles

Do you need help convincing your par-

ents to buy you an I-phone? It is

clear that I should get an iPhone. An

iPhone could surely teach me respon-

sibility, in case of an emergency I

could call my parents, and I do not

have to use my parent’s I-phone. It

will teach me responsibility.

Usually parents want their

kids to be responsible. Successful

parents are responsible because they

learned responsibility as kids. Respon-

sible kids get the opportunity to have

the privileges to do some of things

older kids get to do.

I could call my parents in

case of an emergency. It would abso-

lutely help me if I was separated

from my parents. I could definitely

call 911 for help if someone was in-

jured. I could surely use it if someone

was trying to break into my house.

It would certainly avoid my

using my parent’s phone. When I use

my parent’s phone I usually run the

battery down. My parents would defi-

nitely know where they left their

phones. It would decrease the chanc-

es of my parents yelling at me be-

cause I took the phone without per-

mission.

It speaks for itself that an

iPhone would definitely show me re-

sponsibility. In case of an emergency

I could call someone. I also wouldn't

have to use my parent's iPhone. I

can't wait until I get an iPhone!

Volume 1, Issue 1

Fourth Grade Persuasive Essays (cont’d)

Page 14

Documents

Kids' Chronicle - Winter 2015 - Morgan Park Academy